#zach is subby and you can’t convince me otherwise! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

nadvs · 7 months ago

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imperfect strangers (one-shot)

pairing zach maclaren x female reader

rating mature 18+

summary after a painful break-up, you and zach go no contact, agreeing it’s best to cut yourselves out of each other’s lives. when he cracks and texts you a month later that he’ll be at your college for a game, you lie to yourself that seeing him can’t be that bad of an idea.

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Zach has been dreading tomorrow’s game. And it’s only because it’s at your college.

He keeps going back and forth on if he should break the promise he made to you and himself that he wouldn’t contact you.

He blames the fatigue from a strenuous practice. It’s what muddles his mind and makes him give in.

You two agreed that cutting all ties was best. But he’s just reaching out to an old friend that he might run into. That’s what he tells himself.

You’re sitting in a lecture when Zach’s name flashes on your phone. Your heart leaps at the notification and you hate that it does that.

You were supposed to delete his number, but it felt wrong. He wasn’t just your boyfriend. He was your best friend.

Removing him from your life wrecked you, so little things like keeping his contact information and the promise ring he gave you the day of your high school graduation feel like acts of rebellion against the hardest decision you’ve ever made.

Zach: Hey. How are you? I’m playing at your school tomorrow. Just wondering if you’ll be watching :)

You reread his text a few times. You know he has a game here tomorrow. You’ve been following his soccer season even though you know you shouldn’t.

On the screen, you see the last messages you exchanged, a little over a month ago.

Zach: Wish you nothing but the best. You deserve it.

You replied: you, too.

The night of your break-up was agony. Your video call lasted three hours.

Zach’s eyes were glossy, matching yours. His dark honey hair was tousled and sticking in every direction after he raked his hand through it over and over in frustration.

Your dorm rooms slowly got darker as night fell, neither of you bothering to turn on a light. It was a cruel reminder that you’re not even a timezone apart. Your schools have only four hours between them and you couldn’t manage to make a one-year relationship work over the distance.

Hurtful words were exchanged. You accused him of neglecting your relationship. He told you his extra efforts in school and soccer didn’t mean you weren’t a priority. He said you were giving up on him. You retaliated that you were working harder to stay together than he was.

Somehow, things still ended civilly. You agreed that the distance was too much of a big, ugly, unavoidable wedge driving you apart.

You’re convinced that ending on good terms hurts more than ending on bad terms. It would be easier to hate him.

Your fingers hover over your screen, wondering what you should say. If you should say anything. You realize this means he didn’t delete your number, either. Maybe he’s been holding onto hope, too.

You decide to reply, trying to act casual and in good spirits.

You: I’ll try to make it! Just don’t be mad that I’m cheering for the home team :)

He’s grateful you texted back. He misses you so much that it hurts.

Getting better has been a slow climb for Zach. You two lasted a couple of months of long distance before calls slowly shortened and texts became infrequent. It was too hard juggling everything.

Now, he’s putting his all into school and soccer. It’s all he has left.

When dark clouds roll in on the day of the game, you think about how Zach never liked the rain and you hate that you’re doomed to remember these insignificant things about someone you’re not supposed to be in love with anymore.

You decide not to go to the game. It’ll be too hard watching him play like you used to.

But eventually, you lie to yourself that it’ll be fine and your feet are dragging you to the stadium on campus, your umbrella blocking the raindrops. You join the roaring crowd, sitting in the bleachers.

You always sat behind the opponents’ net. At every one of his matches. Zach is a striker and whenever he’d score a goal, he’d be right in your eyeline.

He would find you in the crowd when he scored, beaming at you before his team swallowed him in a group hug.

But that’s where you sat when Zach was your boyfriend. And he’s not anymore. So you find an empty seat on the side, close to the middle of the field.

You spot him immediately. He’s running down the field, his cheeks flushed.

The same boy who nervously asked you out the second day of senior year. The same boy you gave your first kiss to. The same boy who called you the moment he found out he was granted a full-ride scholarship. Now slowly becoming a stranger.

This is too hard. You need to leave.

But then you watch Zach gain possession of the ball and he’s running fast and suddenly, he collides with a player on the opposing team, sliding in one of the mud puddles scattered across the field.

The crowd erupts in a mournful whine, reacting to what was surely a painful impact.

You’re on your feet, rigid, heart racing as you watch him in the distance. He’s not getting up. Why isn’t he getting up?

You wedge your way out of the aisle and rush to the bottom of the bleachers, hands gripping the cold, wet barricade at the same level as the field.

A medic runs out onto the pitch but when he reaches Zach, he’s slowly standing up on his own. But then he leans over, hands on his knees, shaking his head.

The medic beckons Zach to put an arm around his shoulders and leads him off the field while the referee holds up a yellow card against the other player.

Zach’s hamstring is throbbing in pain as he limps through the wet grass, his cleats heavy, but when he sees you standing at the front of the stands, everything feels better.

He thought you wouldn’t attend. His lips quirk up in a smile. Your stomach twists.

Zach’s coach is trying to get his attention once he reaches the sideline, but he mumbles something to him and disconnects from the medic and closes the distance between you two, his steps short and quick.

“You came,” he says, blue eyes travelling over your face. It’s only been a month but he swears, it feels like it’s been years since he’s seen you.

The bright stadium lights are emphasizing every plane and feature of his handsome face. His hair is soaked and plastered to his skin, his uniform muddy.

“You okay?” you ask over the loud chattering crowd surrounding you.

No. He’s far from okay.

“Survived worse,” he says with that smirk that is so typically Zach.

“MacLaren!” his coach calls.

“I’ll find you later?” he asks. Your eyebrows lower in confusion. You know he typically goes straight back to his school after a game with his team. But you just meekly nod.

The game ends in a tie. Zach texts you that he’ll meet you outside in front and takes a rushed, hot shower in the locker room.

You’re standing under a streetlamp outside of the stadium, spectators pooling out of wide doors. The rain is simply spitting now, your umbrella closed in your hand.

When you watch Zach pace towards you, all cleaned up after a shower, a big duffel bag over his shoulder, you’re so happy you came. Even though it hurts, it also feels so good to see him.

“You’re walking totally fine,” you say when he approaches you. “Did you fake it?”

He loves how you make a joke right away because that’s what you would do when you were together and it’s nice to feel like you are.

Zach laughs and pulls you in for a hug and you hate how the smell of his shampoo makes an uncomfortable nostalgia rush through you.

But this is who Zach is. He’s always been warm and affectionate and cheerful.

He notices how tense you are in his arms and pulls back quickly. Maybe giving into the impulse to hold you was a bad idea.

“A yellow was ridiculous, right?” he asks. “That deserved a red.”

You gaze up at him now that he’s so close to you and try not to get enamored.

“How bad is it?” you say, glancing down at his leg. The concern in your eyes makes his whole body feel like it’s been wrung out.

“Just a sprain,” he says. “Didn’t pull anything.”

“Good,” you say, nodding. “How long are you out for?”

This feels like a conversation you’d have when you were together. Next, you’d ask if he needs a massage and that would always lead to making love, but that’s not happening this time.

“Next game isn’t until Wednesday, so I might be fine,” Zach answers. You know all about his team’s schedule, even their standings, but you don’t tell him.

A tense silence settles between you now that the small talk has been used up.

“So, this is no contact?” you ask.

Now that the break-up has been acknowledged out loud, Zach is disappointed. He liked having his head in the clouds and pretending like you’re still his.

