I'm nearly twenty minutes from home, and I couldn't be more excited to get back to work. I'm grateful for the break I got while visiting my brother, but I'm ready to dive back into normal life. I can't hide from my problems forever.

Although my impromptu trip to Rocky's was kind of an escape, it was also to help him plan out some final wedding details.

As his best man, I am responsible for planning the bachelor party, but Rocky can stand surprises, so we planned it out together.

Since the wedding will be pretty small, he only has two groomsmen, not including myself. The four of us will head to Top Golf and then to a strip club down the road. After that, Talia and her bridesmaids will meet us at a sports bar.

The two of them have made it very clear that they don't want a typical wedding. They don't want anything super formal or generic; they just want it to be small, fun, and nontraditional.

As I drive back into the city, I want nothing more than to go to Scarlett's office and bug the hell out of her, but I can't. I'll see her later, but still. For some reason, I always want to be around her. Four days was too long.

How the fuck do people do long distance?

Maybe I'm just clingy.

By the time I pull into my firm's parking lot, the sun has completely risen, and I'm practically the only car here. Except for Adelaide, of course, she's always here lately.

I waltz in tiredly and plop down into my chair with a grunt.

"Well, good morning, sunshine!" Adelaide greets, her voice far too cheerful for the early hour.

"Good morning, elder. How are you?" Before I even realize it, Adelaide's pen goes flying across the room, smacking me in the head. "Ow."

"That's what you get." She scowls. "Anyway, I have news."

"You're pregnant?" I joke.

"Would you shut up for five seconds?"

I shake my head once, smirking. "Not possible."

She crosses her arms, leaning back. "Fine. Then I won't tell you the good news."

"Good news?" I ask.

"Zayn," she says, looking at me with an unknown expression. "You are officially a criminal defense attorney at the Meraki Law Firm."

I freeze. I am quite literally stuck in place. I can't even register what she just told me. She's playing a joke, right? There's no way I actually got the position out of all the other applicants.

"... Huh?" I say. I'm sure I look ridiculous with my open mouth and wide eyes, but I can't help it. Everything's been so immensely shitty that I can't comprehend this right now.

Adelaide just starts laughing. "You got the position, Zayn."

"So this isn't some kind of orchestrated joke?" I ask, a look of disbelief clear on my face.

She looks at me with annoyance. "Do you think I have the time for that?"

Once her words set in, I jumped up from my seat and rushed over to hug Adelaide, thanking her profusely. I mean, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here.

"Don't thank me, thank you. You knew to apply for this job, and you were the one that convinced me having an 'assistant' would be beneficial. You've worked very hard, Zayn. You deserve it." She smiles brightly.

"Thank you," I say again. I only now recognize that I'm shaking with excitement and nervousness for wherever this journey takes me next.

"So," Adelaide smirks, pulling a key from her desk. "Ready to see your new office?"

I smile happily. "Hell yeah." We make our way out of Adelaide's office, and I'm fully prepared to be on the opposite side of the building, but Adelaide leads us to the door right beside hers.

That's not the best part, though. The best part is my name engraved onto a plaque above the door. Now, this is everything I ever dreamt of and the most rewarding part? I have someone to celebrate with.

---

"Gosh, Zayn. You're stressing me out here." My beautiful girlfriend says as she sits down on her couch beside me. I didn't want to tell her over the phone. I'm sappy that way.

"Okay. Are you sure you're prepared? This might be the biggest news you'll ever hear." I exaggerate, only pissing her off more.

I smirk as her brows crinkle in annoyance, and she frowns, squinting her eyes at me. "Just tell me, you fool."

"I got the job," I blurted out. "I'm officially a criminal defense attorney."

Scarlett pauses for a moment, staring at me with wide eyes. It doesn't take her long to register what I said, though, because before I know it, she's jumping onto my lap, kissing every corner of my face.

"I'm so proud of you." She says softly, wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly. I laugh, squeezing her.

"Thank you, baby," I mumble into her hair, her intoxicating scent of lavender and honey overwhelming my senses.

Everything about her is so captivating and intoxicating. All I could think about when Adelaide told me the news was when I'd be able to celebrate with my girl. Pathetic, I know.

Scarlett gets off my lap, grabbing her phone from the coffee table. "We have to celebrate! I'm sure Jordyn and Riley will be ecstatic. Where do you want to go? My treat." She rambles excitedly. She taps wildly on her phone before plopping back down on the couch, waiting for my answer.

"Nothing fancy. Why don't we go get some drinks at a bar or something?" I offer.

Scarlett seems to like that idea because she nods enthusiastically, calling Jordyn to tell her the good news.

After a few short seconds on the phone, Scar informs me that Jor and Riley will be joining us to celebrate at the closest bar in twenty minutes. Luckily, we both ate dinner at work.

"Why don't you invite Adelaide?" Scar asks.

"Good idea," I kiss her forehead before getting off the couch and calling Adelaide.

