Trading Heartbeats

I got to Bulldog before Niall. Because of course I did. He pushed me into getting out of bed and getting dressed but then took his sweet time getting there. Because of course he did.

To be fair, I barely got dressed. I changed out of my pajamas and into a pair of gray joggers with a black tank top that read I solemnly swear that I am up to no good and a red hoodie, slipped my feet into a pair of black shoes and was out the door. I didn't bother to comb my hair. It was still wet even, from the shower I'd taken before crawling into bed.

I yawned, and then took a sip of the coffee I'd ordered, having instructed my server to leave the entire pot on the table of my booth tucked into the far corner of the room. I figured I'd throw the guy a lifeline, certain that part of the reason he was maybe hesitant was because he was worried people would see him. He doesn't know that most people in this town probably don't care. Also, he's a dick, so I'm sure that also had something to do with it.

Niall slid into the booth across from me just as I was pouring my second cup of coffee. I glanced at him over the rim of the mug as I took a sip and nearly choked.

"You're seriously wearing sunglasses right now?" I asked incredulously. "Inside? At night? For real?" He didn't respond other than barely lifting his eyebrows at me. "God, you're such a douchebag. Take them off," I instructed. "No one in this place gives a partial shit about you." I took another drink of my coffee. It took a minute but he eventually obliged.

"No one, huh?" he asked. His expression remained neutral.

I slowly moved my head back and forth as I brought the mug to my lips again. He caught my gaze and held it. I couldn't remember, but it might have been the first time since we'd met that we held eye contact for more than a few seconds. Suddenly my hands felt balmy. I had to put down my mug and slip my hands underneath the table to discreetly wipe them against my pants. But I didn't break eye contact.

A grin slid across his face. "You sure about that?" he asked.

I could only guess he noticed a change in my demeanor. The mere idea that he was that observant and intuitive made my stomach lurch. "Would you shut the fuck up and order something?" I nodded toward the server who was standing just behind him to his right, using a little sass in an attempt to cover up being caught.

He turned and gave a slight bro nod. "Sup man," he said. "Just coffee for the moment."

The server turned to walk back toward the kitchen and I quickly called after him. "Oh, Kevin," I said. He glanced over his shoulder at me. "I'm not sharing this with him," I motioned toward the full pot of coffee to my right.

"Got it," he said with a bit of a chuckle and then continued in the direction he'd started.

Niall reached for a sugar packet and ripped it open, dumping its contents onto the table. "Think he might be into ya," he observed, not bothering to look at me.

I made a face at him that I know he saw even with his head bent by the way his expression changed from smug to slightly amused as he dragged his finger through the sugar. "Coffee here's shit, by the way," I told him, raising my mug again.

"You had him leave a full kettle," he said, finally glancing up at me.

I fixed him with a stare. "You made me come out at midnight," I replied.

"You wanted an invitation to meet outside a hotel room," he reminded me. Again. The more he talked, the more I hated him. "Besides," he continued, "you seem like the type who likes late nights."

My eyebrow quirked. I think it was involuntary. "You think you know what kind of person I am." It came out as a statement rather than a question, though I'm not really sure which way I meant it. I was feeling suddenly flustered at the thought that Niall had possibly spent even a little bit of time considering me. Anyone other than himself, really.

Niall wiped the sugar off the table as our server returned with his coffee and the cheese fries I'd ordered before he arrived. His eyes were on me as I reached for one and popped it into my mouth. "Those just for you as well?" he inquired.

I merely shrugged and reached for another. "You gonna answer my question?" I asked.

He caught my eye for barely a second and then smirked as he dropped his gaze down to the tabletop. "Didn't hear a question to answer in there," he shrugged.

My eyes rolled. Hard. On purpose. I needed to get a hold of myself. I let my shoulders shrug and pulled the plate of fries closer to me, plucking another one from the edge. "What makes you think you know anything about the kind of person I may or may not be?" I rephrased, narrowing my eyes at him.

