My mom took Jordyn, her family, and me out for drinks in the city after walking the stage. My father couldn't make it, which surprised no one. Apparently, his company had a crucial business trip that he couldn't miss.

I haven't seen him in a year, so what's the rush, really?

I wouldn't let my father ruin my good mood, though. I just graduated college, and I've already got a new job that will allow me to stay in my apartment with Jordyn. Not to mention my dinner with Zayn tonight.

I've got a lot of things to be happy about, so one hiccup isn't going to stop me from enjoying myself tonight.

"I'll be right back," I whisper to my mom, getting up and making a call to Zayn.

I head to the bathroom for some privacy and wait for him to pick up the phone. "Hello?" He answers, his voice low and raspy.

"I am officially a college graduate!" I say happily.

"Congratulations, Scarlett," Zayn responds, my name sounding like royalty coming from his lips.

"Thank you, Zayn," The anxious part of me would love for Zayn to cancel so the butterflies would leave my stomach, but the better part of me is ecstatic to see him. Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

"We are. Dress fancy. I'll pick you up at eight," he says confidently.

I'm far too excited and don't want him to pick up on it, so I respond with a quick "See you then!" and end the call.

"Hey, Jor," I greet as she enters right as I hang up.

"Hi," she says, facing the mirror with an exhausted sigh. "I'm so sick of my mother. Can we leave yet?"

I laugh. "Sure. We can leave whenever we want. What's going on?" I ask, rubbing her back to calm her.

"She just doesn't get me, and she's so rude to Riley." Oh. Jordyn's mom was never a fan of Riley, mainly because he's a frail white frat boy with tattoos covering ninety percent of his body and is high one hundred percent of the day. Not her ideal pick.

Riley is a little "rough around the edges," but he's an absolute sweetheart once you get to know him. He treats Jordyn like an absolute queen, and their relationship is refreshingly healthy.

"I'm sorry, Jor. Let's get out of here. I'll have my mom meet us at our place, and I'll take you and Riley home."

"Okay. Let's go." she nods and splashes some cool water on her face.

We head back into the hyper crowd of people, dancing and drinking in celebration. I'm pretty sure an entire sorority house came here with their families. I spot my mom nursing her fifth martini, sipping up the last of it.

"Ready to go?" I ask. She looks so tired these days like life is drained out of her. I never want to see that look in her.

She nods and chews on an ice cube. "Ready," she gets up and links her arm with mine. We walk, stumbling to the car, laughing as she gets into the passenger seat.

Luckily, I didn't have anything alcoholic, so I drove my mom's new car back to my apartment. My nerves are really starting to kick in about seeing Zayn tonight. It's been a few days, and we've spoken a lot on the phone, but those damn nerves always creep up every time we meet.

The moment I met him, I felt like I could tell him anything, and for some damn reason, I sometimes do.

"So what's this date you've got tonight?" My mother asks, staring out the window.

"His name is Zayn," I answered. I'm really not trying to give her a ton of information. If things go wrong, I don't want to have to disappoint my mom. She always gets too excited at the thought of me finally sharing my life with someone again.

Why is that so important to mothers?

She smiles, her alcohol-tainted breath heading in my direction. "Do you like this boy?"

I laugh. "He's not a boy, Mom. He's twenty-five." He's twenty-five, right? Shit. I can't remember. I'll have to ask him tonight.

My mother's tired eyes widened. "An older man? Wow. I'm proud of you, my beautiful daughter." She jokes, patting my back.

I roll my eyes. "Thanks, Mom."

We finally make it back to my apartment, the sky a mixture of pastel pinks and blues as the sun disappears. I let the calming skies dissipate my nerves as I head inside.

"Can I grab you for a second, sweetie?" My mother asks, patting the couch beside her.

I nod and sit next to her, grabbing her frail hand. "What's up?"

We ignore Jordyn and her mother arguing as they bring their fight into Jordyn's room, slamming the door. Riley just sighs and takes a seat in the kitchen, twiddling with his thumbs.

"I have a gift for you. For graduating. I'm very proud of you." She hands me a small white box with a red bow on it.

I shake my head. "Mom, I told you not to get me anything." I scold. I'm going to accept the gift, of course, but I wish she'd save the money; I know she needs it.

"Oh, hush. I can afford to buy my daughter a graduation present. Stop worrying and open the gift."

I laugh and pull the bow off the box, opening the top to reveal a stunning ring of my birthstone, ruby, with a silver band. I always talked about wanting some type of jewelry with my birthstone; I just never thought she was listening.

"Thank you so much, Mom." I slide the ring onto my middle finger and hug my mom as tight as I can. "I love it."

She pulls away after kissing me on my temple. "Okay. Get ready. You don't want to be late."

I notice that I have about thirty minutes to get ready for Zayn, jump off my couch, and run to my bedroom. I already know I want to wear my navy blue dress, but everything else is pure impulsivity.

I decided to leave my hair natural, letting my brunette waves fall freely. I put on a bit of makeup, leaving my face mostly natural except for my glittery shadow and gloss.

