♡

THE ONE WITH THAT NIGHT.
EPISODE FIVE.

♡

In the coffee house, the friends were all together. Zara had just bought herself a cappuccino, where she sat down at the small table with her laptop open.

"Does anyone else think David Copperfield's cute?" Chandler questioned.

"No," said Monica. "But he told me he thinks you're a fox."

"Aw, Chandler," Zara grinned at him. "Do you have a little crush?"

"All right, Janice likes him," Chandler explained. "In fact, she likes him so much she put him on her, uh... freebie list."

With his coffee, Joey joined them as he sat in between Chandler and Monica. Everyone's gaze was focused on Chandler, questioning the list.

"Her what?" Joey questioned.

"Well, we have a deal where we each get to pick five celebrities that we can sleep with..." Chandler told them. "And the other one can't get mad."

"Ah, the heart of every healthy relationship," Ross said with Rachel sitting on the arm of the chair next to him. "Honesty, respect and sex with celebrities."

Zara drank her drink to hide her smirk, a little happy that perhaps Chandler and Janice's relationship wasn't that serious. Then again, it sounded like something Chandler and Zara would have done together.

"So, Chandler, who's on your list?" Monica asked, curiously. 

"Ah, Kim Basinger... uh, Cindy Crawford, Halle Berry, Yasmine Bleeth."

"Oh, boy," said Joey.

Zara was impressed with the choices, knowing a couple would be on her list too.

"And, uh, Jessica Rabbit."

"Jessica Rabbit?" Zara repeated, stunned. "You lost me there."

"You do realise that she's a cartoon and way out of your league?" Rachel questioned.

"Yeah, I know," said Chandler. "I know. I just always wondered if I could get her eyes to pop out of her head."

All Zara could do was shake her head at him.

"Hey, Monica, who would yours be?" Joey asked her.

"First I need a boyfriend," Monica answered. "Then I can have a list."

"Just a game, Mon," said Joey as his eyes widened before falling onto Zara. "Zara. Go."

"Oh, okay," Zara put her drink down, thinking for a moment. "So, I gotta steal a couple from Chandler—"

"Yasmine Bleeth?" Chandler and Joey guessed.

"She's my number one," Zara grinned. "Then, probably Cindy Crawford too. Antonio Banderas, Pierce Brosnan and then maybe Tom Cruise or maybe Famke Janssen."

"It's five," Chandler reminded her. "Not six."

"I want six," Zara decided.

"Six it is," Chandler said, knowing not to argue with Zara.

"Rach, how about you?" Joey encouraged.

"Oh, I don't know," said Rachel. "I guess... Chris O'Donnell, John F. Kennedy Jr., Daniel Day-Lewis Sting and Parker Stevenson."

"Spider-man?" Ross questioned.

"Hardy boy," said Rachel.

"Peter Parker," Chandler added.

"Thank you," Ross said.

"What about you, honey?" Rachel turned to her boyfriend. "Who'd be on your list?"

"I...I don't know," said Ross. "That kind of thing requires some serious thought. First, I'll divide my prospective candidates into categories."

Chandler coughed. "What a geek."

"You've sucked the fun out of it, Ross," Zara told him.

"Well at least I didn't break the rules picking six," Ross replied.

"Everybody this is Frank," Phoebe came back into the coffee house with a bright smile on her face and a young teenage guy with her. "This is my half-brother, Frank." They were all quick to welcome Frank, excited to meet him. "This is everybody."

One by one, Phoebe introduced them all as they all greeted Frank, shaking his hand. However, the three ladies were met with a 'woah' more than a 'hi' from Frank and everyone decided to ignore it.

"I'm going to get coffee," Phoebe told them all after with the three eager to follow their friend, wanting to hear everything about how it was going with her brother.

"So, do you guys have any big plans?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, yeah," said Phoebe. "We're going to, like, connect and bond and everything."

