"Miss," the bartender asked. "Are you done with this?"
I looked down at my third empty cup. I slid my hand to the base of the cup and pushed it towards the man. "One more," I responded quietly.
He nodded, taking the cup and turning away. I swung around in my seat and faced the crowd of people talking back and forth and occasionally sharing a laugh. Niall had come to check up on me a couple times tonight but each time I told him to go spend time with his friends.
I shouldn't be acting like I'm all upset and jealous about the fact Niall's ex-girlfriend is here. I'm just not a fan of how she's acting towards him. As I heard the cup hit the bar behind me, my mom's words from awhile back popped into my head. "If there's a girl all over the guy you want to be with, push yourself in between them and use your assets. You'll be able to tell by the way he responds whether or not he rather be with you." I guess this applied to the situation unraveling in front of me.
I reached behind me to grab the cup and took a swig of it before leaving my seat.
"Audrey!" Niall said, turning to me as I showed up next to him. "How are you doing?"
His arm fell across my shoulders and I brought my empty hand around his back. "Wonderful," I nodded.
"You know," his friend, Connor, spoke up once more. His words seemed to slur with every word. "I never thought I'd see you with another girl, Niall."
It seemed that in that moment, Niall, Sara, and I all shot some kind of gaze at him. I was rather annoyed that he was bringing this up again.
"I mean, two years," he shook his head. "That's a long time."
"Mate, when are you going to get yourself a girlfriend?" Niall teased.
Everyone laughed besides me. I was too out of the loop to understand any jokes that were being made. Then, there was something about Niall's laugh that intrigued me so much. The way his eyes also always closed and his full face seemed to be taken up by the wide smile he shared. It was contagious, really, but I was too consumed in the beauty of his happiness to look away.
He looked back down at me and pulled me closer to him, gently placing a kiss on the top of my head. I took a step back to look up at him. "How much have you had to drink tonight?" He asked me quietly.
I looked at the cup in my hand. "Four," I responded.
He shook his head and smiled. "I told you our drinks were better here."
"Oh, hush," I took another step back. "Where's the restroom?"
He went ahead and pointed me in the direction of a short hall where they were. I excused myself and made my way over to them. I was beginning to feel a little more dizzy but that was my fault. I hadn't had any water yet. After what felt like a minute or so, Sara walked into the room as well. I fixed my hair in the mirror as she walked past me and to the sink beside me.
"Hi," she smiled.
"Hello," I greeted her in response trying to not show any hint of what I actually felt towards her.
"You enjoying yourself?" She asked.
"Yes."
"How long have you and Niall been together now?"
"Officially? SInce today. We've been seeing each other for a couple months, though."
"It took you guys that long to get together?" She seemed shocked.
I shook my head. "It's not that things weren't happening or working out, I've just never dated anyone before like in an official relationship."
"You're a lucky girl," she said turning to me. I nodded but I kept silent. "I've missed him, so much," she added on quietly.
"Yeah, I can tell," I said, rather annoyed by the conversation she started.
"He's so sweet, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah."
"He was the best boyfriend I ever had."
"Look," I snapped at her. "I know you dated and I know he left but he's with me now. So, quit the nolgastic shit. I don't want to hear it. Also, do you really think flirting with him in front of his girlfriend is a smart idea?" The words slipped out of my mouth. "Just calm down and keep your pants on," I turned away from her and walked back out to the group.
The night was growing later and later and it was now 1:30 in the morning. Sara seemed to do as I asked and backed off a bit. I don't really like her. I don't care how nice she was to everyone else. She was getting on my nerves.
I rested my head on his arm and laced my fingers with his, immediately grabbing his attention. "You tired?" He asked.
"A little," I shrugged.
"Want to head back to where you're staying?"
I shrugged again. "Might as well."
