Girl Almighty

Part 16

"Well, I think it's time I call it a night" Niall said, stretching. Everyone agreed, and headed to one of the bedrooms. Niall reached down and grabbed Liz's hand, pulling her up.

"You're with me" he said, leading her to the second bedroom. Harry came up behind them and draped his arms over their shoulders. "And me" Harry added.

Harry jumped into the enormous bed and patted the space beside him for Liz. Liz looked at a shirtless Harry and a shirtless Niall and silently groaned. How was it possible that she was getting into bed with the sexiest men in the world?

Liz made sure her pajama shirt covered her enough and slowly moved to sit in the middle of the bed. She had never felt more awkward in her life.

"Liz, this is totally platonic. I promise" Harry said. Liz laughed at the irony of the statement. Her hands in her lap, Liz tried to relieve the tension.

"Well, I make no promises. " she said, pretending to reach out and rub her hands against both of them. Harry laughed and pulled her against him in a hug.

"Anytime, gorgeous" he said, putting her hand on his chest. Liz giggled and pulled away.

"Seriously? Always is it Harry? I am RIGHT HERE!" he cried in mock frustration.

"Don't worry NIall, I think you are sexy too" Liz said, tapping his chest with her hands. Niall nodded and climbed into the bed on her other side. She was relieved to see that the bed was so big they weren't even touching each other.

Harry snuggled into the bed and was asleep in minutes. Looking over at him, Liz was amazed at his ability to fall asleep. "How is that possible?" she whispered.

Niall turned to face her, laying on his side. "Trouble?" he whispered.

"I'm not really good at sleeping" Liz answered quietly. Niall nodded and cupped his hand along the side of her face. Liz closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the warmth of his hand.

"You just need to relax. Come here.." he said. Rolling onto his back, he pulled Liz against his side so her head was resting on his chest.  He rubbed her back until he felt her slowly relax against him.

"See, not so hard. Now just count the heart beats." he whispered, still holding his hand against her back. Despite her protests, Liz tried to concentrate on the rhythm of his heart. She soon felt her body becoming light, and smiled at the realization that she was falling asleep.

"love you Niall" she breathed as sleep overtook her.  

Niall kissed the top of her head. "Love you too" he whispered, giving into sleep himself. 

At some point in the night Liz awoke to find her head on Niall's chest and Harry's arms wrapped around her waist. She took a moment to enjoy the sensation of being so loved, and so cherished. Then she reluctantly wriggled loose of both their grasps and headed to the kitchen for a drink.

She was surprised to find the lights on and Louis sitting at the table.

"Porn?" she asked, coming up behind him. She laughed as he almost fell off the chair

"No!" he said, closing the laptop quickly.

"I don't judge" Liz said, holding her hands up in surrender. She was happy to find the kettle close to boil, so she made a cup of tea and offered one to Louis.  He held up his mug indicating he was fine, so she nodded and sat down with him.

 "Can I ask you a question?" Louis asked. Liz nodded and sipped her tea, meeting his questioning gaze.

"When you talked earlier about not being touched, did you mean at all?"

Liz put down her mug and Louis put his hand over hers. "Yes"

Louis's thumb was rubbing the back of her hand gently. "And once you were done treatment..?"

Liz pulled her hand away from his and picked her mug up again. "Yeah, like this package is sooo attractive" she mumbled.

Louis reached around and pulled her chair closer to him. "Don't take this the wrong way.." he said, and gently pressed his lips against hers in the most perfect kiss.