I sat in my room and stared at the clock. Eli was working the night shift, and I wasn’t sure when he was going to get off work. It was nearly six in the morning. I had been up all night waiting for his arrival. I knew what was coming when he came home. There was no preparing for it, all I could do was wait and hope he would do whatever he was going to do quickly.

I thought about running away. I even packed my backpack with essentials while thinking about taking the first bus out of here but I wondered if Eli would go after Zack. I couldn’t risk it, I couldn’t let Eli hurt Zack and his career not when he’s this close. Whatever Eli did with me, I could handle it. It would hurt me, nearly kill me but I could handle it. I had to.

There’s a tap at the window which pulls me out of my trance and makes me jump so hard I nearly fall off my bed. I turn, terrified but it’s Zack. Panic runs through me when I see him. Eli could pull up in the driveway any minute and if Zack was here…

I pull the window up and Zack climbs through. “Zack, what are you doing here? Eli can come home at any minute. You can’t be here!”

“Are you okay?” Zack asks me, he cradles my head in his hand and looks at my face. I realize how awful I must look. I haven’t stopped crying since I came home from school, my head was pounding against my skull and my eyes felt like someone had poured sand into them.

“I’m fine,” I lie. “I haven’t seen Eli since this morning.”

Zack presses his lips against my forehead. “I know. Come on, get your things. Matt and Brian are out front with the van.”

“What?” I ask. “Zack, you know I have to stay. If I don’t Eli will…he will find a way to put you in jail.”

“Sheridan, I’m not worried about Eli. Okay? If you think that I’m going to just sit back and allow him to hurt you…then you really don’t know me at all.” Zack is gathering some of my things and putting them in a bag. I didn’t tell him I already had a panic bag packed and hidden under my bed.

“What do you expect me to do, Zack? There’s nothing I can do. He found my fucking weak spot. He knows how to get me to do exactly what he says and…there’s nothing I can do.”

“What? Me?” Zack asks, laughing slightly. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

I shook my head. I was exhausted, I just wanted to sleep. I just wanted things to go back to being okay. It’s been so long since everything was okay. “It’s not that simple.”

Zack pulls my bag onto his shoulders. “Okay, we can talk about it on the way to Vegas.”

“Vegas? Zack, I can’t go to Vegas!” I was beginning to get irritated. Why wasn’t he listening to me? Why wasn’t he paying attention to what was going on; taking it seriously?

Zack hops out of the window and then reaches for me. “Come on. Just trust me. I’ve got a plan.”

I stood there for a minute before giving in. I didn’t want to be here for another minute. If Zack said he had a plan, I believed him. We had two days to figure out our next steps which seemed a lot easier than sticking around here and waiting for Eli to come home. I began to climb out of the window, and with Zack’s help, I made it out successfully.

“Hey, what did you mean when you said you knew I hadn’t seen Eli since this morning?” I ask as we walk to the van, Zack’s fingers laced with mine.

Zack shrugged and re-adjusted my backpack on his shoulders. “I’ve been keeping a lookout all night.”

“You’ve been what?”

Zack laughs again. “Wow, you really don’t know me at all. Did you really think I would just sit home knowing Eli was home alone with you? I came here directly after school, I’ve just been keeping my head low waiting for Eli to show up. As soon as he got here, I was going to call the cops. Believe it or not, him not showing up fucked my plan up. Anyway, my plan was to have you out of that house before I left for Vegas whether Eli liked it or not. Since he didn’t show up, it looks like I’m just going to have to kidnap you.”

“Don’t joke like that,” I tell him. “He probably will report me as missing or kidnapped.”

“Then let him,” Zack tells me opening the door. “Until then, we’re going to enjoy our weekend.”

I tried to remain calm on the way to Vegas and eventually fell asleep. The drive from Huntington Beach to Vegas was five hours long and I slept the entire way. When I woke my head was in Zack's lap, he was running his hand through my hair and talking to Val. I couldn’t make out the words at first, but eventually, I realized they were talking about the itinerary.

“We’re here!” I heard Jimmy cheer follow by an aggressive “Shh!” from Zack.

