Collide, Ignite

In the morning Reilly woke up to the feeling of Niall's fingers playing with her hair. It was one of those things she never realized she liked until he was doing it. At first she kept her eyes closed and remained still, out of fear he would stop. But after barely a minute, he breathed out a laugh.

"Mornin' Darlin'," he mumbled softly. His voice was gravelly from sleep. She groaned quietly and he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"How did you know I was awake?" she asked, her own voice coming out croaked from lack of use. Her head was on his shoulder and her hand was on his bare stomach, but she still scooted closer to him, pressing against his side and nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. She breathed in his scent and then, with no warning, nipped playfully at his skin.

Niall's entire body jerked. "Ahh," he cried out. "What're ya doin'?" he asked, obviously surprised by the attack. He could feel her smile against his neck.

"What time is it?" she asked and then nipped at his neck again. He breathed out hard through his nose.

"Would ya quit that?" he growled as he rolled, forcing Reilly off his shoulder and onto her back. He held himself up on his elbows so he wouldn't crush her small frame. "What's got into you?" he asked.

Reilly stared up at him with an innocent smile and merely shrugged. "What time is it?" she repeated. "Is it late?" she inquired.

Niall shook his head. "No, 's early," he told her. She looked up at him quizzically. He never woke up before her on his own. "You slept with your back to my chest for most of the night, but then about thirty minutes ago you rolled over and touched my stomach with your ice cube hands and I've been awake ever since," he explained. Reilly cringed noticeably, earning a chuckle from Niall. "And I knew you were awake because your eyelids started to twitch and your breathing wasn't as slow."

She opened her mouth to apologize for waking him, but shut it before any sound came out. Instead, she fixed her eyes on his face, admiring his piercing blue eyes, his perpetually flushed cheeks, his pink lips. For the first time since she'd first met him, it didn't feel wrong.

"Sorry for the rude awakening," she finally managed to say.

Niall laughed heartily, and Reilly could feel his stomach muscles contracting against hers. "Nothin' rude about wakin' up to the most incredible girl I've ever met," he said. His eyes locked on hers and he slowly lowered his face until his lips found hers. Even first thing in the morning there was a hint of sweetness to her mouth. He kissed her more deeply and then drew himself up on his elbows again.

"So last night was real then?" he asked. A smile played at the corners of his mouth and Reilly flashed an inquiring look at him. "I can do that whenever I want?" he asked.

Blush tinted her cheeks. "Within reason," she affirmed.

"Right, of course," he agreed, leaning down and engaging her in several short, successive kisses. She gazed up at him when he stopped. "Just let me go brush my teeth and then we can continue this," he told her.

She didn't stop him when he quickly rolled off her and disappeared into the bathroom. A happy sigh escaped once the door shut gently behind him. For weeks she had been badly wanting this and now it was happening. Really happening. Her stomach had erupted with butterflies, entire body buzzing with a feeling she didn't know the word for. She stared at the closed bathroom door waiting for Niall to come back, waiting for his eyes to hold her gaze, for his hands to touch her skin, for his lips to make everything but the two of them stop.

The toilet flushed. The water turned on and then off again after a minute. Reilly moved her eyes from the bathroom door up to the ceiling. Her mind drifted, left alone for just a moment too long, and doubt floated in. How long would this last? How long could Niall realistically handle the parts of her that were still messy, that might always be messy, before it hurt him too much? Was this really what he wanted?

She was so lost inside her head that she didn't hear the bathroom door open, didn't realize Niall was coming back to the bed until he jumped and landed half next to her, half on top of her. They both giggled, her thoughts being wiped away momentarily, and Niall positioned himself over her again. He wasted no time leaning down and connecting their lips, kissing her slowly with gentle, minty kisses, then gradually, deeper, more intensely.

They broke for air, and Niall continued to litter her mouth, her skin with soft pecks, but the uncertainty returned to her and a sigh escaped. "I think," she began and was cut off briefly by Niall's lips. "We should," Niall's mouth stopped her again. "Talk." Another interruption. "About." Another kiss. "This," she finally finished.

