Color My Senses Cherry Red

Chapter 7

Zayn doesn't have to wait a long time for Liam to get in touch with him; the next day, he gets a text from Liam, asking him to go out with him the following Friday. Zayn doesn't even have to think for a second before he says yes. Many more texts follow that week, and time seems to go by really fast because Zayn spends so much time thinking about the date.

On Friday, he's a nervous wreck. He's met Liam a few times before, of course, but all of their meet-ups so far have been coincidences. They ran into each other and spontaneously decided to grab some coffee or go for a walk – but this is an actual date. Zayn isn't sure what makes this so different, but he's incredibly nervous.

He's just getting ready to leave his dorm when his phone rings, and his first thought is that it has to be Liam who's changed his mind and is cancelling the date. His heart literally sinks at the thought and it takes all his willpower to actually make himself look at his phone.

A breath of relief escapes him when he sees that it isn't Liam, but Harry.

"Hello?" he breathes as he picks up.

"Zayn, hey! It's Harry. I was just wondering if everything worked out with Simon. You did call him, right?"

Zayn nods, checking his appearance in the mirror for what has to be the fiftieth time. "Yeah, I did. He was happy to hear from me and gave me all the details for tomorrow."

Tomorrow.

Part of him still can't quite believe he's actually going through with this and that tomorrow, he will be on the set of a pornographic movie, and actually participating in it. He has no idea whom he he'll be required to sleep with for the shoot, but he desperately hopes it will be either Harry or Louis.

"Oh, great, I'm glad to hear that. Basically, I just wanted to ask if you've got any plans for tonight, 'cause I can imagine you're pretty nervous about tomorrow, so maybe hanging out with me and Lou would be a good idea. I'm sure we could find a way to calm your nerves."

Zayn can feel the other boy's grin and has to smile. "I'd love to, Harry, but I've actually…" He pauses. "Well, I've got a date."

"A date?" Harry squeaks, and Zayn can hear Louis' surprised gasp somewhere in the background. After a moment, Louis' voice is closer. "Put him on speaker, I wanna hear all about this."

Zayn chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, I've got a date."

"And?" Louis sounds excited. "Who's the guy? Or is it a girl? I want details, Zayn!"

Zayn takes a breath, glancing at his watch – he does have a few minutes to spare. "Well, it's just this guy I met at the library. His name is Liam, he's a few years older than me, also a student. He's gorgeous."

"Oh, he sounds delicious," Louis says, and Harry agrees.

"Yeah, he is. I mean… yeah, he's good-looking and really nice. We get along really well. I'm just… kind of nervous right now," Zayn admits, pacing the room and glancing at his watch every few seconds.

"Aw, don't be," Harry exclaims. "You're fabulous, Zayn – just be yourself and he'll fall for you instantly."

Zayn smiles hesitantly. "You think so?"

"Definitely," Harry and Louis say unanimously.

Zayn nibbles his lip and hopes they're right. It isn't that he's afraid the date will be a complete disaster. But he's painfully shy sometimes, and he's worried that Liam will have to do all the talking, get tired of him and decide he isn't interested after all.

"Right," he murmurs, and looks at his watch again."I should go then, or I'll be late."

"Go! And Zayn, relax. Please. Have fun. And we'll see you tomorrow, all right?" Louis says before both he and Harry wish him good luck, say goodbye and hang up.