Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > Of All the Gin Joints in All the World
010. the flicker of an old flame
2 reviewsZoe and the guys make it to New York and Zoe runs into an old flame....
0Unrated
“Lady and gentlemen, we have arrived in New York City!” Harold announced over the intercom. Joe and Andy, who were playing Guitar Hero, let out a little, unenthusiastic, yell while Patrick and Pete were still napping back in the bunks.
I, however, was very excited to be in New York. I had never ventured to the city but had always wanted to, and I had the next two days off all to myself. I didn’t even have to stay on the bus, Jarod had booked me a hotel room so I could have some much needed stress relief alone time – I never really would describe Jarod as compassionate but he did seem to understand the need for a day away from the job. A couple hours after arriving to the city the boys were settled into their own hotel (thankfully across town from mine).
“So where are you staying?” Andy asked as I handed him one of the suitcases.
“Some hotel on the other side of town. Jarod booked it, I forgot the name of it. You guys have my cell if you need me.”
“True,” he said taking the last of the bags, “See ya in a couple of days, Zoe!”
“See ya Andy,” I said with a smile and called over for Harold, “Harold,” I said letting out a sigh, “Can you drop me off at the hotel please?”
“Sure thing Miss Zoe!” Harold said with a grin, “Excited to get away for a bit?”
“You have no idea,” I said with a huge smile on my lips, “you have no idea….”
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I was surprised at how nice my room was when I checked into the hotel and threw my bags onto my bed. “Food,” I said to myself, “Food is a necessity…”
I walked around until I located a grocery store and using the company card I bought myself some groceries. I was looking at the wine section when someone came up behind me, “Zoe?”
Turning around I was astonished to see who was standing behind me, “Greg?”
“Yeah!” he said immediately bringing me in for a hug, “How are you!? Its been years!”
“Yeah, wow,” I said pushing back a little. Greg and I had dated in high school for three years until he moved to New Jersey with his mother, needless to say I never really had closure with him. “I’m fine. How are you?”
“Great, just…great.” He said with a childish grin on his face. He had definitely grown up in appearance – he was no longer the frail little freshman I had dated. Now he was much more…Hot? No. Attractive? No. All of the above? Yes. “What are you doing in New York?”
“I’m actually here on a job. I work for a record company and I’m managing the tour.”
“Wow, good for you!” he said with a laugh, “I just graduated from NYU and haven’t really even started to think of what I’m going to do, I’m supposed to do the whole teaching thing but I’m really just focusing on my writing.”
“That’s so awesome Greg, you used to write all the time. Amazing stuff too,” I said with a grin.
“Thanks,” he said, followed with a pause, “Since you only have a couple of days here… I don’t suppose you have time to go to dinner with me? Maybe catch up? My treat. A nice dinner and then…well I’ll think of something.”
I couldn’t say no to those beautiful blue eyes and that shaggy blonde hair, “Tonight? Around eight?” I asked, fiddling with my hair.
“Sounds great.”
After we exchanged numbers and I gave him my hotel’s address we said our goodbyes and one thought immediately jumped into my head – I had nothing to wear. Usually I would leave this up to Nick, my old roommate. Flipping open my cell phone I called the one person I thought wouldn’t mind helping me find an outfit for my date.
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“Thanks for coming to meet me Patrick, I really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Patrick said, “So what’s up?”
“Well,” I said hesitantly, “I ran into an old friend when I was out grocery shopping.”
“A male friend?” He asked with a skeptical looking grin.
“Yes,” I replied sheepishly, “Anwyays, he was my high school boyfriend and we’re meeting up for dinner tonight and I don’t have anything to wear.”
“So you need me because…?”
“Well I have little fashion sense when it comes to non business clothing. Nick, my old roommate from home, was always the one to help me get ready for these things and I figured maybe you could come shopping with me? I would seriously owe you one Pat….please?”
Patrick stood still for a moment, “Well since you said please….”
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“Where have you been, mister?” Andy asked as he collapsed down on the couch.
