I wasn’t breathing right. My heart was pounding. I couldn’t take my eyes off the window, because I was afraid to look elsewhere. Niall was too busy with his eyes on the road to notice me. We were currently in California, driving to our hotel in our rental car. The monotone voice of our GPS was driving me nuts, but that’s wasn’t what had me so nervous. It was the entire idea that I was close to the place I got abused, raped and almost killed at some points.

“Hey,” Niall said softly, grabbing one of my hands while keeping the other on the wheel.
“Everything is going to turn out fine. It’s going to be a great two weeks, alright?”

So apparently he did notice me.

“Okay,” I answered dubiously, nodding my head. He squeezed my hand before lifting it to his mouth, kissing it gently.

He began humming softly to the radio, rubbing my palm with his thumb. His action soothed me, and I felt my muscles relax.

We drove for another half hour or so until we pulled into the driveway of a Hilton Hotel and Suites. It was pretty hilarious, because Niall had checked in under the false name of “Joey Timpson”. We had walked up to the counter and the young girl behind it automatically recognized us. When Niall told her his name was Joey Timpson, she battled against it and Niall and she had this intense conversation about how he was Joey Timpson and not Niall Horan.

We entered our hotel room with our bags, laughing our butts off.

“I think I actually got her to believe me,” Niall grinned, taking a look around our suite.

“Yeah right,” I snorted. “She was totally a fan. She would’ve fought with you for the rest of her life if I hadn’t stopped you two.”

“What? I can’t let a girl win.”

I looked up and scanned the room before frowning and turning back to Niall. “Ni, why did you get a suite in the first place? It’s just us two.”

He smiled, snaking his arms around my waist. “Because I wanted to.”

“But you didn’t have to. I mean, it’s such a waste of money. We should save it for-“

“Shh,” Niall said, pressing a finger to my lips. I quieted down, staring intensely at Niall’s blue eyes. He kissed my lips several times, before our lips connected in a soft, innocent kiss. Large hands were placed on my hips as he pressed against me, causing a moan to escape my mouth. His lips made contact with the spot where my jaw met my neck, sucking on the warm skin. A wet trail of kisses were left along my jaw as his fingers fell away to rest on my hips. I didn’t realize my eyes were closed until they fluttered open. Niall’s touch had left my face. He paused, his vision flicking down to my lips. I felt his nose brush against my cheek before he placed a lingering kiss to the skin. Niall’s lips moved slightly, planting another kiss to the corner of my mouth. When he realized I wasn’t going to push him away, Niall caught my lips with his.
The kiss was a little more urgent than the one previously. Soon, Niall had fallen on top of me on the soft, plushy bed. Our lips clashed together as we exchanged passionate kisses. My fingers tangled into the hair at the back of his head. Suddenly, he pulled away and stood up, singing loudly like the maniac he was.

“My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they’re like, it’s better than yours, damn right it’s better than yours, I’d teach you but I have to charge!” He shimmed to the point where I had to cover my eyes from the scarring sight.

I thought I was the queen of ruining moments.

When he finally stopped acting like a freak, Niall collapsed on the bed, his chest rising and falling as he regained his breath. I stared at him from a safe distance and watched him.

“I miss Nate and Colette.” Niall sighed heavily, as if nothing had ever happened. Images of my two children took over my brain, and suddenly I longed for them. But they were with Maura. They were safe and sound.

“So do I.” I pouted, sitting beside him.

“They drive me nuts, but as soon as they’re gone, they’re all I can think about.”

“Atleast they’re safe.” I smiled gently, but my heart still ached for my children.

“Hey, atleast we have some time for us now.” Niall pointed out enthusiastically, cupping my face in his hands. His blue eyes sparkled enticingly. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled us further up the bed, so our head were resting on the pillows. He took my hands and brought it up to his pressing his lips to the back while playing with the wedding ring on my ring finger.

“So, what are we going to do now?” I asked, my fingers drumming on his chest. He shrugged.

“We can just stay like this.” He suggested quietly, holding me tighter.

I laughed lightly, resting my head on his collarbone. “I guess that sounds alright.”

