Even Angels Fall

‘This is such a bad idea,’ Zip repeated to himself silently for the hundredth time since he and Sarah left the club. Opening the door to his condo, he moved aside and motioned for her to go ahead. As she walked in front of him, his eyes involuntarily dropped to check out her ass, as he always did with females. ‘Oh, such a fucking bad idea,’ he thought again, entering and closing the door behind him.

“Wow,” Sarah said, looking around the condo with an impressed expression on her face. “This place is incredible.” Moving into the living room, she took in the décor. Almost everything in the room was gray, black and red. Even the paintings on the wall were made entirely of those three colors, and Sarah wondered whether Zip had bought them for that reason or if he had gotten them commissioned.

“Thanks,” Zip shrugged out of his light jacket and threw it over the arm of a nearby chair. “Take a seat. So, can I get you something to drink?” It annoyed Zip how uncomfortable he felt; he never allowed girls to make him feel that way. “I have beer or… water.”

“Water, please,” Sarah said, sitting down on the red couch. When Zip walked out of the room, she let out an audible sigh of relief. During the entirety of their 20-minute cab ride from the club, they had spoken a total of six sentences to each other. And from the looks of things since they had gotten to the condo, that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

“Because you’re an ass,” Sarah told herself with annoyance. “Eddie would kill you if he knew you were here, and Zip probably just invited you to be nice. He probably didn’t expect you to actually agree to come over.”

“Are you talking to yourself?” Zip asked with a smirk as he returned to the living room, a beer in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “Good thing you’re not drinking anymore tonight,” he added as he handed over the water.

“Funny. Wiseass,” Sarah’s natural sarcasm slipped out, and her cheeks heated. However, Zip chuckled, making her feel a bit more at ease. “I was just wondering if I should have come back here,” she told him honestly. “I mean, you could have just been being nice when you invited me.”

“I could have been,” Zip sat down on the couch, leaving a good bit of distance between him and Sarah, just so the temptation was lessened. “But I’m not the type who is generally nice for no reason. I invited you because you seemed shaken up, and I wanted to go anyway. You can only take so much ass-kissing in one night,” he told her, taking a swig of his beer. He didn’t add that he had also invited her because he had an overwhelming urge to see her naked that he prayed he never acted on.

“Well, okay then,” Sarah actually felt like she was relaxing a bit and leaned back into the couch. “However, from what I’ve seen of you, you don’t appear to be the type of person who would ever feel like there could be ‘too much’ ass-kissing for you. Or money. Or women willing to service you,” Sarah added, feeling a lot more like herself suddenly.

Nearly choking on his beer, Zip let out a laugh. So Sarah wasn’t as sweet and innocent as she seemed… Unfortunately, that somehow only added to his attraction. “Wow, I seem to have made quite the impression on you in the, what, hour we’ve known each other? Pretty judgmental of you, considering I was the one who saved you from that weather man tonight.”

“He was a news anchor, not a weather man,” Sarah smirked at Zip. “But I don’t really care what you call him. He was an asshole.”

From that point, the conversation began to flow. Zip and Sarah talked easily, laughing and teasing. “Holy shit,” Zip finally said, glancing at the clock on his cable box. “It’s almost four in the morning.”

“Wow,” Sarah was shocked by how much time had passed as well, although she was a little disappointed that it was time for her to leave. “Well, I guess I should go. Do you think I’ll be able to grab a cab in front of the building?” she asked as she rose from the couch.

Zip hadn’t enjoyed spending time with someone that much for months, and he really didn’t like the idea of Sarah leaving. “Um, it might be tough,” he lied, knowing full well that all he had to do was call down to the security desk in the lobby, and the concierge would hail a cab for Sarah. “You know, you’re welcome to crash here. I have an extra room,” he was quick to clarify.

Biting her lip, Sarah didn’t know what to say. On the one hand, she was having a great time; Zip had turned out to be one of the funniest, most sarcastic people she had ever come across. On the other hand… ‘Forget the other hand,’ Sarah said to herself. “That would be great,” she told Zip with a smile as he rose from the couch as well. “It’ll just be one more part of our little secret.”

