"Ugh...who the fuck comes round on a Saturday this freaking early?" I groan as the doorbell wakes me up the next morning.

"Just ignore it, baby," Zach murmurs and pulls me close to his naked body.

After our shower last night, we had sex another three incredible times until we finally passed out and fell into a deep, peaceful slumber. We didn't even bother to put any clothes on, so we're both bare ass naked right now.

"What if it's someone important?" I object, snuggling into the crook of his neck, soaking in his addicting scent.

"No, honey. Nobody can be that important to get me out of bed at...," he grabs his phone checking the time, "...fucking 5 o'clock. Like, what the fuck?!"

Chuckling softly, I pull away and squint my sleepy eyes at him.

"Hey, beautiful," he whispers with his husky morning voice, smiling warmly at me. "Good morning!"

"Morning!" I mumble, returning his smile.

"Now that we're awake already, we could also make use of this opportunity." Smirking at me, showing his adorable dimples, he leans in for a tender kiss and lets his hand glide down my back.

Another ring of the doorbell makes me sigh and I eventually pull away, swinging my legs out of bed.

"Here, put this on!" Zach throws the t-shirt he was wearing yesterday to me. "And hurry up, I'm not finished with you yet!"

After I found my panties somewhere lying on the floor and slipped into them and Zach's t-shirt, I head for the door.

"You must be fucking kidding me?!" I call out as I find Aria in the staircase. "What do you want? Should I get Zach, so you can try to seduce him once more?"

"Liv, I'm so sorry. I was just on my way to work, and I needed to apologize for my behavior yesterday so bad." She gives me a rueful glance and then lifts a paper bag in the air. "I brought some croissants. Do you have time for a coffee?"

"Baby, what's taking you so long?" Zach appears in the hallway, only wearing his boxer briefs. As soon as he spots Aria, he stops in his tracks and frowns.

"I think, I'm having Deja vu!" He shakes his head and laughs coldly. "Aria, what the hell are you doing here? You do know what time it is, right?"

"I'm here to apologize, Zach," Aria murmurs feebly, nervously glancing at his straining underwear, and shows him her paper bag. "And I brought breakfast."

I look between Aria and Zach and wait for any rebuke or objection from my boyfriend.

"Breakfast?" Zach gives Aria a bewildered look. The fact that Aria has full view of his morning wood doesn't seem to bother him at all, whereas I'm feeling uneasy already only wearing his t-shirt. "At fucking 5 o'clock in the morning? And after that shit you pulled yesterday? Is this a joke?"

"Zach, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to ruin your party. Honestly, I don't know what came over me, but I promise you it won't happen again." Aria says, looking down at her feet.

"You're right," Zach takes a step towards me and pulls me in front of him, wrapping his arms around me. "It won't happen again because you're going to stop messing around. You will leave us alone. I love Liv and I'm not interested in you or any other woman on this planet. I'm sorry if your feelings towards me are of a different nature than in a friendly way."

Aria seems to shrink by the second, and I can see
how she gets more and more sad and insecure by Zach's words.

"But Zachy, I never..."

"And stop calling me Zachy. I'm not your fucking Zachy, Aria!"

"But I always called you that." Aria's voice is nothing more than a whisper by now and she glances at Zach and me with glistening eyes.

"Listen, Aria, I don't have the nerves to discuss this at fucking 5 o'clock in the morning. Just know that nothing will ever change between us. We fucked for some time when we were teenagers, but it's not going to happen again, do you understand?" Zach's voice is firm and full of resoluteness.

I can't describe how good it feels to finally hear him saying all this to the woman who made an insecure and jealous mess out of me so many times already because of her flirty manners and her encroaching way of always showing up without being invited.

"Zachy... I mean, Zach, I don't... uhm...it's not like this. I'm not after you, I swear!" Aria stutters and I spot a tear running down his cheek as she faces me. "Liv, I'm so sorry. I... I never meant to give you the feeling that I want to steal your man. It's just... I..."

She looks between Zach and me before shaking her head and turning away.

