whiplash

It has been over a week since I met Niall. Nine days to be exact. But after day five I gave up. I’ve let the whole notion that he is actually going to call me and that something might happen between us fall to the wayside. I can’t spend time pining over a guy I barely know no matter who he is. Lily on the other hand is a little more perturbed than me. She walks into my apartment nearly every evening, flops down on my couch, and asks one question. It’s the same question every day and today is no different.

“Did he call?”

I give an exasperated groan from beside her. “You know good and well that he hasn’t. You would’ve been the first and only person I told.” I give her a disgruntled look. “Honestly woman, who do you take me for?”

She twirls her hair absent-mindedly around her finger, slipping it into a knot then pulling it free. “Hmm, I was hoping today would be the day. I can’t decide if I think he will or won’t.”

I stand up and walk across the small room to the kitchen. “Well, I booked my ticket on the train to It Aint Gonna Happen. You should probably get yours soon. It’s filling up fast.” I grab a drink from the fridge and hold it up, wiggling it in the air. “You want one too?”

She nods and I grab a second bottle as she continues. “I don’t think you should get on that train too soon. I’ve still got some hope for the boy. He’s a busy pop star we’ve got to give him some leeway.”

I laugh as I sit down, handing her her beer. “Busy little pop star?”

“He is!” She says incredulously. “Have you seen all the shit that those boys do? I mean really…” She pauses mid sentence and shakes her head. “What am I saying? Look at who I’m talking to. You probably already know what they’re doing and have been doing for the past week.”

I huff out. “Excuse me! I do not! Just because I follow them on twitter does not make me a crazy stalker. Millions of people do that.” I throw my hands up emphasizing my point. “Millions!”
Lily bursts out laughing beside me. “Don’t get your panties in a twist! Damn! I know you aren’t stalking them. In fact, I know you so well that I would guess that you haven’t even looked to see if Niall’s tweeted anything lately.”

I sit chewing on my pinky nail a little before I answer with a resigned sigh. “You’re right. I haven’t looked. But mainly because it kinda felt strange. Like knowing that he is out there and doing stuff and that my number is in his phone. Just like hanging out. Waiting to be used. Which probably isn’t going to happen.” I shake my head and put my hands up. “Yeah. I don’t want to think about this.”

Lily looks over at me with an exaggerated head shake. “It’s kinda weird that I’m paying more attention to the guy you made out with than you are.” She sits back, thinking for a moment. “Honestly though, why ask for a number if you’re not going to use it? My gut says he’s going to call you and I’m not usually wrong about these things.”

I roll my eyes. “You are your damn gut. Sometimes I feel like that’s the only thing you use to make decisions. You’re like a man and his penis. Always using the little head instead of the big head.” That one earns a loud laugh from my friend. “Right now all I want is for your gut and my gut to drink and watch terrible television. Can we do that? Please?” I gestured around the small space that is my lounge. “I mean it’s Friday night! Let’s put on our comfy pants and be fat and drunk together.” I turn to her and look serious for a moment. “And it’s not weird. I’ve just spent way too much time already thinking about it. So now I’ve let it go. I got to have my fun and even though I wanted more fun…” I shrug my shoulders and pat her leg. “It’s just not in the cards, sweetie.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll drop it. But just for tonight. Besides, who can say no to a night of terrible television, cuddled up on a couch with their best friend?” She pauses and then adds with a laugh, “Not exactly what I envisioned my fun Friday nights to be when I was younger though.”
“My teenage self certainly wasn’t picturing pints of Ben & Jerry’s and Netflix marathons. Which is just sad really because those things are awesome. But seriously, who wants to go out to club?” I make a disgusted face and stick my tongue out. “Blech. Ugh. No. Dirty men trying to touch you and buy you drinks that you don’t want. Yeah, I’ll pass.” I stand up and grab my empty bottle. Glancing down at Lily’s, I ask, "You want another one or no?“

"I totally agree. I’m so over the bar scene.” She shakes her head. “ And no, I’m good. Keeping my eye on my girlish figure. Have to look good for the day I get papped standing beside Niall Horan’s new girlfriend.” She says with a cheeky smile aimed at me.

I laugh loudly as I grab myself another beer. I call out from the kitchen. “Let me know when you find her. I’d like to hang out with her too.” While I am searching through my cupboards for a snack, I hear my phone buzz from the couch. I ignore it and keep looking, but call out to Lily instead. “Will you see who that is?”

