andante ❈ benjamin pavard

THREE

Zoe was in a car with Benjamin Pavard. Zoe was in a car with Benjamin Pavard. Zoe was in a car with Benjamin Pavard.

She was mostly sober now, but everything still seemed a bit slow. It was a nice car, a sleek convertible that was oh so typical of rich footballers. Benjamin seemed at place behind the steering wheel, with one arm slung over the back of Zoe's seat.

"So where should I take you?" Ben asked. Zoe tilted her head back and shut her eyes for a second. She gripped the bottom of the leather seat.

"Uh, my parents house?" Zoe said, but it came out as more of a question. Ben pulled out of the parking space, and gave Zoe a questioning look.

"Do you have a key?"

"No?" Zoe answered. She raised an eyebrow. "My parents should be home, though."

Ben gave Zoe another look. Jesus, what was with people and looking at her?

"Your parents aren't home."

"How do you know that?" she shot Ben another accusatory glance. Zoe rolled down the window to take a breath of fresh air. The wind nipped at her skin, and she loved it. She missed home. Or her parents house. She missed a sense of belonging. She certainly didn't belong in Ben's car, that was for sure.

"Your brother told me."

"You still talk to Mathieu?"

"Of course I do." He laughed and drummed his fingers on Zoe's seat. Zoe could get used to that laugh; it was all encompassing, melodic. Like a lullaby. "He's my best friend. I told him I was coming up to Maubeuge, and I asked if he would mind if I stopped by to see Emma and Paul, and he said they want to visit your aunt Madeleine or something."

Oh, crap, Ben was right. Her mother's sister, Maddy, was sick. It wasn't like she was dying, but familial company would definitely soothe her spirits. She remembered her mother telling her something like that a couple weeks ago, but Zoe wasn't really paying any attention. She hated talking on the phone.

"And by the way you look right now, I'm assuming you didn't know."

Zoe let out a short laugh, tucking a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. "Uh, I knew, I just forgot."

"Do you have a key?"

Zoe blushed. What she was trying to avoid that entire night. "Um... no?"

Ben stared for a moment. "Well, how are you supposed to get inside? Should I just take you to Margot's?"

Zoe pondered her options for a moment. She could stop by Margot's to see if she was there, but Zoe highly doubted it. There was no way Margot would try to take back Lucas to her house to have sex. And Margot's parents weren't home either, as that was one of the main reasons they wanted Margot to live in Lille; because they wanted to travel Europe without the baggage that was Margot. It sucked, but that was the truth.

"No," I told him. "I think I should just wait for Margot back at Noelle's. It's easier that way. And I could just sleep over there, for free."

There was no stigma against passing out at a party. Zoe wanted to take full advantage of that.

"No, I don't wanna go back to Noelle's and I don't want you by yourself there. Especially after what happened with Jacques."

Frowning, Zoe crossed her arms over her chest. "Nothing happened with Jacques."

"Sure," Ben said, in a way that meant he was not at all convinced.

Zoe took a deep breath. And Ben did have a point, but she didn't want to tell him that. There was nothing worse than a man who was convinced he was right. Zoe's head began to throb, and she leaned her head out the window once more to get fresh air. A soft song played on the radio, and it felt like she was in a movie. She was in a car with a boy she had feelings for once, long ago, with a beautiful song playing and the wind in her hair. She was lost, without a plan, but it felt good. Or as good as it could feel with a headache coming on.