"Sorry, I need to go!" she croaks out, rushing towards the stairs.

I look after her with furrowed brows until Zach closes the door, drawing my attention to him again.

"Are you okay?" he asks, narrowing his eyes.

Shrugging my shoulders, I let him pull me into a tight embrace.

"I don't know. I mean, did you see how sad she looked? She even cried," I mutter into Zach's warm chest.

Pulling away, Zach grabs my shoulders and pierces me with his hazel eyes.

"So, now you feel bad for her?" Disbelief and a tad of amusement is thick in his voice. "What happened to 'I hate that bitch'?"

With a soft chuckle, I shrug once again and wrinkle my nose.

"I know, I'm weird," I say, pursing my lips. "It's just that she looked completely devastated."

"But I thought you wanted me to stand up against her, baby?" Zach furrows his brows and tilts his head.

"I did. I still do," I reassure him. "It's just hard for me to watch when somebody's heart gets broken."

"I know, baby," Zach plays with my messy hair which falls down my shoulders in disheveled waves. "And I love your big heart. To be honest, I don't like being that rude to other people when it comes to feelings either, but I also know that I had to tell her sooner or later."

"Yea," I mumble, smiling faintly. "Thanks, Zach!"

"No, I'm the one who has to say thank you!" Zach objects sheepishly.

"Huh? For what?" I frown, cocking my head.

"For sticking with me. I should've done this right from the start!"

"Right," I chuckle. "But I'm glad you came to that realization now!"

Looking down at Zach's body, I laugh, shaking my head.

"You didn't even bother standing in front of her with that boner showing through your boxers, did you?"

"Well, I don't think I have to be ashamed of my equipment, what do you think?" He takes a step towards me until his morning glory brushes my belly.

"A bit full of yourself, are you?" I tease him with a quiet voice.

"As I recall, you didn't complain once about it, did you?" His eyes drill into mine as he cockily raises his eyebrow.

"Must have slipped my mind." I lie, biting my lip. Deep down I have this growing excitement at feeling him that close, but I won't give him the satisfaction and confirm his conceited manner even though I know he's only joking.

Mischief gleams in Zach's eyes as the left side of his mouth tilts up, and he slowly corners me against the wall, placing his hands on either side of my head.

"I might have to remind you then," he groans, dipping his head down, so I feel his breath brushing my lips.

Yelping in surprise as he swiftly lifts me up, I immediately shoot him a reprimanding look and writhe in his grasp.

"Zach stop, you shouldn't be heavy lifting yet!"

"You're not heavy, baby!" Ignoring my objection, Zach start's kissing my neck and presses his heated body against mine. "Besides, the fight was four weeks ago already."

I almost give in as he starts grinding his rock-hard dick against my center, but I manage to push him away, so he finally lets me down again.

"God, Olivia!" Zach growls, clenching his fist next to my head. "You know how to kill the mood!"

I grab his hand and guide it down into my panties where I let him feel the dampness without taking my eyes off him.

"I just won't let you carry me yet, that's all. I don't think the mood is killed, babe," I whisper, brushing my tongue over my bottom lip as I feel how Zach glides his fingers through my wet folds, applying soft pressure on my clit.

"Have it your way then!" With that, Zach yanks off my panties and his boxer briefs and hastily pulls the t-shirt I'm wearing over my head before he smashes me against the wall, clashing his lips on mine.

While his one hand firmly kneads my breasts, pinching my nipples, his other one grabs my leg at the knee pit, and a second later, he rams into me.

I cry out at the pleasure and pain rushing through me as Zach's erection stretches me out without any preparation. My hands grab his ass and I dig my nails into his flesh, motioning him to relentlessly conquer my body.

"Remember now how much you enjoy my dick?" Zach groans through gritted teeth, pressing his forehead against mine as he starts making hard and fast thrusts.

"Yes...fuck, yes...yes, I do!" I moan, pushing my hips forward to feel him as deep as possible.

Zach's hand wanders up, wrapping around my throat as he speeds up, hammering into me without any hint of mercy.

