Moments In Time

Chapter 13

Zayn opened the door slowly, peering inside Kacey's apartment to see if she was up and about. Apparently, she wasn't, so he quietly made his way inside, shutting the door behind him.

He made his way into the living room and bit back a snort.

Kacey was sleeping in the chaise lounge part of her couch, her phone resting on her chest. The TV was on but it was muted, and the remote wasn't far from her hand.

Zayn sighed and sat beside her, taking the remote and turning it to a movie he'd been wanting to see. He got comfortable, kicking off his shoes and putting his arm on the cushion above Kacey's head, where he could play with her hair without waking her up.

He spent about an hour like that, watching the movie and thinking about how domestic this felt, how right it was to finally be with a woman who wasn't afraid to leave her door unlocked for him, someone who knew him and all his flaws and loved him anyway. Kacey was the one for him, he'd never been more sure of anything in his life.

Kacey began to stir in her sleep, and Zayn removed his arm, hoping not to disturb her.

"Hey," she said groggily.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," he teased, kissing the top of her head. "You sleep okay?"

"Mhm," she said, sitting up and ruffling her tousled hair. "You been here long?"

Zayn shook his head.

"Only about an hour, love," he said. "Hope you don't mind me watching this-"

"Oh, no," Kacey said, leaning into him as he put his arm around her. "I've actually been wanting to watch this."

"You've missed the beginning," Zayn said, amused.

"I'll watch the beginning later," she said. "Turn it up."

That's how they spent their evening together, cuddled up watching TV, occasionally making out on the couch during the commercial breaks. He told her about the phone call from Perrie, and she told him that Perrie had texted her as well.

"It was a bit of a surprise but she seemed friendly enough," Kacey said. "It was nice of her."

"She called me after the interview aired. By the way, you looked pretty on TV today," he said, putting her hair behind her ears. "Yellow suits you."

"Thanks," she said. "I didn't say too much, did I?"

"No, love," he said sweetly, lacing his fingers in hers. "No, you said it all better than I could have."

Kacey smiled, but then her happiness faded as she remembered one cold fact.

"You need to go back to Los Angeles," she realized. "Not now, but eventually."

Zayn shrugged.

"I don't know about that. I'm thinking of buying a place here," he said. "RCA headquarters are here, after all, and my girlfriend lives here. It's less invasive than LA, for sure."

"Really?" Kacey asked, a bit of hope in her voice.

"Yeah," Zayn said with a smile. "I'm taking a bit of a break anyway. I can just write and make appearances at fashion shows for a while. Maybe do a guest spot on TV or something."

He caressed her face again, trying to get her to smile.

"Don't be sad, baby girl. We have a long road ahead of us to spend together, so right now let's just enjoy each other, okay?" he whispered, tilting her face up to his. She nodded with a smile, and he captured her lips with his.

With a moan, she leaned back, bringing Zayn on top of her. Zayn pulled her legs into his lap, trying to focus on only kissing her. He wasn't physically wanting to go too far with Kacey right now. No way was he going to fuck this up after waiting so long for her.