iMate

All through the night, Claire mentally kicked herself for screwing up her date with Liam. Things had been going fine – good even – until that stupid moment when she’d ruined everything. It was her body’s fault, not hers, but that didn’t stop her from being upset over it.

She was so close to the perfect finish to her amazing date with Liam, and her hiccups had spoiled everything. He ran out of her lawn as fast as he could and Claire was sure she had ruined everything between them. Just when she finally got her chance with her soulmate – the boy she had been chasing for so long – she ruined everything. She ruined all of her work with the worst first date kiss that didn’t happen.

Her head was still throbbing from the mental bruising she had given it when her phone rang and Liam’s name appeared on the other end. Just the sight of his name on the screen made her blood run cold. The last thing she expected was a phone call from Liam, even though he had promised it, so when she answered, her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

Her lips trembled through the entire conversation and she only hoped he didn’t notice the stammer in her voice. He was sweet, just like he always was, and it made her slightly less nervous, but only slightly. Her voice was still shaking when he asked her to go out with him again that night, but even though her voice was wobbly, it was the happiest yes she’d ever given anyone.

She spent the entire day worrying about what would happen, while still being thrilled that he wanted to see her again. After the disaster the night before, she was certain she’d ruined any chance she had with him, and was shocked that she hadn’t. It was by some miracle that she’d been given a second (or was it third?) chance to get things right. She couldn’t mess it up again.

Sydney gave her best attempt at calming Claire down, while giving her useless advice on how to get rid of hiccups if they happened again. Claire knew all the hiccup tips wouldn’t work, but she thanked Sydney anyway and prayed to whatever higher power there was that hiccups would be her biggest worry.

After many hours of panicking and shaking uncontrollably, Liam knocked on Claire’s door, dressed in jeans and a black tee, and Claire thought she’d faint just at the sight of him. A smile tugged at her lips as she opened the door and stepped out onto her porch.

“You look beautiful,” Liam said, making Claire blush instantly. She still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that she was within the same breathing space as him, let alone that he would compliment her. He was probably used to girls gushing over his words, so Claire tried to keep as calm as she could.

“Thank you,” she responded, smiling back at him. “So do you.”

“I look beautiful?” He joked, smirking at her. “Haven’t heard that one before.”

She chuckled. “I could go with handsome, if you’d like?”

“Beautiful works just fine.” He winked, and Claire melted to a puddle of feeling all over the ground. His wink could easily be considered the eighth wonder of the world. Even though she’d never admit it in public, it was a thousand times better than Ryan Gosling’s. Anyone with eyes could see that.

“Where are we going?” Claire asked, after realizing she’d been gushing for a few seconds too long.

“It’s a surprise,” he said. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Claire beamed, as he walked her to his car and opened her door. She’d always loved surprises as a little girl, and she’d never grown out of it. The fact that it was a surprise with Liam only made it that much better.

As they drove down a long winding road, windows down and the radio playing softly over the sound of Liam’s tires rolling against the pavement. It was a somewhat long drive, but being in the car with Liam made it seem like only seconds.

Claire hadn’t been expecting the car to stop when they rolled up into the lot of a small park, containing only a small jungle gym, a few swings, and a beautiful pond. It was dark and the park was closed, but Liam didn’t seem to care.

“I thought since our last date was so public, we could do something a little more relaxed. Not have to worry about the paparazzi and the people watching.” Liam looked over at Claire, who had a faraway look in her eyes. “You’re not scared, are you?”

She turned to him quickly, a small bit of confidence growing inside her. “Should I be?”

A smirk fell to Liam’s face, as he pulled his door open. “I guess you’ll find out.”

Claire popped her door open before Liam had a chance to do it for her, and he grinned as he walked over to her. His hand fell to hers for the first time since she’d met him, and she wondered what wonderful thing she’d done in the past to get enough good karma to lead to Liam holding her hand. Just the small touch of his fingers against hers was like the best feeling in the world, and she wondered briefly if it was because he was her soulmate or because he was Liam Payne.

Smiling down at her, Liam pulled Claire to the swings, where she sat in the one closest to the lake. He gave her a small push, before sitting in the swing next to her, and the two quickly fell into a rhythm of pushing and pulling their feet against the wind.

For the next few hours, Claire was on Cloud 9, as she and Liam sat in the moonlight, chatting about everything from their childhood to the season finale of Lost. She wasn’t quite sure when it happened, but somewhere between him picking her up from her home to their time on the swing, everything had fallen into place.

She was still nervous, but no more than she should have been, and as she sat on the swing, with Liam beside her, she realized that it didn’t matter that he was a famous rock star and she was just a girl. There was something about the two of them that just made sense, and she would have known it even if her iMate hadn’t told her.

It took every ounce of willpower she had, but she forced herself to forget all about his fame, career, and the millions of girls chasing after him just like she was. She was just a girl, and even though he was famous, at the end of the day, he was just a boy. She knew that, but it didn’t stop her from being nervous as it came time for their first kiss.

His eyes were soft, as his fingers moved to her hair, just as they had before. The rough pads moved through her curls, causing her skin to tingle. In seconds, his lips would be on hers, and all she would have to do was kiss back. She couldn’t let her nerves win again, so she took breath, as her eyes fluttered shut.

At that moment, his lips met hers in what could only be described as pure bliss. There was no moment of wondering, no second thoughts, and most of all, no hiccups.

It was just Liam and Claire – a simple boy and a simply girl – in a perfect kiss that was even better than either of them could have imagined.