24. Zayn
Zayn
I’m having a hard time ignoring Annie. After the other night, I find myself moving toward her like a moth that hovers around a light post. If she’s in the kitchen making tea, I’m right there next to her making coffee.
If she’s lounging on the couch in the shortest fucking shorts that make my dick hard immediately, I’m sitting next to her.
Another thing is I can’t stop touching her. I reach for her hand when we are next to each other, and she lets me. I give her shoulder squeezes, hugs in the morning, kisses on the cheek.
I know I need to find a way to pull back. My heart is already breaking as I’m convincing myself none of this is even fucking real. On top of that, we have to attend a gala tonight, so I’m busy getting ready.
“Zayn?” Annie’s voice echoes from the doorframe of my room.
“Hm?” My gaze lands on her and my jaw drops. Damn. This woman.
She’s wearing a floor length royal blue dress with a slit up the right leg, taunting me with the little bit of bare skin. It hugs her hips and breasts, showing off her lovely curves. The straps of the dress lay on her shoulders, leaving the perfect amount of cleavage on display.
Her breath is heavy, and I find myself lost in the rising and falling of her chest. Mesmerized by this temptation, unable to look away.
“Zayn.” Annie stares at me with a knowing glare, but she knows what she looks like.
“You look like a fucking goddess.”
Small crinkles appear around her eyes and mouth as she dips her head and chuckles, swiping away a piece of hair that falls in front of her face.
“That’s quite an upgrade from a princess.” Her head is still tilted forward, but her eyes look up to meet mine. Her cheeks are a dusty shade of red, and I can see a smile on her face as she starts to turn around, showing me her back. “Can you zip me up?”
“Ye-yeah,” I stutter, unsure why my voice decided to wane. It’s not like I’ve never seen a woman in a dress before. Hell, I’ve had women use dresses like this to their advantage, teasing me with the slits and the dips of fabric.
When I reach Annie, I take her hair with my hands and sweep it out of the way. I lean forward and kiss the back of her neck, slowly, letting the moment last a few seconds longer.
“ Fuck , you are beautiful.” I kiss her again as my finger finds the zipper. Slowly I move it up, until it’s at the top and my work here is done. “I can’t wait to tear this off you later.”
“And if I say no?” Annie twists her head and shoulders back to see me. As she turns fully around, I shift my hands to rest on her lower back.
“You wouldn’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Then let’s make a bet.” My hands move to her butt, grasping firmly and pulling her toward me. I laugh when she lets out a soft moan.
“Alright, Mr. Barnes. Let’s make a bet. If you win and my dress comes off by your hands, and your hands alone, then you can have your way with me.”
“God, Annie, do I like the sound of that.” I lean in to kiss her on the neck, but she starts to talk again.
“But if I win, you need to rejoin the Young Actors Association.”
Moment killed.
I move my hands to her waist.
“Okay.” I don’t know if she’s asking this of me because she cares about me or her job, maybe it’s both, but I was already planning on rejoining the cause after the gala tonight.
After attending multiple events for the association, I find myself missing the community. And Todd has tried to reach out a few times, asking if I’d consider rejoining. I helped out a lot with the young actors that were planning for their first auditions, and I miss that.
“I don’t see a world where you win, though, so good luck.” I plant a kiss on her forehead and remove my hands from her, stepping back to grab my wallet from the dresser.
“I don’t know Zayn, I can resist you.”
“We’ll see.” I smile and thrust my hand out to her. She grabs it, smiles, and follows me out the door.
When we reach the venue, there are lights flashing everywhere, ricocheting off the black interior of the car. Mumbles of chatter are outside the door; it’s going to be hard to make it to the entrance without having to stop and talk to someone.
The me before Annie wouldn’t choose to be here, but if I was, I would have kept my head down, pretended I didn’t hear any of the reporters or paparazzi, and made it to the front door within seconds.
I wouldn’t have given anyone the light of day.
They didn’t deserve to know anything about me. I didn’t owe anything to anyone.
