Belonging to Lust

The second time Zaiyia was roused from her sleep it was by the harsh blasting ringtone of her cellphone. Somebody was calling her, likely Heath. Letting out a grouchy whine for having been awoken again on a Saturday unburdened of any obligations, she blindly reached out for the device on the nightstand on her side of Heath's bed. Lifting her head barely off of her pillow so she could see through dozy heavy lids, she pressed a button and then held her phone to her ear as her head began to slump back down onto her pillow again. “Hello?”

“Hey, Zaiyia. It’s Alan.” Alan anxiously answered, trying not to pace back and forth like a weirdo, but he couldn’t seem to keep himself seated and motionless like an ordinary person. He was keen to get things started. The faster he and Alice get back together, the sooner he can relax the hell down and go back to being his old self again. Until then, he was emotionally erratic and felt frequently on the cusp of losing his sanity and having a breakdown. “Are you free to meet up with me today and talk? We’re not in school today so I figured it would be fine to hang out on the weekends, you know?”

The moment Zaiyia heard Alan’s voice coming through her phone, her indifference flew for the hill. Lying on her back staring up at the ceiling in Heath’s bedroom, she brooded over his proposal. Heath wouldn’t consent to her leaving the house and meeting up with Alan. Zaiyia wouldn’t mind going, but her man…no way. Then again, he clearly wasn’t back from assisting his friend right now, and according to her text inbox, she hadn’t gotten word as to when he’d be back which means he still must be occupied. Perhaps this very moment was the ideal chance to get this meeting out of the way with Alan without Heath having to ever know it took place behind his back!

But what if Heath came back early while she was gone?

Zaiyia would have to come up with an infallible lie just in case then. She’ll probably just tell him she had gone out with Chasity to grab a bite to eat or something! Yeah! Yeah, that sounded brilliant!

“Yeah, I’m free.” Zaiyia assured Alan who sounded like he was a nervous wreck on the other line. “Where do you want to meet up? It can’t be far away like out by the FairGrounds, you hear me, or my ass ain't going.”

“I already had that in mind and figured the public park in the center of the town square would be great.” Alan presented but then frowned in self-doubt. He thought about it long and hard and felt that the area was both close enough to Zaiyia’s house without trespassing onto her property and also public enough so no one could get the wrong idea about them if they were spotted together. “What do you think? Is that close enough for you or should I find another spot to meet up?”

“No, that’s…actually perfect!” Zaiyia told him, surprised at how well thought out and considerate the destination was. He had kept in mind that she would probably want to stay close to home due to her overprotective guardian and his dislike of Alan, as well as the vast denizens of the area that they could use to their benefit to blend in. “I’ll get ready and head to Town Square’s Public Park right now.”

“Really!? Sweet!” Alan cheered, trying to lessen his excitement so his parents wouldn't notice from where they sat having lunch in the dining area planning tomorrow’s Neighborhood Barbecue. If he could do a backflip, he’d do ten in a row, that’s how over the moon he was right now! “Um, I’ll be waiting for you by the McDonald's in the park.

“Okay. I’m gonna shower, get dressed, and see you there.” Zaiyia repeated since he didn’t seem ready to get off the phone with her just yet. She prayed he wouldn’t ask her for any other favors today because what she was arranging to do with him right now was already outside her limitations. If Heath were to find out she was meeting with Alan, the world would literally implode amid his rampage.

“Cool cool. Zaiyia, um…” Alan faltered, unable to articulate himself at the moment. Saying thanks didn’t feel like it would fully encompass how appreciative he was to her for taking a gamble on him. But he didn’t know how else to convey it completely so thank you would have to do for now. “Thank you for this. Seriously, it means the world to me, you don’t even know.”

