Chapter Thirty-Eight
Roxy’s POV
I watched as he finally sat down on the edge of the small stage, worn out from a long, exciting day. He’s twenty-two now, and he even looked a little older to me for some reason. I spent the whole day with him, but we barely had exchanged a word. He kissed me on the forehead this morning on his way out of the hotel room. The sun wasn’t even up. He wanted to get all of the radio and promo stuff out of the way early, before the fundraising events got underway. Come to think of it, I hadn’t even officially wished him a happy birthday.
The party was winding down now, with only a few stragglers left chatting at various spots around the large room. I stepped out from behind the long table where I’d been stationed for most of the night, handing out information packets and accepting donations. I sat down next to him, and he laid his head on my shoulder, utterly exhausted.
“I’m so proud of you, Niall.” I said, running my finger over the callus on his thumb. “You’re amazing.”
“No.” he said. “You’re amazing. You made this happen.”
“I only helped.” I replied. He brought his feet up onto the stage, and pushed himself backwards so that he could lie down. I carefully arranged my dress before taking the spot beside him. We both lay there, staring up at the ceiling tiles. I could almost sense the heaviness in his eyelids.
“So. Where’s my birthday present?” He blurted.
“Oh, is it your birthday? I think technically it was yesterday, seeing as it is now past midnight.”
“Don’t sass me.” he said. “You’re not off the hook.”
I pulled him up by the arm. It was time to get this birthday boy to bed. I had a surprise in store for tomorrow, so the sooner we could get to sleep and wake up, the sooner that adventure would begin. He said his goodbyes to the last few people as I collected the remaining supplies and loaded them into the rental car. I had no idea how to get back to the hotel from here, so I waited patiently in the passenger seat.
Niall’s POV
It was her first time in Ireland, and I didn’t even have a chance to take her on a proper tour. We got in last night, drove up from Dublin, had dinner with my parents and fell asleep shortly after checking into the hotel. She stared out the window, trying to take in what she could of the scenery in the pitch black.
“Hey Babe?” I said, turning the radio down even further.
“Mmm?”
“Can I ask a birthday favor?” I said. She smiled, waiting for what I assume she thought would be a naughty idea. “I don’t want to fall asleep in that strange hotel room.”
“Okay. I didn’t bring any of my stuff with me…” She replied, a bit hesitant. I turned the radio back up and took the slip onto the motorway, heading for home.
We pulled into the drive, the house dark and deserted. The fridge would be empty, and the water heater turned off, but my bed would be there waiting for us. After mum moved to London, I insisted we keep the house just the same way it’s always been. I don’t get back here often enough, but everyone in my family has a key. It’s turned into a bit of a Horan Hostel for out-of-town guests.
I flicked on a lamp and cracked open the large window in the front room to let in some fresh air.
“This is so weird.” She mumbled. “I feel like we just broke into someone’s house.” She looked around at the décor, the family photos, being unnecessarily careful to look and not touch; like she was in a museum or something.
“I’m knackered, babe.” I said as I stepped onto the first stair leading up to the bedrooms. “You can nose around tomorrow. Let’s go to bed.”
She turned out the lamp and followed me up the stairs, the wood beneath the carpet creaking with each step. The door to my old room was closed; strictly off-limits to anyone but me. I flung the door open and in one motion removed my shoes, socks and trousers, then flopped onto the hard mattress. “God, yes.” I mumbled into the pillow. She looked down at my pile of clothes on the floor and smiled. “Go through my drawers, Rox. Find something to wear.”
“Un-zip me?” She said softly, crouching down a bit so I could reach. She stood at my bureau weighing her options, the back of her dress split open to reveal her underthings. She pulled out a tiny, blue Pepsi shirt and held it up for me, a grin on her face.
“What’s this?”
“It’s from when I was like twelve.” I replied. She slipped her dress off and hung it by the strap over the doorknob. “I need to go through all the crap I have in here.” She reached around and unhooked her bra, and pulled the shirt over her chest, having to take a breath in to squeeze it over her. She stood there for a moment and I drank her in. The shirt barely came down to cover her hip bones, the four inches of exposed skin between it and her panties begging for my touch.
“My brain is telling me to fuck you silly.” I groaned. “But my body says ‘no’.”
“You ARE old.” She giggled, turning out the light and slipping in next to me. “Nice sheets, are they jersey knit?”
“You’ll have to ask my mother.” I said. I wriggled my leg in between hers and shifted my hips before pulling her in close. The sounds of this house were of familiar comfort to me, and it wasn’t long before I felt myself slipping into sleep. “Goodnight. Love you.” I whispered.
“Love you, Ni. Happy Birthday.”
Roxy’s POV
I was able to slip out of the bed and sneak out of the house this morning without him noticing. Spending the night in his old bed had thrown my plans a bit off-track, but I had his exhaustion on my side; he’d be in that bed until at least ten o’clock. The voice of the GPS lady was a little too cheerful this morning, so I punched “Starbucks” into the search field, a quick stop-off before going back to the hotel for a quick shower and to pack up all of our stuff.
I pulled back into the driveway a few hours later, McDonald’s breakfast in hand, pretty impressed that I had managed not to get lost. I crept back up the stairs; he was still in bed as expected, face-down in his pillow, arms sprawled over his head. Adorable, really. He turned his head toward me and opened an eye.
“You left me.” he whined.
“Sorry?” I said, holding up the paper bag filled with his favorites.
“Come to me.” he said, flipping back the blanket .
We sat in silence, munching away. He was a noisy eater. He crinkled his wrappers and pawed through the bag, grunting every so often. “You’re gross.” I said, mouth half-full.
“This is the glamorous life you signed up for, sweetheart.” He smirked.
“I sent you some photos from you birthday. Did you have a look?” I motioned to his phone sitting on the table, knowing he hadn’t. He wiped his fingertips on the sheets before grabbing the phone and scrolling through my message: a photo of him with the Mayor, him and his parents, him hugging a little girl. He smiled as he swiped the screen. He looked up as he came to the photos I took of my handwriting on a notepad.
He looked up at me before scrolling further. “What is this?” he said.
“Your birthday present.” I replied. He looked back down at the screen. “Wait!” I stopped him. I crossed my fingers that I hadn’t failed miserably. He was actually very easy to buy gifts for, but I thought it might be better to make a memory rather than fill his closet; especially considering we only had a couple more weeks before he left me behind for his fancy life. I crossed my legs in front of him. “Okay. Now.” I said.
He scrolled to the photo of the tiny cottage I’d rented for the next couple of nights. He looked up at me for an explanation. “I wanted us to have a little getaway together, you know…before…” I didn’t want to say it. “Anyway, I started to think of places we could go, but then I remembered that you’re going to be spending so much time on planes and on the bus that I didn’t want us to waste a bunch of our time travelling.” I realized how quickly I was speaking, the excitement building. I tried to slow my words. “So, I rented this cottage on the coast for us.”
A grin spread across his face and he pinned me down with a kiss.
“Eww. McGriddle morning breath.” I complained into his lips.