"This is going to be fast, baby," he grunts, tightly pressing my head against the wall with his choking grasp. "Fuck, you feel so good!"

His dominant side turns me on immensely and I barely can't hold back the cries and moans leaving the depth of my throat. Zach is thrusting hard, hitting my G-spot repeatedly, and his firm grip around my neck almost makes me burst right away.

I arch my back and clench my walls around his dick, knowing it will drive him crazy.

"Fuck...baby...yes...do that again!" Zach orders breathlessly with surprise clear in his face.

I do how I'm told, what causes the pleasant tingle rising in my stomach, telling me I'm about to explode any second.

"Fuck...can't hold it back...I come...holy shit!" Zach gasps when his hips start bucking. He begins throbbing deep inside me and spills his load into me, taking me with him.

Sliding into a strong orgasm myself, I wrap my arms around his neck, digging my nails into his scalp. The loud moans leaving my mouth get muffled as Zach gently presses his lips on mine and kisses me with raw love. His hand lets go of my neck and moves up to my cheek where he brushes the pad of his thumb over my heated skin.

Once our throbbing subsides, leaving behind pure bliss flowing through my body, Zach breaks the kiss and looks at me through dreamy eyes.

"Wow, that thing you made...that clenching...it was...fuck...wow!" He pants, chuckling raspy. "Why didn't you do that before?"

"Needed to keep that ace in the hole for a while," I retort, smirking cheekily.

"God, I never thought having sex with just one person could be that addicting!" Zach laughs and wraps his arms around me. "I don't think I can ever get enough of you!"

We cuddle for a while and I enjoy the closeness and his familiar and soothing scent before Zach pulls away, uttering a pained groan. I watch with growing concern as his hand presses against his stomach.

"Oh shit! Come on, babe, sit down!" Laying his arm around my shoulder, I guide him to the sofa and then bring him a glass of water. "Here, drink!"

"Thanks," Zach mutters and takes a sip of the cold liquid.

"Zach, you have to take better care of your body!" I scold him, sinking into the soft cushions beside him. "You had a ruptured spleen only a few weeks ago, please don't forget that!"

"I'm fine, sweetheart." Zach gives me a strained smile before taking my hand in his. "Let's go back to sleep for a while, okay?"

"Okay." I return his smile and gently push his wavy hair out of his forehead. "But promise me, you'll tell me as soon as you feel any pain!"

"Promised!" He leans forward and gives me a tender kiss.

After a quick shower, we cuddle up in bed and Zach falls asleep almost immediately whereas I can't stop worrying about his spleen and just stare at the ceiling for a whole while until I huff and cautiously slide out of bed.

Grabbing my phone, I leave the bedroom and don't even think twice to dial Abbey's number.

It takes her a few seconds to pick up the phone, "Livie?!"

I chuckle hearing her raspy and slightly grumpy morning voice.

"Hey, Abs. Sorry for waking you up, but you think you've got a minute?"

"Uh...Sure, darling!" Abbey is interrupted by a great yawn. "Wait a second, I'm just heading for the living room. I don't wanna wake Liam."

I hear her padding out of her room and closing a door behind her before she speaks again.

"So, Livie. What happened to made you calling me at this unearthly hour?"

"Aria just woke me and Zach up," I mutter. "She rang the bell twice, and when I opened the door, she apologized for how she behaved yesterday, and she brought fucking croissants for breakfast. At five in the morning!"

"What? I honestly don't get what this bitch is up to. I mean, she shows up at your party, uninvited by the way, and then she has the audacity to hit on your guy. Who even does that?!" Abbey rants, trying hard to keep her voice quiet.

"I know, I don't get it either, but you know what happened next?!" I pause for a second, making sure that Zach is still asleep. "Zach appeared and he gave her a piece of his mind. A huge piece, let me tell you. He finally told her to fuck off and to leave us alone. And he didn't even bother to hide his morning wood in front of her!"

I hear Abbey coughing before she utters her typical, bright laughter. "Well, let me guess! Aria was not amused?"

