I sit chewing my nail with nervous energy surging through me when four texts arrive in quick succession. He must be typing like a madman, anxious to lay on me whatever new excuse he has come up with for this. Part of me is more than curious as to how he is going to weasel his way out of this one and the other part of me just doesn't give a shit. Not anymore. Knowing Niall, I'm sure he's got some trick up his sleeve to win me over but it's going to be hard work. I read the first slowly and purse my lips in a scowl that matches my attitude.

"So I'm going to assume that since you won't answer the phone that you've lost the ability to use your arms."
"Which also means that you can't text so I'll just answer for you."
"Really, it's no trouble."
"I know you pretty well anyway, so I should be good at this."

I clench my jaw. He thinks he knows me well. If he knew me well, we wouldn't be in this fucking position in the first place. But he went and screwed it all up. Again. I can see that he's typing more so I wait.

"Not that I need to explain this to you since we aren't dating at the moment and given the fact that you won't speak to me, but the girl you heard was only one of the wardrobe assistants dropping off things for tomorrow. And just to really clear things up, she was on the phone with her boyfriend. She barely said two words to me. Just dropped the clothes and left. So whatever you think you heard was her talking so some other guy and not me."

"I want to apologize again and I want you to really hear me. I am sorry for everything that happened. And now I'm sorry for the misunderstandings that seem to keep popping up. I'd like to make it up to you if I could."

My stomach drops and sits somewhere in the region of my feet. Is he telling the truth? I mean, he could be. How would I even know otherwise? And why go to all this trouble of apologizing, again, if he wasn't serious about it? My thoughts have no time to straighten themselves out before I get another message.

"Now you'd say (and just assume that I'm using a high pitched very Harper sounding voice because I'm excellent at accents) 'Oh Niall! Of course, I believe you! That makes perfect sense!'
"Still you: I completely understand now."

Without thinking, I smile and then I immediately frown when I realize it. I scrunch my face up trying not to laugh. I don't want to laugh at him. I don't want to like him. I want to be mad, dammit! The worst part is I can actually hear him imitating me in my head. I can see all the dumb hand motions he's making and the stupid faces he does when he's acting like he's a girl.
Fucking hell. This is the absolute worst.

"I think now you'd talk about how you forgive me. And how you didn't throw my beautiful flowers in the bin. And how you loved them so much."
"You: Oh, I loved the flowers, Niall! Thank you so much for sending them!"
"I must say my accent was really excellent on that last one."

I can't help it when my upper body starts shaking with laughter. He's such an idiot and it is and has always been one of my favorite things about him. I shouldn't let him know how easily I am won over, though, so I think I should make him sweat it a little bit more. I'd like to see just where he takes this whole thing. He doesn't fail me and two seconds later he texts again.

"Your arms must still be broken. That's okay. I make a pretty good you. I'll just keep going."
"You: Oh Niall...I've missed you so much. I don't know how I survived these long months so cold and lonely. I need your huge chest to lay my head against at night. You are the strongest man I know."
"You're probably sighing in real life at this point from just thinking about me."
"You: I wish you were here right now."

I'm cackling now. I don't know where he is going with this but I hope he is not about to sext himself pretending to be me. I think he might and I need to stop him before he does.

"Would you stop blowing up my phone you nerd."

"Harper! You can text! Your arms are healed! It's a miracle!"

I roll my eyes hard at that one still laughing at his dumb ass.

"Yes. It's a miracle I haven't blocked your number yet."

My phone starts buzzing in my hand and I shake my head before answering. "Tired of pretending to be me through texts?"

"I don't know. I thought I did a pretty good job of it. My Harper was pretty flawless. You should've heard it." He laughs into the phone and the sound makes me shiver. I've always loved his laugh.
It has never failed to make me smile. "I'm glad you answered this time. I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with those last messages."

I start giggling as I plop down on my bed. "I could tell." I pause, trying to decide if I really want to ask this next question but I decide to go for it anyway. "Was that really only one of the assistants?"

