andante ❈ benjamin pavard

FIVE

                After they finished eating, and Ben said his goodbyes to Olivia and Etienne, and he and Zoe got into his car in order to continue their road trip to Paris.

Zoe wondered where exactly Margot was and if she was worrying about Zoe as much as Zoe was worrying about her. Zoe seriously doubted that. When Margot was upset with someone, it took her a while to calm herself down. Zoe was pretty sure she was having a great time calming down with Lucas.

Lucas wasn't even that attractive, in Zoe's opinion. He was on the shorter and skinnier side with bang average brown hair and brown eyes, with a splattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose. He had a scar on his eyebrow from a game of Marco Polo gone wrong back when they were younger. He was also super obnoxious and full of himself, which took away from some of his otherwise attractive qualities. And oh god, his guitar. He carried that thing everywhere. So Lucas was alright, but definitely nothing to write home about.

Even though he dealt drugs, which Zoe strongly disagreed with, Gabin was absolutely adorable. Zoe had no idea why Gabin dealt drugs because he was fairly well off, coming from a family with a large successful business in energy drinks. He had a trust fund he could easily access in the six zeros, but he chose not to and broke off from the rest of his family. Gabin, when he wasn't being annoying, was nice and sweet, and he was absolutely in love with Margot, which was why it was so hard to let Margot run off with Lucas.

Gabin could love a girl with all his heart, and she could still love him back, but it still wasn't enough. For her, at least. That was what scared Zoe about love and about relationships. How someone could love someone so much, and it still couldn't be enough for the other person. What is their heart worth, then? A quick fuck with a boy you knew from high school?

Zoe hadn't even had her first kiss yet and here she was waxing poetry about failed love. But hey, Simon Cowell couldn't sing and he was a judge on American Idol.

As much as it made Margot right, Zoe was waiting for the right person to come along. Sure, it deprived her from many experiences with boys that truthfully did like her and enjoy her company, but Zoe wanted her first kiss to be someone that she loved. It would make it special, it would make it mean something. She didn't want to have her first kiss to be in spin the bottle or seven minutes in Heaven, or whatever kissing game they used to play.

Zoe needed to stop thinking about Margot. She needed to think about herself, and what she would be doing in her life. If the meeting she had on Monday went well, she could have a clue. She glanced at Benjamin, who pretty much had his entire life figured out. He yawned as turned the key in the ignition.

"I could drive if you want," Zoe offered. Ben looked at her, a wry smile on his face. Cracking his knuckles, he shook his head.

"No, you should get some sleep. We'll be there in about an hour."

The radio read 3:37. Zoe was truly exhausted. There was no way she could operate machinery and not cause an accident. Plus, she had been drinking, even if she was mostly sober at that point. It was better not to take the risk. She was usually good about going out and staying out all night, but she had worked a full day on Friday and had originally planned to stay in bed, put on a face mask, and watch all of the Cinderella stories, including the newest one with Lucy Hale, no matter how cringey it looked.

They had a little over an hour to get back to Ben's hotel room, so Zoe decided to force herself to stay awake. That way, she could fall asleep easier once her head hit the mattress. With nothing to stimulate her brain to keep her awake, Zoe dialed the radio up a few notches and unplugged Ben's phone from the aux cord.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm falling asleep."

"My favorite song was playing!"