I never thought I'd catch your eye,
But now it seems you never want to leave my side.
Your family wants you back from me,
But I had your promise that you'd never want to leave.
So maybe,
Maybe I should ring, maybe I should call you my girl.
- "Maway" || Dan Croll
__
Want to help me move tomorrow?
Since you're so strong and muscular??
:D
...
Bubbles bounce.
Anais can see that Zayn's typing, and she waits for him to respond to her message because yes, she and Soo are moving into a bigger place for their senior year, and yes, this time there's enough room for Magdalena to move in with them.
And they kind of need help.
Sure.
Where ar eyou now?
It's a week before senior year, and before they face the 'real world' and get real jobs and have real bills and real responsibility, there's one more year of NYU. There's one more year of designing and drawing and watching Jesse and Zach and drinking at Mac's and bowling at Lucky Strikes...And there's one more year of Louis and Zayn and Niall as roommates and one more year of living off campus. And Anais is excited, because she's finally back from France for summer and she finally gets to see her friends, but most importantly, she gets to see her boyfriend, who had been in New York interning while she had spent the break in Paris with her family.
The time difference had killed her.
But, now she was back.
And even though her stuff was in storage, and even though Soo got back from Seoul on Monday and Magdalena was in California with Jesse and his family until Tuesday, she could wait because it was already Sunday and she was back in the same city as Zayn.
Zayn Zayn Zayn.
He'd been at work all day, so she'd kept busy by painting her new room. The apartment was definitely bigger, with three bedrooms instead of two tiny ones. Their kitchen actually had enough space to walk in and Anais' closet actually fit all of the clothes she'd packed in her suitcases. She had yet to get her bedding and things from storage, but that could happen on Monday. That could happen tomorrow. That could happen when Soo got back and that could happen with Zayn helping her move.
Zayn Zayn Zayn Zayn.
I'm at the new place, she types with the only part of her pinkie that hadn't been dampened by the wet yellow paint.
You're there?
Thought you didn't have any furniture. :D
I don't lol
I'm painting
"I'm thinking accent wall," she had said earlier that afternoon as she and Cara stood in front of the swatches in Home Depot. "Maybe orange?"
"Orange?" Cara wrinkled her nose. "What about something edgy? How about dark? How about black?"
"I am so far from edgy, Cara."
"Red, then? Red would be pretty."
"For you, maybe."
"Jesus, Ana," she had rolled her eyes. "Why'd you even invite me, girl?"
"Because," Anais laughed, throwing her hands around Cara's body and hugging her close. "Because, you're the only one who's in New York, of course."
"Oh, wow," Cara sighs, "That's fucked up."
"Please," Anais laughs, "Pwetty pwease???"
"Fine," Cara'd snorted. "What about pink? Lavender? Yellow?"
"Yellow," Anais had nodded. "I'm thinking yes to yellow."
And this is how Anais picked the color of her accent wall.
Cara had laughed.
And then she smiled slyly. "Speaking of colors..."
"Oh, damn..." Anais had shook her head as she grabbed buckets of paint for her basket, "I bet I know where this is going."
"How's Lucky Blue Smith? You talk to him while you were in Paris?"
"I mean," Ana shrugged, "it seems like he's doing fine."
"Aha! So you have talked to Lucky."
"A bit," she replied honestly. "Not too much. But, I heard he's got a girlfriend, now."
"A real one, or a fake one? There's a difference, remember?"
Anais had laughed aloud. "She's real--"
"This time."
"This time," Anais nodded. "He Facetime'd me while they were together. She seems sweet."
She started up a slow clap. "Well, good for Lucky Blue. I guess all fuckboys can get their lives together. There's hope for them all."
Anais laughs aloud. "Cara," she begins.
"Yes, my little Parisian love?"
"I missed you."
And Cara laughs aloud. "I missed you, too, Anais. I cannot live without you, my love."
So now, Anais is painting.
She'd bought her paints and had covered the carpet in paper and had opened all of the windows so she didn't choke on the fumes.
She'd tied up her hair and put on a pair of old cutoff shorts and a tank top, because it was summertime in New York and it was as hot as it had been cold just the winter prior.
Want some help?
That is kind of what I do.
Lol
I thought you were working
I haven't seen you in months love
I could take off for you
And before Anais can reply, he does.
Fuck it
I'm coming over
She laughs, but she's excited anyway.
Ok
Bring food!!!
And exactly twenty minutes later, Anais' phone buzzes from across the unfinished room.
I'm outside
Come get me :) xx
___
"I brought foo--"
"Zayn!"