"It was! I swear! I can go call her back in here to prove it to you if you'd like. You can hear all about her new boyfriend. Sam is his name, I think. She never shuts up about him. I'm sure she'd be glad to talk to you too."

The adamance in his voice reassures me. "No, no, don't do that. I believe you, Niall." I'm not sure where to begin this new conversation so I go with small talk for now. "So you said you're on tour?"

"We are. This is the last leg before we head home and I'm so ready to be back in my own bed. There's only so much sleepin' in hotel rooms that a man can take, ya know?"

I run my fingers through my hair absent-mindedly and picture Niall doing the same thing halfway around the world. Then I end up thinking of the last time I was in Niall's bed. Just the thought of that night makes my whole body feel warm. I had thought we were on the up and up before it all came crashing down around my feet.

His voice gets soft and quiet for a moment like he was just thinking the same as me. "I think about ya all the time Harper. Think about us."

His words crash into me like a rolling wave, knocking me off balance and sending me reeling all over again.

"You remember that time that I tried to cook ya dinner at yer place?" I can hear the smile behind his question and it makes me instantly start laughing.

"Do you mean the time I thought I was going to have to use the fire extinguishers for the first time ever? " I ask through silent giggles.

He protests loudly on the other end. "It wasn't that bad!"

"Not that bad? You must have a different memory than me then, because if I'm not mistaken, you tried to make spaghetti and instead we ended up with a bunch of hard noodles in a giant ball, burnt bread, and over cooked meatballs that were more like golf balls. I mean, how does one set boiling water on fire?"

"I did not set the water on fire!" He practically yells through the receiver.

I can still remember that night like it was yesterday.

7 months ago

I am rushing around, stuffing rogue socks underneath the couch because Niall should be here any minute and I still want my flat to look impeccable even though he's been here more times than I can count. He told me earlier in the day that he had a surprise for me and no matter how much I tried I could not get him to spill what it is at all. I can't even fathom a guess with this man because it really could be anything. Just as I stuff the last article of clothing away, I hear the knock on my door. The butterflies in my stomach start to roar as I walk towards the door and open it slowly. He's standing there, his arms filled with brown paper bags and a smile on his face that has my heart melting. I will never be safe around this man. Never. He can turn me to jelly with only a look and he knows it.

"Hello, Sunshine!" He says, his voice excited with a hint of laughter. His eyes scan my body and my skin glows under their gaze. "You look good enough to eat."

The words alone are enough to make my thighs clench. I've been looking forward to seeing him all day. He pushes past me and carries his things into the kitchen, the bags living momentarily on my counter while he unloads them one by one. I follow him in and take a seat on one of the two stools that are there.

"So, what exactly is happening tonight?" I ask curiously as I watch a package of Italian sausage go into the fridge.

He closes the door and walks directly up to me, placing himself between my knees, his palms resting on my thighs, the heat from them slowly seeping through my jeans. "I'm making you dinner."

My brows shoot up in surprise. "Dinner? This sounds interesting. Will there be dessert?"

He smirks at me and leans in close. My chin raises on its own, trying to bring my lips closer to his, silently begging for a kiss. His mouth skims across mine in a tease, his tongue swiping along my lower lip, my mouth opening to him. "I plan on having you for dessert." A sigh escapes me without permission and he chuckles low in his throat. "Such pretty noises you make. Are you going to make more of those for me later?"

I nod and mumble yes, his mouth still so close I can feel it, distracting me and forcing me to summon every ounce of brain power I have to answer.

"That's my sunshine." He straightens and takes all of my breath with him, leaving me gasping. I look up to see him smiling down at me with a satisfied grin.

I scowl. "You're such a little shit when you do that."

He chuckles and tries to look innocent, busying himself by pulling out pots and pans. "Do what?"

"Tease me like that. So mean."

He turns around to face me, a wide grin on his face and one brow deep into his hairline. "Oh, love, you like it and you know it."