My dress is an open-back navy blue mini dress. It fits my body like a glove and gives just enough cleavage. I feel hot in it, and it's a nice change to see myself looking good. I pair the dress with silver dangling earrings and black heels that tie around my ankles.

I can hear Jordyn and Riley welcoming Zayn, laughing together. Well, that's a good sign. Jordyn's mom must have left, and my mother hopped into the shower. Hopefully, we'll be gone before she can meet Zayn. It's too early for all that.

I grab a long black coat to cover myself with and my purse, giving myself one last glance in the mirror and heading outside.

I walk out as Jordyn and Riley start arguing about god knows what, only capturing Zayn's attention.

I smile at him. "Hi," I say shyly. The way he is looking at me is enough to make me shrink into oblivion.

"Wow," is all he says, making me feel like I'm stuck in a cheesy romance movie. "Sorry. But wow. Scarlett, you are so incredibly beautiful." He compliments me, his hand holding my chin to look me in my eyes.

"Thank you," I mutter, feeling so incredibly hot and nervous by his actions. God, I want so badly to kiss him, but we need to go, and Jordyn would be relentless.

"Ready to go?" He asks, putting his hand out for me to grab. I nod and take it with a smile.

"Bye, cuties!" Jordyn shouts. I gag at the nickname while Zayn and Riley laugh, waving goodbye as well. We leave my apartment laughing as Zayn leads me to the car.

He walks me to the passenger side and opens my door, clearly reading the gentleman's guidebook. I watch him look me up and down before I get into the car, his eyes on me the entire time.

"Thank you," I squeak. He nods and closes my door, adjusting his tie as he walks around the car. I've been so focused on the way he's making me feel that I didn't look at how handsome he looks in a suit.

The grey suit compliments his dark hair and tanned skin perfectly. His toned body is highlighted in all the right places, almost as if the suit was tailored to show off his muscles. I'm not complaining.

His tie is a matching shade of blue to my dress, reminding me that we spoke of the sexy blue dress I'd bought on the phone a few nights ago. He listens, and that's even sexier.

"God, Scarlett. You're doing something to me." He grunts, turning on the car and peeling away from my apartment.

"I'm sorry," I say, biting my lip to prevent my laugh.

"Don't be sorry. You look amazing," his hand that was previously resting on the gear shift moves to rest on my thigh, his fingers dancing on my skin as he drives.

I try not to let my body turn to mush under his touch. "So, are you going to tell me where we're going?"

He shakes his head. "Not just yet. We'll be there soon." I sigh and lean back in my seat, looking out the window as all the color leaves the sky. I see the moon, a small crescent watching over us, bringing me peace.

I toy anxiously with my new ring as Zayn draws circles on my skin with his finger. The way he is touching me is new to us... whatever we are, and holy hell it's distracting. I try to focus on the road instead, the sound of the turn signal keeps me present as we turn into a parking lot.

He takes me to Firefly, a popular LA restaurant known for its beautiful seating. I smile and get out of the car before he can open my door for me. I never thought of coming here alone or with friends, so I'm excited to see what the hype is about.

"Good choice?" Zayn's deep voice asks as his tall body walks over to me, looking down. Height never used to be a turn-on for me until I saw Zayn.

"Perfect choice," I smile, grabbing his hand as we enter the restaurant.

The hostess welcomes us, and Zayn informs her of our reservation. She takes us to a seat outside that looks like a canopy in a Disney princess movie. We sit across from one another and talk about our days.

Zayn orders some kind of fancy red wine, and we order our food quickly. Zayn's energy was different tonight. He seemed lighter today, like the stress in his life has lifted for a bit, and his true playful self is coming through.

It's slowly becoming my favorite side of him.

"How do you feel after graduating? Any different?" He asks, pouring himself another glass of wine.

"Not really. It hasn't really hit me that I'm officially an adult."

He smirks. "Don't worry. It hasn't hit me either."

I shake my head. "You don't give yourself enough credit,"

He waves his hand. "Yeah, yeah. Adelaide would be lost without me."

I laugh. Honestly? She probably would be a bit frazzled without him. From what Zayn's told me, she relies on him for a lot of things.

"When do you start your new job?"

"They'd like me to start as early as June, but they've given me some time to get settled and all. Luckily Jordyn and I can stay in our apartment for another year." I sigh, relieved.

We continue rambling about our jobs and small talk as we pass the time waiting for our food to arrive. I've tried so hard to keep my social battery charged and not let my all-too-loud thoughts destroy this night.

Once one bad thought breaches the wall I put up, there's not much stopping all the thoughts from cascading over at full speed. Especially when public places and heart-stoppingly attractive men are involved.

"What's wrong? Is your food bad? You can try mine if you want," Zayn asks, concern clear on his handsome face.

"No, no. Nothing's wrong. Just thinking," I offer a half-smile and take another bite of my food, avoiding eye contact.

