19

Before

Ryder

Things have seemed to settle into place after Laila and I talked it out. I was so glad to have this weight off of my shoulders. It was freeing to not have to worry about slipping up in conversation and confessing something I shouldn't be. It was even more freeing to finally be able to discuss my relationship with Zayn to someone. I didn't really lean on Laila too much because he was her brother after all.

I didn't want to make her uncomfortable in any way. I think she's still coming to terms with the fact that we hooked up only a few feet away from her bed.

Brooklyn however, was down for all the details, or all that I'd be willing to share. It was nice to have a friend to finally confide in, to gush about our first date and the sweet interactions we've had along the way. It felt like everything was finally falling into place.

Zayn and I had plans tonight, as it was our first Valentine's Day together. Laila, Brooklyn, and Jasmine had plans to go to this singles only bash at one of the fraternities. The dorm was a mess, dresses tossed over the couch, makeup scattered on the coffee table, and the room reeked of hairspray. I stand in the doorway of my room and quietly watch the chaos unfold around me.

Brooklyn stumbles out of the room adjacent to mine, hopping on one leg as she attempts to tug a black knee high boot onto the other. Jasmine's applying these tiny little red diamonds around her eyes as Laila stands next to her and adjust her gloss.

They seem a tad bit overdressed for the event but they insist that it's called for.

"The goal is to end the night not single, or at least not alone." Brooklyn had quipped when I mentioned it.

"Not all of us have a handsome Prince Charming coming to pick us up with flowers in hand," Jasmine teased with a smug grin as her eyes caught mine in the mirror.

"Who said there'd be flowers in hand?" I remarked sarcastically.

"If he knows better, he will," Laila chimes in.

Only fifteen minutes later, Zayn had proven them right, a fresh bouquet of dahlias in hand. He was in a pair of black jeans and a cream cashmere sweater, smelling absolutely divine.

His amber eyes trail down my body promptly before finding mine. He smiles and opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by Jasmine behind me.

"Called it," she announces.

His brows furrow and he looks over my shoulder at her.

"Called what?" He questions amusedly.

Jasmine exchanges a look with Brooklyn before walking over to us. She wraps an arm around my shoulder and looks down at the bouquet in his hands.

"That you'd show up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I would've pegged you for a classic red roses guy but you've truly impressed me with these. They're gorgeous."

She leans over to examine the flowers closely.

"Dahlias. They're her favorite," Zayn responds and smiles at me.

Jasmine raises her brows and looks between the two of us,her eyes light with admiration.

"That's sweet, aren't you guys the cutest," she coos.

"If you have any hot soccer mates that are as thoughtful as you, please send them my way," Jasmine remarks.

Zayn nods and chuckles.

"I will keep you in mind."

"Me too," Brooklyn chimed in from behind us.

Zayn smiles and I shake my head as I glance back at her.

"Please don't, I don't need our dorm room overrun with big, beefy jocks," Laila groans.

Brooklyn scoffs and throws at a pillow at Laila.

"Speak for yourself, I happen to think we're lacking in that department around here," Brooklyn argues.

I turn back to Zayn and offer him a smile.

"Let me put these on my desk, grab my bag and we can leave before you have to witness this. I'm sure there will be an argument of some sort."

He extends the bouquet to me and nods knowingly.

"I'll be right back," I assure him.

I navigate through the discarded pieces of clothes and shoes towards my room, careful not to trip over anything. I place them next to my laptop carefully, grab my bag and return to the main room to find Laila and Brooklyn still bickering.

"All I'm saying is waking up to a toned six pack in my bed every so often would be nice," Brooklyn argued.

Laila rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I'm not saying you can't wake up to a six pack, I'd just prefer it be in his bed, not yours," Laila reasoned.

Zayn's watching them with bemusement, still standing in the doorway where I left him.

"See you guys later," I call over my shoulder, afraid if I'll stop, I'll somehow get roped into the argument.

I loop my arm through Zayn's and pull him into the hall. The door shuts quickly behind me and I'm practically pulling him.