I wave my hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah yeah. Whatever." I prop my elbows on the counter and rest my chin in my cupped hand, watching him as he fills a large pot with water. "So what are we having, oh master chef?"

"Spaghetti with Italian sausage meatballs and garlic bread." He sets the pot down looking very pleased with himself and I have to admit it's making me smile. He's being adorable right now, all cutesy and boyfriendy. Not that I would ever tell him that. Not unless I wanted to see him sprinting for the door without so much as a, 'See ya later'.

He waves off my offer to help as he flits around my kitchen like he just might know what he's doing and I watch with laughter in my throat and a warm smile on my lips. Soon the pasta in boiling, the meatballs are sautéing, and the bread is in the oven. Color me surprised. I can't believe nothing terrible has happened yet. My flat remains unscathed. It's amazing. But just at that moment, I look over to see Niall pulling a blackened lump out of the oven. It's smoking and the kitchen quickly fills with the acrid scent of something burnt.

"How did you turn the bread into a brick of charcoal?" I yell over the shrill sound of the smoke alarm shouting above my head. I jump up to open and window and grab a cookie sheet, waving it above my head to fan the smoke outside and away from the tiny beeping thing alerting us all of imminent death by the nonexistent fire.

Niall drops the bread pan into the sink with a look of frustration on his face. Finally, the beeping stops and I can hear him again. "I don't know what happened. I swear I put it on the right temperature."

I look over at the oven and I can clearly see that he's set it to broil and not bake which explains this catastrophe but I don't have time to tell him because a new problem has just arisen or I guess I should say boiled over. "Niall! The pot!" I shout and gesture at the stove frantically while the sounds of sizzling water fill the room. The water has decided that the pot was just not the right place for it and it would much rather be all over the stove and floor.

Niall curses under his breath and the pot of half cooked spaghetti that is now missing a good portion of its water joins the bread in the sink. "Shit. This was not how I wanted tonight to go."

I stand up and walk over to him, resting my arms on his shoulders and around his neck. "You didn't want to feed me blackened bread and still crunchy pasta? But I love both of those." I start to giggle as he rolls his eyes at me. Hey, we still have the meatballs."

We both glance over at the skillet and there sit ten charred little things that used to be meatballs.

"Fucking hell." Niall says as he grabs the spatula, pulling out of my arms and facing the stove, pushing them around. They sound hard as rocks. "Jesus. I just wanted to make you fucking dinner."

I clamp my lips between my teeth in an effort to stop the laughter that wants to spill out of me but my body shakes with it. Niall storms around the kitchen throwing the burnt bread away, dumping the sticky solid lump of cold noodles into the trash to join the bread, finishing off the tirade by chucking the meatballs in too. I'm trying so hard not to laugh but I can't help it and his eyes shoot to mine the second he hears a chuckle. He stops, setting the pan down and turning to face me, his face still in a scowl.

"Are ya finding this funny, sunshine?"

A chill runs down my spine when he takes a step towards me. I feel a little like a poor gazelle being stalked by a lion. I slam my mouth shut again in an effort to silence myself but the giggles bubble out anyway.

"Oh, laugh it up, chuckles."

I put my hand to my mouth and talk through my fingers and my mirth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be laughing. You just looked so pitiful and then so pissed and it was funny!" I rest my hands on his shoulders once he's close enough to me and lean forward to kiss him softly. "I appreciate you trying to make me dinner, Niall. I'm sure it would've been delicious. Tonight is just not your night it seems."

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest, holding me close, his breath tickling my ear. "Ya know, there's one part of dinner that's still good." His teeth nibble at my earlobe and my whole body quivers at the touch of his tongue. "I can still have dessert..."

A moan quietly makes it way from my lips to his ear and I can feel him smile into my neck.

"You make such pretty noises, Harps. It's one of my favorite parts of touching you, seeing which sound I can get to come out and play." He drops his hands down my arms, his fingers playing lightly across my skin. "Sometimes you sigh."

