Niall's POV
What did she mean by "Settle with being just friends"? Does she love me like I love her? Does she know that I have feelings for her? Is she struggling with hers? How can I know without coming on too strong? What if she doesn't want me to know? This is so frustrating. I don't know what to do. I really want to see where this goes, but also I don't wanna end up hurting her. I know she's strong, but I don't want to be the reason she breaks. I feel like with me that's inevitable. I don't know what to do or how to behave.
I finish getting ready and then knock on her door.
'Good morning! Ready?' I ask her.
'Good morning! Yeah, just let me grab my purse and phone.'
After breakfast, we rent a car and start driving.
'Wait, we're... out of the city? Where are we going?'
'Well, there's not much to do in the city, and the event is not until Monday, so I thought we'd take a little trip. There's this place that I always wanted to visit, it's kind of a touristy spot? But from what I've seen it's beautiful. I just never found the time. But now, you're here so I thought why not.'
'Aww! What's it called?'
'Why? Are you gonna Google it?'
'Yes. I'd like to know where I'm going!'
'Fine, we're going hiking on the cliffs of Moher.'
Chloe's POV
It takes us about an hour drive to get near there, but time flies when we're making our own version of carpool karaoke.
'You're gonna be cold like that by the way.'
'Is that why you brought two jackets?'
'Yeah.' He says throwing me the grey hooded jacket.
We start the hiking in silence, not really wanting to get out of breath that fast. Until Niall spoke up.
'So, it's still a long way to the top. What do you want to talk about? Maybe get some work done?'
'Actually, I was thinking you'd tell me more about your golfing side, the company and everything.'
'Alright. Well, as you know already, I'm obsessed with it. I started playing with I was 12 or 13 with my mates joined our local golf club. But I didn't take it up properly until later. When things started to go crazy with the band and I just needed to get away from it all, I'd go to a golf course. It helped me cope with it. I had my own peaceful place. And that's where I really got attached to it. It just became a part of who I am.'
'But it started out as a hobby, now it's part of your job. What made you want to get involved more?'
'Well I started making friends there, like Rose and Rory, and they both helped me get better at it. And then there was that event we did, Horan & Rose to raise money for charity, and then I went to the Masters and caddied for Rory. And I just kept coming back there and the Augusta Nationals and the Ryder's Cup, you know all kinds of important events. It's just an amazing experience being out there, in the middle of all those amazing professionals. And then It started getting more serious, I started supporting the teams, do media stuff.'
'And then you decided to do your own managing company?'
'Yeah, I had an idea with my management, I just felt like I needed to do more, I wanted to do more. I've spent my whole life admiring great golfers like Tiger Woods and he did a lot to change the game and grow it, so I thought what if I can do the same. So I talked to the management about starting to new sports-related end to the management company, and since we're all into golf it just fit. We got people from the world of golf, like Mark and we started looking for new talents. My objective at the beginning was to help in developing the next generation's golfing talent. So our main work is finding the best talent and the people with the right mindset and the hard work. And then we give them all the help they need to get better and help take care of things like sponsorship and everything else so that they don't have to.'
'Alright, what about how your music career helps out in your work in the golfing world?'
'You ask questions as if you already know the answers.'
'Well, you have talked about this in interviews before. I'm just trying to get all the information in one place. Sorry if I'm making you repeat yourself.'
'It's okay, I can talk about golf all day, and I can discuss anything with you all day and all night.'
'Aww! You're so sweet!'
'I know right! Anyway, to answer your question. What golf needs now is more people to be interested in it. So if I can get even 5% of my followers to pick up a club and give it a try, that would be amazing. Especially since most of my followers are girls and woman and there isn't enough of them in the game. So it's a nice platform to use to grow the game, to encourage people and woman to give it a try. But It didn't stop here. It's not just about growing it and promoting it. It's not just a growth in the number of players. It's the way the game is played. So we decided to create a joint men's and women's tournament for an equal prize. We're always about innovation and inclusivity, and an event like this fits perfectly.'
'Alright. I think I got everything I need!'
'Good, cause we're here!'
I take a moment to admire the view. I mean the view has been incredible throughout all the hike, but from this point of view, how everything blends in together, the blue sky and the clouds, the green parts and the rocky parts of the cliff, the waves. Everything is so beautiful it's indescribable.
'Wow! It's just! Wow!' I gasped, can't even find the right word.
Niall's POV
I look around, taking in the scenery, but even here, there's still something that catches my eyes more than anything else. Chloe. I watch her amazed, looking at everything, the sky, the clouds, the colours, the waves. She's breathtaking. Everything about her is so beautiful it's indescribable.
She grabs my arm, wrapping hers around it, resting her head on my shoulder as she looks to the distance.
'Thank you for bringing me here Ni! It's so beautiful.'
'I'm glad I did.' I smile at her, leaving a little kiss on the top of her head.
I hope I'm not overstepping in this. I just couldn't help it. I've only done it once before, but I was just thanking her for being there for me when I needed her the most, without even knowing that she's what I needed to be okay again.
'You're doing it again.' She says without looking at me.
'Doing what?'
'Staring.'
'Is that so wrong?'
'No, it's just weird.'
'Why? You're doing it too, you're staring at the scenery, which you think is so beautiful you can't even put into words, and I'm doing the same. What's weird in that.'
She turns to face me and has a shocked but smiling look on her face.
'What?' I chuckle nervously.
'Nothing... Just thought you said you weren't poetic like that.'
'Well, it's this place. It has some sort of magic.'
'Is that so?'
'What do you want to do now?'
She shakes her head while rolling her eyes, I don't know why I did this. It just came out. We were having a moment and I ruined it. I guess I'm still scared. Now that I know that she might like me back, making a move seems to be even more difficult. Why does it have to be so complicated?
'I'm getting kind of hungry actually.'
We spend a nice cosy day in the area, then we drive back to Limerick. We stop by the pub and have some pints, ending the beautiful day with laughter. I'm so glad I brought her here. She seems happy.
The next day, we stay in the area, just exploring, walking around, getting her to eat the local food. I think this trip is doing a lot of good for both of us. I feel a lot closer to her, and it makes me happy and at peace. We keep having those nice intimate moments, but things keep getting in the way. Well, not things... Me. I really want to kiss her, but every time I get an opportunity, I chicken out. But at least I get to spend the entire day with her. I'm really dreading Wednesday when we go back to London and she won't be with me anymore.