"Shit, okay. What's the rush?" He laughs.

I shot him an apologetic glance and let go of his arm.

"Sorry, I just didn't want to get wrapped up in that whole thing. I think Laila's been annoyed because the others bring guys home quite often. I think she's getting tired of all the masculine energy," I explain.

Zayn nods.

"Ah, yeah that makes sense. At first it seemed like normal banter but I could tell Laila was being passive aggressive with it. Her left eye does this weird twitchy thing when she gets agitated."

I laugh and shake my head.

"Why- how did you even notice that?"

He grins and shrugs.

"She's my little sister, there was a lot of bickering and fighting in our house when we were younger. You get to notice these things."

"Of course you do, I wouldn't expect any less of you," I tease.

"You shouldn't, I'm very observant," he replied with a wink.

He holds the door the dorms open and extends his arm for me to lead the way.

"Hm, okay, so what's my tell for when I'm mad? Annoyed?" I challenge him.

He wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his side as we walk.

"Couldn't tell you, haven't seen you mad yet. I could tell you other things though," Zayn insists.

"Mm, okay. I'm listening, please tell me about myself," I laugh.

"Well, I can tell you how adorable it is when you pout your lips at something sad, whether it be a conversation or scene in a movie. Or how you scrunch your nose when you're deep in thought. Or how you always twirl that one particular curl around your finger when you're excited."

I raise my brows and stop in place, just feet away from his car. He stops and turns to face me with a knowing smile on his face.

"What?" He asks with a chuckle.

"How? When do you even have the opportunity to observe those things?" I questioned.

My brain flickers through every moment we've spent together over the last few months as I try to decipher when he could've taken notice.

"Like right now, you're thinking about each thing I mentioned to see if I'm accurate in my observations," he remarked.

I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I am not," I protest.

He closes the distance between us and cups my face in his hands.

"And you're lying now, because whenever you do, you get this slight pink blush right across the tops of your cheeks and nose."

I pout and attempt to take a step back from him as I know he's accurate with that. It's a similar trait I noticed in my own mother, how annoying of her to pass that along when I've worked really hard on developing my poker face.

He grins and moves his hands to my waist to hold me in place.

"Don't be like that, it's cute. It's all very cute."

I bite my lip to suppress a smile and avert his eyes.

"I don't lie very often for you to have taken notice of that. It's weird."

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and beckons me to look at him.

"They're not crazy lies Ry, just small shit. Like when I ask you if you're hungry and you insist you're not, and then I hear your stomach rumble. Or if you're cold but don't want to say anything. I'll ask, you'll deny, and I'll see the very visible goosebumps on your arms."

I shrug and let a small smile slip through.

"I just, we're always so comfy watching a movie or cuddling. I don't want you to leave or move, so I suffer in silence," I explain.

"And you don't need to do that, it's because you do that I tend to read your body language more than I probably should. It's harmless, and cute to see your cheeks flush, but please tell me if you need something," he assured me.

If I looked close enough, I could see the sunset reflected beautifully in his honey gaze. I bit my lip as a desirable shock ran down my spine.

"And now, I know you wanna kiss me because you're biting your lip," he added, his voice softer now, just above a whisper.

I leaned in and connected my lips with his. My hands find his neck and he pulls me to him, his body heat embracing me.

The shivers down my spine increased as his lips moved with mine and the kiss intensified. The fact that we were standing in the middle of the parking lot next to his car had seemed to slip my mind and all I could think of was kissing him harder.

I took a step forward and another until Zayn's back was pressed against his car. I could feel him smile into the kiss and his hands gripped my waist. He slid his fingers under the hem of my shirt and squeezed my sides. I whined and pulled away from him. My hands slid down and grabbed his.

"Stop, you know that tickles," I groan and pout.

He smiles sweetly but his eyes are still clouded with lust.

"I'm aware, but I don't think this is the time or place for things to heaten up. I have a whole night for us planned, we should get going."

"Fine, you're right," I agree and take a step back.

