“Wow. So you knew Zacky back when he was a kid?” Jonathan laughed.
Danielle laughed. “Yeah. Actually I dated his brother.”
Silence engulfed the table as Jonathan looked quickly to Zach. There may have been a time where Zach had told Jonathan about Isaac…and Danielle. And from the sorrowful look on Jonathan’s face, he remembered the story.
He winced as he glanced over at Danielle. “I’m so sorry.”
Danielle’s smile faltered as she cleared her throat and took a drink. When she returned it to the table she took a deep breath. “Thanks. It was a long time ago.”
Zach could feel her looking at him and he couldn’t help it, he had to look. She was watching him and he could tell, she had bad news.
“Which is why it was great to see you, but I think we should make this our only catch up.”
The air thickened with tension. Jonathan must have caught on because he tapped the table and said, “I, um…I’ll give you guys some privacy.”
Zach nodded in Jonathan’s direction but kept his gaze on Danielle. What was she talking about? Why couldn’t they be friends?
“Why are you acting like this?” Spilled from his lips.
Danielle’s eyes widened, but she held her ground. “Zach, seriously? With our history, we’d be fools to try to start up again, even if it’s just a friendship.”
A hollow feeling settled in Zach’s gut as he listened to her words. What was he supposed to say to that? How could he defend himself without coming out desperate? It was hard to want to appear vulnerable with a person who was about to rip your heart out…again.
“That was the past. I thought we’d be able to move on from it.”
Danielle’s smile faded and Zach could tell that she was having a hard time fighting whatever it was inside of her that was pushing her away. “Zach, your parents hate me. We have so much history, a Shakespeare play could be based on it.” She forced the sides of her lips up. There it was again. The not-genuine, forced smile he knew all too well. “It’s just better to let the past be the past.” Then she leaned forward for what he assumed was an effort to be comforting but it just felt demeaning. “Which reminds me, I’ve been assigned to write an exposé on you this summer. Something about upping the teams sponsorship. I think we can both agree that it’s a bad idea.”
Zach studied her, letting her words sink in. “What?”
She sighed as she straightened. “I’m supposed to film what the popular NFL players are doing over the summer and was assigned to you. I would appreciate it if you asked for someone else.”
Wow. This was a whole new low. It was one thing to ask him to be realistic about their relationship but for her to think that he couldn’t even be professional despite the past, perhaps she didn’t know him as well as he thought.
In a desperate attempt to protect himself, Zach stood so fast he almost knocked over a passing waiter. He cleared his throat as he pushed his hands through his hair. He had so much pent-up frustration and anger, he needed to expel it in one way or another.
“I don’t think I’m going to do that,” he said as he steadied his voice and met her head on.
Danielle’s eyebrows rose as she too scooted out of the booth and faced him. From her planted feet and focused expression, he knew he was in for a fight.
“Are you serious? Why can’t you respect my wishes?”
He scoffed. “I will when they aren’t ridiculous. I’m a professional. If you think I’m going to let the past get in the way of that, then you’re a fool.”
She pressed her hands on her hips as she stared up at him. “You can’t just give me this? There are hundreds of reporters in Georgia. Request for one of them to do it.”
He set his jaw as he thought about that for a moment, but then he gave her a confident smile and shook his head. “Nope. I don’t think I’m going to do that.”
Her face reddened. “Zach, please.”
He almost let her desperate voice sway him but then he shook his head. “I’ll see you this summer,” he said as he gave her a wink—which he didn’t feel bad about—and then turned on her stunned expression and parted lips.
He didn’t wait for her to answer as he made his way through the crowded club. Once he located Jonathan at the bar, he walked up and leaned both arms on the countertop, trying to ignore how sticky the marble was. After flagging down the bartender, he ordered another beer and took a deep breath.
Jonathan clapped him on the back, but didn’t bring up Danielle, which Zach was grateful for.
After a few minutes of sitting there in silence, Jonathan asked, “What shall we do?”
Zach closed his eyes as Danielle’s annoying, yet beautiful face flashed in his mind. There was only one way he knew of gettingover a girl. He hated it because of the hangover that would hit him tomorrow, but for now, he needed to forget. So he sighed, signaled the bartender for another beer and turned to Jonathan. “Get wasted.”
