London Calling

Jen leapt out of the shower, just finishing in time for her phone to start ringing. She hurriedly wrapped a towel around herself and then ran to her bedroom. Diving on her bed, she stretched her arm to reach her iPhone on the bedside table. She swiped her finger across the screen and breathlessly answered, “Hello?”

“Why are you out of breath?” Zayn asked curiously, not bothering with a hello because they both expected this call to come through.

“I just got out of the shower and I had to run back to my room to answer the phone,” she responded like it was an everyday occurrence. Zayn had witnessed her high jump over her couch just to answer one of Jonathan’s texts.

“That excited to talk to me?” he teased.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless, “Oh God yes. I’m just one of those love-struck teeny boppers you’ve got following you around that will offer any sexual service that you may need.”

Zayn let out a hearty laugh, “Well I don’t know about a teeny bopper, but you’re my girlfriend, it’s a given that you want me for my body.”

“Zayn!” she yelled taken aback. He wasn’t even in the same room as her, but he still managed to get her to turn fire engine red. She hadn’t ever let slip how attracted she was to him. It wasn’t just his personality that drew her to him. It was undeniable that he was a good looking man. With his soft raven hair, his enticing amber eyes, and his disarming smile always made her feel weak in the knees. She had thought she had hidden her attraction to him when they were friends. She had made sure never to stare too long or tell him how handsome he was. She had been careful to suppress her feelings because she wanted him to remain her friend while she was in London because at the time she had no one else. It seemed she had not been as subtle as she had previously thought. “Oh my God,” she said embarrassed.

“Okay, okay I’ll behave now. I just wanted you to know that we are having our date at my flat so there is no need to dress to the nines. Jeans and a T-shirt will suffice.”

“What are you planning?” she asked excitedly.

“It’s a surprise.”

She groaned and flopped her head on her bed in discontent. “I hate you, why did you get me all excited for it and now I have to wait.”

“Sorry love.”

“You can make it up to me by making it the best first date of my life,” she challenged

“I think that could happen,” he said confidently, “I have to go back into the studio. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Zayn that’s stupid. I’m cooking dinner here and we can execute your plans here because the fact that you are going to pick me up only to drive to your apartment is the dumbest thing I have ever heard.”

“Fine,” he said in a mock angry tone, “Forgive me for trying to be a gentleman.”

“Fuck chivalry. I wear the pants in this relationship.”

“I bet you’re not wearing pants now, so clearly you don’t and I can charm them right off you without even being in the same room.” he said and she could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
She blushed a deep scarlet at the fact that he seemed to know that she was still in her towel. “Goodbye Zayn!” she exclaimed and hung upon him. She liked how confident he was in himself. He was always confident, but the way he was shamelessly flirting with her made her fawn over him all the more. She liked a man with confidence who had the ability to back up everything he said.

She put her iPhone on her dock and blasted the music through the speakers of her black iHome as she began to cook them dinner. She decided to make breakfast for dinner in order to make it a special dinner. Neither of them were big on eating breakfast, but she had a bad hankering for pancakes and she would not be denied. She mixed a batch from the box she had bought from the market for days like these. She then took a skillet out and sprayed it so the pancakes wouldn’t stick to it. She poured some mix into the skillet to make three pancakes at a time. She got out a few bananas as she waited to flip the pancakes. She sliced them into pieces they could put on their pancakes. She flipped her pancakes before cutting up a few apples for a side to the pancakes. She finished cooking the pancakes and kept them warm in the oven. She was setting the table when there was a knock on her door. She smiled at the fact that Zayn actually bothered to knock, he usually just strolled in if the door was unlocked. She answered the door in a neon green high-low skirt, a black tank top, and a black jean jacket over the tank top. She had decided on black flip flops.

She took one look at his outfit and started laughing. He was wearing khakis and a white polo under a green sweater. They must have been on the same wavelength to both pick to wear green tonight. “I thought you said to dress casual. That’s not casual Mr. Malik.”