He said his goodbye's to the group of friends he spent his night with. I carefully watched him and Sara. Of course, she took the last opportunity she had tonight to find a small way to make a move on Niall as I watched her hand snake into the back of his hair when they hugged. I could've sworn I saw her kiss his neck as they began to pull apart but I was too busy rolling my eyes.
As he walked back towards me, I didn't even hesitate to grab his face and kiss him. I felt his hands rest my hips as I relaxed my arms. "Save it for the bedroom!" Connor called to us, breaking up the moment.
Niall looked over to him and laughed while I attempted to drunkenly throw shade towards Sara. I'm not sure how well that actually went over but any attempt is one worth making, right?
As Niall turned back towards me, he slid his fingertips down the inside of my forearm, immediately capturing my full attention. He gave me the kindest smile while our fingers laced back together.
Before I knew, or could even control it, I was back to marveling at his beauty. The way the yellow glow of the street lamps reflected off his face. The way his eyes were deep blue in the night and how they wandered the empty street around us. The way he held himself so confidently even while we were just walking down the street to his car. Even the blond he insisted to maintain in his hair. I was simply awestruck by this boy. Don't get me wrong, I've noticed all these things about him before but even watching the puffs of air leaving his lips with each breath kept me captivated.
"Audrey?" Niall's voice broke my concentration as we approached his car and came to a hault. "You alright?"
His voice. His voice was always so comforting and sweet, matching his usually kind words. The way he always wanted to make sure I was okay. His lips. They were the perfect shade of pink, always soft. It was hard to find a moment they weren't holding the most wonderful smile in the world.
"What are you thinking about?" He awkwardly laughed as I continued to swim in my thoughts.
His laugh, the most contagious thing I've ever come into contact with. If he was laughing, you could bet anything everyone surrounding him would be laughing along.
"Kiss me," I said faintly, looking back down at his lips.
"What?" He leaned in closer to me.
"Kiss me," I repeated, looking into his eyes. "Please."
He brought his hands up to my face, gentely cupping it as he leaned into me. My hands met his waist and I tangled my fingers in the hem of his shirt under his jacket. The warmth of his lips on mine in the cold air made my heart beat pick up as I felt every part of me melt into relaxation. His fingers found their way, tangled up in my hair before he moved his hands down to my hips, pulling me closer to him.
Our lips slowly moved perfectly in sync. Every move he made left goosebumps across my skin, leaving my mind flooding with emotion.
He slid his hands down to the back of my thighs, lifting me up onto the hood of his car. I brought my elbows to rest on his shoulders and tangled my fingers in his hair, in which he had left down today.
It wasn't long after that, that we both pulled away, ending the kiss. Our foreheads were kept pressed together. I left my eyes closed, taking in all the thoughts and emotions I swam through. I've never met someone in a kiss so passionate. I never knew a simply, gentle kiss could hold so much power over a person. Most importantly, I never knew this was something that I could experience.
The frigid air slowly brought me back to reality as it touch my warm skin. I opened my eyes to look back into those of the boy I still had my arms wrapped around. His lips were spread into a sweet smile of content and his eyes closed once more.
"Woah," I breathed out, not realizing I had.
"Yeah," Niall moved his head back. "I tend to have that effect on people."
I felt as if I had this bewildered look painted across my face, looking back at him. I slowly began to shake my head as I felt a smile of my own slowly appear.
"Is everything alright?" He asked me once more.
"You're incredible."
A wide smile spread across his face as he took another step back. His eyes were fixated on the ground and his cheeks turned a light pink color. "Let's get your purse out of the trunk," he shyly spoke.
I hopped off the hood of his car and followed him around to the back. "Thanks for coming with me tonight," he added on as his fumbled his keys. "It really means a lot to me, even if you were being anti social."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," I shook my head and looked down into his trunk as he pulled my purse out. "What's that?" I said, getting distracted by the large, black case in the back.
"This?" He points to it. "Well, what the fuck does it look like?" He laughed.
"I don't know," I drunkenly laughed. "Perhaps it's an oddly shaped drum."