There was a comfortable silence that took over the room, as I listened to the beat of Niall’s heart. He breathed into my hair, his eyes closed. Suddenly, he was humming softly into my hair, like he always did. I guess it was just a habit of his that I had grown used to.

“I want to take you out tonight,” he mumbled, taking my hand and running his lips over the back. He paused for a second and looked at my painted fingernails, adding, “Nice color, babe.”

“Thanks .” I grinned shyly, nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck. Niall kissed each of my fingers, looking down at me with a cute smile.

“So what do you say? Dinner tonight?”

“Only if it’s burgers and fries.”

“Eh,” Niall shrugged. “I was thinking something a bit more fancy. We haven’t been out to dinner for a while.”

“Yes we have,” I said. “We always go to Subway and Nando’s with Nate and Colette.”

“No princess,” Niall chuckled, kissing my nose. “I mean, you and I alone.”

I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. “Oh.”

“So shall we?”

“Of course,” I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder again. “But first I want to sleep. Plane rides make me pooped.”

“Anything for you, princess.” He whispered, kissing my forehead before I fell asleep.


Boulevard Dine and Grill was huge and amazing, right along the shore of a beach. It looked like a fancy restaurant from the outside, but when you stepped inside, any mother with a child would want to get out. Boulevard Dine and Grill was practically a night club. I don’t think knew this either, because he looked shocked when a waitress dressed in tight booty short and a single cloth tied across her chest for a top, came to our assistance at the front.

“Hey, babes,” the waitress said, licking her lips as she looked back and forth between Niall and I. I shot Niall a look and was immediately pissed when I realized he was literally drooling at her. I kicked Nialls’ shin. He snapped back to the present and cleared his throat.

“Erm, hello.”

“Table for two?”the waitress guessed with some dumb blonde bimbo accent, batting her eyelashes at Niall. What? Was I freaking invisible or something?

“Yeah.” Niall nodded, unable to take his eyes off her.

“Right this way,” the waitress giggled. I managed to get a glimpse of her nametag – Juliana.
Juliana led us to our table, swaying her hips back and forth. It was disgusting how confident she was, revealing so much. It was even more disgusting that Niall was staring at her butt. I kept it to myself, but I couldn’t help but feel pathetic. I was sure Niall never looked at me like that.

Once we were seated at our table, I looked around at all the other people. Couples were literally dressed up to come to this place. Ladies wore short, tight dresses. I was wearing dark jeans and a decent blouse.

Big difference.

“Can I get ya’ll a beverage?” Juliana asked, pulling out a writing pad and pen from a hidden pocket on her booty shorts.

“I’ll take a margarita.” Niall said, flashing a grin at Juliana. I rolled my eyes. Juliana set the writing pad on the table and bent down to write Niall’s order, purposely exposing her chest towards him. Of course Niall was looking. I bit my cheek, wondering why Niall wouldn’t stop. We hadn’t had a date since forever and now that we were finally on a date, he was acting like this.

“”I’ll just have water.” I told the waitress once she had finished writing down Niall’s order.

Juliana raised her eyebrows at me, those fake, colored eyebrows. “Just water?”

“Got a problem with that?” I growled, shooting daggers at her. She smirked and rolled her eyes, flipping her hair before writing my order down. She handed us our menus and sauntered off.

This bitch ain’t getting a tip.

“So what are you ordering, babe?” Niall asked, looking down at his menu as if nothing had happened. My heart hurt.

“Don’t know.” I shrugged, feeling my throat swell with held back tears. Niall continued to look through his menu, and so did I.

The environment of the restaurant was loud and lights flashed from different corners. The place smelled slightly of beer. My eyes fell to one group of girls sitting at a table. The all wore skimpy outfits and were giggling and glancing over and over again at Niall. I tried to shoot them a glare, but they didn’t notice.

“Princess?”

I could barely hear him as my ears pounded. I blinked a few times before looking at him, confused.

“Hm?”

“Ari, are you alright?” Niall asked, setting down his menu. “You’re not even looking at the menu.”

“I’m fine.” I smiled tightly, opening my menu up. How the fuck did he not know I pissed that he couldn’t stop make googley eyes at the waitress?

“Are you lying to me?” Niall frowned, taking my hand from across the table. He squeezed my hand, but I didn’t squeeze back.

