If Time Stands Still

16- hopeless

"Hopeless, head over heels in the moment" 🎶

Zayn's POV

"Ever been here?" I ask Aylin as we pull up to the fancy, rooftop restaurant which I'm hoping impresses her.

"Not with my debt." She chuckles.

"Well, tonight you get spoiled, as you should." I open my door, though Aylin climbs out before I'm able to reach hers. "I was trying to be a gentleman."

"Oh, oops." Her eyes widen, "Do you want me to get in again?" She sits down, but before she closes her door, I stop it with my foot and reach for her hand.

"C'mon, you clown."

She grabs hold of mine, fingers freezing as they always do. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose is tinged red from the cold, urging me to hold her in my arms, "I'm a little bit nervous." She confesses.

As I shut the door and lock the car, I feel her entwine her fingers with mine, bringing about a huge smile on my face. The fact that she's generally guarded, yet makes the effort to open up means the world to me. Unless she's just trying to warm up her hands. Either way, her touch is welcomed.

"You have no reason to be." I assure her as I bring our hands up to my mouth before pressing a kiss to hers.

"This just feels so formal." She says through chattered teeth.

I raise a brow at her, "Cold or nerves?"

"A little bit of both." She smiles briefly.

"It's weird for me too." I concur, though it isn't the prestigious restaurant that has me on edge, but rather the way tonight will go. I look from left to right before crossing the street with her. "I hardly do this."

"I bet you say that to all the girls." She teases.

"If by that you mean my mum and sisters when they visit, then yes, I do try to spoil them too." I shoot her a wink. It was the truth. I hardly indulge when it comes to myself, but after dinner at her house, and especially after the thing that went down with that disgusting prick, Teagan, I figured that she had to be spoiled.

"Nice save." She rolls her eyes at me playfully. It's definitely a habit of hers to do that, but I find it both cute and amusing.

"Don't you roll your pretty eyes at me." I bump my arm into hers and she giggles.

"Stop." She moves a few strands of her long hair behind her ear and I bite my lip. She really is so fúcking beautiful, even more so when she's blushing or has a smile on her face. Knowing that I'm capable of evoking those reactions from her makes me feel warm inside, so I never want to stop doing it.

"Table for two, under Zayn." I inform the host once we've arrived at The View.

While he searches for that, I glance at Aylin who's taking in the interior. It is pretty impressive, but I'm more interested in her. She's wearing an elegant, olive green coat that reaches just below her knees. With the heels she has on, we're perfectly aligned. What I'm really looking forward to is seeing the dress she's got on underneath. Although she could pull off anything, I'm exceptionally weak seeing a girl I like in a dress.

"Zayn." She tugs on my hand, bringing me back to the present as we get led to our table upstairs.

It's been a while since I've actually gone on a dinner date. I guess I understand now what Aylin meant. For some reason, it feels like there's pressure, though that could possibly be due to the fact that this is technically our third date and I still need to know where her head is at. I know where mine is, so I'm hoping we're on the same wavelength. If not, well fúck, I don't even want to think about having to do this all over again with another girl when we click so well.