Always on My Mind

As you swiped the final touch of mascara on your now flawless lashes, you heard your phone vibrate three times against the cold stone of your bathroom countertop. Thinking it was probably just one of the girls wondering where you were and why you weren't at the pub already, you picked it up to answer. Your lips puckered, moving seamlessly into a quirk at the side of your face. It was Niall. You rolled your eyes as you read the first text.

"I'm bored"

Of course, he's bored. The kid has done nothing but travel the world for months at a time for years. You knew the moment he told you about this break that he'd be bored out of his mind within a week. The fact that he'd already hit up some of the corniest sporting events had told you you were right. Seriously, what's next, world chess championships? Scripps national spelling bee?

You kept reading and it only made you giggle with each new text.

"What are you doin? Something fun?"
"Can I come?"

Since Niall had been your friend for a while, you'd tried bringing him out with you plenty of times. It always ended in some sort of disaster. He must be really out of his mind with boredom if he was ready to brave those treacherous waters.

"Niall, have you forgotten the last time you came out with me and the girls? I honestly thought Cassie was going to maul you every time you looked her way. So no. I am not doing that again."
You hit send before continuing to get ready, but he was too fast for you and your phone sounds off before you can even set it down.

"Come over here then"

You sighed. This was his favorite thing to do, ask you to break your plans in order for him to be entertained. Not that you disliked hanging out with Niall, quite the opposite really, it's just that canceling on the girls one too many times for him has sent them into a whirlwind of rumors and ideas that just aren't true. Canceling tonight would mean a solid two weeks of trying to convince them that you and Niall are just friends.

No, you are not secretly dating. No, you cannot tell them if he is a good kisser because you have never kissed him. No, you do not know if his bed is comfortable. No. No. No.
Your cheeks puffed out as you blew out a deep breath, trying to decide what to do. You knew you'd have fun either way, but the question was did you want to deal with your friend's 'I told you they were secretly dating' faces.

"Please........come on, you know you want to"

Another sigh later and you'd made your decision.

"Fine. But you'd better have a beer out for me and something other than football on the telly when I get there."

A somewhat short trek later and you were strolling through Niall's front door only to be greeted by a giant mess. He was sitting on the floor of his lounge, back leaned against the glass top coffee table, cold beer in his hand, just staring up at the previously filled but now empty shelves on either side of his fireplace. The contents of said shelves were resting on every available surface around him. You set your bag down, hanging up your coat before crossing your arms over your chest and staring at him.

"Did you decide to do a home makeover in the twenty minutes it took me to get here?"

His head swiveled around as he jumped to his feet at the sound of your voice. In seconds his arms wrapped around your waist and he was squeezing the breath from your lungs as he rocked you back and forth in a bear hug. Your eyes wandered over the many awards and pictures that were now littering the room.

"You really were bored..."

He turned his eyes to his handiwork, one arm still draped around your waist as his body follows his head's lead, the beer miraculously still in his other hand.

"I was," He nodded. "But now you're here and you can help!"

He bounced on the balls of his feet as he walked back into the room and set his beer down on the only clear spot on his coffee table. You held your ground, not moving, until he turned around, his brows furrowed in confusion.

You cocked up an eyebrow, "I believe you're forgetting something. I requested a cold beer upon arrival."

He chuckled as you held up your empty hand, then bent to pick up a brown bottle identical to his and handed it to you.

"A beer for the lady." He said as you took it, your fingers brushing over his softly. He winked and you felt a small flutter in your belly and a rush of surprise following quickly behind it. But Niall turned back to his mess, not noticing the flush that crept to your cheeks.

Never before had Niall's flirts or his winks made your body react in such a way. Why did it have to start now? Jesus. This was just your luck, wasn't it? You shook your head and took a large gulp from the cold bottle. The ice cold liquid raced down your throat, cooling the warmth on your face only slightly.

Your eyes wandered down the lean form of his frame as he stood with his hands on his hips, staring at his shelves like they were a blank canvas and he was a painter. You'd always thought he was a good looking guy. Honestly, who wouldn't? And his easy going nature never failed to put you at ease even in the most awkward of moments. But you didn't know exactly what to do with this little spark that was now floating from your midsection to between your legs the longer you looked at him. He glanced back and caught you staring at him, a brow flicking up and half smirk filling one side of his face. Your cheeks flamed pink again and you swallowed hard. Niall's grin grew bigger and slightly cocky.