Niall captured her lips and shook his head. He kissed her again. "Don't want to talk." He kissed her again. "Just want to kiss you forever," he assured her and immediately covered her mouth with his again to make his point. She responded each time, but at every break her concerns resurfaced.

She lifted herself up on her elbows, forcing Niall upward for just a moment, and then separated their lips and dropped back down to the pillow. Niall breathed out through his nose and then dropped down, supporting himself on his elbows once again. He kissed her with swollen lips briefly and then raised himself back up and stared down at her.

"What're ya thinkin'?" he asked after a long, quiet moment.

Reilly breathed out heavily. "Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked. Her voice came out barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat. "I'm a handful, you know."

"'S alright, Darlin', I've got two," he said, wiggling the fingers on both his hands in front of her face.

She sighed. "Please don't make a joke out of this. There's going to be times when this might get hard. Really hard," she told him.

Niall looked down at her, making sure to maintain eye contact. "Listen to me, please. I'm not of the illusion that this will be easy, but I want it anyway. In my life I've never felt about anyone else the way I feel about you, never been sure of anything the way I've been sure of you since day one. I want to hold your hand when your hand when you're scared. I want to hold you when it hurts. I want to give you space to breathe when you ask for it. I want to support all the big and small decisions you make. I want to make life decisions with you. And if you tell me right now that you aren't ready yet, then I'll wait until you are," he said. "Because I want this, Reilly. I want you, and I want me, and I want us, but it has to be right for both of us," he assured her.

"I'm ready," she said after a period of silence. "I'm just scared."

He nodded. "I know you are. I am too," he said, brushing her bangs away from her eyes. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you, Reilly. Do you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes," she said with a nod. "I hear you." She reached up and put her hand on the back of Niall's head, pulling him down and pressing her lips to his. "Promise me you won't get annoyed if I need you to remind me," she said against his mouth.

"I promise," he agreed, pecking at her lips. "I'll tell you a hundred times a day, every day, for the rest of my life if you want me to," he said and kissed her again.

She nodded, leaning up to press her forehead against his. "I love you," she said. "I love you more than I know what to do with."

A grin pulled across Niall's face. "That's music to my ears, Darlin'." He leaned down to kiss her again but this time it was different. Before it was them both reveling in the excitement of being able to finally kiss each other. But this was a reiteration of everything he'd ever said about the things he felt for her.

It was "I love you" and it was "I want you" and it was "I'm never going to stop showing you how much you mean to me." It was "you're beautiful" and it was "you're incredible" and it was "you're the only one I want." It was "I'm not going to try to fix you because you aren't broken" and it was "I'm going to hold your hand every step of the way" and it was "I don't want to lose you." It was "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here." It was "I want us in this together, please tell me we're in this together." And it was setting off pyrotechnics inside of Reilly.

She reached up to pull him down on top of her completely, though he still struggled to keep his full weight off her. But Reilly didn't care if he crushed her, she just wanted him closer. He kept his hands planted firmly on the bed on either side of her when she just wanted them on her. The muscles in his arms, shoulders, and back were taught as she ran her hands over them, trying, trying to get him to relax them. She leaned up and pressed herself to him.

"Niall, please," she finally breathed out against his mouth. And that was all it took. The verbalization of what she wanted from him.

His hands were on her sides immediately, pushing up the thin shirt she had borrowed from him and exposing her skin. They glided over her smooth skin and his lips left hers, working their way down her jaw line to the sensitive skin where her neck met her shoulder. His mouth left her skin entirely but only for the time it took for him to remove the shirt from her body completely.

