The Romantic & the Cynic

"Sky." Zayn watched as she stopped her movement back down the hall. Her back was facing him and he could see her shoulders tense as he spoke to her. "Can't sleep either," he asked with an attempted casual voice.

She seemed to pause and think before she answered. But she did slowly turn and face him, her arms crossed over the front of the skimpy tank top she had worn to bed along with a pair of shorts.

"Yeah, I guess the past couple of days have my mind going a little bit crazy. It's hard to shut your mind off when you're not sure who's going to be waiting to take your picture in the morning. I really don't know how you guys do this every day." She remained in the hall and Zayn closed the fridge in front of him, the little light that was illuminating the space now gone and leaving them in shadows. "What's got you up?"

Zayn sighed as he took a sip of the beer that he had grabbed from the fridge. It felt cool and refreshing on his throat. "Perrie called," he said with an obviously exasperated voice. "She still says she wants to get back together."

He hadn't spoken to her since the phone call that had been interrupted by the voice of her new boyfriend coming over the line. Earlier that night she had tried to tell him that it was only a friend of hers that had come over to console her during her difficult time. He had told her to sod off in not such a nice way and hung up the phone before crawling inside a bottle and staying there for the night. Tonight she had tried a different tactic. She had told him that Jackson had been there but she hadn't invited him and she had immediately kicked him out. It really was over or so she insisted. And she tried to make him feel guilty about not answering her phone calls that had continued to come sporadically to bounce towards him. He had tried to avoid the feeling of being sucked back down the rabbit hole but it was hard to keep itself from falling over the edge.

But then he had remembered the promise he had made to himself. The promise that the word love was no longer a part of his life. Lust, friendship, a companion to pass the nights with. Those were what his life would include now. Not love. He had hung the phone up on her pleading voice and turned it off, knowing there would be repeated calls from her as a follow-up.

"She doesn't give up easy," Sky commented.

"I am pretty sure that the only reason she called this time was because of the stories that had been flooding the internet. She's got her panties in a bunch because she thinks that I might not be hunched in a corner mooning over her anymore." He knew that his moodiness right after the breakup would have found its way back to her and it may have given her a little bit of happiness. They shared too many friends who talked to each other too much for it not to have. But the recent articles would have dug out her jealous streak and in that moment, she might have believed what she was saying. "She hates the fact that I'm not crawling back to her every time that she wants me to. I must admit that have moments where I want to."

Zayn saw Sky move towards him, her arms still wrapped tightly around her chest but her body leaning towards him. He mimicked the action, each of them slowly closing the distance between them.

"I would think that's kind of normal. You guys were together for four years." She was almost at him now. "That's a long time to just be able to cut it off, especially when it wasn't your choice."

Zayn shrugged his shoulders, taking another sip of the beer. He could sense the heat that was building in him from her being so close and it was highlighting the other and more pressing reason that he hadn't been able to sleep. He took a step back to create the distance before grabbing another beer from the fridge and holding it out towards Sky.

"Why don't you join me on the couch and we can solve all of our problems with the sweet elixir?" He didn't wait for an answer, assuming that she would follow. He heard her wait for a moment before making her way towards the plush couch and taking a seat beside the one that he had grabbed. He passed her the open beer and watched as she slowly took a sip. "I miss the idea of it, especially when I see the Louis or Liam on the phone. But I have to say that I realized tonight that I don't miss her. It's interesting just how clear your vision gets after you take the rose coloured glasses off. I've started to remember all the shit that came with being involved with her, with anyone. And suddenly it makes not having it a lot easier to deal with."

Sky sighed and leaned into the couch. "We always end up here, don't we?"

"What do you mean?" Zayn adjust his own position so that he was facing her, his head leaning on his fist. And more importantly stopping her leg from brushing against his hand.

"I mean you and I talking about the state of love in the world and whether or not it's worth it to have it in your life." She took another sip of the beer before setting it down on the table. She seemed to be remembering something and he wondered if it had to do with the night at the club. He still didn't remember much beyond his fight with Liam and he knew she was holding something back. "You think it's not worth the effort because of the possible pain and I think that the emotions, good or bad, make the effort worthwhile because then you know you're alive. I wonder which one of us will be right in ten years."