“Out,” Patrick replied back, throwing his hat onto the counter, “What’s up?”
“Nothin’” Andy said, tossing Joe the remote control.
“Foooooood,” Joe moaned tossing the remote control back, “Plastic isn’t fooooooddddd.”
“I’m on it,” Pete said, coming out of the bedroom with his cell up to his ear, “Hey Pat! Whatcha been up to?”
Patrick sat down next to Andy, snatching the remote away and changing the channel, “I was out with Zoe,” he said not looking at Pete.
“Hey! I was watchin’ that bro!” Andy and Joe said in unison.
“Shut up guys!” Pete said, putting the phone down, “Out with Zoe? What were you guys doin’? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Well,” Patrick said flipping the channel back and tossing Joe the remote, “Our little Zoe ran into an old boyfriend from high school and needed help finding a dress to wear on her date tonight.”
There was silence in the room as everyone looked at Patrick. “Dude,” Joe said, switching his gaze to a shocked Pete, “DUDE!”
“What?” Pete asked.
“Pat did she tell you where dinner was?” Joe said standing up
Without thinking Patrick responded, “Some place named Mariolla’s. Why?”
“DUDE!” Joe said excitedly, walking over to Pete, “Let’s follow her!” Pete stood still, considering the idea. Looking over at Andy he repeated himself, “Let’s follow her!”
“No,” Patrick said quickly.
“No, you guys are retarded,” Andy chorused after.
“Pete?” Joe asked walking closer to his friend, “You know you want to and I’m in need of a good adventure…. PLEASE?!”
“Fine,” Pete said finally, “It’s on.”
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“I was expecting something more entertaining during dinner. Looked rather boring. And not nearly as nice of a place as I thought it was going to be..” Joe remarked as he and Pete watched from outside of the little Italian place.
“She was smiling an awful lot…” Pete said concerned, “you don’t think she’s going to wanna get back together with him or anything…do you?”
“Hard to tell… but I wasn’t to impressed with this date, I doubt she would be.” Joe was going to continue when he noticed the table was empty, “Shit!” he said loudly, throwing a $20 on the table, “they left. Let’s go!”
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“Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?” Greg remarked, linking his arm with mine as we exited the restaurant.
“Yes,” I said blushing a little, “A couple of times.”
“Well you do,” he said with a grin.
“Well thanks,” I replied back pulling a little closer to him as we crossed the street, “so now that we just had a fabulous dinner, what do we do now?”
“Well now,” he said removing his arm from mine only to wrap it around my shoulders, “I have something planned.”
We walked a little further until I noticed where we were, “Central Park?” I asked with a grin.
“You know it!” He said pulling me by the hand, moving faster, “You always said you wanted to come here. Do you remember what you said you dreamed of doing?”
“Oh my god, are they going to have sex in the park?” Joe asked looking over at Pete who just slapped him on the back of the head.
“Shhh” Pete whispered as they stealthily moved through the trees.
“You didn’t,” I said quickly, unable to hide the childish grin on my face.
“I did,” he replied quickly, covering my eyes with his hands Greg guided me around a corner,
“Sit.” And I obeyed. Slowly I lowered myself onto the ground and Greg pulled his hands away, “Surprise!”
It was more beautiful than I imagined, “How did you…. I cant believe you remembered!” I leaned forward and took all the details in, it was a candlelit picnic, at night, next to the fountain of Central Park.
“Oh he’s good,” Joe muttered, taking a few steps closer, “Definitely a heavy hitter. You’ve got some competition..”
Hours later the candles had burned down and the dessert was gone and it was time to part. We walked to hail a cab when Greg looked a little nervous, “This was nice,” he said opening the door for me, “Wish you were here for longer…”
“Who knows,” I said with a grin, “maybe I’ll be back sooner than I thought…” I reached over and kissed Greg and all of the memories of the good times we had over the three years we were together came flooding back. Greg had always been my first love and the one that got away. “Can I see you again?” I asked, my arms still wrapped around him “Come with me to the show day after tomorrow. Please?”
