Summer Love

Two hours later, Niall and Mae were in the car heading back towards the rental house. The two of them walked around the little shops downtown and got dinner, where they continued talking and getting to know each other better. Mae learned that Niall was completely comfortable with her, and all other women, he never goes on many dates, and he can eat more than anyone she has ever met, due to the fact that he got seconds on their dinner. And Niall loved that Mae wasn’t embarrassed to eat in front of him, like some girls, and she started to come more out of her shell. Throughout dinner, Niall got her to laugh louder than he heard her laugh or speak since their date started, and she looked down at her lap less and less as the date progressed.

Mae glanced down at her phone to see that she had a text message from her mom, and she looked over at Niall, who had his eyes locked on the road. He felt Mae staring at him, and looked over. “Is something wrong?”

“I got a text from my mom,” Mae said. “I don’t want to be rude.”

“Christ, I don’t care,” he chuckled as he approached a stoplight. “It’s your mum.”

Mae smiled softly as she opened the message from her mom.

If your date is going well, you should invite him to dinner tomorrow night.

Mae sighed to herself, not wanting to sound way too forward. She never had asked a guy to come for dinner at her house, but she knew that her parents were curious to know who she was even going out with. But a part of her really wanted to invite him to dinner tomorrow night, because she wanted to spend some more time with him. She didn’t think that he had a bad time with her, considering how much he laughed and how whenever he was standing behind her he would be not even an inch away and have his hand on the small of her back, leaving a tingling sensation on Mae’s skin every single time. She was broken away from her internal debate when Niall spoke.

“Is everything all right?” he asked curiously, sounding slightly concerned.

Mae shut her phone. “Yeah. I have a question.”

“I have an answer,” he said, and Mae saw the ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Would you…want to come to dinner at my house tomorrow night?” she asked slowly, trying not to speak too fast so she wouldn’t have to repeat the nerve-wracking question. “That’s what my mom texted me.”

“Are you saying you’re only inviting me because your mom suggested it?” he wondered, a hint of hurt in his voice.

Mae felt her stomach drop as she mentally kicked herself for mentioning the last part. “I-I just didn’t want to sound too forward. I’m sorry if that offended you. I would really like you to come to dinner though.”

Niall was quiet for a few seconds, his lips a thin line and his eyes locked on the road. Mae felt herself start to get hot, and she grew more and more upset that she offended Niall as the seconds passed. About a minute later, Niall started laughing, causing Mae’s eyes to widen.

“I would love to eat dinner with your folks tomorrow,” he said, still chuckling slightly. “And I was never hurt or mad that your mom suggested the idea; I think it’s very sweet.”

“Oh, my God,” Mae said as she heaved a sigh of relief. She fanned her hot face with her hands. “You made me so nervous.”

“I’m sorry,” he grinned. “It was just too easy.”

Mae smiled to herself and looked down at her hands, feeling like an idiot.

“You really would like to have me over for dinner, though?” Niall questioned, and Mae could hear him smiling as her eyes were locked on her knotted fingers. She looked up at him a few seconds later. “Well, yes.”

With a crooked-toothed grin on his face, Niall just nodded and they both fell into a comfortable silence as they continued towards home.

+

“I had a really nice time tonight,” Niall said quietly as he looked down at Mae as they stood on the porch of Mae’s parent’s rental house. “You’re a lot of fun.”

“Thank you,” Mae said, smiling. She did all she could to keep her eyes locked with Niall’s, instead of on the ground. “I had a great time. And thank you for dinner.”

“My pleasure,” he said, and before Mae could process what she was going to say as a goodbye, Niall wrapped his arms around her and gave her a tight hug, before placing a soft kiss on her cheek. She felt her cheeks heat up and butterflies multiply in her stomach.

“Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow before dinner, but I’m not sure if I will because Doniya wants to see you,” he said as he pulled away from Mae. “What time would you like me over?”

“Around six should be okay,” Mae replied. “We usually eat around 6:30.”

“Great, I’ll be here,” he said with a smile. Mae smiled back at him and it took everything in him not to grab her face and kiss her lips, but he was never that forward with a girl on the first date, and forced himself to refrain.

“Bye, Mae,” Niall said, before placing another kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Mae nodded, a smile still on her face and her left hand on the doorknob. “Bye.”

Niall walked down the porch stairs as he heard Mae walk inside her house, before getting back into the car and driving three houses down to the Malik’s. After getting out of the car and locking it, he made his way to the front door and inside to see everyone at the kitchen table finishing their dinner. Zayn’s dad, Yasser, looked at Niall and grinned, and Niall knew that the teasing would now begin.

“How was the date?” Yasser asked. Everyone was silent, waiting for Niall’s response.

“It went really well,” Niall said slowly. “Was I the talk of the meal or something?”

“More or less, yes,” Zayn chuckled.

“Do you want something to eat?” Zayn’s mom, Patricia, asked. “We’re all finished eating, but we have leftovers.”

“No, I ate with Mae,” Niall said. “Thank you, though.”

Patricia nodded as she began cleaning off the kitchen table. Niall handed Zayn his car key before trudging up the stairs and going into the room he shared with Harry and Liam. He took off his jeans and slipped on a pair of basketball shorts before changing his shirt and lying back on his bed. Minutes later, Doniya walked into the bedroom. “How was it?”

“It was really good,” Niall said slowly, confused as to why Doniya even cared. “Why do you care?”

“Because she’s my friend and I just want to make sure you weren’t an ass,” she said with a small smile.

“You know I’m not just going to be an ass,” he chuckled, sitting up and looking at Doniya. “She’s really nice. She invited me to have dinner with her family tomorrow night.”

“Well, that better be after she and I hang out,” Doniya said. “And don’t hurt her feelings and decide you don’t want to talk to her anymore in two weeks. I know you’re the soppy one in the relationship usually, but she’s a really nice girl and she’s really gentle, if you couldn’t tell.”

“Doniya, it’s not like I said I loved her or anything,” Niall said, rolling his eyes. “And I’m not just going to dump her on her ass after three days. She seems like a really fun person and I enjoyed spending time with her. And with me being the soppy one, I won’t be the first to tell her I don’t want to see her anymore.”

“Good,” she said as she headed out of the room. “I’m glad you had a good time though. You have my approval.”

Niall smiled slightly and nodded his head. “Thanks.”