"Mm… this is so good." We had ordered a seafood pizza because he is the only other person who has the same seafood obsession as me!
Laughing he agrees.
"So Zayn, why did you audition for X Factor?" I ask him in an interviewers voice, holding my hand in a ball as the microphone.
"Well Courtney, I love to sing and X Factor seemed like a place to do it." Smiling he pushes the microphone away. "No more paparazzi, please stop!" he jokes.
We are both laughing at each other because it's just so stupid.
"This is fun, we should do it again sometime." He says with a smile.
"Hahaha, definitely!" I study him for a minute jokingly. "Is Zayn Malik asking me, Courtney James on a date?"
"Wait - I thought this was a date?" he says, winking.
"It's not that easy." I say, fluttering my eyelashes and getting up from the table.
To be honest, the whole night was a laugh. Zayn is so easy to be around and he gets my jokes and I get his.
"Hey wait up sexy!" I don't why, but at this I blush. I can see a few turned heads and it is as if the whole world is looking. I am bit like that. I try not to be, but inside I cannot control.
"You'll have to catch me first," I yell, running out of the restaurant and into the park. I love the park at this time of night. It's got an eerie feel and it's deserted. I guess no one wants to go to some creepy old park, but that's why I love it. I feel connected, like we are both lonely. The grass surrounds a lake, about the size of your average pool. It has no sharks but a few tadpoles and the temperature is always so nice. I think of it as my pool away from home.
I hear footsteps behind me and try to hold my giggles. Suddenly strong arms wrap around my waist and I scream, "Nooo! Someone help me!" His is laughing and swaying me, trying to keep me still.
"Hey! You found me!" I say cheekily.
"Yeah, in this open park you were so hard to find!"
"Hm…" His arms are still around me, but I like it. I feel safe and secure a feeling that is foreign to me. "Do you want to go swimming?" His arms tense up and drop to his sides.
"Oh, um no it's okay." he nervously replies.
"Zayn?" I ask, trying to look at his face.
"No it's just that I can't swim so, heh, you can swim but I'll just sit here…"
"The Lake is at standing depth, but can I make you a promise?"
He looks up at me and slightly nods.
"I will teach you how to swim." He laughs and replies, "So are we going to stand in some dirty water or what?"
I study him and then agree.
"YES WE ARE!"
He strips off his shirt but leaves his pants on. I'm glad he did because even when boys were speedos, I find it highly unattractive and it makes me uncomfortable. Around Zayn, I am 'at my comfiest.' Following his lead I rip off my top, getting excited about the feeling of all this sweatiness washing away. I work off my tights until I am just left in my sports bra and bike pants. When I look up, I see Zayn staring at me.
"What?" I say, slightly embarrassed.
He just smiles at me and says, "Are you coming in or not?"
Racing him to the water we both run in and splash around, before finally relaxing and floating in the water. I close my eyes and hear the sound of the water slightly moving, when I open my eyes I see that Zayn is sitting.
"Aren't you going to float?"
"I can't float." Seriously, this boy is so hot and at the same time, his incapability with the water makes him completely cute.
"I can teach you, come here." I motion for him to come closer. "Okay, now just lie of your back and I'll hold you up. Okay, go!"
He lies in the water and immediately his back and bum start to sink and I place my hands under his body, trying to keep him afloat. I am strong, but a boy packed with muscles can weigh more than the eyes think. So I move closer so my body is touching his so I can get some leverage. His eyes open and stare into mine.
"I think I'm hopeless." He sighs.
"Yeah, there's no hope. You're a sinker." I let my arms drop and Zayn stands up but our bodies are closer than they have ever been. He moves forward and I can feel his hot breath of my face. I open my mouth, ready for the kiss. He does the same and before we make contact, we both pause before slowly moving together. The kiss is slow and his arms wraps around my waste. Floating. That's how I feel, as though I'm on a cloud and I don't ever want to leave it. It's not busy and loud fireworks but it's something that numbs the rest out. I have never had this before. We break apart and stare into each other's eyes.