believe

An incessant banging woke me up from my sleep in the middle of the night.

At first, I coverer my head with my pillow and ignored it, because I knew Isra told me she was going to a party and planned to sleep over at her friend's dorm after. It was probably someone who had the wrong room.

But when the loud knocking wouldn't stop, I groaned and snatched the covers off my body. Who the fuck would be banging on my door at 2 in the fucking morning?

I swung the door open, ready to give hell to whoever was on the other side of the door.

Turns out, it was Zayn, in a nicely fitted suit, messy hair—as if he's been running his hands through it all night— and a bottle of champagne in his hand. "Care for an early morning stroll?"

"You woke me up out my sleep for this bullshit?" I snapped, before looking around the floor for my bonnet that mysteriously flew off my head. "Go away."

He rolled his eyes, and stood his ground. "Just come out and stop being difficult."

Sighing, I walked away from the door and left it open as I crawled into my bed, not wanting to deal with him at such a late hour. He could stay or go if he wanted, I just wanted sleep.

I heard the door close and I thought he was gone until I heard the rustle of clothes in the dark. Switching on the nightstand light, I was surprised to see Zayn stripping out of his suit jacket and loosening his tie completely. He kicked out of his shoes and placed them over to the side, along with the champagne bottle.

"The hell are you doing?" I murmured, raising an eyebrow at him.

"We're going to sleep," he said, as if it was a no-brainer. "What else would we be doing?"

He then removed his pants, which left him only in his boxers, and then proceeded to climb into my bed.

I started to shift over to make room for him but he yanked my body tightly to his and wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Are you comfortable now?" He whispered in my ear, as his palm traced patterns along the side of my upper thigh.

I nodded and felt my hand raise to lean on his chest. "How was the banquet tonight?"

He sighed and kissed the top of my head. "Unbearable, but I'm just glad to finally unwind."

I didn't want to ask, but I knew curiosity would never leave. "You ended up taking Jasmine as your date?"

He nodded, and my spirits dropped slightly. "Yeah." That was all he said, and I felt it was too late at night to press him for anything related to her. Enjoying his company was nice enough. 

"Well, I started packing," I told him, finding his eyes in the dark. His eyebrows furrowed, and I answered his unasked question. "I'm going home for the weekend. Have you forgotten it's thanksgiving?"

"Shit, I never remember when that is," he admitted, unconsciously rubbing his hands up and down my back—which felt amazing, might I add. "We play the entire weekend through."

"Damn," I murmured. "So you never have dinner with your family?"

He paused for a moment, and I almost though he fell asleep until I felt the vibration of his voice against my chest. "Well, not really. Jasmine invites me to her family's house, or vice versa. I think it'll be the same, since my parents don't even know we broke up yet."

"Oh," I said quietly before closing my eyes. I didn't want to be hurt by that information, but I was. I know he's known her longer, so I had to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Zayn tilted my chin up, so that I could look into his eyes. "I can see your head running in circles. Even if I have to go to the stupid dinner, I promise you nothing will happen. I don't want Jasmine. I want you, Cash."

He slid his hand around my neck and kissed me deeply, erasing my doubts for the most part.

"I hate you," I had the will to utter when he separated from me.

"Why?" I could hear the laugh in his voice.

I shoved his shoulder, which made him laugh loudly. "You always know how to confuse the most rational of thoughts in my head."

"Then stop thinking and kiss me."

--

Instead of loud banging this time to wake me up, the sound of my cell phone ringing took me out of the most blissful sleep of my life.

I chose to ignore it, but when it started ringing again, I almost screamed like a banshee out of frustration.

Zayn's arms were still wound tightly around my waist, and he was sound asleep. I reached over him for my phone and answered it.

"It's 7 am in the morning, Liam," I growled lowly info the phone. "What the fucking fuck could you possibly want?!"

"Firstly, it's actually 1:15 in the afternoon," he said, matter-of-factly. "Second, is Z there with you? Coach wants his ass here after the mess he caused yesterday."

"What mess?" I inquired, now awake and curious. "And yeah, he's here sleeping."

I heard Liam sigh, before speaking. "He almost beat up the assistant coach yesterday, and he broke a table, defending you."

Instantly, I shot out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I filled up a basin of ice cold water, and brought it to bed, where I dumped it over Zayn's unsuspecting body.

He yelled loudly in shock and rolled off the bed, hitting the floor with an loud thud. "What the hell, Cash? It's 8 am in the morning!"

"It's actually 1:15 in the afternoon!" I shouted, throwing the basin on the floor, causing a loud clamping noise to sound in the room. "And why is Liam calling me telling me that you almost got into a fight and destroyed property defending me?"

He sighed, before slicking back his wet grey hair. "Look, they were saying—"

"I don't give a shit what they were saying, Zayn," I interrupted, rolling my eyes. "I'm a big girl, I can handle whatever comes my way, and I don't need a few ignorant comments to make you throw away your career."

"Oh, that's rich," he muttered lowly, probably thinking I wouldn't catch it while he stood up.