“It’s okay,” I mumble. “I’m awake.”

“Hey, how did you sleep?” Zack asks as I raise up, trying to flatten my hair.

I nod. “Okay. Did you get any sleep?”

Zack shakes his head. “Too excited. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

The hotel was beautiful on the outside and even more impressive on the inside. Val stepped forward and checked us in. Val and Michelle were the only two girls that came beside me. I walked around the lobby taking in the scenery. It was absolutely beautiful.

“Hey, you ready?” Zack asked, coming up behind me and flashing the keycard.

I grin and he wraps his arm around my shoulder as we make our way back over to the group. We all load into the elevator and Valary hits the button to take us to the 13th floor.

“Oh, lucky number 13,” Jimmy jokes.

The elevator doors open and we exit the elevator. Before I know it, Zack stops in front of a door and unlocks it, gently swinging the door open to reveal our room. It was beautiful. The floors were made of dark carpet, the walls were beige with red accents and beautiful photographs of Las Vegas landmarks. There was a small sofa off in the corner near a huge window. The curtains were open, revealing a view of the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” I exclaim, walking deeper into the room and setting my bag down on the single, king size bed. “Wait…do we have this room to ourselves?” I ask, turning around to Zack who was shutting the door. No one else was in the room.

“They booked us two rooms with two beds and one room with one since there’s five of us. I talked the others into letting us have this room. Johnny is bunking with Matt and Val and Jimmy is crashing with Brian and Michelle,” Zack explained, walking towards me.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” I told him.

“Trust me, you do not want to share a room with Johnny and Jimmy, one argues with himself in his sleep and the other snores louder than anyone else I’ve ever met,” Zack laughs. “I’ll let you figure out who’s who.”

I laugh and turn, wrapping my arms around his neck. For a moment, I just stare at him. I focus on the way his eyelashes curl, the light freckle by his nose, the tiny bit of stubble on his cheek. I watched the way he licked his bottom lip before he spoke, and the way his eyes focused on mine.

“I love you,” he told me.

I smiled and kissed him. Twenty-four hours ago, I was told to stop seeing him. I thought I was never going to be able to kiss him again but here I was, almost 300 miles away, in his arms and kissing him. I felt safe again.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” I mumbled against his lips. Zack didn’t reply but instead pulled me back into a kiss. He slowly sat down on the bed and pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him. Zack wraps his arms around my waist and I run mine through his hair. I felt at home. I felt like this was where I was meant to be, that all the pain and heartache and complete shit I’ve gone through in the last year was all so I could be lead to this moment. To Zack.

In this moment, I felt like everything was going to be okay.

Zack groaned and pulled away from me. “I could sit here and do this all day,” he told me. He kissed my collar bone, my throat and then my jaw. “Fuck. I have to take a shower and be downstairs in less than an hour.”

I give him a peck on the lips and move to get off him but he grabs my leg, right above the bend of my knee, and in a quick movement, he flips us so we’re laying on the bed, him on top of me. “Oh, no you don’t,” I tell him, gently pushing him away. “Matt will kill us both if you’re late.”

Zack groans. “You’re right.” He reluctantly climbs off me. “Any uh…chance you want to come make this shower a little more enjoyable?”

I laugh. “Oh, you wish, perv.”

Zack smiles and kisses me one last time. “I was talking about you coming to keep me company with a conversation, what are you talking about?” I laugh again as he winks and disappears behind the bathroom door.

---

Zack leaves to go to the convention shortly after he gets out of the shower. The band had a meeting at three o’clock with the people from the label, Val went with them since she was planning on acting as their tour manager so it was just me and Michelle until they got done around five.

I got in the shower after he left and allowed the hot water to help loosen my tense muscles. I stayed in there until my fingers got pruney, and then got out and began to get ready for the day. Michelle wanted to go to the spa that was inside the hotel. I had never been to a spa, so I agreed. We got massages, took a mud bath, got waxes – which was not at all relaxing and I only did it because Michelle wanted to but didn’t want to do it alone. We got manicures and pedicures and by the end of it, we both felt like whole new people. After our spa treatments, we decided to take a walk on the Las Vegas Strip and tried our hand at some of the casinos. Neither of us won anything.

