Day Nine

"Oh, my God." Zak whispered, vomit dripping off the table into the pile on his lap.

Staring at him in shock, I tried to find the right words to apologize, but I was at a complete loss. Not to mention the second wave I was bound to heave if I didn't get to the toilet soon.

Dashing for the bathroom, I cupped my mouth to keep myself from unleashing sushi-bile wrath onto any other unsuspecting customers and ducked inside the restroom, locking myself in with a slam of the door.

I knelt beside the toilet, eyes squinted in disgust and pain, and hurled the remaining contents of tonight's dinner into the bowl.

It had come on so fast. There was no way that I would have made it to the bathroom the first time around, but I couldn't help the mortification from consuming me.

Worst of all was the publicity.  Zak, Damon, Gwyn, Hunter, and every other person in the vicinity had witnessed it, and the fact that it happened in my favorite restaurant was the cherry on top of it all.

If there was even the slightest chance that Zak and I were developing a real sense of attraction to one another, it was most certainly gone after tonight. This entire week and a half had gone to waste thanks to my overly active gag reflex.

I wouldn't blame him if he lost any sort of interest--fake or real--after this.

I didn't want to think about the scene I'd just caused, but through the thin walls I could hear the boy's voices, and all I could imagine was the look on Zak's face.

Wiping my mouth with a wad of toilet paper, I slowly gathered myself and rose to my feet. Looking at myself in the mirror, an extra wave of embarrassment overcame me as I examined my flushed cheeks and putrid breath on the glass.

At least my hair still looked okay.

I rinsed my face in my hands and swashed water around my mouth in hopes of washing away the acid taste biting the back of my throat. I didn't know if there was a way for me to redeem myself after this, but the least I could do was get rid of vomit breath.

Knocking sounded on the door.

"You okay in there?" Zak asked, sounding calm for a guy who was covered in vomit. "Can I come in?"

"Um," I patted my face dry with a paper towel and walked over to the door, "Yeah." I cracked the door open to peek up at him. Where I was expecting a frown, I was met with a warm smile as he nudged the door open and slid into the room.

"Thanks." he said, making his way over to the sink.

My mouth was cotton-dry, but I spat out, "Zak, I am so sorry-"

"You're good. Don't even worry about it." He shook his head, running some paper towels under the sink to wipe off his pants.

With my face in my hands, I sighed, "I feel horrible. Really, if you want help with dry-cleaning or-"

"Oh, that's really not necessary." he laughed, patting his pant leg and smiling up at me. "You're fine, Zoe."

"Let me help you." I looked around the bathroom, grabbing him another handful of paper towels and wetting them in the sink.  The poor guy only had one arm to clean the vomit off his crotch, the least I could do was give him some paper towels.

"Are you feeling any better?" he looked up at me, tossing the vomit stained sheets into the trash and taking the fresh ones. "Did you get it all out?"

I laughed, embarrassed. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good." he laughed, patting the excess water off of his pants. "If not, just give me a heads up and I'll dodge it."

I moaned into my hands, my cheeks flushed red at the thought. "That's so gross. I feel so bad."

Zak laughed and pulled my hands away from my face. "Don't. Seriously, it's okay." He cocked his head at me with a cheeky grin. "If it makes you feel any better, I'd take yours over Damon's puke any day of the week."

I exhaled a breathy laugh and nodded, "That does make me feel better, actually."

"Good." he smiled, his hand still clasped around mine. We looked between each other's eyes for a long moment before a knock on the door broke the silence.

"Hello?" Damon's deep voice rumbled behind the door. "Really hope you guys aren't making out in there."

Zak opened the door, shooting him an eyebrow. "Why, you wanna join?"

Damon's narrowed eyes crinkled as he broke out a laugh, soon followed by Zak and I. I was thankful for Zak's humor in a time like this.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to laugh it off if I'd puked on anyone else.

Damon clasped onto the doorframe and shook his head at Zak. His dark eyes scanned around the bathroom before falling onto me.

"How're you doing?"

"I'm okay, now." I said, smiling at him. "I think I just needed to get it out. Thanks for asking, though."

"Gross." he snorted, "Just wanted to say that I took care of the check, so I'm gonna bounce."

"Dude," Zak shook his head, "You seriously did not have to do that."

"Y'all let me crash your date. It's the least I can do." he shrugged. "And I felt bad you got sick."

Zak looked over at me and I smiled up at Damon, gratefulness brimming inside me at his sudden and unexpected act of kindness.

"Wow, that's so nice of you." I held my arms out to him and motioned a hug. "This is an air hug. I'm air-hugging you."

Damon's stoic expression melted into a small smile as he fist-bumped Zak.

"Thanks, man. Appreciate it." Zak clapped Damon's shoulder.

The giant held up a peace sign and backed away from the door, giving us a final nod. "See you." he mumbled, disappearing out of sight.

I looked over at Zak, who seemed just as bewildered as me.

Maybe Damon wasn't all bad, after all.

----

My phone had been dinging the entire drive, and it was taking everything in me to keep my eyes on the dark, winding road to Zak's place.

