Even Angels Fall

Sarah sighed, feeling Zip playing with her fingers still. They had been lying in bed for hours, each dozing off here and there, but now she knew they were both awake. Her back was pressed against Zip’s chest, his arm protectively around her and their hands intertwined. This moment just felt so right.

As Zip kissed Sarah’s neck softly, she let out a little ‘hmm’ sound of contentment. “So you are awake,” he whispered, his hot breath tickling the hairs at the nape of Sarah’s neck. “Good,” he pressed his lips to her skin once more, not offering any other words.

“Tonight was wonderful,” Sarah whispered back to Zip, feeling her cheeks heat at the admission. “I just… you were so gentle with me. Thank you.”

Zip tightened his grip around Sarah’s waist, loving the way her body seemed to fit against his perfectly. “Don’t thank me,” he told her seriously. “I’ve never felt so good in my entire life.”

Biting her lip, Sarah could feel tears hinting at her eyes. But that’s not what she wanted right now; at this moment, all she wanted was to be close to Zip. “Well, from every girl I’ve ever talked to,” her voice changed to a soft teasing tone. “Very few ever… you know… the first time.”

“Well, I always knew I was good,” Zip replied with a smirk. “Ow!” he added when Sarah gently elbowed him in the stomach. “What? I’m not allowed to be proud of my sexual prowess anymore?”

“You’re a loser,” Sarah giggled, pushing her head back until it was firmly planted between Zip’s chin and shoulder. “So… Hassan, huh?”

Feeling Zip tense behind her, Sarah chose not to say anything for a moment. “Yeah,” Zip finally replied, releasing her hand from his just so he could run it over the bare flesh of her stomach. “But no telling anyone. And no making fun of me…”

Turning her head, Sarah gave Zip a quizzical look. “Why would I make fun of you?” she asked honestly. “I don’t even understand why you don’t use that name. It’s beautiful. Do you know what it means?”

Smiling, Zip kissed Sarah’s temple before nodding. “You won’t believe me if I tell you,” he warned her.

“Go on.”

Smirking, Zip met Sarah’s eyes. “It’s Arabic. It means ‘good-looking’.”

“You lie!” Sarah started laughing, turning onto her back so she could look more clearly into Zip’s face. She noted to herself that, even as her body twisted, his hand never stopped softly caressing her stomach. “You’re parents made you the monster you are today just with your name!” she accused with a laugh.

Nodding, Zip denied nothing. “Well, when you know someone is as obviously good-looking as me,” his eyebrows rose as he leaned up on one elbow and rested his head in his hand. “Why bother trying to hide it?”

Unable to help herself, Sarah chuckled as she reached up to touch Zip’s face. “You’re just lucky you ARE good-looking,” she told him. “Because, if you weren’t, you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have interest in me,” Zip smirked at Sarah. “I could bet on that. Ow! Stop hitting me!”

“Never,” Sarah admitted, grinning at Zip. She studied him for a moment before he saw her draw her bottom lip into her mouth, as if she was thinking hard about something. “So… How does one manage to get ‘Zip’ out of ‘Hassan’?” she asked him finally.

Lifting his hand from her stomach, Zip ran his pointer finger over the freckles on Sarah’s nose before answering. “‘Zip’ isn’t a nickname for ‘Hassan’,” he admitted, pushing away the nervousness he had in his stomach as best he could. He hadn’t told anyone his real name, let alone how he got his nickname, in nearly a decade. “‘Zip’ is just something my mother called me when I was young. See, she said that whenever we were out in public, she would turn her head and – zip! – I’d be gone. From the time I could walk, it was true. She once told me that she always thought that I was constantly in search of something more, something better. As if the world I was in was always going to be something to run away from, since I was sure there were greater things just around the corner.”

Chewing on her bottom lip, Sarah looked up into Zip’s eyes nervously. “And do you still feel like that?” she asked, obviously worried about the answer she might receive. “Do you still want to ‘zip’ away to something new and more exciting?”

Looking into Sarah’s questioning eyes, Zip wished he could tell her exactly how he felt at that moment. But being at a lack for words, he simply closed his eyes and lowered his mouth to hers. “I don’t think there could be anything better than this that I could run to,” he breathed onto her lips before finally letting their mouths meet. Within moments, their bodies had shifted and Zip was lying over Sarah once more.

