Kelsey woke up in an unfamiliar bed. The white cotton sheets and plush comforter that touched her bare skin were far too soft to be the bargain threads in her apartment. The room was far too spotless to be hers and the framed black and white Eagles tour poster that was directly in her line of view certainly didn't belong in her apartment either. It was only when she sensed the presence of the sleeping body next to her that the events of last night came rushing back to her.
The club. The lights. The cab ride to Niall's house. Fast kisses and slow hands. A euphoria she hadn't felt for a long time.
But in the the wake of morning, Kelsey realized the insanity of it all. This was completely out of character for her. She barely knew Niall, and she surely didn't want him to think that she was emotionally available- she clearly wasn't. Last night had been fun, and that was all it needed to be. Nothing more.
Kelsey knew she needed to leave before he awoke and she could realize the mistake that she had made.
She grasped the closest thing she could find to cover her naked body- a black hoodie folded neatly on a black chaise in the corner of the bedroom. Kelsey yanked it over her head before frantically trying to search the room for her lost belongings. She followed a trail of various garments strewn across the dark hardwood floors out into the living room, reaching down to pick up her jeans from the foot of the couch when Niall's voice startled her.
"Making a run for it this morning?"
Kelsey turned around slowly. Niall was leaning against his bedroom doorway in only his black Calvin Klein boxer briefs, looking just as intriguing as he had last night. Kelsey averted her eyes, trying to focus on the doorframe behind him instead of the half-naked man in front of her. The last thing she needed to be doing was thinking about Niall in that way. She was just seeing herself out.
"Figured it was for the best," Kelsey replied quickly. In all honesty it was a bit of self-defense. Kelsey didn't want to be the one kicked out of the celebrity dream house, she'd take things into her own hands.
"I don't usually uh...do this with girls. I mean..." Niall stammered, his brain unable to form a coherent sentence.
Kelsey's face turned into a questioning smile.
Niall quickly corrected himself. "I mean I do this with girls, but not like this," he sighed throwing his hands up in the air at his inability to express his thoughts. "I guess what I'm trying to say is I usually like to take a girl to dinner first."
Kelsey found her self stifling a laugh. "No dinner needed," she fiddled with the jeans that were now in her arms. "But I should probably get going."
"At least let me make you some breakfast before you leave?" Niall pleaded, forming his lips into a pout. He felt like he had to do something to convince himself that it wasn't just a One Night Stand- even if in reality that was what it was.
Kelsey smiled. "I guess breakfast wouldn't hurt." Kelsey figured at this point the damage was already done, it wouldn't hurt to spend a little longer living out the fantasy of countless fangirls.
"If you'd like, you can take a quick shower. Bathroom's just off the master. Should be some clean towels hanging up," Niall gestured into the bedroom they both emerged from. "I'll get some food going."
Niall left his perch on the door frame to head towards the kitchen, leaving Kelsey to pick up her remaining articles of clothing. It crossed her mind for a moment to make her escape right then, but she couldn't do that to Niall. He had been so nice to her, and besides, she rather enjoyed his company.
Kelsey walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the steam from the hot water begin to fill the room. She stared at her face in the mirror, noticing a glow that she hadn't seen for quite some time. Even her brown eyes, seemed to have more hazel to them than usual.
She stepped into the shower, letting the warm water run over her skin. The warmth reminded her of Niall's touch, and she shuddered as her mind flashes back to last night. Kelsey pushed the thought deep into the darkest corners of her mind. All the instant chemistry in the world couldn't convince her to get romantically involved with someone again, even if that instant chemistry was with Niall Horan.
Meanwhile, Niall found himself humming the tune of his latest single while frying up some eggs and bacon on his stainless steel stovetop. He felt his mood had done a complete 180 from the events of yesterday. Maybe it simply the fact that sleeping with a girl that was not his alleged girlfriend was a big 'fuck you' to his management, but Niall couldn't help but think that maybe it was more.
It had been a long time since he had felt as instantly connected to someone as he did with Kelsey. She was a breath of fresh air really, expressing a genuity that was hard to find in the crowds of Los Angeles. Niall knew that logistically, nothing could ever come of this. But somehow, he still found himself eager to continue the conversation with her and make a good impression on his guest. He only hoped that the connection would continue as easily sans alcohol.
"Smells good," Kelsey startled Niall with her presence in the kitchen. Her now damp hair lay over her shoulders and onto Niall's black hoodie, which Kelsey had pulled over last night's jeans.
"Hope it's okay that I snagged your hoodie for the time being. Going out outfits aren't quite as appealing the next morning," Kelsey slid onto the black barstool and rested her elbows against Niall's white granite kitchen countertop.
"Not a problem," Niall said with a smile, wondering if her scent would linger on his hoodie after she left. He turned back to the stove momentarily to check on the now sizzling bacon.
