The Nettle Tea Chronicles

Zoe

Zoe simultaneously could not have been happier, and wanted to die.

She had been playing the different ways this dinner with her family could have gone in her head for the last 48 hours, ever since she had brought up the invitation to Cass.

Zoe's first problem had been that the last time she had brought a girl home to meet her family, it had been Rian. That had been a mess that Zoe was afraid to relive. Rian had been her friend before they started dating, and because she was still in school at the time, her parents had met her a couple times in passing before they started dating.

Apparently, though they hadn't told her beforehand, her parents had never really liked Rian. Evidently, they had maybe been correct in their reading of the other woman, but Zoe couldn't see it at the time, smitten as she was. In turn, though, Rian had never made an effort to get along with her parents. She wasn't ever directly mean to them that Zoe could recall, but she often acted above it all, or too cool to be talking to Zoe's parents.

Of course, that meant that whenever they were all together for a holiday while Zoe was dating her, it was a tense, prickly affair.

Zoe knew that Cass would never instigate her parents the way Rian did, but she wasn't sure if her parents would be cordial or hostile. She had hoped that both sides would at least be polite and the dinner would be an awkward interrogation of her and Cass that would hopefully die down by the end of the night so they could enjoy the ball drop.

Not once in all of her low-key dooming had Zoe expected things to go the way things were unfolding in front of her.

When Amy came in, Zoe had run away to the kitchen under the guise of being thirsty. She didn't think she was taking very long, but had returned with her glass of water to see Amy sitting with Cass on the loveseat. Cass shot her a quick glance of an apology, but simply continued telling the story she was in the middle of to her parents.

Amy, meanwhile, shot Zoe a taunting grin, clearly having sat beside Cass to rile Zoe up. Avoiding the argument, Zoe just plopped on the nearby sofa, where she was eventually joined by Max, who sat on the other end, leaving a cushion between them. He had only glanced at his wife once before a small smile appeared on his face; he was more than happy to let her sit with Cass, apparently.

That made Zoe a little worried that they had planned something.

Half an hour later, though, and nothing came of it. Instead, Cass had fit in with her family easily. Everyone was laughing and chatting amicably. It had gone so much better than Zoe had ever imagined it could have. Other than the fact that they were all swapping embarrassing stories about Zoe, of course.

"You know, I can see that." Cass said.

"Right?" Amy laughed, "She was…what, three? Four?"

"I actually don't remember." Zoe's mother said.

"It was before River was able to be out with them, so probably three?" Her dad offered.

"Either way, I was definitely old enough to remember my little sister toddling out the back gate, butt-naked, to chase that ice cream truck." Amy said. "And Mom chasing her down once she noticed."

"She made it past the neighbor's house before I even noticed." Zoe's mother was laughing, too, remembering the whole thing. "I didn't even put shoes on. I just ran out the door, and caught her around three houses down."

"The ice cream truck wasn't even on our street!" Amy continued. "We could hear the music from a few streets over, and it didn't even get to us for, like, an hour after that."

"Hey, we did get that ice cream, though." Zoe muttered, taking a petulant sip of her dwindling water.

"Well. Italian ice, but yeah." Amy corrected her.

"Italian ice is even better than ice cream, to be fair." Cass said, glancing at Zoe. Zoe tried not to feel embarrassed at her girlfriend clearly trying to cover for her against her own family.

"Now that's certainly a choice." Amy said.

"Hey, I agree." her father said. "I'd take Italian ice over ice cream any day."

"Same here." Max chimed in.

"Of course you would, hunny, you're lactose intolerant." Amy chuckled.

"You say that like I don't still eat ice cream." He said, waving off her point. "Italian ice is still better, especially on the hot summer days. It's way more refreshing."

"That right there." Cass said, pointing at him. "That's exactly it. People always focus on ice cream being cold as why it's so good during a hot day, but half the time after ice cream I'm just thirsty, especially when it's hot. Italian ice is way better since it's just ice and flavor."

"I think a good Italian ice also just tastes better, to be fair." Max said, which drew heated stares from his wife and mother-in-law.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Nah, that's just crazy talk." Amy said.

"That's right. How could you possibly say an Italian ice is better than fresh ice cream, or a blend-in?" Her mother asked.

"Quite easily, honestly. Besides, I'm not a fan of junks in my ice cream, so blend-ins are…fine." Max shrugged.

"Here, here." Cass said, toasting a non-existent glass to the opinion.

Amy just made a face. "Yuck. Zoe, come sit with your girlfriend, I don't think I can stay here anymore."

Max patted the couch next to him. "You're always welcome right here, hun."

Amy scoffed. "You're just as bad."

"Come sit here, dear." Their mother said, patting the arm of her chair.

"Now that I'll do." Amy said, walking to perch on the side of their mother's chair, while Zoe moved to sit next to Cass again.

"So, changing subjects." Amy said, a glint in her eye. "How exactly did you two meet, anyway?" Before Zoe could say 'at work,' Amy cut her off. "And I don't want any of this 'at work' nonsense. I want the story."

Zoe and Cass exchanged glances. "I…actually don't remember?" Zoe said, tilting her head. "I don't recall our actual first meeting being anything special?"

"I'm pretty sure we were just introduced on your first day at work like normal coworkers. And then I went back to my own work, and you continued training."