He lightly drags his fingertips up and down until the sigh he wants bubbles up in my throat making him chuckle.

"Yes, just like that. Sometimes that sigh sounds a little jagged."

He drags his teeth across the skin of my neck and my whole body pushes into him. He nips at the hollow of my collar bone, dipping his tongue in and pulling it across, leaving a wet trail. I feel a rush of cool air the over the mark and I half groan and sigh.

"That's the one. You see, Harper, you are like a beautiful instrument and I know just how to play you."

My breathing sounds ragged as his hands press into the small of my back. His fingers find the hem of my shirt and he slowly pulls it over my head, letting it fall to the floor in a puddle of cotton.
My skin flushes pink under his intense gaze. He uses one hand to trace over my collar bone and then down into the valley of my breasts, fingering the lace on the cups of my bra. All of a sudden the kitchen fills with the deafening sound of the smoke alarm screaming at us. Again. I pull away from Niall, running for my broom cupboard to try and swat the damn thing down. I don't even remember the fact that I'm only in a bra as I frantically search, unable to find the broom quickly.

"Fuck!" I yell over the sound that's beginning to kill my poor eardrums.

Niall, who is obviously used to loud high pitched noise (blame it on the job), calmly climbs into a chair and pulls the battery out. The room falls blessedly silent once again. He tosses the battery in his palm a few times, looking down at me from his perch. "I could get used to you running around in just your underwear." He grins as I scowl. "Guess we were just too hot to handle. Alarm couldn't take it. Must've been the smoke in your knickers."

I snort and roll my eyes at him. "Did you really just say that? Like really?"

He chuckles as he climbs down, putting the chair back where it belongs. "What?"

I shake my head. "You are such a dork and I'm pretty sure it was the dinner you just destroyed and not my knickers."

He shrugs that perfect little shrug of his as he wraps his arms around my waist, his fingertips playing over my skin. "That just may be it." He drops a kiss to the tip of my nose. "I'm sorry about dinner, though. I wanted to make you something special and that's one of my go to's always. Maybe it's the different kitchen. I don't know. It's a shame that I fucked it up."

He looks so pitiful and sincere that I'm starting to feel bad for picking on him. I wrap my arms around his shoulder and bring myself up to my toes. "It's okay babe. And don't worry, you're reputation as the next Jamie Oliver is still solid. I promise not to tell the world that you've burned dinner. I know that you're fantastic in the kitchen," I pause and smile a crooked grin. "and a few other places that I can think of too. Plus, there's a bright side to this just like you said."

His brows raise as he looks into my eyes. "And that would be?"

"Dessert is still good."

A sort of growl crawls out of Niall's chest and his hands reach down grabbing my ass and pushing me against him as he presses his lips to mine. He kisses me hard, his tongue exploring me, swiping over my own. His hands drift lower and I jump slightly, wrapping my legs around his hips, never breaking the kiss. He sets me on the countertop, gripping my thighs in his large palms, kneading them. Pressing his thumbs closer and closer to my center, I start to arch my back in an effort to get him exactly where I want him. I feel him smile into our kiss and pull back slightly. His lips moving down my jaw as he speaks, his words sinking into my skin.

"Did I ever tell you that I like this countertop very much?" I can only let out a muffled no. I am too distracted by the touch of his tongue to my throat. "I didn't? What a shame. This counter happens to be the perfect height."

His fingers start to undo the buttons of my jeans and I can feel myself shaking. My body is anxious for him. It's like I've been waiting all day for this moment. He drops to his knees between my legs and his hands pull at my jeans, dragging them down until they are completely off and they join my shirt on the floor. He looks up at me with those bright blue eyes that make my heart beat faster. "Would you like to see why it's the perfect height?"

I reach forward and run my fingers through his hair, nodding and it makes him smile. Those hands that were kneading my thighs move up and he purposefully pushes his thumb over the wet cotton of my panties, right into the tiny little bundle of nerves. It's like my whole body catches on fire the moment he touches me there. My hips jerk forward and a moan escapes me followed by a sigh. He rolls it in a circle slowly, so slowly that sparks of color burst behind my closed eyes and I whine for more.