And his words are cut short as Anais throws her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him to the ground and with it, the pizza in his hands as she presses herself against him, burying her head against his neck.
Zayn blinks. "How's that for a hello, eh?" He chuckles, although he can't lie, he's happy. Honestly, he might have felt some type of way if she hadn't nearly tackled him to the ground in greeting.
"I missed you," she murmurs against him, her hair tickling the side of his face.
He places a kiss on the top of her head. "Missed you, too," he replies honestly. And he pulls away, using his free hand to cup her jaw.
He stares into her eyes. "How was Paris?"
"Eh," she shrugs. "I worked a lot. Saw some friends..."
"Sounds like a great time," he chuckles.
"As weird as it may sound," she grins, "I actually missed you and the cold and you in the cold writing my essays."
"And I've been thinking about that," he nods as she takes his hand, leading him into the new apartment, "and if I'm gonna do that again this year, like, you're gonna have to make it up to me."
"By...?"
He shrugs, poking out his lip and tousling his short hair. "Isn't that for me to know?"
"Wow," Anais laughs. "Forget it. I can't think about essays yet, honestly," she takes him into the kitchen, "How was your summer, babe?"
"Y'know," he shrugs again, "Worked a lot...Saw some friends..."
She bursts into laughter, and he joins.
"I hate you," she sighs, setting the pizza upon the counter. "You're the worst."
"Honestly," he shrugs, "it's what I told you. I worked..." He shakes his head, "I worked a lot..."
"Same--"
"I'm glad you're back, though," he replies, almost shyly.
But, Anais is blushing, like they haven't been together for nearly six months already. "I'm glad to be back, too."
And Zayn grins, watching as she looks about the empty kitchen.
"Okay, so...we're gonna have to eat with just hands because I have no utensils and no furniture so..."
He laughs, grabbing both of her hands.
"Where's the bedroom?" He asks. "I wanna paint."
"First?"
"Yeah, first," and he shakes his head, "Wait, have you eaten today?"
She smiles sheepishly. "Well, see that's a funny story...I got off the plane and--"
Zayn groans, grabbing the pizza from the counter. "Okay we can do both," and Anais grins, chuckling. He motions for her to walk ahead, "Lead the way."
"Ooh, I love when you get bossy."
He slaps her butt, "Shut up, you."
"Oh," she laughs, winking. "Slap me again, Daddy."
Zayn sticks a tongue in his cheek. "Daddy?"
Anais only laughs harder, taking off down the hall.
"Daddy?" He repeats, following behind her. "Daddy?"
Anais stops in the half-painted bedroom. "I think you like it."
He sets the pizza on the floor, turning in the room.
"You flirting with me?"
"Maybe. A little. Depends on what you're gonna do about it."
"C'mere then," he states, staring at her across the space. "And I like your room. S'bigger."
She nods. "Thank god."
"Yeah. Now, c'mere, Ana."
"Ooh," she licks at her lips. "There you go, being bossy again."
He crosses his arms across his chest, leaning against the door frame. "You realize I've been here for nearly twenty minutes and you like, still haven't given me a kiss?"
Anais taps her chin. "You realize I haven't seen you in a while either, right?"
"S'exactly what I'm saying."
"And you neglected to kiss me when you saw me, so..."
He laughs aloud. "So...?"
"So what're you gonna do about it, Zayn?"
"Do what I've said. C'mere."
She smirks. "You wish I would jump when you said so."
He hums. "When I ask my baby girl to do something, she does it."
Anais laughs aloud. "You wish I was your baby girl, Daddy."
"How come you haven't moved, then?"
"Make me."
"Yeah?"
"Yes."
"Call me 'Daddy' again."
Anais snorts. "You can't just make me use that name, man. You've got to earn it."
Zayn chokes on a short laugh. "Yeah?"
"Did I stutter?"
He crosses the floor, now, stopping at the open paint bucket.
His tongue is in his cheek. "Heard you loud and clear, love."
And Zayn dips his fingers into the paint and flicks them her way, splattering the front of her shirt and her neck and her cheek in yellow paint.
Anais blinks, mouth open in an 'o' because she's too shocked to react with noise.
Zayn's got his hands on his knees, tongue behind his teeth as he shakes, laughter bubbling deep from within his stomach.
Anais wipes at her face, smearing paint across her skin. "Zayn."
He laughs harder, sticking his hand behind his ear. "Who?" He asks. "Who's Zayn?"
"Zayn, I'm going to fight you."