“I don’t know what to say,” Sarah was breathless when Zip finally pulled back from her mouth, a need for air the only reason he broke their kiss. “You… can be an asshole,” she giggled softly, and he smiled. “But you can also be… so incredible.”

“And you can be a spoiled brat,” Zip countered, his grin wide. “But you can also incredible, too.” Without another word, Zip’s mouth lowered onto Sarah’s throat. His lips and tongue caressed her pulse point, and when he heard her release a soft moan, he shifted his body down a little more.

“You’re probably going to be a little sore,” Zip whispered against Sarah’s skin as his lips moved down further, over her collarbone, her chest, and to her stomach. “But I’m sure there’s one thing I can do right now that would still feel good for you.” With that, his mouth began pressing against Sarah’s hipbones, wanting nothing more to please her, until he felt her tense up.

“Wait,” Sarah said nervously, her cheeks flushing red as Zip looked up towards her questioningly. “I mean, you might not want to do that right now. There might be some, um… some blood… down there.”

Taking in a deep breath, Zip realized he hadn’t considered that. ‘I took her virginity,’ he couldn’t help feeling a little chastised as he thought about it. ‘I made her bleed.’

Looking up into Sarah’s embarrassed eyes, Zip felt guilty that she should feel any unease because of what they had done that night. “Just stay here,” he told her, suddenly rising from the bed and heading towards the bathroom. Sarah could feel the awkwardness of the moment in her chest, and wished silently that Zip hadn’t even offered.

Suddenly, though, Zip reemerged from the bathroom, a kind look on his face and a wet washcloth in his hand. He took a seat beside Sarah, and looked into her eyes with a small smile, not saying anything. Silently, he reached over with one hand and coerced her thighs apart. Ignoring the pink hue spreading on her cheeks, he looked down and began gently cleansing Sarah with the washcloth. Once he had wiped down her thighs and carefully cleaned her body fully, he folded the towel and placed it on the dresser.

By the time Zip finally met Sarah’s eyes, she could barely see him through the blur of her own tears. “I can’t believe you just did that,” she admitted in a soft voice. “That was so… Thank you, Zip.”

“No,” Zip echoed his words from earlier as he situated himself between Sarah’s thighs. “Thank you.” With that, Zip’s mouth descended down, kissing Sarah’s thighs gently. He heard her let out a muffled sigh and smiled to himself, lost in the wonder of making Sarah feel good.

At the first touch of Zip’s lips to her body, Sarah felt something akin to a bold of electricity move through her body. As earlier, he was moving gently and slowly. But Sarah could feel her body automatically responding, and she bit her lip in shyness.

Zip wished he knew the words to convince Sarah that she shouldn’t be self-conscious about her body or its reactions to him. As soon as his lips had met her body, freshly washed clean, he had been hit by the new but unmistakable scent of her arousal. The fact that, having barely touched her, he had this affect on Sarah, only made his desire to please her increase.

Running one hand though her tangled hair, Sarah let her eyes close as Zip’s mouth began tasting her. She could feel his hands gently massaging her thighs, his lips pressing against her center, his tongue descending into a place only he had been… And the feeling was incredible.

“Oh, God,” Sarah panted as Zip’s mouth took her clit between his lips, flicking it gently with the tip of his tongue. At the same time, he sank a finger inside Sarah, moving carefully as not to hurt her. From the way her body was moving, though, that seemed to be no concern at the moment.

Grabbing the sheets in one hand, Sarah squeezed her eyes shut. Zip had slid another finger inside her, and began moving in and out of her. All the while, he never lifted his mouth from her, licking and sucking at her in a way that caused an ache and a pleasure all at once. At first, Sarah had been a little shy about Zip doing this, but now she felt herself pressing down on him, begging for a release.

The soft whine that escaped Sarah’s throat bore though Zip’s body, making him hard, but he ignored that. ‘Right now… this is going to be all about Sarah,’ he thought to himself, moving his wrist in a way that caused Sarah to moan. He continued tasting her, teasing her, loving her flavor and scent. As her breathing began to increase and he felt the muscles in her thighs tightening, he sped up his hand movements, bringing Sarah to climax as she called out his name again.