She grabs my phone and turns it over. “It just says Unknown Name and Unknown Number.” I am about to tell her to just ignore it when she answers anyway. That’s just like her too. She’s a troublemaker. “Hello, Harper’s phone. She’s too busy drinking and stuffing her face to answer herself. How may I help you?” She is silently laughing at the horrified look on my face when her own face drains of color and her eyes grow wide. “Umm..” She stutters. “Y-yup, hold on one sec.” She stands up and practically runs to the kitchen. Her thumb covering the bottom half of my phone. In a whisper, she squeals, “OH MY GOD! IT’S NIALL!”

I look over at her with complete disbelief, then roll my eyes. “Shut the fuck up. That’s not even funny.”

She pushes the phone at me and mouths silently. “I’m not joking.” She insists once more. “Take the damn phone.”

My jaw drops to the floor and my nerves explode on the spot. If she isn’t joking that meant Niall was on the phone waiting for me to talk to him and here I am having a mental breakdown over him.

Again.

Dammit! Will I ever not do this?!

I feel Lily pinch me on the arm, bringing me back to earth with a flash of pain. She sticks the phone in my hand and pulls herself up onto the counter top, a giant smile plastered to her face.
I take a deep breath and raise the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

A smooth Irish accent rings through. “Hey Harper, it’s Niall.”

Fuck. Why am I this nervous? I’ve already made out with the guy. In a fucking public place for that matter. If I can do that I can flirt on the damn phone. I take another deep breath. I can do this. Easy. I decide to play a little hard to get. “Hmmmm…Niall…Niall? Yeah, I don’t know if I know any Nialls. Not really ringing a bell..” I pause for effect before continuing. “Oh wait! Yes, I did meet a Niall a week or two ago. Didn’t think he’d actually call though.” His laugh sounds in my ear and it makes me smile. “Wait, that laugh sounds familiar now. Maybe you could refresh my memory a bit?”

I can hear the smile in his voice when he speaks. “Well, I’ve got blonde hair, blue eyes, about 5'10”. You met me backstage at a show. We went to a pub. Had a few drinks. I may or may not have pushed you up against a hallway wall and kissed you. Is that ringing any bells?“

Now it is my turn to laugh. "You know, now that you mention it, that hallway thing is bringing back some memories.”

“Well, that’s nice to know. I haven’t been able to forget it. And it’s because of that that I was hoping maybe I might be able to see you tonight?”

My heart stood still the moment the words left his mouth. He wants to see me. Tonight. Does that mean he wants to continue what we started that night? Fuck. What if he does? God. I need to take a shower.

He clears his throat and continues. “I’ve honestly been the biggest waste of space whenever I try to work. Can’t get those damn lips of yours off my mind.”

I suck in a breath. I can barely contain my excitement. “What did you have in mind?”

“How about I come over to your place? We could just hang out. Have a few drinks. See where the night takes us. Maybe around 8? If that’s okay with you?”

I glance quickly over at the clock. It is 6:30. I can do a really quick clean up and jump in the shower. Yes, this could work. “That sounds perfect.”

The rest of the call is filled with the little mundane details of where I live. I’m surprised I even got my address out correctly because my brain is going a mile a minute! I am freaking out. Niall is coming over to my apartment. Holy shit! He is coming here! Over here! I hang up the phone and look over at Lily, who has an expectant look on her face.

“OH MY GOD!” I start pacing around the room. “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD. OH. MY. GOD.”
Lily jumps off the counter and grips my shoulders. “Oh my god what?”

I look her straight in the eyes and a smile covers my face. “Niall is coming over here. Tonight. Like in a few hours.” I squeal. “NIALL FUCKING HORAN! Holy shit.”

She stands stunned for a moment and I start bouncing on the balls of my feet with excitement. She finally finds her voice. “Jesus. Wow. Okay..okay..” She looks back up at me and I can see a plan forming in her head already. She points one finger at me. “First off, you need to calm down. You cannot be acting like a crazy person when he gets here.” She walks over to the freezer and pulls out the first bottle she sees, cinnamon whiskey. She pours two shots and hands one glass to me. “Here, take this.” She clinks her glass against mine own. “Cheers!”