“You texted back,” he teases, his eyes glinting in their usual playful way.

“Back,” you emphasize, pointing to him, finally cracking a smile. “You started it.”

“We can be friends, right?” Zach says. “It’s weird not talking to you.”

Being friends hurts. You both agreed to that. But he’s here already and things feel so good with him, so you ignore your instincts.

“Sure,” you simply say. Your short response throws him off.

“Nice campus,” he says.

“Yeah,” you agree. “I was gonna give you a tour when...” When he visited as your boyfriend. You never made it that far.

It was unlike Zach, the way he started to flake on promises to visit or call. You gave him grace, but you eventually reached your limit.

“You can give me a tour now,” he says, pushing the conversation into easier territory. He always had a knack for that.

“You sure you can walk?” you ask. He misses that tone of voice of yours. When you’re worried about him.

“Come on,” he says with an exaggerated scoff. “You’re acting like I’m some kind of baby.”

In reality, he always loved being babied by you.

“When are you guys heading back?” you ask. You already noticed the massive branded bus you assume he arrived on parked in the stadium lot.

“I drove up by myself, actually,” he tells you. “I’m gonna go see my family later.”

Your college is only half an hour away from your shared hometown. You nod and turn, silently beckoning him to walk with you.

“How are they?” you ask.

Zach shrugs, looking down. He’s always been close to his family and they always loved you, so telling them you broke up was almost as hard as the break-up itself.

“Mad at me,” he admits. “I told them it was mutual, but…”

“Yeah, your mom texted me,” you say.

“She did? What’d she say?” He sounds surprised.

“I probably shouldn’t tell you if she didn’t tell you herself.”

His mom’s message went into just how perfectly you fit into their lives, how upsetting it is that Zach let you go, how happy you make her son. You didn’t have the heart to tell her you don’t make him happy anymore.

You remember so clearly how she ended the message. I hope this is just a temporary bump in the road.

“Come on, tell me,” he urges with a joking tone.

“Zach,” you say quietly. “I’m sorry - I, um - we shouldn’t get into this, right?”

His smile fades. With a deep breath, he nods and looks at the ground again.

“Right,” he says.

Like always, Zach gently complies. You naturally took on a more dominant role in your relationship, leading while he happily followed, even during intimacy. It’s what you bring out in each other and falling back into your roles feels effortless.

“How much time do you have?” you ask, checking your phone to see that it’s merely minutes past six.

“Couple of hours,” he tells you. “You hungry?”

You know if you tell him you’re not, he’ll feel bad dragging you to a restaurant.

“There’s a place I think you’d like,” you say.

You’re soon sitting across from each other at an on-campus eatery, talking to each other like friends, covering safe topics like classes and dorm life.

It’s not exactly easy, but you were together for so long that holding a conversation with Zach is second nature.

“Aren’t you going to eat that?” he finally asks, pointing to your plastic-wrapped sandwich. He’s almost done with his food, while you haven’t taken a bite.

“Later. I’m not hungry.”

“What?” Zach watches you from his side of the table, heart thrumming at the adorable way you shrug.

“You wouldn’t have gotten food if you knew I wasn’t going to eat.”

“Oh, my God,” he laughs.

“You know I’m right.”

“You didn’t have to do that, babe.”

You both awkwardly straighten in your seats, bodies firming as far apart as possible. Your knees pull together. He rubs the back of his neck.

“Sorry.” Zach’s voice is low, eyes focused on the table. The term of endearment he used to always use for you just slipped out.

You feel stupid for thinking this would be okay. It’s way too hard to pretend like you don’t love him. You collect your bag and umbrella off the table.

“I should go. It was good to see you,” you mumble.

“You’re leaving?” Zach asks, a slight whine to his tone.

“This was a bad idea,” you say, avoiding eye contact, words quiet and rushed. “You should go see your family.”

You rush out of the building into the dark evening, the cold air pressing against your skin, hot tears welling in your eyes.

Zach’s leg is aching as he jogs behind you, but he’d do anything for you just talk to him, at least look at him one more time.

“Wait,” you hear. “Please.” The desperation in his voice is what gets you to slow down, letting him close the rest of the distance.

You’re standing on a pathway between a building and a courtyard, chewing on your lip, grateful nobody else seems to be around.

When Zach catches up to you, his chin dips as he studies your face, raising his hands inches away from your cheeks just to promptly lower them.

Your eyes are just as wet as they were the night you broke up.

“What?” you mutter.

“I’m sorry I called you that,” he says, breaths shallow. “Old habit.”

“We said no contact,” you tell him. You swallow hard. “We should have stuck to it.”

“Are you mad at me for texting you?” His stare is deep and so painfully sorry.

You’ve been on the receiving end of this look so many times. He was always on the sensitive side, needing reassurance that you weren’t upset with him.

Despite everything, you’re not mad. Your heart is broken, but you’re not mad.

“No,“ you say, “But we can’t be friends, okay? After what we… I just can’t.”

“So, nothing?” he says. “We’re just nothing now?”

“It’s what we agreed on,” you respond resolutely. “Just because this is easy for you doesn’t mean it is for me.”

“You think this is easy for me?” Zach puts a hand over his heart. You scoff at this, looking down, gently wiping under your bottom lashes. “It’s not.”

He puts his hands on his hips, grimacing.

“Why’d we break up?” he asks, voice thin.

“Zach,” you breathe. Just like that, the wound you’ve been working on patching up splits open again.

“I love you,” he says, hot tears building in the corners of his eyes.

“You can’t do this,” you say. The fact that you don’t say you love him back breaks him. “Do you not remember how bad it was?”

“We made each other so happy,” he retaliates.

“We weren’t even a couple by the end,” you say. “You got too busy for me, remember?”

“Don’t,” Zach mumbles. “I wasn’t too busy for you. You stopped trying.”

“We’ll just talk in circles,” you sigh, frustration bubbling inside you. You had this talk so many times. “I don’t have another three-hour conversation in me.”

He still has bad dreams about that night.

“See?” he says with a frustrated shrug. “You gave up.”

“You used to act lucky that you had me,” you say, your temper flaring. “Then I became a chore. Would you fight for me if I made you feel like a chore?”

“I’d fight for you no matter what,” he says.

“You’re not listening to me.” At this point, he’s being selfish by talking this to death. It’ll end the same way.

“As soon as it got hard, you left,” he says.

“As soon as it got hard? I tried for two months, Zach. You were so busy and got so distant and-”

“That didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about you,” he counters. “There’s so much pressure on me with soccer and my scholarship.”

“I know and I tried to be there for you but I only added to that pressure,” you say. “Keeping up a relationship was too much work.”

“No, babe, I-” He winces. “Sorry. Just… Don’t you remember how good we used to be? How the summer was?”

You try not to think about it. The summer before college was perfect. You spent all your time together. You gave each other your virginities. You were sure you’d be together forever.

“I remember saying we’d find time for each other no matter what,” you mutter.

Guilt floods him.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Zach says.

“I know you are.”

He apologized so many times and nothing changed. He said he’d drive up to visit you. He never did. He told you he’d call you. Then he bailed more than half the time. That wasn’t the man you knew. You could feel him falling out of love with you.

“I thought we could get through the hard times,” he says. There’s that unrealistic idealism of his. You shake your head.

“My best wasn’t enough for us, Zach,” you say.

“Yeah, neither was mine, apparently.”

You nod, throat aching from your tears.

“Go see your family. They miss you. And don’t tell them we saw each other,” you suggest. “It’ll just give them false hope.”

