Anonymous

“Hey, Jess,” Maria started as she burst into my room, right in the middle of me drawing eyeliner onto my lash-line. My hand jumped from the surprise, smearing a long dash across my cheek.

I sighed and reached for a tissue as I asked, “What? What do you want?”

“Can you drive me to get the new Halo game at Gamers’ Paradise? I need it.”

“You need it?” I joked, shaking my head. “Definitely not. And I’m on my way to go to Louis’ flat, so I can’t take you. Sorry. Ask Mum or Dad.”

“They’re out to some party thing,” Maria whined, sticking out her bottom lip like a pouty toddler. “So I’m going to be by myself?”

“Not all night,” I assured her. “I’ll be back by eleven like I promised Mum and Dad before they left. If you want, I can bring you to get Halo tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled, getting to her feet and storming out of my bedroom. “Just don’t tire yourself out at Louis’ house. We leave at dawn.”

Before I could ask just what she figured I’d be doing at Louis’, she was gone, stomping down the steps like a runaway elephant.

For a second, I let out a long breath, staring at the empty doorway, but I couldn’t let her bother me. That night was going to be huge for Louis and me. After all, he was going to have to start his worldwide press tour for the concerts the following day, and the night was the last we were going to be able to spend together for a long time.

We’d still have Skype and texting, of course, but I knew it wasn’t going to be the same. I was going to miss the way we laid together on the couch, how his hand fit together with mine, how loving his kisses were. But I could only hope that the wait would make the feelings more intense when we saw each other again.

About a half hour later, just before six o’clock, I knocked on Louis’ door, stepping back and smoothing down the nicest dress I owned as I waited the minute before he showed himself.

“Wow,” he breathed, his eyes scanning me slowly, “you look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I responded, leaning forward and pressing my lips against his. “By the way, I have to be home by eleven.”

“I figured,” he replied. “The food’s already here, so we don’t have to wait for that.”

“What, no cooking?” I teased, winking cheekily as I brushed by him to step into his apartment. The table was covered with various Chinese food boxes, all opened and distributed evenly around the surface.

Dinner passed by fairly quickly, with both of us making small talk as we tried to eat the noodles as delicately as possible. I was somewhat successful, but Louis was just a mess with the process. He kept making incredibly unattractive slurping noises and looking at me like a guilty puppy dog, and I couldn’t help but laugh at him.

Once we finished eating and the leftovers were put away in the fridge, the cartons disposed of, I looked over at my boyfriend, leaning up against the counter. He hadn’t told me what else he was planning of the night, but I had a pretty good idea in the back of my head, even if I was too bashful to state it out loud.

“Come with me,” he insisted, wrapping his hand around mine, leading me out of the kitchen and toward his bedroom.

“Forward of you,” I snickered. “No romantic ploys or anything?”

“Just hold on,” he responded with a teasing tone as he let go of me and made his way across his bedroom, pressing play on the little iDock he had in the corner. His iPhone lit up at the command, and soon enough, the smooth sounds of Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran started to play through the room.

Instantly, I was transferred to a time so long ago, when I was merely a nobody, a teenage girl who used to listen to Ed Sheeran and One Direction songs as I dreamed up plots to stories that would never happen in a million years. The song itself held so many memories for me, like when I started the fan-fiction story that had been the first step on the crazy ride that was my romance with Louis Tomlinson, and I listened to the exact same lyrics as I scribbled down words in my notebook in the library.

“May I have this dance?” Louis asked with a cheesy grin, upping the whole factor with a deep bow as he extended his hand.

“Why, of course, Mr. Darcy,” I responded in an affected tone, putting my fingers gently against his palm as he straightened back up, pulling me close.

For a little bit, we just danced, rocking back and forth together, swaying with the beat, as Louis held our entwined hands close to his heart. “I’m going to miss you,” he breathed, pressing a kiss against my nose.

“I’ll miss you, too,” I agreed. “But you have to go and make all your money.”

“I just hate that I’m going to miss your graduation,” he sighed. “I really wish that I could be there.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. It’ll be boring anyway.”

Louis chuckled and pecked me on the mouth for a second, pulling away far too soon. The song that still played around us was hitting the middle, and the atmosphere couldn’t be more right.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off, placing my finger against his lips and whispered, “Shhh. We can talk later. We’ll have plenty of time for that.”

A mischievous gleam appeared in his eye as he nodded, moving his hands to my lower back to press our bodies together, finally catching my lips in a kiss that deepened almost immediately, our tongues mingling together, our heavy breathing filling the room and nearly drowning out the beautiful, romantic music that had been playing before.

When Louis laid me down on the bed, crawling on top of me without disconnecting our passionate kiss, the song switched to Give Me Love, which was somewhat fitting. “Should I shut it off?” he questioned, his eyes scanning over my face for any kind of response.

“No, leave it,” I responded offhandedly as my hands snaked up his shirt, feeling the hard muscles of his stomach, upper arms, and back. “You’re not going anywhere.”

He smirked and positioned himself so I could slip off the piece of soft cotton fabric, discarding it to the floor.

The second his torso was exposed, he looped his arms around my back, working to slip down the zipper, letting his soft fingertips brush against the sensitive skin as he dragged it down my spine, ending just before the waistband of my knickers.

His lips trailed down my neck, my collarbone, and the rest of my torso, occasionally flicking out his tongue or grazing his teeth against my skin, his hands following a similar route. My fingers tangled in his hair as I struggled to focus on my breathing, since it seemed entirely possible that I’d stop completely and die right then and there.

When he brought his mouth back up to mine, I flipped us over so he was on the bottom, letting my touch trail down his stomach, watching the muscles tense under the sensation, unbuttoning his pants and sliding them down his legs.

Soon, we were at the point of no return, Louis hovering over me. And before it happened, he reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of my face, planting a sweet, simple kiss on my lips. “I love you, Jessica McCormack. I love you more than anything.”

I swallowed and looked up at him, feeling my eyes fill up with tears, as I replied, “Me, too. I love you, too.”

The smile that enveloped his face was so incredibly beautiful that I could almost feel my heart breaking in my chest.

And in that moment, and the tender moments after it was over, when he ran his fingers through my hair and whispered with me, I felt like nothing could ever ruin what we had.