"Sorry. Sorry, but it's Daddy or nothing, babe."
"Really?"
He hums.
"Well," she pauses, "I like you in yellow, Daddy," and she takes the paint roller from where she left it and strikes him across his shirt.
He gasps, staring at his white tee and then staring back at her.
She laughs. "Stripes look good on you, Daddy."
"Okay," he nods, shaking out of his leather coat. "This is the game you wanna play, yeah?"
"No, no, no," Anais exclaims, holding out the roller as a buffer between them. "No games. I'm not trying to play games, Zayn."
"Too late," he smirks, and he submerges both hands into the paint.
They emerge, dripping and splattering on the plastic-covered carpet.
"Zayn, get away from me."
"Who's Zayn?"
"Zayn! Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry--Stop!"
"Who?" He exclaims, chasing her around the room. "Who, Ana?"
"Zayn, stop!"
He does.
"Thank you--"
And he grabs the paint bucket.
"Don't you dare."
"Who? Me?" He points innocently to himself. "Who're you talking about, Ana?"
"Zayn. I'm serious. Don't even--"
And he tosses the paint in her direction.
"You--Zay--Daddy!" She screams, as paint splatters against her and the white wall behind her and the plastic at her feet. And the paint drips from her body and she's pretty much hating herself for even getting this started because now Zayn's laughing -- he's now got his hands wrapped around her waist and across her cheeks and along her thighs as she wriggles against his body.
"Better," he whispers in her ear. "That's better."
He's got paint all over her face and in her hair and on her clothes. She swipes him with the roller, and he's laughing, because her lips are yellow and her eyelashes have paint in them and her eyebrows are pulled together angrily.
"Zayn!"
"What?" He exclaims, stumbling backwards. His ripped black jeans are paint-splattered and he's breathing heavily, the chain around his neck rising and falling with his rhythmic breathing.
She turns, staring at the yellow accent wall, and the adjacent wall to its left, which is now splattered with yellow paint.
"Oh..." He comes to stand behind her, and she whips her head around, glaring at him. He grins sheepishly, "Want like," he pauses, "two yellow walls, then?"
Anais continues to glare, and the sight of her yellow-splattered face, another laugh bubbles in his chest.
"I missed you," he says.
She turns away.
"I missed you, baby."
"Hmph."
"We can paint over the wall..."
"This has to dry first," she replies tensely.
"There's pizza."
"I'm not hungry."
His hands snake around her waist.
"You look beautiful in yellow."
"You're such a liar."
His face is in the crook of her neck.
"I love you."
"Awesome."
He chokes on a laugh. "I love you, baby girl."
Anais sighs as Zayn's lips ghost over her skin.
"You like that, don't you?"
"I like what?"
He kisses behind her ear. "Being my baby girl," he hums against her skin. "You like it."
"Sometimes."
Zayn laughs, his body shaking against her and Anais can't help but crack a smile.
"I missed you," he repeats. "Like, a lot."
"I missed you, too," she replies. "Idiot."
He turns her around in his arms. "Who?"
She rolls her eyes. "Daddy."
"Better," he nods, and he laughs again, pushing a few stray, yellow hairs from her face. "Can I have my kiss, now?"
"If you help me paint this wall."
He scoffs. "That's what I came for, remember?"
"Well," Anais replies, "so far I'm the only thing that's been painted, so--"
But Anais quickly closes her mouth as Zayn's lips press against hers.
She's got paint all over their lips, but Zayn doesn't care, because FaceTime just isn't the same as the real thing, and being away from his girlfriend after being together all the time wasn't as easy as he initially thought it would be.
He'd been bored.
With Niall traveling and Louis in Korea with Soo and Liam in Los Angeles for a bit with Jesse and Zach, he'd really been bored because there was no Anais.
If work hadn't kept him busy, he might have gone crazy. He'd grown so used to constant socialization with his friends plus Ana's, and the sudden quiet and the sudden lack of activity actually had him counting down the days until everyone returned to New York for school.
But, Anais is back now.
And Zayn's got paint on him, mostly thanks to her, and he doesn't exactly care too much.
He decidedly cares less as she drapes her arms around his shoulders, leaning into him.
He grabs at her waist and nips at her lips until her mouth parts and she moans, the vibrations of her voice on his tongue.
He kisses her cheeks and her nose and places another kiss on her lips.
And then, he laughs, "I can feel your stomach rumbling."
Anais rolls her eyes. "Shut up."
"You wanna eat?"
She shakes her head. "No."
"Ana, you need to--"
She kisses him hard, and he shuts up immediately, smiling against her lips.
