i still do || n.h au

six

"Like you'd trust us in your kitchen," Oscar counters as he places the brown bags on the counter. Some avocados spill out of the bag and Niall quickly catches them before they hit the floor and hands them to Matt. He trusts Matt more than he trusts Oscar in this kitchen. "Besides, maybe you'd finally learn to make something else other than your infamous roasted chicken and pasta."

"You love my chicken and pasta," Niall replies. Sounding slightly less confident, he turns to Matt and asks, "Don't you?"

Matt nods. "Yeah."

He's aware that he's not the best cook; in fact, he knows Oscar is a better cook and Matt agrees with that, but his roasted chicken and pasta are well-loved by people he knows. He's surrounded by people who aren't afraid to take him down a peg or two so when they said they liked his cooking, he knew they're telling the truth.

"Of course, but it'd be nice to change things up every now and then," Oscar pats Niall's back as he passes him to get to the fridge.

Niall opens his mouth to reply, to tell his friends that occasionally he makes curry so pasta and chicken aren't the only things he could cook, but the sound of his home phone ringing interrupts him. Brows furrowing in confusion, he turns to his two friends. "I thought we're not expecting anyone until after 8?" It's a little after four and it's too early for anyone to show up.

Matt shrugs and then turns to Oscar, "You did tell everyone that we start at 8, right?"

Oscar rolls his eyes. "Yes, I did. But that's probably Adriana. She's come to help."

"Adriana?" Niall repeats. Oscar nods as he slices the ripe avocados they bought from the supermarket just now. "Why's she here early?"

Still focused on the avocados, he replies, "I told her that she could come early if she wanted to help. Looks like she took the offer."

Niall gives his friend one last look before he slips out of the kitchen to answer the home phone. He's told that an Adriana Ferreira is at the lobby and he's asked if she'd like her to be sent up. He tells them that she's one of the expected guests for the party and if someone else who is on the list shows up early they should be sent up to his place too, and a few minutes later, Adriana steps out of the lift.

"Hey there, stranger," Adriana says as they greet each other with a hug. Stepping back, she keeps his hands on his arms, assessing him. "How're you?"

Niall smiles. "Great. You?" Adriana lets out a heavy sigh as she retracts her hands. "Tough day?"

"I had to deal with the most annoying client today. I thought I was gonna go mad," she groans. The distaste quickly disappears, however, when she shoots him a wide smile and adds, "Let's just say I'm glad I'm here now."

Niall can't fight the warmth that spreads through his chest at the way she's smiling at him. He's not sure what to think of that reaction because it's a pretty new development for him. Sure he's felt his heart beating slightly faster when Adriana leans closer to him or when she laughs at his jokes or when she touches him, but feeling warmth pooling at his chest at the mere sight of her smile? That's new.

Niall quickly snaps out of it, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind. He'll deal with them later when he's alone.

"Sounds like you could use a drink or two," Niall replies as he leads Adriana inside. They head straight for the kitchen where Niall takes out two bottles of beer for him and Adriana.

"Hey, you started without me," Adriana comments when she sees Oscar is already adding other ingredients into the large bowl that Niall forgot existed and stirring them together with the mashed avocados.