Swallowing hard, Zip could just nod. At that moment, he wanted to add so much more to their ‘little secret’ than to just have Sarah stay in his guest room, but that was NOT an option. He was already in too deep as it was – Sin would kill him if she knew he had spent the evening with Sarah AND had invited her to stay the night, however platonically. “Let me show you where the room is,” he said, unsure what else to do that didn’t involve ripping off Sarah’s clothes and throwing her down on the couch.

Leading Sarah into the guest room, Zip pointed out where extra blankets and clean towels were. “Oh, hold on a second,” he said, turning down the hall and returning a minute later. “Here’s a t-shirt you can sleep in. I think it’s clean.”

Laughing, Sarah took the shirt. “Thanks,” she said, suddenly feeling nervous again. ‘Probably because you are standing alone in a room with a huge BED in the middle at four in the morning, looking at the hottest man you have ever laid your eyes on,’ Sarah told herself wryly. “Well, I guess I should change and get to bed.”

“Would it keep you up if I turn on the television in the living room?” Zip asked. “I’ll keep it on low. I don’t think I could sleep just yet,” he told her. He didn’t add the words ‘because of my erection,’ although he was thinking it.

Shaking her head, Sarah smiled at Zip. “Go ahead,” she told him. “It won’t bother me.”

“Okay,” Zip nodded his head. “Well… goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Sarah said, watching Zip close the door gently behind him. ‘And I expect to see you in about fifteen minutes,’ she thought to herself silently after he was gone. ‘Of course, you will be naked, and I will be dreaming. But I’m fairly sure THAT dream’s not going to get skipped tonight.”

-----

Even though she was tired, Sarah just couldn’t get to sleep. It wasn’t that the bed wasn’t comfortable; in fact, it was probably the most comfortable bed she had ever been in. No, the problem was more concentrated – concentrated in the form of the man she knew was sitting in the next room.

After half an hour of tossing and turning, Sarah finally gave up and got out of bed. Walking into the living room, she looked at Zip sprawled across the living room couch. ‘Damn,’ she thought to herself, catching her breath. Zip had taken off his shirt and belt, and was lying on his side in just his jeans hanging loosely from his slim hips, watching the television.

“Did the TV wake you?” Zip asked when he saw Sarah enter the room. Sitting up, he made room for her on the couch and tried not to pay attention to the fact that the t-shirt he had lent her only went to her mid-thigh – very tone, lightly tanned thighs. Then, when she sat down with him, it rode up just a little more.

“No,” Sarah told Zip, consciously trying not to stare at his chest. She had never seen anyone with that many tattoos, at least in real life, and she was surprised how attractive she found the body art. “It wasn’t the TV. I just couldn’t sleep. Do you mind if I sit here for a while?”

“Of course,” Zip reached over to the side of the couch and grabbed a throw, which he handed to Sarah, praying she would cover her legs before his natural instincts took over, and he reached over and touched them. To his relief – and disappointment – she did just that. “Is Star Trek okay? There’s not much on at four-thirty in the morning besides this and infomercials.”

“That’s fine,” Sarah let out a little yawn, suddenly feeling very tired. She couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t been able to sleep in the guest room but now felt ready to slumber for hours. As they both settled back into the couch to watch the show, Sarah silently offered Zip half the blanket, which he took with a smile.

Within minutes, Sarah had dozed off. Zip had been aware of the exact moment, as he had stealthily been stealing glances at her since she had come out of the room. When he heard her breathing finally evening out, he turned his head, no longer afraid of being caught looking at her.

‘What is it about her?’ Zip wondered, studying Sarah’s peaceful face carefully. ‘What is it about this girl that’s letting me risk life and limb at the hands of the scariest woman I’ve ever known – Sin – just to spend an evening talking with her?’