"What's rich?" I urged him to respond, inching closer to him. "You throwing your career away because of me? God, it's like you want me to be the demise of another team at this school—"

"What the hell are you talking about?" He snapped, finally getting frustrated to the point where he couldn't listen to me anymore. "Stop making this about you for five fucking seconds, and listen to me!"

His stern yelling made whatever words I was about to say dissipate. All I could do was glare back at him, awaiting his response.

"Thank you," he said with relief, before explaining. "Last night, we were all talking when I overheard the assistant coach—Daryl Walters— discussing me to the head coach, which you know is Jasmine's father. Daryl said, and I quote so don't hate me for this, 'That black whore Malik's been hanging around had been throwing him off his game lately.' So I marched over to him, fists balled up, read to hit but Diego and Liam held me back. So then I hit a table out of anger outside the hall, and broke it in two."

I shook my head and held the side of Zayn's cheek. "Z, look at me." When he refused to look at me, I turned his face to mine. "I can handle myself. You don't need to flush your career down the toilet to defend my honor. You could've been suspended if your friends weren't there."

"I know, I know," he agreed, before leaning into my hand. "Besides, even I know that the easiest way out for my career is to just be with Jasmine until draft day. But I told you I was going to work for this, and I meant it. Good things don't come cheap."

I smiled before wrapping my arms around his neck. "You just keep saying all the things I wanna hear, and I hate that."

He chuckled before kissing my forehead. "No you don't."

"True." I then remembered that Liam said Zayn was needed in practice. "You have practice today."

"Fuck that, I'd rather spend time with you now and make it up later," he said, pecking me on the lips. "I'll put in extra hours."

"Well in that case..." I trailed off, moving backwards into the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

He nodded and sat down on the bed. I rolled my eyes and took off my nightshirt, leaving me topless in front of Zayn. "Come in with me, idiot."

He rushed forward instantly, almost knocking me over in the process. "Whoa, there tiger. You almost killed me."

I grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him inside with me, our lips connecting at once.

His hands left my body to push me in the shower stall, and turn on the water. Immediately, warm water started to pour on my hair, messing up my hair that I took 45 minutes to straighten, but for the first time, I didn't care. All I could think of was having Zayn's skin against my own.

I rolled my hips into his, causing him to groan lowly. I still had my panties on, which probably frustrated him to the point where he just ripped the black lace fabric off my body.

"Boy!" I yelled, my jaw dropping, as I saw my shredded underwear flutter to the floor. "Those are $10 a pair!"

"Ask me if I give a fuck," he growled before trailing rushed yet aggressive kisses down my neck.

"I'll buy," he started trailing his kisses lower, "you," in between my breasts, "a whole drawer," left nipple, "full of fucking panties," right nipple, "if that's what you want." He ended by trailing his tongue down the center of my body to in between my legs.

"I-I like black lace," I managed to get out, my breaths coming out in anticipated pants.

Zayn stop up from his kneeling position, and smirked at me deviously. "How many do you want?"

He slid one finger into me, causing me to dig my nails into his shoulders. "One? Just one?"

"More," I moaned out, my legs already a quivering mess.

"How about two?" He slid a second finger in, and his thumb brushed my clit, which made me moan even louder.

"More!" I yelled, my voice airy and high, which sounded unrecognizable to my own ears. But I didn't care.

"You want more, babe?" He teased me, and my eyes cracked open to see him smirking down at my shaking form.

"God, just fuck me, Zayn!" I screamed, slapping his chest out of annoyance.

He bit his lip and leaned down to give me another one of his breathtaking kisses, which had my toes curling and heat pooling in my stomach.

"You got condoms?" He asked me, and I pointed to the medicine cabinet above the sink.

He quickly stepped out of the shower and grabbed one before coming back in. He sheathed himself before gently tapping me on my ass. "Bend over."

"Face down, ass up in the shower, Zayn?" I asked incredulously, my eyes wide. "Do you want be to drown?"

He thought about it for a second before making up his mind. "Well, I guess we're just going to have to make a compromise."

His calloused hands skimmed the side of my body before spinning me around, bending me over and easing into me.

"Fuck," I whispered, frantically grabbing onto the shower walls in a desperate attempt to hold onto something.

He gripped my waist, and thruster with slow steady movements, which pissed me off to no end, and he knew he was making me frustrated by the chuckles under his breath.

"Zayn!" I screamed out in frustration, trying to roll my hips toward him. "If you don't speed up, I swear—"

Suddenly he grabbed my wet hair and pulled, making my back arch even more than it was, and the colors I saw when we first had sex returned behind my eyelids.

My legs couldn't take my own body weight anymore, and I think Zayn knew that because he spun me around to the front and started picking up the pace. He hooked one of my legs around his waist, and I could barely register what he was doing because I swear I could hear Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" playing in the back of my head.

I couldn't even get words out let alone breathe, so what ever I was saying sounded like, "fuck...oh my god...yes, fuck Zayn...don't stop believing...hold on to that feeling..."

He orgasmed before me, and I could feel his body shaking beneath my own, and I almost could've taken pride in that I wasn't so close myself. I tried to slid my fingers down there to finish the job, but Zayn grasped my hand and pushed it away.