"See something ya like?"

It was time for you to shut this down now. You rolled your eyes and strolled confidently toward him. "The only thing I see is a fucking mess." You gestured around the room with your hand holding the bottle. "I hope you didn't expect me to clean this up."

Niall chuckled under his breath and you cursed yourself. You knew that he knew he'd gotten to you and now you worried what exactly he was going to do with this information. You took another swig from your beer and was surprised when you drained it. When had that happened? Niall took the empty bottle, grabbed his own and drained it too.

"I'll get us a few more..."

You watched him walk off towards the kitchen. Why did that sound so suggestive? Why was your brain suddenly thinking about nothing but what his back must look like without a layer of cotton covering it? Why was your body and mind suddenly betraying you in the worst way?

Dammit!

Niall was back, slipping another drink in your hand before you could answer any of those questions. He stood close to you, his bicep resting against your upper arm and brushing it as he casually sipped his beer while looking back at the shelves. Did he usually stand this close to you? Was it always this hot in here? He spoke and you jumped slightly, lost in your own head for the moment.

"I'm thinking maybe pairing down some of the awards. Maybe putting a few of those in the office and leaving out a few here. What do you think?"

You nodded your head quickly, your mind rushing to keep up with everything that was going on around you and still trying to adjust to this new found ball of attraction that was currently rolling around in your belly. "Yeah, I think that's a great idea. Want me to grab some and set them on your desk so you can arrange them how you want later?"

Anything to get me out of this room.

He grinned again. "Perfect. Just grab those there." He points to a small box resting on the floor. You bent and grabbed them, unsure of it his eyes were actually watching your ass as you walked away or if that was just your imagination being hopeful.

Once out of the room and away from him you felt like you could finally breathe again. Jesus Christ, what was happening to you? You set the box down on his wide desk and walked back out to the living room. Your eyes caught sight of Niall's shirt pulled taut across his back as he stretched and placed a few things back onto a shelf. He turned to you, pointing at a framed capital N and a mugshot of Frank Sinatra lying on the table.

"Would you hand those to me?"

You bent down, not even noticing your shirt falling forward at the neck. Niall's eyes zeroed in on it and when you rose he had a grin on his face that felt like a slap to your own.

His brow quirked up as he took the frames from your hands. "I didn't take you for the type of girl who wears a teal bra. It's a nice color on you though. Looks like it's a pretty one too."

This was completely new territory for the two of you, this flirting thing that was happening, but you decided to just go with it. You wanted to see where the night would take you.

You rolled your eyes exaggeratedly. "You are such a boy, ya know that?"

He chuckled, agreeing with you and continued to place things on the shelf in front of him. But you wanted a little more attention than that. When he turned back to you your hand was playing with the collar of your shirt and his eyes went straight to it.

"Teal happens to be my favorite color. And this happens to be my favorite bra. Not only does it make my chest look pretty, but it has a little bow right in the center. Like I'm a present that is just waiting to be opened." You bit your lip, dragging it between your teeth. "Wanna see?"

You watched in delight as his eyebrows shot up into the messy hair at his forehead and he nodded once. You hooked your finger on the collar of your shirt and dragged it down, slowly and deliberately exposing them to his gaze. Finally the tiny bow appeared right at the valley of your breasts and you cocked your head to the side.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

Niall took two steps towards you and your breath caught in your throat. Was this really about to happen? Your eyes dropped down to watch his hand raise and one thick finger brush down the center of your breasts, then flick at the tiny little teal bow. His touch sent chills over your entire body.

His voice was husky when he spoke. "Very pretty."

Before you even knew what was happening his lips were on yours, his tongue slipping into your mouth and the taste of him filling your senses. You felt your body melt against his hard chest and his hand wrap around the base of your neck, bringing you closer and letting him deepen the kiss. When he pulled away, he left you breathless and wanting more. Your lids fluttered open to see bright blue eyes staring back at you, crinkled in a soft smile. He licked his lips, bringing the taste of you onto his tongue once more and then hummed in a satisfied way. It sent shivers down your spine. His voice was like a wave of lust to your ears when he spoke.

"I think I've found something even better to do tonight..."

Notes