Take Me Home

The restaurant was practically empty when we walked in. It was late and I was sure they were about to close but Niall didn’t seem to care as he walked in like he owned the place, ignoring the few paparazzi that arrived in time to get their pictures of us walking in. I, on the other hand, trailed behind him trying to see through the bright flashes. They were rendering me blind and a reached out to grab hold of Niall’s coat just to save myself the embarrassment of walking into a wall or some other object.

“I can’t fucking see for shit.” I growled.

Niall laughed and took hold of my hand just long enough to steer me through the doors in my blind state. “It’s only going to worse when we leave.” He commented and let go hand for which I was thankful. However, I was certain the few photographers outside had already taken photos of our linked hands. I made a mental note to keep my eyes peeled for those photos when Connor and I went shopping in the morning.

“Lovely.” I murmured and followed behind him. I really wasn’t looking forward to having another panic attack just trying to leave the restaurant that I never agreed to go to in the first place.

“For two, please.” Niall said to the hostess, her face was down and she was focused on her phone. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

That was before she looked up and saw Niall. When she was Niall her attitude was completely changed. She plastered a smile and said “Right this way.” and I could tell just how badly she wanted to scream. I began to laugh at how absurdly ridiculous the whole situation was and how oblivious Niall seemed to be to the entire thing.

“What are you laughing?” he asked as we followed the hostess.

I shook my head but continued to laugh. “Nothing. Don’t worry about.” I said as we slid into opposite sides of a booth.

Niall shook his head, but an amused smile was hanging on his lips. “Your server will be with you shortly.” The hostess practically ran away, probably to go text her friends or take creepy pictures of us.

I picked up my menu and instead of scanning it for the food I found most appetizing, I searched for the cheapest dish on the menu. “Jesus Christ.” Niall muttered.

“What?” I asked, moving my menu to get a better look at him. I hoped it wasn’t something dreadful such as paparazzi or crazy fans.

“I can’t decide what I want. I want it all.” he said sadly, looking at the menu like it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

“Well you’ve got plenty of money.” I deadpanned, using his earlier statement against him. Niall barked with laughter just as our waiter came over to our table. He was a tall, olive-skinned, man who couldn’t be a day over twenty-two. I would be a liar if I didn’t say he was highly attractive.

“I’m Anthony, I’ll be your server for the night. Can I start you off with something to drink?” Anthony’s eyes were an unusual light green, I noticed when he kept them focused on my own dull green eyes.

“Um, Coke.” I said breathlessly when he smiled showing off a perfect set of white teeth.

“Coke.” Niall answered looking at Anthony like he had just murdered a puppy.

“I’ll be right back with those.” Anthony flashed his perfect teeth once more and walked away to get out drinks.

Niall watched the waiter walk way, his face contorted in disgust as he glared at the retreating figure. “You’re glaring.” I said, focusing my eyes back on the menu.

“What?” Niall sounded surprised. “No. I’m not glaring.” He denied it.

I peeked over the top of my menu “Okay.” I agreed and began to laugh.

“I wasn’t!” he defended himself but quickly changed the subject. “What are you getting?”

“Garden salad.”

“Cheapest thing on the menu?” Niall asked, giving me a knowing look.

“No.” I said, trying to cover my tracks. “I’m just really in the mood for salad.”

Anthony appeared a few seconds later and placed our drinks in front of us. “Are you ready to order or do you need a few more minutes?”

“We’re ready.” Niall cut him off before he had even finished his sentence and then proceeded to list what had to be half of the menu.

“And you for you?” Anthony asked, smiling at me which dazzled me to the point where I hesitated for a few seconds. “Um, I’ll have a garden salad with Italian dressing, please.”

“She’ll also have spaghetti and meatballs.” Niall tacked onto my order and gave Anthony a less than friendly smile and handed him our menus.

“Alright, that’ll be out shortly.” Anthony said pleasantly and threw a wink in my direction. I felt my face heat up as he walked away.

“I can’t believe that guy.” Niall said before taking a sip of his drink.

“I can’t believe you’re being so rude to him.” I scolded Niall. “He’s just doing his job.”