Zach both loves and hates that the last thing you say before you walk away is something protective and considerate about his family. But your kindness is one of the many things he fell in love with you for, so it’s no surprise.

An hour later, you’re curled up on your bed, watching a comfort show with the lights off when you hear a knock on your door.

Zach’s heart is pounding in his ears. He still has your address from when he sent you flowers as a sorry for flaking on a video call you two had planned back when you were still together.

All he did since you left him standing by the courtyard is sit in his car and think and cry. He feels like an idiot for ever making you feel like a chore.

When you pause your show, turn on the lights and swing open the door, your body goes cold. His eyes are red and puffy from crying.

“Did you stop loving me?” he asks. “I need to know.”

You take his hand and pull him into your room so that your neighbors don’t hear your private heartbreak.

The door shuts behind you and you stand across from him, trying to let go of his hand, but he doesn’t let you, his cool palm pressed against your fingers.

“Did you?” Zach urges.

You glare up at him, cheeks burning from how many tears you wiped away.

“No,” you admit.

“Then why aren’t we together?” he pleads. “You just have to remember why you love me.”

You let him continue to hold your hand. The contact feels so good.

“I never forgot,” you say.

“Then tell me,” he urges. “Tell me why.”

“I…” You look down.

“You want me to go first?” he says. “I love you because you bring out the best in me. I love how when we joke around, we annoy the people around us and you never care.”

You huff a chuckle. Too many times to count, you’d send each other into a fit of laughter, leaving your friends or families confused over what was so funny.

“You went to every single one of my home games in high school,” he continues, “even though I know you hated it.”

“I liked it,” you counter. He smirks. You always had such a big heart.

“Try for me. Please,” he says. “We’ll make it this time.”

You’re silent and it scares him. You could be seconds away from telling him to leave.

“This is why I love you,” you say. “You’re so optimistic that it’s irritating.”

Zach laughs, still holding onto your hand.

“What else?” he asks lowly.

“You’re funny and sweet and…” you say through tears. “When you care about someone, you care so hard. That’s why…”

You loosen your hand out of his grip. His heart feels like it’s been wrung out.

“That’s why it hurt so much when you didn’t make time for us. It felt like you stopped caring. Like you stopped loving me and you didn’t know how to tell me.”

“I never stopped loving you, babe, I swear,” he says. “I just didn’t know how to deal with everything.”

Zach didn’t anticipate how hard keeping up with classes and practices and games would be, especially with the weight of his scholarship looming over him. He failed making you a priority. He knows that.

“It was hard and it only got harder when we broke up,” he says a little quieter.

You frown and Zach cups your face with his hands. His thumbs slowly rub over your cheeks as his gaze penetrates you.

“I’m not saying that to make you feel bad,” he says, words rushed. “I just want you to know you were never a chore. You were the best thing in my life. I messed up.”

The way your lashes flutter as you blink away tears makes what’s left of his heart crumble.

“What’ll it take?” he asks. “I’ll drive up here every weekend. We’ll talk on the phone every night. I’ll text you all day and I promise I won’t flake.”

“That’s crazy,” you say with a soft laugh.

Although he’s the more passive of you two, he’s determined that he’ll make it with you. He can’t picture a world where you’re not his and he’s not yours.

“I’ll do it.” You meet Zach’s eyes and you can tell that he wholly, sincerely means it.

“That’s not what I need,” you tell him with a small smile. The love in your gaze is exactly why you always felt like home to him. “I just need the you who kept promises and made time for me. When we were together, you were present. Like this.”

“Anything you need,” he says eagerly, head bobbing with quick nods, making you giggle. “Can I kiss you? Please?”

You revel in how his long thumbs drag over your skin, gazing at you through desperate eyes. Being so close to him causes a gentle heat to trickle through your body.

“You can do more than that,” you reply. He smiles and exhales sharply in excitement, leaning down to kiss you passionately.

Zach’s stomach tightens the second he feels the softness of your lips and the taste of your tongue. He slowly dips to kiss your neck, breathing in the sweet scent of you that he has smelled so many times.

His hands trail down your waist and over the curve of your hips, pulling you as close to him as possible, gripping just tight enough not to hurt you.

You always loved this about him. He makes you feel so cherished.

Your hands are in Zach’s hair as his hot mouth smacks on your skin. His body curves against yours perfectly, a piece completing the puzzle you missed being a part of for so long.

You can feel him growing hard against you and you lower a hand to rub him over his jeans, making him groan against your neck.

“Already?” you tease in a whisper. He chuckles, missing your touch and your voice and how hot it is when you taunt him.

“Fuck, I missed you,” Zach groans. You smile. He hardly ever swears, usually reserving it just for moments like these.

His fingers dip below the hem of your shirt, his skin warm against yours. He feels you nod, granting him permission.

As soon as he pulls your top off of you, he groans in delight when he sees that you’re braless. As he leans down to kiss you again, you push his jacket down his shoulders. He promptly and impatiently tugs it off, followed by his shirt, earning a laugh from you for his enthusiasm.

You gently push him backwards, straggling to your bed together. Zach lies down, desperately reaching for you as he watches you lean down over him.

You straddle him, kissing him deeply, his arms wrapping around you tightly as your bare chests press together.

His love for you consumes him, driving him to pull back and kiss you all over, puckering his lips over your cheeks and your nose and your forehead.

“Babe,” you laugh.

“I’m so sorry I made you so sad,” Zach says between kisses. “I’m so sorry I let you walk away.”

“I’m sorry, too,” you say as he continues to pepper soft kisses over your skin. “We’re never fighting again, okay?”

“Never.” You always say this after a fight. It never sticks, but you both love pretending it will.

You thought you were destined to experience these shared quirks through memories only. But now Zach’s here in your dorm room, panting beneath you, holding you like he might die if you pull away.

You feel him buck his hips forward, his hands squeezing your waist. You press your forehead against his, biting your lip.

“You want me, hmm?” you purr, the power you have over him filling you with excitement.

“I need you,” he whines. His breath is warm against your cheek. “So bad.”

“What do you want to do?” you ask, rolling your hips. The sensation of you grinding on him is so perfect. He couldn’t ever feel another girl like this and he wouldn’t want to.

“I wanna taste you,” Zach says. “I wanna make you feel good.”

“Take my pants off.” You shift to kiss him, smiling against his lips as he pushes your bottoms and panties down with eager hands.

You kick off your clothes and shuffle to hover over his face, your naked core inches away from his mouth.

Zach’s hands hook around your thighs, beckoning you to lower your hips, hungry for you. You inhale sharply once you feel his hot tongue press against your folds.

He knows you well, knows where to lick and suck to earn moans from you. You look down at him, his eyes closed as he laps at you, fingers dug into your flesh.

“That’s so good,” you say. “You’re so good with your mouth.” The praise makes him suck even harder. You tremble as you slowly roll your hips on his face.

“I love how you taste,” Zach says, muffled. “I can’t live without you.”

You throw your head back, pleasure flooding your body at the sensations and his words. You put a hand in his hair, lightly tugging as he works his mouth with slow, hard movements.

You start to breathe harder, tension coiling in your stomach.

“Can we…” he asks. He’s starving to feel you from the inside. You look down to meet his striking, needy eyes. You know exactly what he wants.

“You wanna be inside me?”

“Please, yes, yes.”

“You’re so cute when you’re desperate,” you coo. He nearly rolls his eyes from the pleasure of hearing you talk like this again.