We eventually decided to go back to the hotel. I didn’t know about Michelle, but I was excited to hear all about Zack's first meeting with the label. She said her goodbyes as I reached my room and kept walking to the room she shared with Brian and Jimmy.

When I walk into the hotel room, Zack is sitting on the bed, his guitar in his lap and he’s strumming it gently and singing quietly. When he hears the door open, he glances up and smiles. “Hey, baby. How was your day?”

“It was good, but how about yours?” I asked him. He sets the guitar beside him and opens up his arms, inviting me onto his lap.

“It was awesome,” Zack said when I sat down on his lap. “It’s all finally starting to sink in that we’re signed. We’re fucking officially signed. They’re only giving us two thousand bucks to record our record though…which fucking sucks. Our first demo cost like three thousand and it only had three songs on it.”

“What?” I ask, shaking my head. “That’s bullshit.”

Zack nodded. “Yeah, it’s definitely a big ass let down, especially since they brought us down here and paid for everything so we thought they were going to give us enough to record a decent damn album.”

“Well, you know everything is cheap in Vegas because they want you to spend all your money in the casinos,” I tell him with a smile.

Zack nods. “Very true. I think that’s where Matt is now. Trying to win us some money since we’re going to have to pay for this record ourselves.”

“Well, don’t stress about it,” I kiss his cheek and get off his lap. “The money will come.”

He gets off the bed and grabs his guitar. “I know,” he tells me as he puts his guitar in its case. “It’s just…we were hoping to start recording before graduation. Now we have to wait until we save up some cash.”

“I’m sorry, babe.”

Zack shrugs. “Are you hungry? The guys are wanting to go eat in like thirty minutes. Then we’re going to enjoy the night on the town.”

“Yes,” I say, grinning. “Just let me change really quick.”

---

The dinner is great. Everyone brought their fake ID’s for alcohol, but it wasn’t needed. The servers were more interested in racking up the bill than they were concerned about the underage drinking. Since the label was paying for everything, the boys ordered shots and bottles of wine and champagne.

“It is a celebration of sorts, after all!” Jimmy cheered.

After dinner, we walked around the strip. Matt and Val disappeared into a casino and Johnny followed. The rest of us decided to go check out some of the shows. By the end of the night, we were all tired. Our feet hurt from the walking and some of us were nearly too drunk to walk. Thankfully, I wasn’t one of them and neither was Zack.

Zack helped take Jimmy and Brian to their room while I decided to take a shower. I tied my hair up in a bun and allowed the water to run down my body. I washed my face and body but mostly just stood under the water until I heard the room door close.

“Sheridan, I’m back,” Zack called.

I got out of the shower and grabbed a towel. I dried myself off, let down my dry hair and looked at myself in the mirror. I felt and looked great. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this great. My skin was clear and glowing. None of my muscles ached from being beat, there were no bruises or cuts.

I wanted to have sex with Zack. I felt good enough to sleep with him, and I wanted to try. I didn’t know when I would feel this good again, I knew I would go back to feeling like shit when I got back home. Tonight was my chance to live life like a normal teenager that was in love with her boyfriend.

I grabbed the fluffy robe from the hanger on the door and slipped it on my naked body. I shifted the robe around my body, tied and untied it and attempting to look sexy, but it was nearly impossible. It wasn’t a sexy robe, but finally, I was able to tie it loosely, allowing it to show off my chest and cleavage. I shifted the opening at the bottom, allowing my leg to peak out. This was as sexy as it was going to get.

Zack is laying on top of the bed in his boxers when I walk out of the bathroom. He lays flat on top of the blanket. On arm at his side, bent at the elbow so his hand can rest on his bare stomach, the other across his eyes shielding the light from the room. I nibble at my lip, tempted to turn away, go back into the bathroom and get dressed in my pajamas but I can’t deny how bad my body aches at the view. I allow my eyes to leave his face, they trail down his throat, collarbone and towards his shoulder and tattoo. I allowed my eyes to trace every part of him, including the skin next to the waistband of his boxers.

