Chapter 5
(Kat's POV)
There was still two hours until Zayn would come pick me up. That gives me just enough time to look the best that I possibly could.
"Wear something pretty" Zayn had said when we made our plans to dinner.
I took a quick shower, letting my long black hair dry on it's own. It fell beneath my shoulders and down my back once I curled it afterwards. Racing towards my closet, I decided to wear a short, strapless floral dress that ended just a bit over my knees. Since it was supposed to be cold, I wore a full sleeved black top about the same height of the dress.
I took a quick look in the mirror and wore thin eyeliner with an addition of a small amount of mascara. I gave myself a thumbs up in the mirror and ran downstairs. Checking the time, it was five minutes til Zayn was supposed to arrive.
I sat on my couch and fiddled with my black painted nails. The thought of yesterday night when Zayn and I had danced flooded my mind. And for a split second, I even forgot about the incident that happened afterwards. All I remembered was Zayn's hand on my waist as we moved our bodies together to the sound of the music. I hadn't realized I was grinning until my mouth started to ache. Idiot.
The door bell rang announcing the arrival of Zayn. Taking a quick look in the small mirror above the shoe rack, I ran to answer the door, stumbling upon dad's slippers. I answered the door, revealing Zayn standing there, smirking.
He was in a black button down shirt, his hair glossed perfectly like the night before. I smelt his calogne from where I was standing, and it was a lovely smell.
"Hey there beautiful." He spoke, smiling down at me.
I smiled back, "hi Zayn."
He took a good look at me, scanning me up and down. My cheeks turned red, but then I realized that I was doing the same thing to him.
After his eyes finally met mine he asked, "ready to go?"
Smiling, I nodded. I stepped outside and locked the door behind me. A cold wind swept past us, just as I thought. Bradford's weather was something I was used to by now.
"So, where would you like to go?" Zayn asked politely, looking down at me.
Thinking of all the restaurants in town, I couldn't exactly pick one that suit tonight perfectly. Finally, I looked up at his eyes and smiled.
"Surprise me."
"I was hoping you would say that." He took this offer and connected his hands with mine. Suddenly, it didn't feel so cold anymore.
"Would you like to walk?" Zayn asked.
If walking meant having his hand in mine, how could I refuse?
"Sure."
We walked and talked for a while. He took me through a familiar street that I recognized but couldn't quite figure out what exact place the street was going to take us. As soon as we left the quiet streets and walked into the lit up, crowded, noisy ones, I couldn't help but smile.
We walked into the most cheerful part of Bradford. Every corner you turn, there was another strip of lined up stores, connected and holding many varieties. Now that it had gotten a little darker outside, the colorful lights lit up even better. But because of the many varieties of restaurants, I still didn't quite know where he was taking me. At this point, the weather had grown a lot colder than it was when we started to walk. But, I wasn't complaining.
"Here we are," Zayn spoke finally. He held the door open for me as I thanked him and entered. Immediately, I recognized the restaurant. The Redbury.
I turned out, Zayn had already reserved for dinner with me. So when he was asking me, he was just being polite. Cutie. I didn't know if I should've been happy or extremely flattered.
I think I chose don't do anything to completely embarrass yourself, Kat.
We sat down at the back table, taking our seats across from each other. Zayn started, "Sorry if you don't like the restaurant, I wasn't sure if-"
"Don't worry," I smiled, "I love this restaurant. Thank you Zayn."
He smiled back and took a breath of relief.
A tall blonde waitress came to take our order. When I noticed that she payed a lot of attention to Zayn, I wasn't sure if I was jealous or mad. Maybe both. But I decided to ignore it, making sure to leave her a low tip.
After she took our order, she made the cheapest move I have ever seen. She took a deep breath, starting in her heavy British accent, facing Zayn. "Sir, would you like to take our quick survey?"
He looked at me, but I just shrugged. "Uh, yeah. Sure." Zayn said, but I knew by the sound of his voice, he would've felt bad if he refused.
Now, a more confident smile appeared on her face. "Alright, first question. What is your first and last name?"
