Stumbling Upon This Thing Called Love

{Chapter 11} ~Zayn~

A/N: My internet connection hasn't been working so this is going to be a short chapter since i uploaded at the library. Thanx for reading anyway.

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Thankfully, Annabelle's father decides to leave me alone this time. It takes Annabelle about thirty minutes to get ready, and at first I'm a little aggravated, but when i see what she has on, all my anger fades.

She appears from her room, looking striking in a sky blue halter top, skinny jeans, and low heels. I try not to stare at her chest, since i never knew she had one.

"Wow," I breathe.

She fidgets with her hair nervously. "Is that a good wow or a bad wow?"

I wrap her in a hug, pulling her luscious body against mine. "it's a great wow," I give her ear a little bite for emphasis.

"Zayn, my dad's here," She whispers with a giggle.

i stare into her brown eyes. "What if he wasn't?"

We stare into each other's eyes for what seems like an eternity, the unspoken fantasy passing between us.

"Don't you two look cozy," says a gruff voice that can only be her father's.

We spring apart, me shoving my hands in the pocket of my jeans and Annabelle fixing a couch cushion.

"Why are you dressed like that?" He eyes her outfit questionably.

"Louis is getting engaged and invited us to Nandos to talk about the wedding party," Annabelle explains. He only grunts.

"Well, you know her curfew. Have her back by then,"

Annabelle grabs my hand and as we rush out the door she says, "Yup, I'll make sure he drops me off at eleven,"

"Go Zayn, go!" She urges, pushing me to my car. "Before he processes what i said,"

On the way there, i notice how slump I look compared to Annabelle, who looks elegantly casual.

"I'm going to need to stop by my place to change--so I can look as good as you," I wink and then feel like an idiot. Who the hell winks anymore?

Annabelle doesn't seem to mind because she tips her head back and lets out a musical laugh. "That may be impossible,"

Now it's my turn to laugh. Within a few minutes, we're at my house.

"You can get some drinks or snacks if Niall hasn't eaten it all yet," I tell her. this gets another laugh out of her. God, I love her laugh. I'm definitely going to try and hear that more often.

"I'll just sit on the couch and wait for you," She says, doing just that. she grabs the remote and clicks on the telly, tuning to some reality show.

We only have fifteen minutes to get to Nandos, and I live five minutes away, so I get dressed quickly. I throw on a casual jacket with a a white tee shirt underneath. i pair that with some dark skinny jeans and black dress shoes. I give my quiff one last swipe of my comb before spraying on some cologne and returning to the living room.

Annabelle is right where I left her, staring at some chicks in a cat fight with a look of disgust.

"I can't believe girls would act like that when they know their family is watching them," She comments.

"I agree. You ready to go?" She should be the one asking me that, but instincts took over.

She shuts off the telly and gets up from the couch. "Yeah. Let's go,"

It doesn't take long to get to Nandos and i can already bet Niall was the first one to arrive. I grab Annabelle's tiny hand in mine and we walk in together, hand in hand. Annablle beams with joy, looking happier than I've ever seen her--even though we've only been seeing each other for two days. It feels more like two years.

Almost everybody is there, sitting at a large table made of other tables squished together. Harry and Liam are the only ones missing, but they join us soon after we get settled.

Louis and Eleanor sit at the head of the makeshift table.

"Alright, lets order first," Louis says. i hear Niall give a silent "Yes!" under his breath.

I order some of the chicken and some chips and Annabelle orders about as much food as Niall, which is saying something. i'll ask her about that later.

When everybody's orders have arrived, Louis begins.

"Okay, we called you all here to discuss the wedding party. I have chosen Harry as my best man," Harry lets out a whoop, but I can tell he was expecting it. "And Eleanor has chosen Tara as her maid of honor. Everbody else will be bridesmaids and groom's party, agreed?"

"Agreed," We chorus. Wow, this was much shorter than i thought it would be.

"You will know the location of the wedding when you get the invitation," Louis adds. "Now," He raises his glass filled with some alcoholic substance, I can't tell which, but it looks like beer. "We feast!"

A noisy chatter overcomes the table as we all start talking, about the wedding, the bachlor/bacholorette party and sorts of different subjects. Annabelle spends most of the time talking to Savannah and Eleanor's friends, giving my hand the occasional squeeze while I'm talking to the boys.

Our little meeting ends around eight oclock. We all say our goodbyes, promising to see more of each other, but knowing we won't.

"Well. . . We still have three hours to kill. Wanna go back to my place?" I say as we walk to my car. The sun has already set in and stars glow brightly in the night sky.

"Sure," Annabelle says hesitantly. I can imagine why. A girl and a guy alone in a house. . . There are many things a person could make dirty out of that situation and my mind is one of them. I'm grateful for the dark so Annabelle can't see the blush that floods my cheeks.