The Romantic & the Cynic

Sky let herself sink into the moment and the feelings that were involved with it. Every part of her knew that she should be stopping this, that no good could come of it. Zayn had been very up front of her when it came to what he expected in his relationships or lack of them with women. He didn't want the future and the wedding the two point three kids. He wanted a life of enjoyment with brief respites of female companionship dipped in for flavour.

But she didn't care. Because she had thought of it since she had seen him, if she was honest with herself. And the situation was only temporary. He would go on to whatever city they were performing in next and she would return to Austin and her life of photography when the job was done in a couple of months. Knowing that, she hoped she would be able to barricade her heart from the pain she knew she would want to feel on the flight back.

They lay like this for awhile, enjoying the sensations they were creating for each other. Hands and lips and skin became weapons they could use to tease each other. Finally, she felt him adjust underneath her, his hands moving to her butt and squeezing it. It made her grind into him even more and she heard him groan into his mouth.

"God," he said as he pulled away and brushed her flushed cheeks with his fingertips. "You are an amazing kisser."

"You aren't so bad yourself," she said as she moved her mouth down and kissed his collarbones. "I can't say that I'm sorry for that."

She saw Zayn smile and moved back up to face him, resting her chin on his chest. "I mean what I said Zayn. I am not expecting a life commitment from you. I just want to know that we'll still be friends when this is all over." She wanted to add that they would see what happened but she knew that screamed expectations and that was not how she wanted to walk away from this.

"It's strange because we've only known you for not even a couple of weeks but I can't imagine my life without you as a friend." She saw his eyes hesitate for a moment as if he was measuring what he wanted to say. "I've talked to you about things that I have never talked to anybody about and I'm so happy about that. You are an amazing person and I can honestly say that the best thing that happened was Jake being booted off of this job."

He softly pulled her forward, bringing her lips to his. "Now, can we stop with this talking and get back to the mind-blowing kissing that I was in the middle of enjoying?"

Sky chuckled and brushed her lips against his. "I can get on board with that."

The two of them met the first kiss of the sun as they continued their activities on the couch. Hands roamed and lips tasted heated skin but neither of them crossed the unspoken boundary that they each seemed to know. Both Zayn and Sky knew that crossing over it would get them in an area that they weren't ready for. They may never be. It was Sky who finally broke off the kiss, the separation of their lips seeming to cause her almost physical pain. Zayn tried to pull her back towards him but she put her hands on his chest and pushed herself away, enjoying the moan of displeasure that leaked from his pouting lips.

"Something tells me that we had better get ourselves back in our rooms before we have some company from a few other boys. I don't want to face the grief from Liam and I don't think you do either." She kissed the tip of his nose, watching as he crinkled it in reaction. "Get yourself up and get back to bed."

Sky pushed herself up, letting Zayn hold her for a moment before breaking his resistance and getting herself off of his solid chest. She stood for a moment, forcing her legs, and heartbeat, to get their balance before stepping away and swatting at Zayn's reaching hands.

"Come back here," he said with a sultry and sexy voice. It almost made Sky jump back on to the couch with him. "They lads won't be up for another couple of hours, you know they're late sleepers. Lots of time to continue."

Sky resisted the very strong urge to give in. She stepped a bit farther away. "You will not make me break. I am going back to my room. You are free to remain where you are." She said the words with a smile teasing her lips and watched as he forced himself to sit up and turn to face her.

"I am only letting you walk away because I don't feel like arguing with Liam but next time, I won't let that stop me." He stood up, the jeans he wore riding low on his narrow hips. He moved towards her and let his hands rest on her bare shoulders. "I can't wait until we can do this again." He gently leaned forward and kissed her lips before dropping his hands.

They finally parted ways, each of them returning reluctantly to their respective rooms. Sky could have sworn she heard a door open and close behind her besides Zayn's but she didn't dare open her door, scared that whomever may be on the other side may see the mixture of emotions that were obvious on her face.

She had hoped to grab some sleep but instead, Sky spent the next two hours in her room, staring out the window and allowing her mind to bounce between the different thoughts that were exploding inside her. She knew that she should regret what had happened between her and Zayn, that the crossing of the physical contact line had put them in a world neither of them were ready for. He had been very clear with her from the day on the beach that he had no desire to be in a relationship. His future included companionship and lust and that was exactly not what Sky was looking for. She wanted a long-term commitment from the man that she was with and it was no different with Zayn.

But last night, she had finally allowed her body to take over and control her actions. And she couldn't say that she felt guilty for it. The sensations that Zayn had created were ones that she had never experienced before. His hands truly were magic. She was not inexperienced but she hadn't had a lot of contact with the male species, as she was reminded of by Jessica on a regular basis. She began to wonder if she had made him feel anywhere near what she had. By the look in his eyes and the speed of his beating heart, she was pretty sure that she had.

After the two hours, she still was no closer to the answer of just what she was going to do about the night before. Part of her couldn't wait to recreate the moment and the other knew that she had to ask for more from Zayn, ask from him what she knew she wanted. In the end, she decided to shove the question from her mind and make sure that the two of them weren't alone during the day. She would deal with the night when it arrived.