Niall’s eyes went wide. “Are you kidding me? He was hitting on you. In front of me. For all he knows I’m your boyfriend.” Niall ranted. “It’s rude.”

“He was not and you’re not my boyfriend! And you know what else is rude? Ordering people food that they don’t want!” I exclaimed and took a sip of my drink. “If by some miracle that guy is interested in me, don’t you go scaring him away!”

Niall completely ignored me and instead changed the subject. “So why’d you move to London?”

I chewed on my lip as tried to think of an explanation. I decided to go with a half-truth. “Well, Connor has wanted to live here since were in preschool I think.” I laughed at the memories of Connor building Big Ben out of blocks. “And you know, she’s my best friend so when she decided that she was leaving I wasn’t going to let her go without me.” My smile fell as I thought about the real reason I had agreed to move with Connor but quickly tried to cover. “I needed a change of scenery.” I said looking up from the table to see Niall’s blue eyes watching me intently.

“That’s some serious friendship. Moved halfway across the world for her.”

I shrugged “She’s my best friend, I’d do anything for her.” and then went on to change the subject. “What about you? What made you wake up on morning and decide to be in a boy band?”

Niall laughed but retold me the entire story of how he ended up being part of One Direction. The whole time he was talking I couldn’t help but appreciate the way he face lit up when he talked about music, preforming, and fans. When Anthony finally resurfaced with our food, Niall was in the middle of telling me about how much he loved Los Angeles, somewhere I’d never been but it was on my list of places to see before I die.

I stared at the plate of spaghetti and meatballs and was never more thankful for Niall than I was at that moment. Niall looked all the food in front of him like he was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen before he began digging in. I followed suit and picked at my salad for a few minutes before moving onto the dish Niall ordered for me.

“Still in the mood for salad?” Niall asked, smirking at me before shoving a forkful of his own food in his mouth.

I rolled my eyes. “I was wrong. You were right. Happy?”

“Very.” Niall confirmed which made me laugh a little.

When we were done eating, Anthony placed the check on the edge of the table. I reached for it, determined to see how much my meal was worth so I could pay Niall back when I got the money. I didn’t care if the money my meal took out of his bank account was instantly replaced with millions more. I wasn’t going to be happy until I paid him back. Niall was quicker than me and grabbed the check before I could get my hands on it.

“I win.” Niall laughed looked at the bill. He fished around in his pockets until he pulled out a wallet. He grabbed a hand full of cash and threw it on the table. “Shall we?” he asked and motioned toward the door.

I nodded and prayed that there wasn’t a massive crowd of screaming girls outside. I was let down when the doors opened and screaming hit my ears with the same force as a tidal wave. Two bodyguards surrounded Niall and I, they pushed through the people and kept them at bay until we reached the SUV. I was happy to be saved from what could have turned into another panic attack.

The ride back to my flat was quiet. Not in the awkward way, it was comfortable. I was amazed when I realized I had spent an entire night with Niall and had a good time. It was something I never expected to happen but I was glad it did.

“Thanks for dinner.” I said as I climbed out of the SUV when it was stopped in front of my building.

“Any time. Pleasures all mine.” Niall assured me with a smile. “G’night, Lincoln.”

“Night, Niall.” I replied and unlocked the door and fought it until it finally opened.

Connor was sitting on the sofa with a book in her hands, she looked up and me and smirked. “How was your date with your Irish Prince Charming?”

“It wasn’t a date!” I fired back. “It was Niall being stubborn and refusing to take me home until he spent his money on me.”

Connor laughed and looked back down at her book. “Is that what you crazy kids are calling it nowadays?”

“It wasn’t!” I protested and stormed into the bedroom.

“Alright.” She laughed, still unconvinced.

No matter how much it sounded like a date and it looked like a date, it was by no means a date. Under no circumstances was that a date. That was two acquaintances grabbing dinner. It wasn’t a date. At least I prayed that it wasn’t. I was hoping Connor was joking around when she called it a date but I wasn’t so sure when I crawled into my side of the bed and waited for sleep.