"Yeah, I was thinking maybe we could go down to Times Square and pick up some ninja stars," said Frank as Zara's eyebrows rose. "Oh, and my friend, Larry, he wants me to take a picture of a hooker."

"You know, we really don't take advantage of living in this city," Chandler said.

♡

Both Zara and Monica were home together; Monica was frantically cleaning and Zara was finally finishing up the updated edits for her book. The summer holidays really helped Zara focus on spending her time between planning for the new academic year and writing.

"Zar, I wanted to talk to you," Monica said.

"About what?" Zara questioned.

"Chandler."

At his name, Zara's fingers paused as she froze, lips dropping downwards into a temporary frown. For a moment, the cracks showed before Zara forced herself to act like she didn't care.

"What about him?" Zara tried to act casual.

"Well, it's good to see you both friends again," said Monica. "But I just wanted to make sure you're okay about it all."

"Of course I'm okay," said Zara, though the words came out bitter. "I hope Chandler and Janice are happy together. Maybe Janice is right: I broke Chandler's heart, so he realised he's better off with her."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Monica questioned.

"I'll make myself believe it," Zara told her. "Chandler's moved on, Mon, so maybe it's time I do too."

"You're gonna start dating again?" Monica asked.

"I don't know," Zara confessed. "Right now, I just want to focus on my book."

"You're supposed to find the one when you least expect it, so who knows," Monica said.

Joey came in then as Zara burst out laughing at what he was wearing. It was the work belt with the pencil behind the ear that completed the look, but Zara was impressed that Joey was going all out with this phase of his.

"Hey, where you heading in those pants, 1982?" Monica questioned.

"Oh, Monica, listen," said Joey, helping himself to a beer from the fridge. "I saw down at the hardware store, they got those designer tiles on sale if you ever want to redo your bathroom floor."

"What's wrong with my bathroom floor?" Monica asked.

"Oh, Joe," Zara said. "You sure you wanna go there?"

"Nothing," Joey reassured Monica. "It's just...old and dingy that's all."

Zara flinched at the words, knowing what Monica was like.

"I highly doubt that," said Monica.

"Oh, yeah?" Joey continued, heading towards the bathroom with Zara standing, eager to follow the two to see for herself. "If you uh... move your hamper. You can see the colour the tile used to be."

Peering between the two, Zara saw for herself as Monica gasped.

"Nice one, Joey," said Zara. "Monica won't let this go now."

"I can't live like this," Monica said. "What am I going to do? What are we going to do?"

"Relax, relax," Joey told her. "Here, hold this."

Zara had no choice as she took the beer, where she stole a sip herself that Joey chose to ignore.

"This old stuff comes right up," Joey reassured. "I'll show you."

Getting down on one knee, Joey scraped at the tiles. However, as Zara's eyes fell downwards, she had the sight of a crack appearing.

"A little more than I wanted to see," Monica told him.

"Oh," Joey complained, standing up with a piece of the tiled flooring in his hand. "Look at that. Every inch of this is glued down. It'd take forever to pry this up. You should uh... you should just leave it."

Zara sensed Joey was about to take his beer back before she took another big gulp that Joey protested about. Grinning, Zara handed it over, knowing it annoyed him.

"I can't leave it," Monica stopped him from leaving. "You gouged a hole in my dingy floor."

"Joey, you have to fix this," Zara told him.

Though, Joey's way of fixing the floor was moving the toilet brush into the middle of the bathroom to hide the hole.

"Yeah," said Joey. "There you go."

"Aw..." Monica reacted. "Yeah, that's nice. We can put it back there after the surgeons remove it from your colon."

"I did warn you," Zara told Joey.

♡

The next morning, Zara sat at the table in the kitchen while she ate, watching Phoebe's brother practice his karate. Knowing this was important for Phoebe, Zara remained quiet.

"What kind of karate is that?" Monica asked.

"No kind," said Phoebe with Zara smiling in response. "He just makes it up."

"How's it going with you guys?" Monica questioned.

"Yeah, what's it like having a brother?" Zara asked.

