Page 11 of When Sparks Fly
Within seconds, Zoey replied.
Z: Ouch?
M: It won’t say anything...just let out a little wine.
Z: Hardy har har. Bring more than a little wine tonight, okay?
He frowned.
M: Bad day?
Z: Nothing specific. Hazel and I snarled at each other. Be warned...this house is a hormone hell today.
M: I’m trying to come up with a funny reply, but I have a feeling it could be dangerous.
Z: Very. Just bring the damn wine.
Mike grinned as he walked into his house. Zoey, Mary and he had grown up together, so Mike knew pretty mucheverythingabout Zoey, including how she was at that time of month. She and Mary’s schedules had “synced” when they were inseparable teens, which had fascinated Mike at the time. It still did, to be honest. Mary and Zoey never shied away from talking girl stuff around him, and he’d never asked them to. Maybe because of the twin connection—it was natural for him to just know...everything. And frankly, knowing when the hormones were going to be raging ahead of time saved him a lot of grief through the years.
No, there weren’t any secrets between him and Zoey. The two of them liked to brag that they were living proof that men and women really could bejust friends.But he kept having those sneaking thoughts lately of wanting more.
Which meant hewaskeeping a secret—he couldn’t tell her how he felt until he’d figured it out for himself. Telling her was bound to make things weird between them, and he didn’t want that. He wasn’t sure if his feelings were just because they were together so often and he was lonely, or if this was something more serious. Was Zoey simply a safe choice because he literally kneweverythingabout her?
Or was she the most dangerous choice of all?
CHAPTER FOUR
“THISISYOURweekend with your dad, Hazel. He’s expecting you.”
Zoey chewed the inside of her cheek. She sympathized with Hazel, but she had to do the right thing here. Just as soon as she figured out what that was. Hazel was supposed to be with Chris and Genna-with-a-Gtwo weekends a month. Hazel had always been Daddy’s Little Girl, but since the divorce, her role in her father’s new life was uncertain. She didn’t like going to the new house his girlfriend had insisted on, tearing Hazel away from the home she’d grown up in.
“Why should I have to abide by some contract the two of you came up with without my input? It’s all so...mercenary.” Hazel’s eyes shimmered with tears. A lot of this was hormones. Zoey’s hormones had her on edge, too. But she couldn’t just dismiss her daughter’s concerns.
“It’s notmercenary. There’s no monetary advantage for anyone whether you’re at Dad’s place or mine.” Zoey looked around her daughter’s bedroom. It was still a drab olive green—the same color her father had painted it twenty-some years ago. She’d promised Hazel they’d paint it, but it kept getting pushed off for other projects. Right on the heels of her guilt came the burning of tears in her eyes. Oh, yeah. She was hormonal for sure.
“But why should I have to go if I don’t want to?” Hazel sat on the edge of the bed next to the small duffel bag sitting open. “It’s like you two are telling me what I’m supposed to feel. This weekend, I’m supposed to like Dad. Then next weekend, I’ll likeyou.It’s stupid.”
Zoey crouched down on one knee in front of Hazel. She rested one hand on Hazel’s leg, waiting for her to make eye contact. “I want you to likebothof us. All the time. This...” She nodded at the duffel. “This is just...logistics. We’re talking about where you’re going to lay your head at night, not how you’re supposed to feel. It’s not easy for us, either, but your dad and I are doing the best we can.”
Hazel rolled her eyes dramatically. “Really? ’Cause I’m the one who’s always packing.”
“If you’d start leaving stuffthere, like I keep suggesting, you wouldn’t need to pack so much. Dad’s new house is your home, too. You are the center ofbothof our worlds.” She gave Hazel’s leg a squeeze. “You’re lucky to have two parents who want you to feel loved no matter whose house you’re in. You could be like Kimmy Wilkes, and how awful wouldthatbe?”
Lonnie and Donna Wilkes had divorced in rather spectacular fashion last year, just before Chris and Zoey split. Lonnie owned a car dealership in Watkins Glen, and Donna reportedly caught him with one of his saleswomen. In the back of a minivan. Testing the seats. Naked. She’d kicked him out of the house and changed the locks, promising he’d never see his daughter again. He took her to court, and boy, they redefined the termairing dirty laundry.Turned out Donna had a boyfriend herself. And Lonnie had a secret bank account the IRS was interested in. And Donna’s boobs were fake. And Lonnie had had a tummy tuck. Every week brought a new revelation, and neither of them did a thing to shelter their twelve-year-old daughter from the fallout. The poor girl’s grades plummeted when kids started teasing her over the gossip.
Lonnie’s parents finally stepped in and took Kimmy to Rochester to live with them. Sadly, it seemed Lonnie and Donna barely noticed she was gone—they were still too busy trying to one-up each other.
Hazel’s eyes shimmered with tears. “I’m sorry, Mom. It’s just...no matter how nice you and Dad try to be, you’re still divorced. I have to tiptoe now and not play favorites and...”
“Oh, sweetie.” Zoey rose to sit next to Hazel and pulled her into a tight hug. She tried her best not to let her own emotions interfere with her daughter’s relationship with Chris, but right now she wasfuriouswith him for blowing up their little family. “It isnotyour job to keep Dad or I happy. It’s your job to be a teenager.” She pinched Hazel’s ribs playfully. “This week you’re a teenager who’s also a massive bundle of hormones, but that’s okay. They’ll settle in a day or two and you’ll feel like yourself again.”
Hazel returned the hug, talking against Zoey’s shoulder. “Is thisreallygoing to last my whole life? Being a woman is awful.”
Zoey laughed. “Not quite your whole life, but for the next forty years or so. Sorry. Being a woman isnotawful. Our bodies are incredible. The mood swings are...challenging.” She cupped her daughter’s face in her hands. “But it won’t always feel so out of control. You won’t be in puberty forever. You’ll learn to know why you’re getting emotional, and you’ll learn how to control it...to a point. It’s a lot easier when you embrace it instead of fighting it.”
Hazel looked skeptical, then she blinked a few times and pulled away. Heaven forbid her strong-willed daughter give in to uncertainty for more than a minute.
“So you’re saying I need to pack some tampons this weekend? I don’t know if there are any at his place. What if Dad sees them?”