Will you Stay?

Chapter 45

We drove a while in the city, chatting and laughing with each other, till we pulled up to an expensive looking restaurant.

Large glass window was the first thing you saw, tinted a slight black so you couldn’t see what was inside. We walked up to the door and the place was tinted with shadow white lights hanging, creating a dark but comfortable mood , dark brown walnut tables, centrepieces with red candles covered the black marble floor. This didn’t seem like the average place. It looks like you have to book two months in advance to get a table like this.

I looked at Niall, mouth gaping at the giant place. He smiled widely, linking hands with mine, pulling me along. I planted my feet flat on the smooth concrete. He looked back at me with a questioning face “What? Don’t you like it?”

I shook my head “No it’s beautiful. It’s just…It’s a bit expensive” I shyly smiled.

He playfully rolled his eyes “Anna, it’s alright, common” he encouraged, dragging me through the clean glass doors.

The area instantly felt warm and pleasant, filled with mouth-watering smells of cooked food. I looked at the dark wall seeing red lights hanging. I stood shyly, gripping my jacket tighter around me, glancing down every so often at my (In my opinion) chubby legs, already partly scrapped shoes and the sparkly black tiles.

I felt Niall wrap his arm around my waist. “Reservation?” I heard a female voice ask, she sounded young and I could just see the flirty eyes she was giving him.

I popped my head up to see if he was flirting back but his eyes were distant “Horan” he spoke. She smiled giddily and motioned us to walk forward, waving her hips a little too much for my liking.

I noticed people staring at me as we walked through the restaurant, girls glaring, boys smiled and adults whispering. All making me feel self-conscious. I looked out further to the restaurant to see they had an outdoor area, fit with the same table but plush black lounges and big heaters. But what really caught my attention was the area of water that was in the centre of the Italian restaurant we were currently in, a friendly bar on its right and, apartments on its left. But the water looked beautiful

The waitress showed us our table, playing our menus in place as Niall pulled out my chair for me. I smiled gratefully that I could finally sit down, resting my elbows on the table as he sat across from me.

“Like it?” he asked. “Its really pretty” I answer, mesmerized by the white crystal lights. My eyes wandered to other girls and how they sat making me feel out of place. So I decide to copy them. I remove my elbow from the table, straitening my back and crossing my legs. I lifted my chin up and held the position when I heard Niall giggle.

“What?” I ask trying to obtain my stance. “You need to relax, you’re not like them and that’s the way I like you okay?”

I nodded and rested my shoulders feeling much better. He opened the menu and I followed, looking over all the choices “Hope you like Italian food” he joked, I giggled as a different waiter walked up to us for drinks, lucky he was a man and not that girl.

“Drinks?” he asked, looking at both of us, his eyes maybe lingering on me a little more. He also had a slight accent making me think he really was Italian.

“C'è coca cola con il vino?” ‘Is there coke with wine’ I asked fluently, watching as both there eyes went wide.

“Si” he smiled. “bella, allora che per me e una birra irlandese per l'uomo” ‘beautiful, then that for me and a irish beer for the man’. He wrote is down and walked away smiling.

“Whoa, what was that and I didn’t order a drink” he asked.

I smiled “I speak a little in the mother tongue and I order one for you, Irish beer right?” he nodded, looking impressed “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you though” he commented.