She shivered as the cool air touched the newly exposed skin and Niall quickly lowered himself down on top of her and picked up where he left off, working gently at her skin. She breathed out heavily as he dragged his teeth along her collar bone, breathed in sharply when he nipped at her neck. His calloused fingers ran down her side, brushing over her hip and came to rest on her thigh, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. She grabbed his face, guiding it back up to hers as she arched her back and pushed her hips against his. He kissed her with fervor, swallowing the moan that had been building up in back of her throat.

And then her hands were at his sides, pushing his pajama pants off his hips, using her foot to push them past his knees until he was finally able to kick them off, leaving both of them in just their underwear. Reilly's hands moved back up to Niall's neck, one of them sliding up to the back of his head where her fingers tangled in his thick hair. His thumb hooked underneath the waistband of her underwear and she lifted her hips and detached their mouths to allow him to remove them. Seizing the opportunity the momentary freedom allowed, she pushed his underwear down his hips, and he quickly rid himself of them.

From there they were all open mouths and tangled limbs, heavy breathing and searing touches, gasping moans and Fourth of July fireworks until they both fell back onto the bed, spent. Reilly wasted no time curling against Niall's side, head against his sweaty shoulder and one leg slung over his. His arm twisted around her, fingers tangling in her messy hair.

She leaned up and trailed kisses along his jaw and then pushed herself further onto him to kiss his lips again. "I vote we never again go five years without doing that," she said, her breathing still ragged. Niall chuckled and kissed her again.

"Agreed," he said and kissed her forehead. "What d'ya say we just stay right here all day?" he asked.

Reilly settled against his shoulder again and stared up at Niall. She kissed his jaw again. "I'd say I can't think of any place I'd rather be," she told him. And then she added, "I do have to call Maisie later, though. I haven't gone a day without talking to her since she left."

A smile pulled across Niall's face. "Course, Darlin'. Wouldn't dream of stopping you from talkin' with her. Doubt I could if I tried," he said. At the last statement he began to sound tired. Reilly's own eyelids were growing heavy, and she fought to keep them open. Niall leaned over and kissed Reilly's forehead again. "Workout like that deserves a nap," he mused. Reilly giggled but let her eyes fall shut in spite of wanting to stay awake and talk more with Niall.

When she woke again, sunlight was peeking in through the blinds, and she needed to pee badly. She carefully extracted herself from Niall and made to slip out of the bed. But Niall's hand closed around her wrist before she got far.

"You said," he whined, voice thick with sleep, as he pulled halfheartedly on her arm. She fell back onto the bed and rolled toward him, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"I did say, and I promise I'm coming right back. I just need the bathroom," she told him. He whined again, this time it was something unintelligible. Reilly breathed out a laugh and kissed him again. "Two minutes," she said. "You're still asleep. you won't even know I'm gone." With one more kiss, she carefully climbed over him and slipped into the bathroom.

After using the toilet, she gave herself a good once over in the mirror as she washed her hands. Thankfully Niall's mouth had not left any marks on her. Her hair was a mess, but that was to be expected. For once, however, she looked relaxed, and that seemed like a small miracle all it's own.

Just as she shut off the water, she heard Niall whine her name through the door. She laughed to herself and pulled open the door, poking her head just beyond it. "Do you have an extra toothbrush, by chance?" she asked.

He groaned loudly. "You said two minutes. Said I wouldn't notice you were gone," he said.

A giggle escaped her, and she didn't even try to stop it. "My mouth feels really gross. Do you have an extra toothbrush?" she repeated.

Niall groaned again. "Check the drawer on the left of the sink," he said, rolling onto his side to look at her. She flashed him a smile and blew a kiss in his direction before ducking back into the bathroom.

The toothbrush was exactly where he said it would be. She tore open the package and ran the hard, new bristles under water to soften them. Once her mouth felt minty fresh she stuck the toothbrush in the holder next to Niall's and couldn't help but think it looked like it belonged there.

Satisfied, she pulled open the door again and crossed the room to the bed. She put one knee next to Niall and pulled herself up. Niall's hand found her hip as she swung her other leg over him. He rolled onto his back and she straddled his hips and leaned in to kiss him. His hand slowly glided up her back and then back down to her hip.

