EVIE
I’ve never been the kind of girl that got insanely excited over a date. I wasn’t like those girls that counted down the hours and minutes until the guy of her dreams was outside her door. I wasn’t the kind of girl that started getting ready hours before the date was scheduled to happen and planning which dress she’d wear the night before. I wasn’t that kind of girl. Presley and Maggie were those kind of girls. There was nothing wrong with those girls... but I wasn’t one of them.
Well, that was no longer applicable to my life because I became that girl overnight. I couldn’t fall asleep last night. My mind kept reverting back to tonight. There was an incessant bubbling in my stomach. Whereas my mind kept wondering over to every possibility that the night could lead to. I kept going over possible outfit ideas and how I would style my hair. I even looked online for hair and makeup tutorials.
I was nervous but incredibly excited at the same time. It had become a deadly combination that left me with dark circles and sleep deprivation.
The car ride had been comfortable. Niall’s hand sat on top of my knee throughout most of the drive, his thumb drawing circles through the thick fabric of my jeans. He sang quietly to the mainstream songs playing from his old car radio. His hand squeezing my knee every so often. There was something comforting about the simplicity of his touch.
He had been low key about where we were going. I kept badgering him with questions and theories, only to be shut down with the gradual increase of the music’s volume.
It was safe to say that I was surprised when we drove past the Welcome to Cannon Beach sign. I had mentioned a few times in passing conversations that my family lived on the beach. Niall had commented that he had never been to that side of Oregon, but heard nothing but great things from his friends. I went on and on about how much I loved the beach. I guess he remembered.
Niall had managed to find us a spot to set up, urging me to stay put against the rocks.
“You’re my date,” he had said, “And I like to spoil my dates.”
With that being said, I sat quietly on a rock as he struggled to keep the blanket down. The wind had picked up, causing the blanket to move up whenever Niall tried to keep it in place. I had bit down on my lip to suppress my laughter, unable to keep still. It was especially difficult when he managed to trip over the few rocks where some pillows laid, causing him to fall down against the sand. As he stood up, I couldn’t not miss the slight redness across his cheeks and the way he bit down against the corner of his bottom lip. I ended up helping him hold one side down as he threw a pile of pillows on either side.
“Now sit,” he motioned towards the mountain of patterned pillows, while pulling out a bottle of wine. “I picked up some Thai food before I picked you up. I hope you like Thai food... kind a guessed,” he rambled.
“I like any kind of food,” I said and thanked him for the take out carton of Pad Thai.
“One more thing,” he stammered slightly, reaching over me to pull out two jars with candles inside. “It’s fucking freezing,” he laughs shyly, embarrassed, while lighting the candles and setting the jars against the sand.
“Welcome to the beach during the winter,” I quipped, rolling my eyes in the process. “Wish you warned me that we were coming here. I would have brought a sweater.”
“I think I have an extra jumper in my trunk. I can go grab it for you?”
I nodded sheepishly, “That’d be nice.”
Niall quickly stood up, telling me he’d be right back before hurrying back up the hill towards the car park. I forked through the food, unable to eat. There was a bottle of nerves inside of me, making it difficult to keep anything down. Yet somehow, I managed to eat a few bites as I waited.
Soon enough, he returns with a dark blue sweater and a black jacket for himself. I take it from him and pull it over my thin t-shirt. Right away, I’m flooded by his scent. Laundry detergent and his cologne - a smell I couldn’t get enough of.
As we ate, I kept stealing glances at him. Niall laid across the blanket with an air of nonchalance. His shoulders leaning against the mountain of pillows, while one of his legs bent upright. He held the fork in his left hand, while his right gripped the box. He was so animated as he spoke, sharing a story about him and his cousin.
I hadn’t met Cole, but from the way he spoke of him, I could sense the adoration Niall held.
Cole was a year younger than Niall. He had moved to America a year before Niall had but had been living in the Mid-West. He had been studying engineering but wanted to transfer over to a school in Portland. Niall had suggested to Cole that he look into Portland State, since it was the only school Niall knew of. (It helped also that I went there...) It seemed that Cole felt like it was a fantastic choice, and planned on coming this way for the summer semester.
“You’ll like him... a great lad... always stirring up trouble. Was my best friend back in Mullingar. Stirred up so much shit together,” there was a nostalgic smile playing at his lips. His eyes glazed over as he remembered his childhood. “Yeah, you’ll like him. He’s a real laugh.”
