The Romantic & the Cynic

Everyone looked at him with surprise, his tone reverberating throughout the room. He stood before her and Harry with his hands crossed across his puffed out chest and his eyes looking like black onyx from emotion. Sky felt her spine stiffen at his words, his anger too harsh for her to hear. He had been the one who had laid down the silent rules that she was struggling to work into her psyche. And this reaction to her leaving for a couple of days was not one of them. She stood up and closed half the distance between them, forcing herself to not let him see how his reaction had shaken her.

"I can hardly skip the job. I signed the contract months ago and I can't leave them hanging two days before they get married." Sky took a breath before continuing. "Besides, I highly doubt they will follow me all the way to Austin to see me photograph two people getting married."

Sky saw Liam and Louis join the group, knots of concern on their foreheads. "Maybe Zayn has a point. There is a heck of a lot of interest in regards to you and your relationship with us. They may just decide to send somebody." This was Liam speaking, his voice both trying to calm his bandmate and to warn of concern to Sky.

"Okay, you guys are being ridiculous." Sky looked at all of the men surrounding her. "I have to go to Austin and I have to shoot this wedding. If there are people who decide to photograph me doing it, I will just have to deal with it."

Louis stepped beside her, setting his hand on her arm. "Look, you have to know that if on the off chance that one of these guys show up at somebody's special day it won't be a good thing. They will be intrusive and rude and could ruin the wedding. I know that you don't want that for them."

Sky pondered his statement for a moment. Even though she hated it, she had to admit that Louis may be right. A wedding was supposed to be a sacred event, a time when two people and their families committed to creating a future together. Having a guy in a t-shirt and ball cap in the background would rip that atmosphere apart. But she really couldn't cancel on them on such short notice. And finding a replacement was also out. Even if she was able to find one, she wouldn't feel comfortable making the recommendation. She built a relationship with her clients and it helped her do a better job on the day.

Sky crossed her arms in defiance but her shoulders slumped forward in resignation. She could hear the logic in what they were saying but she didn't have to like it. "Well, what exactly am I supposed to do now? Any of you have any brainiac ideas to fix a problem I didn't create?" She hadn't meant for her tone to be accusatory but it had come across that way. She was frustrated that her life had been put out there for the world only because she had decided to have a rare night of fun. She was frustrated that her choice would affect the special day of someone else. But she was mostly frustrated that Zayn had seemed to change the rules he had clearly stated only twelve hours before. He was supposed to be a casual friend who happened to be an amazing kisser, just like he wanted.

"I'll go with you." Zayn spoke this firmly. "I can go and distract them so you can shoot the wedding. If I'm there, they won't focus on you."

"That's insane," Sky said quickly. "We are trying to get this whole thing to go away. You coming with me will only give them a reason to continue saying that something is going on." She almost choked on the last words, the lie seeming to stick on her tongue. But she could hardly say anything different with everyone there.

"Why don't we send somebody else back with you? I'm sure that Rob will agree to go if we ask him." Niall spoke this suggestion, his voice low amongst the group. "He can make sure that nobody gets too close and interrupts the day."

"And what am I supposed to say to the bride and groom? Hey, can you make sure we have an extra plate for the big bodyguard in the corner?" She scoffed. "Hardly."

"There is no way you can go by yourself. Rob may be the best solution." Louis gently stroked her arm, earning an angry glare from Zayn. "Look, I know you won't like it but he knows his stuff. He will be in the background, they won't know that he is even there. And that is better than the paps crashing the I dos."

Sky thought for a moment more before knowing that she had to give in. Rob really was the best solution to the current predicament. He would have to come with her.

"Fine, you're right. Rob can come." She pulled out her phone and went into her contacts. "Look, I have to call the bride and let her know what's going on. And we'll have to find a way to get a ticket for Rob on the flight."

"Paul can take care of that." Louis finally dropped his hand to his side. "He is amazing at figuring out these last minute things. And if you need help talking to the bride, just let us know."

Sky nodded, the phone ringing as she tucked it against her ear. The group slowly broke up then, returning to what they had been doing before the ruckus had started. Zayn was the last one to leave, reaching for her as if to apologize. She stepped away and out into the hall. She didn't want to deal with the confusion he brought at that moment.

She quickly called the bride and explained the situation. She was confused at first and then concerned about what effect it would have on the day that she had planned down to the last minute. Sky talked her through it and promised that it wouldn't change anything that had been organized. After hanging up, she stayed in the hall, needing to breathe out all of the tension that had built inside of her. Unfortunately, she only had a few minutes of it before the door to the studio that she had her back to swung open and she heard someone step out.

"Sky," she heard from a voice behind her. "I didn't mean to upset you but I just wanted to make sure that you were safe and could do your job."

Sky took a deep breath before turning and looking at Zayn as he stood before her. He had kept a distance between them, sensing her discomfort.