"That sounds right to me, I'd imagine." Zoe shrugged. "I dunno. I was starting a new job, and met so many people that day. Cass was just another face at the time. I probably didn't even remember her name." Then she added, "Sorry."

Cass shook her head, entirely unbothered. "No need to apologize. I'd be more shocked if you had remembered me."

"Aw." Amy said, clearly disappointed. "You didn't even have a moment of, like, 'Damn she's gorgeous' or something that would make her memorable?"

"Can't say I did." Zoe said.

"I definitely thought Zoe was cute from the get-go, but a lot of the women that work with us fell into that category." Cass shrugged. "And I'm not exactly social at work, so it wasn't a thought that lasted very long at first."

Amy latched on to that, still hungry for a story. "So, then, when did you start taking notice of my sister, Cassandra?"

Zoe turned to Cass at the same time that Cass turned to her, and they met eyes. Zoe was equally curious about this, because she hadn't thought to ask quite yet. There was a little twinge in the back of her head warning her that Cass might choose this moment to embarrass her further, but her curiosity outweighed that thought. So she just tilted her head as if to push Cass on.

Cass, for her part, stared into Zoe's eyes for a long moment. She was clearly trying to think of the event, or come up with a good lie, but Zoe couldn't tell which.

"I think it depends on what you mean by 'taking notice'." Cass said. "She was definitely on my radar as attractive from day one. But as far as the start of a crush?" She paused, and Zoe could feel the intensity of her stare go up a notch.

"I think a couple moments come to mind. I remember a while ago, we were playing a game together online, and had just beaten a difficult co-op fight together that we had been stuck on for a while. We were both excited, and Zoe made a really stupid joke that we both laughed at. But I distinctly remember taking a moment to listen to her laugh and just being smitten with it."

Zoe blinked at Cass, trying to recall exactly what moment she was referring to, but she couldn't remember a singular time standing out. After all, the situation Cass was describing wasn't exactly an unusual one. It happened quite frequently, really.

The rest of the room was silent, so Cass just kept talking. "As far as when I decided enough was enough and I'd start making a move toward her? That moment I know exactly."

Cass had been staring at Zoe the entire time she was speaking, but there was still a change in her expression. Her entire face, but most noticeably her eyes, softened. "We went out for lunch one day. It was normal. No weird topics were brought up or anything that really set it apart from the rest of our lunches. Except we had been forced to stay close to work because we didn't have long, so we didn't get to go for the Thai food I was really craving."

"We had never gone out together after work for food for whatever reason, so we said bye like always and I went to a Thai place on my own." She snorted and smiled then. "And I spent the entire meal wishing she was with me."

A few moments after she finished her short story, Cass blinked and seemed to snap back to herself. Her quiet, loving expression changed back to her friendly, more silly one that she had worn most of the day. "And I asked her to dinner…a week or so later?"

Zoe felt her face getting warm, but she didn't think it was a blush. It felt more like a headrush of emotion, drawing the warmth to her face. She cleared her throat and looked away stunned by the sweetness of it all.

Her sister made no such moves, instead basically cheering. "Wow. Damn. Bet that makes you feel loved, huh, Sis?"

"Shut up." Zoe muttered.

Cass seemed to finally realize what a show she had put on, and at least had the decency to look mildly embarrassed for it. Her cheeks were pink, and she was actively facing Zoe, which meant away from everyone else, but was looking past Zoe, now unable to meet her eyes.

Zoe had to fight the urge to snap at her and tell her if she was going to get embarrassed by it, she shouldn't have said it. But it was only an urge, and if she were honest, hearing it had made Zoe undeniably happy.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her father, who cleared his throat. "So, we don't have a big traditional dinner planned, so much as a whole mess of hors d'oeuvres. Who wants to get started?"

"Now, just a sec, Dad." Amy said, and the tone of her voice made Zoe's blood run cold. She knew exactly what was coming. "I want to hear what about Cass got Zoe's attention, too."

Zoe was about to tell her sister off, as would be expected, but to the whole room's amusement, Cass decided to play along. She turned her entire body in the seat to face Zoe, even playfully tucking her fists under her shin, as if resting on them and waiting for the story.

Zoe took a deep breath and sighed. "Both of you have already heard this story. Amy, you literally lived it when I told you on Christmas I was in trouble."

Both of them giggled. And while Zoe's father and Max were quietly discussing the not-quite-dinner plans, her mother was watching Zoe like a hawk. The combined look of interest and concern made Zoe feel like she couldn't wiggle out of the question. She had little doubt that her mom just wanted to be sure that Zoe wasn't getting mixed up in another situation like Rian.

She decided to at least get a little revenge and tell a version of the story that the other two idiots hadn't heard yet. She started with a defeated sigh. "It was the little things."

The single sentence seemed to catch Cass and Amy off-guard a bit, which she took pleasure in. With a small smile, she followed Cass' example, focusing only on her girlfriend. "They all added up. I can't count the number of times you've said nothing and just brought me my favorite coffee. Or waiting extra time after work just to ride the subway a couple stops together. The number of games you've bought for no reason other than just so we'd have something to play together."

As the various little memories played through her head, Zoe had no doubt her expression was just as soft and caring as Cass' had been before. "She just makes me happy by being there."

While Zoe got a little bit of satisfaction from the way she had stunned her sister, it was really the satisfied, proud look on her mothers' face that told her she did good.