She had heard rumblings of the boys up and about for the last hour and forced herself to get up and start to get ready. She had a small bathroom attached to her room so she grabbed her clothes and hopped in the shower, letting the water touch the places that Zayn had been exploring only a few hours before. She lingered in the shower for a few more moments before getting out and dressing into a pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt. She decided it was a glasses day as her eyes were tired from no sleep and she slipped them on. She threw her damp hair into a ponytail before slipping on a pair of sandals and leaving the safety of her room and heading out towards the living room where the sound was wafting from.

When she arrived in the living room, her eyes immediately snapped to Zayn. He didn't seem to have changed since she had left him, his body still covered only by the low-slung jeans. He was currently standing by the door to the deck, a cigarette hanging from his lips. He seemed to sense her arrival but acknowledged it with a slight turn of his head towards her. She felt her hands curling into themselves at the memory of how his bare skin had felt. She forced herself to take a deep breath and enter the room.

The rest of the boys had congregated in the kitchen, all eating various forms of breakfast around the island. As she approached, she listened to them banter at each other.

"Come on Louis, what's the point of being rich and famous if you don't splurge sometimes." That was Niall speaking, his voice muffled from the eggs he currently had stuffed in them. "Besides the Range Rover is like four years old and too big to drive in the city. I wanted a new one."

"I'm not saying that the car isn't a sweet ride but I just find it hard to believe you bought it without even seeing it." Louis shrugged his shoulder as he bit into a bagel. "And you're not going to see it until we get back to London."

Louis seemed to notice that Sky had entered and waved the half-eaten bagel at her. "You can settle this," he said with a slight smirk. "Tell me whether or not you would buy a $100,000 car that you haven't seen yet and you won't see for another two months."

Sky grabbed a seat and poured herself a glass of juice, trying to avoid the way that Zayn had turned and was now leaning against the door jam and looking directly at her. "Well, since I have never had to deal with that situation, I would have to agree with Niall and say have fun." She took a quick sip, trying to moisten her parched throat. It didn't work.

"Thank you Sky," Niall said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "See, this a smart girl who knows how to have fun."

Sky saw what she thought was jealousy flash through Zayn's eyes from her periphery vision at the contact and felt the immediate heat of it. She felt herself adjusting her body so that Niall's arm dropped to his side before she moved slightly to the side and away from him.

"Don't we have to get going?" Zayn's voice came from the corner, a flash of annoyance in it. "Or are we just going to sit here and watch Niall stuff his face." He pushed himself off of the corner and made his way to the couch where a t-shirt hung over the corner. He through it on and made his way to the door, not waiting for everyone to follow him. The group looked at each other surprised at his tone but each of them stood up and got themselves ready to go as well.

Sky followed their lead and joined them as they walked out to the van. Louis had grabbed her camera bags from her and slung them over her shoulder, his eyes hanging on to her as he did. She wondered for a moment if he was the one that she had heard as she had returned to her room but he didn't say anything and now wasn't the time to bring it up.

The group hopped in the van and the driver made his way to the studio. Sky sat between Niall and Harry, trying to keep space between her and Zayn. Both of them remained quiet the entire ride, Sky closing her eyes and trying to calm herself before she arrived at the studio. She needed to return to a state of calm before she started working.

Rob was going to meet them there and he was standing at the front door as they arrived. There were several photographers greeting them but Rob was able to keep them back and all of them easily made it inside and into the studio.

The day passed easily enough, the groups interactions seeming to be mostly normal. The hardest part for Sky was that she couldn't escape Zayn's hungry eyes as they seemed to devour her. They followed her around the small room as she took her photos. Thankfully, she was able to avoid most physical contact between them but there were moments where his hands drifted over hers or his arms brushed against her back. Each time sent a shock through her system that she couldn't avoid relishing.

After lunch, Sky was adjusting her lenses and reviewing some shots when Harry came and sat beside her. He flung his arm over her shoulders, receiving the same reaction that Niall had that morning but missed it just as much. He squeezed her against him, pressing her side against his and kissed her temple.

"So, since we showed you such an amazing time on Saturday, you need to come with us to a party that is happening this weekend. It's being thrown by some fancy producer and there are going to be some cracking celebrities there."

Sky moved away again, avoiding the daggers that were being thrown her way. "I can't this weekend."

Niall heard the conversation since it was such a small room and immediately came over. "What do you mean? You have to come, it'll be a blast! Don't let those stupid paps get to you. You should still have fun."

Sky laughed at his reaction. "No, no. It has nothing to do with that. It's just that I'm not going to be here this weekend." She saw that all of the eyes had moved to her now and it made her shift uncomfortably. "I have to go back to Austin and shoot a wedding on Saturday. It's already all arranged with Liam."

This weekend was the first of the two weekends that she would be returning home to shoot the first of the two weddings she had already booked before she had come to L.A.. She had to leave Friday night, shoot the wedding on Saturday and was flying back on Sunday. And to be honest, with what had happened last night, she was looking forward to a break from the Zayn ride. At the mention that Sky was leaving, Zayn was immediately in front of her, his body tense with concern.

"There is no way you're going back to Austin by yourself." His voice was full of possessiveness as he spoke. "Over my dead body are you leaving L.A. with those stupid paps still following you."