He turns to open the door for me and I climb in. He shuts the door and makes his way over to the driver side. He starts the engine as I buckle in and turn towards him.

"So, where are we going tonight?"

"Well, originally I thought a nice restaurant would be fitting but we just went to one last weekend so I figured something more interactive would be better," he explained.

He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road that led off campus.

"So... where's that going to be?"

He grinned and squeezed my knee with his free hand.

"I figured you'd push for more details. As much as I love teasing you, I'll give you a break. I'm taking you to mini golf, they have a really cool one I think you'll like. Afterwards, I figured we grab something to eat and then maybe after, my place?"

The last part was voiced as a question but I could tell it wasn't. I've spent a significant amount of time in his dorm room over the last few weeks for very obvious, carnal reasons. My heart skips a beat at just the thought of it and my stomach twirls with anticipation.

"Sounds like an ideal night, I can't wait."

I want to tell him that we can skip straight to the end and save the rest of the date for after but I know I shouldn't get ahead of myself. As much as we'd both prefer it, he took his time to plan this night out and so I'd like to see it through.

We pull up to a decently full lot illuminated by a neon red mini-golf sign. There's a black building with what looks like old movie posters lit up with that same red neon light from the sign.

We walk towards the building, hand in hand as my eyes survey it more. As we get closer, I realize the movie posters are old, classic horror films, like Evil Dead, The Exorcist, and Rosemary's Baby.

"Wait, is this like a movie theater too? I'm confused why a mini golf place would have movie posters?"

"You'll see, let's head inside," he insisted and squeezed my hand.

We enter the building to find ourselves in a somewhat small room full of people. The room has black velvet walls with checkered floors and the walls are lined with movie memorabilia. Zayn places his hands on my waist and guides me into the line formed before a heavily tatted attendant who seems to be checking people in. My eyes continue to travel the walls as I recognize iconic pieces from Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street and Beetlejuice.

"Oh shit," I say quietly, more to myself as the realization dawns on me.

It's a horror themed mini-golf.

"Have you started to put it together yet?" He coos in my ear.

I can't contain my excitement as I turn in his arms.

"How'd you find this place? I didn't even know something like this existed," I marveled.

"Well, now that I have a girlfriend who's into horror just as much as I am, I'm constantly looking into cool niche shit in the area for us to do. I found this place a month ago and figured I'd save it for today."

I smile with fondness at his sincerity and dedication to finding things we'll both enjoy.

"But we weren't dating a month ago?"

He smiles softly and shrugs.

"I was kind of hoping we would be by the time Valentine's Day came around. If not, I'm sure I would've mustered up the courage to ask you tonight."

His eyes soften and there's a wave of shyness that washes over him before he smiles confidently.

"Why would you need to muster up the courage? I don't bite," I tease.

He cocks his brow at me and smirks slightly.

"Both you and I, and the lovebite you left last week knows that's a lie."

I roll my eyes as a laugh escapes my lips.

"Oh whatever, my point being I'm pretty sure it was obvious I was into you. You should've known I'd say yes."

"I don't know, you did confess to being unpredictable, something about keeping me on my toes and shit. You could've had a change of heart, no one knows," he acknowledged.

"Yeah, well I haven't had a change in heart. I'm just as crazy for you now as I was when I met you, if not more," I assure him.

He grins deeply and presses a soft, prompt kiss to my lips.

"Feeling's mutual baby."

The line starts to move quicker and as we wait we chat about the various movie props around us. By the time we finally make it past the admissions booth, I'm in awe of the place.

It opens up to this bigger building with narrow halls that open up to each area that is decorated so accurately it feels like you're stepping into a horror movie. There's eerie music and dim lighting and the only indication that you were still in an indoor mini golf building is the sound of people hitting golf balls around with their putts.

I can't say I was doing too well at the sport itself as we moved from hole to hole and it was taking me longer and longer to get the ball to the cup. But we were having a blast, I couldn't stop taking pictures of all the cool themed rooms and admiring how cool some of the animatronics were.