As much as I try to tell myself I'm okay. I can't ignore the voices in my head telling me that my failure is inevitable and Zayn could never date a girl with a diseased brain like mine.

My logical side tries to push the negativity back- keep it locked away until I'm alone and can deal with it, but Zayn's concerned eyes are enough to unlock every emotion.

His pale pink lips lift to the right meekly, and his slender fingers find my wrist, gently grazing my skin in a comforting motion. "What're you thinking about?"

I observe him as he sips his wine with his other hand, seeming genuinely interested in my thoughts.

He's done nothing to show you that you cannot trust him. Trust your intuition, not your anxiety.

"The future is just scary, you know? I-um, I can't control it. I can't predict it, and that's hard for me because I like to be in control. I like to know what my next move is gonna be," I share honestly. Not exactly what I was thinking, but it's close enough.

"I think sometimes unpredictability is necessary. It keeps life interesting, you know?"

I nod and look into his soft emerald eyes. There's something about him that makes me want to tell him all my secrets- to tell him every little detail. The way he carries himself is so encapsulating that I feel I've never met a man quite like him.

"I agree, but I also think I've had enough unpredictability in my life, too." I laugh, but my laugh is humorless, and I'm hoping he doesn't notice it.

Zayn's eyes soften, and he squeezes my hand. "Me too, but I like to think everything balances out with time."

"Enough sad talk. I didn't mean to get all dark," I wave my hand as if dismissing the conversation and moving to talk about something else.

Jordyn always said I have a knack for accidentally bringing up dark or depressing topics. I guess that's what happens when you have a toxic brain.

Zayn clearly doesn't mind, though, as we jump into a million new conversations about the little things. The conversation between us flows effortlessly and he never fails to find interesting things to pick my brain about. The best part? He seems genuinely interested. Before we know it, we've gone through our meals and spent nearly an hour and a half here.

Just as we're about to leave, my painfully awkward self mustered up the courage to ask the question that's been plaguing my mind since I'd met him.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask, pinching the inside of my wrist.

He looks into my eyes and nods. "Always,"

"When you first met me, you said I was intriguing," I paused, seeing if he would just answer without me actually asking the question.

"I did," he says, his eyes bright with amusement.

"What'd you mean by that?" I rush out, averting my gaze to the table.

He smiles a big smile that brings out the dimple on his right cheek. "You want to know what I thought the first time I saw you?"

"Oh, just tell me already," I say, rolling my eyes. He's enjoying this way too much.

His laugh is intoxicating, and I find myself laughing with him, my cheeks beginning to hurt. "Fine, fine. Well, did I ever tell you that the table you were sitting at was my favorite table in the whole cafe?"

"It is? Wait. That's my favorite table,"

He smirks. "Exactly. I can't really explain it, Scarlett. Something about you just pulled me towards you, and I'm glad it did because I've never met a woman like you."

I look down nervously. I cannot believe he just said that to me. Everything about him feels like an imagination. Like my brain came up with a perfect man to distract me from how shitty everything else is.

That's not possible, right?

"And I don't want you to think I'm just filling you with shit you want to hear because I'm not. It's the truth. I've not always been the best guy when it comes to women, but I want to make everything perfect with you. It's the most confusing fucking thing ever,"

I look at him, eyes wide as he opens up to me. Way more than I thought he would, might I add. "You're making me blush" is all my stupid, stupid brain can come up with. He seems satisfied with that answer as he smiles, shaking his head at my shyness.

"Ready to go?" He asks, and I nod as we get up and walk to his car. All I can seem to think is: he understands me.

The drive back to my apartment is relatively quiet but comfortably so. We don't feel pressure to create small talk. Instead, we are comforted by the low music and Zayn's hand gently squeezing mine the entire ride.

Once we get back, Zayn walks me to the door, a sad look plastered on his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Not ready to leave you just yet," he says, his hands finding their way to rest on my hips. My arms seem to have a mind of their own as they wrap around his neck. The position is far too comfortable as I lean against my front door.

I stare into his bright green eyes, watching as his pupils dilate. "Come inside, then," I whisper, scared to break the silence.

He nods, pulling me closer. "In a minute," he mumbles.

Before I even realize it, he pushes me further against the door, moving one hand to tilt my face to his and kiss me. Hard. His lips tangle with mine as he dominantly controls every little movement. Butterflies flap wildly in my stomach as his hand on my waist clenches and lights my skin on fire.

There's nothing innocent about the way his tongue dances with mine. Our relationship so far has been light and playful, but none of that is present here. I love every minute of it.

His teeth lightly bite my lip as we pull apart, both of us out of breath. His lips are swollen and pink and I'm sure mine are the same. I don't even know what to say right now other than wow.

"Inside?" He asks quietly, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Um, yeah. Inside," he smirks at my stuttering, and I roll my eyes, grabbing my key and trying very hard not to look flustered.

Happy Sunday :) A longer chapter for you & finally the long-awaited first kiss. Also learning a bit more about Scarlett & Jordyn's families. How are we feeling? Let me know. Thanks for reading