"I know but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. And the suggestion that you come with me? Are you trying to advertise to people that we made out last night? Cause if you want to, you are doing a great job." She said the words tiredly to him, watching as he flinched at them. Her voice was low as well as she tried to avoid it drifting inside the studio.

"I don't know why I suggested it. I know it was stupid but it was the only thing that came to mind." Zayn stepped forward, closing the distance. "Don't hate me for wanting to protect you."

"I don't hate you." Sky forced herself to remain where she was, letting herself feel the heat of her body as it warmed up from his proximity. "I'm just confused. You were pretty clear about the rules of how this is supposed to go. No connection, no feelings, no future beyond the next moment. I am forcing myself to deal with that and you pulling shit like that isn't helping me do that."

"That doesn't mean I want to throw you to the wolves. It means that I enjoy spending time with you." He took another step closer to her, putting his hands on her hips. "I was hoping you would understand that from my reaction to you last night." He was against her now, pressing his hips against hers. Sky couldn't help but let her eyes fly to the door. She was waiting for one of the other men to open it and see the completely inappropriate situation happening feet from them.

"I know I can't promise you the future that you always dreamed of but I can promise you a couple of months of fun. And when you go back to Austin, you will have a thousand memories to pack with you and think back on." He brought his face to hers, one hand tracing her jaw. "You do things to me that no one else ever has. You're like a drug that I have to take just to get through the day. And I haven't had my dose in way too long."

He crashed into her then, her lips moulding to his with no thought on her part. It was like they too had been parched and waiting for relief. She lifted one hand and sunk it into his thick hair, enjoying the feeling of it sliding through her fingers. He gently turned her and placed her against the wall of the hallway. She did so readily, enjoying the feeling of the way his pelvis was pressing against hers. She desperately wanted to rip his shirt off and let her hands caress his solid chest but she stopped herself based on the fact that they were in a very public place. Instead of doing that though, she drifted her other hand to the hem of his shirt and stroked the sensitive skin that ran underneath it. He hissed against her lips.

Zayn moved his lips to the base of her neck, snacking on the sensitive skin. "Promise me that when everybody is asleep tonight, I can come see you in your room. I need to come see you."

Sky hesitated. For some reason that was too close for her. By bringing him in there, even though it was only a guest room in a rented house, she would be crossing a line that she didn't think she would be able to return to. But her body was currently sparkling from enjoying his touch and did not want to be denied.

"Not my room. Meet me on the beach. We can get a bit away from the house so they won't see." Sky moaned as Zayn moved up just below her ear. "Come on, we need to stop. Somebody is going to see."

Zayn placed one more kiss before moving the evil lips away from her skin but did not move his body. It was still pressed intimately against hers. When he looked at her she could see his eyes were filled with dark lust and she was pretty sure that hers were pretty close to the same shade. He traced her jaw again with the tip of his finger and Sky felt her face tilt involuntarily towards it as she enjoyed the sensation. She kissed the tip of it as it came to her lips, causing his own to lift into a silky smile.

"Okay, beach it is. Anywhere as long as I don't have to worry about being interrupted." She heard the growl in his voice and it sent goosebumps down her spine. "Because I really don't want to be interrupted."

Sky nodded and gently pushed against his hips with hands to create a bit of separation between them. The heat that she had been enjoying from the contact immediately dissipated. Sky had to bite her lips to stop a groan of protest from spilling from her mouth.

The action happened just in time. The door to the studio opened beside them and Louis' face popped out, a flash of something sliding across it. He quickly recomposed it though and stepped out to join Sky and Zayn in hall.

"Hey guys, everything okay?" He looked at both of them, looking for something. He didn't seem to find it and the three of them began to feel awkward at the silence that was growing when Sky and Zayn didn't answer. "Paul already talked to Rob and he is looking forward to going back to Austin with you. He's even bringing his finest suit."

Sky smiled and pushed herself off of the wall, trying to cover up the discomfort of everyone and especially herself. "Thank you guys for arranging it. I talked to the bride and she was okay with it once I assured her that they wouldn't even know that he was there. They won't know, right?" She still worried about that. When this was all done, she had to return to her real life and her reputation as a professional was a key part of why her business was successful. She couldn't lose that.

Louis nodded. "He'll be fine. He's used to this kind of thing. Paul already got him a ticket on your flight there and back. And he also already made arrangements to take you guys to the airport after we're done in the studio on Friday."

"Well, I guess it's handy to have a guy like that around. Maybe I'll check into his rates for some of my own tedious personal stuff."

Louis laughed and slung his arm over Sky's shoulder. The touch was more authoritative than it had been before and she wondered if it was a message to Zayn to keep his hands to himself and away from her. She felt bad for the dark-haired man since he was hardly forcing himself on her but she couldn't force herself to say anything different. As they walked back into the studio and he followed them, she felt his darkened eyes on her and she had concentrate very hard on moving one foot in front of the other. And Louis' arm never left her shoulder.