"I always know when you're gone," he said. "Just for the record."

She breathed out a sigh and leaned her forehead against his. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come back," she whispered.

He caught her meaning and kissed her gently, running his hands up and down her arms. "Doesn't matter. What matters is you're here now," he told her.

She nodded and slid off him, snuggling into his side. His fingers glided up and down her arm for awhile and then he rolled toward her, pushing her onto her back and hovered over her. Her hands went to his face, pulling him toward her to connect their lips. They spent the day practically glued to teach other, breaking apart only when one of them needed the bathroom, or when the need for food became too strong. It was during that time, when they were in the kitchen, that Reilly took a few minutes to call her sister.

They didn't talk for long since it was a busy day for Maisie, but it was long enough for Reilly to check in with the little girl, make sure she was okay and that she was being well taken care of. At the end, Maisie promised a longer talk the next day, and they hung up. And as soon as Reilly put the phone down, Niall's lips were on her.

"You didn't tell her about us," he commented against her mouth.

Reilly bit the inside of her lip and moved her face away from Niall's. "I know. It's just so new. I mean," she paused, "it hasn't even been a full twenty four hours yet. And I guess I kind of like that this is just ours right now," she told him. "Does that make sense?" she asked.

Niall gave a half shrug and fixed his gaze on her face, even though she wasn't looking at him. "So, then, we're not telling people, or...?" he trailed off, clearly unsure of what she wanted. She stayed quiet for what seemed like forever and then finally looked at him.

"No, that's not what I meant at all," she said. "Lexie is going to know the second she looks at me, so we couldn't keep this a secret if we wanted to. I just," she let out a soft sigh when she took in his expression. "I don't want to keep it a secret. I'm just not quite ready to shout it from the rooftops. I'm going to tell Maisie, though," she promised. She reached for Niall's hands and pulled herself to him, wrapping her arms around his waist when she got close enough. "And I know she is going to be thrilled beyond belief." She pushed herself up on her tip toes and brushed her lips against his. He barely responded. Another sigh escaped her. "Maybe we could tell her together?" she suggested.

This caused a smile to crack Niall's expression. He leaned down and kissed Reilly. "Maybe we could," he agreed and kissed her again, snaking his arms around her and drawing her closer.

She pulled her arms from around his waist and slid them up his chest to the back of his neck, pulling him down to her while she also stood up on her tip toes again. Finally Niall lifted her off the ground and up onto the counter. Her hands moved to cup his face and his went to her hips and as he pulled her back toward him she wrapped her legs around his waist.

And then Niall's stomach growled loudly. Reilly could feel it coming, but there was nothing she could do to stop roar of laughter that traveled up from her stomach to her throat and out her mouth, right into Niall's. Her entire body trembled and her head jerked forward, smashing her face into his. With everything happening so fast, Niall unintentionally bit down on Reilly's lip and she pulled back, her legs dropping from around him, muttering "ow" through her laughter and pressing her fingers to her lip to check for blood.

She was getting herself together, wiping the tears that lined her eyes from laughing so hard, when she saw Niall's expression and it set her off all over again. He looked shocked and horrified and maybe even a little sad. She reached for him, putting her hands on the back of his head and drawing him back toward her once again as she drew in a deep breath to help calm herself.

"I'm sorry," she said, little giggles still escaping. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead right near his hairline. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

"No, I'm sorry," he insisted, face still against her chest, "for bitin' your lip like that."

Reilly shook her head quickly. "It's fine. No blood." She put her fingers to her lip and showed them to him when he finally looked up at her and then pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "No lasting pain." She kissed him again. "And I'm also starving so maybe we should actually eat something," she suggested.

"Just waitin for the oven to go off," he said. He leaned toward her and then stopped himself. "You're certain I didn't hurt you just now?" he asked.