Although she hadn’t actually done anything, the intensity of the moment had caused Sarah’s forehead to break out in a few beads of sweat. She felt her body beginning to calm down, as Zip kissed her inner thighs gently before sliding back up beside her. Looking into her eyes, he smirked. “See, I told you I was good.”

Sarah couldn’t help herself, and started laughing as she curled up into Zip’s arms. He was holding her tightly to his chest, and she felt his lips brush against her damp forehead tenderly. For a moment, Sarah was sure this had to be a dream. It was just too perfect.

-----

“I have to go to work,” Sarah told Zip the following morning in bed. They were curled up around each other, the sheets tangled at the foot of the bed and small slices of sunlight coming from between the blinds to warm their bodies.

Running his fingers over Sarah’s cheek, Zip shook his head. “Call in sick,” he pleaded for the tenth time since her alarm clock had gone off. “Please. I don’t want to spend the whole day waiting for you to get back. Besides, you barely got any sleep last night. You’re going to be exhausted.”

Smirking, Sarah looked into Zip’s black eyes as he came up with excuse after excuse for her to not leave his side. “This can’t be a regular thing…” she said, and immediately saw his face light up. “I can’t afford to get fired.”

Nodding, Zip pulled Sarah to his chest again, kissing the top of her head and taking in the sweet citrus scent of her hair. “Of course, this won’t be a regular thing,” he told her. “Just today. Today’s special. Today’s for us.”

“I really didn’t know you could be like this,” Sarah raised her eyebrows in amusement as she looked up at Zip. “You usually act like such a conceited prick. I had no idea you could be all sweet and romantic.”

Jokingly, Zip opened his mouth as if offended. “I will have you know,” he told Sarah with a mock look of seriousness. “I am still a conceited prick. Don’t go spreading rumors otherwise, either.”

Giggling, Sarah buried her head into Zip’s chest and inhaled deeply. She loved his scent. It was a combination of sweat and just a touch of cologne lingering from the day before, and it smelled earthy and warm. ‘Taking off one day to enjoy this probably isn’t the worst idea,’ Sarah thought to herself silently. ‘After all, we’re going to have to deal with how to tell Eddie and Sin about this soon enough…’

“Hey,” Zip protested as Sarah pulled back from him to reach for the phone.

“Quiet,” Sarah instructed as she sat up on the side of the bed and picked up the cordless receiver. “All I need is for my boss to hear a man’s voice in the background, and she’ll totally know I’m faking.”

“You weren’t faking last night,” Zip grinned, sitting up and sliding behind Sarah. His arms circled her waist, and he bit her shoulder playfully. “No, that was all 100% pleasure, as only Zip Kopti can offer.”

Looking over her shoulder, Sarah shook her head. “You are such a freak,” she told Zip with a smirk. “Now, you have two options. Shut up so I can call in sick, or get out so I can get ready to go to work.”

“Option one,” Zip said immediately, falling silent as he dropped his head onto Sarah’s shoulder.

By the time Sarah finally hung up the phone, she was ready to kill Zip. Returning the receiver to its cradle, she spun her head around and gave him a dirty look. “That was not funny,” she frowned at him.

“What? I didn’t say anything,” Zip gave Sarah an innocent look.

“No, you didn’t SAY anything. You just touched me in a way that actually made me groan on the phone with my boss,” Sarah tried not to smile at the laughter obvious in Zip’s eyes. “It’s a good thing that she just assumed it was because I didn’t feel well.”

“I’m sorry,” Zip said, giving Sarah a wide-eyed apology as he reached for her hands. He began lying back down on the bed, gently pulling her with him, until he was flat on his back and Sarah was lying on top of him. “You’re right, that wasn’t very nice of me. But now that you’ve called in, I can spend the whole day making it up to you…” As he spoke, Zip ran his hands down Sarah’s back, over the curve of her spine, and resting them lightly on her ass.

“You think you’re so irresistible, don’t you?” Sarah looked down at Zip’s smug smile. “You think there’s no way I could stay mad at you as long as you-” Suddenly, she took in a sharp breath and closed her eyes. One of Zip’s hands had slid down further over Sarah’s body, pressing between her thighs and touching her teasingly. “Oh, God,” she whimpered as two of his fingers descended into her body.

