Protection, Zack Merrick, All Time Low

49

Kimberly

I wasn't sick anymore, thank God, we weren't traveling far, but we definitely wanted to go to the beach, so here we are headed to Maryland Beach. I'm driving and he's sleeping in the passenger side, he truly deserves it for taking care of me the past few days.

We pull up to the hotel, and I rub his shoulder gently, waking him up. He smirks once he sees we arrived.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up from the sex dream you were having." I giggle jokingly.

"I was not!" He defends.

"I know, I was kidding." I pout, he leans over and kisses me gently and I grin into it.

"Lets go check in." He smiles, pulling away. I nod and we head to the front desk, the lady nearly shits herself because she knows who she is.

"So uh, room under Merrick or Gaskarth?" She asks.

"Indeed." I tell her. "Merrick." And then it hits me. I'm about to be a Merrick.

She checks us in, Zack takes a picture with her, and we grab our bags and head to the room. Immediately I grab my swim suit and start stripping into it, Zack doing the same but going into the bathroom.

I go out onto the balcony of our tenth floor hotel, and sit in the chair and put my feet up. Being in a hotel reminds me of our first actual fight, and I can't help but to be glad that we aren't fighting anymore unless it's over something stupid like who picks the music in the car or what to watch on Netflix, or one of us wanting attention from the other when they're not technically busy, but not, not busy, like when the other is reading or playing video games. Sometimes we even fight over what to eat for dinner, or if we should go anywhere.

"Kim?" I hear Zack ask, probably coming back into the room.

"Out here." I call.

He comes out and sits beside me, "At least it isn't very chilly." I smile. "I get cold easily."

"The girl at the front desk said that the water at the beach is freezing, though."

"Yeah, it probably is." I frown. "But we could probably take walks on the beach, and stay in the heated pool too."

"Either way we can't go skinny dipping." He jokes, making me blush.

"Can we take a walk on the beach?" I ask him, "Since no one is around?"

"Of course baby." We head out and I throw on a sundress, and he throws on a shirt. I admire his tattoos as we walk, tracing them as I'm holding onto his arm.

The sun refelcts off of the ocean and it's really beautiful. Zack snaps a pixture of us and then says, "You know what? We never announced our engagement to the fans."

"Lets do that before we leave." I reply. "I don't want to be hastled on our good weekend." I kiss his cheek as he nods in understanding.

We head back, and he grins, "You know, I'm really glad I'll be getting married to you." He grins, we continue making plans for the wedding, and I tell him that I want it to be a spring wedding, which he agrees to, and then I kiss him softly as we get back to the hotel, locking the door.

"Zack?" I ask, summoning his attention.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for looking after me while I was sick." I smile.

"No problem, baby." He says, and turns to me as I've got my back to the bed. "You know what?"

"Hm?"

"I'm very glad you're not sick anymore so I can do this!" He pushes me onto the bed playfully and kisses me in a rush, playing with my hair and kissing all over my body. I blush and giggle because he's also tickling me, but then I stop laughing when he stops tickling me and rubs my thigh, kissing me lovingly.

"I adore you." He says, pulling back.

"I adore you, too."

"So I was thinking that you should get a new tattoo."

"A tattoo?" I ask, hesitantly. I don't bother telling him how I don't like needles.

"Yeah, why not? You're a part of All Time Low now, you need to be initiated."

"I already have an All Time Low tattoo." I giggle.

"You do?"

"Yeah, you haven't seen it? It's right here." I lift up my dress and show him the tattoo I have below my armpit of the Future Hearts label. "I got it after Alex told me that I got the job."

"Well, lets get you another tattoo." He chuckles.

"Alright." I say hesitantly, he takes my hand and we head to the local tattoo shop on the beach.

I honestly have had a tattoo design in my mind a while, two hands tied together by rope, and the rope has flowers growing out of it, without color, just black.

"Hey there! Oh! Zack it's you!" The tattoo artist, whos name tag reads Devin smiles. He has longish blond hair and pulled into a little bun at the top of his head. He has an undercut, so for the most part his hair is shaved besides the bun.

"Devin is probably one of the best tattoo artists in Maryland." Zack says, "Devin, this is my fiancé, Kimberly."

"Probably?" He scoffs jokingly, "I am the best." I smile at him and shake his hand.

"Whos getting work done this fine evening?" Devin asks.

"Kim is," Zack grins. I explain to Devin what I want, and he tells me that he can do it no problem, and then goes to sketch it.

A few hours later, Zack is proven right that Devin is a great tattoo artist. "Thank you so much." I tell Devin as he rubs oils on my leg to help heal it. Zack takes a picture of it, and so does Devin, so that he can hang it up. I'm guessing Zack took one because my leg looks fabulous, before it was bandaged up.

It was a little uncomfortable being on the table though, because I had to raise my dress up really high for him to get it where I wanted it.

When we got back to the hotel, I thanked Zack in kisses, making him chuckle and kiss me back playfully, lifting me up and putting me on the bed. He plops down beside me and starts kissing me, resting his hand on my waist and the other holding my hand, with inlaced fingers. We don't go further than kissing, even though I definitely wouldn't mind.