Monday, I ride with Cate to work and we stop to get coffee before heading to work. That's how the next two weeks are spent, us riding together every day in the morning, getting coffee and driving together again after we finish at work.
I've not seen 'Mr. Hunk' as Cate calls him since the club. He always drops Zoe off and picks her up but he never comes in, he just stops outside for her. I have decided not to entertain myself with silly ideas that me and him will ever be more than strangers.
Zoe though has opened up a bit to me but she still hardly talks but at least she's not ignoring me anymore. I gave her a speech about how she's wasting her parents' money and time by closing off and by continuing like this is only going to affect her negatively, that faster I can help her and be there for her, the faster she can get rid of me. I was not happy that that last part is what got her to open up. Nonetheless we have been making progress.
So in the last week of the first month since working here, I wait for Zoe to come since its Wednesday. There's a light knock on my door though and I'm quite surprised since Zoe never knocks, so I stand up and walk to the door to open it. My heart nearly stops when I see Zayn standing there, with no Zoe anywhere near him.
"Come in please" I'm nervous and confused as to why he's here "is Zoe okay?" is the first thing I think of.
"She's okay, no need to worry." he says and clears his throat "I came to speak to you actually" he says in a low voice as he sits down on the chair in front of my desk.
"What can I help you with?"
"As you can see, Zoe will not be here today because she's visiting a family member and I came to ask how she's holding up here."
"Okay well I can't give you details as you know, but we still have a lot to go through but it's getting easier and she's starting to open up."
"That is good to hear Ms. Reed, I hope she's not too much trouble." why is he being so formal?
"It is my job after all Mr. Malik" I say and I surprise myself with how professional I'm being.
"I apologize for taking your time Ms. Reed"
"It's okay, I was just headed home after my session with Zoe anyway." I say and gather my things to leave and lock up. He exits my office and I follow behind. We walk to the elevator in complete silence and it takes everything in me not to turn my head and stare at him. I press the elevator button to the ground floor and after a few seconds the elevator doors open and we step in.
I keep staring at the doors as he steps in, standing close to me. As the doors close I force myself not to look at him, but it's so hard. Because of his proximity, I grasp that we are alone in a confined space. I can smell his musky cologne from how close he is, and I can almost feel the heat that's radiating from his body.
Unable to stop myself I look at him and my breath catches in my throat as I find him already looking at me. Something flashes through his eyes and they look almost darker.
Suddenly seconds feel like hours as he stares into my eyes, and his eyes flicker to my mouth for a while. I just stand there immobile, frozen yet my body feels like it's on fire, anticipating what he's going to do next. He leans his face in, slowly moving towards my face. His face is inches from mine and his gaze remains on my lips. Just as I lean closer, staring at his full pink lips, the elevator doors open and he steps away, clearing his throat. I can't help but notice the slight disappointment creeping into my chest.
Was I really going to kiss someone I hardly know? What the hell just happened!?
"Good bye Ms. Reed" he rasps, his voice husky and low.
"Bye Mr. Malik" I say half out of breath as he walks out of the front door to his black Audi R8.
Again... what the hell just happened?
I step out of the elevator slightly breathless, and it takes me a few seconds to fully catch my breath. Did he feel it too? Did he want to kiss me? Sighing loudly, I sit in the lobby waiting for Cate to finish with her shift. After a few minutes, she comes through the elevator and gives me a weird look.
"Hey what's wrong, you look weird."
"Nothing, I'm okay." I say and I can literally taste the lie in my voice.
"Right, and the sky is pink." she rolls her eyes "come out with it" After taking a deep breath I decide to just tell her.
"I almost kissed Zayn." When she says nothing back I go on "he came over to talk about his sister and we were in the elevator and he was so close and he smelled so good and the elevator was so small then suddenly he leaned in and I did the same and his lips looked so kissable and his face was close I could taste his lips and- "
"Breathe would you, you sound like you just ran a marathon. Slow down yeah. So did you kiss him?"
"No the elevator doors opened and he stepped away like nothing happened"
"Just be careful okay, don't get your hopes too high."
"Yeah." I replied as we pull up to our apartment. I get out and just as I walk through the door my phone starts ringing, it's a private number but I decide to answer it anyways.
"Hello"
"H-hello, Melony?" the girl has a soft voice and furrow my eyebrows in confusion.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"It's Zoe, I know you're busy and you just got off work but can I please come see you. It's important?" I always tell my clients to call me whenever they want, if it's an emergency, so Zoe calling doesn't bother me, I am just surprised.
"Yeah sure, I'll just text you my address."
"Okay." she says and hangs up. I hope she's okay.
Cate decides to go to a friend's house to give me and Zoe some privacy when she arrives, and I couldn't be more thankful. After a few minutes, there's a knock on the door and I go to open it. When I open the door I find Zoe standing there with glassy eyes and I just know something bad happened.
"Come in." I say and open the door wider for her to come in.
