No Strings Attached

Chapter One

Louis knew he was only kidding. After all, this was the first shift that some sort of sickness, bathroom predicament, or general unwillingness to leave in a long time hadn’t delayed him. The fact that he had showed up on time – no, a whole five minutes early, damn it – was nothing short of miraculous. But that didn’t stop him from rolling his eyes anyway.

“Ha, ha, I get it. Because I’m always late, is that right?”

Zayn’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “First time in a while that you haven’t got spit-up on your uniform, as well.”

Louis shrugged. “Daddy duty is a hell of a time. What can I say?”

“Glad you escaped it tonight then!” Zayn said as he checked his watch.

“I haven’t escaped anything. This is work, Zayn. Quite the opposite of escaping, actually.”

“Then why don’t we actually escape, for once? Take Rosie to your mum’s or something and we can make a weekend of it! You honestly can’t tell me you haven’t wanted a break, even for a day or two. I’m telling you, we can get a weekend off and we’ll go somewhere for a boy’s night out – or several, rather. I’ve got a great girl I’m sure you’d love!”

Louis groaned inwardly. Zayn attempted having this conversation with him at least once every two weeks; before, it was once every other day. There had been times when he might have convinced himself for several moments that a weekend away might work, especially since Rosie was getting bigger and not as utterly helpless as she was when she was an infant. But that same fact made it harder to leave home; he didn’t want to miss any of her big moments.

He shifted uncomfortably, and Zayn noticed.

“Oh, sorry mate,” Zayn said quietly. “I forgot. I’m sure we can find a guy you’d like – ”

“Would you cut it out?” Louis hissed under his breath. “I told you that in confidence! Besides, I’m not entirely sure about it anyway.”

“Sure about what?” Zayn whispered with a raised brow. “That Eleanor completely ruined all women for you, forcing you to gawk at blokes instead?”

Louis didn’t even respond to Zayn’s jab. He felt himself physically squirm and wince at the mention of his ex’s name.

“Wha – really? We can’t even say her name now? Jesus Lou, it’s almost been a year since she left. I think it’s safe to say her name now without fear of conjuring her to where we are.”

“You can be a real prick sometimes,” Louis grumbled. But Zayn dismissed his statement with a shrug.

“I’m just looking out for you, mate,” he said, taking on a tone of genuine concern. “I meant what I said earlier today. When was the last time you actually went out on a date, much less put yourself out there and made yourself available?”

“Available?” Louis could hear his voice rising, so he tried easing back. “I haven’t been available since the day Rosie was born. I’ve said this a million times: when I’m not at work, she’s all I’ve got time for! My last concern is finding other ways to be away from her!”

“No one is asking you to find her a step-mum – or stepfather, whatever it is you’re interested in – just yet,” Zayn said soothingly. “Or ever, really. I’m just saying that maybe you should enjoy yourself now and again. You deserve it, mate. Something casual. No strings attached, you know?”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “Casual? You mean like…” When he saw the mischievous glint in Zayn’s eyes, he found himself laughing incredulously. “No! I’m not going to sleep around like you. I like my relationships old-fashioned. Commitment isn’t overrated, you know.”