While being a pretty girl, Sarah wasn’t one of Zip’s usual types. In the past, he had gone for one of two girls – the busty, showy, easy ones and the gorgeous, tough, punk rock girls. Sarah was definitely neither of these. Up close, the freckles across the bridge of her small upturned nose were more prominent. Her lips were parted slightly, showing just how full they were, and Zip had an overwhelming urge to pull her lower lip between his teeth and lick it with his tongue…

‘Down boy,’ Zip smirked, looking into his lap. He glanced back up towards Sarah and smiled at the way her soft hair cascaded across her cheek. ‘She’s not my usual type,’ he told himself. ‘But for some reason, I think she’s beautiful.’ Being Zip, he couldn’t help himself one innocent peak below the blanket to quickly admire her slim form, long legs and pert breasts, outline perfectly by his thin t-shirt.

Putting the blanket back down, Zip looked at Sarah’s face again. ‘It’s not like I’ve ever dated a member of HER family,’ he started to justify to himself, reaching over to brush some hair from her face. ‘And she’s not THAT young. I mean, she’s twenty, and I’m twenty-six. I wouldn’t exactly be committing a crime.’

Watching Sarah as she exhaled softly, in a deep sleep now, Zip smiled a little. ‘Plus, she is really cool,’ he thought. ‘She was so funny tonight. What she was telling me about her ex-boyfriend…’

Suddenly, a jolt went through Zip as he recalled the story Sarah had told him about her body-building ex-boyfriend. He had been too intent on listening to her – and covertly studying her the way her big brown eyes lit up when she laughed – to have put two and two together at the time. ‘She’s a virgin,’ Zip realized suddenly. ‘Oh shit.’

This realization was a little too much for Zip, and he had the sudden urge to not be as near her as he was. Unfortunately, as soon as he started to shift to get up, Sarah stirred slightly, moving over a bit and resting her head on his chest.

Looking down at Sarah’s sleeping form, Zip was surprised that the rapid beating of his heart wasn’t loud enough to wake Sarah. ‘Oh, this is such a bad idea…’ he said to himself, as he had so many times earlier that evening. ‘This is such a fucking BAD idea.’

-----

Sarah awoke slowly, feeling like she had just had an incredibly restful sleep, although she was aware that her body was bent in a slightly odd way. Opening her eyes, she had to hold back a yelp when she saw Zip’s face just inches from hers.

Afraid to move, Sarah noticed exactly how she was positioned. Zip had one arm loosely around her waist; Sarah’s head was resting on his shoulder; and she had one leg draped over his. In her whole life, Sarah had never woken up as intimately entwined with someone.

‘His face is perfect,’ Sarah marveled, finally taking advantage of the close proximity she had to Zip. Sleeping, he had none of the cocky or abrasive expressions that usually adorned his face. He looked so sweet, and so beautiful. Her eyes glancing down, she took in the tattoo on the side of his neck, partly hindered by the ends of his hair, and then all the ornate tattoos across his shoulders and chest. It took all Sarah’s power not to reach out and stroke her hand across his tight, toned chest.

At that moment, Zip began to stir, and Sarah panicked. Should she pull back? Should she close her eyes and pretend to be asleep? Before she got a chance to make a decision, Zip blinked his eyes open and looked at her.

“Morning,” Sarah said shyly, pulling back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“Me either,” Zip suddenly felt very awake – and very aware that if Sarah moved her leg up a couple more inches against his, she was likely to get quite a shock. “It’s fine. We must have just both fallen asleep here.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, though. Zip had been awake for at least an hour, just watching Sarah sleep, after she had shifted her weight onto his chest.

Finally sitting up, Sarah self-consciously pulled the t-shirt down to her knees. “Well, thanks, Zip,” she said softly, staring at the floor. “For letting me stay here last night. I guess I know now that I really shouldn’t go out clubbing without bringing someone along with me.”

“It was no problem,” Zip told Sarah, giving her a small smile. “I guess I could have had worse company. Like a monkey with a bladder control problem.”

Her mouth opening in shock, Sarah quickly reached over and grabbed a pillow, smacking Zip with it. “You’re a dick,” she laughed.

Without thinking, Zip grabbed the pillow from Sarah and threw it to the floor. He then began tickling her, loving the way she squirmed and shrieked. He stopped suddenly, though, when he realized that they had shifted positions, and he was now lying on top of Sarah, his mouth inches from hers. “This can’t happen,” he said immediately.

