Page 65 of 10 Things I Hate About Zombies

Ah, there she was. She just needed a moment for her body to reconnect with her mind.

‘My ears are ringing,’ she said, as she leaned into him, letting his body envelop hers. He was hot and sweat-sheened and Zoey, embodied once again, couldn’t get enough of him.

For the first time in her life, she felt like she trusted someone. That she was with a partner she could rely on. Partly because he was Nick, who’d shown her over and over that he was here for her. And partly because everywhere he went he had a group of people around him who were there to lend a hand.

Just like, Zoey was learning, she did. Because look at all these people who’d shown up to help out with the fence-building initiative. Look at how Reba and Gracie, who were practically strangers, had offered to pitch in during InkWell. At how even Terriffany, weird, wonderful Terriffany, was doing everything she could to help out The Smoothie Maven.

Maybe she didn’t have to go through life alone. Maybe the safety barrier she’d put up wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Nick rubbed at the spot between her brows where most of her angst resided. ‘You look like a woman with a lot on her mind.’

‘Always.’ Zoey tried to relax her forehead. ‘The mind never stops. Especially this time of the evening, which is peak brain time.’

‘Sorry I distracted you from all that braining.’

Zoey smiled. ‘Turns out it’s more enjoyable to have sex in a tent than lie about grinding through my nightguard after doomscrolling on my phone.’

‘Shit, I’d hope so. Feel free to leave that particular review on my website.’

He propped his head up on his hand to regard her. The new Toad tattoo on the underside of his wrist was lustrous beneath the glow of the camping lantern.

‘Joaquin really did a good job, huh.’ Zoey examined the tattoo, feeling a slight pang that she hadn’t gone through with the Frog tattoo that had, for an instant, seemed like a brilliant idea. All right, maybe for more than an instant. If only she’d had the guts in the moment. Even if she had regrets in the future, it would be done. It would be there. And in a way, she’d have one less regret, because she would have done something silly, something drastic in the name of love.

A grand gesture.

Some part of her wanted to know that she was capable of a grand gesture, even if it was a regrettable one. Something more than rounding up some friends to half-heartedly build a fence.

And from the look in his eyes, Nick was wondering the same. He was going to ask something. His eyebrows had taken on that slightly quizzical arch, and he was chewing gently on the right side of the mouth the way he did before he came out with a question or a hypothetical.

‘I have a request,’ he said, as Zoey dropped her gaze back to the tattoo. Its colours perfectly matched the tones from Frog and Toad. ‘I promise it’s not as big as a tattoo, or as eternal.’

Zoey glanced up, trying not to lose herself in those dark, thick-lashed eyes. Oh, but it was hopeless. She was going to say yes to whatever he asked next.

Nick gently twisted a lock of her hair around her finger, the gesture so tender that Zoey wanted to shake the strand loose just so that he’d do it again.

‘So, you know how I mentioned that my sisters are coming to visit, from Seattle? They’ll be here the day after the Naked Bike Ride. Would you … like to meet them?’

Zoey froze. She’d never met anyone’s family before. Not even Kit’s. Although, looking back, given that she probably wasn’t the only one Kit had been dating at the time, that made sense.

But something in her wanted to meet Nick’s family. She wanted to meet the people who’d had a hand in shaping Nick into the kind, generous, loving person that he was. She wanted to see what his sisters looked like (all right, what they looked like in the flesh, because she’d possibly googled them after he’d mentioned them the first time).

And so Zoey said something that never in a million years did she think she’d say.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘Sign me up.’

17

Nick

ETA till sisterly shenanigans: one week. We can’t wait to meet Zoey!!

Cleo had been excitedly texting ever since Nick had informed his sisters that Zoey was happy to join them for dinner, and that they’d better be nice to her.

Of course!! Cleo had responded.

Reserving judgement, Larissa had added.

Larissa, be nice. Our Nick deserves to find love, Mom had chimed in, with a bunch of misspellings and awkward emojis. Mom was learning multiple languages on Duolingo, and had her keyboard set alternatively to Italian and Finnish, which meant that her spellcheck was all out of whack.