Turning Pages (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter Thirty-Four

Cat’s POV:

“Do you need a ride home?” Zayn asked just after he scooted his chair out from underneath him. “I don’t mind.” He put his leather jacket back on and grabbed a set of keys out of his coat pocket.

I weighed my options. I decided he didn’t want to hurt me intentionally. “That would be great.” I stood up out of my chair. He stood only about an inch taller than me. He smelled like musk and the woods. “It might be a little out of your way…” I watched him search his pockets for an extra wad of cash. He left it on the table for the waitress to come pick up.

“No problem.” He shrugged his shoulders. I hadn’t been treated this nice in a long time.

Throughout the meal we chatted and flirted. It was some of the best pizza I’d ever had. The staff was pleasant too. I was used to rundown restaurants or food trucks. This was nice. I had brought an extra wad of cash and stuffed it into my purse just in case I was stuck with the bill. But, no. He paid.

He led the way out of the sophisticated restaurant and nodded at the staff. They smiled and told us to have a nice day. I followed him to a slick black sports car parked out back. He went to the passenger side and held the door for me. The inside of the car made me nervous. I felt like everything in there was too nice for me. I had adapted to thrift stores and walking as my means of transportation.

He started the engine and rolled out onto the streets. I watched him slide dark sunglasses up his nose. I kind of wished he hadn’t. I liked his eyes. In bright light or the sun, I found that they shown a light brown. They were pretty. That was the only word I could’ve used to describe it.

I told him when to switch lanes and where to turn. He followed what I ordered in a neat and smooth fashion. He seemed very comfortable behind the wheel and in my presence. I didn’t know if he was trying to play it cool or if he really was that cool.

Throughout the date, I had acted like I knew nothing of his background or his spotlight. I let him tell me what he wanted to, and I did the same. I thought that would be one of the first things he brought up. I mean, the whole fact that he’s in a band that has spread internationally. But, nope. He didn’t bring it up.

We eventually pulled up to my place. It was early evening. I could see the dim glow emanating from inside. I didn’t want to face Dalton. I would’ve rathered to sit in a car with a man I had just met than go back to a man I had known for years. Wow, something is definitely wrong.

Zayn sighed next to me and I came back to reality. “So,” he started. “Can we do this again or am I a no-go?” I liked the way he talked. His vocabulary was somehow amusing to me.

I smiled. “We can do this again.” I unbuckled my seatbelt. He nodded. A slight smirk spread across his face. I didn’t mind letting him know that he had won.

“I’ll keep in touch.” He put the car in park. I smiled.

After I got inside I quickly changed clothes. I had work a few hours after, and I wanted to take a quick nap or do some laundry before then. He was funny. Zayn. But he wasn’t funny in a laughing kind of way… Well, he was. I mean that he was funny. He was… almost odd. He was funny because I could already see that in some ways, he was just like me. He put out enough information to keep people satisfied but he wouldn’t cross over the line unless he felt like he needed to or you asked. He was mysterious but so was I. I knew that I was a mystery in and of myself.

Danielle’s POV:

I knew I couldn’t stay. His arms were wrapped around me. Light snores rang in my ears and his warm breath stuck to my back and shoulders. I would stay but I can’t. I tried to lift his arms up off of me but instead, he tightened his grip. “Hey…” He half mumbled and half whined. “Stay…”

“I gotta go back to Cat’s. I’ve just met you. I can’t start living with you.” That’s not how things went for me. Now that I knew he was awake, I took it as an opportunity to try to hop up out of his bed.

My effort failed and my naked body ended up out of the covers. His hands stopped me from leaving. “Hey!” he exclaimed. “What’s this?” His fingers trailed up my spine and outlined the tattoo I knew marked my skin forever. Now I was cold and ticklish. I crawled back under the warm blankets.

“It’s a tattoo.” I enunciated the words to make me sound like I thought he was dumb. He rolled his eyes and made me turn over onto my stomach.

“What’s it mean? Why’d ya get it? When’d ya get it?” His fingertips traced the outlines again. Goosebumps rose and chills ran down my spine.

“I got it when I was… eighteen, I think. I believe I had just turned eighteen a few months before that. But I was still living in my parents’ house. I was senior year in high school.” I let his touch linger. “I got it one night when I had snuck out and drank too much. I don’t remember much of that night. Apparently my drunken self wanted a tattoo of a lotus flower. Thank God it wasn’t a naked lady. I actually kind of like it.” I tried to look back at the tattoo in the middle of my back but I couldn’t. I could only see it in a mirror. Niall starting giggling to himself; it was more of an on-going cackle. “What?” I asked him. He only laughed louder. “What?!” I punched him lightly.

He tried to catch his breath. “That would have been the most hilarious thing if the first girl I had sex with in this bed had a tattoo of a naked lady on her back!” His face was turning red. Now he started laughing but nothing was coming out. His abdomen moved up and down enthusiastically. He eventually caught his breath while I just laid there watching him. “…I do like it though.” He finally managed.

Cat’s POV:

I was starting to get worried. Danielle had said she would be back a few hours after I had returned. Where was she? Thank God Dalton was nowhere to be found. When I went up to start my laundry, his door was wide open, and his room was void of him. I was sitting on my bed folding a mountain of clothes. I heard the door open. Low voices carried down the stairs and to my ears.

“… was nice…” I heard Niall’s think Irish accent. I knew it was him. Danielle giggled. “I’ll talk to ya later.” It was silent for a few seconds and then the front door opened again and closed. Danielle descended down the stairs with her luggage.

“How was Niall? I haven’t seen you in almost a day!” I wasn’t mad. I was happy to know that she was back at my place.

“It was good. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to tell you.” She set her luggage down next to the wall and flung her purse next to it.

“God, I wish we could talk right now but I’ve got to go to work. Can we talk tomorrow? Don’t forget anything! I want to hear every detail!” I finished folding a pair of shorts and stuffed it into my dresser. “I’ve got news for you too.”

“I heard.” She raised her eyebrows at me. Of course she knew.

I closed the door to my dresser. “I’ve got to make some room for you…” I was thinking out loud. I paced over to my heels that had been sitting by my bed. I had already changed and gotten ready for work. “Make yourself comfortable while I’m gone. What’s mine is yours. You can even sleep in my bed if you want.” I ran my fingers through my hair.

“Have fun!” She laughed as I ventured back up the stairs.

“Oh, believe me, I won’t.” I opened the front door. “See you later.” I waved.