"Allow me," he said before crouching to his knees and latching his tongue onto my clit.

And just like that, I was a goner.

When he finished, I slid down to the floor of the shower, panting and my wet hair curling up against my forehead. I probably looked horrifying, but I really didn't care. I was too spent.

"You sang Journey lyrics," Zayn told me, grabbing my loofah off the shower basket and squeezing soap onto it.

"W-what?" I stammered out, shock clear on my face. "I said it out loud?"

"Yeah," he said, chuckling before helping me up to my feet and starting to sponge my back. "I thought I was hearing you wrong but I guess you just confirmed it."

"Oh shut up," I muttered, while relishing in the soapy circular motions he was rubbing into my back. "The song was on my mind."

He continued to scrub us both down before rinsing off. The water has since turned cold, but the blood boiling in my veins didn't let me register it.

"C'mon," he said, shutting off the water and wrapping a towel around his waist. "I have to get to practice, and as much as I'd rather be hear with you, I don't want Coach to kill me."

"Okay," I agreed and I jumped out the shower and grabbed a t-shirt from the cabinet to dry my hair.

"By the way, stop straightening your hair," he suggested, fingering one of the loose spirals by my forehead. "I like it better when it's curly."

-

I sat in my room, trying to type up my last research paper before I had to leave for my train back home. My eyes were beginning to strain, because of how dark it was in the room.

The door opened, and I was surprised to see a snow covered Isra with her suitcases lagging behind her.

"I thought your flight was hours ago?" I questioned, closing my laptop to give her my attention.

She sniffled and switched on the light, where I could see her nose and cheeks were a bright red from the cold. "Because of the heavy snow, they cancelled all international flights. I literally wasted $50 on cab fare to and from Logan!"

"So what's going to happen?"

"I got refunded my money, but I'm not spending thanksgiving with my family," Isra told me, despair clear in her voice. I know she wanted to go back to the UK for the weekend. We've been talking about her trip since last month, and she was genuinely excited.

"Well...how about you spend thanksgiving with me instead?" I offered, shrugging my shoulders. "We always have room for others."

Her eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe my words. "Seriously? Are you shitting me or what?"

"I'm serious, all we gotta do is hop on an Amtrak and we'll be there in, like, three hours." I slid my laptop into the sleeve, and placed it inside my bag. "Since you're all dressed up already, we can head off to the station. Just give me a second, okay?"

"I have to use the bathroom anyway," she told me before disappearing behind the door. Seconds later, I heard a scream. "Cash, why the fuck is there a damn condom in the shower?!"

My eyes widened, and I stifled a giggle. "Oh, sorry about that."

"Who the bloody hell are you having hot shower sex with?" She questioned, poking her head out the door to glare menacingly at me. "Zayn or Diego?"

"Why would you think it's Diego?" I asked, eyes wide. "We're just friends."

"Not according to what you told me last week..." she chided, shaking her head at me.

"Oh shut up," I cried, before going into the bathroom and picking up the condom, "before I put this on your head."

She screamed and ran to the other side of the room. "You're fucking gross, you stupid bitch!"

I laughed while tossed it in the bin, and quickly washed my hands. "C'mon, our train leaves at eight, and we still have to buy your ticket."

She took a deep breath, before looking at me. "I can't believe I'm going to New York City."

"Believe it, hunty. And by the time my city's done with you, you'll be a brand new person."

I gathered up my bags and zipped up my fur lined winter coat, ready to go.

"How are we getting to the station?" Isra asked out of curiosity, before we made it out the door.

Shit. I was so used to being driven around by Zayn, I almost forgot I didn't actually have a car.

"I'll call someone," I told her, already scrolling down to Z to find the contact I called the most.

He picked up on the second ring. "Hey, babe."

My heart fluttered at his choice of words and I would've swooned if Isra weren't in the room, since I wasn't no weak bitch. "Hi, would you mind dropping my roommate and l off at the Amtrak station? I know it's very short notice, but I hope you don't mind."

He sighed. "I wish you would've asked me earlier. Remember how I told you Coach was gonna be on my ass for playing hooky with you this morning? Well, I'm stuck in the gym till 10 tonight."

"Bummer," I said dejectedly, because apart from him giving us a ride, I wanted to see him before I left for the weekend.

"Liam could take you guys though," he offered in a strained voice, and I could hear weights clanking in the background. "He's got nothing better to do."

"I'll give him a call," I said, ready to hang up but I heard his voice say something again.

"Don't worry, when you get back," the tone of his voice was husky and my panties almost soaked at the sound of his low and raspy voice, "you can show me how thankful you are on your knees, and I'm not talking about prayer."

------

a/n: hola readers! I've had writer's block for basically all my stories lately, but I've had time to sit down and finally write. how great is that?!

but anyway, next chapter is more about developing Cash and seeing what her and her family is like. also, her roommate :)

-rachel.

p.s. I don't know if y'all know this about me but I love WWE and my baby Dean won the WHC last night and I want to CRY I love him sm