“Me?” he asked indignantly, “You’re the one that looks bloody gorgeous in that skirt. I’m glad we are staying inside so that only I get to see how beautiful you look tonight.”

She blushed and let out a squeal as he pulled a single lily behind his back and handed it to her. She took it from him and put it into a cup of water since she didn’t have a vase. She put the final touches on the table while Zayn sat down and she brought out the pancakes and syrup. He chuckled when he saw what the main course was. “Excellent choice for a meal,” he complimented her.

Instead of sitting on opposite sides of the table, Jen elected to sit to the right of Zayn while he sat at the head of the table. They talked quietly, but mostly enjoyed the pancakes and fruit. When they had finished, Zayn helped her clean up.

“Are you ready for the main event?”

She immediately returned the smile on his face because she couldn’t help but smile when he was around. When he saw her excited nod, he stood and pulled her to her feet as well. He picked up his book bag before leading the way to her door. Grabbing her keys from the command hook by the door, he let her out first before locking the door behind him. As they walked towards the elevator, she heard the clanking of something in Zayn’s book bag and it made her incredibly curious, especially when they got into his car and headed to the outskirts of London. She had never been to this part of London and she noticed that there weren’t as many tourists around because the people walking on the sidewalk looked calm and collected; they definitely knew where they were going. Instead of asking Zayn if this was the part where he killed her, she sat back and listened to the soft music emitted from the speakers of the car. She had no idea where she was now, so it was best to sit back and enjoy the ride while the native drove them to their destination.

It wasn’t long until Zayn pulled to the curb a block away from a group of teenagers that were dressed in jeans and sweatshirts. She briefly considered that part two was going to be a drug deal, but then thought better if it because she was positive the both of them weren’t getting on drugs anytime soon. Zayn took her hand and led her down an alley and she was about to ask what in the hell they were doing, but then she saw all the colors on the walls of the buildings they were in between. Among them were various characters from Mario Kart and a cartoon angry spray can bottle. Words littered the side of the buildings as well with the unique writing only true graffiti experts seemed to possess. When they reached the end of the line, Zayn began to dig through his bag. He pulled out two handkerchiefs. He motioned for Jen to turn her back to him once he had covered his nose and mouth with one. She let him tie the other red handkerchief around her face before she received a can of spray paint from him. She looked down at the can dumbly before looking into his expectant eyes. “You expect me to paint?” she asked him slowly.

His eyes crinkled at the sides and his cheeks became more prominent, signaling that he was smiling. He nodded to her and motioned to the opposite wall and told her, “This is my territory so go crazy on that wall. I’m the only one that tags in this alley so you can take up as much space as you want.”

She still didn’t move or break their gaze, “Zayn, I can’t paint for shit and aren’t we going to get arrested?”

“No we aren’t going to be arrested. With the touring and all the police never know when a new picture is going to come so they don’t routinely check my site. Just try to create something in your mind before you start. It won’t be perfect, but it will be all yours and it can be your souvenir to London. Don’t over think it; just let your emotions flow through your painting like you do with your words when you write. It’s the same concept, just a different medium.”

She sighed and then shrugged, “Fine, but it will probably be a stick figure.”

When he turned to start his latest addition, she faced her wall and though about what she wanted to draw. With her limited skill it would have to be something simple that would mean something to her. She smiled at the idea that immediately came to her brain. It was simple enough and it definitely represented her childhood well. She got the white can that sat beside Zayn and began to paint a light shining from a spotlight. It took her a while and she ended up having to make the light beam pretty big because she had messed it up, before painting a gray circle for the spotlight itself. Finally in the giant light beam she drew the batman symbol that she had surprisingly perfected during her classes in grade school. She had a short attention span so in class she usually wrote but sometimes doodled badly. The batman symbol was the only thing she could draw with any semblance of talent.

She turned and playfully glared at Zayn when she heard him chuckling from behind her. She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently. Her looked dared him to say something negative. He held up his hand and beckoned for a high-five. She beamed under the handkerchief and gladly reciprocated. “I didn’t take you for being a Batman fan,” he told her.