"So far it kind of blows," Phoebe confessed. "I don't know, I just thought, you know, that... he'd feel more like a brother. You know, like you and Ross. Just like close and connected and..."

"Oh, honey, we're close now," said Monica. "But you wouldn't believe the years of noogies and wedgies and flying wedgies and atomic wedgies and... That's when the waistband actually goes over your head."

"Oh, I know," Zara sighed.

"Happened to you?" Monica guessed.

"No," Zara laughed at that. "Everyone was too scared of me at school to even try, but I've had to scold a few kids at school."

"Ever heard of the shadow game?" Monica questioned. "We used to drive each other crazy playing that."

"I hate that game," Zara instantly snapped.

"How do you play the shadow game?" Phoebe asked.

"How do you play the shadow game?" Monica repeated.

"I just asked you."

"I just asked you."

"I don't have time for this."

"No, that is what the game is," Monica explained.

"You just gave up really quickly," Phoebe told her, standing from the chair.

The door opened as Chandler entered, looking frustrated. "Have you seen Joey?"

"What's he done now?" Zara asked.

"What's the matter?" Monica questioned.

"Oh, just..." Chandler turned, pointing to the lid that was stuck to his bottom. "This!" The three tried not to laugh as Chandler rose his hands, trying to give the impression that he wasn't that bothered. "You know what, it's my fault really because the couch is where we usually keep the varnish."

"Hey, somebody want to hand me one of those tiles?" Joey shouted from the bathroom, where he was busy replacing Monica's floor.

"What's going on?" Chandler questioned.

"He's retiling my floor," Monica told him, following after Chandler.

"Yo!" Chandler exclaimed at that bathroom door. "Spackle boy. Get up!"

"Ah-ah," Monica told him. "You started this, you will finish it."

"He started mine first," Chandler complained.

"Build the unit, Cinderelly," said Phoebe next to Zara. "Lay the tiles, Cinderelly."

Though, it took Joey a long time to finish the bathroom flooring as they eventually gathered to see it. Zara peered down at the black and white tiles, relieved that Monica will be settled after this.

"It's beautiful," said Monica. "It's like the first bathroom floor there ever was."

Chandler walked up behind them with Monica quick to stop him, placing a hand on his chest. "Whoa," she told him. "What are you going in there for?"

"You want, like, a number?" Chandler questioned.

Zara walked away from the bathroom with the two, hovering near the fridge to catch Joey's attention while has in this phase.

"Hey, Joe," said Zara. "Now that you're done with Monica's floor, could you do me a favour?"

"What do you need?" Joey asked.

"There's kind of a hole in my bedroom wall," Zara whispered.

Joey smirked. "Oh, yeah?"

"Nothing like that," Zara told him. "It's Chandler's fault anyway."

"What's Chandler's fault?" Monica questioned.

Zara sighed as Chandler's body turned, eyes falling on her. "Nothing."

"Hey," said Joey, tapping Zara's arm. "I got you, I'll fix it."

"Fix what?" Monica caught on.

"Just a small hole," Zara reassured. "It's nothing."

"Where?" Monica demanded.

"Oh, that hole," Chandler realised. "I thought you fixed it?"

"No, the door just hid it," Zara confessed.

"What did you both do?" Joey questioned.

Rachel laughed. "Are we sure we want to know?"

"About Zara and I having sex?" Chandler questioned. "That never happened."

Zara scowled at him. "It happened because..." But Zara remembered that it was kind of because they were focused on other things. "The door just swung too hard. It's still Chandler's fault."

"You opened the door," Chandler said.

"You slammed it into the wall," Zara reminded him.

"Sounds like it was both your fault," Monica told them.

The two shrugged, feeling a bit awkward with the memories that lingered.

"I'll fix it," Joey reassured both Zara and Monica.

Fortunately, the front door opened then with Ross that spared the room from any more awkwardness. Zara couldn't bring herself to look at Chandler, knowing she had fallen back into the past with her heart trapped again.

