Chapter Ten
Zayn spent the next forty five minutes arranging his surprise. When he returned to the gate, Madison was stretched across four chairs with her head rested on his duffel bag like a pillow. Her hands were clasped, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes were closed. Her shoes sat on the ground beneath the seats and she had a jacket slung over the top fraction of her legs like a blanket. Careful not to cause a stir, he set the plastic bag in his hands down and sat at the end of her feet, placing them on his lap. His finger found the middle of her foot and applied pressure and rubbed a small circle.
She didn't open her eyes but a wide smile spread from one side of her face to the other.
"Nice?" he asked.
"It's a foot massage," Maddy answered. "I sense a conversation about the merits of liking it is moot but since you're asking, not nice, amazing."
When she put it that way, he could hardly just cease so he continued, enjoying the smile on her face that grew by the minute. One of her eyelids flipped open and she smirked. "No one is ever going to believe this happened to me," she said.
"What happened to you?"
Her eyes widened and she sat her body upright. "You happened to me."
"You happened to me too," he reminded her. "If you hadn't, it might have been a long and miserable wait."
He stopped rubbing her foot and rose, offering her an outstretched hand. "Come on," he said. "Better things await you."
"Something better than a massage?"
"Mmmhmm," Zayn nodded. "I think so."
"Doubtful," Madison said. "The only thing better than a massage is you and um, you're right here."
After making some adjustments to his carry on and paying for a locker to stow hers, he once again wrapped his whole hand around hers and tried not to marvel at how the shape of it fit into his like a puzzle piece. As they walked he leaned over, and spoke as softly as he could. "I think you're crazy beautiful and you are everything I'm looking for."
Madison stopped walking and spun almost violently to face him. "What?"
"Twelve words a whispered," he said. He lowered his voice again but as he spoke the words this time, he held out fingers in sequence as though he was counting. "I think you're crazy beautiful and you are everything I'm looking for."
Realization dawned on her face and she beamed, throwing her arms around his neck. "You're giving me twelve hours of Christmas Eve! Oh Zayn! Thank you."
He hugged her back. "Figured we're stuck here," he said. "May as well make the best of it."
Her face brightened again. "Do you have chocolate squares?"
He nodded, taking a solid chocolate bar from his bag; the kind filled with air bubbles. Unwrapping it, he broke off a single square and popped it into this mouth. "There's twelve squares total," he said. "That leaves one for me."
"Or I could eat one and you could eat eleven," Maddy offered. "Probably a better idea because I'm guessing chocolates don't stick to your thighs."
"I saw tape while I was shopping," Zayn said. "I could make it happen.
He ushered her to an empty row of chairs. "Sit. Eat and that'll give me time to think of ten compliments."
She sat and began breaking the candy bar into individual squares.