“Wait,” Zip’s voice was amused as he spoke to Sarah. “I think you were just saying something about being mad at me. I better stop now…”

Opening her eyes, Sarah saw Zip’s smirk looking back at her as he moved his hands to her waist. “If you know what’s good for you,” she told him as she quickly rolled over onto her back and pulled Zip on top of her, feeling his erection pressing hard into her thigh. “You will get another condom and shut up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Zip smiled at Sarah widely as he rose to reach for his jeans on the floor, as he always carried several condoms with him. “Whatever it takes to keep you from being mad at me…”

-----

“Spaghettio’s?” Zip looked at the can Sarah was holding up. “I spent five hours cooking you a cultural feast last week, and you’re going to feed me Spaghettio’s now?”

Smirking, Sarah shook her head. “I wasn’t exactly planning on last night or today,” she reminded Zip as she began opening the can to reveal pasta in an unnaturally bright orange sauce. “I haven’t been shopping yet this week. This is what I was going to have for dinner tonight, and you can either enjoy it or you can starve.”

Walking up behind Sarah in the kitchen, Zip put his arms around her waist and chuckled. “Spaghettio’s sounds great,” he whispered into her ear. In truth, he would have eaten chalk if it meant that the day didn’t have to end. Zip and Sarah had spent the whole day in her apartment talking, laughing, kissing, and of course, having sex. Sarah seemed to want to make up for her late start right away.

Leaning back a little, Sarah bit her lip as she felt Zip kissing her neck softly. It was hard to believe this was real, that he was there holding her, that they had spent the whole day together, that they were actually embarking on something together. “That feels nice,” Sarah sighed softly as Zip pushed down the neckline of the t-shirt she had put on and kissed the crux of her throat and shoulder. Suddenly, though, they were both pulled out of their revelry by a knocking at the door.

“Shit,” Sarah whispered, turning around to face Zip. His normally arrogant expression was now replaced with a look of panic. “Go hide somewhere.”

Glancing around her apartment, Zip turned back to Sarah to give her an exasperated look. “Where?” he whispered. “Your apartment is the size of a shoebox.”

“Thanks,” Sarah hissed sarcastically at him. “Just what I need when I’m panicking – insults about where I live-” Another knock interrupted Sarah’s words. “I don’t know, Zip. Go in the bathroom or something. And grab your clothes on the way!”

Walking towards the door, Sarah turned to make sure neither Zip nor any of his possessions were within plain sight. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and found herself looking at Ava, who had a concerned expression.

“Wow, you are sick,” Ava told Sarah with sympathy. “You’re all flushed.”

Biting her lip, Sarah could feel a blush creeping over her neck. “Yeah,” she told Ava, faking a little cough. “I haven’t felt well all day. That’s why I didn’t come in to work. But why are you here? I might be contagious.”

“I just wanted to check on you,” Ava wrinkled her eyebrows as Sarah just stood there in the doorway. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

Alarm gripping her stomach, Sarah didn’t know how to respond to Ava. “Well, like I said, I might be contagious…”

“That’s fine,” Ava said, walking past an incredibly distressed Sarah and into the apartment. “I won’t stay long or touch anything. I actually just have to use the bathroom.”

“No!” Sarah said so loudly, Ava jumped a little. “I mean…. germs. If there’s anywhere in the apartment that is probably covered in germs, it’s the bathroom. Maybe you should wait until you get home.”

“I’ll wet my pants before I get home,” Ava gave Sarah a complete look of confusion as she walked towards the bathroom. She entered and closed the door behind her, not hearing Sarah gasp lightly as she did.

A couple minutes later, Ava emerged from the bathroom. “Okay, I tried not to touch anything and I washed my hands,” she held up her hands to show Sarah. “I don’t think I’m going to catch anything from you.” Sarah, speechless, just stared at Ava. “You know what, babe? You still look weird. You should probably try to get some more rest.”

Swallowing hard, Sarah didn’t know what to say. “I will,” she finally squeaked out, giving Ava a tiny smile. “And thanks for coming by to check on me. I’m sure I’ll be well enough to make it into the office tomorrow.”

Still looking at Sarah with bewilderment, Ava finally gave up and shrugged. “Okay,” she picked up her bag from where she had placed it on the coffee table. “I’ll get out of here. I hope you feel better.”

“Thanks,” Sarah walked Ava to the door and shut and locked it once the girl left, releasing a heavy sigh. She then rushed into the bathroom and opened the shower curtain on her bathtub, bursting into laughter.

