No Interruptions

Chapter Twenty Three

Listen: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas//Michael Buble, Wake Me Up//Ed Sheeran, I'll Be Home For Christmas//Michael Buble, Sure Thing//Miguel, Story of My Life//One Direction, Secrets//One Republic, Cold December Night//Michael Buble. (yes there's Christmas music in August shut up and feel the holiday)

Warning: Smut, Language

The leather of the seat was cold, enough that I could feel it against the backs of my legs through my jeans. I was actually thankful for it, because at this point I'd worked myself up so much that I was sure my cheeks were flamed and the hot flashes were warming the car faster than the heater system. My hands were in my lap, my thumb worrying at the middle of my palm. 

Niall was silent next to me, playing at something on his phone and occasionally looking out the window. My eyes were glued to the snowy houses and roads, the trees nearly bent over with the weight of the ice. I'd never seen this before, having lived in California my whole life. It was beautiful. 

"They had an ice storm a couple days ago, apparently. Knocked the power out until yesterday." Niall told me, his low voice startling me into jumping. I looked to him, rolling my eyes at the smirk on his face. "You're nervous." He commented, leaning his head back against the seat, eyes narrowing. 

I snorted, turning to stare out the window again, moving my hands to clutch the seatbelt strap. "Yeah, well, I'm in a completely different state, in cold weather, meeting someone's family for the first time. I'm just slightly nervous." I rambled, taking in a deep breath to calm the fluttering of my heart. 

Niall laughed beside me, but before I could say something in my defense, he pried one of my hands off of the seatbelt, lacing our fingers together. "Relax, you don't have anything to be worried about. Unless you don't like hugs, but that's pretty much out of the question." He said, and I smiled at the glass, knowing if I looked at him, my heart would start palpitating again. 

It was thirty more minutes in the car before the cab pulled up to a gate, Niall climbing out of the car to punch in the numbers. When he returned, snow was flaked on his coat and in his blonde quiff, his cheeks red from the wind. "Brutal out there, hope mum has some tea ready." He yawned, not bothering to buckle up as the car made it's way up the long driveway. I was glued to the window, watched the snowy trees pass by, and then a huge house came into view. Scratch that. It was a castle. 

"Oh my God," I breathed, eyes stuck on the giant house as we pulled to a stop beside it. It was bigger than anything I'd ever lived in besides the university, but it looked a thousand time prettier than that. Christmas lights hung all over the outside, the lamp posts, actual lamp posts, wrapped in the green garland and red bow. Snow covered the vast expanse of lawn, a giant tree in the middle dripping with lights. It was straight out of a Hallmark card, and I couldn't be happier. 

"You like it babe?" NIall asked, and all I could do was nod as he chuckled to himself. I heard his door open, and the driver disappeared as well, both of them at the back of the cab to get all of the bags out. After Id' shaken myself from my trance, I left the inside of the warm car, adjusting my scarf and pulling my coat tighter around myself. I joined Niall, taking a few of the lighter bags as the two of them carried the rest to the front. I followed after cautiously, desperately trying to avoid ice as I waddled like a penguin. 

I passed the cab driver as he put a check in his front pocket, nodding at me as he passed. We wished each other a Merry Christmas, and then I was climbing the big stone steps to stand with Niall on the big covered porch. He looked incredibly nervous, as nervous as I felt, and I knew i needed to calm him down. 

I put down the holdall, turning to face him. He took in a deep breath, his deep blue eyes staring straight into mine. "Are you nervous?" He asked, and i nodded. "Are you?" I asked softly, and he nodded quickly. "Yeah." He breathed, and I tried to hide my smile. "How do I look?" I asked him, reaching up to fix my hair with numb fingers. "Beautiful, as always." He said, and I blushed, grateful for the new heat in my cheeks. "And me, how do I look?" He asked, striking a pose that made me giggle. I reached up to re-situated his crooked scarf, straightening the hood of his coat and nodding. "Handsome, as always." I whispered, and he smiled, causing me to do the same. There was a beat of silence where he looked down at my lips, then back to my eyes, and then his cold fingertips had tilted my chin up, his lips sweeping over mine breifly. "Let's meet the family." He breathed, reaching out t ring the doorbell when we'd pulled away.