"Before we leave, we're going skinny dipping."

Zayn looks up from the sand at once, his eyes wide with shock. "What?"

"You. Me. Hawaii," Stevie nods, as the tide rolls up to her bare feet. "Skinny dipping."

He smirks. "You're hilarious."

"No, I'm telling the truth, Zayn. It's happening."

"For you, maybe," Zayn replies, although the thought of her running naked alongside the beach has him feeling uncomfortably tight in his pants. "I'm keeping my clothes on, thanks."

"You are literally such a boring old man."

"Of course you would say that."

She scoffs, large eyes widening. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"'Cause I'm the boring old man to you being a mother."

"What!?"

"Yep," he grins, "There you go, being Stevie," he chuckles, "You're a mom, dude. Someone's caretaker. That's just your thing," he leans towards her, "It's what you do."

"Shut up," she replies, shoving him lightly. "I'm just...just, loving, thank you very much."

He hums. "S'why you take care of everyone else but yourself," he states, and those words come out a bit harsher than intended. "I mean," he shakes his head, "Stevie--"

"I guess I can't argue with you there," she replies, although that reply is soft and her gaze is pointed straight ahead. "You're right."

Zayn closes his gaping mouth. He hadn't meant for those words to come out like that, but he can't take the statement back now.

To his surprise, it's her to fill the silence.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

He clears his throat, attempting to bring the playful vibe back to the atmosphere surrounding them, "Nope."

"Anyway," she continues as he chuckles softly. "This is me asking anyway."

"Alright, Stevie. Shoot."

She stares out towards the ocean. "Why...this?"

He frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Like, this," she meets his gaze. "Why this experiment? Why now? Why..." She laughs, searching for the right words, "...a wife?

"Oh," he nods, understanding at once. And he sighs, "I guess, long story short, I was just really tired of being lonely."

And to his surprise, Stevie is nodding. "I feel you on that."

"Really?"

She offers a small smile. "Really."

He eyes her curiously. "How?"

"I mean," she throws up her hands, "for the reason you said, I guess. I'm...I just want to be the one taken care of for once."

"Well," He rubs the back of his neck. "You always did bring out the adventurous side of me."

"Because I am an amazing young woman."

He finds himself laughing again--really laughing. He turns, "Can't argue with you there."

He catches her smile out of the corner of his eye.

Zayn wonders when things will start being more like this--more comfortable-- between them.

Kind of like they used to be.

"This is nice."

"Wow," he blinks. "Yeah," he nods, wondering if she was thinking the same as him, too. "It is, yeah?"

She hums. "Maybe...Maybe, out of all this..." She frowns, "Maybe I was just supposed to get my ass out to Hawaii."

Zayn thinks of making some smart quip about her ass, but he refrains.

He chuckles instead. "Interesting logic."

"You know," she grins, "if we divorce or something--"

"Already onto divorce, eh?"

"No, just...if," she replies, and Zayn fights the frown threatening to tug the corner of his lips out of his smile. "Like," she shrugs casually, "you know, if we don't make it and break up--"

"Again?"

And she pauses, cocking her head sideways as they traverse the empty beach. "Honestly," she begins, "I don't ever remember us breaking up in the first place."

"Really?" Zayn nearly exclaims. "You don't?"

She shakes her head.

"Seriously, Stevie? You don't remember that night? We'd just graduated what, a week prior? Was the last night I'd seen you before our wedding--"

"I remember that fight," she clarifies. "Oh, boy--I definitely remember that."

He scoffs. "Right..."

"Right," she nods, "But, I still don't ever remember us breaking up," she replies. "We fought," she keeps her gaze on the beach, and Zayn wishes she'd stop and look at him, "but, we'd fought before."

And as the night replays in his mind, Zayn begins to realize that she's right.

"I still...I never said I was breaking up," and she blinks. "Or that I wanted to."

"I..." He swallows, frowning deeply. "I never did either."

"Yeah..."

And like that, before he can speak, she perks. "Anyway," she says, "I don't want to talk about anything that doesn't have to do with vacation," she shakes her head, "that's what we're here for, right?"

Zayn chuckles. "Except you're already trying to divorce me."

Stevie laughs aloud. "I never actually said that."

"You didn't have to."

She blinks. "What?"

And Zayn looks away, his mind suddenly taking over, making his thoughts switch to the past and college and them between his sheets.

And something in him is almost sad.

"I--I know you don't want to talk about it, but, what happened...?" He shakes his head. "Stevie, can I ask you a question?"

"I don't know," she replies, "Can you?"

"Oh my god!" Zayn laughs, face angled towards the very vivid stars. "Why do I even l--"

Like you.

The words were on the tip of his tongue before he swallows them whole.

He mentally berates himself.

Get a fucking grip.

With her, he feels like a teenager all over again.

Liking someone.

What?

With Stevie, there was nowhere to hide. With Stevie, he was himself completely and fully and it was scaring him a bit how he simply couldn't run from the truth. She saw right through him.

Always had.

It made him uneasy, how this simple characteristic had not changed.

He shakes his head, blushing beneath the starlight as she laughs aloud beside him. He elbows her gently. "Why are you like this?"

Why does it feel like he's developing some schoolboy crush on his own fucking wife?

"Great question. Now go'n," she shrugs, "Ask."

He licks his lips. "What happened to us, Stevie?"

"Us?"

"Like, us. Yeah. What happened?" He asks all at once, "'Cause I was so in love--so gone for you, and I looked up and it was over and you'd gone and--"

"You didn't come for me," she finishes.

He blinks. "What?"

"You never came for me. I thought you..." She shakes her head. "Look, it doesn't matter."

"It does," he implores. "Stevie..." He shakes his head, "I went to the Air Force. You knew I would leave and--"

"And I went home," she says simply, impassively, eyes locked on the sand stretching before her. "And we argued. And it was over."

So much for things being comfortable.

"I didn't think you wanted to stay together...Like, you were good with everything," he blinks. "I thought--"

"It's in the past, Zayn."

"No, wait!" He steps in front of her, arms outstretched. "Stevie, I--"

"You left, Zayn."

"Stevie, I--" He flounders for the right words. "I...I thought you didn't need me to stay."

She shrugs.

And, typical Stevie, she plasters on a fake smile.

"It's okay, Zayn."

"But, it's not--"

"It's fine," she strains. "Seriously. Let it go."

So, he does.

But only for now.

She couldn't hide from him forever--and for the first time, Zayn is grateful for the simple fact that they're married.

Stevie can't hide from him. She can't hide from her husband.

And he doesn't want her to. Not any more.

Not if he can help it.
____

excited for this next chapter guyssss.

also I thank PND for this chapter title bc I heard the song and totally copped lmao 😂