Getting to the zoo was both enjoyable and a little surreal. Michael held her hand the entire time and she started to feel like they were kind of a real couple. Everyone was treating them like they were a real couple. Michael was acting like they were a real couple. Heck, she was managing to act like they were a real couple, even if she felt like an awkward fraud and a nervous, bumbling mess.
Sharon’s ridiculous antics helped her forget her nerves though.As long as Sharon kept up her rapid chatter, Elliecouldn’t focus on whether or not she was ready to act like a girlfriend. She couldn’t worryif she was leading Michael on or start feeling panicked about all the different ways this could go wrong when she was too busy laughing at Sharon’s outrageous behavior.
It didn’t take long before the group started to fall apart once they were inside the zoo.There were three main groups, plus Sharon.
Bringing up the rear were Angel, Adam, Jared, Leigh, and Olivia. Olivia and Adam both seemed to feel the need to read every single bit of information the zoo offered about each animal, which made Angel complain, so Leigh was helping to keep her entertained and Jared just seemed to be along for the ride. It was entirely possible Adam was just trying to get back at Angel for wearing her “Knocked Up Baby Momma” shirt out in public by being slow. If that was his goal, he was definitely on his way to achieving it, but Ellie thought he might just honestly enjoy reading all the facts. She made a mental note never to visit a museum with him.
In the middle, although somewhat loosely strung along, were Jessica, Justin, Chris, Hilary, Liam, Maria, and Rick. Jessica kept trying to move faster but Justin kept pulling her back, while Liam had a tendency to wander and Hilary kept having to drag him back over to where everyone else was. Rick and Maria ambled along, looking far too cutely content.
Leading the way down the paths were Ellie, Michael, Lexie, Patrick, Andrew, Kate, and Jake. Ellie had a feeling Lexie would have been a little slower on her own, but she wanted to give Jake an excuse to be with the front group; mostly because being in the lead group allowed him to be closest to where Sharon was.
Sharon had not at all been feigning her excitement about the zoo. She was like a little kid on crack, and her joy was infectious as she ran back and forth between exhibits, not at all unhappy to revisit one whenever she realized everyone else had fallen behind again. Even Jake’s feigned grumpy demeanor couldn’t quite hold up against her excitement, and more than once Ellie saw him smiling as he watched Sharon pressing her face up against the glass of the otters or leaning over the fence above the tiger enclosure. He also shifted closer like he was ready to grab her if she fell over, even though there was a safety ledge on the other side of the fence and not even the slightest risk of danger.
For herself, Ellie just enjoyed the strange feeling of being part of a normal couple.
It hadn’t been her plan for the day, but it was happening and part of her just wanted to pretend. Besides, it wasn’t entirely a pretense. They did have a contractually spelled out relationship in the club. They were friends outside of it. Just because Michael held her hand, was constantly standing close enough their shoulders were touching, and kept giving her little glances and smiles which made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside, didn’t mean she had to panic about where things were going.
Helped by distractions from animals and Sharon’s craziness, as well as making sure they didn’t get too far ahead of everyone else, she was actually able to just stay in the moment and enjoy herself.
******
“What’s Angel doing?”
The question had Michael turning around. His brain was trying to tell him something important… something about Angel and the zoo.Scanning the crowd looking for Angel, his eyes zeroed in on her almost immediately.Oh yeah. He remembered now.
Angel was sprawled over the edge of the prairie dog enclosure making little clucking noises down at them. He wasn’t close enough to hear the noises, but he knew exactly what was going on.He’d visited the zoo with her before, although it was years ago. Looked like some things never changed.
“Come on,” he said, starting forward and keeping his grip on Ellie’s hand so she came along with him. “We might as well go back and see what Adam wants to do.”
“Do?” Kate asked, looking confused.
“She’s going to be there a while and I’m not waiting for her,” Michael said, gesturing ahead to where Angel was propped. Beside her, Leigh looked highly amused as she watched Adam trying to get his fiancé’s attention, with little success. “Besides, I’m getting hungry. We might as well regroup and see if anyone wants food.”
“I want food, but I just want to get it from one of the stands and keep moving,” Sharon said, catching up with them just in time to hear the end of Michael’s statement. Behind her, Jake followed along with a somewhat bemused expression on his face, Lexie and Patrick just behind him. Although he knew the women had plotted this zoo outing to get some extra time for him and Ellie outside of the club - and he thoroughly appreciated their efforts because it really did feel like he and Ellie were out on a date even if it was a group date - the most revealing part of today had actually not been Ellie’s willingness to hold his hand and act like they were on a date. Nope, the most revealing part of today had been watching Jake and Sharon needle each other, then observe Jake doing his best to keep up with Sharon while pretending he was doing no such thing, and Sharon running around like a maniac just to see if Jake would follow while pretending she was doing no such thing.
“I’d rather sit down,” Ellie said, making Michael smile, because he’d rather sit down with her too.
In the end, Adam was left sitting by the prairie dogs waiting for Angel to get enough of them (Michael assured the other man they’d swing by for them on the way out. Adam hadn’t found him very funny, but then Michael hadn’t been entirely joking. Angel had a very strange fascination with the little rodents) while Jared and Leigh went to get them food. The others were also going to get food at the stand, but they were going to move on afterwards. Only Andrew and Kate were interested in going and sitting down with Ellie and Michael at the zoo’s restaurant. Okay, it was overpriced, but the food wasn’t that bad, and Michael was actually glad the others were more interested in continuing to move around the zoo.
Or maybe they hadn’t really been and were just trying to give him and Ellie more time together.Andrew and Kate might just be volunteers to act as a buffer in case Ellie needed it.
It ended up feeling like they were out on a double date, which could have been uncomfortable because Ellie and Andrew had had sex in the past, while Kate and Michael had scened together and been intimate during those scenes, but somehow it just worked. Open communication between all of them previously had led to no awkward feelings now; and Andrew was a good enough friend of Ellie’s that she was able to completely relax.
On the metro on their way home, Ellie sat tucked under his arm with her back against his side, one hand still wrapped in his as she talked with Maria who was sitting across the aisle from her. It was the momentMichael knew for sure this, she, was what he wanted. More days like this. More time with Ellie like this.
It might come slowly, but for more of this… it’d be more than worth it. And who knew… after today, maybe it wouldn’t come as slowly as he’d feared.
Chapter 17
Somehow, Ellie had found herself in a relationship. Sort of. At least, that’s what it felt like. Although she tried not to think about it too hard, worried she’d panic or say something and everything would come crashing down.
But as long as she didn’t think too much about it, she was happy. Dr. Amy still considered it progress, although Ellie didn’t tell her therapist that she felt like a relationship fraud, like she was faking something she couldn’t actually do.
Still… it felt nice. And it was more than she’d ever had before.
Michael still hadn’t been inside her apartment, and she hadn’t been back to his, but they talked on the phone every night now. Not just texts, actual phone conversations before bed. Saying goodnight to him was now part of her nightly routine.
More than once she went out for dinner with ‘some of the group’ or over to someone’s house for dinner, and it just so happened Michael was there too. And since they were both there and liked holding hands and sitting next to each other… well, it just seemed silly not to. He always walked her out to her car and gave her a kiss goodbye, and each time the kiss was a little bitmore. One of these days it was going to be more than just lips on lips, and the thought made her feel both panicked and excited. Which was ridiculous because they did far more than little kisses at the club.
