Living Life to the Fullest

Sunday was simply a day spent with my Everly as I had quite the day yesterday along with speaking to my bestie over FaceTime.

“So, how’d last night go with Zack?”

“Overall, pretty well.”

“Overall? How? What happened?”

“He saw that framed photo of Ricky and I in my living room.”

I sighed.

“Oh boy.”

“Yeah. It was a little awkward. He brought it up at dinner, seeing my behavior.”

I sighed again and ran my hand through my hair after I told her about how dinner went.

“I’m glad he acknowledged the subject. Sounds like he cares about you.”

“He does. When I told him he could choose to watch whatever his heart desires, he said that I am what his heart desires. That-uh... led to one serious make-out session.”

“Hot damn! He really likes you.”

“The feeling is definitely mutual, especially after I told him what Everly did that evening.”

“What’d she do?"

"She was crying up a storm and I had to dash up to her nursery. She was standing up in her crib..."

That part clearly shocked her.

"Well, when you gonna see Mr. Perfect again?"

I laughed.

"Who knows. I hope it's soon, but not too soon. I’m a woman who’s a mother of a fourteen-month-old daughter and runs a business. You know what I mean?”

“Absolutely.”

A couple of days later, Zack texted me while I was taking a relaxing bath.

Hey.

I smiled and texted him back.

Hey. What’s up?

Should I actually tell him what I am doing?

Just reading. How about you?

Taking a bath. Had a long day.

Want me to stop texting you?

Of course not. I enjoy talking to you.

The feeling's mutual.

I could feel myself blushing.

I hope you know that you're making me blush, Mr. Merrick.

Am I, now?

I laughed.

Yeah.

A small part of me wanted him to come over and join me for a nice bubble bath, but it's too early even if dating turns into a relationship.

Success!

This man is truly trying to kill me. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out what to say back.

Anyway... we need to see each other again. Whatever you want us to do is fine with me.

Even if it’s just lunch?

Even if it’s just lunch.

I like the sound of that.

If only he could see the smile on my face.

I was watering plants in the greenhouse I worked at when I saw a man looking for flowers but was clearly having trouble finding the right ones. I couldn’t help but stop what I was doing and help him out.

“Hi, Sir. Need any help?” I said, trying not to startle him.

He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair and looked over.

“Yeah. I’m trying to find the perfect flowers for my grandma. I just don’t know what to get.”

I bit my lip to keep me from giving him a big smile; he was adorable.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Her birthday. She’s turning 80 tomorrow.”

“That’s a big birthday. Do you know what her favorite color is?”

“I think it’s pink.”

“Well, you can never go wrong with peonies. They’re awfully beautiful flowers. Some of my favorites to be honest.”

He smiled back at me.

“You are right about that. Thank you so much...”

“Zoey.”

I couldn’t control the smile anymore.

“Ricky. With a name like that, no one could possibly be forgettable.”

“Hopefully, we’ll see each other again.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Bye, Zoey.”

“Bye, Ricky.”

He did end up buying peonies as I saw him being rung up at the register. I bumped into him at the farmer’s market and we exchanged numbers; the rest is history.

I smiled at the memory and how it made me feel about the day I first saw Zack. We may have met in different ways, but one thing was constant: it was a greenhouse. They weren’t the same one because I didn’t own one yet, but still... I loved that I met them in the same type of place.

After my bath, I quickly dried off and got dressed knowing I needed to be up early in the morning. I was exhausted and could not wait to get into bed that I didn’t feel like doing anything with my hair and brushing my teeth; however, I did and climbed into bed. Before lying down, I decided to take a selfie and send it to Zack.

Goodnight, from yours truly!

I pretended to blow a kiss and sent it, hoping for a response. Just as my eyes began to shut, my phone vibrated.

Goodnight, Beautiful!

I giggled as I saw him respond with that same look I gave him. I smiled and set my phone aside before falling victim to sleep while I had already felt victim to Zack.

Notes

Not one of my favorite chapters mainly due to it to being shorter than so many ones that I've written.