You put him out of his misery when you pull his pants and briefs off of him. You sit on your knees above him, taking his length in your hand and earning a groan from him.

“Where’d you hurt your leg today?” you ask, stroking him up and down. “Want me to massage it?”

“I just want you to ride me, babe, please,” Zach shudders.

“Don’t you want me to take care of you?” Your eyes are locked on his as you caress him, rolling your wrist.

“You are,” he says, whimpering at this point. “Please let me feel you. I miss you.”

Your body remembers Zach’s perfectly. As you sink onto him, sitting up, every muscle in your body loosens. He dips his head back, lips parting, jaw sharp.

“Shit,” he groans as you squeeze him in your soft heat. “You’re perfect.” His hands run over your thighs, your hips, your waist. He pulls you down so he can kiss you again.

“So big,” you whisper, noses nudging together as you rock slowly.

“I’m always going to be yours,” he says, his voice gently shaking. “Even if you don’t want me.”

“Zach,” you whisper, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes. He’s crying again. “I’ll always want you.”

You drag a thumb under his eye, cleaning away a warm tear. He nods, looking at you with a sorrowful gaze.

“Do you promise?” he asks.

“I promise,” you say. “My sweet boy.” He trembles at your words. You kiss him again, your pace starting to quicken, the pressure of him inside you so nice.

Zach swallows hard, forcing himself to believe you. Breaking up shattered him. He can’t go through it again.

“Hey,” he says against your lips.

“Hmm?”

“I’m gonna marry you one day.” You’ve loosely talked about the future before, but he has never said these words to you out loud. Your heart numbs.

“Do you promise?” you whisper with a smile. The coil in your core tightens again, making your breath shake.

“I promise.” Zach feels you clenching around him and he can’t stop himself. His muscles tense and he tightens his jaw as he feels himself reach his peak.

“There you go,” you praise as he shudders beneath you. The drunk look on his face is what makes you climax, joining him in his euphoria.

He’s heaving beneath you, your skin taut and warm and sticking together. You shift to rest your head on his shoulder and he finds your hand immediately, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss your fingertips.

“I love you,” he whispers. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” you say, your heart burning.

Zach holds your hand inches away from his face, a finger tracing down one of yours.

“Do you still have it?” he asks, afraid of your answer. You look at your ring finger, where you used to wear his promise ring.

“I couldn’t get rid of it if I wanted to,” you say. He shifts to meet your gaze, his eyes still glossy. “It’s in my dresser.”

“Will you wear it again?”

“Of course,” you say. “And I’ll get one for you, too.”

The thought of having a constant reminder of your love for him on his hand makes his stomach flip. His dimples cave into his cheeks as he beams at you.

“How’d I play today?” he murmurs. Zach would always ask your opinion on how he did after a game. Tonight’s no different.

“Amazing,” you say. “I… I’ve actually been following your team. I know we said no contact, but…”

Zach’s elated that you cared enough to follow his progress.

“I’ve been checking every social media account you have every day,” he admits.

You giggle and he hugs you tightly, burrowing his nose into your hair. Suddenly, the memory of your argument outside rushes back into your mind.

“Wait, did you go home?” you ask.

“No, I just… sat in my car,” he tells you.

“What? Zach,” you say, voice heavy. “Aren’t you going to see your family?”

“I never told them I’d be in town,” he confesses. You shift to look at him again. “I knew that when we saw each other, we’d… realize we should be together. And I knew I’d only want to spend the night with you. I’m sorry - I only didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to feel pressured.”

Zach’s undying faith in your relationship melts you. Even after a messy break-up and a month apart, he believed in you two making it.

You nod, pinching his cheek, making him smile again.

“We could go now, if you want,” you offer. “They’d be so happy to see that we’re back together.”

Hearing you confirm it out loud makes Zach’s heart leap.

“Next time,” he says, squeezing you tight. “Right now, it’s just you and me. And eventually, we’ll be sleeping in the same bed every night and there won’t be any distance at all.”

You can’t wait. Neither can he.

(continuation blurb)

author’s note: i started this blog with the intention to write for rafe only but my friend showed me the zach maclaren light and for that @juniebugg i owe you my life 🫡

#zach is subby and you can’t convince me otherwise!#zach maclaren x y/n #zach maclaren x reader #zach maclaren x you #zach maclaren #zach maclaren and reader #zach maclaren and y/n #zach maclaren and you

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nadvs · 2 months ago

Text

out of bounds (part five)

pairing zach maclaren and soccerplayer! female reader

rating mature 18+ for smut (zach is subby and packing) (and you can’t convince me otherwise)

summary zach has never been the type to rebel, but when he meets you at a soccer camp where you’re both working as counselors, which has a strict policy against dating between staff, he’s tempted to break the rules for the first time.

» part one | two | three | four

» masterlist

The setting sun is an orange sliver behind the clouds over the lake, promising a colder night as you sit by the campfire.

It’s been another tiring day and lights out can’t come soon enough. You check the time on your phone to see you have twenty minutes left of free time before campers retire to their cabins.

Zach sits across the fire pit with Malcolm, surrounded by chattering kids.

“It’d be nice if our campers actually wanted to spend time with us,” Ami says to you quietly, sitting next to you.

You laugh, noticing that a lot of your girls are sitting around Zach and Malcolm, talking and staring at them in awe. They’re not subtle at all.

“I have so much to tell you, by the way,” she adds.

“About…?” you ask, your eyes inconspicuously drifting towards Malcolm.

“Yeah,” she says. “He came over when you and Zach went on your little date.”

You laugh again to cover your nerves. Ami was already asleep when you made it to your cabin last night. This morning, you briefly chatted with her about how you ran an errand in town with Zach, making it sound as boring as possible.

You’re still putting up the front that you have no romance between you. You’re not sure you’re doing such a convincing job and it’s been feeding your anxiety.

“We went shopping for work,” you reiterate. “We’re just friends.”

“Sure,” she replies, unconvinced. “He’s totally looking at you like you’re a friend right now.”

You glance up to meet Zach’s gaze, the corner of his lips quirked up, his eyes on you. You smile at him and look at Ami again. You haven’t told her a thing. Not even that you and Zach confessed your feelings for each other.

Admittedly, it’d be nice to be able to gush with Ami about your flings. She’s become a good friend over the two weeks you’ve been working at the camp and she tells you everything about Malcolm. But you respect Zach too much to give in.

“Okay, maybe there’s a tiny possibility we like each other, but we’re not doing anything about it,” you offer quietly. “So, what happened?”

“I’ll tell you tonight,” she says.

You nod. You already decided that when you get to your cabin, you’ll tell her that you’re going to the dining hall to have a video call with friends. If she insists you stay, you’ll say you’ll be loud and you don’t want to bother her in case it goes late.

In reality, you’re planning to go to Zach’s cabin tonight. He’ll have the place to himself. And you can hardly wait.

It’s complicated and a bit guilt-inducing to be lying so much, but when you glance across the fire again and see Zach’s bright smile, you know he and his comfort are worth it.

Ami falls into conversation with another counselor and you text Zach to tease him: what’s with the staring? you’re making it a little obvious maclaren.

It’s not until after lights out when Malcolm leaves their shared cabin for his shift that Zach showers, tidies up, sits on his bed and pulls his phone out to text you that he realizes you texted him a while ago.

He’s been riddled with anticipation all day. It’s been hard to focus. You didn’t exactly directly confirm you’d be coming over tonight, but it seemed to be an unspoken plan between you two.

