Escort // h.s. au

Blooming

After 10 minutes of driving we pull up to a restaurant, and I am surprised when I see that it does not look fancy in the slightest. It is almost opposite of that, crumbling brick and ivy covering the outside with a small sign that reads "Al's Pizzeria".

I look at Niall, raising my eyebrows. He smiles and says simply, "Come on, I promise it's really good."

I decide to trust him, against my better judgment, and take his hand when he opens the door for me. I don't know if this is considered a date because it was so spur of the moment, but I can't help thinking that I wouldn't mind if it really was a date.

Hand in hand, we walk inside of the small restaurant, and the aroma of pizza instantly fills my lungs. I am salivating, and I smile widely at Niall, already approving in this man's taste in food. Pizza is my favorite food and he has read me very well.

We are seated at a small table by the front window, and I am thankful that this restaurant is relatively empty except for the staff and a few occupied tables on the other side of the restaurant. The soft lighting and candlelight makes the atmosphere romantic and makes my heart swell every time I look up at the handsome man in front of me.

The waitress takes our order of a large pepperoni pizza with extra sauce and two waters, and we are on our own. We make small talk at first, but it does not take long for us to get used to each other and we are soon laughing uncontrollably, competing to see who can make the worst pun. So far, I am winning. But not by much.

"So, I wanted to get your opinion," Niall says. "Okay," I respond, sipping my water and indicating for him to continue. 

"There's this girl that I really like, and I'm pretty sure she's into me, too," he says, staring straight into my eyes, his eyes never wavering. "And?" I say, my heart suddenly doing that flipping thing that seems to always happen when I'm around Niall.

"I want to see more of her. A lot more of her. For as long as I can. And I don't know how to make the first move and tell her that I want this. Do you have any suggestions?" He looks at me intensely, and I am absolutely melting. "Well, Niall, I think that if you want this, you should just tell the girl that it's what you want and see what she says. The worst she can do is get a restraining order and tell every girl within a five mile radius that you killed her mother," I say, suddenly hoping I didn't go too far with the joke and that he understands my humor.

I am very relieved when his eyes screw shut and he bursts into laughter, the sweet sound echoing through the restaurant, a bit too loudly. "Shhh, Niall, I know I'm hilarious but I think you just about gave the host a heart attack," I say, my eyes darting to the host who is glaring in our direction.

He laughs quietly to himself, looking down for a second before looking up at me, his demeanor suddenly changing to quite serious and intense. He grabs my hand and rests our hands together on the table before leaning into me, making eye contact with me before our lips connect. 

Our first kiss is simple and sweet, but I feel my heart melting every second that his lips meet mine. We pull away from each other slowly, staring into each other's eyes as we do so, and I can't stop staring at his blue, mesmerizing eyes. 

A quiet cough next to us snaps us out of our daze, the waitress red-faced as she holds our pizza patiently.

"Sorry," I say and make some room for her to put the pizza down in between us. She assures me that it is quite alright and sets it down before swiftly exiting the area, and I am so excited about the pizza that I almost forget that Niall and I were making out only minutes before.

We scarf down the pizza and continue to laugh and joke around, and I find that our conversation is easy. We don't need to act like anyone else and I feel completely comfortable around him. I was nervous that because he is a businessman he would be stuffy and boring or judgmental, but he enjoys politically incorrect jokes and puns just like any other normal human being.