"I don't," he replied. "Was just a hypothesis, based on how easy you gave in to meeting me tonight." He shrugged again and lifted his eyes to meet mine once again. I refused to back down from his stare and held it until a small smile pulled across his previously bored face. "Also from the night on the beach."

I considered him for a long moment, then pushed the plate of fries into the middle of the table. It hadn't been my intention to share them with him, but I had also kind of implied I would if he answered my question. I didn't actually expect him to, but he surprised me.

He reached for a fry and I kept my eyes on the plate. "If we're going to do this, I have some ground rules," I told him.

"Rules? For sharing the chips?" he asked, a hint of playfulness in his tone.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn't. Instead, I brought them up to meet his briefly. "It's not exclusive," I said. "You do your thing. I do my thing. No jealousy, no questions."

"Feel like you made that clear already," he said, pulling another fry from the cheesy pile.

I drew in a slow breath to keep myself from chucking a knife across the table at him. He wasn't wrong, but he was also the one being a dick about it before. I let out the breath. "No means no," I went on. "If one of us isn't into it, that's the end of it."

He nodded, so I continued. "I don't spend the night. Too messy," I said. His eyebrow quirked and his expression drew in a little but he didn't say anything or look up from the table. We were spending a lot of time not looking at each other.

"Three months," I said.

At that, he actually glanced up at me. "Three months, what?" he asked, his face mixed up with confusion and curiosity.

"Three months and done," I said. His eyebrow raised again. I had no idea if it was voluntary or not. We hadn't talked enough for me to learn his quirks. His confusion began to slowly dissipate and turned to intrigue. "Anything beyond that, I feel, would probably involve feelings and a commitment, and I'm just not looking for that." I paused to see if he anything to say to that. He didn't seem to, so I went on. "And if there's no feelings, then there's no point in dragging out something that's going nowhere," I explained.

To that, he had a comment. "What if it's just really good sex?" he suggested.

I very briefly considered his thought. "I suppose that could potentially be something to consider when the time came" I said. "But you're not that good," I added without missing a beat. Though it may not have been true, because I had definitely caught myself thinking about the things he could do with his tongue.

A smirk took over his face. "We're still new to each other, but we've been, I would say, better than decent already. Imagine the things I could learn about you in three months."

"By three months you'll probably be bored and sloppy," I offered. For just a split second I could've sworn I saw offense flash across his expression, but it was quickly replaced by a hunger to accept a challenge. "Anyway," I went on, "I don't even know how long you're planning on sticking around here. The three month thing could be moot anyway."

I continued quickly before he could get another word in. I wasn't trying to have a discussion about his plans for the near future. "Protection is required every time," I told him. "That's not open for discussion."

He gave a slight nod and then stared at me, waiting for me to say something else. When I didn't, he asked, "Have you finished?" I nodded. "Would like to add something then." I nodded again for him to go on. "My band mates are off limits," he said.

"What, like for sex?" I clarified.

"Yeah."

"Good. Great. Done," I agreed easily. "Based off the two I've met, I can guarantee I'm not interested in fucking your band mates," I told him. The plate of fries was almost empty, so I pulled my wallet from my hoodie pocket.

"One more thing," he said. I paused with my wallet open, prepared to fight him if it had anything to do with money. "You gotta give me your number."

Again with my phone number. Honestly if he was really resourceful, he would be able to find some other way to get it. I smirked, enjoying the unusual torture of him not getting what he wanted. "Slow your roll there, Casanova. Let's see how the night goes." I dropped some money on the table. "Let's get out of here," I suggested.

Niall quickly glanced down at the money I'd put on the table and reached for his own wallet, pulling out enough for his coffee and half the fries. If asked, I'd have to say I was impressed that he didn't question it.

"And go where?" he asked. I shrugged as I stood. A chuckle slipped out of his mouth when he looked at my full outfit. "Wow, okay. Joggers," he said as he also stood. "That's the way to get a guy's attention."

I faked a sweet smile at him. "First of all," I began, "I look cute as fuck," I said. "Second," I went on, "who said I even considered what a guy's opinion would be when I put this on?" I inquired. "And third, you dragged me out of bed at midnight to come meet you, so I would say I already have your attention." I puckered my lips and blew a kiss into the air as I started toward the door, letting my hand brush against his pelvis as I pushed past him.