And the fact that you bought condoms last night has been turning over and over in his head. He won’t rush you, he wouldn’t dream of it, but he hopes tonight is the night.

He replies to you: I can’t stare at you? Come on. You’re asking for the impossible here.

And because he can’t wait, he texts again: You want to come over tonight?

Five minutes pass. Then, ten. All he has left to do is reread his texts to you. Maybe he came across too strong.

Come to think of it, your first text calling him out for staring could have been serious. What if you’re not teasing, but actually upset with him?

He’s drafting a text to apologize if he said anything wrong, but you reply: be there soon.

When you knock on Zach’s door, he opens it within seconds and you rush inside.

“Sorry,” you tell him, pulling him in for a hug. “Ami was filling me in on some stuff.”

“All good,” Zach says, although in reality, he was kind of freaking out. He leans to kiss your forehead and his body warms when you tighten your arms around his torso. “Where’d you say you’re going?”

“Taking a call.” You squeeze him once more, his body firm against you, before leaning back to cup his face and pull him down towards you.

Your kiss is gentle, its tenderness proof of just how much you’ve missed him. All the tension in his body fades like you’re pulling him out of a bad dream. He’s relieved that things between you are okay. Your touch shows that you’re still in this like he is.

“Hi,” you whisper in relief.

“Hey, baby.” His deep voice is like velvet, the word spilling out of his mouth as if he’s called you that a million times before.

“How was your day?” you ask.

“This is the best part of it,” he replies. You smile and kiss him again.

When you settle on Zach’s bed, sitting across from each other, you look around his small cabin, laid out like yours, items neatly tucked away.

“Thought you said you were messy,” you say, playfully pushing his shoulder.

Zach takes the opportunity to hold your hand, cupping it, stroking his thumb over your fingers in his lap.

He gazes at you, at how effortlessly pretty you look in your comfy clothes, at how quickly you make his blood go hot and his body go tense just from a hug and a few kisses.

“I cleaned up,” he says. “Think I’ll have to mess it up again so Malcolm doesn’t get suspicious, though.”

“I wonder if he and Ami talk about us,” you say. “She’s been teasing me about liking you ever since our first night here.”

“Did you? Like me then?” Zach flirts.

You look down, smiling shyly, thinking back to the night you kicked the ball around under the starry sky, getting to know each other, bodies lightly brushing together.

“Yeah,” you confess. “Did you?”

“I liked you since you told me there was only one fork left.”

“So, the first thing I said to you?” you laugh, rolling your eyes.

“What, you don’t believe me?” Zach brings your hand up against his chest as he feigns offense. You laugh together and he dips his head to kiss the back of your hand, eyes locked on yours.

He’s acting like he couldn’t wait to get you alone again. You feel the same way. It’s ridiculously hard being in the same vicinity all day and having to act like you haven’t kissed or touched each other.

Now, he’s merely inches away, his heartbeat pounding against your palm, the tension between you thickening by the second.

Zach lowers your hand on his bed. His blanket is soft. His stare is tender. You look down at the way his big hand covers yours and you quickly notice the thick ridge of his erection beneath his sweatpants.

It makes the coil in you tighten, knowing he’s already as turned on as you are. You discreetly feel for the condom in your pocket to make sure it’s still there.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Zach offers, tilting his head towards his desk. You see his laptop propped open.

You smile, endeared over how considerate he is not to rush anything, especially when he’d so clearly do something else.

The other night in your bed has been on your mind. He was so hard and so big in your hand that your heart is already hammering at the thought of seeing him naked, of feeling him inside you.

“Sure,” you simply say.

He asks you what you’d like to watch and you pick one of the first movies you see, figuring you won’t be watching much of it anyway.

You lie on your side in his bed as he queues up the movie and tilts the laptop screen towards you. The smell of his strong, calming body wash wafts over you as he settles behind you.

Zach plants a kiss on your shoulder once he props himself onto the pillow, curling behind you. He knows you can feel how hard he is, but before he can worry about you feeling uneasy, he reminds himself of how much you’ve reassured him that you want him, too.

“You’re the big spoon type?” you ask with a soft chuckle as he shuffles into position.

“You sound surprised,” Zach mumbles behind you.

“So, you don’t want to be the little spoon? Ever?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say no,” he replies, earning another giggle from you.

The movie’s opening credits roll over the screen, but all you can focus on is the sensation of Zach’s large hand against your thigh, dragging to cup the crook of your hip as he pulls your body against him.

You arch your back to press against his hard length. His hold on your hip tightens, a shudder leaving his lips.

Zach tries to concentrate on the movie, but he’s so hard that it aches. His eyes refuse to look at the screen; they want to trail over the peaks and valleys of your body, to take in your pretty face.

He shifts to nuzzle against your hair, relaxing simply from the smell of your shampoo. His palm glides up past your hip, over your tummy, resting right under your breasts, where he can feel the wire of your bra beneath the thin fabric of your shirt.

Your stomach rises and falls, his hand moving with every one of your breaths. Having to keep a distance from you all day is hard. Being this close and not touching you how he wants to be touching you is somehow even harder.

All Zach can do is shut his eyes as he nuzzles in and expels warm breaths against the back of your ear. He tells himself to just cuddle you for now, to go slow.

“I feel like I can’t get the smell of campfire out of my hair,” you admit with a laugh. “Sorry if it-”

“No, no, you smell good,” he mumbles. He glides his hand back and forth across your waist and slowly presses his lips against the side of your neck.

You bite your lip, lowering your palm over your stomach. Zach quickly raises his hand, clearly concerned he did something wrong, serving as a reminder to you of how much he appreciates your direction and praise.

“It’s okay,” you say. He realizes you’re lifting up your shirt. “You can touch me if you want to.”

You guide his hand under your top, feeling his palm on your breast. Warmth pools in your stomach when he almost inaudibly groans.

“If I want to?” he whispers with a nervous chuckle. “Of course I want to.”

He gently squeezes, swallowing the lump in his throat as the soft cup of your bra bunches between his fingers.

His touch is soothing, his breath ragged. He spends so much time slowly massaging you that it begins to feel like torture to not have him making direct contact.

You’re sure that he can feel how hard your nipples are under your bra, but you let him decide the pace this time, let him decide when you can move to the next step.

“Can I take this off?” Zach finally asks, his hand skimming over your bra strap.

You wriggle to pull your top off then lean forward, your back still to him.

“Yes,” you say with a note of relief.

Zach plants wet kisses on your bare shoulder as his hands wander to the back of your bra, unhooking and guiding the straps down your arms. You press your back up to him again once your bra hits the floor.

He feels your bare breast against his hand and he’s thrown back into how nice the swells of your flesh felt in his mouth, how hard and perfect your nipples were against his tongue.

He stimulates you with gentle pinches, kneading softly, making you buck your hips back against him.

“God, I love these,” Zach rasps, fondling you. “I just…” He trails into silence.

“What?” you breathe.

He only kisses your shoulder again as he continues to touch you, his cock twitching against you.

You turn to face him and Zach doesn’t waste a second. His lips are soft and wet when they press against yours as he drags his thumb back and forth over your nipple.

You pull back, nose nudging against his.

“You just what? You can tell me,” you reassure him softly.

His heart is racing, wishing a part of him wasn’t still scared that he’s too much for you, that how deeply he feels for you will freak you out. He’s never thought of himself as an insecure person, but right now, one negative word from you could shatter him.

Goosebumps bloom over his skin when you caress his jaw, your hand against his cheek. He’ll say what he’s thinking, even though he’s afraid.

