Author’s Note:You guys didn’t think I was just going to give you guys the next chapter after he asked her to marry him, did you? Here’s another interlude for character development. This is after they confessed their love for each other the first time; pre-breakup.)
“Now that we’re official, we need to set some ground rules.”
“Oh really,” Zayn laughed. “Like what?”
“Like, stuff that we both have to come up with so that I don’t run away screaming from you.”
He broke out laughing even louder. “Am I that scary?”
“Not yet, but I have a feeling that you’re gonna surprise me. A lot.”
“You don’t like surprises?” He said.
“No I love surprises, but only the ones that I can deal with.”
Zayn pulled Jessica’s hand with him to a different direction through the grass and she followed willingly, loving the feeling of her hand held securely in his. It was different this time, because they weren’t just together now, they were together. And that made a big difference. She followed him leading her on the path next to the lake, and she reveled in the beauty of his enormous backyard, with everything there was to possibly do. But today, they chose a walk through the “park.”
“Rules are meant to be broken, and the same goes for ground rules. You need to relax Jess, stop trying to organize and control everything. Just go with it.”
“Just because you like chaos in your life doesn’t mean it’s the same for everyone else, Malik,” she muttered. “I like being able to control the outcomes of my life. You get screwed over otherwise.”
“Yeah well, being controlled isn’t exactly fun either. I’ve already told you that. And you don’t have to get screwed over if you don’t want to.”
“Easy for you to say,” she mumbled again.
“Fine then,” he snapped, turning around and grabbing her by the forearms. “You want ground rules?
Here are some ground rules. Number One: We have to be truthful, and open up about everything….Including our past.”
Jessica looked him in his shaded eyes and her eyebrows furrowed. Where was he going with this?
“Jessie, I need you to tell me about the men in your life. I need to know what I’m dealing with. What I need to heal.”
Suddenly she felt herself fuming. “I don’t need you to heal anything,” she snapped.
“Don’t do that, please,” Zayn begged. “Jessie, talk to me. I’ve told you so much about myself…Things that I’ve never told anyone else. Open up to me, please.”
“Zayn, that was all in my past…Already over. I want to forget it about it,” she shook her head and looked away, and Zayn quickly caught her chin in his hand and brought her face forward to look at him.
“I’ve told you the craziest parts of my life… my family, the drugs, the girls, everything. Please sweetie. Open up to me.”
“Zayn please, I can’t….I love you,” she whispered, hoping that she could throw him off and soften him to her.
“I love you too,” he smiled. “I love you and love hearing you say it, but I still want to know. Tell me about them Jessie.”
“Zayn, please—”
“Twenty questions. Ask me anything and I’ll answer truthfully. I’ll do the same to you. Readysetgo.”
“Malik—”
