Voir Dire (N.H.)

eight

Kelsey woke up in an unfamiliar bed. The white cotton sheets and plush comforter that touched her bare skin were far too soft to be the bargain threads in her apartment. The room was far too spotless to be hers and the framed black and white Eagles tour poster that was directly in her line of view certainly didn't belong in her apartment either. It was only when she sensed the presence of the sleeping body next to her that the events of last night came rushing back to her.

The club. The lights. The cab ride to Niall's house. Fast kisses and slow hands. A euphoria she hadn't felt for a long time.

But in the the wake of morning, Kelsey realized the insanity of it all. This was completely out of character for her. She barely knew Niall, and she surely didn't want him to think that she was emotionally available- she clearly wasn't. Last night had been fun, and that was all it needed to be. Nothing more.

Kelsey knew she needed to leave before he awoke and she could realize the mistake that she had made.

She grasped the closest thing she could find to cover her naked body- a black hoodie folded neatly on a black chaise in the corner of the bedroom. Kelsey yanked it over her head before frantically trying to search the room for her lost belongings. She followed a trail of various garments strewn across the dark hardwood floors out into the living room, reaching down to pick up her jeans from the foot of the couch when Niall's voice startled her.

"Making a run for it this morning?"

Kelsey turned around slowly. Niall was leaning against his bedroom doorway in only his black Calvin Klein boxer briefs, looking just as intriguing as he had last night. Kelsey averted her eyes, trying to focus on the doorframe behind him instead of the half-naked man in front of her. The last thing she needed to be doing was thinking about Niall in that way. She was just seeing herself out.

"Figured it was for the best," Kelsey replied quickly. In all honesty it was a bit of self-defense. Kelsey didn't want to be the one kicked out of the celebrity dream house, she'd take things into her own hands.

"I don't usually uh...do this with girls. I mean..." Niall stammered, his brain unable to form a coherent sentence.

Kelsey's face turned into a questioning smile.

Niall quickly corrected himself. "I mean I do this with girls, but not like this," he sighed throwing his hands up in the air at his inability to express his thoughts. "I guess what I'm trying to say is I usually like to take a girl to dinner first."

Kelsey found her self stifling a laugh. "No dinner needed," she fiddled with the jeans that were now in her arms. "But I should probably get going."

"At least let me make you some breakfast before you leave?" Niall pleaded, forming his lips into a pout. He felt like he had to do something to convince himself that it wasn't just a One Night Stand- even if in reality that was what it was.

Kelsey smiled. "I guess breakfast wouldn't hurt." Kelsey figured at this point the damage was already done, it wouldn't hurt to spend a little longer living out the fantasy of countless fangirls.

"If you'd like, you can take a quick shower. Bathroom's just off the master. Should be some clean towels hanging up," Niall gestured into the bedroom they both emerged from. "I'll get some food going."

Niall left his perch on the door frame to head towards the kitchen, leaving Kelsey to pick up her remaining articles of clothing. It crossed her mind for a moment to make her escape right then, but she couldn't do that to Niall. He had been so nice to her, and besides, she rather enjoyed his company.

Kelsey walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the steam from the hot water begin to fill the room. She stared at her face in the mirror, noticing a glow that she hadn't seen for quite some time. Even her brown eyes, seemed to have more hazel to them than usual.