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Oooooooooooooooooooo
Half an hour later, Zoe had showered, applied light make up and chosen a cute, short black dress with matching heels to wear to dinner. She met her brother in his room. He was wearing black slacks and dress shoes with a plain light grey dress shirt.
He smiled at her when she came in and wrapped his arm around her.
"You look great Zoe, all grown up now." He told her.
They walked like that, arms around each other, smiling and laughing like old friends all the way to the downstairs restaurant which -- according to Jeremy -- was very good.
The waiter put them on a table for two and served them expensive looking wine, which Jeremy ordered after informing her the drinking age was 21 in the U.S.A., not that Zoe wasn't already aware of that slight dilemma. They ordered expensive lamb chops and seafood platters, drinking, laughing and eating the night away.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Peter had finished his dinner and moved to the bar. He'd icily ordered a scotch on the rocks and turned away from the flirtatious young bartender to watch the people flow in and take seats.
When he saw her walk in he'd almost choked. He rubbed his eyes, cursing at his mind for imagining her. He knew his mind had to be playing tricks on him. Zoe wasn't even in America, let alone New York, or this very hotel. She was back in London. He rubbed his eyes but she was still there. As he watched her strut across the floor, arm around some handsome young man, as the eyes of every other man in the restaurant trailed after her, he began to doubt himself less and less. What the fuck was she doing here.
His gaze followed her then entire night, she was seated with her back to him but he caught the eye of the handsome boy she was with more than once. The way they laughed and talked, the love the boy looked at her with, he felt jealousy rising in his chest and he fought it down with the drink in his hand. The longer he watched, the surer he became of two things. The first was that this was her, he wasn't going crazy -- Zoe was here, in New York in the exact same hotel as him. And the second was that he was falling. Hard.
He clenched his jaw and with two fingers, beckoned a waiter over.
Peter gestured to Zoe, "A scotch on the rocks -- your most expensive. For her." He said, nodding at Zoe.
The waiter followed his gaze and nodded.
"Ah, the gem of the night." He nodded. "You're the first gentleman brave enough to buy her a drink while she's still sitting with another man."
Peter couldn't help but feel anger rise when the waiter said 'another man'.
Did he really think he should be her man? Her one and only man at that? Why did it bother him so much? Why the fuck was he buying his student a drink? He wondered suddenly.
The young man she was sitting with was definitely intimidating and her attention was focused solely on him. Enough to discourage apparently, every other man in the room from making a move on her. The young man was tall, about the same height as Peter himself and equally as muscled. He was intimidatingly handsome and looked bright, with intelligent knowing eyes and an air of charming confidence and reservedness.
Peter however felt only jealous and angry, not intimidated. Peter kept his eyes glued to her as the waiter poured the drink and carried it over to her.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Zoe was surprised when the waiter handed her a drink. A scotch on the rocks. She frowned, usually no one bought her drinks when she was with Jeremy, especially not scotch. It looked expensive.
"From the gentlemen over there by the bar" the waiter informed her in a thick American accent.
Jeremy's mouth curled into a snarl "He's been staring at you all night. I don't like the way he looks at you Zoe. You should send it back." Jeremy told her.
Zoe frowned and turned to where the waiter had pointed. She regretted taking a sip of wine, she almost spat it across the floor when her eyes met his. She couldn't believe her eyes. She had to be imagining him, there was no way he could be here.
"Zoe, are you ok? You look pale, look just send the drink back and we can leave if you want." Jeremy said, concerned.
"No, I'm fine. I will walk over there myself and give it back to him." She told her brother.
"No way, I'm not letting you walk over to some random guy in a bar." Jeremy told her sternly.
"I want to make sure he gets the message." Zoe said, already standing up.
"Well then I'm coming with you." Jeremy said, starting to stand up too.
"No." She snapped so forcefully he sat back down immediately. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. Don't worry about me, I get this all the time -- I can look after myself now Jez." She reassured her brother.
He looked up at her guiltily, "Yeah, I know," he said. And with that she picked up the drink and stalked over to Peter.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
The shock was unmistakable when she turned and saw him. She looked as if she was going to spit her drink across the floor. Peter held her gaze steady, unwavering. He was however, surprised when, after a brief conversation with the man she was with, she got up a marched toward him.
