You Can Let It Go [ZARRY]

Twenty Four

Harry:

“Just a sec,” came the muffled reply. Then,
“Come in.”

I opened the door to see Zayn hunched over in a chair by the window wearing jeans and a black T-shirt. He looked up as I came in and quickly wiped his eyes on the crook of his arm.

“Hey,” he said, his voice a croak. “You okay?”

“I’m okay. Are you okay? What’s going on?”

I saw a cell phone in his hand, and for a second, my enormous ego told me he was upset because I hadn’t texted him back.

“Just got off the phone with my sister, ” he said. He tossed the cell onto the desk and rubbed both hands over his face.

“My father is. . . I don’t know. He’s not ready to talk to me, apparently. So. . . yeah. Fuck him, right?”

He turned back to the window, his eyes shining.

I’m a selfish dick.

All of my nerves and confusion and turmoil evaporated.

Zayn, I stupidly realized, was a human being with a life that had nothing to do with me.

And right then, he didn’t need me dumping years’ worth of my pain and abuse and my own confused feelings in his lap.

I crossed the room and put my hand on his shoulder. My eyes fell shut at how good it felt when he leaned into me, took comfort from me.

“It’s stupid, right?” he said. “I shouldn’t care, but I can’t stop caring. And I’m right here, in the same city again and he can’t even. . .”

He shook his head and I pressed my fingers into his shoulder, feeling the muscle beneath, now tight with tension. My fingers wanted to touch the bare skin of his neck
above the collar of his shirt, then slip into his hair.....

“Come on,” I said, snatching my hand away. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. Anywhere. You name the place.”

“Right now?”

“Right now. Anything you want to do, we’ll do it. I have a fleet of helicopters, a yacht, and a private jet at our disposal.”

I want to take you somewhere that’ll make you happy.

He laughed now, waving his hands. “I don’t need all that. Maybe just walk around Pike’s Place? Grab lunch?”

“Boring. Think big, Zee.”

He smiled that quiet, unassuming smile of his that made my damn heart melt.

“I wouldn’t mind just hanging out. I don’t need to do something that requires a helicopter.”

Zayn didn’t get it. I wanted to spend money on him. I wanted to spoil him and buy him stuff. Anything he wanted.

I wanted to thank him for just existing.

And bonus, it was a hell of a lot easier to go out than talk about last night or the rest of the horrible shit in my past I’d wanted to tell him.

I frowned. “You sure?”

He nodded. “I want to wander around Pike’s, maybe get something to eat and just not worry about anything for a couple of hours.”

“Actually, that sounds kind of perfect,” I said. “But if you change your mind about the helicopter, I know a guy.”

Zayn chuckled.