As I pulled into the driveway, letting the car engine dull to a low hum, he shot me a smirk over his shoulder. "What a night, huh?"

I smiled, shaking my head. "What a day."

"It's not exactly how I expected our first date to go." he chuckled, running a hand through his dark hair. "But at least we have a fun story to tell."

"Oh, no." I hid my face in the steering wheel. "Everyone's gonna call me sushi breath."

He laughed, a rich, full laugh and reached over to rub my shoulders. "Well, maybe not before, but they definitely will now that you've given me the idea."

I whipped up and playfully slapped his hand, "Zak!" I laughed, crossing my arms.

"I'm kidding." he laughed, unbuckling his seat belt. "If Gorveau got a hold of that nickname-"

"I don't even want to think about that." I cringed, shaking my hands. "The names he calls us are bad enough, already."

"True that." Zak climbed out to rest his free elbow on the rim of the open window. "Hey, you gonna be okay?"

"I think so." I smiled, debating whether or not to say anything more. Though, with the chirp of the crickets, the low roar of the engine, and the cover of nightfall, I was in my feels more than normal. "It wasn't the perfect night, but I'm glad that I spent it with you."

He looked down and bit back his rising smile before looking back up at me. "Yeah, me too." He looked between my eyes, his smile widening. "And, uh, Damon."

We laughed. Our third-wheel had kept us from being too touchy-feely tonight, but in many ways, I was glad, because whenever Zak and I were alone like this, it was much more difficult to keep my emotions contained.

And, dare I say it, he looked damn good in the moonlight.

"Well, I should get going." I smiled, revving up my car.

Zak patted the roof and smiled at me, taking a couple steps back. "Drive safe, sushi breath."

I rolled my eyes and laughed, waving at him as I pulled out of the driveway and made my way back onto the main road.

The whole drive home, I couldn't stop smiling.

----

"So, how was it?"  My dad prodded from the kitchen, an expectant smile on his tanned face as I came through the front door. 

I snapped up from looking at my phone, surprised he was asking given the fact that I hadn't told he or my mom about my date.  I looked over at Emett, who was sprawled on the couch in front of the tv, and shook my head. 

"Rehearsal was good."  I smiled, hoping he was referring to the play.  "I'm exhausted, though.  A girl can only take so much of Mr. Gorveau's criticism."

"Hmm,"  my father mused, crossing his arms and leaning back on his chair at the dining table.  "Rehearsal, you say?"

I pursed my lips and nodded, but judging by the look on Dad's face, it was no use.  Emett must have told my parents.

Little tattletale.

"I really can't tell you anything, can I?"  I groaned at my brother, whose blonde head whipped up to smile impishly at me. 

"Oops."  he giggled.

I sighed, "It was good, Dad.  He's really nice."  I tilted my head at him, his eyebrows raised expectantly.  "I have a ton of homework, but maybe I'll tell you more later." 

It wasn't a total lie--I had homework to get to--but more importantly, I needed to attend to the 15 missed calls from Gwyn Ryann Harris.

"Oh, okay.  I see how it is, miss chamber of secrets."  he winked, and I scoffed with a smile, escaping upstairs before he could tease me any more.

Changing out of jeans and into cozy sweats, I hopped onto my bed and dialed Gwyn's number.  Almost immediately, she picked up.

"Hi, Zoe!" Her voice was high and strained.  "So glad you called me back.  I thought Damon might have murdered you, or something."

I laughed, "Sorry it took so long.  What's up?"

"You know it totally wasn't what it looked like at the restaurant, right?"  she laughed, "We're just friends.  Like, we were working on a school project, and we got hungry, so I just thought we'd grab some dinner, and then we ran into you-"

"Wait, slow down, Gwyn.  What are you talking about?" I frowned, then it hit me.  She was with someone at Kyoto's--a male someone--but I didn't make out his face because I was too busy puking my brains out. 

"Oh, you don't remember?" her voice raised, and I imagined her perfectly-shaped eyebrows rising.  "I mean, I guess it doesn't matter if you do or not because it was just a friends thing.  But like, still,"  she paused, her tone lowering, "Just don't say anything, okay?"

Gwyn was normally hyper, but this frantic energy was new.  She seemed nervous--worried, even--despite being so adamant that everything was fine.

"The last thing I want is my boyfriend on my case about this.  You know how jealous he gets."  she sighed, "So please, could you keep it between us girls?" 

"I won't say anything."  I said, trying to not to sound as cynical as I felt.  "Don't worry."

"Oh, Zoe, thank you so much.  I would hug you if I could."  she giggled, sounding relieved.  "Love you, girlie." 

I wanted to trust Gwyn, but I knew how easily she got swept away by boys.  Before she was with Mark, she'd gone through the majority of the male population at WBHS, ditching boys left and right as if they were going out of season.

The last thing I wanted was for Mark's name to make that list, so protecting his feelings came before any loyalties I had to his girlfriend.

I just hoped, more than anything, Gwyn would prove me wrong.