She stopped in front of him, clearly unimpressed. Neither of them spoke for a moment.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed after a moment.
"Me? What are you doing here? You're like 18, you're not meant to be travelling the world in your school holidays." Peter told her, disbelieving.
"I can do what I want. Why are you here?" She asked again.
"A teacher's conference." He blurted, "You don't want that?" he asked, reaching for the scotch in her hand.
She put her hand out to stop him then turned away slightly and took a long gulp. It was smooth scotch. Very expensive - she could tell. She handed the rest back to him and he drained the glass.
It occurred to Peter that this was the most they had spoken in weeks. He missed talking to her, he knew it. She was one of the brightest young students in the school, undoubtedly, and he got along with her very well. If only he hadn't screwed it up by falling for her.
"Where are your parents?" he asked, seemingly bored and nervous at the same time.
"London." She shrugged.
He frowned. "You're here alone?" he asked.
"I'm not alone" she frowned now and gestured over her shoulder to where the young man was sitting, glaring at Peter.
"Ah, new boy toy?" he asked.
Peter saw the anger blaze in her eyes and he knew he'd gotten it wrong.
"Boy toy?" she repeated angrily.
Peter shrunk back slightly, "Sorry, that was rude, I didn't really mean that. Do you like him? Like really like him?" he asked, softly, his gaze dropping slowly to the ground with each word.
Zoe's face changed and she started laughing "Oh my god, you're jealous?" she asked, laughing harder now.
Peter could feel colour rising in his face and the fact that he was embarrassed and unsure, only made him more so. He was always confident around women. He didn't understand.
Zoe was almost howling with laughter now and he tried briefly to get her to stop.
"He's my brother." She managed through gasps.
Peter felt the anger and jealousy melt away, replaced with embarrassment and stupidity.
"Oh." He managed.
Zoe turned, still chuckling to herself, "Well I'll see you around I suppose then, I better get back to my 'date'." She mocked him as she walked off, chuckling.
Peter took a long swig of his scotch and rested his head in hands, feeling the embarrassment and shame slowly fade with the numbing of the alcohol.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
"What was that about?" Jeremy frowned as she gathered her things, already deciding they were done for the night.
She smiled at him, "Turns out he's actually a really funny guy." Zoe shrugged.
"Why'd you drink his scotch? I saw that." Jeremy informed her.
Zoe ignored him and chuckled to herself, "He was totally jealous, he thought you were my boyfriend." She laughed.
Jeremy just looked at her with a completely puzzled look on her face.
Zoe shook her head and waved her hand at him, "Don't worry about it. It's fine." She assured him, and with that she took his arm and led him back to their rooms, kissing Jeremy on the cheek before saying goodnight to him and heading into her own room.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Once she was safely back in her room, Zoe slipped the card from her purse where she'd hidden it. She looked at it and smiled, Mr. Oakley had no idea. She'd never really stolen anything in her life but slipping the business card from his wallet had been far easier than she'd expected.
She turned it over in her hands. His name and number were on the back. Tutoring services. She smiled to herself, he would be a good tutor. She slipped the black dress off and slipped a hoody over her lacy lingerie. She dug around in her suitcase for her phone. She had a few missed calls and a good dozen texts -- she ignored them. Slowly she dialled his number and let it sit there while she looked down at it.
She wasn't the kind of girl to mess with a man and she never really called men either -- they usually called her. She hated the idea that he might think this was just a booty call or a joke -- a way to get back at him or something. The truth was that after seeing him again today, she couldn't ignore him anymore. Or more to the point she couldn't ignore herself. She was pulled to him, like a tug at her heart and it was killing her to ignore it. She tried not to but she knew she felt something, she had to find out what it was, if he felt it too.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and pressed ring.
Zoe wasn't a half in half kind of girl. She had guts and she didn't hang up after the first ring or the second, or the third.
"Hello?" his deep voice cut through the line. "Who is this?" he asked.