“I just want to make you feel good,” Zach says.

You smile, tilting your head to kiss him again.

“You are,” you say when your mouths part. “All I ever feel with you is good.”

Your words make him dizzy, pushing him to capture your lips again, rougher this time. When his tongue dips into your mouth, you let out a moan that makes him feel like he might go crazy.

Zach sucks your bottom lip as you tug at his shirt, willing him to pull back and take the clothing off. His shirt falls onto the floor behind you with a soft thud and he pulls you tight against him, the sensation of his bare, hard chest against yours utterly perfect as he kisses you.

You’re lost in the moment, making out slowly and heavily. The sounds of your hungry kisses and the movie playing and the wind rustling through the trees just outside his window fill your ears.

You eventually shift to straddle him, coming up for air as you sit up, thighs locked around his hips. Zach gazes up at you in awe, eyes drifting up and down, taking in your every feature.

You can feel how soaked your panties are now that you’re settled on him. You drink in the planes of his muscles and the ridges of his abs and the line of hair below his bellybutton that trails down past the elastic of his sweatpants.

You knew he was muscular, but it’s surprising how much he’s hiding under his shirt. As you look down at his half-naked form, you take in how every plane and edge of his is hard and sharp, except for his eyes. They’re always kind, looking at you softly like you can do no wrong.

“Hi,” he says, voice low and smile lazy. He cups your hips gently, biting his lip as he gazes at your breasts.

“Hi,” you breathe.

“You’re so pretty,” Zach whispers, his half-lidded eyes and messy hair and swollen lips the picture of drunken bliss. You thank him through a soft laugh.

You can feel it in the air that he wants to go all the way, too. But to be sure, you dip into your pocket to pull out the condom.

“Do you want to?” you ask, holding it between your fingers.

“Yes,” he says, paired with fast nods. “Do you?”

“Yes,” you say with a small smile.

“I never go this fast,” he admits impulsively. He typically dates a girl for at least a month before he takes this big a step. But things just feel so right with you. He can’t resist you. He doesn’t want to.

“If at any point, you want to stop-”

“Trust me, I won’t want to stop,” he interrupts.

You giggle at his enthusiasm, leaning over to kiss him again, your hands splayed on his hard chest, the wrapper of the condom crinkling.

“Same for you, okay?” Zach says. “We’ll stop if you want to stop. I won’t be mad.”

You laugh again against his lips.

“What?” he says, amused.

“I kind of can’t imagine you being mad at me.”

Zach smirks, his hands gliding up the curve of your spine. He’s completely weak for you. He’s okay that you can tell.

“Me, neither.”

Your lips meet again and a gentle whine escapes his mouth when you thread your fingers through his hair, grinding against him.

His hands drag down to your ass, squeezing. Another groan sounds from the back of his throat as you roll your hips over him, his cock hard against your middle.

He can’t even control his own body, his hips involuntarily bucking up towards you. His pants feel tight against his erection, the sweet friction of you grinding making his muscles weak.

His throat tightens when he feels you shuffling to take your pants off.

“Let me help,” Zach whispers. “Please.”

“So sweet,” you praise as his thumbs hook under the band, pushing your pants down your thighs. Your words make him move even faster.

Your pants are soon bunched at the end his bed and you straddle him again, left only in your underwear. Zach inhales sharply when he feels the bare curve of your ass without much fabric left in the way.

He sighs in satisfaction, groping you, pushing against you so that you’ll grind at the pace he wants you to, offering him a little more relief.

You lean back down to kiss him and eventually perch up on your knees to tug down his sweats, leaving him in his boxers. You palm him, feeling the wet drop of precome he left on the soft cotton.

You meet his eyes, his desperation for you clear. He’s completely at your beck and call, hanging on what you’ll do next. You’ve never had this much power over anyone before.

You want to please him just as much as he wants to please you. You tilt closer to him again, your cheek pressed against his, knowing how much he loves to be complimented.

“I can’t wait to feel you inside me,” you murmur in his ear.

“Shit,” Zach says with a disbelieving chuckle. He’s in heaven. “Repeat that for me.”

“You like hearing how bad I want you?” you say, dipping a hand in his boxers. He nods wordlessly, too in awe to speak, and when you feel his cock in your hand, the desire deep in you pricks every inch of your skin, your stomach twisting.

You start to stroke him gently and heat rushes through his body. He’s never had someone know how to talk to him. He’s always been a bit embarrassed of how much praise he wants.

Other than offering gentle encouragement, he typically stays quiet during sex, never asking for compliments even though he desperately wants them. But you give him what he needs so effortlessly, understanding him in his entirety.

“So big,” you whisper. “I’m going to have to take some time to adjust to you.”

He feels like he’s going to wake up soon, because this can’t possibly be real.

“As long as you need,” he says through a strained voice.

You smirk against his skin, kissing his cheek as you skim your fingers over him.

“Take these off,” you encourage him, pulling against the band of his boxers.

“Yes,” Zach obeys in a hush. He shuffles to take off his last piece of clothing as you prop up on your knees again.

You nearly gasp when his cock springs out, craving him with everything in you. You start to gently pump his length, eyes flitting between how big he is in your hand and how captivated he looks, watching you palm him.

“That feels so good,” he breathes in a whimper. His breaths are shallow and soft and slow as you touch him.

He’s in disbelief over how incredible his feels, how perfect you look, how hungry his body is for you.

Beneath the hot, overwhelming lust you’re feeling, you can’t help but be endeared at the way his hand is trembling when he picks up the condom lying beside him, having it at the ready, nervous and excited.

“Here,” you say softly, holding out your hand to take it.

Watching you doing this part for him, rolling the condom down his shaft, puts him in an even deeper fog of bliss, making him feel reassured and so incredibly wanted.

You lean over him, perfectly lined up, his tip pressing against your panties as you kiss his lips.

“I can be slow?” you ask.

“As slow as you want,” he mumbles against your mouth, the air thick with anticipation.

“Yeah?” you whisper.

“Mhm,” he mumbles dreamily. The control you have over him, the way he’s hanging on your every word is addictive.

“You’re going to be patient with me?”

“Yes,” he breathes.

Now that you know just how much praise turns him on, you feel more comfortable to speak to him in a way you’ve never spoken to a man before. To tell him what he wants to hear, but is too shy to ask for.

“You’re going to be a good boy?” you whisper.

“Oh, my God,” he groans, his voice thick with pleasure. He could come just from listening to you talk like that. “Yes. I promise. Yes.”

You kiss him deeply as you push your panties down over your hips. He helps you strip, hands clumsily cupping yours, painfully desperate for you at this point.

With a shaky breath, you sit up to look down at him and grip him at his base, lining his cock up against you.

When you slowly start to sink onto him, Zach’s breath hitches, a strained moan spilling from his lips when he feels how hot and wet and tight you are. You exhale in pleasure, keeping your eyes locked on his as you get used to the pressure.

You swallow hard when you get to a point where you need to stop, holding yourself up on your knees, your hands splayed on his toned stomach. He’s stretching you out so much, nearly putting you on the cusp of pain.

“Take your time, baby,” he whispers, his hand resting over yours. “I don’t want it to hurt you.”

You nod gratefully. No matter how bad he wants to feel all of you, he’s so relieved you’re doing what you need to do to feel good. He wants to give you nothing but pleasure.

As you take the time to get used to his size, he takes the opportunity to savor every sensation, to appreciate how incredible you look naked, perched up on him.