I let the cold liquid race down my throat. Despite its freezing temperature, it burns in my belly. The warmth it brings seeps into my arms and down my legs. I can feel the alcohol already doing its magic, calming me from the inside out. I set the empty shot glass down on the counter and smile up at my wonderful friend. “Okay, I’m as calm as I’m going to get right now. What now?” I look around the somewhat messy kitchen. “Oh shit! I should probably clean up. I can’t let him see my house like this!” I start to frantically pick up the dirty glasses and stick them in the dishwasher but Lily grabs my shoulder.

She points back to my bedroom. “You need to go get in the shower. I’ll take care of this.” She gestures around the room. “I’ll tidy up a bit for you. Don’t worry about that. Go make yourself hot and sexy.” She pushes me in that direction before turning back to the kitchen and getting down to business.

I walk quickly back to my bedroom and turn on the shower as hot as it can go. Stripping down completely, I step in and let the water beat the tension from my muscles. I am so anxious. I can feel my nerves jumping all over the place. The shot is helping though. Slowly I’m calming down. I may need another one of those before he gets here. My mind is still all over the place as I scrub every inch of my body.

What is going to happen tonight. What is he even expecting? Is this a hook up? Oh god. What if that’s exactly what this is? Can I even do that? Am I the girl that hooks up with a random guy? Forget that he’s a ridiculously famous popstar who could get any girl he really wanted. Can I hook up with him and that be it? Am I a one night stand girl? I think back to that night at the bar. That night I would have been. Easily. But I had a few drinks in me. Everything sounds like a great idea when you’re buzzed, including sleeping with people. I shiver involuntarily, remembering the look on his face when he cornered me, the way his hands felt on me, the way his lips tasted, the way he smelled. I feel the blood rush straight to my center just like it did that night. Regardless of if this is a one time thing or not, part of me hopes that this night will go in that exact same direction. I mean, how many days have I dreamed about him kissing me and woken up covered in sweat and aching for a man to touch me?

Let’s be frank here, I need to get laid and tonight could be that night.


I finish up my shower pretty quickly compared to my normal routine. 20 minutes and I am clean, buffed, shaved, and smooth over almost every inch of my body. I spread lotion over my legs and smile. Even I want to touch myself, my skin feels so nice and soft. I towel dry my hair, but leave it damp and down my back. It turns into a dark mass of tousled waves as it dries and it is one of my favorite ways to wear it. It is also the easiest. Seeing as I don’t have all the time in the world to primp, easy is good. I wrap my towel tightly around me and walk out into my bedroom and straight to the closet. I blow out a large breath as I stand staring at the clothes hanging there.
What the hell am I supposed to wear?

I flick through shirt after shirt. Everything looks too old, too frumpy, too dressy, or like I am just trying too hard. Nothing is catching my eye.

Am I supposed to look sexy? Casual? Do I need to make it obvious that I want to have sex with him? Wait, do I even want to have sex with him?

I laugh out loud as I pull a sheer long sleeved white t-shirt from its hanger.

Who am I kidding? Yes, I definitely want to do that. Like, a lot. And more than once if possible. Then a thought hits me and I groan. What if I have this all wrong? What if I am reading too much into this. What if this isn’t a date at all? What if this is literally nothing? Oh god. What if I went through all this trouble and nothing is going to happen?

I pull on a pair of pale pink lace panties and the matching bra and I sigh.

“I’m gonna look like an idiot.”

I pull the shirt over my head and adjust it while looking in the mirror. This is my favorite shirt. It has a deep v neck and is tight fitting so I have the perfect amount of cleavage showing. The fabric is soft and sheer, so sheer in fact that I can definitely see my pale pink bra staring me right in the face.

Did I mention that I normally wear this shirt only around the house? And usually I’m alone when that happens?

I tilt my head to the side and look at my reflection closely. I do look really cute. Especially half naked with only a bit of pink lace covering my bottom half. This is what Niall would see if I suddenly become brazen enough to strip off my clothes in front of him. Yeah. That settles it. I am definitely going to wear this shirt tonight. I’ll cover it up with a sweater or something for now. It’s not like I’m going to answer the door wearing just my underwear anyway. I walk away from the mirror, slip on my favorite pair of jeans, pull a cardigan over my shirt and look one last time in the full length mirror. I smile at my reflection. No trace of the bra can be seen. I raise an eyebrow. That is, unless I want it seen. I muss my hair a bit more to give it that tousled, sex hair look and walk out to find Lily.

