Keeping up with ZIAM (The Contract Sequel)

Shallow waters

It had been two weeks since Ezra's soccer camp. Luckily Zayn avoided contact with Kj during the events on the last day showcasing all the kids hard work during that week. To his advantage, Liam hadn't seen the man either since he was on the rugby field, and then a couple fields away.

Ezra couldn't stop talking about it. It was the most they've ever heard him say. It was nice to see him come out of his shell a bit, or maybe it was Freddie's influence on him. Either way, both men were glad he enjoyed it.

The Fourth of July was quickly approaching which was originally the Saturday Zayn wanted to have the baby shower, but the event planner advised against it. Of course they were aware of the holiday, I mean they saw it in movies and things, but they weren't exactly aware of the magnitude of the chokehold it had on their American friends.

Thus far they had been invited to five firework showings, three barbecues, and two parades. Even the Oppenheim twins invited the two on a yacht to watch the fireworks across all of LA. They weren't exactly sure where to go, or what to even expect. It was their first American holiday.

Liam had been deeply involved in the new agency project. He liked the demolition process and found it a bit stress relieving. He also tagged along with Romain on a couple other projects to see how being a real estate developer worked. He could've asked his own father, but Liam was stubborn and didn't want him to think he wanted to be like him. Otherwise he'd get a big head if he came to him.

This left Zayn alone with Ezra majority of the time. School didn't start for another month and a half. They also had Freddie since Louis had been hustling hard to make a name for himself in the area. Plus with filming he just was more busy than usual.

Niall and Harry were also fully booked so he hardly saw them as well. The only times he did see him were when Niall came home late at night about to crash, or in the morning when he was making the boys breakfast and he headed out the home. Harry visit about once or twice those two weeks, but never stayed long. Sometimes he felt lonely, but he was proud of everyone. Everyone except himself at times.

Some days it would hit him like a huge tidal wave. The feeling of being lonely, and stuck. While everyone else was out taking a deep dive into their careers and passions, he was left at home. Not that there was anything wrong with that or the boys, but he quite literally put his life on hold to be a parent, and he wasn't even sure if he was ready for that.

Of course, the timing to be feeling that way was kind of warranted considering in another two weeks their surrogate would be moving in temporarily, but there was no going back. He even refrained from telling his therapist how he truly felt, because it didn't seem important enough to bring it up.

On the Friday before the 4th, Louis picked Ezra up at the end of the day encouraging the couple to go on the yacht. All the agents wanted them to come and they could even bring the boys. Zayn was a little hesitant, but Liam encouraged him that Ezra would be fine since other kids like Amanza's and Heathers kids would be there too.

So there they were, at a private dock before sunset, boarding a massive yacht that could easily be mistaken as a cruise ship. Everyone in their group was invited so Harry and Niall tagged along as well. Ezra's eyes bulged out of their sockets. He'd never stepped foot on anything like a boat, let alone a yacht of this size. "If you start feeling nauseous or sick, just let me know okay." Zayn said patting his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm Brayden!" Said a boy with dirty blond hair who approached him. Freddie behind him waved to the boy. He looked around his age. "If you want to come down to the lower deck, all the kids are down there!"

Louis chimed in to introduce. "This is Heather and Tarek's son." He smiled as the boy waved. "Brayden this is Liam, and Zayn, Ezra's fathers. This is my son Freddie. That's Niall over there. He's the boring uncle." He whispered as Niall scoffed. "And that's-"