She picks up on the last ring, sounding grumpy. "Aren't you supposed to talk to me less now that you're self-sufficient?"

I scoff. "God, you make it sound like I'm your interdependent teen." I joke. We both laugh. "Anyway, are you busy tonight? Scarlett's taking me and some friends out to celebrate, and we wondered if you and your husband would want to join?"

"That sounds lovely. Tyler's on a business trip, but I'd love to join you." We exchange the details and hang up.

Scarlett runs into her room and changes into black leather pants and a skin-tight black lace tank top. Fuck, she's incredibly sexy.

"Ready?" She asks me happily.

"Yep," I hold my hand out for her to grab, and we head for the door. "You look sexy as fuck."

Her chocolate eyes widened in shock at my vulgarity. She wacked my shoulder playfully. "Hush."

We drive to the bar, Scarlett's hand holding mine tightly the entire time. She has a different glow about her lately, and I can't tell what it is. Whatever it is, I don't ever want it to change. It's like her smiles immediately give me warmth and happiness. It's the strangest thing ever, but hell, I'm not gonna question it.

We walk into the bar, looking around for Jordyn and Riley. They're sitting at the bar, Jordyn's leg slang over two chairs, saving them for us.

"Hey, guys!" Scarlett greets, hugging her roommate.

Riley and I exchange our usual greeting. "Congrats on the job, man."

"Thanks," we chat for a second before Jordyn interrupts us.

"Zayn! Congratulations! Here, have a beer." She practically forces the drink into my hands, slurring her words slightly.

I thank the drunken Jordyn and turn to her boyfriend with raised brows. "How much did she have?" I ask, laughing.

"She took a few shots, but we were at the frat house before this." He explains.

"You still living there?"

"Nah. That's why we were there, moving out and stuff. The boys wanted to have a few last drinks before I left."

Scarlett laughs hysterically as she tries to keep her very tipsy best friend on her feet, leading her to the stools. We all sit down and engage in conversation, laughing and drinking.

We order some appetizers to snack on by the time Adelaide arrives. She seems frazzled and tired but happy to be here nonetheless.

It dawns on me that Adelaide and Scarlett have never met, but Adelaide sure knows who she is. God, I hope she doesn't fucking embarrass me and tell Scarlett all the sappy shit I've said about us.

"Adelaide, this is my girlfriend, Scarlett. Scarlett, this is my former boss, Adelaide."

"Former boss?" Adelaide scowls. "Mentor sounds better." She shakes Scarlett's hand and introduces herself again. The two talk animatedly, seeming to hit it off well. Scarlett's very chatty after a few drinks, so they're talking for quite some time.

Eventually, they finish talking, and Adelaide turns to me, finishing the last of her beer. "She's a lovely girl. Good pick." She compliments, a knowing smirk on her lips.

"Glad I have your approval," I joke, wrapping my arm around an unknowing Scarlett. She just leans into my touch, carrying on her conversation with Jordyn.

We've been here for over two hours now, chatting and drinking, eating occasionally. Adelaide doesn't stay long, she claims she has work to do, but something has been off with her lately. I'm hoping it doesn't have anything to do with her marriage.

Scar pokes my stomach gently, grabbing my attention. She's gradually getting more and more drunk, which is fun to watch because her words slowly get less understandable.

I look down at her, smiling as her soft eyes staring back at me. "Hi," she mutters.

"Hi, beautiful." She rests her head on my shoulder, and I rub my hand up and down her back soothingly.

"Wanna do something on the list?" She slurs. Jordyn and Riley escaped to the bathroom twenty minutes ago. It's safe to assume they're not coming back any time soon.

"Sure," I agree. "Which one? We don't have many left."

"We have one left," she says. "Gaze at the city from a rooftop."

I smirk, knowing just the place. I mean, that is the reason I wrote it down in the first place. "I know somewhere. Are you ready to go?"

"Mhm," she mumbles. I ask the bartender for the check, and Scarlett pushes my hand away from my wallet, pulling her own out and handing the bartender her card. "My treat, remember?"

God, I am in love with this woman.

I can't even deny it anymore. It's right in front of me in big capital letters. Everything about her brings joy to my days. I crave her attention and company. I think about her constantly, and when I'm with her, I feel things that I can't even explain.

I can't tell her yet. I know she gets spooked easy and the last thing I want to do is scare her away. The thought of her not being a part of my life is terrifying.

I've always been okay alone. In fact, I've preferred it that way. Sure I've had friends here and there and my brother, but I've been alone other than that. I was never interested in the whole dating world, but this damn pale-skinned brunette sitting in a cafe came into my life and uprooted it completely.

I have never felt anything like this in my life. It almost feels too good to be true, and that's how I know. I know that I am in love with her, and even more than that, I want to spend the rest of my life loving her. 

---

author's note-

Okay, so I know I suck for not updating on time, and yeah, this is kind of a filler chapter, but that's just because I'm preparing you for the chaos of the next ten chapters

I hope you guys enjoyed it! As always, thank you so much for reading :)