The first thing I notice when I walk out of my bedroom is that my apartment looks like I am getting ready to host a seance. There were candles on every surface that I have and I do not have a lot of space. I hear music playing on my stereo, soft romantic sounding stuff. Then I notice a bottle of wine is chilling in front of the couch.

I shout out for my friend. “Lily!” She pops her head around the corner of the kitchen and I start walking towards her. “Lily? Why does it look like I’m trying to summon the ghost of Patrick Swayze in here?”

She looks around at her handiwork. “I’m trying to set the mood!”

“Is the mood you were going for, ‘Hey look! I’ve got a Ouija board! Wanna play’?” I blow out the several candles near me. “This is too much. He’ll think I’m crazy if he walks in and sees all this.”

She looks around again. “I like it. I think it looks good. Lets him know exactly what he can expect tonight.”

I groan. “Or I could just lay naked on the couch when he walks in.” That makes her laugh. “Shouldn’t I be a little bit of a challenge? Don’t guys want to work for it?”

She dismisses my questions with a wave of her hand. “Who cares about that? I think you should leave it. You’ll thank me tomorrow.”

“I like it, but maybe one or two not 85. I’d rather not burn the place down before anything fun happens.”

She grumbles beside me. “Fine.”

We go about blowing out candles. I turn off the music and replace it with a playlist from my phone of just random favorites. It ranges from classics to newer stuff and makes the mood perfect. I grab the bottle of wine and tuck it back in the fridge. I walk back out and look around now satisfied with how the place looks. I go and sit beside Lily on the couch. She elbows me immediately. I look over at her to catch her waggling her eyebrows up and down and I roll my eyes.

I know what is coming next and without fail I hear her voice all sing songy next to me. “Harper’s gonna get some.”

I laugh out loud at her silliness. “Yeah, let’s hope so too, because it’s about damn time. I’m gonna start growing cobwebs down there.” We both burst out laughing. “Well, it’s been awhile since asshole number one.”

She scowls. She knows I am referring to the fact that the last guy I was with hadn’t exactly been ace, if you know what I mean. "Let’s not think about that douchebag tonight, okay? He’s the past. Let’s think about the really hot man coming over to your house right now. You said he was a good kisser, didn’t you? “

"Yes,” I nod vigorously. “An extremely good kisser. Like I melted. I was a friggin’ puddle.”
She elbows me again. “Wonder what else he’s good at?”

I put my head in my hands. “I can’t even think about that right now. I think I need a drink.”
“There’s time for that.” She stands up and I follow her into the kitchen. She hands me a beer before checking her watch. “Oh, But it is time for me to go.” She waggles her brows again. “Unless you think Niall would be down for a threesome?”

I almost spit out the sip I just took. “I love you Lily but no. Hard pass on that one. Plus, I don’t think your boyfriend would like me too much after that.”

“True.” She agrees as I walk her to the door. She turns around and looks seriously at me for a moment. “Shame. We could’ve been great together.” She holds that serious face for maybe a second before losing it completely.

“You’re an idiot.”

“I know and you love me.” She hugs me to her. “Have fun tonight.” She leans back and looks me straight in the eyes, the seriousness back in her face. “Just so you know. I was totally right. I totally called this.”

I laugh. “Is this you politely saying I told you so?”

She nods smugly. “It is.”

“Do you feel better?”

She nods smugly again. “I do.”

I roll my eyes. “Good. I’m glad. Now go, please.” I point out into the hall of my building.

She turns, laughing and makes her way down to the elevator, but pauses to call back to me over her shoulder. “Make good choices!” She winks and blows me a kiss before disappearing into the elevator.

I shut the door and lean back against it. I will not freak out or lose it. I’m going to be calm and cool and collected. With that thought in mind, I push myself off the door and walk back into the kitchen.

Who the fuck am I kidding? I am never calm, cool, and collected. I am a spaz by nature. I make impulsive decisions. I laugh at my own jokes. I jump up and down when my favorite song comes on the radio. I am by definition the opposite of those three things. I let out a breath. Good thing he already witnessed at least half of those behaviors at the bar. I take another swig from the bottle and let the cold liquid soothe me. This was all going to be perfectly fine. I could just act like Niall is no big deal even though I will probably want to jump his bones the minute he walks through the door. Easy peasy.