“I would love to Zoe,” he said and gave me a quick kiss, “I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered into my ear as I sat down in the cab. He closed the door and I watched him watch me as the cab drove away…
I, however, was very excited to be in New York. I had never ventured to the city but had always wanted to, and I had the next two days off all to myself. I didn’t even have to stay on the bus, Jarod had booked me a hotel room so I could have some much needed stress relief alone time – I never really would describe Jarod as compassionate but he did seem to understand the need for a day away from the job. A couple hours after arriving to the city the boys were settled into their own hotel (thankfully across town from mine).
“So where are you staying?” Andy asked as I handed him one of the suitcases.
“Some hotel on the other side of town. Jarod booked it, I forgot the name of it. You guys have my cell if you need me.”
“True,” he said taking the last of the bags, “See ya in a couple of days, Zoe!”
“See ya Andy,” I said with a smile and called over for Harold, “Harold,” I said letting out a sigh, “Can you drop me off at the hotel please?”
“Sure thing Miss Zoe!” Harold said with a grin, “Excited to get away for a bit?”
“You have no idea,” I said with a huge smile on my lips, “you have no idea….”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
I was surprised at how nice my room was when I checked into the hotel and threw my bags onto my bed. “Food,” I said to myself, “Food is a necessity…”
I walked around until I located a grocery store and using the company card I bought myself some groceries. I was looking at the wine section when someone came up behind me, “Zoe?”
Turning around I was astonished to see who was standing behind me, “Greg?”
“Yeah!” he said immediately bringing me in for a hug, “How are you!? Its been years!”
“Yeah, wow,” I said pushing back a little. Greg and I had dated in high school for three years until he moved to New Jersey with his mother, needless to say I never really had closure with him. “I’m fine. How are you?”
“Great, just…great.” He said with a childish grin on his face. He had definitely grown up in appearance – he was no longer the frail little freshman I had dated. Now he was much more…Hot? No. Attractive? No. All of the above? Yes. “What are you doing in New York?”
“I’m actually here on a job. I work for a record company and I’m managing the tour.”
“Wow, good for you!” he said with a laugh, “I just graduated from NYU and haven’t really even started to think of what I’m going to do, I’m supposed to do the whole teaching thing but I’m really just focusing on my writing.”
“That’s so awesome Greg, you used to write all the time. Amazing stuff too,” I said with a grin.
“Thanks,” he said, followed with a pause, “Since you only have a couple of days here… I don’t suppose you have time to go to dinner with me? Maybe catch up? My treat. A nice dinner and then…well I’ll think of something.”
I couldn’t say no to those beautiful blue eyes and that shaggy blonde hair, “Tonight? Around eight?” I asked, fiddling with my hair.
“Sounds great.”
After we exchanged numbers and I gave him my hotel’s address we said our goodbyes and one thought immediately jumped into my head – I had nothing to wear. Usually I would leave this up to Nick, my old roommate. Flipping open my cell phone I called the one person I thought wouldn’t mind helping me find an outfit for my date.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“Thanks for coming to meet me Patrick, I really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Patrick said, “So what’s up?”
“Well,” I said hesitantly, “I ran into an old friend when I was out grocery shopping.”
“A male friend?” He asked with a skeptical looking grin.
“Yes,” I replied sheepishly, “Anwyays, he was my high school boyfriend and we’re meeting up for dinner tonight and I don’t have anything to wear.”
“So you need me because…?”
“Well I have little fashion sense when it comes to non business clothing. Nick, my old roommate from home, was always the one to help me get ready for these things and I figured maybe you could come shopping with me? I would seriously owe you one Pat….please?”
Patrick stood still for a moment, “Well since you said please….”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“Where have you been, mister?” Andy asked as he collapsed down on the couch.
“Out,” Patrick replied back, throwing his hat onto the counter, “What’s up?”
“Nothin’” Andy said, tossing Joe the remote control.
“Foooooood,” Joe moaned tossing the remote control back, “Plastic isn’t fooooooddddd.”