“No, I promise.”

“Hey babes!” Julianna appeared out of nowhere, holding our drinks in her hand. She set them down in front of us and took out her writing pad again. “Ready to order your food?”

“I’ll just get whatever your getting.” I told Niall quietly. He nodded and turned to Juliana.

“We’ll both take the Steak Special.” Niall said. I watched in agony as Niall’s eyes flickered to her chest, then down and up the rest of her body. What, did I look blind to him?

“Sure, babe.” Juliana winked, erupting a new fire inside me. Juliana once again bent down to write the order on the writing pad, and Niall was staring. Again.

I was literally about to cry.

When Juliana walked away, Niall stared at her butt the entire time until she disappeared through the kitchen doors. When Niall turned back to me, he smiled.

“So, how is it going with-“

“I’ll be right back.” I cut him off with a mere whisper, sliding out of my chair. I headed towards the green fluorescent light marked “Restrooms”. I pushed through loads of people who smelled like alcohol, scrunching up my nose at the stench. Someone slapped my butt.

I turned around and frowned, when I realized there were too many people to tell who had done it.

This might as well be a night club.

I pushed the bathroom door open and leaned against the tile wall, letting out a deep breath. I shuddered as a single tear drop fell down the side of my face. I needed my children. They were the only ones that could make me smile at a time like this.

Suddenly I heard lips smacking. The sound of kissing.

And moaning.

My eyes shifted to a closed bathroom stall and I realized there was someone inside. People inside.

I nearly barfed.

I stumbled out of the bathroom and back through the groups of people. Some guys whistled as I walked by. I flipped them off with both middle fingers.

When I finally got sight of our table, it was only to see Niall flirting with fucking Juliana. I stormed towards them and tapped her shoulder hard, glancing at the food on our table.

“Thanks for the food,” I grinned as fake as I could. “You can leave now.”

“Rawr,” she shot back. “Someone’s on her period.” She whispered lowly, before walking away.

“What was that?” Niall asked, looking lost.

“Nothing.” I snap, sitting down. I stick my fork into my steak and begin cutting it.

“Ari…”

“Nothing!”

“Tell me what’s wrong.” He insisted softly, staring at me with those irresistible blue eyes. I looked down.

“Everything is fine.”

“No it’s not.”

“Oh, and how do you know that?”

Because whenever something’s wrong, you start talking in sentences that contain three words or less.” He informed, still staring intensely at me.

I didn’t answer.

We ate dinner in mostly silence, and I couldn’t help but wish Nate and Colette were here to make me smile. Juliana came back around, stopping at our table.

“Everything going all right over here?” she asked, not taking her eyes off Niall.

“Yeah, thanks love.” Niall smiled, a slight smirk on his face. He did yet another elevator scan on Juliana, and suddenly my fork dropped out of my hands, clashing against my plate.

“Excuse me.” I told the both of them, avoiding eye contact with Niall as tears began to sting my eyes. I stood up and pushed past our terrible waitress, and past all the other people crowding the restaurant. When I stepped outside, the smell and fresh sea water filled my nose. I didn’t realize how light headed I had gotten from the stench building up inside that place.

When I’m pissed, or mad, I tend to walk long distances without realizing it, in a short time. So in less than five minutes, I had my shoes in my hands and was walking on the sand of the nearby beach. The restaurant looked tinier now. I finally sat down in the sand, taking a deep breath. And then all the tears were let out. I sobbed quietly for some time until finally I settled down and listened to the peaceful ocean. This was much better than that musty old restaurant.

I rolled my jeans up and began playing with the sand in my hands. It was extremely dark outside, but the moon was bright. I didn’t mind that Niall hadn’t found me. At least I didn’t have to watch him flirt with a girl who was ten times prettier, skinnier and more beautiful than me.

“Aria!” I heard a voice call in the distance. I’d know that voice anywhere. Suddenly my heart clenched, filled with pain. Niall continued to call my name until he sounded less tha ten feet away. I felt his hands on my shoulder.

“Are you okay? What happened?” he asked frantically, his eyes wide and glistening in the moonlight. Then he stopped and stared at my face. “Were you crying?”