But, with Ross here, Chandler had hurried to use the bathroom.

"Okay," said Ross. "I'm done with my choices. These are final."

"Well, it's about time," Rachel told him.

"Yeah, very official," Joey commented.

"Oh, yeah," Ross said, knowing the spotted the laminated card. "Well, you know, Chandler printed it up on his computer."

"And who laminated it?" Monica asked.

"That was me," Ross admitted.

"You're such a nerd," Zara teased him.

Ross frowned but Rachel took the card from him. "All right, let me see. Huh... Uma Thurman, Winona Ryder, Elizabeth Hurley, Michelle Pfeiffer...Dorothy Hamill?"

They all looked at Ross, shocked by that one.

"Hey, it's my list," Ross reminded them.

"Okay, honey, you do realise she only spins like that on ice," Rachel told him.

♡

Once Joey had fixed the hole in Zara's room, they had all headed over to the guys' place to lift up the new shelving unit. Hopefully, after this, Joey's phase would be over.

"Okay, on three," Chandler informed them. "One, two..."

"Why don't we just go on two?" Joey suggested.

"Why two?" Chandler questioned.

"Because it's faster," Joey answered.

"Is it?" Zara demanded.

"I could have counted to three, like four times without all this two talk," Chandler said.

"All right, but in the future..."

"Okay, okay," Ross cut in. "Heavy thing, not getting lighter."

"Okay," said Chandler. "One, two..."

"So we are going with two?" Joey questioned.

Everyone groaned in response with their frustration being enough to push the large shelving unit upwards. Once it was standing, they all admired the new piece of furniture that was too big to fit in the space, where it was now blocking the bedroom doors.

"A good job, Joe," Chandler commented.

"Wow," said Joey. "It's big."

"Something you're not used to, right?" Zara guessed.

Joey simply gave Zara a look, which only made her smirk.

"So big that it actually makes our doors look smaller," Chandler said.

"Maybe my rulers wrong," Joey suggested.

"Maybe all the rulers are wrong," Phoebe pointed out.

"Look, it's not that bad," Joey defended his creation. "So what? It blocks a little of your door, a little of my door."

"Yeah, you know what?" Chandler replied. "I got a better idea. How about it blocks none of my door and a lot of your door."

Though, Chandler struggled to move the shelving unit by himself. To Zara, it seemed it was stuck staying as she certainly wasn't lifting it again.

"Okay," said Joey. "Listen, before I forget, that side is still wet."

♡

EPISODE SIX.

♡

Once again, the group sat together in their usual spot in the coffee house. Zara shared the small table with Joey, where she avoided looking at Chandler and Janice. Soon, maybe, Zara would be able to forget all about the two being together (well, she hoped).

"Okay, Janice has a question," she said with a smile. "Who, of the seven of you, has slept with who of the seven of you."

"Wow, it's like a dirty math problem," Phoebe commented.

But even with Phoebe's words, all eyes had landed on Zara, who had decided to tune out of the conversation in the hope that she would be ignored.

"I don't mean Chandler and Zara," Janice laughed, shooting Zara a wink. "I know all about that."

Zara's eyes widened at that, where she really did not want to think about what happened that night between the three of them. The only reassurance Zara had was that Chandler was too awkward for a threesome, but still, who exactly knew?

"Chandler's not the only one," Rachel snitched.

Zara glared at her friend, witnessing the entertaining joy on Rachel's face.

"Who?" Janice asked, shocked. "Ross?"

"Absolutely not," Zara stated very firmly.

"Ouch," said Ross. "But, no, definitely not."

Janice started to laugh again. "Joey?"

There was silence at that, where not even Joey had anything to say.

"I want to hear all about that," Janice decided. "But, come on, Zara can't be the only one. Over the years, none of you ever got, you know drunk and stupid? I'm sorry, I just find it hard to believe that a group of people who spends as much time together as you guys do has never bumped uglies."

"There was that one time," said Joey. "That Monica and Rachel got together."

"What?" The two exclaimed.