Zip was standing in the tub wearing just his boxers, as he had been when Ava had first knocked on the door. He was holding the rest of his clothes in his hands, and he had a look of total annoyance on his face. “I listened to her pee,” he told Sarah. “We have to tell people about us… soon.” With that, he stepped out of the tub and put his clothes down on the sink.

Reaching out, Sarah wrapped her arms around Zip’s waist and looked up into his eyes. “I know we do,” she told him, aware that this was easier said than done. “And who knows? It might not be too bad…”

“I am sleeping with my ex-girlfriend’s present boyfriend’s little sister,” Zip raised his eyebrows skeptically as he looked down at Sarah. “Not to mention that said ex-girlfriend and her present boyfriend both have pretty good reasons to not like me already. I’m going to guess they may not throw us a congratulatory party.”

“I know,” Sarah admitted, pressing her cheek to Zip’s chest. “I just didn’t want to think about that right now. Today was supposed to be special – it was supposed to be our day. You said so. I just didn’t want to think about anything like that just yet…”

Putting his arms around Sarah’s small frame and squeezing gently, Zip kissed the top of her head. “Today is special,” he assured her, his voice kind. “And last night was incredible. The truth is, I don’t see why we have to tell anyone just yet. Do you?”

Pulling back a little, Sarah looked up at Zip and gave him a small smile while shaking her head. “No, I don’t want to ruin it,” she told him. “We can tell them soon, but… just not yet. Let’s just enjoy having some time together first before the shit hits the fan.”

“Sounds good,” Zip took Sarah’s face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers for a short, sweet kiss. “We’ll just be careful and keep this to ourselves for now. That way, no one can ruin it.”

“I think I like that idea,” Sarah brought her mouth to Zip’s neck and kissed lightly.

Letting out a soft moan from the back of his throat as he felt Sarah scrape her teeth over the skin on his shoulder, Zip smiled to himself. “You know, since we are in here already, maybe we should take a shower…”

Looking up, Sarah’s eyes were already glazed over with desire. “I think I like that idea, too,” she told Zip as she felt his mouth descend upon hers for a deep and wanton kiss that was definitely going to lead to more.

-----

THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO REVIEW. PLEASE KEEP LETTING ME KNOW WHAT IS WORKING AND WHAT IS NOT. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

NOW A FEW REPLIES TO REVIEWERS:

AFICI0NADA – I KNEW PEOPLE WERE GOING TO EXPECT AN INTERRUPTION DURING SARAH AND ZIP’S FIRST TIME TOGETHER, WHICH IS WHY I DECIDED NOT TO HAVE ONE.

IOTC247 – THANKS FOR THE WITHDRAWAL. I ALWAYS APPRECIATE THE HONESTY YOU GIVE IN REVIEWS, THOUGH. I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT.

FOAMYFAN15010 – YOUR QUESTION ABOUT ‘HASSAN’ SHOULD HAVE BEEN ANSWERED IN THIS CHAPTER. AND NO, YOU DIDN’T OFFEND BY ASKING ABOUT IT BEFORE NOW. THAT WAS THE IDEA!

TEMPLETON21 – YOU MADE ME BLUSH (AGAIN). AND NO NEED TO THANK ME FOR STICKING UP FOR YOU. I DID IT BECAUSE I WANTED TO.

ROSIE – DO YOU STILL LIKE SARAH? BECAUSE I DEFINITELY HAVEN’T ELIMINATED ALL HER BRATTY QUALITIES.

ADAEE – I TOTALLY SEE WHERE YOU THOUGH ZIP AND SARAH MOVED TOO FAST. I KIND OF INTENDED THAT, AS I THINK THEY’RE BOTH SOMEWHAT SELFISH AND IMPULSIVE, AND THEY WILL SOON HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF THESE PERSONALITY TRAITS. BUT THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS AND FOR REVIEWING.

CARIAD – YOU’LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE HOW EDDIE REACTS…

THANKS ALSO TO CIEL, ROSEMARY, WILLOW DEAN, CD, SIDEBURNS, LKN, KELLY, MEGAN, ARAINAINA, MEMORY CHASE, TENSHISTAR, REDSNAKE, AND ANGEL FOR REVIEWING.