Zayn set his own beer down beside hers. "For someone who believes so deeply in it, I haven't heard you talk about a love life of your own. Is there anybody pining for you back in Austin? Or maybe Jake across the pond?"

Sky chuckled, the sound deep and sexy. "Nobody waiting for me. And definitely not Jake." She knew that Jake had hopes for something more but she had never returned the feelings. And he had never actually said anything to her as if the timing had never seemed right. "But just because I'm a single girl in the city doesn't mean that I believe it will never happen. I've had relationships and put myself out there but like I said, I've seen it firsthand and I know that I won't settle for anything less."

Zayn was surprised by the answer. He had imagined that there would be men lined up to date someone like her and there had to be a special man in her life for someone who espoused so much about the benefits of love. He had pictured her with a mystery man as they strolled down the street with they hands together and their laughs intermingling together. But now the picture had shifted and it didn't balance in his mind.

"How many boyfriends have you had?" The question was personal but they were beyond the simple favourite food questions now. "I mean my life is out there for all to investigate but you are still a bit of a mystery."

"That's kind of a private question," Sky said with a hint of a smile to show that she was still comfortable of the question but wanted to make him work for the answer.

"Really? You've seen me huddled on the floor in tears and you can't tell me just how many people you have dated?" Zayn cocked his finger at her. "I think that is a little bit unfair."

"Okay." She thought for a moment before answering. "I've had three men in my life that you could consider boyfriends."

"Wow, don't let that romantic side of you out to far. At least tell me they were the torrid tortured affairs that you always dreamed of. It's got to be something juicy."

"Nope, only three. And they were hardly torrid affairs. I am sorry to disappoint you." Sky laughed. "The first was when I was twelve. The boy's name was Adam and he snuck a kiss during morning recess and asked me to be his girlfriend. By the time the end of the week came around, my friends and I were already planning our wedding. Unfortunately, I didn't know that he was having an affair with Mindy Smith at the time. I broke off the engagement and kicked him in a very painful area. I got a detention for it."

Zayn laughed. "He didn't know what he had," he said as he casually stroked her arm. He could just see a younger version of Sky standing in the middle of a school yard in a little cute dress, her hands on her hips as she stood over a very sad looking Adam lying on the ground and clutching his crotch. "Remind me not to mess with you."

"He begged to get back together the next week but I told him he was a bad boy and he should go back to Mindy."

"And number two?"

"I was fifteen and his name was George." She saw the tilt of Zayn's eyebrows as he silently mocked the name and she slapped at his leg. "Please, that is a perfectly fine name and he was a very sweet boy. That was until we had been dating a full year and he forgot our anniversary. I told him that he could take the flowers and chocolates he brought the next day as an apology and give them to his next girlfriend, which he had two weeks later."

"You were not very forgiving at a young age."

Sky looked at him in indignation. "Do you think you would be forgiven if you forgot a first anniversary? You're may be a hot rock star but even you are not that irresistible Malik. At least not to anybody who is worth it."

The words stoked the heat in him to build again. "You think I'm hot?" He sickly wanted her to say yes.

He watched a blush rise to her cheeks and he found it cute. "Oh please. Don't beg for compliments. You know you are an attractive you male who is rich and successful and travels the world. That combination could seduce many a woman."

"How about you? Do I have that effect on you?" Zayn continued stroking her bare arm, making small circles and his voice as soft as smoke.

The heat was heavy between the both of them now. He could see the same lust he was feeling reflected in her own eyes, just like when they had been on the dance floor at the club. But this time there was no music, there was no crowd, there was no one to remind them that this was headed down a bad road. He watched as she took a quick sip of her beer as if to stall before setting it down and speaking again.

"Boy number three was Justin." He noticed that she didn't answer the question but he let it go. It was probably safer that way. "We met at a party and he went to the high school the next town over. We had this image of being star-crossed lovers who fate had put together but that everyone else thought should be apart. In actuality, we barely had anything in common except the fact we wanted to be more grown up than we were."

"What caused that breakup?" Zayn was very intrigued now. He liked hearing these stories, finding out more about what made Sky who she was now. "So far, someone cheated on you and someone forgot to get you some flowers. What did he do? PIck the wrong colour corsage for prom?"