It was just another date night that Zayn knocked out of the park. He was always so thoughtful and so attentive to detail, you could tell he actually listened to me when I spoke and cared.

We both agreed to no gifts tonight, with the exception of the flowers of course, but after seeing all of this effort he went through to plan tonight, I had to do something.

Maybe he'd let me pick up the tab for the food or at least treat him to dessert.

I give the ball a generous tap and turn away from it, not bothering to watch it miss the hole yet again.

"Oh come on, you're not even going to watch it, you might make it in this time," Zayn chuckles as he watches me.

"Ugh, there's no use. It didn't make it the last several times. I doubt this time will be any different," I groan.

I hear a thud and glance over my shoulder to see its trapped itself in a corner, still at least a couple feet away from the hole.

"See?" I said and gestured to the ball with my putt.

His smile widens and he shakes his head.

"Here, let me help you," he offers.

"Why? You're already winning, I'll accept my defeat now."

"No, no giving up. We have five holes left after this. We can get you a hole in one," Zayn insists.

"I doubt it," I debated.

He smacks my butt lightly and nods over to the ball.

"Let's go Grey, I told you we're not allowed to give up."

I look back over my shoulder at him smugly as I walk over to my ball.

"Fine, you win. Any excuse to have you behind me."

His brows shoot up and he lets out a quick laugh. His gaze shifts from one of amusement to lust as his eyes traveled my body. I was thankful for the dimmed room of the mini-golf course because I could feel my skin warm under his intense gaze.

A smirk tugs at the corners of his lips but he doesn't say anything. He walks over and places his hands on my hips as he stands behind me. The intoxicating mix of his cologne and aftershave washed over me delightfully.

"You ready?" He asked, his voice much lower now as his body pressed to mine.

I can feel my heart beat intensify in my chest and my stomach tighten at the contact. I nodded and gripped my putt tighter as it was evident there was a disconnect between my brain and mouth.

It's hard to think about playing mini-golf or anything else when he's this close to me, his body heat encircling me and short-circuiting my brain.

"Your problem is you're either hitting it too hard, not hard enough, or just completely misaligned from the hole. You're actually not that far from the hole, it only needs a light tap at the right angle," Zayn explains.

His hands move from my hips and find their place over mine. He slowly guides my arms backwards and then forward with precision. The putt taps the ball gently and it slowly rolls into the hole.

"See? Easy," Zayn remarks in my ear.

I glance over my shoulder at him with a small smile on my face. His face is only a few inches from mine and his plump lips look so inviting.

He grins and presses a tender kiss to my lips. I lean into him and attempt to deepen the kiss but he pulls away.

"Let's finish this, yeah?"

I sigh softly and turn back towards the course. I take a few steps and retrieve my ball from the hole.

"Why the sigh?" He questions with a laugh.

I look over at him with pointed eyes and sigh again.

"That's the second time tonight you've broken up a kiss I needed."

He raises a brow with another chuckle.

"Needed?"

I nod and drop my arms to my side defeatedly.

"Yes, and I'm growing tired of it," I remark with a pout.

His smile widens and snakes his arm around my waist. He pulls me to him and I grab ahold of his hips to steady myself.

His deep eyes surveyed me and his pink tongue glided over his bottom lip quickly. His smile faded as a hint of desire pooled in his eyes.

"How badly do you need it?"

His tone was lower now, his voice just above a whisper. There was an edge to it that sent shivers down my spine.

I pressed my lips together as I kept my gaze on his, the intensity and intimacy of it held me captive.

"How badly baby?" He cooed again.

His hand slipped under the fabric of my shirt and trailed over my lower back lightly.

I licked my lips and softened my eyes at him.

"Don't do this now, I'm actually quite fond of this place and would like to return at a later date."

He smiled softly and cocked his head at me.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I need you to stop because I'm moments away from dropping to my knees for you," I replied.

His eyes widen and his head shoots back with a laugh.

I scoff and pull away from him.

"I'm serious Zayn."

