Zest

"Kate, you could use a little zest."

Nothing could have prepared her for that. She froze in her reading, and looked up slowly. Her mouth opened for a moment, then closed with a shake of her head. She went right back down to her book, sighing at the strangeness of it all. She turned the page and forced herself to focus on it, but she knew that he was just beyond her. Sitting in the chair across from her,surely smiling with the big, crazy grin he reserved for those times when he had a plot in mind. She wasn't sure what the plot was, what could be gained from calling her zestless, but she forced herself to ignore it, and glare down at the pages of words swimming before her eyes.

"See Kate," he said, footsteps approaching and couch groaning as he plopped down beside her. "You're a little zestless. I mean, in general, that's not a bad thing. It's that calm, cool head of yours that makes you such a great Ranger. It keeps you from panicking. And who could blame you? Being the prodigy you are, that should be all the excitement you need. Unfortunately, I can't understand everything you're saying, so that kind of loses its appeal. You need more zest, more spark. We need to bring this relationship back to what it once was. You know, the whole sex by the river kind of deal."

"We got caught that time," she said with a sigh, dropping the book to her lap. "That was the most awkward moment I ever had with Rhythmi. Ever. I don't want to have a repeat situation like that. I thought the whole renewing of vows a few months ago was rather zestful. And if this is some attempt for some crazy sexual stunt-"

"Okay, it sort of is," he said, cutting her off quickly. "But it doesn't have to be. We just have to do something interesting, something spicy. Something new and different! We could do something that would throw everyone off. We could run through the streets naked or we could just do something new and fun. We could go skydiving or swim a channel or do something amazingly fun! I want to do something interesting. I want to bring everything back to the way it was, that very first spark! When I looked at you across the classroom and knew you were the one."

"You thought I was a book-loving freak."

"It made the relationship zestful."

She rolled her eyes and set the book down, getting to her feet with a stretch and a moan. "Keith, we are who we are. That little fact should be enough to keep the relationship hot and interesting. I find it perfectly so. It never really gets old, baby. I don't think it gets old. I'm having plenty of fun with you. I enjoy every single second of it. Whether we're doing something crazy of just relaxing on the couch in each other's company, I'm always happy with you."

He jumped up, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Romantic Kate, that's new."

She grinned. "How's that for zest?"

That's the end! I hope you enjoyed this lovely little collection. Thanks for everyone who reviewed, I'm glad you enjoyed!

Hugs and Love,
Natty