I go to join her, but stop after a few steps. I turn back around to Zayn, whose eyes haven't left me, and mouth a silent thank you. A small smile stretches across his face, and he nods once.
This would be a lot easier if he wasn't so perfect.
THE GUYS END UP getting kicked out at two in the morning when we close, but Kennedy and I need to spend another hour cleaning up. Unsurprisingly, the boss isn't thrilled at the fact that I broke more than ten glasses in my first night, but he agrees not to fire me just yet. That's a relief.
We're walking out to Kennedy's car as she tries to convince me that her plan worked.
"I'm telling you, Amelia," she presses. "You should have seen the look on his face when that sleaze was hitting on you. I'm honestly surprised he didn't hit him."
I shake my head. "He was just being nice. He would have done that for anyone."
"Maybe so, but obnoxious guys were hitting on me all night too, and none of them made him look like he was ready to kill."
She might have a point. All this time I've wondered if he's not with me because he doesn't want to be, or because of something else. To be honest, I feel like if he had no feelings for me, he wouldn't keep trying to come around. Showing up outside my dorm. Waiting for me outside my class. Coming to get me from that party last night before I regrettably hooked up with Mason Lockhart.
Does he?
"He's already rejected me once," I murmur with a little less fight.
She rolls her eyes. "After he slipped and hooked up with you. Zayn doesn't look like the kind to kiss someone he doesn't want to."
"Okay, then what do you suggest I do about it?"
"Grab the bull by the horns!" she shouts, a little too loud for this hour. "Go over there and make what you want known."
I snort. "Oh, because that will go so well with Easton there."
Look
ing around for something, she grabs a rusty screwdriver by the dumpster and jabs it into her tire. When she yanks it out, the whole thing goes flat before my eyes. As I watch her in disbelief, she takes out her phone and puts it to her ear.
"Easton? I'm sorry to wake you but I have a flat tire. Do you think you could come help?"
I shake my head, and she sticks her tongue out at me.
"No, she left. McKaylah gave her a ride home. Thank you so much."
She hangs up the phone and grins triumphantly. "Don't worry about Easton. Go get your man."
My nerves are already increasing by the second. "What if he turns me down again?"
Kennedy shrugs. "Then the line is drawn in the sand." She sees McKaylah coming out from the side door and calls her over. "Amelia needs a ride somewhere. Do you mind?"
"Not at all."
I guess it's now or never.
MCKAYLAH PULLS UP TO Zayn's, and I almost contemplate telling her to drive away. The light from his bedroom is on, and thoughts of what happened in that very room play through my head. I take a deep breath and open the door.
"Wait five minutes. If I'm not out by then, you can go."
She smiles. "You got it."
I swallow down the lump in my throat as I walk to the door. With all the bravery I have, I press the doorbell. It only takes a few seconds before I can hear someone coming down the stairs. The front door opens and Zayn stands there—sweatpants hanging low on his hips and his muscled torso on full display.
"Amelia?" he asks. "Is everything okay? Easton's not here."
"I know."