In the Open

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"No way!" I practically yell at Zayn as he tells me a story from when he was in high school.

"I swear it happened! After I brought that spider to school and put it on him he peed his pants and never bullied me again."

Zayn and I have been on this date for about half an hour now, just enjoying each other's company. We decided to go to iHop because breakfast food is the best dinner. I have learned a lot about him, and I think he knows more about me than anyone does.

Zayn has two brothers and one sister, although he only sees them maybe once or twice a year. They're all busy with college which I totally understand. His parents are business owners, and they also travel a lot but they send Zayn money every month and call him weekly. His bond with his family is really strong and the warmth in his voice when he talks about them is endearing.

"What about you Naddy? Do you have any more secrets in the closet other than the fact that you're outstandingly smart and talented? Oh, not to mention extremely beautiful, caring, adorable, creative, and literally every good trait to ever exist." He grins at me as he takes a bite of his pancakes. I definitely prefer French toast though.

"Not really, I'm pretty much an open book. My family life is slightly complicated but nothing serious. My mom and dad are just kind of jerks sometimes," I say, taking a bite of the crispy hash browns. I moan at the taste, and Zayn just laughs at me.

"If you don't mine me asking, what happened? Why did they kick you out? You're such amazing amazing girl, I hardly see you doing anything bad enough to get thrown out of your home." He looks very curious, and even though I don't want to talk about it, I think he deserves to know.

"Umm... Nick came over to my house that day and he was on top of me, but we weren't doing anything. He was just tickling me but my parent's came in and saw him, and they called me a whore and told me to leave and never come back," I say, remembering back to that day. They were so cold, and I couldn't sense anything but hatred in their eyes. I'll never understand what I did to make them not love me.

"Nadine...?" Zayn says, reaching over and wiping a tear that unknowingly slipped from my eye.

"I'm sorry, let's talk about something else. No need to get all depressing on our first date," I chuckle and smile at him. "So how did I get so lucky as to he on a date with the Zayn Anderson?" I lighten the mood and he playfully rolls his eyes at me.

"Trust me, I'm definitely the lucky one here. But to be honest, I don't know what made me so infatuated with you. I just remember seeing you for the first time and you were so insanely beautiful. You had this innocent look to you and when I looked in your eyes I knew right then that I just had to know you. I'm glad I'm finally getting to."

I can't help but blush at his words, butterflies flying around in my stomach. He looks into my eyes and does that insanely attractive lip bite of his. This boy is going to drive me crazy.

We soon finished our meal, talking about a million different things in the span of two hours. We talked about embarrassing moments of our childhood, our school years, and all of our favorite things, like holidays and whatnot. No one had ever wanted to know so much about me, and I actually had an amazing time. Zayn is so amazing and is such a gentleman.

When we get outside, he opens the door for me, bowing as if I'm some sort of royalty. "After you, your highness," he says with an accent, smirking up at me.

"Why thank you kind sir," I reply, copying hi/ accent as I slide into his truck. I laugh at him and he smiles at me as he slides in and starts the truck and pulls out of the lot.

Zayn hums softly to the radio, and I look out the window with a smile on my face. "It's beautiful," I softly point out as I look at the sun setting in the sky. The reddish color is stunning and I wish it looked like this forever.

"It certainly is," Zayn whispers. When I look at him, he has his eyes on me. I blush again and bite my lip to keep from grinning.

He puts his hand on mine and intertwines our fingers, softly rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

"I swear you're going to be the death of me. I don't think the smile has left my face since being on this date with you."

"Isn't that a good thing?" He smiles over me, and brings my hand up to his mouth, leaving a gentle kiss on my knuckles.

He needs to stop being so freaking cute!

"Normally, no. But if I smile anymore I fear I'll be stuck like that. It'll get awfully uncomfortable mister Anderson, don't you think?" I cheekily say to him, with a smile of my own.

"Well, if it gets too uncomfortable, we can always give your lips something else to do." He winks and raises his eyebrows at me.

"Zayn!" I playfully scold him and his cheeky smile only gets bigger.

"I'm just trying to help you sweetheart," he laughs at the blush on my cheeks and we finally pull in to his apartment parking lot. He rushes out of the truck so that he can come open the door for me, like the sweetheart he is. I grab his hand and hop out, but he keeps his hand in mine as he leads us up to his door.

I don't think I'll get used to living with him, it feels so weird. We just went on a date, so the fact that we're living together is a little strange. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually, though. I can't help but think about the time I lived with Nick. It was so much simpler. I never felt out of place when I was with him. It was just natural in a way, like I was meant to be there.

Ugh! Why do I keep thinking about him? I shake my head, as if that will push the thoughts of him away. I follow Zayn inside and he does that swoon-worthy thing with his thumb. I don't know why that has such an affect on me, he's literally just rubbing his thumb along my hand.

It's just such a small and simple gesture, yet it fills me with warmth and affection for him. I look up at him, seeing his eyes already on me.

"I had so much fun tonight, thank you so much," I whisper, feeling like if I talk any louder, my voice would crack due to the happiness I feel in this moment. His face gets closer to mine, and I bite my lip as the excitement and nerves wash over me. He glances down at my lips, and looks back into my eyes with an unfamiliar look in his eyes.

"Believe me, it was my pleasure. You're absolutely stunning, you know that?" His voice is low and alluring, and suddenly all words flood my mind, and I stand trapped in his stare.

He leans closer to me, his lips only an inch away from mine.

"I've never been kissed," I embarrassingly blurt out. I don't know why, but I just panicked. I'm kind of scared, I want my first kiss to be special. I want Zayn to be the right person, and I want it to happen at the right time. My body wants to, but my mind is telling me not to. Somehow I know that I'm not ready right now.

"Oh. Wow...," he drawls out, stepping back from me. He looks down and scratches the back of his head. Great, I ruined it.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. I guess I was just nervous and thought you should know," I quickly say, twiddling my fingers. I'm so stupid, I should've just let him kiss me.

"Hey, don't apologize. Never apologize for not being ready for something. I can wait Nadine, and when you're ready I will give you the best first kiss I possibly can."

His hand cups my cheek, and he caresses me with his thumb. I lean in to his touch, grateful that he understands and didn't get mad at me.

He bends down to my level, and leaves a swift kiss on my cheek. Looking into my eyes, he smiles at me as I blush for the billionth time tonight. "Goodnight Nadine, sweet dreams. Thank you for the amazing night," he says and bites his lip, retreating to his bedroom.

I stand there for a minute, before a large smile breaks out on my face. I walk back to my room, my steps feeling lighter than normal, due to this happy feeling. Zayn is absolutely perfect, I can't believe how much I like him already. I feel like a middle schooler who is having her first crush.

I sigh happily as I get ready for bed, awaiting tomorrow and all the days to come. I just hope that this happiness isn't short lived. I want whatever Zayn and I are doing to last a long time.

I fall asleep easily with a smile on my face, and Zayn's smile on my mind.