Ladies First (Zayn Malik) Book 4

Chapter 27

“Are you alright?” Chris asks for the third time. It had been a week and a half since Zayn and I had hung out. They had resumed their tour but I hadn’t been able to shake the feeling. It had caused me to start second-guessing Chris and I and I think he noticed me starting to pull away.

“Yea, I just have a lot on my mind” I say.

“Well come here then” he says with a grin, grabbing me by the waist, pulling me across the couch over to him. I feel his lips on my neck, leaving slow kisses up my jaw until they finally reach my lips. I try to clear my mind and convince myself I’m happy but then Zayn’s eyes locking on mine flash across my mind. I pull away, a sigh erupting from Chris leaving me feeling even more guilty. His phone buzzes, saving an even more awkward moment as he reaches over to the table and grabs it.

“Who is it?” I ask curiously.

“Lily” he responds, his eyes not leaving the phone as he types a response, a small smile on his face. I raise an eyebrow slightly. They’d been talking a lot and paparazzi had captured pictures of the two of them out as much as they had the two of us. If I wasn’t so confused myself, I’d probably be nervous.

“How is she?” I ask, trying to keep my voice neutral.

“She’s good, released her single the other day. Debuted at number 6” he says placing his phone back down on the table.

“We were number one” I say, a hint of pride in my voice.

“Well aren’t you special” he says jokingly, wrapping his arm back around my waist.

 I grin, resting my head back against his chest.

“Chris?” I ask, after a moment.

“Hmm?” he asks, interlacing our fingers.

“Why do you like me?”

He pulls back, looking at me with confusion. “What?” he asks.

“Why do you like me?” I repeat.

“I… uh.. because you… I… why are you asking this?” he asks

“Calm down, I was just wondering” I assure him with a laugh. He shifts uncomfortably and my mind can’t help but flick to Zayn, wondering what he was up to right now. His phone buzzes again and a flicker of annoyance runs through me as I feel his chest rumble as he chuckles from whatever Lily said.

“So are you excited for your tour?” I ask. Both of us were starting our tours soon. They were starting in America before going over seas, while we were going to Australia first. We’d cross paths in Europe before switching. It’d be four months before we were back in LA. Frankly I thought I had the better deal. We’d go to Australia when it was cold here, then hit up Europe and America when it had warmed up. Poor Chris got the worse end of the stick. It would be cold everywhere he went.

“Yea can’t wait. Lily’s kind of bummed about the weather though” he says. I frown slightly, I’d forgotten they were going on tour together. The boys were opening for Lilly although I was betting most of the people going were going to see the boys.

“Yea how are you going to get that tan back from when we first met? I don’t know if I can date a pasty white guy” I tease, poking his winter paled cheek.

“Ouch. And here I thought you were dating me for my charming personality” he jokes.

“Nah, I just needed a pretty blonde on my arm.” I grin.

“Thanks” he says sarcastically and I smile at him as my thoughts once again wanders to the dark haired boy that I couldn’t get out mind

Zayn’s POV

“Hey mate, you alright?” Niall asks, patting me on the back as we came off from sound check.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you the same thing?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him. Since the charity concert and his last second decision to visit Rachel’s mom, he’d just seemed off. I knew he was still suffering heartbreak, but I felt helpless. There was nothing I could do to fix it. He ducked his head, his hand automatically going to the four-leaf clover strung loosely around his neck.

“This isn’t about me. It’s about you,” he finally says. “You seem distracted”

“I am” I reply honestly.

“Is it Emily?” he guesses and I can only nod my head.

“I don’t know what to do,” I complain. Girls were too complicated. I’d thought we’d been having a good time that day we’d visited the Hollywood sign, but then she’d freaked and left, claiming plans with Chris. I’d see pictures of them in the tabloids, but she’d be wearing my hat. That had to mean something right? It wasn’t that she just liked the hat right? And even if she was single, how could a relationship between the two of us work? We were both always on tour, and if we weren’t, we live in different countries. It seemed hopeless.

“Don’t worry mate. You’ll find a way. You always do” he reassures me, letting the charm fall back under his shirt and safely next to his heart. I watch him walk away and I can’t help but feel guilty. Here I was complaining about a girl I could at least talk to on a regular basis while it was impossible for him to see the one person he’d kill to see. I wished I could help Niall get over her, but I knew I had to let him do it on his own time.

The show goes on without a hitch and I breathe a sigh of relief as we finish up the last concert on our American tour. We’d be going back home to our families for a few days before returning to London to start rehearsals for our European tour. It wasn’t a long one, only a month or two, before we’d be back working on our next album.

“Later America” Louis says jokingly, with a wave as we board the airplane. We were flying out that night because nobody would expect that so we wouldn’t have to worry as much about crowds. Even still there had to be at least 50 people outside the airport when we arrived. I don’t know how they knew these things. Liam, Harry, and Niall had paused to sign things while Louis and I had headed in. Louis couldn’t wait to get home and see Eleanor again and it was almost as if, if we got in quickly, we’d get back sooner. I was just tired. We’d just finished a concert and I needed time to relax. I pull out my iPod, putting in my headphones as I flip to Ladies First’s single. It wasn’t exactly my type of music, but that wasn’t why I was listening. I was listening to hear her voice. I’d become quite good at picking out her voice in their songs. It was soothing, and before I knew it, I was being woken up by Harry telling me the plane was landing. Louis is out of his seat and out the doors as soon as it opens, bounding out of the terminal, his eyes searching the crowds that had accumulated for us. His eyes land on one person and a grin splits his face and in seconds, he’s at her side and pulled her into his arms. Watching him and Eleanor, I can’t help but to think of the girl I’d left behind in America. The one I couldn’t get out of my mind.

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Wow Ladies First hit the top 100! Thank you all :-)