You & I

Chapter 10: Niall

"So, where are we going?" Roxanne asked as I drove.

"Just be a little bit more patient. We're almost there," I promised.

Sighing, she picked up some CDs that were chilling on the side door pocket. I noticed her staring at the Michael Bublé CD. "You like him?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's great. Do you listen to him?"

Roxanne nodded, "Of course, I even have a Pandora station just dedicated to him."

I laughed, "I didn't think you would like him."

"Why? Is it because I'm all rock and roll when I'm working at the Crown? I actually am very open minded when it comes to music."

"Good to know," I parked the car. "Alright, we're here."

Roxanne frowned. "We're in a parking lot with the view of the London Bridge."

"Wait here for two minutes and close your eyes." She did what I told her to do. Quickly, I got out of the car and grabbed some of the stuff in my trunk. I set up a little picnic for her. For food, I bought a box of pizza and some crisps. "Come on," I guided her down the small field that was in front of the parking lot. She smiled at the little picnic I set up for our little date. "Nothing fancy, just simple."

She giggled, "This is very sweet of you." I opened the pizza box for her and she took the first slice. She stared at it and then looked at me. "This is my favorite pizza combination. How did you know about it?"

I shrugged, "I called Harry and asked what you liked in your pizza. So I got you the three meats and added the green peppers."

"Because that's not creepy or anything," Roxanne said, taking a huge bite from her pizza.

I laughed and leaned down on the blanket. "I was hoping to impress you so that you can allow me to take you on another date."

"Slow down, Niall, this date hardly began."

I set my pizza down and stared at her as she ate. Her lips pursed out as she took a bite and chewed her pizza. It was extremely attractive. I've never seen someone eat like that. Due to the light wind, strands of her hair blew on her face. My hand leaned against her cheek and swiped the hair away from her face. Roxanne looked at me as I did this gesture.

My eyes lingered on the tattoo on the back of her right shoulder. Five birds were flying up to her neck, but I frowned when I noticed a scar slightly diagonal and under the tattoo. My fingers traced the scar, making her shiver.

"Where did this come from?" I asked, still touching the scar.

She shrugged without meeting my gaze, "I hardly remember." Before I could say anything else about her scar, she asked, "So, what do you do besides college? Do you have a job or something?"

I cleared my throat, "Yeah."

"Where do you work?"

"A small business," I drank my soda. "It pays pretty good."

"Do you do it to pay off your classes or just to earn some money?" she asked. I raised an eyebrow at her. Roxanne looked down embarrassed for asking that question. "Sorry, that's too personal. You don't have to answer that."

It won't hurt to answer that question, I thought. "I do it to pay off my classes," I answered, "And to earn some cash. My parents were struggling with money for me to go to college, so I got my own job to pay for it myself."

"What are you studying?"

"Sound engineering," I answered. "What are you studying for?"

She looked down, "I dropped college. I didn't have enough money for the classes."