Zayn looked at me questionably, then turned his attention back at her. "Zayn Malik."
She totally pretended to write it down on her notepad then asked her next question. "Phone number?"
Are you kidding me?! Did she not see me sitting right there.
I couldn't stand her anymore. I cleared my throat loud enough for both Zayn and the girl to turn to look at me. "We came here to eat, not play 20 questions." I smirked at her, "and I believe we ordered something, correct?"
She scoffed at me, rolling her eyes, and walked away. Yeah, I thought, she better not look forward to any tip.
After turning my attention back to Zayn, I had realized he had a mischievous smirk played upon his lips. I smiled back proudly, which caused him to chuckle.
"So," I changed the subject, "why'd you pick this restaurant?"
He looked around while smiling as if he thought of something. "Well," he started, "my grandfather took me here every year for my birthday."
"So, kind of like a tradition?" I asked.
He chuckled, and looked at me with a certain sparkle lit up in his eyes, "yeah. A tradition."
We chatted for a while until our conversation was disrupted by a different waitress. Much older than the last one, which I was dearly thankful for. She handed us our food and drinks, passing us a smile, then left.
Honestly, I didn't think I've ever had a better dinner in my life. Despite the fact that the food tasted delicious, I had to say that I enjoyed the company more.
After we had finished eating, Zayn stood up and said, "Excuse me for a minute, love. I'll be right back, stay here."
I nodded and smiled as he left the room. I played with my fingers when my eyes landed on the money he had left on the table. I decided to leave the restaurant and stand outside until Zayn came back. He would've probably realized that I was going to wait for him so he would've eventually noticed and come outside.
I walked outside into the cold breeze, tugging my top closer to my body. I looked around into the lit up town, searching for the motorcycle when I spotted something way more interesting.
A smirk grew on my face as I walked behind Zayn, making sure he didn't spot me. I cleared my throat, loud and clear, he turned his head and looked at me.
"Oh, Kat, I was just-"
I took the cigarette out of his hand, "save it Malik." I threw it on the floor, crushing it under my foot.
A deep chuckle escaped his throat, "didn't I tell you to stay inside?"
I shrugged, "must've missed it."
"Damn," he looked down at the crushed cigarette, "that was a new one."
I laughed, "didn't I tell you not to smoke in front of me?"
"It wouldn't have been in front of you if you would've stayed inside." He laughed, causing a giggle to escape my throat also. For a second, I actually felt proud of myself, but damn, it was actually funny.
He and I started to walk back home after I reminded him that he had already left the money on the table. And again, he had locked his hand tightly with mine.
"Why do you even smoke?" I asked him.
He took a moment before answering, even though I knew there wasn't an answer that could make smoking any better. "Well," he started, "I don't know exactly when I started. But ever since I did, I couldn't quit. People are right, it's an addiction. I don't think there is a way I could quit. Nobody can."
I stared at the floor as a cold breeze raced past me, causing chills to spread through my body. "Yeah, I bet you can. You just have to try."
A laugh escaped his throat, "easy for you to say, you probably don't even know how to smoke." He winked at me.
I bit my lip, trying to prevent myself from speaking.
"And besides, you probably wouldn't ever try one," he added.
I shot my head up at him, "oh yeah?"
He nodded, "yeah, you don't strike me as the type to smoke."
And that's when I told him, "well I used to smoke."
He raised his eyebrow at me. Damn, I thought, everyone in the world can do that but me. "You're lying."
I shook my head, "nope. I used to smoke last year but I quit after I found out how much it can truly hurt you. So that's when I decided that I actually wanted to live a long and healthy life."
He now looked surprised, shocked almost. "Wow. I guess I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover."
I giggled and nodded. He took this as a sign that by no means did I take this offensively. He gripped my hand tighter, smiling down at me and asking, "So, I guess there is a lot more that I don't know about you, Katrina Desire."
That was the first time he addressed me by my full name, but something was different about it. I mean, do you ever get that feeling when you're own name, something you've heard every day, just sounds better because someone else said it? Well that's how I felt with Zayn, it was strange.
"Oh, you have no idea."
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