The Luckiest Person in the World

Chapter 6--First Date

I run into the lobby and into Niall.

"Good morning," he chuckles.

"Sorry," I wince, "I'm late."

"By, what?" he checks his phone, "Two minutes? It's not that big a deal."

"Are you kidding? It's the first date, of course it's a big deal!"

He laughs, "Lila, calm down. We've got almost all day, it's fine."

I smile, "Okay."

"There's a little place called Ella's on Presidio. I thought we could go there."

"You lead, I'll follow," I smile, quoting him from yesterday.

He lights up in a way I've never seen before, "Let's go, then. I'm starving," he intertwines his fingers with mine, sending chills down my spine, and leads me to a sleek, black Mustang GT.

"What's this?" I ask.

"This," he grins, "is our ride," he lets go of my hand and opens the door for me. I climb in, giggling. He slides in next to me and closes the door.

"This is nice," I smile, "I've never been in a Mustang before."

He smiles, "I'm glad you like it. I was thinking about a Mazda, but it seemed too plain."

"Too plain?" I laugh, "God, I drive a Honda or take a taxi everywhere. A Mazda would have been a huge improvement. This," I motion around us, "this is just unreal."

"That's why you deserve it," he smiles and tucks  my hair behind my ear. I look up at him with a shy smile, but quickly turn away as he's making my heart beat so fast that I'm scared I might have an actual heart attack.

"Look, if it seems like I'm rushing things, I'm so sorry," he sighs, "I don't mean to, it's just... we're leaving today and I don't know when I'll be able to see you like this again."

I turn back to him, "Oh, no, that's not it at all! You just have this bizarre effect on me. One second I'm confident and the next I'm so nervous. It's confusing, but I like it," I smile and shake my head, "That sounds crazy."

"No, it doesn't," he smiles, "I feel the same way and I want more of it. That's why I asked the boys, and you can say no, if you could come on tour with us for the rest of the summer."

"Yes!" I squeal and throw my arms around his neck. He falls back onto the seat with me on top of him. He puts his arm around my waist and props himself up on his elbow.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he grins.

"What else would I say?" I giggle, "It's not all about what I say, though. I'll have to ask my parents."

"Of course," he nods as the car stops, "First, though, let's eat."

I laugh and roll my eyes, "Of course," I sit up. He gets out, then offers me his hand and pulls me out. We go into the restaurant, fingers intertwined, and cause several heads to turn. It worries me a little, especially after Arden's reaction, but Niall notices my worry and lightly squeezes my hand, making me calm down. After asking what I want, he orders for us, then leads me to a table practically in the middle of the restaurant.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I ask as I sit.

He looks confused, "Sitting while eating? Yeah, I do it all the time."

"No," I laugh, "Sitting here."

"I'm not afraid to let people know I'm with you," he smiles softly, "Are you?"

"Of course not!" I shake my head fervently, "But, Niall, yesterday is already all over the internet and when Arden saw it, she looked like she was ready to kill me. My own sister!" I sigh.

"Hey," he takes my hand from across the table, "don't worry about the fans. They're all like that at first, but they warm up to you. You'll have to meet Eleanor and Dani, they can tell you all about it."

"Who?" I ask as the waitress brings our food.

 "Oh, sorry, Lou and Liam's girlfriends," he smiles, "I think you'll like them."

I smile and nod, "I'm sure I will."

He smiles at me with his eyes and starts to eat, naturally wasting no time. He goes to grab his napkin, but stops short and laughs, "This," he holds up the napkin, "is something else you'll have to get used to."

The napkin has the waitress's phone number on it. I raise an eyebrow and giggle, "People have no dignity."

After we finish eating, I give the driver my address and he brings us to my house. Niall is about to get out, but I stop him quickly.

"My sister will bombard you," I explain.

He chuckles, "You'll come right back out and tell me?"

"Of course," I grin and get out. As I walk up to the door, I say a silent prayer that they'll say yes. When I walk in, Mom's in the kitchen doing the dishes. There's no sign of Arden and, honestly, I'm glad.

"Good morning, Mom," I walk up behind her and kiss her on the cheek.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she smiles, "Why didn't you tell us about yesterday?"

"I--Uh--I--" I stutter.

"Arden showed us the pictures," she explains, "He looks like a very nice boy. It must've been a nice date."

"Yesterday wasn't a date," I smile, "But this morning was."

"Oh, congratulations, sweetie!" she grins, "Did you have a good time?"

I nod, "Mom... Arden probably told you that Niall's part of One Direction."

"Well, you know your sister," she chuckles, "She talks of little else."

I smile, "Well, he invited me to join them on their tour for the rest of the summer. I really wanna go, Mom, but obviously it's not just up to me."

"Well, I'll have to talk to your father about it..."

"Can you call him now? They're leaving at five."

She nods and dials Daddy's work number, "Hi, honey... Oh, I'm fine, how are you?... Oh, good! Look, I'm sorry to both you at work, but Lila's been invited to go on tour with One Direction for the rest of the summer... Yes, well, they're leaving tonight... Yes... They seem like very nice boys... Yes... Yes... No... Mmhmm... All right, I'll tell her... Okay, love you, too, darling... All right... Bye," she hangs up.

"What'd he say?" I ask, half excited, half nervous.

"He said... If they're leaving tonight, you'd better start packing!" she smiles.

I squeal happily and throw my arms around her neck, jumping up and down, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She laughs, "Of course, darling. Go on."

"I have to go tell Niall," I kiss her cheek and run out to the car, where Niall's pacing back and forth nervously. He sees me and stops.

"What'd they say?" he asks.

I grin and nod. His face lights up as he puts his arms around my waist and twirls me around. I scream and laugh.

"Oh, Lila, this is wonderful!" he grins when he puts me down.

"I know," I nod, still laughing, "I have to go pack. I'll see you tonight?"

"Of course," he nods, "Text me your address and we'll be by at quarter till."

 "Okay," I nod, "I'll see you later."

He leans down and kisses my cheek so softly it's barely perceptible, "Till then," he smiles softly and leaves.

After he's gone, I slowly raise my hand to my cheek, letting my fingertips just barely brush the place where his lips touched my skin. An involuntary grin spreads across my face and as I go inside to pack I feel like I'm floating.