"No, she wasn't. She even cried and eventually she just ran of," I retort biting my bottom lip.

"That's a good thing, right?" Abbey asks with confusion in her voice.

"Of course, it is a good thing," I groan and run my fingers through my hair.

"But?"

"The thing is, now I feel bad for her. She looked so sad and completely heartbroken."

"Okay, Liv. Listen to me!" I can clearly imagine the expression on Abbey's face right now. Whenever she's scolding me, she has her brows raised and is talking with tight lips. "Aria is the one who fucked it up, and even though I have to admit that Zach's defense comes a little late, I love that he finally grew some balls and made it clear to that bitch that you are the only woman in his life! You have to stop your big and sensitive heart from feeling bad for people who obviously don't deserve it!"

"I know," I murmur.

"So, she ran away, right?" Abbey asks, mischief resonating in her voice.

"Uhm... yes. Like I said." I say, unsure what she's getting at.

"What happened to his morning wood then? You took care of it?"

"Abbey!" I chuckle, feeling the blood rushing into my head.

"What?" Abbey giggles wildly. "You were the one who mentioned his boner!"

"Gosh, Abbey! But yes, we did find a way to solve this!"

"I knew it!" Abbey exclaims triumphantly. "You naughty little girl!"

We both laugh before Abbey starts telling me of her and Liam's relationship for a while. They seem to be utterly happy with each other what fills me with pure joy. Abbey haven't had a serious relationship for ages, and she really deserves a man who treats her like a princess, and from all she's telling me, it seems like he really does. I missed talking to my best friend in that carefree and intimate way we always used to. We haven't had many opportunities to do that lately, so it feels all the better to have one of our typical conversations again.

"I'm sorry for throwing you guys out last night, Abs. I was so pissed, I just wanted to have some peace!" I finally say when we're about to hang up.

"Ah, don't worry, babe. It's okay. I would've been pissed too. I'm glad you and Zach are working your things out!"

"Love you, Abbey!"

"Love you more, Liv!"

After we hung up, I sneak back into bed and snuggle into Zach's warm chest. A happy giggle escapes my lips as he grunts and wraps his arm around me, pulling me close. This time, it doesn't take me long to fall into a peaceful slumber.

***

At 8pm, we just finished dinner with my family, I start clearing the table since Zach was the one who did most of the cooking.

"Zach, this was delicious, thank you so much!" my mom exclaims, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "You are a very talented cook, you know that?"

I shoot him a glance which says, 'I told you so!' and Zach just laughs in return before facing my mom again.

"Well, your daughter keeps telling me the same," he says, smiling broadly.

"He promised to look for a job as a cook," I add, piling all the empty plates which were laden with Zach's delicious eggplant lasagna just twenty minutes before.

"Oh, really?" my mom folds her hands and rests her chin on top of them. "That's amazing!"

"Well, actually, I only agreed giving it a try if Liv starts drawing again," Zach adds with a wink in my direction as I return from the kitchen with a chilled bottle of white wine in my hand.

"Oh," my mom shoots me a surprised look as I refill our glasses before I sit down again. "And did you, honey?"

Uneasily shifting around on my chair, I smile faintly and nod.

"Can I see it?" my mom asks cautiously, warmly looking at me.

After hesitating for a second, I push back my chair and wordlessly motion to her to follow me into the bedroom where I stored the painting from the accident in the wardrobe. My mom eyes the drawing in total silence for a few minutes and takes in every little detail. While I think back to that afternoon and try to swallow away the lump building in my throat, I notice how pale my mom turned.

"Darling, this is incredible," she croaks out, a few tears leaving her grey-blue eyes. "How do you cope with it at the moment?

I sink down on the edge of the bed and lower my gaze.

"I'm okay, I guess. Zach is helping me a lot with my anxiety and it's getting better, but I can't shake off the feeling of being too less for him at times," I whisper and feel my own tears welling up now. "I'm so freaking scared Zach will leave me one day because he can't have his own family with me."