Zack must have felt eyes on him because before I could finish admiring how damn good he looked, he sat up. His eyes searched the room for a very brief moment before they landed on me. Then, they widened.

“God damn,” he raised his brows, surprised. “What the hell are you trying to do to me?”

I couldn’t help but giggle as I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. I approached the bed, slowly and silently as Zack moved to sit on the edge of it, refusing to take his eyes off me. I didn’t speak – mostly because I was too nervous and I wasn’t sure if anything would even come out – as I crawled on top of him, straddling him.

Zack kept his hands on the bed as I brought my lips to his. His skin was warm like it always was and my heart fluttered when we kissed. At first, I kissed him slowly. Soft. Zack kissed me back, his hands would lift from the bed, reach for me but before his fingers could even brush against my robe, he would put them down on the bed again. This made me realize he was afraid of touching me because he didn’t want to frighten me.

My hands, which rested gently on each side of his face, made their way down his neck and against his shoulders. They slid to his elbows and finally his wrists; I grabbed his hands. First, I placed his right hand directly above my bent knee. I gently, slowly guide his hand up my thigh, against my hip, towards my stomach and stopped where the dip between his thumb and pointer finger rested directly beneath my breast.

My heart began to pound against my chest. It was hard to breathe and I wanted to run. I stopped kissing Zack and instead rested my forehead against his, I kept my eyes closed. I focused on Zack's breath against my lips. He tried to pull his hand away from my body, but I held it there.

“Sheridan…” he whispered.

I shook my head, my head still against his. “Shh.”

He didn’t reply and he didn’t try to pull his hand away either. I focused on the heat of his hand on my skin and pushed the nightmares away. After a few long moments of calming myself down, I slowly began to move his other hand up my leg, once it reached my hip, I held it there. I began to kiss Zack again, he kissed me back immediately. I slowly let go of his hands and can’t help but smile when he doesn’t pull away from me but instead grips me slightly harder.

My hands are shaking, my heart is still pounding but I push the bad thoughts away from my head once more and reach for the string on the robe. Zack moves his hand that’s under my boob to my back and pulls me closer to him as he deepens the kiss. I tug at the string and it comes undone. With a bit of fumbling, I’m able to completely untangle it. I shrug the robe off my shoulders.

Zack parts from me. “Sheridan,” he starts, reaching for the robe and attempting to pull it back over my shoulders.

“Zack, stop,” I tell him. His green eyes catch mine. “Just…let me try.”

Zack doesn’t move for a moment. He wets his lips, nibbles on them a bit and then pulls me back into a kiss. I feel him scoot us backward on the bed. His kisses are more eager now, but I can tell he’s still cautious. I pull my arms free from the robe just as Zack falls backward and pulls me with him. I try not to think how naked I was on top of him. I try not to think about how vulnerable I felt.

Zack slowly, gently pushed me off him while simultaneously climbing on top of me. My heart began to race again but I pushed the thoughts away. I opened my eyes instead of keeping them closed and kept Zack in my vision as he broke away from me and kissed my jaw. I focused on my breathing as he kissed my neck, his hands resting on my waist. He gently licked, sucked, and kissed my skin as I ran my hands through his hair. His mouth moved to my collarbone, then he glanced up at me before placing his lips on the curve of my breast.

I let out a soft gasp as I felt his tongue against my skin. Chills ran down my spine as Zack's mouth found my nipple. His touch, no matter how soft it was, felt intense. I allowed my hands to search his shoulders as his mouth left my breast and traveled to my abdomen. I felt my body begin to shake, Zack noticed and immediately stopped moving. He now laid on my legs, his head above my vagina. I closed my eyes, pressed the thoughts of the last time someone was this close to my vagina away and drew in a shaky breath.

Zack’s hands found each of mine and he held it, his palm up and kissed it gently as if he were kissing the Queen’s hand. He allowed his lips to linger on my hand, softly brushing them back and forth.

