-Niall's POV-
Paige looked so beautiful. I could barely believe my eyes. We stepped into the elevator and I took her hand again. It felt so natural, like the spaces between my fingers were the perfect size for hers...if that makes any sense at all. She smelled good too, like the faintest hint of vanilla, and I had to fight back the urge to take her in my arms and hold her right then and there.
She turned to face me. "So where are we going tonight?" She asked, with a big, expectant grin on her face.
"I thought I'd take you to this little Italian place I know of." Inwardly, I was crossing my fingers, praying she liked Italian.
"Yay!" She laughed. "Seriously, Italian is my favorite. I could probably live off of it." She looked at me in that way she does that makes me lost my train of thought.
The elevator doors opened to the lobby and I walked her outside.
There were a few fans waiting by the doors, but they saw that I was with someone, so they didn't ask for a picture. We did talk to them for a bit though, and they were very sweet. One little girl, who couldn't have been more than seven years old, even asked Paige "Are you enjoying New York?"
Paige bent down so she was on the same level as the girl, smiled, and gave her a big hug. "I sure am."
In just the past few minutes, I'd already learned a lot about Paige. I loved how she was handling the hate she was getting, but even more importantly, I loved that it hadn't come between us getting to know each other. Hate was something that had gotten in the way of me having girlfriends in the past because they didn't know how to handle being publicly torn apart by complete strangers. It wasn't that I blamed them...but I knew that a future girlfriend had to understand that it was something that kind of came with the territory. I could tell that Paige was hurt, and she didn't try to hide that from me...but at the same time she wasn't about to let it ruin everything.
I also loved that she rolled with the punches. She was so relaxed and down-to-earth. it was honestly so refreshing to see that, when I was usually surrounded by girls who wanted me or one of the other lads for all the wrong reasons.
I said goodbye to the fans, and then led Paige to a shiny black car in the parking lot. It was already dark outside, but the snow had stopped falling. Paige had pulled on a gray coat before we left the hotel room, but was now shivering, pulling it closer around her. I came around to open her car door for her and felt immediately concerned. "Hey!" I said. "You're cold! Here, take my jacket."
"It's alright," she said, putting up a hand to stop me and smiling. "I just get cold easily."
I took my jacket off anyway, wrapped it around her shoulders, and opened the car door for her. She got in, and I shut it after her.
"How do you have a car, anyway?" She asked as I settled down in the driver's seat.
"The hotel loaned it to me. I told them I had a special date tonight." I smiled at her.
She blushed. That's another thing to add to the list of things I like about her. She blushes constantly. It's adorable.
She reached over and turned on the radio. "How about some music?" She asks, as she begins surfing the radio stations. I love that she's not afraid to take control a little bit, but otherwise she's definitely a shy girl. I can tell. She finally settled on a station, and Lady Antebellum's 'Just a Kiss' started playing softly through the car speakers.
"I love this song." I said. "It's so beautiful." I reached for the dial to turn the volume up, and so does she. Our fingers just graze each other. The lyrics filled the car as I watched her.