"Excuse me," said Rachel. "There was no time."

"Okay, but let's say there was," Joey suggested. "How might that go?"

"Okay, okay," said Janice. "Well, Joey, why don't we start with you and Zara?"

♡

At twenty-one, Zara sat alone in a bar.

It was shameful to be sitting there with no one — but, Zara was too ashamed to go back to her dormitory to her roommate. Going back meant stating what had happened: Zara had been a fool, believing that she had been enough for someone to choose to love her.

And, yet, here she was — alone again.

The loneliness was a constant haunting for Zara; a shadow that had remained since the very day she had been born. So, Zara did what she did best: she comforted herself with her own company.

That should be enough. Zara had always told herself it was enough.

But Zara had felt a glimpse of love with Marnie. The magic in Zara's dreams had come to life, but she had also drowned, letting love consume her until she could no longer breathe. Of course, Zara had seen the red flags — had seen the cracks — but love kept her blind.

Marnie was gone while Zara was nursing her drink, completely clueless.

"Oh, come on," said a man next to Zara.

On the screen above, the Nicks were playings against the Celtics. As Zara's eyes fell on the screen, the Celtics were in the lead, and then, Zara's head turned, spotting the man who had cried out. He was sitting next to Zara, drinking a beer. Zara spotted his black hair first, always being a sucker for guys with dark hair, especially as a few strands had fallen, covering his forehead.

Catching Zara's stare, he grinned. "Hey."

"Hey," said Zara.

The smile only widened as the man turned his body towards Zara. "How you doin'?"

Zara only laughed, looking away from the guy as she could tell that was definitely a cringe pickup line that he most likely used on a thousand women. Taking a sip of her drink, Zara's gaze returned to the screen.

"I'll be good if the Celtics win," Zara said instead, knowing the man supported the other team.

It got the reaction Zara had been hoping for.

"I knew you were too good to be true."

"You don't know me," Zara reminded him.

"True," said the man. "Let's start with a name?"

"Just for you to forget it tomorrow morning, right?" Zara replied.

The man laughed at that. "I don't think I could forget your name, sweetheart."

"Oh, yeah," said Zara. "Why's that?"

"Let me buy you a drink and I'll tell you why," the man suggested.

"Okay," said Zara. "I'm Zara."

"Zara," repeated the man, testing her name. "Joey."

Zara smiled, turning her head to catch his gaze again. "Joey."

With one drink, Zara had learnt a little about Joey: he had moved to Manhatten from Queen's and aspired to be an actor, but was also a fan of the Nicks. Zara was surprised that she had moved her chair closer to Joey, though the two were still watching the game too.

"It's your shot," Zara told him, grinning brightly.

On the screen, the Celtics scored as Joey laughed, pushing one of the Tequila shots towards Zara. "Looks like you're doing it with me, Zara."

"You know, for a Knicks fan, you're eager for them to lose."

"This was your idea," Joey reminded her.

Taking the shot, Zara was not one to back down as she clinked the tiny glass with Joey's before the two downed the contents. As the game was coming to a finish, Zara thought about leaving, but Joey was a good distraction.

"So, how about this," said Zara. "If the Celtics win, we'll call it a night."

"And if the Knicks win?" Joey questioned, knowing his team were in the lead.

Zara's hand fell onto Joey's thigh, pretending that she wasn't aware as she held his stare. "Then we check out another bar and see what happens next."

"Come on the Knicks!" Joey cheered.

That caused Zara to laugh, where she felt the familiar temporary relief that someone wanted her to stick around — maybe it was short and would ware of come the morning, but right now it was enough to numb Zara.

As the Kicks won, the two found themselves at another bar, where they had switched to beers and had ordered a few nibbles for their table in the corner. Zara's hand had reached for Joey's nachos but had caught his facial expression.

"You don't share?" Zara guessed.

"Have them," said Joey. "I have a pizza coming too."

"How many ladies have you sacrificed food for, Joey?" Zara asked.

