progress

"So..." I trailed off, subtly slipping out of Zayn's grasp as we walked across campus. "What was up with all that?"

He sighed, but I wasn't sure if it was because of my question or the fact that I moved away from his hold. "It's the stupid annual football charity dinner. Every year I go with Jasmine, and now she's pissed because I don't want to go with her."

"Oh," I said in understanding. "And let me guess, you told her you wanted to go with me instead."

He nodded, and I couldn't help but smile at his recent actions in regards to me. I still wasn't buying it completely, but it was a step in the right direction.

"I appreciate that, but wouldn't it look bad?" I asked, playing with my hands as we approached the parking lot. "I want so badly to be selfish and say 'yay! Fuck Jasmine, blah blah.' But this is your football career we're talking about."

Before responding, he unlocked his truck and let me slide in first before sitting and looking at me in the eye. "Are you sure? I have no problem taking you with me."

I shook my head and leaned over so I could softly drag my finger across his jawline and pull him closer. "Baby, if I had a problem, I'd let you know for sure."

He smirked, before grabbing my wrist and yanking me into his lap, which made me yelp. "'Baby'?"

I shrugged my shoulders, and glanced around the car trying to seem innocent. "Would you rather have me call you daddy?"

He stared at me, blinked, then stared at me some more. I felt at least half a minute go by before he said something.

"Do you even know what you do to me?" He murmured, while twirling a strand of my hair in his hands. "Do you really know?"

Wow. All I need to get a proclamation of love from him was to call him daddy. Go figure.

"It's not all sex with you," he admitted. "I thought it would be, but honestly I find myself drawn to you for reasons that are unbeknownst to me. I'm a asshole—I know that—but I don't want to be one anymore. Well, at least not to you."

I said nothing. I just grabbed the sides of his face and brought my lips to my own.

We didn't rush, we didn't have to. We had nowhere to be, so he took his time. I could feel the small but heated patterns he was tracing on my upper thigh, I could feel the slight stubble from his morning shave graze my chin.

He broke away from me and just stared into my eyes. I could see his pupils dilate, which was entrancing and sultry all on its own.

Feeling a sudden burst of adrenaline and confidence, I shifted myself and shoved his body flat against the car seats.

"What are you..." his voice trailed off as I moved my hands towards the zipper of his jeans.

"Let me do something for you now," I whispered lowly, moving one finger over the zipper teasingly.

"God, you love toying with me, don't you?" He managed to stammer out, before throwing his head back.

"Don't ever forget it," I said, before lowering my head down.

--

"I've never been in here before," I said, sitting down next to Zayn in the booth. "I work for the newspaper for Christ's sake. I'm supposed to know about shit like this."

We were in an underground dining hall that was supposed to accommodate students who were learning a language, which according to the theme of the hall, was Arabic.

"Marhabaan," a waiter walked up to our table with a bright smile. "Hal li 'an alnnizam alkhass bik?"

I stared at her as if she had two heads. "Wait, deadass? Y'all really have to say everything in Arabic?"

She nodded, and then waited expectantly.

"Marhabaan," Zayn replied, which surprised the hell out of me. "Nahn lasna mustaeiddin baed, bde lahazat."

When she left, I turned to Zayn in shock. "You speak Arabic?"

"Yeah, and I speak Spanish and Punjabi," he said as if it was no big deal.

"Impressive," I complimented, nodding at him. "Well, since you come here more than I do, tell me what's good. And I love spicy food too, if that helps."

He smirked at me and bent close to my ear as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, I know just the thing that's make you feel the burn everywhere, not just in your mouth."

Oh lord. I'm pretty sure I didn't need whatever food he was talking about to get me feeling hot all over.

"Well, bring it," I challenged before sitting up properly again when the girl walked back.

-

"What the fuck?!" I cried, tears running down my face. "This is too much!"

It felt like the pits of hell decided to reside in my mouth. I felt as if I couldn't breath.

"What did I tell you?" He said condescendingly, pouring more water into my glass from the pitcher before continuing to eat his food calmly.

I could feel beads of sweat forming at my hairline and I continued to fan at myself desperately, trying to ease my suffering.

After calming down, my tongue was numb. "Oh my god. Never again am I trusting you with my taste buds again. I hate you."

Zayn chuckled before leaning down to steal a quick kiss from me. "Baby, you and me both know that you could never really hate me."

"Oh, go fuck yourself," I responded, which made him laugh even more.

"You know, this is the first time I've felt happy in a while," he told me, after the waitress took our plates away.

I rolled my eyes, knowing it was one of his lines. "Oh please. How many times have you said that to one of your old works?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "A lot. But I can say that you're the first one that I've said that to that I've actually meant."

-----
a/n: picture of jasmine (hailey baldwin) in the media area.

-rachel 🤘🏾