Seaside >> Ziam

Ice Cream

Zayn had almost forgotten about Liam's second job when he entered Meyes that afternoon and saw his sisters having tea at the table nearest the counter, where Liam was scooping out a cone for an old woman.

"There you are, love," Liam smiled. He handed her the change from her transaction first, which she deposited every last cent of into the tip jar, and then her ice cream. She reached over and pinched his cheek, muttering something fond to him before walking off with a bright smile on her face.

As she left, Liam slumped back against the counter, humming to himself and chewing absent-mindedly on his annoyingly plump bottom lip.

"Screwing old ladies, are we?" Zayn joked, leaning against the counter. 

Liam jumped a bit, but smiled kindly when he saw Zayn. "Hi! Did you want some ice cream? It's on me."

And yeah, maybe Zayn did look a bit pinched as Liam would say. At least with other boys that "weren't" interested, they teased him right back, even flirted with him. Liam mostly seemed like he wanted to keep Zayn at an arm's length at all times.

"Why else would I be here?" Zayn snapped, pulling out his wallet. The stunned look on Liam's face only lasted a moment.

"To see your sisters," Liam shrugged. "What can I get you?"

"Just vanilla," Zayn decided, pulling out a few bills.

Liam shook his head. "I said it was on me, mate."

Zayn scoffed and handed the money over anyway. Liam scoffed right back at him, but took the money, depositing it all into the tip jar in silence before moving to scoop out a cone for Zayn.

Zayn let his gaze follow Liam's body as his arms flexed, gripping hard to the metal spoon. Zayn narrowed his eyes, trying to change the arousal into something less... sexual. Why in the world did Liam have to keep popping up exactly where Zayn least wanted him to be? Granted, it was his own fault for being in Meyes, but his own home, the docks near the country club? He couldn't go anywhere he'd usually go without worrying he'd run into Liam around a corner.

"Thanks," Zayn muttered, intentionally brushing his hand over Liam's as he took the cone from his hands. He tried to think of something clever to add, as he took his first lick, but his mind came up blank. In fact, the bell above the door chimed again, forcing Zayn to step aside and let the other customers order their cones. He couldn't even have thought to lick his cone seductively for Liam? Or, better yet, it didn't occur to him to turn around and leave the moment he realized Liam was in here at all?

The country club had been his favorite place in all of the Hamptons for the first few years. From the huge pools to the sauna rooms to the evening parties that often lasted into the early hours of the morning, the club had served Zayn well, no matter what his summer's objective had been. He considered double-dipping a few of the tennis players he'd messed around with the previous summer, but instead opted to head for the pool; being in the water had always been such a great distraction, especially because it was sort of a symbol of his ability to accomplish anything he set his mind to.

He didn't test the water or bother with checking who else was in the pool before he dove straight in, eyes opening instinctively under the water. The bubbles all around him wiggled to the surface and danced across his skin on their way, reminding him of how simple swimming was, especially compared to interpersonal relationships. 

Without thinking much more about it, Zayn situated his body properly and used the wall to push himself off to the other side of the water. Twisting his body around in circles as his leg power moved him along. In fact, he barely kicked to keep himself going. When he popped up on the other side, he sucked in a bigger breath than he usually might and slicked his hair back and out of his face. He was used to look to the score board when he surfaced, so his eyes automatically flickered up to look for his time.