Ladies First (Zayn Malik) Book 4

Chapter 32

“This way” Eleanor says, linking arms with us as she pulls us against the crowd towards the backstage entrance. We flash our passes and the guard lets us through. We round the corner and I see the boys giving the girl one last hug, joking around and attempting to get her to smile. The four of us hang back until the girl is escorted away, probably to be taken back to her friends. The boys look over and I can’t help but to run over, throwing my arms around Zayn. I couldn’t get over how sweet that song was. How much it must mean to the fans. To any girl.

“Hey” he says chuckling in surprise. I pull back, looking up at him and, smiling, he wipes away the remnants of tears still on my cheeks. “You alright?” I nod my head and lean my head against his shoulder as I look back at the group, seeing Eleanor cuddled into Louis’s arms in the same way.

“So clubbing?” Harry asks, a grin on his face. “You wimped out last night. I’m not letting you do it again tonight” he jokes to Zayn and I. I nod my head with a wry grin. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get out of it this time.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun” Zayn nudges me, reading my mind.
“Can we go to Funky Buddha? I always hear about it and I really want to see what it’s all about. Please!” Carmen begs. The boys chuckle but nod their heads.

“That’s pretty much where we go anyways,” Liam says with a smile.

“We just need 20 minutes to get cleaned up. I’m kinda sweaty” Harry says.

“Well go then” I say with a smile, pulling away from Zayn, pushing him the direction of the dressing rooms. They laugh heading to their individual dressing rooms to go shower and change out of their stage clothes, leaving the girls and I alone.

“So you and Zayn huh?” Eleanor asks, raising her eyebrow.

“Finally!” Carmen explodes. “Someone else sees it. She doesn’t believe anything’s happening,” she says, looking at me accusingly.

“We’re just friends!” I protest. “He’s been there for me and yea,” I say trailing off sheepishly, under the amused eyes of the other girls.

“He likes you Emily” Eleanor says as my face turns beat red. “I haven’t seen him so happy since Perrie.”

“We’re gonna make love in this club” Carmen sings under her breath, earning a laugh from Eleanor and Hannah as I turn even redder.

“Guys” I whine “Stop”

“We just want you to be happy,” Hannah says sincerely and I give her a smile. The boys come out, all clean and Carmen bites back a smile, beginning to hum ‘Love In This Club’ again until I smack her across the stomach.

“To the cars!” Louis says dramatically, raising a fist in the air, grabbing Eleanor’s hand and practically knocking her off her feet as he pulls her towards the back door. I can’t help but to smile at his antics and, as we walk, I feel Zayn’s hand against my back, leading me. Eleanor glances back, her eyes twinkling with humor as she sees Zayn and I. When we get to the club, I see a long line at the door. I frown a moment at the thought of waiting in that long line before realizing we wouldn’t have to. As we all walk into the club, I see the girls we were sitting next to during the show and I wink at them with a grin. Inside, the music is blasting. The boys make a beeline for the VIP section and the rest of us follow along. Niall and Harry head to the bar and Niall grabs a beer while Harry begins pouring shots. When he’s got a bunch made, he motions for everyone else to join him. We all walk over, I a little reluctantly. Harry hands out the shots and I look down at the liquid, my nose wrinkling.

“What’s wrong?” Zayn asks, seeing my expression.

“I hate the taste of alcohol,” I complain.