Power & Control

38: Gangsta

~A

Louis was at my door again the next morning, which was unusual considering we weren't leaving LA. We just had a show the previous night, and we had a second one tomorrow. We technically had the morning off until the show tonight, but as I opened the door to let him in I realised he was paying us a visit to reminds us of  our 'date'.  He was annoyingly cheery, getting satisfaction out of irritating me like he always did. He had also fallen into the habit of calling us lovebirds, which I scolded him about while Niall was getting ready in the bathroom. Even though Niall stayed in my room like most nights, it felt different knowing he had nowhere to go if he wanted to leave. It made me anxious, making it difficult for me to fall asleep even after a day of travelling and a show.

Apart from Louis and Ty, no one else knew about Niall and I. Therefore no one had to know he was staying with me. So when he was ready, he went down to the breakfast buffet where everyone else was to wait for me. The California weather was by far the warmest I've faced so far, so the only way I'd be able to deal with the raised temperature was by wearing jean shorts and a tank top. I put my outfit on in the bathroom and went out to the room, where Louis was waiting up on me. I was slightly surprised he stayed, but I didn't mind him being here. It was kind of nice actually. I don't even remember when was the last time I hung out with just him was outside of work.

"So, how was your first night as roomies?" I could see him smirk through the full length mirror as I sat on the floor, doing some quick and light makeup.  The room had a cozy little window seat where he had decided to get comfortable in, laying on his side with his phone in his hand.

"Not really that different from any other night he's stayed over." I tried showcasing indifference, shrugging my shoulders before leaning forward to apply highlighter in the corners of my eyelids and the tip of my nose.

"Ah, so just really loud sex then?" I whipped my head around, the makeup brush barely missing my eye at the sharp movement. My mouth dropped in shock at his words. He wouldn't have said it in that ironic, slightly agitated tone if he was just guessing. He snorted once seeing the shock in my face, fidgeting with his phone as he continuously flipped it around in his hand.

"My room's right across from yours." Embarrassment overtook me within seconds, my cheeks feeling hot. I was glad I went with a full coverage foundation today. Scoffing in an effort to seem unfazed, I put the thin brush down and picked up my mascara.

"You sound kinda jealous Lou. Is phone sex just not doing it for you and Arjun anymore?" I decided to shoot back a sarcastic, slightly passive aggressive response instead of letting him notice my embarrassment. I heard him scoff, though I didn't glance at him as I focused on the mascara wand as it combed through my lashes.

"It's working out just fine for us, don't you worry. But I wanna know, is Niall really that good, or is he that bad you just have to make sure to put on an over the top show to convince him otherwise?" His question had me quietly laughing to myself before I moved on to the other eye.

"Do you think I'm the type of person that would stick around for so long if he was bad in bed?" I mused, hearing Louis sigh in consideration. Talking about our sex lives wasn't something new for us. But discussing it while it involved Niall made it feel odd, foreign and even a bit uncomfortable. I was expecting he'd come up with a response pretty quickly, but the silence was only broken by the sound of him quietly laughing to himself a few seconds later. I sent him a glare through the mirror, screwing the mascara shut before moving on to bronzer.

"What's so funny?" I tapped off the extra product from the fluffy blush, turning my attention to Louis as I applied it on the hollows of my cheeks in swift sweeps.