“Sheridan,” he whispers.

Again, I shush him. I begin to feel calm again I open my eyes and immediately look at him. He looks worried and he’s nibbling at his lip. I give him a soft smile followed be a slight nod and begin opening my legs up to him. I watch as Zack takes a deep breath and continues to stare at me. He laces his fingers with mine and grips them enough to comfort me but not enough to make me feel restrained.

He shifts his body and then I feel the warmth of his mouth against the opening of my vagina. An audible gasp escapes from me as Zack runs his tongue up my slit and he finds my clit. Impulsively, I let go of one of his hands and grip the sheets beneath us. Zack uses this time to use his now free hand to further separate the lips of my vagina. Before I realized what I was doing, I was slowly grinding against his mouth. Zack never pulled his hand away from mine and I was grateful. His hand kept me anchored to this moment, to the reality of what was happening. I began to feel a sort of energy build up inside me.

Zack kept his mouth on me as I rode out the orgasm. I tugged and clutched his hand as his free hand rested on my hip. When my body stopped convulsing, I let go of Zack's hand. I felt him shuffle a bit and when I opened my eyes, he was slowly crawling back on top of me. The bulge in his boxers was impressive but was obstructed from view as he brought his lips back to mine. I slid my hands down his side, and when they reached the waistband of his boxers, and gently pushed them down as far as I could. Then I used my legs to help shimmy them down the rest of the way.

Zack's dick brushed against me as he continued to kiss me. I shifted beneath him, bent my knee, and used it to guide him to my center, silently giving him permission.

Zack pulled away from me. It’s only now that I realize how heavy he’s breathing. “Sheridan, we don’t have to do this,” he told me. he kept his eyes closed and his lips next to mine.

“I want to,” I admit.

Zack opens his eyes and finds mine. “Tell me to stop and I will.”

I nod and Zack pecks me on the lips before positioning himself. He doesn’t look away from me as he slides his dick up and down my slit, getting the tip wet before he finds the entrance.
He holds himself there for a moment before he gently starts to push himself into me.

The bad thoughts begin to creep back up, so I find Zack's hand and immediately lace my fingers with his. “Wait.” Zack immediately pulls out of me.

“It’s okay,” he tells me. “We don’t have to do this.”

“No, it’s not that,” I tell him. “It’s just…do you have a condom?”

Zack smiles slightly. “Well, uh…baby, I wasn’t really expecting this to happen tonight, so I uh…I didn’t really pack for it.”

For the first time, I was conflicted about sex with Zack that had nothing to do with my past. I could almost laugh. “It’s fine,” I tell him. I wanted this. I wanted him, and I wanted to do this tonight. I wasn’t sure what my future held for me when I got home, but I wanted to have this memory to comfort me. “Keep going.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, and I nodded.

Zack entered me again. I pressed my knees into his hips and pulled him deeper into me.
Zack pulled my hand that is still laced with his up above my head and gripped my hip with his other one as he sunk into me. My shaky breaths synced with Zack's and I noticed how his trembled too.

I forgot how wonderful sex was. I forgot how wonderful it could make me feel. Zack buried his face into my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around him. I couldn’t get enough of him. There was no such thing as getting too close to him.

Zack kept his rhythm slow and I grinded my hips into his with each thrust. Zack moaned in my mouth and I heard the pillow crinkle in his fist as he squeezed it. I realized I had let go of Zack's hand at one point and it was now tangled in his hair which was damp with sweat.

I knew Zack was holding back, being cautious and considerate, but you couldn’t tell. This was the best sex I had ever had. For the first time in years, I felt completely loved and safe. I felt taken care of and strong. Zack made me feel completely vulnerable and thoroughly indestructible at the same time.

Mid-kiss, Zack quickly pulled away from me, buried his face in my neck and pulled out of me. I felt his entire body tense up as he came between my legs into the blanket. He moaned into my neck.

I couldn’t help but grin and pull him closer to him, kissing his bare shoulder. Zack snaked his hands around me and hugged me tightly. “That was amazing,” I whispered into his ear.