I smiled. Reaching for his hand, I gave it a slight squeeze, “I can’t wait.”
We continued to talk and share stories of our childhood. I told him about the time I got lost at the West Edmonton Mall while on a family vacation when I was six. We had decided to go up to Canada for the week and visit my dad’s sister. Somehow I had gotten loose from my “child leash” and got lost inside the Galaxy play area.
Mom claimed I gave her the biggest scare of her motherhood career that day. She called mall security and almost sent out a search party. She hasn’t let me forget it to this day.
Niall laughed at the explanation of a child leash. “You have pictures? I’d like to see that.”
My cheeks heated in embarrassment, shaking my head no. I made a mental note to go visit my parents later this week and burn any remnants of me in a leash.
As the sun began to set, our bodies grew closer together. Our half empty boxes of food sat idly to the side. The waves continued to crash against the rocks, creating a symphony of sounds. A shiver ran through me as the wind began to pick up. As the night slipped on, the lower the temperatures continued to drop.
“Cold?” Niall asks quietly, his arm wrapped loosely over my shoulders. His fingers played mindlessly to my hair. I sighed in contentment as I tried to tell him no, but another gust of air flew by causing a violent shiver to course through me.
“Just a little bit,” I meekly reply, bringing the sleeves of his sweater over my hands.
“C’mere then.”
He brings me closer towards his body, his arm snaking around my waist. He pulls an extra blanket from his backpack, throwing it over us. With his free hand, he pulls my legs gently over his own. My body curls up against his side, stealing as much warmth from him as I could possibly can.
“Much better,” he mumbles against my hair. His hands slip under his sweater that I’m wearing. His cold hands sending a jolt through me as it sits on the bare skin of my waist. He leaves it there... resting it.
My hand plays at the hem of his own sweater. I look up at him shyly asking for permission through the glances of my eyes. He nods slightly, a lazy smile spread across his lips.
I move my hand under the fabric of his sweater, resting it on his stomach. I can feel his abdominal muscles clench before he relaxes against me.
“Your hands are freezing,” he mumbles quietly.
“Sorry...”
“It’s okay.” He leans his head down, leaving a soft kiss to the top of my head. I sigh, resting my own against his shoulder.
We continue to lay there, talking aimlessly about different topics. Conversation is easy - not that I had figured it would have been any different. It seemed like all of the nerves that I had been harboring before our date disappeared the moment Niall was by my side. He had that effect over me. Without even trying, he made the anxiety that I kept inside of me ease away.
He kept me at ease.
“Tell me about your mum,” he said a little while later. I had somehow managed to lay on top of him, my knee sitting between both of his, while my hands played aimlessly with his sweater.
We had been quiet for a few minutes after a heated debate on Cristiano Ronaldo. Apparently it’s a crime to think he’s cute...
“What do you want to know about her?” I asked distractedly, my hands too preoccupied on playing with the hairs splattered across his chest.
“Anything.”
I thought about mom. It had been a week since I’d seen her and I missed her terribly. She was my best friend. Even though I was still annoyed with her and dad, I loved them. I didn’t understand their decisions, but I still cared about them. They were my parents... my rocks... I wouldn’t be where I was today without their guidance and love.
“She’s crazy,” I begin to say. “She has an amazing wit to her. Half the things she comes up with... I don’t even know where she gets it from. I think she’s watched too much Gilmore Girls, if you ask me. A real Lorelai Gilmore...”
“You two kinda have the same relationship as them,” he comments.
I’ve heard that comparison so many times in my life. The similarities between my relationship with my mother was almost identical to the fictional relationship between the Gilmore girls. The only major difference being that my parents were together. At least... they were.
“Yeah... she’s great though. She’s the strongest woman I know. She’s smart... clever... beautiful. Everything I want to be.”
“You’re pretty great just the way you are,” he replies quickly after.
I laughed, shaking my head against his chest. “I know... but... I guess... I wish I was strong like her. She doesn’t take any crap from anybody. She speaks her mind easily. I’m a bit weak in that department...”
“That’s okay though... I’m not very good at it either.”
“I guess... I don’t know. Some days I’m really good at telling people off but other days, I can’t be bothered. I get too weak.”
He doesn’t say anything, causing another silent beat to fall over us.
“Can I ask you something?”
Niall nodded, his hand tightening around my waist. I bring both my hands up to the neck of his sweater, resting my chin on top.
“Why’d you choose to bring us to this beach?”