"None," confessed Joey.

"Wow, I must be special," Zara said, laughing. "Though, women are annoying when it comes to dating. They never order any extras and then suddenly want what I have."

Joey paused, looking at Zara. "Wait, are you..."

"I'm bisexual," Zara explained, feeling her heart suddenly pound with nerves. "I like women and men. Is that uh... a problem?"

"Nope," Joey decided. "That's, uh... cool. Very cool."

"You're trying to picture it," Zara realised, throwing one of the nacho chips at him. "That's not cool, you know. But, you're all good, I did hit on you."

Joey grinned at that. "I could tell."

"You know," said Zara, moving closer to him in the booth. "You never told me why you would remember my name come tomorrow morning."

"With the way the night is going, I don't think we have enough time for me to tell you all the reasons why," Joey confessed, ducking his head so the two were inches from each other. "You, Zara, are a surprise."

"And the nights still young," Zara reminded him, finding herself very close to kissing Joey as her heart pounded with a thousand emotions. "Just wait for how it will end."

But before Joey could kiss her, Zara's head tilted with her lips brushing against his cheek, knowing she was torturing the man a little. For Zara, though, she felt the rush of the alcohol, needing more to forget about her own heartbreak.

Men like Joey were easy and the perfect distraction.

Yet, still, Zara was also enjoying herself. Between them, it was not forced, where it felt like perhaps the two had always known each other when they had never met before.

"You're evil, Zara," Joey said with a chuckle.

"You have no idea," Zara told him.

A few drinks later, the two were still close but touchy with Joey's hand on Zara's thigh and his thumb tracing circles on her skin. Zara was very aware that she was wearing a dress and was close to giving in, hoping Joey lived close by.

"So, where do you live?" Joey asked.

Zara smirked. "Hoping to come back?"

"Maybe," said Joey. "Though, my place might be better."

"Why's that?" Zara questioned.

"My roommate is out of town," Joey told her.

"That sounds like the best option," Zara realised. "I still live in dorms, so my roommate will be opposite us — and no, she won't be interested in joining."

Joey chuckled at that. "I must be losing my mind as all I want is you."

"That's another line," Zara noticed.

"Maybe," said Joey. "But I do mean it, Zara."

Zara forced a smile, knowing what was happening: all Joey saw was the glamorised good parts of Zara. Yes, maybe the two had laughed and joked together — maybe they had a few things in common too — but Joey wouldn't care for the real Zara with the troubled past and constant failures.

This Zara that Joey had found tonight was a perfect dream.

No one needed — or cared enough — for the nightmares of Zara's life.

So, to distract herself from those thoughts, Zara finally gave in to the tension between them to distract her ticking mind and aching heart. The first kiss had been opposite to what Zara had expected. Their searing tension between them had melted with the first kiss soft as a feather that tickled Zara deep beneath her skin.

Joey had a tenderness to him that was surprising as his hands fell to Zara's waist, gently holding onto her as if she was delicate. It was Zara who wound her hands around his neck, pushing her body against his, knowing there was no going back now.

"Wow," said Joey after.

"What?" Zara questioned.

"I just wasn't expecting that," Joey confessed.

There was a redness to his cheeks as Zara's fingers touched the skin, knowing Joey was a typical guy, but there was an innocent sweetness to him.

"Neither was I," Zara found herself sharing the truth too. "Can we..."

"Go back to mine?" Joey suggested.

Zara nodded, smiling at him. "Yeah."

"Okay," said Joey, staring at Zara.

The corner of her lips lifted, finding herself amused as Joey just continued to stare at her. For someone who had started with such confidence, he had been melted to a puddle of goo now.

"Joey, now?" Zara encouraged.

"Yeah," Joey agreed. "Yeah. Definitely."

Together, the two took a cab back to Joey's with Zara finding herself surprised again as Joey held onto her hand the whole ride home. It wasn't possessive, but caring and sweet, which still left Zara stunned.