But it’s different now. I owe it to Annie and myself to smile, chat with the reporters, talk about my movies, and show myself in a better light. I need to prove to Ed that I have the image it takes to lead a trilogy.
“Ready?” I look over to Annie, who is staring out the window at all the people.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She gleams.
With that, I open the door, and the night begins. Flashing lights come at me from all angles, shouts from reporters and photographers follow, and I do my best to look friendly while walking to the other side of the car.
I reach out for Annie and she grabs my hand with a squeeze. When her body is close enough to mine, I lean toward her, place my lips above her ear, and whisper, “I can’t wait to tear this dress off later and fuck you until you scream my name.”
Annie playfully pushes at my chest, which sends rockets into my stomach.
I chuckle as I pull her back to me, wrapping my arm around her waist. We walk toward the door, but a reporter stops us almost right away.
And because I have Annie by my side, I feel calm and ready to answer questions from the media. There’s no anger.
“Zayn, can you tell me who you have with you tonight?”
“This is Annie, my girlfriend.” I look down at her and smile, beaming because she’s mine in every way it counts.
The reporter smiles back and nods before saying, “And I hear you have a speech tonight. Any spoilers on what that’s about?”
“Good try, but you’ll have to wait and see like everyone else.” I almost snarl but hold it back when I feel a pinch at my side. Annie .
He laughs and all is forgiven. “Alright, alright, can’t wait.”
I offer a nod before continuing to walk, only needing to stop two more times. Once for a photographer to get a few shots, and once for another reporter looking to ask questions about my upcoming movies.
Annie proceeds to fill me in as we walk into the venue. “Okay, so you’ll go up to talk about the organization and how people can give money before we eat dinner. So we have some time right now to mingle.”
I nod along as she shares the agenda for the evening, putting on her publicist hat. She smiles and greets everyone that passes as we make our way to our table at the front of the room. My heart swells as I watch her do her thing, and I’m so proud to have her by my side.
Every table is lined with silver satin tablecloths, low hues of purple and blue lights illuminate the area, and light jazz music that reverberates off the wall.
This room is full of people that care about young actors who are trying to find their place in the industry.
Mostly everyone has gathered at their tables.
My speech will start things off before the donations and the dinner.
When we get to our table, Todd greets us.
“Zayn, glad to see you made it,” Todd says, shaking my hand. “And Annie, glad to see you in my world.” He pulls Annie into a hug and I remember that they know each other through her coworker. The night of his wedding party feels like it was ages ago at this point.
“It is.” She smiles, and it goes straight to my heart. And my dick. But luckily there are enough people around to calm down the thoughts in my head that should be saved for later.
“Are you looking forward to your speech?” Todd faces me again, taking a sip from his glass.
“I figured I’d just wing it.”
Annie slaps my chest. “You what?”
I grab her hand and give it a squeeze. “I’m kidding, Annie,” I wink in her direction before turning back to Todd. “I have notes.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time you had to wing a speech. Remember the event we did with the city a year and a half ago?” Todd asks.
“The one when you called me on stage at the last minute to save your ass? Yeah, I remember.”
We both laugh, and it feels good. My heart is mending, piece by piece.
“Okay, it’s showtime.” Todd clasps his hand on my shoulder.
“Good luck, Z.” Annie leans over and plants a kiss on my cheek. I twist to look at her, giving her a smile that I hope shows her all the words I’ve left unsaid. That I’m so grateful for her. That I wouldn’t be here without her. That I don’t know how I’ll let her go.
The walk up to the stage is short, and by the time I get in front of the microphone, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be in a room full of 300 people.
The heat of the spotlight shines on me as I reach for the notes in my jacket pocket with sweaty, shaky hands.
The microphone is at the right position, thankfully, because I’m just realizing that I didn’t rehearse this ahead of time. I didn’t even think about it.
“Um, hello everyone. I’m Zayn Barnes.” I let out a chuckle.
My nerves are threatening to overtake me, and my brain is telling my feet to move and get off stage and brush this off.
But when I look down, I spot the only person that calms me.
Her smile is enough to have me breathing normally again and ready to give this speech.