Niall’s hands slip under my sweater. He moves them up and down my back, his eyes watching me carefully. He licks his lips. “I knew that this was your home... I wanted to see where you lived.”
I could feel my heart physically warm up. God, he was so cheesy but so, incredibly sweet.
“You did?”
He smiles. “Gotta see where the famous Evie Jones grew up.”
“It’s nothing fancy,” I brush it off, biting my lip to once again suppress my growing smile. “But I like it.”
We stay like that for a little while longer. Our legs intertwined and tangled under the heavy blanket. The wind continues to pick up, but I’m too hot to notice. Niall’s body is my own personal heater. His hands alone brought warmth to my body, as he continued to run them up and down the bare skin.
“We should get going. It’s getting late,” Niall says soon after.
Reluctantly, I agree. I force my body up, my legs straddling him on either side.
“Woah now... I didn’t say we were leaving just yet,” he says, pulling me back down and against his chest. I let out a loud oomph, not expecting his sudden movement.
“Warn a girl before you manhandle her,” I dryly reply, rubbing my chin.
“Here - I’ll kiss it better,” he smirks, leaning in to leave a soft kiss against my chin. “Better?”
“Yeah,” I reply breathless, lost in his heavy stare.
He leans in slowly, his eye contact not once wavering. He looks down at my lips before recapturing my stare. Wordlessly, he asks for my permission. With a small nod, I grant it to him... leaning in closer to urge him to move faster.
He takes the hint, leaning all the way in. Slowly he attaches our lips. They’re soft against my own. Careful to not move too quickly. He moves back, heavy eyes looking up at me. I nudge his head to fall back against the pillows. As he does so, I bring my hands up to the base of his neck, kissing him once more.
Niall’s hands grip my hips. Our mouths moving slowly... lethargically together. We kiss and kiss before I forget what it feels like to breathe. I pull back, resting my head against his forehead. Our breathing is labored... heavy... lungs fighting to gain just a little bit of air.
Slowly, he sits up. His hands not once leaving their firm grip on my hips. He brings me closer, if that’s even possible. I wrap my legs fully around his torso, my hands holding to the hair at the base of his head.
I reattach our lips, this time our mouths moving faster. I can feel his hands move back under my sweater, slowly reaching to the edge of my bra. His thumbs slipping under the cup, gently running against the skin of my breast.
His lips break from my mouth only to move down my jaw, and towards my neck. He leaves hot kisses against my neck. I wrap my arms tighter around him, my lips open as I breath in the heavy scent of his cologne.
He entices a lowly moan as his teeth nip at the skin... leaving a mark. Automatically my hips move... grinding against him. He intakes a sharp breath, his grip on my ribs tightening.
We were moving fast... everything heating up too quickly. I knew that we needed to stop before we went too far. As much as I wanted him... needed to feel every inch of his skin... I couldn’t. Nt now... not here...
“We should go,” I breathlessly say against his lips, my fingers wound around a few strands of longer hair.
He nodded, grunting a low, “Yeah...”
I detach myself from Niall, standing up on the sand. We quietly pack everything up, stuffing the blankets and pillows into bags. Using the flashlight on my phone, I do one final sweep of the area before deeming the place clean.
Niall leads the way back to the car. I trail behind him before he stops, waiting patiently for me to catch up. As I do, he reaches out and intertwines our fingers. He smiles shyly, squeezing my hand as we walk back up the hill and towards his car.
-
VOTE + COMMENT please!
A-N : This past week has been the week from hell. I work three jobs, one of them being my own business. With a slow computer and a pestering client, I had to refocus on my carreer. I even had to purchase a new computer...! I understand that you guys are invested in this story. I'm so glad that you are! However, calling me a brat, rude and pestering me with messages to update, or letting me know how many days it's been since I've last updated (all on ask.fm), is not okay. My anxiety was so high this week. I almost had a panic attack in the middle of a starbucks while I was alone. I was shaking because my nerves were so high. Add on all of this outside negativity, I was ready to go into a hole and cry.
I write because I love doing it. I write this story because I love these characters. I am thankful that you guys are reading it. I'm happy that you're excited to read more and to see what's next for Niall and Evie. However, that doesn't give some of you the right to call me names or to bug me constantly. I'm nothing but nice to you all so I don't understand why some of you are being mean in response. Not all of you, just some of you. Other than that, you are all amazing readers. But please! Don't bug me constantly to update. I have a life too and work to get done. That comes first before Wattpad. I hope you can understand and respect that!