"And I'm the bossy one?" He breathes, pressing his teeth and his tongue against the parts of her neck not splattered with paint.
"Yes, you."
He bites, lips against her when she yelps. "I don't know about all that, baby."
Anais decides that even more than 'love' or 'babe,' butterflies erupt uncontrollably when Zayn calls her 'baby.'
Or, when he sings.
Noted.
And he laughs, squeezing her waist, giant hands roaming along her body as he lifts one of her legs, hands beneath her thigh as he backs her against one of the yellow-splattered wall and presses himself between her legs.
Anais moans, and Zayn's eyes are bright with amusement as he smiles down at her, taking in her lidded brown eyes and her smooth brown skin and her dark brown hair plastered to her face with yellow paint.
He kisses her softly.
"Sleep over at mine tonight," he whispers, even though he's realizing that this kind of breaks the tradition of their Sunday's, doesn't it? Typically he comes over to Ana's, helps her with something and they...
Well, they do this.
"Of course," she replies.
"Good."
And Anais giggles, jumping in Zayn's arms as he slides his other hand along the underside of her other thigh, allowing him to hold her up against the wall, her arms around his shoulders as his lips meet hers again and she bucks her hips against him.
"God, Ana..."
"Thought you liked that," she purrs, running her hands through his hair as she bites down upon his lips, kissing him hard like she's been dying to since she'd left. Their teeth clack and their tongues fight for space and dominance and Ana can taste the smoke on his breath. She inhales his cologne and grips his hair and feels him grow harder against her.
She removes her hands from around his neck and fiddles with the zipper on his jeans.
He blinks. "Ana--"
She wriggles in his grasp, dropping from his hold in his arms to her knees.
She peers up at him innocently, her tongue running along the seam of her lips as she stares into his hazy caramel eyes. Her fingers drag slowly down the front of his boxers. "Yes, Daddy?"
He groans, not allowing her to slip his pants off because he's dropped to the floor, rolling on top of her. She gasps as he pins both arms over her head.
Zayn kisses up her stomach, swirling his tongue in her navel as he pops the button on her shorts.
Anais giggles, shimmying from her shorts, "You gonna sing to me?"
"Why?" He asks, slipping his fingers beneath the fabric.
Anais moans loudly as he teases her with two fingers running circular motions beneath her lacy underwear.
His fingers are slippery against her wet lips.
Anais' breath hitches, brow furrowing. "Zayn..."
"'Cause, I don't think you need it."
Ana's stomach lurches, a fire set in the pit of her belly as she throbs against Zayn's fingers. "Oh my god, shut up and fuck me already--"
"Can't," Zayn whispers, laughing as he quickly places a kiss on her lips. "Sorry, love."
"Okay, what?" Anais props herself upon her elbows. "What do you mean you can't--?"
"No condom. They're all are at my place, love," he replies. "I came straight here from work, remember?"
Anais grabs for her shorts, pulling them up.
And Zayn watches her curiously as she rises to a stand, fixing her clothes.
"What're you doing, Ana?"
"Um, babe," she replies, "I think it's time to go."
He laughs, eyebrow raised. "To mine?"
"To yours," she grins, "'Cause I don't think I can wait to do this," she shrugs, "If we're being honest."
And Zayn laughs, rising to his feet. "I think I'm good with that."
"Paint tomorrow?"
He nods, "Promise."
And she beams at him. "Thank you," she sings. And then she snaps her fingers, "Oh! And the pizza," she grabs the box.
And she narrows her eyes, grinning devilishly. "We can do things with this."
Zayn laughs aloud, hooking his fingers in her back pockets. "You're crazy, Anais."
"I know, babe," she replies, leading him from the empty bedroom. "I know."
And they're in the living room, Anais grabbing for her belongings when all of a sudden, he stops, pushing her against the door. He removes the pizza from her hands and stares into her wide eyes.
"Yes?" She grins, because this was a random act but, at the same time, their days were kind of always like this, weren't they?
"Like, I really fucking love you, you know that?"
Anais blinks, a smile growing on her face at the seriousness in his voice and the feel of his hands around her waist.
"I did know," she replies. "But, I like hearing you say it again."
___
it's done.
:((((
i'm actually sad. this has been so much fun and i can't believe that this nearly has 100k reads. that's the most for any story i've ever written and i'm so glad you've all enjoyed it as much as i have. i'm attached to these characters, so i'm not opposed to writing something later about them down the line but... who knows. we'll see. :)
comment and vote!
xxx
<3<3<3