A small smile pulled at the corners of Reilly's lips. She slid her hands from the back of Niall's head to his cheeks. "I promise I will tell you if hurt me," she told him and then placed a soft kiss on his lips. "It hurt at the time but it's fine now." He nodded and she kissed him again, just as the oven timer went off. Niall breathed out hard through his nose and started to take a step back but Reilly pulled him to her once more. He grinned at her but moved back a fraction of a second before her lips would have met his.

She was pouting as he pulled the pan of fries from the oven, not taking her eyes off him as he set it carefully on the stove. He hopped up on the counter next to her and leaned in, connecting their lips as if they were being pulled together by magnets. Her hand went to his cheek, like she needed to be touching him to be absolutely certain this was really happening. Because it wasn't unlike dreams she'd had before. Except this was better, and if she were to wake up to find it had all been a figment of her imagination she would be heartbroken.

When the pan had cooled enough, Reilly scooted back and Niall put the fries between them. She crossed one leg in front of her with the other bent at the knee, foot flat on the the counter, and reached plucked a french fry from the pan and popped it in her mouth. "Lexie's mom used to make this really great fry sauce," she commented as she reached for another one. Niall raised his eyebrows at her and she just shrugged. "She also used to smother fries in cheese and steak and beans and sour cream and salsa and guacamole," she went on.

"You could eat all that stuff?" he asked.

She shrugged again, staring down at the counter top. "I wasn't really supposed to when I was still dancing. But I also wasn't supposed to be playing soccer while I was dancing." She breathed out hard through her nose at a memory that bubbled to front of her mind. "It was a really big deal when I broke a bone in my hand during a game when I was fifteen. I had a huge part in our upcoming production of Sleeping Beauty and my teacher was furious when I showed up to rehearsal with my hand in a cast." A smile pulled across her face as she told the story.

"Lexie and her mom came to pick me up that night," she went on. "It was so late when we finished and my teacher just went off on Lexie's mom, yelling at her that I had to choose between sports and ballet and how that thing on my hand was so bulky and conspicuous and it was going to ruin the entire production." A giggle slipped out. "And then Lexie's mom just started yelling back that I was happy doing both and there was no way she would make me pick between two things I loved so much and that she would raise all kinds of hell if she dared to take away my role."

She looked up and saw that Niall had been staring at her, hanging off every word she spoke. An even bigger smile spread into her cheeks. "If you've ever met Lexie's mom you'd know it's needless for me to say that I got to keep my part, and according to everyone I was flawless." Niall's eyes seemed to twinkle as his own smile grew, and Reilly shrugged. "I happen to know that I blew some of my footwork at one point, but I guess I recovered from it well enough." Niall still hadn't taken his eyes off her. "What?" she asked finally.

"Nothin', just love to hear you talk about dancing. You always get so happy," he told her. Blush covered her face and she reached for more fries. "Looks good on you."

Once the fries were gone they returned to Niall's bedroom. They were barely through the door when he was grabbing at the shirt she was wearing--his shirt--and pulling it over her head. He dropped it on the floor and kicked it to the side as he grabbed for her waist.

"This is a no clothes zone until further notice," he said, leaning down to kiss her.

She ducked her head before he could and ran her fingers across his bare stomach just above the waistband of his pajama pants. "We should probably get you out of these then, so you aren't in violation of the no clothes zone," she said and pushed the fabric off his hips.

He was smirking when she looked up at him. His hands slid to her face. "May I kiss you now?" he asked. She held up a finger to him briefly and then quickly slid her underwear off. "Now?" he asked, sounding slightly impatient. She grinned up at him and nodded, and he practically crashed his lips against hers.

Her hands grabbed at his sides and she pulled him to the bed. They fell together, him on top of her and were a mess of lips and limbs, hearts racing, mixing sweat and not leaving a single inch of skin untouched. Nothing else mattered but the two of them.

It was late when Niall called to order a pizza and even later when it finally arrived. They lounged in his bed, half paying attention to a movie while they ate, but mostly just reveling in each other, still. And then, completely exhausted from the day, they both fell asleep immediately after eating.