Zoe paused a moment, her voice stuck slightly in her throat. He sounded so sexy, the alcohol thickening his words.
"Zoe. It's Zoe." She said quietly.
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"Zoe?" he sounded awake now and she couldn't help but smile sadly.
"Yeah. Look, I know this is like really inappropriate or whatever, but... I need to see you." She said.
He didn't reply and so she continued. "You know how I said I need time to think? Well, I have had some time and it's killing me. Trying to ignore you and -- look, can we just meet somewhere?" She trailed off.
There was silence on the other end.
After a moment, he seemed to register. "Oh, um, yeah sure, sure. Of course. Where do you want to meet?" he asked. "By the way, how did you get my number?" he asked.
"That doesn't matter. Look, I know this sounds weird, but do you want to come by my room?" She asked slowly. "You don't have to come in or anything, we can just talk in the hall if you want, it's just that, it's getting kind of late you know." She added.
"Yeah, yeah, of course. What's your room number?" he asked, sounding more than slightly unsure.
"27A" she told him.
"Ok, I'll... see you soon I guess." He said, and with that he hung up.
Zoe took the phone slowly from her ear. She stared at it in her hand for a moment. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Why was she so nervous? She was usually quite confident with guys, telling them she didn't date, that she didn't want to give her their numbers or go home with them. Mr. Oakley.... Peter, was different.
She got up, looking at herself in the mirror, the sleeves of the oversized hoody covering her hands and reaching down to mid-thigh. It was Jack's she realised. She smiled sadly, it still smelt lightly like him despite the months it had spent in her possession.
Zoe wondered if she should change. What would she change into? Jeans? A dress? She took so long trying to decided that she was startled by the knock on the door.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Peter's heart was pounding. His mind was screaming at him to run back to his room, to stay where he wouldn't see her, be tempted, break the law. But his heart was pulling, tugging him closer and closer, satisfied only by her side. His hands were sweaty as he ran them through his hair. He pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it with shaky hands.
He took a deep puff to calm his nerves and raised his hand to knock on the door.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Before she could debate outfits any further her legs carried her to the door and breathless, she flung it open. He was dishevelled, shirt sleeves rolled up, cigar hanging from the corner of his mouth, light stubble growing across his jaw and his shirt unbuttoned far enough to reveal the smooth muscular chest she'd admired at the gym.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
She looked more beautiful than ever, her hair was like a long waterfall around her gorgeous face and her long, tanned legs on display in just an oversized hoody. He clenched his jaw as he imagined running his hand up her smooth, toned thighs, pushing the hoody higher until he discovered what lay beneath.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
They just stood and stared at each other for a moment.
They both moved forward at the same time.
"Zoe..." Peter said.
His hand slid around her waist and her hand moved around his neck, tangling her fingers in dishevelled hair. His breath smelt of smoke and scotch. He flicked the cigar away with his spare hand.
"I hate ignoring you." Zoe blurted. "I know nothing can happen between us..." she trailed off.
"Zoe-"Peter tried.
"Sh. Let me finish." She cut him off. "I know nothing can happen between us, but that doesn't mean I don't want it to." She paused. "It's not that I didn't believe you when you told me how you felt. It's that I couldn't. If I let myself believe you, then it would only hurt more when we couldn't be together." She looked up at him earnestly.
Peter's face twisted slightly and he pulled back. "I know."
He paused, pulling his emotions back inside, guarding his face carefully. He'd let this go on far too long already. And coming by her room? He had not thought that through. He'd told himself it was just so they could apologies, smoothen the crinkles in their student-teacher relationship and just move on with life. But he knew that what he really wanted was for her to pull him into her room and make love to him.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come by, I don't know what I was thinking." He paused, face steady, eyes cold. "I think its best if we don't see each other anymore." He said, and with that he turned and walked away before she could see him break.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Zoe stood in the door way, frozen, confused. She knew that they couldn't be together, deep down she knew he was doing the right thing. But she knew what she wanted and no matter how she tried to look at it, he rejected her. And god did it hurt.
