After the Storm

She tapped her foot with obvious impatience. The line was moving far too slowly for her taste. All she wanted was some coffee, just two cups; one for herself and one for Aleksander who was waiting her in their town car. Come on, come on, she chanted in her head. She'd already been here for nearing ten minutes. She wasn't even sure if it was worth the wait any more.

Eventually it was her turn and she ordered in a flurry. She must have came off rude but she couldn't care less at this point in time. She'd been here for fifteen minutes which was now too damn long in her opinion. When the boy finally handed her the cups, she snatched them up and turned in a hurry. She resented the boy. She was fifteen when she first started working at a coffee shop and she worked there until she was twenty. That was when she met... She tucked those thoughts away. That part of her life was over now.

And that is why it shocked her so much to see him when she turned around. At first she thought that maybe her mind had conjured him there, that those thoughts of him resurrected his image to stand in front of her. Her brain had been doing that a lot these days; she saw things that she would be best to forget. She saw them all too clearly and she could taste the realness of them on her tongue. Memories lived on when she wished they wouldn't. But the best part about those was that she could close her eyes, count backward from ten, and they'd be gone.

But not this time. She tried it twice but he stood there still in all his glory. He was a stroke of dark color in the coffee shop; dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes, and dark jeans and a dark leather jacket. His hair had been colored since she'd last seen him two years ago, it was a blond streak in his up-styled bangs. He was different but he was him. He was Zayn Malik.

He seemed to not have seen her yet and she considered making a run for it. He was in the second line, not paying attention. The people in the shop were mostly older, none of them really aware of his identity or importance in pop culture. Finley scanned around to see if the other boys were around. They weren't but a body guard stood outside and not far from him was a limousine. She was becoming unsure that she could get passed all that without being noticed.

She decided that if he noticed her, that would be fine, but she would not go up to him. She walked slowly towards the door, head ducked down. Maybe he won't even recognize me. Two years is a long time, so much has changed. I'm more worn, my hair has grown a little lighter. I'm thinner now... I don't look like the Finley he knew.

But he recognized her all the same and it took all she had not to cringe when his voice rang out. "Finley Collins? Is that you?"

She had a split second to think. She could walk on, pretending that she was someone else. She could get in her town car with her fiancé and forget all about this. But there was something inside her that brought her feet to a halt. Perhaps it was sentiment. Lingering regret or something similar. She had left him with no closure and blown him off the one time that he had actually wanted to just talk. That had been cruel of her. He should hate her now, shouldn't he? She wanted to know, and maybe that's why she stopped.

She turned and looked as surprised as she could manage. "Zayn?!"

He nodded with a half smirk and abandoned his place in line to greet her. It was immediately filled but he paid it no mind. He threw his arms around her and gave her a friendly hug. He spoke softly into her shoulder, "Wow, it's been forever."

"Yeah, it really has," she said with a sad smile before pulling away. Finley watched as he looked her up and down, drawing in the way she looked now. He lingered on her slim waist and then her tired eyes. She didn't sleep or eat much lately and he could tell. He was about to say something, she could tell, but his eyes fell to the pretty little diamond ring on her left hand.

"He's a lucky guy," he said with a forced smile. Zayn seemed to actually be happy for her, but hurt did lie underneath his smile. I just nodded slowly. "How long have you two been married?"

"Oh, we're not married. Just engaged," I offered him a look of sympathy and he took it with a sad nod. "And that's been a little over a year."

"Long engagement, huh?"

"Just until we can afford a nice wedding."

Zayn nodded again and looked down. He pulled out his phone to check the time. "I need to get going, but uh, maybe we could catch up some time? Bring your fiancé and everything. I'll treat you both to a fancy dinner and you can tell about the last few years, what do you say?"

Finley looked nervously toward the town car. A beautiful tan man sat in the front seat, patiently waiting for her. Aleksander loved her dearly, she knew this. She loved him just as much. Yet, she did owe this to Zayn. She really did.

"I'll talk it over with Alek, okay?" Finley answered. A moment later she gave her number to Zayn and he promised that he would call in the next few days to set something up or just to get an answer. They gave each other another awkward hug before parting.

Aleksander greeted her with a rather generous kiss when she sat back down in their car. She felt bubbly all of a sudden. She loved him for little surprises like this. "Long line?"

"Yeah, and I ran into an old boyfriend."

"Oh?"

Finley nodded. "He wants to catch up over some dinner; you and I both. He said he'll call in a few days. Would this be okay with you? I haven't seen him in forever and the way things ended... I owe it to him-"

"Babe," he whispered and took her hand. "I'm not the jealous type, you know that. And I love you with all my heart. I know you feel this way about me too. So I'm not worried at all. We can have dinner with the guy."

She blushed and felt like a fool for worrying. "I really do, you know. Love you with all my heart."

"Good," Aleksander smiled and kissed his soon-to-be bride on the nose. "Let's head out. Mom's expecting us in an hour."

Finley nestled into her seat and drank her coffee. "Alright," she grinned and shut her eyes to nap on the long drive ahead of them.