Feeling her face heating, Sarah had no idea how to respond. She hadn’t expected to find herself in this position, either, but for a moment, she had thought it was nice. “Of course not,” she tried to claim an ounce of self-respect back, putting her hands on Zip’s chest and pushing him back.

Sitting up, Zip wouldn’t look at Sarah sitting beside him. “I’m sorry I said it like that,” Zip said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. “I mean, I had a lot of fun with you last night. I think you’re a great girl. It’s just… you’re Eddie’s little sister. And I’m not exactly Eddie’s favorite person to begin with.”

“You’re pretty full of yourself, you know,” Sarah stood up, praying the tears she felt building up in her eyes weren’t obvious to Zip. “I know that you’re used to girls just throwing themselves at you, but not every girl feels that way. Some might actually just enjoy hanging out with you, talking and joking and watching TV.”

Standing up beside Sarah, Zip knew he had insulted her. “I know not every girl sees me and has to have me. Just most,” he tried to joke, but Sarah was obviously too upset to find his conceit funny at the moment. “Sarah, I’m being honest with you, which is something I don’t do a lot. I like you, but you ARE Eddie’s little sister.”

“I’m not so fucking little,” Sarah said angrily, no longer caring that the hot tears that had welled in her eyes had started to spill over her cheeks. “I wish people would stop looking at me as so fucking young and innocent, and defining me at Eddie’s fucking LITTLE SISTER.”

Zip was shocked to see Sarah so upset, and he wanted nothing more than to calm her. Without thinking, he reached over and pulled her into his arms. Sarah struggled for a few seconds, but quickly stopped fighting and let Zip hold her close to his chest. “I’m sorry people define you by Eddie,” he whispered into her mussed hair, taking in the citrus scent of her shampoo. He pulled back a little, to look into her eyes. “And you’re right – you’re not little. But you are young, and you are innocent. And those aren’t necessarily bad things.”

Biting her bottom lip, Sarah reached up and wiped some tears from her cheek. “I just don’t get why you and I can’t be friends.”

Shaking his head, Zip touched Sarah’s other cheek to wipe away the rest of her tears. “With the history Sin and I have,” he began, but immediately felt her tense up at his words. “With the history we have, I think it would be better if Sin and Eddie, and the rest of them, didn’t know that we’re friends.”

Looking up into his black eyes, Sarah couldn’t help but feel the corners of her mouth turn up. “So, you’d want to hang out again?” she asked softly. “As long as no one else knows about it?”

Studying her warm eyes, Zip nodded. “I do,” he said, knowing that building more secrets was probably a terrible idea, but not really caring if it meant he got to spend more time with Sarah. “I like you. I just don’t want to cause any undue complications – in my life or yours.”

Nodding, Sarah felt much better. “Well, don’t get on too high a pedestal,” she teased. “I just want to hang with you because I don’t have a lot of friends in New York yet. And you have a bigger TV than me.”

Laughing, Zip felt relieved that Sarah had calmed down enough to kid him. “Listen, I have to be at Joseph’s in a couple hours to help him build a crib or some shit like that. But would you want to come by later, like around eight? We could order in dinner and watch ‘Desperate Housewives’.”

Remembering Zip going off the night before about his secret obsession with the cheesy nighttime soap, Sarah giggled. “That sounds like fun,” she agreed. “But you’re paying for dinner, if I’m hauling my ass all the way over here to watch your tacky TV addiction.”

“You are definitely Bree, the controlling housewife,” Zip told Sarah with a smirk.

“And who are you?” Sarah challenged. “Which housewife’s husband or boyfriend are you?”

“None,” Zip told her as they finally separated. “I’m the teenage gardener that got it on with the hot former model. Duh.”

With a chuckle, Sarah could just shake her head. This was about to get complicated, but she didn’t care. She had enjoyed spending the evening before with Zip so much, she was willing to do just about anything to continue spending more time with him and getting to know him better.

-----

“You seem happy today,” Joseph told Zip later that afternoon as they sat in the living room with Tavian, pieces of what they believed was supposed to be a crib scattered all around them. “Did you get some last night?”

