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"Believe me babe I'll walk away forget your name..."
Out Of This Car
Emily Weisband
Chapter 4
It was evening and he was about to be on a date. He was dreading it.
It was more of sabotage by his close friend Lewis, who had drunkenly set it up for him a few nights ago. Her name was Elizabeth, but she went by Liz. Niall was sure he'd met her before, but Lewis argued that if he had he wouldn't have let her leave alone. Niall was honestly too wasted that night to care. But tonight wasn't that night, and now he cared more than he liked.
He'd gotten to the steak house early, dressed in a tan suit with a white blazer beneath. The lighting was dim, the room buzzing with the soft conversation of people out with friends and lovers.
The hostess had asked him to wait on a bench located off to the left. It wasn't anything grand, rather small in fact. It had red leather with a wood base. His back is resting against the grey wall behind him, eyes still wandering around the room. The time is six-fifteen, she was meant to arrive by six-thirty.
Niall shifts his gaze away from the buzzing room in front of him to look down at his brown dress shoes. His hands are folded together between his knees, the sweat between them heavy like his thoughts. Why hadn't he politely told her he couldn't make it tonight when she'd called to confirm? Did his heart really feel ready to move on?
"Niall?" A soft voice reaches his ears, causing him to lift his head. His vision is met with the smiling face of a girl around his age. She is stunning, dressed casually classy, her blonde hair layered around her face. Her crystal blue eyes catch his attention with their beauty. In the lighting, they look nearly navy but have the reflective quality of clear water. He stands, "Elizabeth?" He questions back to her, receiving a short nod and shy smile in return.
"I wasn't able to get us a table early," he states, his embarrassment taking over for a moment. She shrugs and waves her hand to dismiss his statement, "Makes it more of an adventure that way." He smiles at her response, nodding before they both shuffle around a few people on their way to the hostess stand.
The perky lady behind the wooden stand is quick to usher them behind her, into the dining area. Niall walks behind Elizabeth, his eyes briefly taking in her outfit once more. She's in a knee-length black skirt, with a grey long sleeve shirt tucked into it. Around her neck is a black and white scarf and on her head a cream-colored beanie. Her legs are adorned in black knee-high boots that don't do anything to hurt her appearance. Her blonde hair is straight, and falls just past her shoulders, with each step catching new pieces of light. After gentle weaving around wooden tables filled with smiling people, they arrive at a booth tucked away against the grey colored bricks that line the back of the restaurant.
"Will this work for you two?" The hostess asks while still holding the smile on her face.
"It's great, thank you," Elizabeth says while sliding into the right booth. Niall simply smiles at the hostess as he slides into the booth opposite Elizabeth.
The hostess places their menus in front of them before leaving in silence.
"Sorry I didn't really give you a chance to object to the table. Is this okay?" She asks, and Niall notices her nervous tone.