As if right on cue my door buzzes. My heart actually jumps in my chest. I can feel it thumping somewhere near my throat. He’s here, actually here. I walk over to the door and take a deep breath. My hand rests on the door handle. I am stuck there, frozen with nerves and excitement. The sound of the door buzzing again jolts me out of it. I open it quickly and my breath catches in my throat. He is standing there, hands stuck in the front pockets of a pair of ripped black skinny jeans, looking completely at ease with himself. His black jacket hangs open, showing off a plain low slung t-shirt covered by a plaid button down. He looks good enough to eat and I am practically drooling. I look up into his eyes and watch as a small smile grows on his face. I know he’s caught me checking him out. I shuffle from one foot to the other nervously. A soft, barely audible sigh falls from his lips before he speaks.

“Hey babe, it’s good t'finally be seein’ ya again.” I watch as he pulls his hands from his pockets and leans in towards me. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. His embrace feels warm like all the heat from his body is slowly seeping into me. Without thinking, I burrow my face into his shoulder and neck. His smell is intoxicating, spicy and sweet at the same time. It is sending waves of need through me. I have the strongest urge to turn my head only the slightest bit and put my lips right on his neck. I shudder just thinking about it. He slowly lets me go and pulls back gently, a small smirk lingers on his mouth. With a small chuckle, he asks, “Are ya gonna invite me in or are we just gonna hang out in the hallway?”

I blush and giggle like I have no control over it. “If I remember correctly, you seem to have a penchant for hallways so I thought it’d be perfect.”

Now it’s his turn to blush and I am also rewarded with a bigger grin. “You’re a smart ass, you know that?”

I shrug and smile back at him. “It was a nice hallway. Not that I remember too much of it. I could only seem to focus on one thing at that moment.”

His stance turns slightly cocky as he shifts his weight and quirks up one brow. “I’m glad I could give you something to remember.”

I raise my eyebrows and step back into my apartment. “You did, but why don’t you come inside.” And because I’m suddenly feeling very ballsy I add, “Who knows? You might even do a better job tonight. Maybe finish what you started back there.”

Niall chuckles to himself as he walks past me. His smell lingers around me and it feels like it seeps into my pores. I shut the door behind us and just watch him for a moment. He looks so good walking through my apartment like he owns the place. I’m not sure how he does it, but he exudes this confidence that permeates through every part of the room. Just like that moment backstage when I first saw him I can feel myself being drawn to him.

I walk up to him and hold out my hand. “Here, I’ll take your coat.” He shrugs out of it and hands it to me. The inside is covered in a black furry lining. It’s so soft against my fingers that I have to fight the urge to rub it over my cheek. I mean I don’t want to scare him off just yet. One look at me rubbing my face on his coat and he’ll be out of my door in seconds. I reluctantly hang it next to mine by the door and guide him towards my couch. I’m glancing around the room looking for any small thing that might be out of place even though I know it looks impeccable thanks to Lily. I need to remember to buy that girl dinner. I catch Niall watching me as I walk. He seems to be studying me and it’s making me feel a little self conscious, but also like I want to shake my ass and give him something to really look at. I can’t help but laugh to myself as I gesture for him to sit down. I open my mouth to ask him if he wants a drink just as he brushes past me. His body barely touches mine, but makes me shiver. My mouth is left hanging slightly open, my words floating somewhere between my tongue and my brain. “Um.” I mumble as he turns to me. “Uh.”
He smiles and looks at me quizzically. “You okay there, sunshine?”

Something that sounds a lot like gibberish falls out of my mouth and I shake my head to clear it. “Yeah, sorry, I forgot what I was going to say for a second.” I bring my hand up to my face in an attempt to wipe away the ridiculousness of the moment before continuing. “Anyway, um, do you want a drink?” I thumb back at the kitchen. “A beer maybe? That’s what I was going to have.” I chuckle nervously.

He nods. “I’d love a beer. Thank you.”

I start walking over to the kitchen, but turn quickly as if I’ve forgotten something. “I’m sorry. You can sit down! Make yourself comfortable!” He smiles at me. It looks like he’s trying his best not to laugh and it makes me blush embarrassed. I turn and hurry to grab our drinks. Maybe a few sips of beer and I’ll become a normal person again. I grab two bottles and when I walk back in the room Niall is looking at the cover of one of the many books sitting on my coffee table.

He takes the beer from my hand and sits down. I watch him as he wiggles his butt around on the cushion. It’s hard not to laugh out at him. He catches my stare and grins. “Just making myself comfy. Like ya said.” I hear him, but my brain still has me just staring at him. I can’t really get over that he’s sitting on my couch. Like what is happening right now? I’m still staring when Niall laughs to himself and wiggles again. “I’m surprised you even came out to the bar with me honestly. This is a pretty comfortable couch. I think I’d have picked the Netflix marathon instead of drinks with me.”

His words make my mind race back to that night and I laugh. “I did say that, didn’t I? But I think I made the better choice personally.”

Niall leans back making himself at home. He drapes his arm over the back of my couch, spreads his legs wide, his other hand holding the bottle rests against his thigh and his eyes travel up my body. I bite my bottom lip, trying my best not to stare at him. He has literally only said three sentences to me and I am a mess. When I look back at his face, he’s grinning up at me.

I set my beer down on the table and sit down facing him with one leg propped underneath me. “Okay. I’m not even gonna try and pretend that I am not nervous right now. My mind is going like a mile a minute. And you remember the word vomit from before? Well, prepare yourself because that is definitely about to happen again.” My hands have been moving all over the place the entire I’ve been talking so I tuck one under my leg to look a little less nuts. “I’m sorry, I think my brain may have actually exploded at this point. I mean, what is even happening right now?” I look around my living room. “I mean, look at you. You’re Niall Horan. Like the Niall Horan. This is just weird.” I shake my head. “That sounded rude. I don’t mean you’re weird. I just mean that this is not normal for me and I’m having some trouble acting normal.” I put my hand to my forehead and blow out a breath. “It’s just crazy because you travel the world and crap. There are literally millions of girls that would die to have you sitting on their couch drinking a beer with them and I’m just me, you know?” I start laughing because I know I sound ridiculous. “And now I have you looking at me like a crazy person. You can run if you want? I didn’t lock the door.” The last sentence makes him laugh with me. I take a long drag off of my beer. “I think I need another drink. Maybe something stronger? Then maybe I’ll shut up.”

Niall is full on belly laughing now. His head is thrown back and he’s gripping his stomach. He raises back up and looks over at me. “I was right when I said you weren’t like other girls. Never met anyone quite like you Harper. And that is not a bad thing. Why don’t you just pretend I’m your dorky downstairs neighbor?” He pushes up imaginary glasses. “I’m just a normal lad hanging out with a cute girl who happens to be a bit nuts.” He takes a drink from his own bottle. “She also happens to be pretty adorable too.” He looks down at his drink. “I wouldn’t be opposed to something stronger either. It’ll help us both relax. Then we can get to know each other better.”

I’m smiling like a silly person as I stand up because he just said I was adorable. “Okay, I’ll go see what I have.” In the kitchen I have a wide array of bottles to choose from. I don’t drink all the time, but I do like variety to choose from when I do. I pick a bottle of tequila from my freezer, grab two shot glasses, salt and two more beers. My hands are full as I make my way back to him. I set out everything in front of the two of us. “Sorry I don’t have any limes. I did grab the salt, though if you’d like it. I do personally. Anyway, that’s why I grabbed the two beers. They make a solid chaser if you want one. I think I might be rambling again.” I stop talking and pour two shots out. I smile as I hand one to Niall. His eyes follow me as I lick the inside of my wrist and sprinkle the salt there. I offer him the shaker and he follows my lead.

“I don’t normally use this, but what the hell.” I watch him lick his own wrist and all I can think about is his tongue on my skin. I shake my head to get rid of the thought. That will not help with my nervousness right now. He holds up his shot glass and I raise my own to meet his. “Cheers to unexpected delights.”

I echo his words, lick my wrist and swallow down the icy shot. I put my empty glass next to the bottle and grin up at him. “I love tequila. You probably didn’t know that, but I do. I love everything about it.” I grimace. “Well, everything except the hangover.”

He leans back against the couch with his beer back in his hand. “Try performing to an arena full of screaming girls with one and then we’ll talk about hangovers.”

Just picturing that makes me laugh. “Yeah, that sounds like a terrible idea.”

“It was definitely not my finest moment.” He takes a sip of his beer and his eyes stay on my face. He looks like he’s trying to figure me out. “I wanna hear one of your stories. I bet you have some good ones.”

I snort. “What makes you think I’ve got good stories? Probably no where near your level.” He just shrugs and waits for me to go on. I sit back and think for a moment. “Okay, I’ve got a funny one about the first time I ever got drunk.”

Niall chuckles. “I’m all ears.”

“So my best friend in high school convinced me that together we should take a bottle of rum from her parents’ cabinet and drink it.” I pause and hold my finger up. "And first off, let me tell you that anytime someone has to convince you it’s a good idea, it most definitely is not a good idea. Ever. Anyway, we took the bottle and cans of orange soda because that’s all she had.“ I grimace thinking back and put my hand to my mouth. "Terrible choice, by the way. Oh! You should also know that my friend had been drunk before. Me on the other hand, I had no idea what I was doing. So she kept pouring me drink after drink and asking me if I was feeling anything. I was sitting there thinking, 'What the hell am I supposed to feel?’ and I would say that I didn’t know and she would just shove another drink in my hand. I was like six or seven drinks in at this point. At some point in the evening we passed out but I woke up at like 3 am and had to crawl to the bathroom where I spent the early morning hours alternating being sick and sleeping with my face pressed to the tile floor.” I look over at Niall’s face and he’s got a large grin covering it, laughter is spilling out. “Hey, the tile was cold. It felt amazing. Don’t judge me. But after that night I didn’t drink again until my freshman year of college and then it was only a few beers. So I had the worst hangover of my life to date when I was 16 almost 17 years old.” I waved my hand around. “You’re Irish. I’m sure you’re first drinking story happened when you were like 10.”

Niall laughed. “Yeah, something like that. Where did you grow up? Judging by your accent it wasn’t here.”

“No, I was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. Which I would kindly like to point out you have never been to.” I purse my lips and raise an eyebrow. Niall mockingly raises his hands in surrender. “I started university there, but I decided that I wanted to study abroad. So I did. I actually just graduated this year.” I cock my head to the side when one of my favorite songs starts to play. I turn it up for a moment. “Oh! I love this song.” I start to sing the lyrics, moving my body to the smooth guitar. I’m lost for a moment in my own world. The shots have clearly done their job and brought me back to myself. I remember who is sitting right next to me and laugh when I see him watching me. I turn down the music again. “"Sorry…I can get a tad carried away.”

“No, please. Keep dancing. I’m not going to complain about getting to watch you move.” He chuckles at my blushing face. “I noticed your music when I walked in. You were actually playing one of my favorite songs.”

I’m surprised. “Was I, really? That was not planned at all. This is just a playlist of all my favorites. It’s honestly really random. Half the time I can’t even remember what’s on here. It is fun though because I tend to get excited when something I haven’t heard in forever comes on.” I look at him very seriously for a moment. “I do have one rule when people listen to this playlist with me and I’m afraid that if you can’t follow it, I will kick you out of my flat.”

He sits up straighter and mimics my serious face. “Well, you better fill me in. I wouldn’t want to be kicked out.”

“If you are not the type of person that sings the guitar parts of certain songs. Well, we can’t be friends. That is unacceptable.”

He rolls his eyes. “Seriously? Is that even a concern for me? Really? Do you even know me at all?” He laughs at himself. “Well, no you don’t but you can trust me. You won’t need to kick me out. I’ve got this. I’ve got some mad air guitar skills also.” He puts his drink down and starts pretending his rocking out of the guitar and I’m laughing.

I reach over and touch my hand to his own, ceasing his movements. Just like before I can feel the spark between us. I wonder if he feels it too? He glances down at where we are touching and it makes me think he can. I pull my hand away and smile. “I think I can trust those skills. It appears I’ll be in good hands.”

Niall smirks over at me before taking another swig of his beer. “That ya will, sunshine.”
I know that a pink flush creeps over my cheeks at his words and I swallow hard. I glance down at the bottle of tequila and an idea comes to me head. I look back over at him and bite my lip, grinning. “You wanna play a game? A drinking game maybe?”

He grins back at me and runs his tongue over his teeth. “My sweet little Harper, are you trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me?”

I can’t help but giggle. Was I? Quite possibly yes. I chuckle more as I answer. “I might be. That could be a happy side effect of this game, but my thought was we could get to know each other more without feeling any sort of pressure for small talk. We could play never have I ever. It’ll be fun.”

I watch him as he licks his lips and think about it for a short moment. “I’m in.” He makes to stand up. “Want me to grab a couple more beers?”

I nod and watch him walk to the kitchen. I love how he looks like he fits here. He just makes every space around him feel like it’s his. When he opens my fridge a smile spreads across his face. He glances back up at me. “Jesus, Harper, your fridge looks like mine. There’s enough beer in here to keep me and a couple friends happy for the night. Maybe even a couple of nights.” He grabs two and makes his way back over to me and sits back down. He’s closer to me this time and when he sits his leg rests against my own. I can feel the heat from his body starting to seep into my skin. It makes me shiver slightly and I take in a slow deep breath.
I will not let this man make me nervous. Remember, Harper, you are cool, calm and collected.
I roll my own eyes at myself.

Yeah, right.

I glance back over at him, opening our beers and setting them on the table in front of us. He leans back again, taking over the space next to me, filling it with his boyness, making my mouth water. Then he grins at me and flicks up his eyebrows and in a soft voice asks, “Ready?”

And I know that in this moment I am completely done for.

With a chuckle to myself, I decide what my first one will be. I grin over at him. “I’ll go first.” I gesture down to his beer. “You might want to have that ready.”

Niall gives me a cocky smirk and shrugs to one side before picking it up. “If you’re so sure about yourself…”

I lick my lips and try not to laugh, putting on my best serious face. “I’ve never been to Ireland.”
Niall’s shoulders drop as he dead pans at me. He rolls his tongue in his mouth, before smacking his lips, picking his beer up and taking a long swig. I can’t help my giggles. They spill out of mouth and I cover them with the back of my hand. Niall purses his lips. “You feel good about that one, do ya?” I nod and keep laughing. “It’s my turn, then, huh?” Niall taps his finger on his chin for a moment. “Let’s see. Hmmm. Well, how about this. I’ve never moved to London…” He pauses for dramatic effect. “…from the states.”

I toss my head back and let out a laugh. “I guess I asked for that one.” I grab my beer and tip it towards him. “Touche’.” I take a long swig just like he did. “But you do realize that now you’ve started a war, right?”

He chuckles. “And I’m prepared to win it too.”

I smirk before I say my next one because I know that we are just going to attempt to one up each other for the rest of the night. We will probably both end up very drunk too.

It’s gonna be a hell of a night.

We start to do the whole back and forth. Really obvious things like, “I’ve never been on the xfactor” and "I’ve never been to university" dotted the conversation. Two beers down each before Niall and I did learn a few new things about each other.

I notice that we are both empty and I get up to grab us a few more so that we can continue. Niall keeps talking to me as I stick my head in the fridge. “I can’t believe you haven’t been on a roller coaster in ten years. That’s crazy.”

“It’s not crazy if you don’t like roller coasters.” I grab two bottles each and close the refrigerator door when some familiar notes come on in the living room. You know how I said this was just a random playlist filled with songs that I love? Yeah, well, on shuffle it has managed to play one of the few one direction songs that is on there. Zayn’s voice is singing out the words to Kiss You, Niall’s laughter is booming through my flat and I am somewhere between mortified and wanting to crawl under a rock and never come out again. I stand there for a few seconds longer trying to turn my face back to a normal shade before I go back in there. When I finally walk around the corner Niall is leaning back on the couch with a giant smile.

I set the beers down on the table, clamping my lips in my mouth, trying not to laugh at the pleased look written all over Niall’s face. I put my hands on my hips. “Shut up. I did not plan this at all.” He laughs harder at my clearly flustered facade. “I didn’t. Seriously. It’s on shuffle.”

“Mmmhmm. I believe you.” His words say he does, but his tone is still laughing.

“Stop laughing!” I stomp my foot like a little kid. “Look, Kiss You is one of my favorite One Direction songs.” I know my face is bright pink. I can’t help it. Niall is chuckling at me still. I make a disgruntled noise in my throat. “Fuck you. It’s a great fucking song. Leave me alone.” Then he snorts and my embarrassment reaches maximum level. I’m smiling and trying my hardest not to laugh when I cross my arms and huff. “I hate you.”

He smirks. “No you don’t, sunshine. You like me.” He grabs my hand and pulls me down onto the couch. I fall practically into his lap and I can’t decide if this is an accident or his plan all along. He touches his finger to my cheek, gently traces over my skin. “You’re very cute when you’re all rattled. Your cheeks turn this pretty pink color.” I find myself unconsciously glancing down at his mouth and I lick my own lips, swallowing hard. “I like that I make you nervous.” He leans forward and grabs the bottle of tequila and I move off of him and back to the couch. Though I’m still practically on top of him. He holds up the bottle. “I think it’s time to finish the game.” I watch him start to pour two fresh shots. “But I think it’s time to raise the stakes…”

Notes