“She won’t accept my help. I’ve tried.”
“So, try harder. She’s beating herself up about it. Thinks she’s not smart.”
“But she is.” His confidence in his sister makes my footsteps falter at the top of the stairs and I do something really, really stupid. I look back.
My eyes almost bug out of my head when I find him topless with his skin covered in droplets of water.
My lips part as I take him in, I’m powerless but to let my eyes roam. I know I shouldn’t, that I’m opening myself up to all sorts, but I can’t stop it.
“It started raining,” is all he says.
“Okay great. That’s great,” I say in a rush before dropping down to the first step in my need to get away from his half-naked body.
It’s not the first time I’ve seen it, but I’m pretty sure it’s the first time we’ve been alone while it’s happened.
“Where are you going?”
“Home?”
“H taking you?”
“No, I’m walking.”
“Give me five and I’ll take you.”
“Um… no, it’s okay.”
“Poppy, it’s pouring, you’ll get soaked.”
“It’s just rain, Zayn. It’s hardly going to kill me.”
He raises a brow, waiting for me to comply. I really, really don’t want to but then I glance out of the window and see the monsoon style rain pounding at the glass and my resolve starts to crack.
Before I know what’s going on, he has my arm in his grip and he’s pulling me toward his bedroom.
“No, Zayn. I can’t—” He looks back at me, his dark eyes cutting off any argument that’s on the tip of my tongue about why this is a bad idea.
He continues forward until we’re through the door. He kicks it shut behind us before I find myself backed up against it.
“Zayn, stop. Please,” I beg, looking anywhere but at him.
He doesn’t say anything, he just stands there staring at me. His chest heaves as his breath tickles down my neck.
“What do you want?”
His breath catches slightly at my comment, but it still takes him longer than necessary to respond.
“I don’t think you really want my answer.”
“Okay, great. So don’t tell me, just let me go.”
“I can’t.”
My eyes find his and I gasp at the hunger I see staring back at me.
“C-can we j-just go, please?”
His teeth sink into his bottom lip and all I can think about is how good they feel against my own. But nothing good ever comes of that happening.
“Take me home now or I’m walking,” I threaten.
After a beat, he backs up but his eyes don’t leave me. Instead they run the length of my body causing my temperature to spike and an ache I’m not all that familiar with to erupt in my lower stomach.
“That’s a shame. You look good in here.”
His words bring reality back and I rip my eyes from his to look around his room.
It’s painted black with silver features and where I thought it might look dark and depressing, I find I actually quite like it. It suits him.
His hands drop to his waistband and my heart begins to pound harder in my chest.
He pops the button and pushes the wet denim down his legs.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Getting changed. I’m soaked,” he says innocently, still keeping his eyes on mine as he kicks off his pants.
He stands before me in just a small pair of very tight boxer briefs and a smirk. Smug fuck knows exactly what he’s doing.
As do I.
“Whoa, Jake keeps you on the team looking like that. I thought he only wanted players who were in prime condition.”
His lips purse and his already ripped muscles tighten. It’s in that moment I realize my mistake.
He takes a step toward me and I press my back harder into the door.
I shouldn’t be here right now, and he really needs to put some more clothes on.
“I can assure you, Poppy. They don’t come more… prime than me.”
“Get dressed, Zayn.” The quiver in my voice betrays me, and damn it if he doesn’t miss it.
“You sure?” His eyes take another leisurely trip around my body and I can’t help feeling like I might as well be wearing as little as he is from the heat in his eyes.
“Y-yes.”
His eyes narrow but he doesn’t come any closer. Instead he spins and opens his closet, dragging fresh clothes out and thankfully tugging them on.
“Is that why you turned Preston down? His physical appearance.”
I tense at the mention of his name but I refuse to let him ruin any more of this day.
“Oh yeah, because it has nothing to do with his stellar personality.”
Zayn snorts a laugh as he drags a shirt over his head. “You got that right, the guy’s a class A prick.”
“You had no right to talk to him today.”
He looks back at me over his shoulder, his eyes saying so much more than his lips are.
“I can’t not care, Poppy. He doesn’t get to walk around tormenting you.”
“Just leave it. If I need your help, I’ll ask for it.”
“No you won’t.”
“You’re right, I won’t. Shall we?” I ask, wrapping my hand around his door handle and pulling it open.
It’s still raining when we get outside, although it’s lighter than it was when he first pointed it out.
I hesitate at the passenger side of his truck, not really wanting to be in an enclosed space with him but knowing that he’s going to leave me very little choice.
“You need a hand?” he asks, glancing at me from over the hood.
“N-no. I’m good.”
Every single muscle in my body tenses the second I settle in his passenger seat, the entire car smells like him.
He turns the engine over and the car rumbles to life, the vibrations do very little to relax me as he pulls out of his driveway and heads toward my side of town.
The silence between us grows heavy as it stretches out.
“Harley said you’re at your dad’s this weekend,” I blurt in the end, needing to break the tension.
“Apparently so.”
“You like going there?”
He glances over at me. “You ever been there?”
“Uh… no.”
“Then you really couldn’t understand how much I really dislike going there.”
“Oh. You want to see your dad though?”
“Sure, I just don’t need the bullshit that goes along with it.”
“Bullshit?”
“It’s nothing.” His words piss me off. If it were nothing, then he wouldn’t have said it.
“Nothing?”
“Yeah. Just like what’s going on with you is nothing. Like how we are nothing.”
I look over at him and for a second he looks back at me, his eyes narrowed.
“Why do you look so shocked? You said it, not me.”
“I know… I just…”
“Just…” he prompts, trying to get me to talk.
Thankfully, my house comes into view in the distance.
“Just nothing. Thanks for the lift.”