"I-I'm sorry" she says softly "I k-know you off work and I'm sorry for coming here like this a-and" she stutters as a few tears escape her eyelids. I can just see that she doesn't want to talk about it. She only needs some comforting. So all I do is just give her a hug and let her cry on my shoulder, whisper words of comfort while rubbing her back.
"It's okay, let it out, I'm here for you"
I don't know how long we've been sitting there with her in my arms until her tears stop and she pulls away from me and wipes he cheeks "thanks" she mumbles "Zayn will be here in a few minutes to pick me up" My heart skips a beat at the mention of his name, but I push the feeling away.
"Sure, are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, thank you I know I can be a little difficult sometimes." she says with a short laugh.
"It's okay, I'm used to you right now" I say with a smile.
The doorbell rings and my stomach starts to flutter at the realization that he is right outside that door, not far from me and I will be seeing him in a few seconds. So I pretend as though it doesn't affect me in the least as I stand up to walk to the door and Zoe follows behind.
"Hi" I say and open the door for Zoe to step out. He hardly looks my way and turns to Zoe.
"Zoe, go wait in the car" he orders and she just rolls her eyes at him, but complies anyways.
"So how can I help you?" I ask biting my lip.
"No actually, I just wanted to say thank you for agreeing to see Zoe, she's in a bad place right now."
"It's okay I didn't mind at all, she- "
"Screw this." He interrupts and before I can ask what he means, let alone breathe, he crashes his lips on mine.
I stand frozen as he grips my arm and tugs me hard against his toned body, so rough that I have to hold on his shoulders so that I don't fall. He kisses me like he has never tasted lips before, like a starved man deprived from food. He groans and it's probably because I'm too shocked to kiss him back
He pulls back and stares into my eyes. "kiss me."
His lips are on mine again, but this time I don't hesitate to kiss him back with as much passion and hunger as I can master. His lips are soft and hard at the same time as they move rhythmically with my own. His hand moves to my waist and he grips hard as he backs me into the wall. My hands tugs at his hair and he lets out the sexiest groan I have ever heard. He runs his tongue on my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I open my mouth and his tongue immediately explores my mouth. It's all tongue and lips, as the kiss deepens. I move my hands to his neck to pull him closer to me, and his move to my hips so that his hips are flush against mine.
Oh my!
I pull away to catch my breath but he has other plans as his lips move to my neck. He nibbles on my neck and a moan involuntarily escapes my mouth. This can't happen. Why does it feel so good, yet so wrong?
"Zayn..." I say breathlessly and he continues to kiss my neck and collarbones "Zayn, stop, not like this" it feels amazing to have this lips on mine but I don't want things to move so quickly, hell this is only the fourth time I've ever seen him.
He mumbles something and he raises his head to look at me and I almost stop breathing. His eyes are darker with lust, his lips are a darker shade of pink, almost red and swollen from the kiss.
"Why not?" his voice is husky and he's also breathing hard. And right there for the life of me, I cannot come up with a reason. He looks at me once more then steps away from me
"I'll see you later" he leaves without waiting for a reply.
ZAYN'S POV
"Hi" she says and opens the door for Zoe to step out. I hardly look her way and turn to look at my sister.
"Zoe, go wait in the car" I order and she just rolls her eyes at me, but she chooses wisely and listens to me. It pains me to see my sister in so much pain. I hate her having to go through all this crap because of something so unnecessary. I don't dwell much on these depressing thoughts as Melony starts to speak.
"So how can I help you?" Melony asks biting that lip of hers. And damn don't I want to do that myself.
"No actually, I just wanted to say thank you for agreeing to see Zoe, she's in bad place right now." I tell her but I'm not entirely honest because I know one of the reasons why came up was so that I could see her. I couldn't stop replaying the events from the elevator in my head, yes nothing happened, and that's what bothers me because I was so close to losing it.
"It's okay I didn't mind at all, she- "and that's when I lose it.
"Screw this." I interrupt her and before she can even talk, I crash my lips on hers. And I don't even know what's going on but damn she's so intoxicating. I can't seem to leave her alone. First was the club, and believe me it took everything in me not to walk up to her and make her mine. Then it was the stupid elevator, I wanted nothing more than to rip off every piece of clothing she had on. She's still wearing those clothes. The way this blouse clings to her upper body and how this skirt shows off all the right curves. Plus, she has a slight accent but damn it turns me on.
I keep kissing her hard but she doesn't kiss me back. When I look up her eyes are wide from shock but I can tell she wants this as much as I do. "kiss me"
I kiss her again and this time she kisses me back with a lot of eagerness and hunger. I back her against the wall and my hands grip in every part of her body I can find. She tugs on my hair as I devoir her lips, our tongues and lips moving in sync with each other, I groan in frustration as I pull her body against mine and I know she can feel how bad I want her. She pulls away and I immediately move my lips to her neck.
"Zayn..." she says breathlessly "Zayn stop, not like this"
"Why not?" my voice is hoarse
when she doesn't answer I step away before I take her here and now. She might be saying no but by the way her eyes have darkened and by her shallow breathing, I know it's the last thing she wants.
"I'll see you later." I say before I say or do something stupid. And with that I'm out of the door.