Chapter 9
After that night’s show, Luke invited Zoe to get some ice cream. “You could meet Ashton’s girlfriend, too,” he said.
“Oh, okay!” Zoe agreed. “What’s her name?”
“Kirsten Lancaster; she’s an old classmate of his.”
“I already can’t wait – let’s go!”
Luke took Zoe to a Cold Stone just off the interstate, where they met up with Ashton and his girlfriend. The girl was brunette and about college age. She was curvy with a petite frame, and when she smiled, Zoe immediately saw what Ashton must’ve seen in her.
“Hey, Ash… Kirsten,” Luke greeted them. “This is my date, Zoe Olson. Zoe, Kirsten Lancaster.”
“It’s nice to meet you!” Kirsten said to Zoe as they shook hands. Her Australian accent was still thick despite having moved to America years ago.
“You, too,” Zoe returned.
After they got their ice cream, and Luke paid for all, the four of them sat down to eat and chat.
“How did you and Ashton meet, Kirsten?” Zoe prompted.
“We were mates from year 1,” Kirsten said. “He’d chase me around the playground during recess, always share with me at lunch… and then, in middle school, we started dating.”
“Oh, that had to be an awkward stage, going from friends to dating.”
Ashton laughed. “Yes, it was a bit awkward at first,” he said. “But we adjusted rather quickly, and when she moved here to the States, at the same time I dropped out for the band, we made a pact to wait for each other.”
“And were you able to keep that pact?” Then, Zoe blushed with embarrassment. Of course, they did, if they were together today. “Oh… sorry, new mom brain.”
“You’re fine,” Kirsten said. “We’re parents as well, to a little girl called Ruby. She’s two years old now.”
“Oh, I have a daughter, too! Her name is Adeline, but she goes by Addie. I had her earlier this week.”
Kirsten’s face lit up. “Oh, is that who you have in the car seat? What a cutie!”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome! So, Luke tells me you two met at Cracker Barrel. How did you manage that?”
“I don’t know, it just happened. We were just both at the right place at the right time.”
“I thought her brother was her boyfriend at first because I saw two menus on her table,” Luke added.
“Yeah, he was using the men’s room when you saw me,” Zoe said to Luke.
“That makes sense. So, what are you doing for school now that you’re a mum?”
“I don’t know,” Zoe confided. “I was thinking of dropping out and just getting my GED later on.”
“Or you could do what I did,” Kirsten said. “You could take online classes. That way, you’ll be able to balance mum life and school life.”
“That’s true. And maybe you could give me some pointers on raising Addie.”
“Of course! I love your accent, by the way. Where are you from?”
“Shepherdsville, Kentucky, just south of Louisville.”
“I’m from Hornsby, New South Wales, just northwest of Sydney.”
“That’s cool.”
“Kirsten, is that ice cream on your lips?” Ashton asked his girlfriend. “I can wipe it off for you.”
“Ashton, not now!” Kirsten protested. “There are children.”
“What, a bloke can’t kiss a chick in public?”
Ashton leaned in, cupped Kirsten’s chin in his hand, and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. Unable to resist the taste, Kirsten leaned into the kiss as well, and next thing, they were making out on the floor.
“Er, y’all need to get a room,” a passing employee said when she saw the couple practically having sex in the middle of Cold Stone. “We can’t have this behavior.”
Kirsten and Ashton froze for a second before Ashton helped her stand up. He cleared his throat and asked Kirsten if she wanted to go back to the room.
“Yes, I’d love to,” Kirsten said. “I hope Zoe and Luke don’t mind.”
“Nah, go ahead,” Luke said.
Just then, a familiar song came over the speakers in the ice cream parlor. It was the same song Luke and Zoe had heard when they walked into the seafood place. Luke smiled when she did.
“You like this song,” he assumed.
“Isn’t this the same song we heard at the seafood place?” Zoe asked.
Luke gasped. “Oh, yeah – it’s the one we heard on our way in! You have a good memory.”
“Thank you. I wonder, how good is yours?”
Luke laughed. “Well, I remember every lyric to every song we’ve performed. I kind of have to, though, so I don’t screw up onstage.”
“Well, you don’t have that much material yet, so that’s not surprising. What color was my dress?”
“Mint green,” Luke said confidently. “And before that, you were wearing pink. Now, what was I wearing at the concert, since you were so into me?”
“Easy! You were rocking a Radiohead tee and ripped jeans.”
“You’re pretty smart. I like that in a girl.”
“What else do you like in a girl?” Zoe wanted to know.
“Well, I like a girl with a sense of humor who likes the same things I do and has a similar personality.”
“So, what would you say is your personality type?”
“I’m very much a hopeless romantic. You already know about my bad luck with girls, right?”
“I do, yeah. Marcus was my first relationship, so I can’t really say the same.” Zoe sighed. “We were supposed to get engaged and married after high school and save up enough money to buy our own house.”
“Hey, don’t be sad! You’ve got me now! Where’s that smile I love so much?” Zoe slowly offered Luke a smile. “There it is!”
Watching Zoe lick away at her ice cream cone made Luke want more of her. Not just another date, but MORE. More, as in wanting to kiss her. He knew he shouldn’t go too far because Zoe was still a student and already a mother, but… good God, he just wanted a taste of those lips!
“Zo?” Luke asked.
“Hmm?” Zoe said licking her lips for ice cream remnants. This made Luke feel something… down there.
Oh, hell no! He could feel himself getting hard, and he didn’t like it. He knew his boundaries with Zoe, and his body was currently going in the complete wrong direction for abstinence.
@Nevermind_Nezuko idk how comfy you are with sex, so I can either skip the sexc scene or just say they had sex