He grins and grabs my hips to pull me back to him. Unfortunately for me, his smile is infectious.

"Dropping to your knees? Shit, okay. Let's finish this up so we can retreat to somewhere more private, yeah? Unless you're into voyeurism?"

I narrow my eyes at him and shake my head at him.

"No."

He holds his hands up defensively, still finding the whole situation comical as he laughs.

"Okay, okay. Let's finish this up then."

We finish up the last couple of holes in a matter of minutes. Zayn seemed to no longer care how hard I tried, he was just as desperate as I was to get out of here.

He had a plan to take me to this nice pizzeria that served the best wood fired margherita pizzas in the city. But neither one of us were quite hungry at the moment, so we decided to order them for pick up and eat them after our other appetites have been sated.

We had barely made it into his room before his lips were on mine and his hands were in my hair. He kissed me feverishly as he walked me backwards. My hands slid under his shirt and grazed over his toned abdomen.

"Off now please," I groaned into his mouth as I tugged at his sweater.

He obeyed quickly, his lips parting from mine briefly as he tugged it over his head. He tossed it to the floor and grabbed my face, his lips on mine in an instant. He started guiding me backwards again towards his bed. We collided with his bookshelf and knocked a few books over in the process. He pulled away from me, a lazy smile on his face as he watched me through half-slit eyes.

"Wanna take this to shower?" He offered breathlessly.

Another first for me and for us. Very satisfying, carnal images of us start to play in mind and I nod quickly.

"Yes please," I responded eagerly.

"Let's go then," he replies, lacing his hand with mine. He grabs a towel off the desk chair and pulls me out of the room. He leads me down the hall towards the bathroom. It was much cleaner then I remembered it being last time and I mentally sigh with relief. His hand lets go of mine and he turns the shower on. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and revel at the sight. My hair that I styled so perfectly was now disheveled and my cheeks were a bright pink. I was so grateful that his roommates were out for the night as the sight of us is a little comical. And obvious.

He pulls me from my thoughts as his hands tug at my shirt and pull it over my head. He presses his lips to the base of my neck as his fingers hook into my bra. Warmth pools below my navel as he trails wet kisses along my shoulder and back up my neck. He unhooks my bra and tosses it to the floor. His hands find my breasts and he massages them gently as he sucks on the skin beneath my ear.

My heart is in my ears at this point as I lean into his touch.

"Take off your pants," he mumbles against my skin.

I obey as my shaky fingers fumble with the button. I quickly undo them and tug down on my waistband. My jeans and panties pool around my ankles, leaving me completely naked in front of him.

His eyes open and catch mine in the reflection of the mirror. I watch as his eyes trail down my body hungrily and he licks his lips. One of his hands move slowly down my body, his fingertips ghosting over my ribs, past my abdomen and stopping just below my navel.

"You're so beautiful Ry," he murmured in my ear.

His warm breath tickled my skin just as his teeth nipped at my ear. More shivers shot down my spine at the sensation and I bit my lip.

I can feel his erection through his jeans pressed against me and I'm dying with anticipation at this point. The bathroom slowly fills with steam, the shower beyond ready at this point but we're both locked in a trance in front of this mirror.

His fingertips trail further down and brush against my clit. My breath catches in my throat at the contact and my hips instinctively push into him.

He starts to trail wet kisses along my neck again as he rubs circles on my clit. My body tenses with pleasure and a soft moan parts my lips.

He grazes his teeth against my neck and moans against me.

His eyes find mine again and they're much darker now.

"I'm tempted to just take you right here in front of the mirror. So you can watch yourself get fucked, so you can see what I see, see how absolutely divine you look when I'm inside of you," he mumbles lowly into my ear.

His words shoot straight to my core and now those visuals fill my head. With each passing sexual encounter, he gets bolder and bolder. I've never had anyone talk to me like this before and it was strangely invigorating. He smirks as he watches me closely, the speed of fingers increasing.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you baby?"

The word yes left my lips before I could even process that I was speaking. My voice was soft and needy.