“I’m on it,” Pete said, coming out of the bedroom with his cell up to his ear, “Hey Pat! Whatcha been up to?”
Patrick sat down next to Andy, snatching the remote away and changing the channel, “I was out with Zoe,” he said not looking at Pete.
“Hey! I was watchin’ that bro!” Andy and Joe said in unison.
“Shut up guys!” Pete said, putting the phone down, “Out with Zoe? What were you guys doin’? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Well,” Patrick said flipping the channel back and tossing Joe the remote, “Our little Zoe ran into an old boyfriend from high school and needed help finding a dress to wear on her date tonight.”
There was silence in the room as everyone looked at Patrick. “Dude,” Joe said, switching his gaze to a shocked Pete, “DUDE!”
“What?” Pete asked.
“Pat did she tell you where dinner was?” Joe said standing up
Without thinking Patrick responded, “Some place named Mariolla’s. Why?”
“DUDE!” Joe said excitedly, walking over to Pete, “Let’s follow her!” Pete stood still, considering the idea. Looking over at Andy he repeated himself, “Let’s follow her!”
“No,” Patrick said quickly.
“No, you guys are retarded,” Andy chorused after.
“Pete?” Joe asked walking closer to his friend, “You know you want to and I’m in need of a good adventure…. PLEASE?!”
“Fine,” Pete said finally, “It’s on.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
“I was expecting something more entertaining during dinner. Looked rather boring. And not nearly as nice of a place as I thought it was going to be..” Joe remarked as he and Pete watched from outside of the little Italian place.
“She was smiling an awful lot…” Pete said concerned, “you don’t think she’s going to wanna get back together with him or anything…do you?”
“Hard to tell… but I wasn’t to impressed with this date, I doubt she would be.” Joe was going to continue when he noticed the table was empty, “Shit!” he said loudly, throwing a $20 on the table, “they left. Let’s go!”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
“Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?” Greg remarked, linking his arm with mine as we exited the restaurant.
“Yes,” I said blushing a little, “A couple of times.”
“Well you do,” he said with a grin.
“Well thanks,” I replied back pulling a little closer to him as we crossed the street, “so now that we just had a fabulous dinner, what do we do now?”
“Well now,” he said removing his arm from mine only to wrap it around my shoulders, “I have something planned.”
We walked a little further until I noticed where we were, “Central Park?” I asked with a grin.
“You know it!” He said pulling me by the hand, moving faster, “You always said you wanted to come here. Do you remember what you said you dreamed of doing?”
“Oh my god, are they going to have sex in the park?” Joe asked looking over at Pete who just slapped him on the back of the head.
“Shhh” Pete whispered as they stealthily moved through the trees.
“You didn’t,” I said quickly, unable to hide the childish grin on my face.
“I did,” he replied quickly, covering my eyes with his hands Greg guided me around a corner,
“Sit.” And I obeyed. Slowly I lowered myself onto the ground and Greg pulled his hands away, “Surprise!”
It was more beautiful than I imagined, “How did you…. I cant believe you remembered!” I leaned forward and took all the details in, it was a candlelit picnic, at night, next to the fountain of Central Park.
“Oh he’s good,” Joe muttered, taking a few steps closer, “Definitely a heavy hitter. You’ve got some competition..”
Hours later the candles had burned down and the dessert was gone and it was time to part. We walked to hail a cab when Greg looked a little nervous, “This was nice,” he said opening the door for me, “Wish you were here for longer…”
“Who knows,” I said with a grin, “maybe I’ll be back sooner than I thought…” I reached over and kissed Greg and all of the memories of the good times we had over the three years we were together came flooding back. Greg had always been my first love and the one that got away. “Can I see you again?” I asked, my arms still wrapped around him “Come with me to the show day after tomorrow. Please?”
“I would love to Zoe,” he said and gave me a quick kiss, “I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered into my ear as I sat down in the cab. He closed the door and I watched him watch me as the cab drove away…
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