Light was barely slipping past the curtains when Reilly woke up in the morning. It took just a moment for her to get her bearings. She was tangled up with Niall; both were still naked. There was a dark purple mark on his shoulder that she'd made yesterday. Her hair was a tangled mess, and Niall was sleeping peacefully with one arm curled around her.

She was waking up and it was still real.

Immediate she began to litter his bare chest with kisses. She moved up to his neck and then repositioned herself to reach his jaw and finally his mouth. He'd woken up somewhere between the neck and the jaw and responded to her mouth when it covered his. He let her have control for a bit and then rolled on top of her and pulled his mouth from hers, moving to her neck and then to her collar bone.

He worked his way down slowly, taking care to give attention to each of her breasts, gently sucking at the smooth skin on her stomach. She couldn't suppress the soft giggle that escaped when he used his tongue to draw shapes on her hips. But she stopped him before he got any further, carefully cupping his face and urging him to come back up to her mouth. She kissed him fervently, hands remaining on his cheeks like she thought he might try to get away from her if she moved them.

Finally, they pulled apart, both in great need of air. "Mornin'," Niall managed to gasp out. Reilly only grinned at him. "That's a hell of a way to wake up," he commented after a few moments of heavy breathing.

"Thought you might like that," she told him as he rolled off her and onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow.

"Would've liked it even better if you'd let me finish what I started." He gently dragged a finger from her lips to her chin, down her chest and stomach to her hips. He opened his hand and slid it down, letting it rest just on the inside of her thigh as he leaned over to kiss her again.

She covered his hand with hers when it started to slide back up. "Focus for one second, please," she said to him. His fingers twitched against her leg and she held his hand a little tighter. "I can't stay here again all day," she said. He leaned in again to kiss her. "Girls Night tonight," she said against his mouth.

"We're wasting time then," he said, covering her mouth completely and rolling back on top of her.

It was half past three in the afternoon when she finally made it home. The second she was through the door she heard Lexie upstairs and headed in that direction. At the top of the stairs she saw her best friend's bedroom door open and clothes were flying out of the closet at an alarmingly quick rate.

"Lexie?" she said, leaning against the door frame.

"Thank god you're home Reilly," she called from inside the closet. "Have you seen that blue dress with the gold polka dots?" She poked her head out and with one glance at Reilly a huge grin spread across her face. "Well don't you look like you've been sexed up real good."

Reilly rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she said, moving into the room and sitting on the corner of Lexie's bed. "And the dress you're looking for is hanging right in front of your face, idiot."

Lexie glanced up and spotted the dress in question. "So it is," she commented as she pushed herself up off her knees and to her feet. She crossed the room and sat next to Reilly. "Okay, tell me everything." She quickly caught herself. "I mean, spare me the gory details, please. But otherwise I want to know everything."

"First of all," Reilly began, "did you know that Harry and Louis were going to offer me a dance studio?" she asked.

The blonde made a noise and pushed her hair back. "I told Harry not to do it," she said. "I said it would make you uncomfortable. I told him not to try to make life decisions for you, that you would never accept something like that, and that if you wanted to open a dance studio you would figure it out for yourself," she told her friend. "And he was like, 'Alright Alexandra, I'm hearing you,'" she mimicked in a very poor impression of Harry. "And then apparently didn't actually retain a single word I said because he went and did it anyway." She sighed. "He's such an idiot."

"Yes, but he's your idiot," Reilly offered. "And anyway, it's okay. I was just caught completely off guard and I had no idea what to say. And Louis told me to discuss it with Niall, and when I got home I started to wonder why on earth I would discuss something like that with Niall because Niall and I were not together. So I went over and I yelled at Niall about us not being together after he yelled at me about making decisions for him regarding Maisie and then he kissed me, and to answer the question you asked me five and a half years ago that I couldn't answer at the time, yes, he is an incredibly good kisser, and we're together now," she said, drawing in a deep breath. Lexie barely raised and eyebrow at her friend, sensing something more was still to come.