“No,” Zip replied honestly with a smirk. “What the hell is this for?” he quickly tried to change the subject, holding up a Z-shaped wooden piece that didn’t seem to fit in with any other part of the crib.

Looking at the directions in his hand, Tavian shook his head. “I don’t see it on here,” he told Zip. “But as far as I can tell, it may be the secret missing piece to discover who actually killed Kennedy.”

Chuckling at Tavian, Joseph looked suspiciously at Zip. “Well, if you didn’t fulfill the sad fantasies of some groupie for ten minutes last night,” he asked Zip. “Why do you look so happy?”

‘Because I get to see Sarah again in four hours,’ Zip thought silently to himself. “Because I’m pretty sure that once we get all this shit together, you’re going to find out this isn’t a crib. It’s actually a sexual torture device that Lianna got to punish you once she’s gone through the pain of childbirth.”

Tavian laughed at this, but Joseph still looked doubtful. He didn’t push, though, which Zip appreciated. It was one thing he had learned to love about Joseph since he first met him. If Zip had something he wanted to keep to himself, Joseph generally respected his privacy.

‘However, if Sin or Eddie find out that I’m hanging out with Sarah,’ Zip thought to himself. ‘I am going to be the one who is going to be fitted for a sexual torture device.’ With that thought, he shuddered and went back to trying to figure out where the hell the Z-shaped piece fit, but one thought kept going nervously through his mind…

‘Maybe this is a bad idea…’

-----

THIS IS DEFINITELY THE SCARIEST STORY I HAVE EMBARKED ON, SINCE SO MANY READERS SEEM TO HAVE NEGATIVE VIEWS OF THE BASIC PLOT AND MAIN CHARACTERS. I HOPE I DON’T DISAPPOINT THIS TIME AROUND. BUT PLEASE KEEP BEING HONEST IN LETTING ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, AS IT REMINDS ME WHAT I NEED TO DO AS A WRITER TO CONVEY WHAT I WANT TO TO THE AUDIENCE. NOW A FEW COMMENTS TO REVIEWERS:

TEMPLETON21 – THE LYRICS OF THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS SONG WAS PART OF THE REASON I TITLED THE LAST CHAPTER AS I DID, BUT SARAH MCLACHLAN ALSO HAD A SONG WITH THE SAME TITLE, BUT THE MEANING OF THE WORDS WAS ALMOST EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE! I LIKED THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE TWO.

LEYLIA – I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT HOW ZIP WOULD REACT IF HE WAS OUT OF HIS ELEMENT. INTERESTING…

CARIAD – I AGREE THAT IT’S HARD TO TELL WHO IS IN TROUBLE RIGHT NOW, ZIP OR SARAH!

PIKACHEESE – DON’T PUT ON THE PRESSURE OR ANYTHING!

SAMMO_00 – SARAH’S BOTH NAÏVE AND A STUBBORN BRAT AT TIMES. I WONDER WHO WILL END UP GETTING HURT BY THIS DANGEROUS COMBINATION OF HERS…

AFICI0NADA – AND UNEXPECTED HAPPENINGS YOU WILL GET…

FOAMYFAN15010 – THE DISCUSSION OF ZIP’S REAL NAME COMES IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, FYI.

MISSHOLLIEMAE – THANKS FOR THE LONG REVIEW! AND I AGREE THAT LOVE DOESN’T CHANGE PEOPLE’S BEHAVIOR, BUT THE WAY IT CHANGES HOW YOU SEE THINGS IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THEN YOU HAVE TO START MAKING A CONSCIOUS EFFORT ON YOUR OWN.

GIRLFIXER – YOU SEEM TO BE ONE OF JUST A FEW, ACTUALLY. IT’S A LITTLE SCARY FOR ME AS THE WRITER, TO BE HONEST!

ADAEE – I APPRECIATE THE CONTINUED SUPPORT, EVEN IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE PREMISE. I HOPE I CAN CHANGE YOUR MIND, THOUGH!

THANKS ALSO TO IOTC247, WOLF, MEGAN, ANGEL, ROSIE, ARAINAINA, AND CECILLE FOR REVIEWING.