You slowly put the rest of your weight on him, burying him inside of you all the way, feeling him hit you deep. You almost can’t believe how big he is and how a man this well-endowed isn’t arrogant or egocentric at all.

You meet his gaze again, seeing the sweet way his face pinches with pleasure, looking like he’s so damn grateful that you want him like this.

When you start to gently roll your hips, his length pressed hard and tight inside you, he pulls your hand towards his mouth to kiss your palm.

“Feels good?” he whispers.

“Yes,” you reply through a lustful moan. “So good.”

You start to rock on him a bit faster. Zach can’t hold himself back. It’s like his voice isn’t his, spilling out of his mouth in low, feeble groans from the pleasure of your soft heat wrapped around him.

“Oh, fuck.” His voice weakens. “You’re so tight. Fuck.”

It’s the sexiest sound you’ve ever heard. You thought he whimpered before, but compared to the way he’s whining now, that was nothing.

“Keep making those sounds for me,” you tell him. He’s flattered and so relieved. He’s not confident that he could stop whimpering, no matter how hard he tried.

“Anything you want,” he says shakily.

Your moans tangle in the air together as you start to roll your hips faster, finding a perfect rhythm and filling the room with the sounds of your body meeting his. Zach has to look up at the ceiling, urging himself not to come, not yet, not until you have.

You lean over, chest pressed against his as your lips meet hungrily. Now that you’ve adjusted to his size, he starts to slowly thrust up into you.

The friction against your clit sends sparks through your body, pulling a breathy moan out of you. Between quick kisses, he calls you beautiful over and over, praising you even more than you’ve been praising him.

His breath is hoarse and uneven, hands cupping your hips to help support you with every bounce. You melt into each other with perfect ease, past the initial nerves, moving like you’ve done this together before.

“Just like that,” he whispers as his fingers dig into your skin. He’s lost in the pleasure, revelling in the feeling of you wanting him as bad as he wants you.

One hand stays on your hip while the other drags up your back, caressing your jaw, tilting your head so he can leave kisses on your cheek. When he starts to thrust into you harder, ecstasy rushes through you.

“That’s perfect,” you moan, writhing. “You’re perfect.”

He tilts his head back, eyes squeezing shut, fighting every urge to come. Perfect? He’s never been called perfect in his life.

Within moments, heavy gasps tumble out of your mouth, your body going stiff. You both feel sweet release, unravelling together, hot pleasure flooding your bodies. His hips stutter against yours as he groans through his orgasm, feeling you quiver around him at the same time.

He’s in a haze when you collapse on top of him, your head buried into the crook of his neck. You’re both sweaty and breathless, reeling, shockwaves making you shudder.

“You okay?” he whispers, twitching inside you. “Was it good for you?”

“Yes,” you breathe. You didn’t expect anything less from Zach, already having seen his sweet and affectionate nature so many times, but the care he’s showing you is making your heart feel like it’s weightless.

It’s too soon, way too soon, but you can’t stop your mind from racing to the thought that you can see yourself eventually falling in love with him.

After he cleans up, Zach comes back to lie next to you. He pulls you in so tight that getting any closer to each other would be impossible. His kisses are featherlight over your collarbones, knowing he can’t leave marks any higher, the sounds of his lips puckering on your skin sweet.

You spend countless minutes like this, still naked together under his covers, your breaths slowly starting to even out, both thankful and recovering.

“It feels like I’ve known you for so long,” he admits. He pulls back a little, meeting your eyes as you both rest on his pillow. “Is that crazy?”

“Not crazy,” you say with a wistful smile. “I feel it, too.”

Zach runs his hand up and down your side, drifting over your back with every other stroke. You’re exactly what he always imagined the perfect girl would be like.

His laptop is still playing the film, a dramatic track softly spilling through the speakers.

“You like the movie?” he jokes quietly.

“The first ten minutes were great,” you laugh. “I picked well.”

He chuckles, squeezing your hip.

“What time is it?” you ask.

He lifts his head slightly, draping his arm up over you to check the time on his computer.

“10:37,” he says.

“I should go,” you sigh. His arm tightens around you, shuffling closer to you.

“I want to hold you a little longer,” he replies.

“We’ll get found out,” you giggle. “I’ve already been out of my cabin for so long.”

You secretly hope he’ll say it’s fine, you can just tell your cabin-mate where you really were, and that if a few other counselors know, it’s okay.

But he shifts back, kissing your forehead, leaving a bittersweet feeling sitting on your chest. Blue eyes meet yours and he seems to notice the sadness in your gaze.

“I don’t want you to leave,” he murmurs, stroking your cheek with his thumb. “Stay the night?”

You smile, knowing he’s putting your comfort above his right now. He’s already shown you how important it is to him to not get caught breaking the rules.

“I shouldn’t,” you say.

“You don’t want morning cuddles? For real?” he teases. You laugh.

“Maybe next time,” you say. He breathes a sweet chuckle, adorably burying his head into his pillow.

“So, you want to do this again?” he asks, voice muffled.

“Yeah,” you say. “Do you?”

“I do,” Zach says quickly, moving to press his lips onto yours. “Again and again.”

You smile under the kiss. It’s nearly impossible to tear yourself away from him, but you do.

When you stand, you bend to collect your clothes and he helps, quickly finding your panties bunched up on his bed.

“Sit down,” he says softly.

“What?”

“Sit.”

“Don’t order me around,” you tease, but you sit at the edge of his bed, your clothes balled in your hands.

Zach smirks. It’s never been easy for him to make decisions, to be assertive, but when it comes to you, it’s not as big of a challenge as he’s used to.

You watch as he leans down, lowering close to the floor, his hair still a mess. He unbunches your underwear. It’s wrong to let you leave so soon, his heart wringing at the possibility that you’ll feel cheap, like all he wants from you is physical. The least he can do is help you get dressed.

He drags the fabric up over your ankles, your calves, your knees, fingertips ghosting over your skin.

You lift your hips off the bed as he pulls your panties up and you notice his jaw tighten when he sees you up close.

“What?” you say playfully.

Zach scoffs. He already knows that next time you’re alone together, he’ll ask to put his head between your legs and feel you reach your peak on his tongue.

“You know what,” he says.

Once your panties are on, you rake your hand over his hair, touching him lovingly. He gazes up at you, a soft smile on his face.

“I don’t want you to go,” he says, tone hushed, brows turned down in sorrow.

You agree. Leaving simply because there’s a slight chance it could lead to you losing your jobs feels ridiculous right now. But you’d never forgive yourself if you played a role in Zach being forced to leave a place he loves so much.

You’d rather crack a joke than remind him of the fact that you’re risking something every time you’re together in secret like this.

“You’ll have the chance to be the little spoon next time,” you promise. His smile widens as he laughs. “Does Malcolm usually come back here in the morning after an overnight or does he just go straight to breakfast?”

“Straight to breakfast,” he says. “Why?”

“Just wondering,” you shrug. Then, you start to put your bra on, giggling when he quickly stands to help you with that, too.

He kisses you long and deep before you leave, watching you to make sure you make it to your cabin.

Thankfully, Ami’s asleep when you enter. You’re not sure how you look right now, but you’re almost certain you’re not the picture of someone who just got off of an innocent video call with friends.

The next morning, Zach’s brushing his teeth when his phone buzzes with a text from you. you awake?

He replies: Yes, good morning!

You text: you alone?

He texts: Yes… :)

The knocks on his door are rapid, but quiet. When he opens it to see you standing in your uniform, arms crossed as you glance around the campground blanketed in sunlight and morning dew, his heart flutters.

