Darling: Zayn/OFC (One Direction)

9.

Malibu was, of course, beautiful.

My Aunt's friend was an overly buff personal trainer she'd had when she first got out to LA. He looked intimidating, but didn't turn out to be so bad.

"Dave!" She squealed, rushing forward to hug him. He picked her up and swung her around in a circle. Zayn and I shot each other dubious looks. I'd never heard her talk about him before but they looked... close.

"Hey kids! I'm Dave" He greeted us after setting my Aunt down. "Here's the keys to the house. There's two bedrooms, a kitchen stocked with food, one shower and a hot tub out back. The wi-fi password is on the kitchen table along with my number if you have any problems." Dave stared at us until we gave him a nod. Aunt D turned and hugged us both.

"Alright munchkins, be good. I'll see you in a few days."

The condo was cute. It was a little place right on the beach that had to have been incredibly expensive.

I was startled by Zayn giving a whoop of delight. "He also forgot to mention his well-stocked liquor cabinet! I've never seen this much alcohol in one place in my life!"

"That's not for us, Zayn." I said disappointedly. He looked at me with a dangerous smirk and I felt my cheeks burning up. 

"Aw, come on  Elle. He's not going to notice if a little bit is gone! Live a little!" 

"I'm going to put my stuff down." I said quickly, running up to where I assumed the bedrooms where. I wasn't sure how I felt about drinking Dave's alcohol. I'd never been drunk before and it seemed like a bad idea to steal my Aunt's friend's alcohol. But... getting drunk with Zayn could be fun. The temptation was strong and who knows what could happen... 

"Hey Elle!" Zayn raced up the stairs behind me, energized. "Let's go to the beach!"

That I could do.

-x-

The beach was fun. Zayn and I spent all afternoon chasing each other on the sand and laying out in the sun. I tried to get him to swim with me but he refused profusely.

"Oh come on, Zayn!" I teased. "Live a little!" 

He scoffed from his place on a towel. "The water is probably freezing anyway." 

"Don't you want to say that you touched the Pacific Ocean?" I argued. 

"I-" He looked hesitant. "I think I'm going to read instead." I looked at him incredulously. 

"Read?! Are you serious?" 

Zayn bristled. "There's nothing wrong with reading!"

I snorted. "I've never seen you read more than a Sports Illustrated." 

"Now you're just being mean. I'm not going swimming." He said with a tone of finality. 

"Whatever," I said moodily, flopping on the towel beside him. I snatched my bag from beside him and angrily started searching for something to entertain me while he read. Great. 

"Well you can go in." 

"It's no fun if you're not there." I answered truthfully, frowning when I realized my bag was mostly empty. I looked up and gazed around the mostly empty beach. 

"I didn't mean to ruin your day." Zayn said softly. I looked at him and deflated when I saw his expression. He looked... embarrassed. "It's just... this is stupid, but I can't really swim. When I was little, my dad threw me in the pool to try to make me learn how to swim and I... well I almost drowned. I had to go to therapy and everything afterward. I just don't like swimming."