Zack halfway rolled over, so instead of laying on me, he was laying beside me, on his side. He still held me in his arms. “You were amazing. Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

“Just you,” I told him, pulling him into another kiss.

The kiss sent shivers down my spine and Zack pulled away. He tugged at the blankets and eventually got them free enough to cover me with them. He never realized the shiver had nothing to do with the temperature. He kissed my shoulder and then rolled off the bed.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To get something to clean that up,” he chuckles, pointing to the wet spot on the comforter. “By the way, that’s pretty much all you.” He winks.

I laugh and feel myself blush, so I cover my face with my hands. “Oh, my god. Shut up,” I shake my head. “There are extra blankets in the closet.”

Zack is still laughing when he disappears. I throw the comforter off the bed and it lands in a pile at the foot of the bed. Zack returns shortly wearing a clean pair of boxers with the comforter in his hands.

“Oh, so you get to get dressed while I’m still wearing this sheet?” I asked, pulling it around me.

Zack grins and unfolds the comforter. “Well, you do look a lot better naked than me.” He spreads the comforter out on the bed and then crawls back in beside me. He scoots against me, pressing his lips to my clavicle. “I love you so much, Sheridan.”

“I love you more.”

---

I laid in bed as Zack snored quietly beside me. I slowly got up from the bed, wrapped the sheet around my chest so it turned into a long dress. It was dark out, the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower was lit up and beautiful. I stood in front of the window that looked out to the city and admired the view.

I wanted tonight to be perfect, and it was until Zack fell asleep and the thoughts began to make their way back into my head. We would be leaving Las Vegas and making the trip back home sometime today. I would be back to a place where Eli existed, and Zack wasn’t allowed to. I didn’t want to go back there, I wanted to stay here forever. I wanted to stay in this life, where everything was perfect, and nothing hurt.

“Sheridan, what’s wrong?”

I turned around and saw Zack sitting up in bed. “Nothing,” I tell him. “Go back to sleep.”
I hear shuffling then I feel Zack's chest against my bare back. He pulls the comforter around both of us. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“It’s nothing,” I tell him again. He nudges me. “I just don’t want to go back. I’m terrified of going back. I’m terrified of what’s going to happen.”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Zack tells me. I can tell he doesn’t believe it. He takes a step in front of me, the comforter falls to the floor. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what Eli has in store for either of us. I don’t know a lot of things, but…I do know this: I know that I love you more than anyone I have ever loved in my life. I know that I will never feel this way about another woman. I know this is that once in a lifetime type of love. It terrifies me to admit that because I don’t know what our future holds. I don’t know where we’re physically going to be in a year, but I know that my heart will always be with you, no matter what. And…and it’s because of what I know that I’m positively sure that I will never let him physically harm you ever again. I’ll protect you.”

Zack pulled me into a hug. I wrap my arms around him, and the only thing holding the sheet up is our bodies. “Please, don’t ever leave me.”

“Whatever happens, you and I will make it though. Through the still waters and through the stormy waters, I’ll be here. My love for you is unwavering.”

“Through still and storm,” I mumble to myself. “I like that.” Zack lifts my head up and kisses me. The kiss deepens as he slowly leads me back to the bed, the sheet falling to the floor on the way.

Notes

I've realized the reason why I'm single is because 9/10 times I give my male characters (original or not) super sweet and loving personalities to the point where they're pretty flawless. Guys in the real world just don't measure up to my imagination!

Thank you guys so much for reading! This chapter took me like two or three days to finish because I wanted it to be perfect. Well, it's still not perfect but it's good enough for me, for now. I knew I wanted to incorporate the "holding my hand like he would the Queens" line because that type of hand-holding represents protectiveness and loyalty which I needed in that moment. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! Thank you again for reading. Please don't forget to comment, rate and subscribe! Also, happy Valentines Day!

A special thank you to Kimmie, FlawlessFlaws, vengenz61 and countzackula6661 for commenting on the last chapter!

Title credit: Brand New "Play Crack the Sky" (altered lines)