I'm Already Taken (Sequel to I'm Already Torn)

Chapter 14 - Come What May

I now understand why Cinderella ran away from the prince and back home. Zayn held me tightly in his arms, holding out the kiss with soft pecks as he stared into my eyes. Nothing about the moment seemed to last however, because once the clock rang out for its last chime, my sense and conscience came rushing back, inundating me in worry and guilt.

            “Zayn I really have to go,” I breathed out, breaking eye contact and looking anywhere else but his radiating body.

            “Lis, please, just stay. I don’t care about Liam, or the fans, or anything that tells us that we should be apart. I want you.” I looked back at him in shock. I’ve had guys tell me they loved me, but never want me. The way he said it wasn’t as a choice between me and another girl, it was that he wanted, wanted, me.

            “Please,” I begged. He knew I felt the same way and how I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to want somebody else, my brain screamed at me to run as fast as I could back to Liam’s house and lock myself in my room with a spoon and a jar of Nutella. But my heart told me to stay… and that there were no spoons because it was Liam’s house. Damn you heart logic!

            “Fine,” he said curtly yet let me go softly and slowly. “But just remember; while you pretend to sleep tonight, and Liam comes in to kiss you goodnight and tuck you in, you’ll think of me.”  I nodded, at a loss for words yet the moment needed none. Carefully I crept to the large door and turned the nob, the sound echoing like shattering glass. I stepped out into the frigid air and grasped my shoulders tightly. I kept waiting for Zayn to reach out to me again, to turn my body against his, to warm my lips with his, to savor the taste of hot chocolate that rested upon his lips. But I was greeted with no such grasp, no warmth, no flavor. I therefore accepted my lonely state and hustled my ass back to Liam’s house, pouncing into the heat and comfort of my bed. Zayn was right about one thing though, when Liam came in to check on me later that night, I shut my eyes and wished it was Zayn kissing my cheek and telling me he loved me.

            The next morning I woke up with a splitting headache and the startling realization I had left my god damn phone at Zayn’s! “Well fuck!” I cursed as I reached under my bed for anything to throw on my feet to go over and retrieve the stupid piece of technology. I didn’t care what I looked like as I marched down the stairs. Right before the bottom step I stuck my head and neck out around the corner to check if Liam was up yet. He wasn’t that I could see, so I took my chance and made a mad dash to the door, lightly closed it, before running outside just in time for the sky to open up in a torrential downpour. I raced over to Zayn’s complex and stood under his doorway for a good thirty seconds debating whether or not to ring the bell and face Zayn after running away the night before. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in charge of that decision as the door opened right as I began to turn away and contemplate my life without my phone.

            “Hey, what are you doing here?” Zayn reached out and grasped my arm naturally, yet it still sent shivers racing down my fingers.

            “Why do you do that?” I asked cautiously as my body automatically formed to his, his chin resting atop my head.

            “Doing what?” he murmured in my ear, his warm breath tickling the sensitive skin behind my ear as his lip brushed my earlobe.

            “Go back inside before someone sees us stupid!” I giggled, more serious than I sounded.

            “Why? He said loudly, shocking me. “I want everyone to see how much I care about you! I want to yell to the horizon; I LOVE LIS…” I slapped my hand over his mouth before the whole complex community could hear him.