Turning Pages (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Danielle’s POV:

Niall insisted that I should have stayed for the night. He explained why his idea was such an ingenious one. “’Cause then if ya stay, ya can wake up in the mornin’ and get a head start on the place. No walkin’ needed.” He explained his thoughts to me over the stove and a sizzling pan of meat. I sat at the table with a glass of wine. I was thankful that his place was well stocked. I hummed and nodded my head. “Besides,” He went on, “then I can wake up next to ya. I like wakin’ up with a girl in my bed; especially when it’s you.” He smirked and turned around to wink at me.

“Other girls, huh?” I teased.

“Yeah, but you’re my favorite.” He chuckled.

He set down two plates of spaghetti on the tabletop and grabbed a few beers from the fridge. He then dressed the noodles with sauce, meat, and cheese. “I can’t bake or cook a lot of things.” He announced through a mouthful of food. “But I can make a mean spaghetti!” I smiled and twirled the noodles around my fork. He cracked open a beer and downed at least half of it in one long pull.

We sat in silence, relishing our warm meal. Every once in a while we would make eye contact after looking up from our plates. He would raise his eyebrows at me and I would do the same.

He got up for seconds and sat back down across from me. He wasn’t exactly the cleanliest when it came to eating. Small red spots stained the front of his shirt. We noticed the marks at the same time. “Ah!” He cried pulling on his white shirt. “This is my favorite shirt!” Well, he said that through a bite of food and it sounded like: Afh! Tis is mah favorite shirlt! But I got what he was saying.

“How is that your favorite shirt? You have a plethora of white shirts! It’s like an endless tidal wave of white shirts. A tsunami! It never ends!” I laughed. He shook his head at me and peeled his shirt off.

I missed seeing him. Sure, we saw each other very briefly. But it wasn’t enough. We chatted on the phone and sent each other messages. But it wasn’t the same. I missed touching him. I missed his touch. I liked when people rubbed my back or stroked my arm, but he had a way of doing it. It was perfect.

“This is nice.” He blurted and motioned towards the two of us. I nodded. “What if I cancel my plans tomorrow and hang out wit’ ya?” He added.

“You’ve had that interview set for months. Harry told me. You can’t just back out.” I pointed at him with my fork.

“Ya just don’t want me t’ see what ya’re gonna do!” He finished his second plate and dug his fork into my noodles.

“That too.” I agreed. I poured more wine into my glass.

“What’s Cat doin’ tonight?” He picked up his dish and headed for the sink. I finished up my first plate and followed him.

“Something with Zayn? She wouldn’t give me all the details.” I rinsed the dished while Niall set them into the dishwasher. He nodded and pursed his lips.

Cat’s POV:

He unlocked  his front door and motioned for me to go in first. I stepped into a large foyer with white carpet and a high ceiling. Zayn grabbed my hand and led me to an open kitchen. “What would you like?” He opened a long pantry filled to the brim with various types of booze. “For what we’re eating,” he started “I would either choose this wine or a beer.” He picked up the alcoholic beverages and showed them to me. “But if you’re into the fruity drinks, I can make that.” He licked his lips unconsciously.

“I don’t care. I’ll drink pretty much anything.” I set my small purse down on the counter and hopped up onto the tall barstool. He set a beer in front of me and put on an apron. I took a sip and laughed.

“What?” He grabbed a deep pot and set it on the burner. “A chef has got to have his own apron!” He tied the strings in the back and brought a hand to his chin. He then went for the fridge and placed his ingredients on the counter in front of me. “Can you chop some onions for me? You don’t have to.”

“Sure.” I downed the last bit of my first beer and hopped off the stool. He got a cutting board and a large knife out for me. I peeled the onion and began to chop. “What are you making?” I hollered over the sizzle of browning meat.

“Samosa. You’ll like it.” He kneaded dough in a large bowl and then slapped it on the counter. I couldn’t help but watch every move his hands made; the way his fingers curled. I flashed back to his hands running up and down the length of my sides the night before. His breath was hot and his dark voice was needy. “Looking for something?” He noticed that I had stopped chopping.

“Oh, no.” I proceeded the chopping while Zayn did whatever he was doing.

Niall’s POV:

I pulled her close against my chest and breathed in the scent of her hair. It didn’t smell exactly like the Danielle I knew, but that was only because she was staying with Cat. I wished Cat wouldn’t have ruined Danielle’s fresh scent with the smell of smoke. But I guessed I had no say.

I pawed at Danielle’s arse while my other hand held her secure. “Butt!” She jumped.

“Believe me, I know that.” I gave it another good squeeze. She moved her hand over mine and set it on her back. I took that as my queue to run my fingertips up and down her spine. Soon she fell fast asleep. Her steady breathing synchronized with the rise and fall of her chest. Every so often her hand would twitch or her leg would move.

I couldn’t help but stare at the bits of her I could see. I wanted to memorize every detail; but it was dark and very hard to make out those hidden features that someone could only see up close.