"Wow," Reilly finally breathed out. "Niall and I are together. Six months ago I thought I was going to marry Owen. And now," she let the thought trail off.

Lexie studied her friend's face carefully for a moment. "Are you freaking out yet?" she asked.

Reilly shook her head, but held her breath for a minute. "I just never thought I would say that. We're together. Niall and I. Together. And it feels good. I mean, we haven't even gone out together or anything. But it still feels really good. It feels right," she babbled.

"That's good, Rei. That's really good," Lexie said, reaching out to rub her friends arm. "You deserve to feel good about your relationship. And I know that Niall would never even dream of doing anything to hurt you, but I'm still going to make sure he knows that I will snap his little twig legs in half if he breaks your heart."

"I would expect nothing less," Reilly said with a giggle. "Especially since I made that clear to Harry about you. Well, that basic sentiment, anyway."

Lexie nodded. "And to me about Harry!" she said with a hearty laugh. "And while I like to tell myself that I could take you in a fight because I have the height advantage, I know you've got those crazy ballet leg muscles and could probably easily crush me. So, you know, I've been just nice enough to keep him from leaving me," she joked.

A smile pulled across Reilly's face and she stood up. "Alright, well, I'm going to go shower before we go out tonight," she said.

"You didn't shower before you left Niall's?" Lexie asked, her face screwing up with confusion. "It looks like you did?" she said.

"I did," Reilly confirmed. "But then Niall-"

Lexie put her hands up. "Nope," she interrupted. "Stop right there. I don't need or want whatever mental image what you say next is going to give me," she said with an exaggerated shudder, as she waved her friend from the room.

Two hours later Reilly was showered, dressed, hair and makeup done, and walking into the restaurant the girls had all agreed to meet at. Cara and Jasmin were at the bar, a round of drinks in front of them. Aimee came in shortly after them. Cara quickly complimented Reilly's outfit, a red dress with an all over floral pattern and cutouts at the back, and knee high black boots. Lexie had carefully styled her hair, which was swept over her shoulder and held in place by a large decorative clip at the base of her neck. But it was likely the smile she wore that made her friends take notice.

Reilly reached for her Guinness and realized just as she took a sip that she had barely eaten all day. She ordered an appetizer from the bartender and luckily they were seated soon after. Though she was glad to be out with her friends, there was a part of her that was itching to check her phone. She had been texting Niall from the moment she'd gone into her room, up until the time she and Lexie left the house, at which point she tucked her phone into her purse and told herself that was where it would stay.

And that was where it stayed, because after only a few minutes of conversation with the other girls, she wasn't even thinking about it. It buzzed twice in the two hours they were in the restaurant, but she ignored it. She sipped on the one beer the entire time, enjoying the company of her friends, as they discussed a wide range topics.

They ended up at Cara and Louis' house, and after greeting the girls Louis was quick to make himself scarce, retreating down to the entertainment room to play video games. Cara disappeared into the kitchen and returned with two bottles of wine, four wine glasses, and a beer for Reilly.

She chuckled to herself as she watched Cara fill the wine glasses. "One or all of you are going to have to teach me how to appreciate wine," she commented, taking a sip from her beer bottle.

Aimee let out an audible gasp, her eyebrows flying halfway up her forehead. "I have been waiting for you to say that for ages!" she exclaimed. "We'll start next week," she said. "This is going to be loads of fun."

They had been talking and laughing and drinking for a few hours when Harry showed up. At the sound of a male voice, Louis quickly emerged from the entertainment room. Shortly afterward, Liam and Niall came in together. And then, for maybe the first time in the history of Girls Night, Jasmin did not get up to leave, and instead Zayn came inside to join them.