He smiles victoriously and presses a kiss to my temple.

"As much as I'd love to do that, we'll save that for another time. Your offer of dropping to your knees for me is simply one I cannot refuse."

His hands fall from me, the sensation that was building below my navels stalls and I almost whine at the loss in contact.

But my desire to have him in my mouth is greater.

I turn to face him and hook my hands into his pants. I quickly undid them and tugged them down. He kisses me arduously with tongue and teeth but the kiss is swift.

He checks the shower to assure the water is the perfect temp and then motions me in. The shower is much steamier than the rest of the bathroom and he keeps his hands on my hips to guide me.

It's not super spacious, just an average stand-up shower but more than enough room to fool around in.

The warm water cascades over us as our bodies intertwine. His hands in my hair again as I clutch his back. He kisses me with so much passion, it takes my breath away and yet I hope it never ends.

But the feeling of his erection pressed to my stomach reminds me of the one thing I've been wanting to do most. Ever since our first night together, I've been meaning to return the favor.

Dying too actually.

I grabbed ahold of him and ran my thumb over the ridge of his dick. His grip on my hair tightened and he moaned into my mouth. I repeated the motion over and over again slowly and then started to stroke him. He moaned again and sucked on my lip.

He parted my legs with his knee and cupped me brazenly. His finger pumped into me as his thumb pressed to my clit. He wasted zero time letting me adjust to him and curved his fingers inside of me. I gasped against his lips and dropped my head back against the shower wall. He rested his forehead on mine as we both attempted to catch our breaths in the midst of pleasuring one another.

"Feels good, doesn't it baby?" He husked between breaths.

"So good," I moaned softly.

I was trying so hard to focus on him, satisfying him and making him feel good but the pressure building within me already had my head spinning. I writhed against him as his other hand kneaded my breast.

I wanted to come, I could feel myself approaching the edge but I didn't want to come before him. I turned us around so his back was up against the shower wall and removed his hand from me. I dropped to my knees and steadied myself so I didn't fall over. The shower water cascaded over me now, the stream hitting the side of my face and soaking through my hair. I gaze up at him through my lashes to find him staring back at me with a delectable look in his eyes. His body is glistening from the water and wet strands of hair frame his face perfectly. I take in every detail, his soft honey eyes, the droplets of water sitting on his luscious lashes, and his slightly swollen, pink lips.

I grab ahold of him and glide my tongue along the underside of his dick. He moans appreciatively and brushes a strand of hair out of my face. I take him into my mouth and nearly moan myself when I feel how hard he is. I bob my head forward and back on him as I stroke him as well.

His hands rake through my hair and he moans louder. His hips buck forward slightly as his back presses into the shower wall.

"Fuck yes Ryder," he groaned.

Shocks of euphoria run through my own body as I feel him throb in my mouth and his moans increase. It's so arousing to hear him like this and know I'm the reason why.

I feel myself getting lost in, riding my own high as his hips buck against me and his legs twitch slightly. My pace increases, my hand and mouth finding the perfect rhythm with one another.

"Shit, I'm going to come," he moans breathlessly and his grip on my hair tightens.

Only moments later, he releases in my mouth and his moans echo around the bathroom. I wait until he's done before sitting back on my heels. I gaze up at him again to admire him in his post-orgasmic glow. His eyes are shut and his lip is between his teeth. His heavy eyes open and he looks down at me with pride.

He removes his hands from my hair and helps me to my feet. His arms wrap around my waist and he presses his lips to mine. His tongue dips into my mouth and swirls within mine.

He turns us around and presses my back to the shower wall. He removes his lips from mine and cups my jaw.

"Fuck that was amazing baby," he mumbles against my lips.

I kissed him appreciatively and grinned against his lips.

"You're amazing."

He smiles back and resumes the kiss. We kiss for a while, our hands roaming one another's bodies but soon the water starts to grow cold.

"Let's take this back to my room, yeah?" Zayn suggests.

I nod and peck his lips.

"Let's."