Lost on You [Lewis Capaldi]

Chapter 7 - Grace

Keira sat on her apartment steps, clutching her knees as a gust of cold air blew over her. It was definitely too cold for ice cream. But she'd let Lewis decide that for himself.

She'd got ready a little too early, nerves sparking in her stomach all morning as she watched the clock go round. Time moved painfully slow and she couldn't stand pacing around her bedroom for any longer so decided to go outside for some air and wait for him to arrive.

Every time a car drove by her heart flipped in her chest. She wasn't sure she was ready for this. Was it a date? She didn't quite know. It had made getting ready an extremely hard job. She couldn't decide what to wear, but she finally opted for a pair of dark jeans and white sweater. Casual. Cute. At least that's what she hoped.

The only extra effort she had put in was that she had curled her blonde hair, not that it would matter now. The wind was so strong she was pretty sure she now looked like she'd been dragged through a hedge. Classy, Keira thought with a sigh.

It was still a few minutes before noon when a silver fiesta pulled up to the curb before her. Just like that, her heart was pounding again.

Lewis slipped out of the driver's side, his hair tousled almost as much as hers, blowing in the wind.

When his eyes met hers, they immediately lit up and a lazy smile spread across his face. It made her head dizzy. Keira rose to her feet, beginning to make her way down the last of the steps when a large gust of wind hit them.

Lewis swore, making her giggle as she came up beside him. He pulled his grey hoodie tighter around himself as he said, "I don't know about you, but it's too fucking cold for ice cream. Which idiot came up with that idea?"

Keira laughed, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets in an effort to try to get her numb fingers warm again. "Someone who's clearly forgotten what the Scottish weather is like," she grinned.

"Hey, I blame my European tour. I'm not adapted to these brutal temperatures anymore," he said, smiling. "It's nice to see you again, Keira."

Hearing her name on his lips was enough to make her shiver. And not just from the cold.

"It's nice to see you too, especially in less stressful circumstances." She tilted her head, her blonde hair slipping over one shoulder.

"Get ready for the most unstressful date you've ever had," he said, chuckling.

So it was a date, she thought, feeling the warmth grow inside of her.

"Unstressful isn't a word," she corrected, the hint of a smile on her face.

"Well, I'll make it a word," he grinned. "Anyway, you can't say shit. You called your hamster, Hammie."

"God, you'll never let me live that down, will you?" she narrowed her eyes, but it was impossible to pretend to be mad when he was grinning like an idiot in front of her.

He shook his head, trying to suppress a laugh. "Never."

"You're insufferable," she said, trying hard not to smile too. "Now are you going to let me in your car, or are we just going to stand out here in the cold for the rest of the day?"

"Alright, Little Miss Negativity, jump in," he laughed as they both moved to get into the car.

As soon as Keira slid into the passenger seat, she realised just how cold she was. God, how long had she been sat outside for?

She rubbed her hands together, desperately willing the warmth back into her fingers. As Lewis settled in the seat beside her, he immediately noticed how red the tips of her fingers were.

"Bloody hell Keira, you must be frozen," he said, shifting in his seat to face her. "Here, give me your hands."

He reached over and took her hands in his. "Shit, they're like ice."

Lewis quickly folded both of his palms around her fingers. Heat flooded from his skin into her. She savoured the warmth. It felt heavenly around her hands that had been so cold for so long. And his skin was so soft, the occasional callous from playing the guitar grazing against her. He looked down at their joined hands, gently rubbing the heat back into her fingertips until they were no longer numb with frost.

"Is that better?" he asked, lifting his gaze to meet her eyes.

"Yes," she practically sighed, aware of every careful stroke of his fingers over hers. Everywhere he touched her left fire in its wake.

"Good." He gave her a small smile before letting go.

Keira immediately missed his warmth of him around her, but quickly shoved her hands back in her lap, resisting the urge to want more.

"Thank you," she said, looking back to him. "I guess I'm not adapted to these brutal temperatures either."

He let out a breathy laugh. "You know what will make things better?" Lewis quirked a brow.

"What?"

"Coffee," he said, "Coffee always makes everything better."

"Agreed," Keira nodded, relaxing her head back into the seat.

Lewis turned on the ignition, his engine suddenly rumbling into life. "Coffee it is then."

He leaned across and switched on the radio, and sure enough, his own song came blasting through the stereo.

"Wow, what can I say? I'm so famous, I'm everywhere" he grinned, beginning to pull away from the curb.

Keira rolled her eyes before switching stations.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Lewis gasped. "You mean to say you don't enjoy listening to two of me."

"I don't think your ego needs stroking any more than it already is," Keira grinned as Lewis accelerated down the road. "Besides, you're right, one loud-mouthed scot is enough for me."

He clutched his heart with one hand, the other kept firmly on the steering wheel. "Keira-Marie, I'm wounded."

"Well, just be happy I haven't got you in a headlock yet," she replied.

His gaze flicked over to her briefly, and as he met her eye, they both burst out laughing. She felt her nerves slowly ebb away. She loved how easy and natural their conversations were. How she didn't feel any pressure to act in a certain way when she was around him.

Here's to the most unstressful date, she supposed. And smiled.