But that missing piece fell into place as the two returned back to Joey's place. There was no time for him to show Zara around. As the lights had barely been turned on, the two had found themselves in each other's hold like magnets.

The sweetness was gone, replaced with the fervour of a storm that had been brewing between them.

Afterwards, when the two had ended up laying next to each other, where they were panting and naked under the covers, they were both in shock. Though, for the two it was for completely different reasons.

"Wow," Joey summarised. "That was..."

But Joey was speechless, unable to describe it.

Zara's heart had stuttered to a stop with her mind finally catching up. With the alcohol fading (or perhaps even fueling the situation), all she could think about was Marnie. The very first person to break Zara's heart had resulted in her tumbling into bed with another.

It was the final crack that meant the break-up was final.

And all Zara could do was cry.

As she burst into tears, Zara tried to hide it from Joey, becoming even more aware of him and humiliated by her reaction. No matter how perfect or incredible it was, it had still not been enough to hide the pain.

Joey scrambled, completely confused about the change.

"Uh, what..." Joey sat up. "I don't... what?"

"I just need a minute," Zara told him.

Wiping her eyes, she tried to stop her heart from shattering. This was not Zara — she was far from being like this or even showing a hint of weakness.

But, of course, Joey had freaked out in response as he stood up from the bed. There was a stutter of words that Zara could barely make out before Joey was picking up his clothes, and fled his own bedroom from Zara.

Unknowing how Zara felt, only made things worse.

Of course, she would end up being left.

♡

When everyone left the coffee house, it had just been Zara and Joey that remained. It was strange to openly visit that night again, where Zara had always blocked it out, vowing to herself to always hate Joey and now they were friends.

"You know, I still can't believe I ran," said Joey.

Turning her head, Zara looked at him from where the two sat on the sofa. "You ran from your home too."

"I didn't run because I didn't care," Joey told her. "I just didn't know what to do."

"You were not the only one," Zara smiled sadly. "Marnie was the first person I ever let myself love and because I finally felt what that was like, I couldn't let myself be alone again."

"So you didn't just use me for sex?" Joey realised.

"You were enough to make me forget," Zara confessed. "But, in the end... it was just the reality of it and then you saw how weak I was—"

"Woah," Joey cut in. "You were not weak for crying."

"It was humiliating," Zara reminded him.

"Maybe so, but everyone cries, Zara," Joey reminded her.

"I guess I thought you saw the real me and ran," Zara said.

"I ran because I was an idiot," Joey told Zara, holding her stare. "But, Zara, I see you now and I wouldn't ever run again."

Zara smiled at him, believing that. "I still can't believe you went back looking for me."

"If it makes you feel better, I look a little crazy asking everyone in that bar if they knew a Zara," said Joey. "Describing you as really hot and way out of my league wasn't enough of a description apparently."

Zara laughed at that. "Maybe it was meant to be that you weren't supposed to find me."

"I found you in the end and now you're one of my best friends," said Joey. "That's a win to me, but I still think about going back to that night."

"Why?" Zara asked.

Deep in her chest, something had sparked to life that startled Zara, clueless as to what it was.

"'Cause I would redo it," Joey explained. "I wouldn't run."

There was a soft smile on Zara's face, believing that their chance had been missed. However, she still surprised them both, as her lips pressed briefly against Joey's cheek.

"You should give yourself more credit," said Zara, where they were close, feeling that spark start to ignite. "For someone who's a lady's man, you're more romantic than you think."

"It's all part of the charm," Joey said, sounding nervous.

"True," Zara agreed. "But I know you, Joe, and I felt it that night too. You're sweet and care more than you think you do. Don't let this get to your head too much, but I don't regret that night anymore."

Joey smirked at that. "I knew it."

"I said don't let it get to your head," Zara reminded him.

"Fine," said Joey. "But don't get all smug about this: you were the best I've ever had."

Zara grinned at him. "I already knew that."

Joey rolled his eyes but he was smiling too.

♡

So how are we feeling about Zara and Joey now?