As always, Harry squeezed himself between Reilly and whoever was sitting next to her for the first ten minutes he was there before excusing himself to the restroom and then joining Lexie. Niall was across the room chatting with Cara and Zayn for a bit before perching on the arm of the couch next to Reilly. He was there for barely a minute before he leaned down.

"Is it alright if I kiss you?" he asked quietly in her ear and she nodded. "You're sure? Everyone's going to know then," he clarified.

She nodded and looked up at him, a smile playing at her lips. "I'm sure," she affirmed.

Without further inquiry he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Her lips parted slightly and a soft sigh tumbled past them. Everything stopped for just a moment and in that room filled with their friends, it was only her and Niall.

But only for a moment because across the room Louis was making a scene. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on just a minute. When did this happen?" he shouted. Everyone had stopped what they were doing and looked to see what Louis was yelling about.

Niall and Reilly broke apart and glanced quickly at each other before turning their attention to Louis. Reilly cleared her thoat. "Two nights ago," she answered, reaching for Niall's hand and lacing her fingers with his. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and leaned down to kiss her head.

"Well it's about bloody time!" Louis jeered.

"Take a drink!" Cara and Jasmin shouted at her. Reilly's face turned red as Aimee and Lexie joined in and the demand became a chant.

When they were unrelenting she reached for her beer, only to find it empty. Instead, she took the bottle from Niall's hand and brought it to her lips. The girls all cheered and Reilly returned Niall's drink to him. He took a drink from it.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"At our last Girls Night we were playing Never Have I Ever, and I said I'd never kissed a member of a boy band, knowing that everyone else in the room had," she explained. "And, well, now I have."

Niall chuckled and leaned down to kiss her again. "Several times, in fact," he said with a grin.

It wasn't long after that they all went down to the entertainment room to put on a movie. They weren't halfway through it when Reilly felt herself starting to drift off. A glance around the room showed her that Aimee and Liam were sleeping, Harry was all gangly limbs spread across a couch and Lexie, whose eyes were fighting to stay open to see what happened in the movie. Zayn and Jasmin were both still awake and focused on the movie. Louis was watching Cara as she covered those who were sleeping, and handing out blankets to anyone still awake.

With what little energy Reilly could muster, she leaned up and kissed Niall's jaw. "I'm not going to last much longer," she told him.

"'S alright, Darlin'," he said quietly and kissed side of her head.

She breathed in deeply. "Louis always lets me sleep in the guest room," she explained.

Niall nodded and pulled his arm from around her. "Alright then. Let's go." And with one look at Reilly he knew there was no way she would make up two flights of stairs. He laughed silently and scooted to the edge of the couch, turning his back to Reilly. "Climb on," he said.

Seconds later her legs were wrapping around his waist and her arms around his neck. He stood up carefully, and quietly bid goodnight to those who were still awake. Reilly leaned forward and rested the side of her head against Niall's as he trudged up the stairs. "You're good to me," she mumbled softly in his ear. He smiled widely even though she couldn't see him.

When they finally made it to the guest room, he set her down carefully on the bed and lifted her legs, that had immediately dropped from around him, one at a time to remove her boots. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?" he asked as he stood and turned around. She shook her head sleepily at him, too tired to speak.

"Up," he said, carefully tugging at the waist of her dress so the skirt of it came out from underneath her. She lifted her arms into the air and he pulled the dress over her head and tossed it on the floor next to the boots. He reached behind her and unhooked her bra, sliding the straps off her shoulders and letting it fall on top of the dress.

Then he pulled his own shirt off and carefully put it over Reilly's head. She halfheartedly pushed her arms through the sleeve holes and dropped down onto the bed, laying on her side. Niall kicked off his shoes and stripped down to his underwear and then climbed onto the bed behind Reilly. He removed the clip from her hair and reached over her to set it on the night stand next to the bed, leaving his arm draped over her waist as he snuggled close to her, resting the side of his face against hers. Her breathing had already become slow and deep, indicating she was already sleep.

"Love you so much," he said anyway in a low voice.