“And I probably never will. Anyway, it’s no problem, dude. Just don’t be late, I’m sticking my neck out for you, you know!” Zaiyia reminded him before hanging up the phone. Letting out a sigh, she prayed she’d be back in time before Heath returned as she clambered out of bed and left for the Guest House.
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Upon Zaiyia’s arrival at the McDonald's on the outskirts of the park, an overly nervous Alan appeared from the shadows on the hidden side of the building with a giant McDonald's bag in hand and a drink tray. As soon as they were near each other, he extended the brown paper bag with the golden ‘M’ on it to her. “Hey, Zaiyia. I went ahead and got this for you. I didn’t know what you like so I ordered you a few things, just an Ice Coffee, Oreo McFlurry, a Big Mac, Medium Fries, and a 10pcs Chicken Nuggets with a few packs of Sweet and Sour sauce. Have you eaten yet by any chance?”

Taken aback that Alan went ahead and ordered a McDonald's banquet that would keep her fed for the rest of the day and into the night, Zaiyia took the bag and the drink tray in hand, her brown eyes flicking to her food incredulously and then right back to him. “Holy shit, dude! You went all out, huh? You treat every girl with a feast like this?”

“No, I just…I just really want to show my appreciation for you agreeing to see me today. I know it’s a lot on you to take on, so...I got you food.” Alan tried to communicate as best as he could while battling a belly full of fluttering butterflies. He felt like a girl meeting up with her crush when really he was a guy innocently meeting up with the key to get Alice back.

“Oh, well…thanks.” Zaiyia accepted, she only had a snicker bar today due to the narrow amount of time she had to help Alan and then be back home in time before Heath returned from helping his friend. “So uh, where do you wanna sit and have this talk?”

“Not at McDonalds, that’s for sure!” Alan objected, indicating the building behind him with his thumb. A couple of his friends worked there and he didn’t need anyone seeing them together. He was really trying hard to consider Zaiyia’s conditions and not just his own, if he didn’t, he’d lose his only ticket to winning Alice back. Gesturing to a barren route to his right, he told her. “How about we take this path? It goes around the entire park so we can find the perfect spot along the way so that we can talk.”

“Sounds perfect. But if you expect me to eat all this food, you better hold some of it for me 'cause Imma needs both hands for this spread.” Zaiyia ordered him as they both turned towards the trail and began their slow walk.

“Sure, no problem!” Alan replied, his free hands stretching out to take whatever it was that she needed him to hold onto.

The two kids strolled down the path, Alan holding some of Zaiyia’s unhealthy food while she gobbled the meal one scrumptious piece at a time. Along the way, they found several perfect areas had they not had their own problems. One site was rumored to be where a couple of dead bodies were found buried by a serial killer who had passed through their town long ago. Thankfully that murdering bastard was charged and was now sitting on Deathrow. The next few locations had couples and teenagers all snuggled up making out and such. The last one had way too many slippery used condoms littered all over the ground, it was practically a rubber dumping ground!

By the time they made their loop around to Main Street, the only choice for them was the giant ornamental fountain that was erupting clear crystal water out in a stunning pattern that refreshingly misted over the passersby anytime the wind blew. Both Zaiyia and Alan were mesmerized by it and so they took their seats on the flat border of the stone basin.

Zaiyia had already engulfed all of her Oreo McFlurry, and so she extended the Medium Fries towards Alan to chow down on. “Want some? Help yourself.”

“Hell yeah, thank you!” Alan nodded, accepting with a delighted smile on his face. Somehow, the fries were still fresh and were like a crunchy salty paradise in his mouth. “Mmm, so good. Should’ve ordered me some.”

“Yeah, you should’ve.” Zaiyia agreed as they gorged on her fries until there was none left. Licking the salt and grease off of her fingers, she got straight down to business. “So, Alan, have you come up with any strategies on how you're gonna win Alice back since you and I last spoke?”

Alan shrugged in humiliation at the many ideas he had come up with since they last spoke. All of them seemed so damned cliche and bland especially when one considered how viciously he smashed her heart into pieces and chucked them back in her beautiful face. He knew he needed to BRING IT if he wanted to get Alice back, but he had no idea what that entailed exactly! That’s why he had Zaiyia here, to steer him like his own personal Merlin. “Sorta. All I could think about was all the mundane ways of showing one's apologies though, like buying her bouquets of flowers, or cute stuffed animals with hearts and the words ‘I love you’ stitched on their stomach, or boxes of assorted chocolates!”