She didn't ever go after men. She'd never really been rejected before. She'd had crushes on guys who showed minimal interest and she supposed that was mostly what this was. But for some reason this felt different. All the other times, she'd just felt mild disappointment but then some other guy would ask her out and she'd regain her self-esteem and realise she didn't even want a douche bag high school boy friend anyway.
This was different though. This hurt. She watched him walk away down the hall way then she closed the door and slid to ground. She sat there, biting her lip to stop it from trembling.
After almost half an hour just like that, Zoe pulled out her phone and called the one person she knew she could always count on.
It was late there but he picked up after the third ring.
"Jack, thank god." She said.
"Hey Zo, what's up? Everything ok?" he asked, sounding groggy from sleep.
"Ugh, this is dumb, I just wanted someone to talk to." she told him.
"It's ok, just start from the start. Tell me everything, I'll listen." He reassured her.
So, she told him all about her no-chance meeting with Mr. Oakley and he listened quietly the whole time.
When she'd finished, he took a breath and said "Look, Zoe, this whole thing sounds like no matter what happens it won't end well. You're better off to not get involved and cut it off early." He paused again. "Maybe you should, I don't know, get out and party while you're in New York. Have a fling or something to help you get over it."
"A rebound?" Zoe asked. "We weren't even really a thing, besides, that's not really me." She told him.
"But you felt something for him, didn't you?" Jack asked.
Zoe didn't answer.
"Besides, falling for a teacher definitely isn't like you either so you're normal 'pretend it never happened' probably won't work." He told her.
He had a point, different problems required different solutions. Besides, this was New York, she could let lose just this once and have some fun.
"Ok. I'll try your approach. Just this once." She smiled.
"Good, I'm full of wisdom." He replied.
"Well, I'll let you get back to sleep. Goodnight Jack." She said.
"Goodnight Zoe, stay safe." He told her.
"Oh and Jack?" she asked.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. It's really good to talk to you like this again." She said.
He didn't reply but she could tell he was smiling.
"Bye."
"Goodnight."
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Peter was angry. Angry and hurt. He knew it was his fault, he never should have gotten this involved. This was all him. The drunken kiss which started this all. Everything. It was his fault.
He stumbled out into the night. Before long he was at a fight club. He didn't know what it was called and he didn't know where he was, but it wasn't hard to find in New York. They handed him a pair of shabby wraps, some old shorts, threw down their money and pushed him into the ring.
The crowd drank and yelled, booing and oooing at every hit. Peter didn't know how many people he fought, he didn't know how many hits he took and he didn't know how many times he got up off the ground. By the time the sun rose, he'd had far too much to drink and he'd been knocked out at least twice.
When he was younger, he'd used to fight in the streets. He had been somewhat of a troubled kid. He'd grown up in a fight gym in the shady parts of London. He didn't really know why he became a teacher and he was lucky the owners of the fight gym loved him like a son. They'd poured every cent they earnt into his education, giving him opportunities he never thought he'd get. But he still loved to fight. Especially when he was hurt and angry.
Peter stumbled back to the hotel in the early hours of the morning, he looked like a mess but felt more alive than ever. He had a brief nap, 3 cups of coffee, patched his wounds, had a shower and headed out for the first day of his teaching conference.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Zoe had breakfast with her brother at a cute café downtown, enjoying the different smells and noises of the strange city. After that he wished her a good day, told her to be safe alone in the city and headed off to work.
Zoe wasted no time exploring, she'd already booked a city tour for that afternoon. She spent time wandering through the streets, smiling at the people's accents as they went about their daily business. She went through various shops, admiring cute clothes and vowing to go on a shopping spree one day when she wouldn't have to carry a dozen bags through a full city tour.
She had lunch at a sports bar, something she mused, which was quite different to London. She knew London had sports bars, but America was different, they showed ice hockey, baseball and football. Bearded men with thick accents and breath stinking of alcohol filling the bar stools. She was surprised by how easily she was able to get into the bar considering she was almost 3 years' underage but she guessed she was fairly mature.
She made her way to the tour just in time to hop on the bus, she took the first available seat she found. She looked across at the young man she'd sat next to. She was surprised to find a good-looking American man.
