One Thing.

A knock at the door later on in the day broke me from my cleaning spree of the already spotless apartment. I’d admit that I had a twinge of OCD and being in a new environment only intensified it, making me want to make sure each and every aspect of the apartment was perfect. I’d even set up a few more framed pictures of Louis and I.

I hurried to the door, hoping it’d be Louis but I knew better than to hope for that, seeing as he had his own key and wouldn’t waste his time knocking on the door. I pulled open the door to reveal Josh who had a small smile on his lips. It was a nice change from his usual demeanor in which he was either frowning or scrutinizing my every move. I stepped aside to let him in and I quickly walked to the iHome in the living room, turning it down considerably to where Ed Sheeran’s voice was simply a hum in the apartment.

“You unpacked quickly.” He took notice of the living room that no longer had stacks of boxes stacked all over the place. I nodded sheepishly and headed into the kitchen as he looked around the living room, taking in the new photos I had set up.

“Tea?” I asked softly. If there was one thing that I could agree on with the British, it was their love for tea. Ever since I was a little girl, I had strayed away from the bitter taste of coffee and instead relished in the sweet and extensive taste of tea. It’d gotten so bad, I could hardly go to bed without having at least one cup of tea.

“No thanks.” He declined, his hands carefully picking up a picture frame from the entertainment center. It was the one of Louis and I on our one year anniversary. He and I had matching cheesy smiles and his arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, keeping me close as we smiled into the camera. It was when he had gotten out of a few interviews to spend the day with me and we ended up walking along the boardwalk in California until sunset.

I busied myself with setting the kettle on the stove and starting it up as I reached into the cabinet and pulled out a box of chai tea. I grabbed a packet and set it by the stove just in time to see Josh walking towards me. I turned around and was met with his watchful blue eyes. “So, you want to work with for my sister?”

I smiled, nodding my head just a bit. “I’d really like to. There isn’t much for me to do during the day, so I’d really like to have something to occupy my time with.”

“Elissa said she definitely needs the help and she’s looking forward to meeting you.” I smiled brightly at this, excited that I might have a chance to actually get a job. The last one I had was when I was seventeen and I missed feeling like I had some duties.

+

“Elissa,” Josh called into the building once he pulled open the front door and let me in first before following behind. The inside was absolutely beautiful and I was amazed at how well decorated it was, but given that it was an art gallery, I think it’s a given that she’d have an eye for detail.

“Josh!” A woman grinned brightly when she caught sight of us. She quickly made her way to us, her heels clicking along the floor. She pushed her hair back and held her hand out for me to shake. “You must be Emmy.”

I nodded, throwing my hand out to quickly shake hers. “Yes, and I’m assuming you’re Elissa. It’s nice to meet you.”

Elissa seemed pleased with me and I was thankful that she was so friendly. She seemed extremely sweet and although Josh wasn’t so bad, she seemed a completely different person than him. It was weird how siblings turned out. “Funny how Josh and Max left out how pretty you are.” She winked. “With you working here, everyone will be coming in!”

My cheeks flushed instantly and I couldn’t help but drop my eyes down to my boots at her compliment. I had never been one to take compliments well. Even now, after a couple of years being with Louis, every time that he shot out a compliment, I instantly closed up, feeling embarrassed like no end.

“Don’t be embarrassed, love.” Elissa patted my shoulder and Josh let out a chuckle at his sister’s comment. “It’s true, no need to get flustered.” She exchanged a quick look with her brother before turning back to me. “Ready for a quick rundown of what you’d be doing?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” I said politely before following her over to where a desk was seated in front of the small entrance leading back to where I assumed all of the art was held.

“This is where you’d sit. Now when there’s a gala or someone just wants to come in to view pieces, the tickets are here, and after you get their payment, just take one, stamp it with the date and let them in. Some people try and say they’re on a list, or something stupid like that, but be warned, the knob heads in this area try anything to get a laugh.” I nodded along to her, and found my eyes drifting off to Josh who was playing on his phone. He must’ve felt my stare, because he lifted his head just in time to catch me watching him. My cheeks flushed and I could’ve sworn I saw him smirk as I looked back to his sister who was still talking.

After talking me through every aspect of the job description, I was fairly certain I was more than ready to take this job up and do a damn good job doing it too. It was even a pretty cool job after all. I was going to resort to working at a fast food restaurant if it came down to it to keep me occupied, so I was thoroughly pleased that I could have something at least interesting.

“So, you think you’d want to do it?”

Elissa’s eyes were hopeful as she watched me and even Josh seemed a bit interested in hearing my answer. I thought it was a no brainer, so I couldn’t see why they’d even imagine me denying them. “Of course, I’d love to have this job.”

“Good,” she grinned, letting out a sigh. “ I was worried you wouldn’t want to. Most people find it boring to be a receptionist.”

“Not me,” I grinned. “This is perfect.”

+

“So, you coming over to Max’s tonight?” Josh piped up beside me just as we were heading up in the elevator to my floor.

I shook my head, remembering my date with Louis tonight. “Nope, not tonight. I’ve got plans.” I couldn’t help the grin on my face at the thought. Louis was finally home; that meant that I could finally breathe again. There always seemed to be so much going wrong whenever he wasn’t around.