Sky went silent and he saw her retreat from him, the same way she had the morning at the counter. He felt like he had abutted the invisible boundary again and wanted to know what it was. He was about to ask when she started speaking again, her eyes focused on something beyond where they were right at that moment.

"Let's just say that he wasn't the guy I thought that he was." Her eyes went wistful again and Zayn moved closer towards her, moving his circling fingers to her shoulders and gently massaging. Pain and chill radiated from her as he tried to ease it from her. "I needed him to help me through something and he bailed. Jake was the only one who stayed around to help. That's why we're so close now. Last I heard about Justin he was selling used cars and living one house down from his in-laws with his wife and kid."

She was almost spitting the words and he could feel the anger as she spoke. It was tangible between them. Zayn felt a need to release it from her and he gently pulled her towards him, letting her body fall into that place that seemed to have naturally been built for two lovers. She fell into him with little resistance and tucked herself into him. He kissed her forehead softly and she sighed in contentment.

They sat quietly like that for a few minutes, each of them seeming to let their bodies settle from the intimate contact. But it didn't stop their hearts and he could hers beating quickly against his chest.

"They were all idiots," Zayn finally said with absolute belief. How could someone possibly walk away from such an amazing woman who even he could tell had been in a tremendous amount of pain when she had needed this Justin guy? He knew he would have a hard time doing so. He needed to cut the tension and he tilted his head down to look at her. "So, back to the important question. You never did answer me about my natural seduction skills. Are you secretly melting inside right now just from my magical touch?"

The blush returned to her cheeks from the question and she tucked her face deeper into him. He had meant it as a joke but the words took on a heavier meaning as he looked at the top of her head. He desperately wanted the answer to be affirmative. He wouldn't let her hide from him and he lifted her chin easily with his fingertips. Her face became even more flushed but that was not what caused him to stop breathing for a moment. The look in her eyes was not one of pain that he had expected. It was one of absolute and complete lust. It drew him in and he felt his head coming closer to hers, her breath on his face.

"I need to be honest with you," Zayn said as he felt his hands move to the bare skin at her waist where her tank top had ridden up. "I really want to kiss you right now."

She seemed to be thinking about what to say as she closed her eyes. How would she answer such an up front question when they had had all of the conversations they had about love and commitment versus lust and want and how they believed and wanted different things? He knew to wait for her answer, knew that he had to accept whatever it was. Finally she seemed to have decided because she opened her eyes.

"Yes," she said in a soft enough voice that Zayn barely heard it but it was enough that he moved his lips tantalizingly close to hers.

"You know that we shouldn't do this. You know that Liam will be pissed as hell." He saw her move closer now, so close that when he talked, his lips brushed against hers. "You know that neither of us agree on what the outcome of this should be."

"I know all of that." She pressed her lips gently against his, electricity dancing between them as she did. "I also know that I have been thinking about this since the night at the club and I was frustrated that it didn't happen." She let her tongue glide across his teeth and it made him moan with want. "And yes, your touch is creating a little bit of magic right now."

"Good," Zayn said as he joined in the tongue play. The kiss deepened until there was only the sound of their quick breathing and fast heartbeats mixing with the sound of the waves outside. Zayn felt Sky move against him and let her turn so that she was facing him directly. He leaned back as she pushed against him and enjoyed the feeling of her body on top of his as he lay back on the couch. His hands moved underneath her tank top and stroked her skin, the top lifting until it rested just below the curve of her breasts. After a few more moments, he felt the need to stop. He needed to make sure that the non-commitment to this moment was clear in Sky's mind before it was drunk with the amazing physicality of the moment they were enjoying. He regretfully pulled back and held Sky's head in his hands, stilling it as she reached forward to reattach herself to his lips.

"Sky, I mean it. As much as I am enjoying this and have wanted it, I haven't changed my opinion about what does or doesn't come afterwards."

Sky removed his hands from her face, pinning them above his head. "I promise that I am not expecting a proposal in the morning. Just make sure that you will still talk to me." He nodded his head in agreement and she smiled. "Now, shut the hell up and kiss me."

Not one to deny an order from a woman, Zayn did exactly that.