"Honey, don't think like that!" My mom sits down beside me and wraps her arm around my slightly trembling shoulder. "Zach loves you, I can see that in his eyes. This man is crazy for you!"

"Yea, for now. But what if he changes his mind?" I don't have to look up to know which face my mom put on. I can clearly see her puckered lips and her slightly furrowed brows, the face which used to give me those slight reproving chills when I was still a teenager.

"Olivia, I know you're hurt and the thing about the infertility is nagging at your self esteem, but this is not what makes you who you are. You are not a breeding machine who only is worthy to be loved if she gives birth, and deep down you know that, don't you?"

Raising my eyes, I look at my mother through the blur of my tears.

"You don't think he could leave me?" I breathe feebly.

"No, honey. I don't think he will leave you because you can't give him kids. You know, I don't want to say your relationship will last forever because you never know what could happen. However, for now, I am pretty sure this man loves you unconditionally for exactly what you are," my mom cups my face with her hands and wipes away my tears before smiling encouragingly. "Come on, lets head back to the others!"

Giving her a thankful look, I follow her into the living room and take a seat beside Zach who shoots me a knowing glance as he notices my red eyes.

With a fond smile, I lean over and brush my hand over his stubbly cheek before I whisper into his ear that only he can hear it, "I love you!"

Frowning with surprise, Zach tilts his head and places his hand on my thigh, softly stroking it with his thumb. "Love you too!"

Looking up again, I see my mother is watching us with a contend grin on her face and I can't help but mirroring her happy expression. Deep down I know she's right, and Zach wouldn't leave me out of that reason. It's just that my anxiety happens to take control over my rational thinking lately, and at the moment, there's nothing I can do about it but to keep reassuring myself that I'm wrong and that I'm worth being loved even without the ability of giving birth.

"So, Zach, does that mean that you're not a poker player anymore?" my brother asks suddenly, breaking the silence, his voice slightly disappointed.

"No, buddy, I'm not. It was way overdue to stop it, and you shouldn't think that being a gambler is something worthwhile or cool. It's addicting and it's damn dangerous," Zach retorts with a serious expression, taking a sip of his chilled wine. "The greed of making more and more money, or the despair to win back all your lost money is one thing, but the people you meet at casinos when you are seriously playing poker, are devious and wicked. Trust me, Jude, that's not a world you want to be part of."

I know how much Zach hated the entire casino and how relieved he is now that he isn't forced into visiting it any longer. He still plays poker with Jake and some work mates on occasion, but even this has lost its big appeal for him. Thankfully.

"Are you going to show me how to play though?" Jude asks, apparently oblivious of the seriousness behind Zach's little speech.

"Uh...I'm not sure, Jude," Zach awkwardly retorts, biting on the inside of his bottom lip.

"Alright, why don't we go for a drink?" Logan chimes in, obviously willed to change the topic. "Theo, this bartender whom we met yesterday, he invited us to visit him at his bar tonight. What do you say?"

"Sure, if that's what you want." Zach forces a smile onto his lips and nods in agreement.

To make this clear, in false agreement since he clearly doesn't fancy seeing Theo again. I hide my smirk by raising my wine glass to my mouth. Well, who's jealous now? But honestly, I would much rather visit Nora's or stay at home instead of visiting Theo either.

The thing which is bothering me is, that the last time I was at Theo's bar, my father showed up and from what I've heard that afternoon is this the place where he spends time on a regular basis. But since I haven't told Zach nor my mom or anybody else of this encounter, I stay silent and agree to Logan's suggestion, inwardly persuading myself that my father won't be there tonight. Everything will go smoothly, and we'll have a nice evening. I'm sure.

*****

Sooo, guys. We're going on a little adventure with the fam. What do you think will happen at Theo's bar? I'm thinking about writing the next chapter out of Zach's POV. Would you like that? 😁

Also, the little steamy part wasn't really planned, but I kinda felt like it was fitting very well at that moment. Hope it doesn't get too much smut for you?🤭😅😏

Love you all a lot. Please keep voting and commenting.🦋

Katie🤍