"How did you get here?" I asked just before pushing open the door.

"Had a car drop me," he replied.

"Perfect," I said, stepping out into the cool night air.

I turned and immediately started walking up the block to where my truck was parked, with Niall in step just behind me. We hadn't gotten very far when I felt his hand close around my elbow and he steered me into an alleyway just past the laundromat. Suddenly he was in front of me. His other hand grabbed onto my free elbow and he pressed my back against the wall.

In a blur, his lips were on mine, kissing me hard, hungrily. I grabbed for the pockets of his sweatshirt and pulled him closer, leaning up on my tiptoes as the space between us lessened and the height difference became greater. He smelled faintly of sunscreen and salt, like he'd spent the day outside by the water. I felt a pull in my stomach and my hands inched up his stomach, balling the fabric of his hoodie in my hands as I tried to press my body against his more than it already was.

He'd long since let go of my elbows. One of his hands had slid down to my hip, the other was in my hair, gripping tight at the base of my neck. The one on my hip moved to the small of my back when I pressed harder against him and he leaned in more, forcing my shoulders against the wall again. We were kissing frantically, nipping at each other's lips, like we'd wasted too much time using our mouths for other things inside the diner.

Finally we broke apart, both gasping for air. Niall caught my gaze and we looked at each other through heavily lidded eyes. "Been waiting to do that since I got inside," he said through ragged breaths. His hand on the back of my neck slid to my shoulder and then down my chest, fingers stopping between my breasts. I could tell by the way his expression twitched that he noticed my lack of a bra. "Could've fucked you right there in that booth."

I rolled my eyes. "You're so annoying," I said, giving a tug on his sweatshirt, catching his bottom lip between mine when he leaned down again. His hand on my chest dragged a little to the side and he rubbed my nipple through my shirt with his thumb. I released his lip and stared at his mouth. I liked it better when it wasn't speaking, I decided, and was taking great pleasure in it's current slightly swollen state.

He leaned in like he was going to kiss me again, but I took the opportunity to quickly slip from between the wall and his body. His hands fell from my breast and hip as I moved, and he breathed out what sounded like an exasperated sigh.

"I'm not fucking you in an alley," I told him.

He sighed again. "Not what I was going for," he replied.

"Your body language suggested otherwise," I said. Even in the dark I knew he could see my grin and was growing frustrated with me. Good. Because that's how I felt every time words fell from his mouth

I stepped out of the alley and started toward my truck again. I was almost all the way to it when Niall finally fell in step next to me again. He was slightly tense. Maybe just a little wound up. I couldn't help but smile to myself. Also good. At this point, I was in control.

The lights on my truck lit up when I hit the button my keys to unlock the doors. I stepped into the street and rounded the front of the huge vehicle, pulling open the door and hoisting myself up into it. I put the key in the ignition and turned it, and the engine roared to life.

Niall was still standing on the sidewalk. I rolled down the passenger side window and leaned over a little. "Are you gonna just stand there all night or are you gonna get in the truck?" I inquired.

He stared at me, wide eyed. "This is yours?" he asked. "You drive this?"

I sighed. "Oh my god," I said, rolling my eyes as I reached over and pushed open the passenger side door. "Just get in," I instructed.

It took a minute before he finally reached for the handle and pulled on the door enough to allow him to grab onto the 'oh shit' handle and pull himself up. "This thing is huge," he commented.

The song on the CD switched and I See You by Luke Bryan came on. I reached over and turned it up a little. "The fuck is this?" he asked.

I snapped my head in his direction and saw him staring, almost horrified, at the speakers. My eyes narrowed. "If the next thing that comes out of your mouth is even so much as one negative word against the king of pop country, I swear to god I will cut your throat," I said. Niall turned his head slowly, transferring the look he was previously giving the dashboard to me.

I smiled at him. "Now shut up, put on your seat belt, and hold on," I said. "I've got an idea."