“You said something about wanting morning cuddles?” you say.

Zach beams, pulling you in, shutting the door and kissing you gently. Falling asleep last night without you next to him hurt his heart even more than he expected.

“I think we have a good five minutes before people start leaving their cabins,” you say. “Then I’ll sneak out.”

“Can we take our clothes off?” His fingers dip beneath the hem of your t-shirt. Your cheeks warm at how desperate he is to touch you, even for innocent hugs.

Your clothes are soon a pile on the floor, and you’re snuggling in his bed in your underwear, facing each other like you did last night.

“There,” you say softly, nuzzling into him. “It’s like I never left last night.”

Zach’s body is buzzing, overjoyed that you miss him just as much as he misses you, that you’re so sweet that you come to spend a few minutes with him before the day begins.

“You need to turn around,” you tell him. He catches on and complies immediately, making you laugh at his speed.

You wrap an arm around his broad frame, pressing your cheek against his back, not feeling like much of a big spoon with someone so tall.

Zach lets himself shut his eyes for a little, breathing calm, sleepy breaths as you hug him. He’s never met anyone like you. He’s never felt so seen. So cared for.

He can’t stop thinking about last night, a little nervous you felt slighted having to leave after doing something so intimate.

“How do you feel?” he asks. “About last night?”

“Sore,” you say with a laugh. Admittedly, you can feel tenderness where his body met yours.

“What?” he mumbles sadly. “I hurt you?”

“No, baby. I’m not sore in a bad way,” you reply. “I had a good time.”

He sighs like a weight has been lifted off of him.

“Me, too,” Zach says. “And you can call me baby whenever you want. Just for the record.”

“Got it,” you whisper with a smile.

You continue to talk together. Five minutes go by way too fast. You rush to get dressed when you hear people talking outside, worried you won’t be able to leave without being seen. Thankfully, the coast is clear when you sneak out.

The crowds in the dining hall are loud and rambunctious, a hard contrast to the slow, peaceful way Zach started his day. As he stands in line to make his breakfast plate, he spots you a few people in front of him.

You’re everything he could ever want in a girl and every second not right next to you, not holding your hand, not talking to you, feels like a waste.

He’s completely infatuated. His heart is already yours. He steps forward a little, hoping he can somehow fall into conversation with you.

But seconds later, Ruby approaches him, holding her clipboard, to ask about a shift change. Maybe it’s a good thing he isn’t closer to you. It’s better to avoid any chance of being seen wearing the obviously enamored look he’s sure he always has around you.

Zach is glancing at the chart when he hears one of his campers say your name in confusion. When he looks down at Oliver, he notices the boy’s eyes aren’t on you, though. They’re on Zach’s name-tag.

“Why do you have her name-tag?” he asks loudly.

Cold flushes through Zach’s body as he glances down and sees the shiny plastic rectangle hanging off the lanyard. In the scramble to put your clothes back on this morning, he realizes he must have gotten your name-tags mixed up.

When you heard your name exclaimed, you immediately turned around. Now, you can see that Zach’s eyes are wide, looking lost as Ruby and a few kids look up at him, waiting for an answer.

Your mind is jumbled. You feel for your lanyard. You’re not wearing one. You forgot to grab it from Zach’s floor this morning. And then, he took yours without making sure that it was his. His must still be in his room.

You run with an idea that pops into your head, thinking back to the first time you talked with Zach in this very building, listening to his teasing about how impressive it is that he never lost his name-tag in all his years of working here.

“Okay, I get it,” you say loudly, stepping towards him and holding your hand out. “You’re hilarious.”

Zach meets your eyes, confused. You look down at Oliver, shrugging.

“He’s wearing it because he’s trying to make a point. He was telling me how easy it is to lose your name-tag and I was bragging that I’d never lose it.” You look at Zach. “Where’d you find it?”

Relief settles into Zach’s tense muscles. You and your quick thinking just saved you both.

“Outside, by the staff cabins,” he plays along. “Don’t be so sure of yourself next time.”

You laugh as he pulls the lanyard off over his head, handing it to you.

“Funny,” you say sarcastically, hoping nobody asks where his name-tag is. “Thanks, Oliver.”

“Yeah, good eye,” Ruby says with a laugh. Your gut tells you she’s not suspecting anything, but your anxiety refuses to let you fully relax.

For the rest of the day, you can’t get how freaked out Zach looked when he thought he’d been found out right in front of his aunt out of your head.

You don’t have any drills scheduled with him so after dinner, during free time, you stand by the lake with a few other counselors and text him: can you come by the dock to talk?

“Good thinking this morning,” Zach says to you when he approaches you, quiet enough so that other staff don’t hear him. You notice he has his name-tag now.

“Thanks,” you say with a nervous smile. “Think we got away with it?”

“Yeah,” he says confidently. You nod, looking out at the fire, your brows pinched in worry. “You don’t?”

“That was like, our third time almost getting caught,” you say. “What if we’re not so lucky next time?”

Zach’s stomach drops. Maybe if he was more rational, he could agree that it’s harder to hide than he thought. But right now, his heart doesn’t care about being rational. It’s too busy cracking.

But, because he’s never been good at telling people that they said something he doesn’t want to hear, he nods.

“Guess we’re not that good at keeping the secret,” he agrees, forcing himself to joke away the discomfort.

“It’s so much harder than I expected,” you say. “Do we just… cool things down, maybe?”

Zach looks down at you, his throat tightening. How’d things go wrong this fast? You were naked together last night, whispering sweet things to each other, and now, well… this kind of feels like a break-up.

“You think that’s best?” he asks.

“I hated seeing you so worried this morning,” you confess. “I know how important this job is to you.”

Zach scratches the back of his neck. You don’t miss the way his face drops. You couldn’t miss it from a mile away. You want to reassure him that you still want him. That you’re suggesting this because you care about him so much.

“I think it’s best we do what we originally said we were going to do,” you offer. “We wait until the season’s over and pick up where we left off and go on that date we talked about. Is that okay?”

Zach sighs. No. It’s not okay. He wants to touch you every possible chance he can get, even if it is in a stolen moment he knows he’s not allowed to have.

But he’s never been good at being upset with people. It seems that while you bring out so many sides of him, that piece of him remains unchanged. He’s hurt. But in his usual way, he buries it, not letting it see any light.

“Yeah. You’re right,” he says. “Hope you’re ready for the best date ever.”

You smirk, finding relief in his words.

“Can’t wait,” you say honestly. Zach gives you a smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes and heads back towards the campfire. You already miss him.

That night, you step out of the bathroom in your pajamas to see Ami sitting on her bed, scrolling through her phone.

“Did you see that it’s gonna rain this weekend?” she says to you, eyes glued to her phone. “What do we even do with the kids then?”

“How bad is it supposed to be?” you ask. You settle on your bed on the other side of the cabin.

She looks up, about to answer, but her mouth stays open, no words coming out.

“That bad?” you laugh.

“Um, what’s on your chest?” Ami asks with a scandalized smile.

You look down to see that your pajama top slid down when you sat, revealing the marks that Zach left on you last night.

“What do you mean?” you play dumb. But she’s not falling for it. She laughs and stares at you with a knowing look.

“I mean, the hickeys.”

(part six)

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skyguys-princess · 7 months ago

Text

He’s so cute it hurts

imperfect strangers (one-shot)

pairing zach maclaren x female reader

rating explicit 18+