Snowed In

As Brenna walked down the hallway, she felt like she was floating on air. The resort was getting colder by the second, but Brenna hardly noticed, because she was too lost in her own world. It had been moments since she and Zayn kissed, but she swore she could still feel it.

She had wanted to stay in that hallway with him forever, but when the Alicia and Liam came to them looking for some help, they were forced to separate.

Zayn went with Liam to do some heavy lifting, while Brenna went to grab some blankets alone. Zayn had insisted that he go with her, but she knew exactly where the blankets were, and his muscles could be put to better use.

When Brenna arrived back towards the bedrooms, she was met with the smiling face of Alicia, who was shivering.

“Finally you’re back,” Alicia said, as she pulled a blanket from Brenna’s hands. “I’m freezing.”

Brenna chuckled. “Sorry about that. Didn’t realize there were so much junk to go through.”

“Not a problem. The boys are still going through some rubble, and I have no clue where the rest of them went.”

Brenna’s thoughts immediately went to Elsie, who she hadn’t seen since earlier that afternoon. In fact, she hadn’t seen Louis since about that time either, so it was a reasonable assumption that the two of them were together.

“Hopefully they’ll all be back soon,” Brenna said, as she tossed the blankets onto the open floor. “It’s going to be dark soon.”

The sun seemed to set earlier and earlier, which only made it colder in the resort. Nights got to be freezing, and Brenna spent most of them so cold that she was could hardly sleep. They were lucky they had the amount of blankets that they did, or they’d be done for sure.

As nightfall hit, the resort’s many lights were the only thing allowing them to see, and with them flickering on and off, it was becoming a pain. Alicia and Brenna lit a few candles, which gave off more steady light, as well as a fair bit of warmth.

Just as they lit the last of the candles, they heard the sound of footsteps behind them. Brenna whipped her head around, her eyes immediately meeting Zayn’s honey ones.

He looked sweaty, but cold, with his hair tousled oddly around his face. Brenna was used to seeing him always looking perfect, so the sight of his disheveled hair made her smile. He grinned back and took a few steps towards her.

“I see you found the blankets,” he said, as he smiled down at her.

She nodded. “Almost got lost on the way back, but I made it.”

With Zayn looking down at her, all Brenna could do was smile. Half of her still couldn’t believe that he felt the same way she did, while the other half was simply shocked at how perfect he was. She had spent so long pining over him that it hardly felt real.

Behind her, Alicia asked Liam, “where is everyone?”

Liam bit his lip, his eyes darting to the floor. “We better just let them be.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing. It just doesn’t involve us.”

Brenna wanted to ask Zayn what they knew that the girls didn’t, but deep down she knew it wasn’t her place to pry. If anyone was in danger, the boys would have told them, so whatever it was couldn’t be that important.

“We better get to bed,” Liam said to the three of them. “We’ve got a lot do in the morning.”

Brenna nodded, before her eyes moved back towards Zayn. All she could do was stare at him, as she had didn’t know what was supposed to happen next. Liam and Alicia were walking down one hallway, and Brenna had no clue whether or not they were going to be sharing a bed, and she wondered the same for herself and Zayn.

His soft eyes looked down at her, as one hand moved to her hair. He pressed his fingers around a loose strand, before tucking it behind her ear.

“Where were you planning on sleeping?” Zayn asked.

Brenna shrugged. “I guess my usual bed. You?”

“Same.”

The two paused in an awkward silence. Both of them were too afraid to ask the question that lingered in the air. Brenna tugged nervously at her bottom lip, while Zayn tapped his foot against the floor.

After a long while of standing, when they finally got to the point where they would have to do something, Zayn cleared his throat.

“I could lay with you, if you’d like,” he said, his eyes leaving her for the first time. “Just to keep you warm.”

Brenna tried her best to mask the wide smile that fell to her lips, and she wasn’t sure how successful she was.

“I’d like that,” she replied, nodding her head gently.

He dropped his hand down to hers and wrapped their fingers together. With her leading the way, Brenna showed Zayn to the small bedroom she’d taken, which had a bed that was piled with blankets.

The two entered the room, with both of them pausing at the doorway. Brenna wasn’t sure how many times Zayn had slept with a girl, but she knew he was rather experienced in the dating department. She, on the other hand, had never laid in the same bed as a boy, so she was more nervous than anything.

Feeling Brenna’s hand shaking beneath him, Zayn looked to her with a small smile. “You don’t need to be nervous. We’re not going to do anything, Bren. Just lay under the same blankets.”

Brenna nodded, while simultaneously letting out a relieved sigh that she hoped he hadn’t heard. He latched more tightly onto her hand, before guiding her to the bedside. His free hand moved to the blankets and gently lifted them into the air.

Even though Zayn had told her not to worry, Brenna thought she’d never been so nervous in all her life. She tried as hard as she could to mask those nerves, but her attempts were usually unsuccessful. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Zayn, because she did. There was just something so frightening about lying in a bed with someone you’d waited so long to be with.

Zayn’s thumb began moving back and forth against her hand, and there was something so comforting about it that allowed Brenna to let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. He clearly knew how scared she was, so he held up the blanket for a few more seconds, before ducking under them himself.

He slid underneath the warm covers, and Brenna watched as a small smile fell to his face. His eyes fell shut, with his head resting against the pillow, and she couldn’t help but think how peaceful he looked.

“Dawson,” he whispered, with his eyes still closed. “I’m waiting.”

For some reason, him using her old nickname gave her confidence. She remembered back to all the times she and Zayn had flirted in the kitchen, and every moment she’d spent daydreaming about him. She remembered just hours before, when she had finally kissed that very same boy, and she smiled.

“Move over then,” she chuckled, as she pressed her hands against him. “You’re hogging all the blankets.”

Zayn’s grin widened, and he quickly scooted over, giving her just enough room to lie down. The space was big enough that she could fit, but small enough that she’d be touching him when she did. It was exactly what he wanted.

She finally dipped onto the bed, pulling the covers over her. Instantly, she felt Zayn’s warm body barely touching hers, and all she wanted to do was move closer to him.