I didn’t answer his questions, continuing to stare out at the waves.

“You’re pissed,” he figured,”…at me.”

“Bingo.” I muttered, before standing up. I began walking faster and faster, away from Niall. He caught up to me, gripping my upper arm.

“Please tell me what’s wrong?”

“What wrong?” I spat, shaking him off. “What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong. We haven’t been on a date in nearly two months and when we finally get the chance, you start checking out the waitress and flirting with her. I mean can you not make it any more fucking obvious? You were literally staring at her butt when she took us to our table, and staring at her boobs when she was writing down orders. And you’re asking me what’s wrong?”

“I…I…”

“Yeah, just don’t talk.” I snarled, continuing to walk away, moving towards the water.

“Aria!”

“Shut up!”

“Stop it!” Niall yelled, his voice echoing through the quiet beach. “God dammit, don’t go.”

Suddenly I broke down, lowering myself to my knees.

“Why?” I whispered, choking back tears. “Why don’t you ever look at me like that?”

“Ari-“

“Is it because she’s skinnier? Or because she’s taller and prettier? Because her eyes are so green? Because her stomach is perfect and flat?”

“No, no baby.” Niall whispered, kneeling down, wrapping his arms around my waist. “You’re perfect.”

“I don’t feel very perfect when you stare at her like that.” I admit quietly, brushing away tears.

“I’m sorry, Aria.” Niall repeated again. “I wasn’t paying attention to my actions. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize that…that…man I’m such a douche.”

“Yeah, you are.” I sniffed, my eyes still watery.

“Please forgive me.” He whispered, hugging me from behind. “Please.”

“It’s okay, I guess.” I said, biting my lip. I shouldn’t forgive him this quick, but I did. It’s hard to stay mad at Niall.

Niall twirled me around and gave me multiple kisses on my lips. When I tried to pull away, he pulled me back in, biting on my bottom lip. We continued kissing for what felt like hours until Niall pulled away, breathless.

“You know…what this…reminds me of?” he panted.

“What?”

“Our wedding.” He grinned, and I blushed. “Remember how I picked you up like this,” Niall paused and placed his hands on my butt, lifting me up, “and twirled you around like this,” He twirled us around, “and kissed you so long like this,” he gave me another lengthy kiss, “And then… gave you piggy back ride into the water?”

I was too late when I realized what was happening.

Niall was running towards the water, holding me tighter than ever, cackling like a little witch. He dropped me in the water when it hit his knees, and I landed it in with a large splash.

“The fuck, NI?” I yelled, splashing him with water. I jumped up and dunked his head underwater for a good five seconds. He came up, gasping for air. “Payback’s a bitch.”

“You gotta admit, I caught you off guard.” He grinned, waggling his eyebrows. I snorted and dunked him again.

The great thing about California is that it could be eleven at night and you could be in the water without freezing to death. It was still quite warm.

“Just saying,” Niall said, grabbing my waist, “you look much sexier than that waitress any day.”

“That’s not true.” I mumbled, turning away.

“But look,” Niall gestured, setting his hands on the sides of my breasts, trailing down the sides of my body. “Look at this. You’re not skinny or curvy. You’re right in between. Your hips are round and even though your slim, you’ve still got some damn sexy curves.”

I shivered at his touch.

“And I’ve always liked blue eyes, not green. You’re blue eyes compliment your hair. I love how long your eyelashes are. And how full and pink your lips are. And I’m as sure as hell that waitress back there didn’t push out two babies on the same day the way you did.” Niall laughed. I couldn’t help but laugh along.

Just his words can make me feel beautiful.

By the time we got back to the rental car, our clothes had semi-dried off. When my stomach began to rumble, I realized that I hadn’t eaten much of my steak earlier.

“Hey Niall, can we stop by Mc Donalds?”

Niall kept one hand on the wheel and turned his head to me when we stopped at a traffic light. “Fancy restaurants just aren’t our thing, are they?”

I grinned. “Not really.”

“Sure, princess. Mc Donald’s it is.”

Notes

• Uno. I am so so so so sorry for taking so freaking long to update.
• Homework is poo.
• I didn't work on two major projects so I could write this chapter.
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