"Your place is gorgeous by the way," Kelsey added trying to fill the void in conversation. "But I mean, of course it is." Kelsey wished she could retract her words as soon as they leave her mouth. Complimenting him on his house? Was that the best she could do?
"It is. Sometimes I can barely believe I live in it."
"Did you ever imagine your life would end up like this?" Kelsey asked, gazing over at the brunette scrambling eggs.
"Never in a million years."
Kelsey supposed her answer to the question would be the same. Never in a million years would she have imagined a pop star would be cooking her breakfast in his mansion. But then again, never in a million years would she have guessed that she would even been in a city like Los Angeles, not having spoken to her mother in months. Single, working as a bartender, and mostly alone.
"Always thought I would end up being some business man in Dublin who would play guitar at a pub every once and a while to keep himself young," Niall laughed. "Guess that's why I try not to take myself too seriously, I'm living the dream of so many people."
Kelsey nodded. Niall was so different than she ever would have imagined. I mean she never thought he was one of those obnoxious celebrities, but she definitely expected him to be a little less...well normal.
"And how about you Kelsey? Did you always want to come out to LA?" he asked as he places a plate of steaming bacon and eggs in front of Kelsey before taking a seat on the barstool next to her with his own.
"Wasn't exactly my plan," she said with a shrug. Niall can tell that there is probably more to that story than meets the eye. But why would she share that with him, a stranger by most definitions?
"Ehh, who needs plans anyway? What ever happened to just living your life?" Niall's voice became laced with a bit more passion than he intended. He supposed that had something to do with the fact that the plans that now ran his life weren't even his own.
Kelsey laughed. "Wish my type A self could accept that. Unfortunately, I'd rather beat myself up bombing a test I was well prepared for," Kelsey took a bit of her eggs, shaking her head. She wasn't sure why she just shared that piece of information with Niall Horan, but she supposed it wasn't like he could judge. The man likely didn't even have a high school degree.
"Well hey for what it's worth, I'm glad you bombed that test," Niall said with a smile.
Kelsey raised an eyebrow.
Niall laughed. It was a deep, full-bellied laugh. The kind of laugh that makes you want to laugh too. "Because if you had passed the test, I wouldn't have spilled a drink on you last night and well, I wouldn't be eating breakfast with you now."
"Listen Niall..." Kelsey began. She figured she better be the bearer of bad news before Niall got his hopes up that this was going to be some kind of long-term thing. Not that Niall wouldn't be the type of person she would want a long-term thing with, because he was. It was just that, at this point in time, and probably for a while longer, Kelsey wasn't emotionally available enough to commit to any kind of possible relationship. Even if it was with someone that she connected with so quickly.
"I should tell you, last night. Well, last night was really great." Kelsey finds herself smiling thinking back. "The most fun I've had in a long-time actually."
Niall nodded in agreement. "Last night was quite fun, wasn't it?"
"And you are great Niall, you really are. But this thing, well, I'm just not in a place right now to get emotionally involved with anyone," Kelsey paused for a moment hoping she wasn't coming across as too insensitive. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's not you it's me? But let's just leave it as a night of fun?" Kelsey lets out a slight uncomfortable laugh, the kind of laugh that is given to fill a void of silence rather than because something was actually funny.
"Oh no, I mean, if I'm honest with ye, you could say I'm not really in a position right now to start anything. It was just a good time," Niall stumbled. "You're great Kelsey, but ya, timing's just not right for us."
"Exactly," Kelsey replied. She was glad Niall seemed to be on the same page.
"But if you ever want to hang or something. Give me a ring," Niall added, picking up Kelsey's phone from the counter and plugging in his number.
"Okay," Kelsey said. She stood up from the counter. "I should probably get back to my apartment, got to hear all about the date," she laughed. "Thanks for breakfast, it was delicious actually."
"You sound surprised," Niall chuckled, grabbing Kelsey's empty plate and placing it in the sink to wash later.
"Didn't know pop stars could cook I guess," Kelsey teased. Gathering up her clothes and purse from the pile on the couch. She gazed down and saw that she's still wearing Niall's sweatshirt.
"Ooops, better give you this back."
"Nah, you can keep it," Niall said. What was one sweatshirt? "Give it back to me some other time if it really bothers ya."
Kelsey nodded in understanding, standing awkwardly holding her clothes in her hands. What was the appropriate goodbye in this type of situation? "Well, I guess I better get going then," she gestured towards the door.
"It was nice to meet you Kelsey," Niall said, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Kelsey took a deep inhale of his scent, before pulling away and heading out the door.
Niall watched as Kelsey walked out the door. There was something about this girl that wasn't like any of the others. He just wished the timing was right.