She scoffed, “Please, I was so hardcore into my superheroes that my mom thought she should’ve just had three boys instead of two.”

“I like it. It didn’t turn out completely horrid like you thought either. It’s not the best but it is certainly not the worst I’ve seen,” he told her honestly and she appreciated that. She didn’t want him to tell her it was awesome because she was well aware she wasn’t an artist, but she had fun trying her hand at his talent and seeing what she could create while they enjoyed one of his hobbies together.

“Can you show me how to paint like you?” she asked him.

He nodded and she stepped to stand beside him. He, however, had a different plan and put his hands on her hips and pulled her so she stood in front of him, so close that she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. He put the can of spray paint in her hand. She held the middle while he pushed on the top and moved their hands in his desired directions. His other arm came around her narrow midsection and pulled her even closer to him so he could get a better control of his motions. She rested her head on the shoulder that was not moving and watched as they, mostly he, created. She smiled to herself as she saw where he was going with what he was writing. She thought it was sweet of him and it absolutely melted her heart. Sure it was cheesy, but she didn’t mind. She liked a little cheese every now and again. Sometimes tried and true was the best way to go. She looked back at the wall and smiled even bigger at the crazy writing on the wall that was standard graffiti print: Z & J 4EVER.

She turned her head up to see that he was staring down at her. She was completely content to stay in his arms forever like they had painted. He just seemed to know without her telling him when she needed a hug or him to hold her. She turned in his arms and rested her head on his chest and put her hands flat on his back to keep her there. She felt the rise and fall of his chest when he breathed and closed her eyes while a smile took over her face. He had one had around her waist and with the other he used his thumb to gently rub circles into her back in between her shoulder blades. If she had any tension in her back, it would’ve turned to mush in that moment. She listened to the sound of the wind as they stayed wrapped in each other. She never wanted to leave from this spot, let alone London.

Sadly their moment was interrupted by sirens that were unmistakably headed in their direction. They looked at each other with wide eyes and started running to the car. Zayn had stopped to pick up his bag and followed Jen to his car. They flung opened their doors, dived in, and Zayn hurriedly started the car and drove away just as the lights started to become visible around the corner. They drove back into the main part of London before they were able to breathe a sigh of relief. After taking off the handkerchiefs, they looked at each other with wide eyes and then burst out laughing.

Jen thought it was hilarious that they had almost got arrested. She could just imagine trying to explain that to Jonathan. She wasn’t sure if he would be amused or actually angry. She just imagined him shaking his head sadly like he normally did when Patrick Kane did something he didn’t approve of. She was definitely going to tell him this story mostly because she wanted hear how surprised she had done something like that. She hadn’t done anything remotely spontaneous or outgoing for years and it felt really good to her. She couldn’t wait to see what they did on their second date.

Zayn parked in the underground parking lot of Jen’s building and held her hand as he escorted her to her door. She fiddled with her keys and found the right one before slipping it into the lock. She turned to give Zayn a hug and bid him goodbye. She gasped as she felt his soft, plump lips warm the spot on her cheek that they touched.

She almost swooned on the spot. Never in her life did she think she would be in the arms of such a handsome man and have such strong feelings for him in such a beautiful place like London. She hadn’t had such a connection with a man in years and the force at which this connection came to her threw her for a loop. Zayn was all she had ever dreamed of having in a boyfriend. He was the quiet, sensitive, artist type that she wanted to have in depth for hours with. Before she had been raped, he was all she would’ve ever wanted and rediscovering that desire to have feelings for a man was overwhelming to her senses.

When he stepped back, his charming smile adorned his face. Jen was sure that her face was crimson as she grinned sheepishly back at him. She stepped into his arms to give him a quick hug. She whispered goodbye and let herself into the apartment. She immediately scurried to her room and dove on her bed. Burying her face into her soft feather pillow, she let out a squeal of utter delight. She doubted this night could’ve gone any better; the night had been just perfect.