"I do like it when you make that noise. What do you want, Sunshine? Do you want me to keep touching you?" His voice drips with the sound of sex and I answer with a whiny breathy yes.
"And do you want me to taste you? Do you want me to eat you? Have my dessert early?"

His thumb never stops its slow careful circles. My stomach contracts, pulling my body in on itself and I nod. "Please, touch me, lick me, please..."

I don't even need to open my eyes to see the cocky look on his face. I can hear it in his voice.

"Such a pretty girl when you ask nicely. Let's get these off then." He hooks his fingers under the edge of my panties and pulls them down my legs. He pushes my knees apart, widening the space between them, making himself comfortable. Stroking a hand down the smooth skin at my center, he tells me to open my eyes and look at him. The sight of him, his mouth inches from where I want him most, sends shivers through me. He holds my gaze and I watch him lick a wide strip up before wrapping his lips around me and sucking gently. My hips raise off the counter and I moan loudly as his tongue flicks gently, sending waves of intense feeling pulsing through me. I put my hand on the back of his head, gripping a handful of blonde hair in my fingers while his fingers find my wet slick opening and push their way inside. My body clenches around them, trying to pull them in deeper. My breath becomes broken and labored while the burning fire in my belly grows bigger and bigger, threatening to burst at any moment. My fingers knot themselves in his hair while his tongue moves impossibly fast over me, his fingers pressing deeper into me.

"I'm almost there..." I whisper through a jagged drag of air to my lungs. "Oh god...I'm gonna come..oh..oh god.."

I screw my eyes shut just as the colors burst behind them and the surge of pleasure rushes through me. Wave after waves rolls over me as he works me through my finish with his mouth and fingers. The pulses start to die down and then Niall touches his tongue to me one last time and sensitivity screams for me to clamp my legs closed and I yelp. I feel him chuckle and plant one last kiss on me before standing up and giving me a casual once over, my body completely flushed and my breathing still labored.

"I do love making you come."

---

Niall's laughter makes my smile widen and there are tears rolling down my cheeks from the
memory of Niall so thoroughly ruining dinner. "God, that was such a great night! I still can't believe how many things managed to go wrong in one evening. It must be a record somewhere. Worst dinner date ever." I say as I wipe the wetness from my face.

"I know. I really did manage to fuck up the whole meal, didn't I?" His words muddled by laughter.
"But the night turned out well in the end if I remember correctly. Really well. "

It's as if he's there in the room with me because my face immediately colors. Timidly, I answer him. "I think you are correct." A flash of a memory comes back to me in an instant and I burst out into fresh laughter. "Oh my god."

"What?" The confusion in his voice evident with only a single word.

My voice squeaks through in short bursts between laughs. "I just remembered something that happened the next day! Lily came over and we were hanging out in my kitchen, drinking wine while I made dinner and she was sitting with her elbows on that exact spot on the countertop and all I could think was, 'God. I hope I washed that'."

We both erupt in loud laughter that lasts for a few minutes before we grow quiet and I feel the mood get serious. Niall is first to break the soft silence.

"We had some good times, didn't we?"

I stay quiet for a moment longer, wondering if he means that night or in general but he clarifies it for me.

"I mean, it wasn't all bad with me was it? It was pretty good. I mean until I mucked it all up."

My heart aches for a moment. I wish I could tell him what I'm thinking right now. I wish I could tell him that no, it wasn't all bad. I wish I could say that those six months of my life were some of the best I'd had so far. But most of all, I really want to tell him how much I was starting to care for him, to love him. I can't, though. I can't say anything like that right now so I leave it simple.

"Yeah, it was pretty good."

"Harper?" My name sounds so sincere on his lips right now. "Do you think I could call you again tomorrow?"

I think about talking to him again and a warmth grows in my chest and I smile to myself about that feeling for the first time in a long while.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that."

Notes