“Boyfriend, huh?” he asked aloud, and once I looked over at him, he seemed surprised himself that he had said something. He frowned after that and I couldn’t decide if that meant I should answer or just leave it alone, he was a bit confusing and I couldn’t understand what his deal was.

“Thank you for all your help today,” I said softly once we reached my door and I reached into my pocket, retrieving my key and turning to unlock the door.

He nodded, giving me a silent acknowledgment. “So, does this mean we won’t be seeing much of you anymore?”

My eyes furrowed at this and my eyes met his in confusion. “Because of the art gallery?”

“No,” he growled, rolling his eyes clearly frustrated. I was thrown off by how easily he got agitated and I wondered how he’d ever held onto a girl with that temper. “With your bloke.”

My eyebrows relaxed at this, realizing instantly what he meant. I hadn’t thought about it much. I assumed with them working on their new album and Louis coming to see me whenever he got the chance, everything would simply work out perfectly, honestly, I didn’t think they really cared if I spent time with them or not, it wasn’t like we were close mates or whatever they referred to their selves as. “Not at all, besides, you guys stay pretty busy, don’t you?”

He nodded his head, dropping his eyes down to his scuffed up shoes. He didn’t stand there for more than a few minutes before he let out a grumbled “Yeah, I guess so.” After that, he hardly muttered a goodbye before he turned and headed for the elevator, leaving me utterly confused.

+

I heard the sound of the front door opening just as I was putting my finishing touches on my outfit. I felt his arms snake around my waist, his lips kissing my neck softly and I smiled as I caught sight of his handsome reflection in the mirror I was standing in front of.

“Mm,” he hummed, his lips still attached to my neck. “Someone looks beautiful.”

I grinned, turning in his arms to wrap my arms around his neck, my hands finding the hairs that rest on his neck. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” He smirked at this and I reached up on the tip of my toes to kiss his lips, my small stature still being too short even with heels on.

Once we pulled away after a few kisses, he pressed his forehead to mine, his light eyes melting into mine. “Your carriage awaits, my lady.” I giggled at his cheesiness, but let him lead me out of the apartment nonetheless, our fingers intertwined tightly as we headed out to his black Audi.

We pulled up to the restaurant in just under fifteen minutes and Louis was quick to hop out of the car and get around to my side to greet me and open the door for me. His smile that caused millions of girls to fall in love around the world was present on his features as he wrapped his toned arm around my waist and led me to the restaurant.

I ignored the bitter feeling in my stomach as he ushered me into the back entrance of the restaurant, no longer able to affectionate in public after we exited the parking garage. I didn’t dwell on the feeling for too long because soon after, his arm was back around me and the host was leading us back to our table in the secluded section of the restaurant where only a few couples were seated.

“This place is really nice,” I murmured as I struggled to read anything on the menu. It was in French and I was at a complete loss when I couldn’t even read the refreshments they served. Louis seemed at a complete ease as his eyes scanned over the menu.

“Well, you’re my princess; you don’t deserve a trip to McDonalds.” I grinned, my cheeks blushing at his words, but in all honesty as I continued to stare at the menu, a Big Mac didn’t sound too bad.

“What can I start you two out with?” A young woman smiled sweetly as she held her notepad in her hand, ready to take our orders. Louis motioned to me, allowing me to choose first and my mouth ran dry.

“Um, a coke?” my voice was soft and the girl nodded, scribbling it down without another word. I heard Louis chuckle softly and I felt embarrassed once more.

“I’d like a bottle of Chardonnay, please.” And with a grin he sent the waitress away. His attention was back on me and he reached out for my hand, interlacing our fingers together over the table. “What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing the look on my face.

“Nothing,” I shook my head smiling, my dark hair splashing around me. “I just can’t believe you’re home.” It was weird to think that England was home to both of us now, but that wasn’t what was really eating at me. I knew I needed to tell him about my new job at the art gallery.

“I’m really glad you made this move for me, Emmy.” He rubbed his thumb over my hand and I looked down at our hands and how nicely our hands fit together. “For us.” He clarified.

“Me too.” He leaned forward and kissed my lips, his lips soft against my glossed ones and I swear I’d hadn’t been this content in a long time, it felt good to be this happy. This is what I’d been wanting for us for a long time.

He was watching me with a smile, his teeth showing and I returned the smile, noticing the small chip in his front tooth I had come to love so dearly. I opened my mouth to tell him about the new job when the waitress returned with the drinks.

“What were you going to say, love?” Louis asked once the waitress walked away after taking our orders, which consisted of Louis choosing for me since I couldn’t read anything.

He seemed to be interested in what I had to say. He had his eyebrows raised and he was leaning forward a bit. His hand was still holding mine, his thumb running softly across my skin. I shook my head, not wanting to ruin the moment. “Nothing, just that I love you.”

He smirked at this and threw his head back a bit to let out a laugh. “Just that you love me? I didn’t realize that was so unimportant.”

I narrowed my eyes at his teasing and stuck out my tongue. “You’re such a tool.”