Ephemeral

C H A P T E R 1 8

"So...How's New York?" Seeing my beautiful girlfriend's face morph from a happy smile to a pout made me chuckle. "What's wrong Z?"

Her eyebrows scrunched up as she frowned, "None of them wanna go in the snow with me."

Somewhere out of frame cake Darnell's, "Zendaya. You're from Oakland, California. You didn't even pack properly."

"How was I supposed to know it was going to snow Darnell?" She exclaimed, her hands jerking in front of her in irritation. "And plus that's exactly my point! When do we see snow?!"

"Calm down, babe." I advised, the humor in my voice not connecting with her based on the glare she gave me.

Those hazel eyes were striking, even on the screen of my trash phone. They held a multitude of emotions, the biggest one being disappointment as she grabbed the phone, laying down on a couch.

"Is it so wrong for me to want to see snow?"

I shook my head with a frown, "Like you said. When do you see snow?"

She huffed, "I mean, even though I see snow while traveling, it's never like as it's falling."

"I know babe. You told me yesterday."

Her eyes seemed to light up as she grinned. "Isn't that so cool though?! It's been snowing for two days straight."

There was no was to stop the chuckle I let out, my mouth fixing into a smirk as I teased, "You're so cute."

An adorable whine came through me speaker as the pout returned, this time more playful. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"I am," I assured, still sliding in, "Especially with that pout."

"Y/N!"

"Ok, ok. I'll stop."

A sigh slipped from her lips as she twisted on the couch, turning the phone so I could see her laying on her arms. "I really want to see the snow."

"Don't get too discouraged babygirl," I grinned. "I'm sure it'll work out."

She huffed, tilting her head to look at her watch. "I hope so." There was another disheartened sigh. "I'm mad I won't be able to see you for Christmas."

I looked at my text message, squinting at my screen. "I'll call you right back babes. Answer please?"

She nodded, the sad, "Okay..." almost breaking my heart.

Hanging up the phone, I immediately answer the incoming FaceTime call.

"Did you make it yet?"

Letting out a deep exhale, I nodded, "Yeah, I got here like three hours ago. Thank you for calling me Rob. I was just on the phone with her."

She smirked, popping a hot fry into her mouth. "My timing is tremendous."

I rolled my eyes, "Cocky ass."

As she stared at the camera with a grumpy frown, I noticed the Bajan's eyes were more green today, the subtle brown more hidden. "You need to be nicer to me. I lent you my jet."

"And I'm forever grateful. Speaking of nice, your eyes are really pretty today."

Her cheeks turned a little red, as she looked down at the bag of chips in her hand. "You need to stop."

My eyebrows furrowed as I laughed, "Complimenting my best friend?"

"Yes." She answered. "I don't think your girlfriend will appreciate it."

"You flew me out to her." I chuckled. "I don't think she'd mind a couple of compliments."

"You know, ever since you've started officially dating Z a couple months ago, that whole panic shit you used to do has decreased."