Taking Chances

“How’d flat-hunting go?” Zayn questioned the second I walked through the door. He was lying on the couch, an arm hooked under his head to use as a pillow. His eyes almost seemed glazed over as he flicked through the channels, the different shows casting different amounts of light on his features.

“Awesome,” I replied honestly as I plopped down next to him, picking up his legs so they were resting on my lap. “Rebecca and I found an apartment that we absolutely love.”

“Really?” His eyebrows shot to his hairline as he sat up, taking his legs off me and curling them so he was sitting Indian-style. He rubbed the back of his head and shut off the television before turning to face me. “How much?”

“How much does it cost, or how much do we love it?”

“How much do you love it?” he responded with a laugh. “I don’t want to know how much it costs.”

“It’s just…” I sighed and hit my head against the back of the couch. “It’s perfect. Incredibly perfect.”

“And?”

“We signed the contract. We move in next week.”

He let out a long breath without saying a word. His silence made me nervous, like he might have been angry that we hadn’t consulted him or anything. But instead, he just shook his head and said, “That soon, huh?”

I swallowed. “Yeah.” Quickly, I added, “I mean, it’ll be better this way. Now you can finally have the apartment to yourself again without worrying about Rebecca and me all the time. And we’re still only going to be a few blocks away.”

“I never worried about you and Rebecca,” he told me honestly. “And I really liked having you around.”

“Awww,” I cooed jokingly before leaning over and kissing him softly. “I like having you around, too.”

“So then don’t leave me,” he murmured, scooting closer to me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

I laughed for a second before locking my eyes with his deep brown ones. “C’mon, Zayn. I’m going to be a big girl now. And I won’t be that far away. We’ll still see each other all the time. But I can’t stay here.”

“Why not?” he whispered, angling his face so I could feel his breath on my lips.

“Because…” I trailed off, trying to grasp onto the thoughts that were being entirely scrambled by the warmth of his hands seeping through my shirt, the subtle smell of his cologne, the sound of his steady breath. How could he have steady breath? Was it just me getting worked up over our close proximity to one another? “Just…because,” I finally answered.

He pulled back a little and smirked. “Because you don’t like me?” he teased.

“Yup. That’s it,” I responded sarcastically. “I just really hate you. The only reason that I stayed here is because I needed a place to live.”

“I figured as much,” he chuckled softly before closing the gap between us, kissing me with urgency.

Almost immediately, he poked his tongue into my mouth and tightened his grip around me, pressing my body against his.

“I’m not even leaving yet,” I laughed as I pulled away, trying to disguise the fact that my voice sounded a little breathless.

“Maybe not, but we still don’t have a lot of time.”

I took his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. “Honey, I’m staying in London. Please stop acting like I’m going to Zimbabwe. You’re making me think that you’re never going to visit.”

“Oh, trust me, I’ll be visiting often.”

I smiled and ran my thumbs along his cheekbones. For a second, he closed his eyes at my touch, looking perfectly content.

My heart raced while my mind was begging me to kiss him again and stay like that forever.

When his eyelids fluttered open so he could look at me again, he smiled a little. “I have an idea.”

“Do you?”

“I do.”

I waited for a minute, expecting him to follow up his statement with the actual plan. But no such luck. “Sounds like a great idea,” I teased.

He grinned before saying, “Alright, so I was thinking that tomorrow, I could take you out on a real date.” I opened my mouth to interject something, but he cut me off by saying, “And something classier than going out to see Spiderman.”

“Seeing Batman?” I joked.

He rolled his eyes. “C’mon, you know what I mean. A real date. Where we dress up and go to a fancy restaurant and I spend loads of money.”

“Um, I really don’t want you to spend a lot of money on me…” I trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, too bad.” He stuck his tongue out at me before continuing. “It’ll be the last time I get to, since you’re going to be off taking care of yourself.”

“Oh my God,” I groaned. “How many times do I have to say that you’re still going to see me all the time before you actually believe me?”

“There’s nothing to believe,” he replied simply. “Even if I go over to see you every day, I’m still not going to see you enough without you living in the same flat as me. I won’t be able to be comforted with the thought that you’re only sleeping a room away. And if I’m having a hard day, I won’t be able to think, ‘Well, it’s alright. I can tell Bailey all about it when I get back home.’ Because you won’t be there.”

“You can come over my house if you’re having a hard day,” I informed him. “Alright, stop. This is ending right now. We still have a week before I leave, and you’re getting me all upset. So stop.”

He laughed a little before lying down on his back, one arm resting on his stomach, the other reaching up to pull me down next to him.

I sighed and followed his direction, curling up against his side, resting my head on his chest. I could hear his heart beating steadily, though a little quickly.

“Are you wearing the necklace?” Zayn mumbled, reaching up to grab the heart hanging from the chain. As delicately as possible, he ran his thumb along the stones, the slightest of smiles playing on his lips.

“Of course,” I replied matter-of-factly. “I don’t take it off, other than when I’m showering.”

He leaned forward and connected his lips to mine for a second. “I’m so glad you like it.”

“I love it,” I corrected him. “It’s just perfect.” I knew I was using that word kind of a lot to describe things, but I couldn’t think of anything that suited the situation better.

He yawned widely in my face, not having the hand available to reach up and cover his mouth. “That was super cute. Thanks.”

Zayn chuckled and replied, “Sorry. I’m knackered from all the recording we’ve been doing recently.”

“Then go to sleep,” I ordered as I sat up, gathering my hair so it all spilled down my back.

He gave me a puppy-dog look, but I just rolled my eyes. “Oh, stop that. I’ll be here in the morning. It’s not like I’m going to run off during the night. And you’re not much fun to spend time with when you’re tired.”

“Whatever you say,” he sighed. He leaned forward and pecked me on the lips briefly. “Goodnight, Bails.”

“’Night, Zayn.”

“Tell Rebecca when she comes in that I expect waffles in the morning.” His tone sounded serious, but the twitching of the corner of his mouth showed that he was entirely kidding.

“I’ll let her know. And that she better do it, since it’s her payment for being here.”

He burst out laughing. “Don’t tell her that! She’s going to think I’m awful.”

“She’s going to know you’re joking…”

Zayn shook his head and headed toward his bedroom. “Just do whatever makes you happy. I’m going to sleep.”

Right before he closed his door behind him, I called out, “SWEET DREAMS.”

“Same to you,” he muttered, the end distorted with the start of another yawn.

I threw myself back on the couch, crossing my arms behind my head and staring at the ceiling.

Soon enough, I felt my eyelids start to grow heavy. I struggled to keep my gaze focused, knowing that I should give Rebecca the warning about cooking in the morning.

But in the end, my exhaustion won, and I ended up taking Rebecca’s typical sleeping spot on the couch.