Since We're Alone |NH|

Chapter 47

A few hours later, around 7:00 in the evening, I got a text from her saying she was done with her classes and heading home.  She asked if we could get Thai and if I could just pick it up on the way over.  I got her order and where she wanted me to go and gladly did it.

"I'm going to take a quick shower.  Feel gross.  I'm leaving a key for you in the potted plant outside my door if you get here before I'm done," she texted to me as I stopped to pick up our food.

"See, Niall, she does not have to even remotely let you know any of this.  You can trust her.  You can trust her.  She's not Maggie." I said to myself over and over again until I was standing at her door.

I knocked first, not wanting to just take the key and barge in.  After knocking a couple of times with no answer, I dug around in the plant and found the little container that held a spare key.  Unlocking her door, I stepped inside. 

I could hear the shower going so I kicked off my shoes and placed our food down on her little dining room table.  I wanted to let her know I was here so she wouldn't get scared getting out.

I stepped into the hallway and semi yelled down, "Ophelia, I'm here!"  I thought I heard her respond.  I started walking down her hallway, "Ophelia," I shouted a bit, "I'm here.  Just wanted to let you know so you didn't get freaked out."

"Niall?" I heard her voice.

The door to her bathroom was slightly ajar as steam came out. 

"Yeah, it's me," I answered, sticking my head into the bathroom.

She peeked her head out from behind the shower curtain. Smiling at me, she said,  "Hey, you.  Be out in just a minute."

I smiled at her.  "Okay.  I'll be out here," I said, indicating with my head down the hall.  She went back behind the shower curtain.

I walked back down the hallway and maybe a minute later heard the water stop.  I heard her moving around in her bathroom and then her bedroom.  A few minutes later, I heard her walking down her hallway.

"I'm hungry," she said, walking into her living room.  Her bare face still taking my breath away.  How could someone be so naturally beautiful?  She walked up to me and placing her hands on my shoulders, she bent her knee around one side of me and bent down bringing her lips to mine.  "Hewwo," she said, in the cutest way possible.

I smiled at her.  "Hey," I said, softly.  "Dinner is awaiting you, m'lady."

"I know.  I can smell it.  And it smells like heaven.  Thank you so much for stopping and getting it."

"You're welcome."

She gave me another quick kiss before she stood back up and walked into the kitchen to get some glasses and some plates. 

We sat down at the little table she had in her dining room. While we ate, she asked me about the rest of my day and seemed genuinely interested. She then talked some about her classes and what was stressing her out about the paper she was wanting to finish tonight.  I mostly just listened to her, taking everything in; her words, her hand gestures, her facial expressions.  She was animated but I could tell she was tired.

Everything she did and said was the complete opposite of Maggie.  Ophelia got excited about things; her face lit up whenever she talked about a new drink she was perfecting.  She was also nervous and scared about things, like her grades.  She had dreams; goals.  Maggie had none of those, unless you counted destroying people a dream or a goal.

While listening to her, I started to think about what I wanted from this. 

Before walking into the bar that night, I had been trying to live by the things Mark had said. Mostly, the staying single part that he had repeated multiple times. I hadn't been putting myself out there to meet anyone on purpose. I knew how I operated when it came to someone I liked and I didn't want to fall into that trap of jumping in head first without a second thought. So that night I sat down to Ophelia, I wasn't looking for her. I most likely never would have even spoken to her had she not had to translate for me to Tomi. But that initial conversation...something about it made this girl click in my head enough to text Mully about it before he even got there and had me showing up there the next night. And even though I had to have my friends push me through the door a couple of times, I'm so happy that they did.