Status: Starts in 2010

Chance

09

“What's it like staying in a hotel all of the time?” Maisie asked Zak as they sat in his hotel room.

“I get to see a lot of interesting stuff,” he shrugged. “I don't know, I'm used to it by now, I guess.”

Maisie thought for a minute, she had been doing a lot of that lately. “Did you always know what you wanted to be? I mean like the general idea...I know that you didn't even believe in ghosts for a long time but...”

“Originally, I just wanted to do documentaries. Film has always been something that interested me. Why are you so curious all of a sudden?” He looked at her with loving eyes and a sweet smile.

“I don't know...It's kinda silly. But, seeing you—Nick, Aaron, and Billy—it makes me think about how you guys are living out your dream job and I still don't know what I really want to do.”

“You're only twenty-eight, Maisie. You've got plenty of time.”

“Knowing me, I'll figure it out when I'm ninety and on my death bed.”

“Don't say that. Okay, look. Here's an idea, how about you help us on the actual lock down. You can be a guest appearance and you can see what we do.”

“Are you crazy? I am not going on television. No way. Your fans will hate me and then I'll get death threats and just no.”

“Death threats?”

“You never know! Zak, I just can't be on television. I'm not confident and I'll get so nervous...”

“Babe, I'll be right there. You won't have a reason to be nervous.”

“What if the ghosts attack me?”

“I love you too much to let something like that happen to you.”

Maisie wasn't sure that she heard that right. Had Zak said that he loved her? Was that her imagination? She looked at him with wide eyes for a moment but before either of them could say anything they heard a loud knocking on the door.

“We need to go, I'm hungry!” It was Aaron's voice and Maisie climbed out of the bed before Zak could breathe another word.

“Maise,” Zak called to her, she was nearly to the door, however, she stopped. She looked at him nervously but gave him a small smile anyway.

“Yeah?” She hadn't ever heard him call her Maise, but she kind of liked it.

“Never mind,” Zak shook his head and she saw the slight look of worry on his face. She opened the door and looked directly at Aaron on the other side.

“Can we just have like five minutes?” she gave him a look that told him that it was very important and slowly, even though he knew full and well that they were far behind schedule, he nodded. “Thank you.” She sat on the hotel bed and faced Zak. “Will you look at me instead of your hands? Please?” she begged, bringing in a gentle tone.

His eyes met hers and she gave him another soft smile. “Sweetie, I'm sorry, I—”

“Stop. Just listen for a minute?” she asked. “Zak Bagans, you are one of the craziest men I have ever met. You make me laugh so hard that I can't breathe, and you make me smile so hard that my cheeks hurt. And now, you tell me that you love me. What am I supposed to do with that? How am I even supposed to react?” Zak didn't feel like this was going in the right direction. “What else can I do besides tell you how much I love you too? I have never met anybody that makes me as happy as you do.”

Zak looked at her in complete shock. “How long have you been preparing that speech?” he tried to joke, but Maisie just grinned at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her to sit on his lap.

“I'm so hungry!” Nick complained from outside the door.

“We should go,” Maisie said breathlessly.

“Should,” Zak pointed out. “Soon,” his voice was deeper than normal and it made Maisie's cheeks heat up. She couldn't stop kissing him, but they were interrupted again.

“Bro, we need food!” this time it was Billy.

“Goddammit,” Zak cursed.

“We'll pick this up later, okay?” Maisie decided, giving him one last kiss.

“Later's too far away.”

“Sorry, but we've gotta go get food, otherwise they won't leave us alone.”

“But...”

“Shh,” she kissed him again. “Come on, love. The sooner we get going, the sooner we can come back here.”

Zak jumped up from the bed with that and linked his fingers with hers. He pressed one final kiss to her cheek. She opened the hotel room door and quickly became really red faced when all three of the boys were staring at her.

“You guys realize that you're holding up us getting food, right?” Aaron pretended to glare at the two of them.

“Sorry Aaron,” Maisie said. “It won't happen again. So, what are we getting?”

“They've got one of those pizza hut places with the buffet inside down the road,” Billy pointed out.

“They also have a steak house,” Aaron added.

“So this is what you guys do all day? Pick out restaurants throughout the city?” Maisie asked and all four guys nodded.

“Let's take a vote,” Nick suggested. “Pizza Hut or steak.”

“Pizza Hut,” Billy and Zak voted.

“Steak,” Nick and Aaron chose.