"A drum?" He dropped his head. "Goodness, you're as drunk as you were when you couldn't even recognize my accent."
"Oh yeah," I laughed at the memory. "I'm pretty sure you have an Indian accent."
"God," he shook his head. "You are absolutely adorable," he said under his breath. "It's a guitar, Audrey."
"You play?"
"No, no," he placed his hand on the case. "I carry it around from place to place as my good luck charm."
"Does it work at least?"
"Well, I met you."
"Niall," I blushed.
"Audrey," he responded. "Of course, I play guitar. Why don't we go back to the bed and breakfast and I'll play you a song or two, how's that sound?"
I felt my heart skip a beat. "Do you sing as well?"
"To the best of my ability, yeah."
I shook my head again. "I don't think my little heart can handle this much in one night," I whined, bringing my hands to my face.
Niall lightly laughed as he pulled me into a hug. He began swaying into it then kissed the top of my head. "Come on," he said, pulling away. "Let's get back to the bed and breakfast so we can get out of this cold air."
+++
When we got back to the bed and breakfast, I almost immediately stripped out of my clothes. No, not to have sex. I was just tired of wearing them and I was ready to curl up in bed. I sat on the bed in my bra and panties, waiting for Niall to walk back through the door with his guitar since he had been insisting on playing for me.
When he did, I reached out my arms towards him. "Shirt please," I smiled. He let out a sarcastic groan as he slowly removed his shirt. "Quit being a tease," I whined.
"A tease?" He pulled the shirt all the way off. "I'm being a tease and you're the one that's just sat there in your underwear."
He walked over to me with his shirt in hand, his face hovering close to mine. "Mhm," I slightly nodded before snagging the shirt from his grip and slipping away under his arm.
I pulled the shirt over my head and turned back to him. He had his hands on his hips. He was trying to keep a straight, serious face but that slowly began to fail as he started to smile. "Let me play you a song," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me back onto the bed.
He grabbed his guitar out of his case and pulled up the desk chair and sat across from me. "This is one of my favorite songs," he says before he begins to sing a familiar tune I hear through family ties.
I began to sway in my spot on the bed along to the tune. "In other words, hold my hand," he sang. "In other words," he paused, leaning closer to me. "Baby, kiss me."
I smiled and carefully gave him a short kiss before he continued on with the song. I knew this would be too much for me to handle all in one night. He played guitar so smoothly and his voice was so soothing.
He came to the instrumental part of the song that was normally filled with horns and cymbals and drum beats. "You're missing something, blondie," I joked as I clapped along to him playing.
"Shut up," he smiled before continuing to play on.
The song was short but I loved hearing him sing. It brought a smile to his face with brought one to my face. I still couldn't get over how perfectly every feature of him came together so perfectly.
As the morning got later, around 3:30 to be a bit more exact, I was laying down in bed, tangled in the sheets while Niall was sat next to me quietly playing his guitar. It was soothing to fall asleep to. As my eyes got heavier and heavier, I recognized the song he was beginning to play. "And up unitl now I had sworn to myself I was content with loneliness," I sleepily sang along, seeming to catch Niall off guard.
I would've sang along to the rest of it, but I was basically asleep while I was singing along in the first place. He really is the only exception.
=====
HI. I'M BASICALLY DROWNING IN FEELS. I HOPE YOU ALL ARE TOO. DON'T LISTEN TO THE ONLY EXCEPTION WHILE READING THIS CHAPTER. I'm still emotionally unstable because I went to the WWA show in Arizona and this was the most difficult thing to write after seeing all the boys in person.
Anywho, thank you so much for 121k+. I know I say thank you at the end of every chapter but I want you all to know how much it means to me that you take the time to read the little things my mind comes up with late at night. I never would've thought it would've come this far. So, thank you, thank you. THANK YOU.
Let me know what you thought of this chapter. (: Any feedback is good.
Stay rad. 'Til next time,
Denise Rose x (: