The Bad Boy's Nerd

16. The Birthday - Part Two

I present to you, the hotness of Ian Daniels (Adam Gallagher) ---->

Chapter 16

   I looked in the mirror again, smoothing out the skirt of my dress and letting out a deep breath. There was no denying that I was excited, and a little nervous, for what Ian had planned for tonight. Running my fingers over a loosely fishtailed braid, I jogged downstairs to the garden.

   I followed the fairy lights draped across trees and bushes to the center of the garden. There, the old round table had been replaced with a small, square table that was covered with a red tablecloth. Two plates were set opposite each other with forks and knives by their sides. I smiled and looked around, breathing in the beautiful scene.

   "Happy birthday nerd," a low and soft voice murmured behind me.

   I jumped slightly and came face to face with the one and only, Ian Daniels. He was dressed in an off-white shirt with the sleeves already rolled up, paired with a pair of black skinnies. I looked down and noticed him wearing a pair of white Converse.

   "You wore sneakers," he groaned comically.

   "So did you, you hypocrite," I gasped, stifling a laugh.

   "Yeah, but I'm not the one wearing a really nice dress, am I?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

   "You can have it if you want," I deadpanned.

   He smirked at me and then diverted his eyes to the scene behind me. I turned around and took in the beauty once again.

   "You did all this?" I asked.

   "Yep," he replied. 

   "You really didn't have to," I sighed.

   "But I wanted to," he said, walking to the table and pulling out a chair. "Have a seat, m'lady,"

   "Why, thank you good sir," I chuckled and sat down as he pushed the chair forward slightly.

   Ian walked around the small table and picked up a pizza box. He opened it and took out some slices, laying two on my plate and two on his. Setting the box down on the ground, he quickly lit the candle between the plates and looked up at me, giving me a lopsided grin.

   "You should do that more often," I said absentmindedly.

   "What?" he asked, puzzled.

   Aw, look at his eyebrows furrowing. He looks so cute when he's confused.

   Oh, hell no. Stop thinking.

   "Nothing," I said, looking down at my pizza slices.

   "No, tell me," he urged.

   I looked back up at him and saw that darned twinkle in his eye.

   "The whole, lopsided grin thing," I sighed, looking at him through my eyelashes. 

   The smirk was immediately replaced by a (confused) smile. He leaned forward a little, until he was mere centimetres away from my face. I looked down at my pizza again. A cool finger under my chin gently pulled my head up. My eyes locked with Ian's brown ones and his smile quickly faded as his eyes scanned my face, making me feel more conscious.

   Should I have actually put make-up? No, that doesn't matter.

   Ian's eyes stopped roaming my face, and kept flicking from my eyes to what seemed to be my lips. I felt him leaning in closer until our breaths were one, until I could practically taste the peppermint. Maybe it was the peppermint, or maybe it was the whiff of the pepperoni pizza calling out to me, but I suddenly pulled back and cleared my throat awkwardly.