Maisie realized that she would have to break the vote now. She loved Pizza Hut, but she wasn't sure that she was in the mood for it tonight. “Steak,” she decided.

“Yeah!” Nick exclaimed, sticking his tongue out at Zak. “She likes us better.”

“We can't be friends anymore, Maisie,” Zak told her. She looked at him with eyebrows raised.

“I'll remember that later,” she said.

“No, just kidding Sweetie,” Zak corrected himself quickly.

“Uh huh,” she giggled.

XxX

They were seated at the Steakhouse—at a table for six. Maisie sat between Zak and Aaron and across from Nick, Billy sat across from Zak—Maisie looked over Aaron and then to the empty chair. “Is that your imaginary friend over there?”

“Yep, his name's Larry.”

“I'll pay tonight if you ask for a water for your imaginary friend.”

“Okay. Hear that guys? Maisie's paying tonight.”

Zak started to object but Maisie started to glare at him and he shut his mouth. She knew how he was—he always wanted to be chivalrous but she was perfectly capable of doing stuff for herself and for everyone else.

The waitress came over and began taking their drink orders. “I'll have a Pepsi,” Nick said.

“We only have Coke products,” she told him.

“Oh uh, Coke's fine.”

“Same for me,” Billy agreed.

“I'll have ice water,” Zak requested.

“Sweet tea,” Maisie picked.

“Same for me,” Aaron agreed and then he tried to smile a little. “You missed one,” he pointed out. The waitress looked around the table and then back to her notepad. She had a perplexed look on her face and everyone else—save Maisie looked to Aaron with the same look.

“My friend Larry would like a diet water.”

“Diet—water? Larry? I'm sorry but...” Maisie couldn't contain herself, she started laughing.

“I'm sorry,” Aaron said. “I—it was a bet. You got everybody,” he chuckled a little.

“Okay...” she walked back to get their drinks.

Nobody bothered to even ask Aaron what was going on, it seemed like they were all over it. Maisie began looking over the menu and since both of her hands were above the table, she felt Zak's hand pat her thigh affectionately. She looked over at him and gave him a small smile.

“So what are we doing tomorrow?” she asked Zak, still half looking at her menu.

“Uh, well we've got a few more interviews and we get to see another building that hasn't been investigated before.”

“That's exciting. I can't wait.”

“Mm hmm,” he leaned over and whispered to her, “I just can't wait until we get back to the hotel.” He gave her thigh a gentle squeeze at the same time.

“Stop,” she giggled. “You're such a brat.”

“No, you shouldn't start stuff we don't have time to finish.”

“It was your fault, saying the stuff that you said...”

“You said it too.”

“Hey, lovebirds, get to figuring out what you want so we can eat,” Aaron told them playfully as he ate one of the rolls the waitress had brought.

“What do you think you're going to get?” Zak asked Maisie.

“Uh, I have no idea. Maybe the New York Strip.”

XxX

The walk back to the hotel seemed to go on for a forever. At the restaurant, Aaron talked everyone into leaving the poor waitress a large tip because she had to deal with their shenanigans throughout the entire meal.

When they finally got there, all of them rode the elevator to their floor together before parting ways. Zak and Maisie went into their hotel room and both began their nightly routines. Zak switched from his contacts to his glasses and went in the bathroom to wash out his hair gel. Maisie gathered her clothes that she planned on wearing to sleep, although she realized that Zak had quite a habit of taking off the aforementioned clothes—not that she minded too much.

As Zak left the bathroom, she went in there and changed before washing her face, brushing her hair and putting it in a bun—which Zak would probably also take down. He loved her long hair for some reason. She could never keep it put up when he was around, or so it seemed.

She made her way back into the main room of the hotel room and Zak was lying on the bed, wearing his glasses. She couldn't help but smirk a little. “I have to say...Your glasses make you look really sexy.”

“And you're saying I'm not sexy all of the time?” he was trying to seem like her words had no affect on him, but between the tone in her voice and the meaningful look in her eyes, he could nearly feel the heat rising to his face and Zak Bagans did not blush.

“I never said that. But your glasses...I don't know...I just love them.”

“Maise, I swear, you are going to drive me crazy,” Zak couldn't take it anymore. After earlier, their flirting in the restaurant, and the look she was giving him now, couldn't wait much longer.

“Well what are we waiting for? If we wait much longer the two of us will end up in padded rooms!”

“We can't have that, now can we?”
♠ ♠ ♠
It won't always be happy and fluffy so enjoy it for now XD