For Now and Always (Liam Payne)

Chapter 6

"Liam" Eva whispered, across the table.

"Hmm?" he said, looking up from his menu.

"This menu is in French!" she said, keeping her voice low. "Do you speak French?"

Liam looked up at her, his eyes full of amusement. "No!"

"Why are we at a French restaurant if you can't speak French?" She whispered, confused.

"I'm trying to impress you. Are you impressed?" he expressed, looking rather embarrassed.

Eva was shocked. Why would he be trying to impress her? She was a regular girl who didn't even own a dress! Liam had apologized on the car ride over. He was sorry he hadn't been clear about where he was taking her. He just assumed she'd want to go somewhere nice and he could afford it!

She has laughed and told him she didn't even own a fancy dress. She was only in London for the school year, August to May. She had only brought what she thought she would need. Extra luggage meant extra money. The ticket, classes and visa had cost far more than she had expected. Dumb luck and an ad on the uni website had found her Dylan and cheap housing. She had nothing extra and no reason to pack fancy clothes. She was lucky that Dylan was a local and came with friends her size!

Now, sitting in this extravagant restaurant, she was laughing again. "Why are you trying to impress me? I was impressed with pancakes and a walk in the park. I don't need all this."

Liam smiled. "It's not often that I meet a girl like you." he said. What on earth could that mean? She looked at him, wondering. "I mean, most girls scream in my face and throw themselves at me. I haven't had to work for a date in ages! The first thing you did was yell at me and call me a liar. It's pretty clear that being a pop star isn't going to work with you. I thought maybe money would? I see that I was wrong and that makes me happy, in the strange way. It makes me want to know you even more."

Eva blushed and looked down. "You don't need to impress me, trust me. Should we just get out of here? I'm afraid to order and end up with brains or something!"

"Hmmmm, sure." He agreed. "But let's go have a dance first. That is one reason I brought you here. Dinner and dancing sounded like a great first date, don't you think?"

She nodded her head as he stood and held out his hand. He led her to the dance floor, then put one arm around her waist. His other hand grabbed hers and held it up near his chest. They swayed in slow motion, turning lazy circles in time with the violins in the melody. Eva laid her head against his chest, closed her eyes, and let herself be led around the dance floor. She felt amazing and she didn't want to let the feeling end. His smell of smoke, scotch and soap filled her nose and brought a strange comfort to her. She wondered how the smell of smoke before had make her sick and now, it made her feel safe. Eva could feel Liam lay his head, gently, against her and she sighed in contentment. "Are you having fun, Evie?" he murmured into her ear.

"Evangeline. And yes." she replied. After what seemed like hours, the band took a break and they released their hold on each other. Liam took her hand and wandered back to their table. Without sitting, he reached into his pocket, took some bills out of his wallet, threw them on the table and led her out the restaurant. Once out of the restaurant, he turned to her and smiled. "So, now what?" he asked. Looking around, he spotted a small shop and dragged her in the door. Laughing, she followed along, watching as he grabbed ready-made sandwiches and bottles of water. "Picnic!" he declared. He paid and they left the store. Once outside, he spotted some benches. They sat and he handed her a sandwich. "Ham and cheese?" he asked. She nodded and took her sandwich.

"This is so much better that brains" Eva smiled, while they ate. Liam grinned at her and agreed. He was a bit worried about the restaurant himself.

When they had finished, they walked back to where Liam had parked his Range Rover. He helped her in and drove back to her flat. She invited him in and led him back up to her room. Immediately, he removed his coat and shoes, sighing as he sat on the bed. He started to untuck his dress shirt and Eva went into the bathroom to get herself out of the dress. She quickly realized that she could not reach the zipper, grabbed her sweats and opened the bathroom door. Liam was laying in the same place as last night, just his t-shirt and dress slacks on. "I'll be right back" she mumbled and ran for the door. He looked shocked and amused as she pulled open the door, dashed across the hall and into Dylan's room.

"Get me out of this thing!" she begged as Dylan laughed. She wanted details, but Eva just wanted to get back to Liam. "We can talk later, I swear. Right now, unzip me!" Dylan helped her and took all the pins out of her hair. Feeling much more like herself, she walked back into her own room and shut the door.