#share!!!!!

Grabbing a ratchet, Niall clicked on the small transistor radio that sat next to him before stepping over to the customers car that he had been in the middle of fixing up earlier that day. Niall got right to work, the only thing that could keep his mind from going crazy with the increasing thoughts of Vivian. Nearly an hour went by, Niall not uttering a single word as he stayed hovered over the engine of that car, a cigarette hanging from his lips and grease smeared across his sweaty forehead. A slight scowl rested on his face as he kept himself busy, his hair misplaced and disheveled and his skin glistening from the damp heat of the warm summer night.

“Niall?”

His heart stopped. Was that her voice? Niall’s hands froze within the open chassis of the car, as if he was afraid to move. But then he heard her again. Softly saying his name as her shoes faintly clicked against the concrete floor of the garage. Niall carefully leaned his body up and peeked around the hood of the car. And then he saw her. Still in her lavender party dress, still looking like the beautiful angel he had left crying all alone in that house.

Niall swallowed hard, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and plucked the lit cigarette from his lips as he shifted away from the front of the car. “Viv?”

Their eyes locked, Niall’s mouth falling open slightly as he stared at her. Vivian gave him a soft smile. “You left your jacket,” she said, taking a step closer to him and holding out his leather coat.  

“Uh…” Niall stuttered, quickly putting out the cigarette and grabbing a small towel from a stool to clean off his hands. “You, um...came all the way out here to bring me this?” he asked, taking the jacket from her.

Vivian took in a deep breath and shot her eyes around the cluttered garage before quietly lifting her shoulders in response. “I thought you might want it back.”

She was acting very nonchalant and Niall nodded at her answer. “Thanks,” he said, walking back over towards the workbench. He set the jacket down on top before turning around and resting his bum against the edge. Peering down at his feet, Niall ran his hand up through his hair. “Listen, I wanna apologize, Viv,” he said, keeping his voice low, “for...leavin’ the way I did. I shouldn’t’ve done that to ya…”

“It’s fine,” she softly mumbled, her words were gentle and unassuming and Niall looked back up at her. “I understand why ya left. My family, my friends, that...life, it’s not for everyone. I know it’s not for you...and I don’t really think it’s for me either.”

“That’s not true,” Niall said, wrinkling his brow, “I dunno why I said all those things–”

“I know why you did, Niall, and it’s okay. Believe me, I didn’t wanna be there anymore than you did.”

Licking over his lips, he shook his head. “Well, I am sorry for ruinin’ your party.”

“You didn’t ruin nothin’,” Viv insisted, “you hurt my feelin’s sure, but–”

“And I’m sorry for that too,” Niall went on, “I wasn’t tryin’ to hurt ya, Viv, I swear. I never wanted to make ya feel that way.”

“I know, it’s alright.”

Niall breathed out a smile and looked down at the shiny toes of his leather oxfords. “I’m a fuckin’ fool.”

Rolling her eyes, Vivian took another step closer to him and shook her head. “You’re not a fool, Niall Horan,” she told him, “I can promise you that.”

Peeking up at Vivian through the tops of his eyes, he watched as a sweet smile slipped over her lips. She nudged up her nose, the action making Niall chuckle in return, a sound so vibrant and full that Vivian swore it made her knees go weak. He was so beautiful, so beautiful that her heart was nearly mended in that instant. She wasn’t angry with Niall, she knew the reason why he had left her the way he did, but with everything in her, she wanted him to know that she still cared for him. That her feelings for him hadn’t changed, that they wouldn’t change. She still wanted to be with him. And there was nothing that would ever ruin that. Not even his little temper tantrum.

“Look,” she began, holding up the little box that Niall had given to her earlier, “I brought this ‘cause, well, I never opened it and I thought, maybe I could open it with you, if that’s okay?”

Rubbing across the back of his dampened neck, Niall nodded as he gave her lopsided smile. “Yeah, um, it’s...it’s not much, but, yeah, sure. Go on then.”

Vivian drew in a shaky breath as she slowly untied the small red ribbon, letting it fall the floor before carefully pulling off the top of the box. Inside was a small silver clasp bracelet. Simple, elegant, stunning. Her eyes fluttered as she stared down at it, her finger delicately tracing over the smooth metal. “It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, Niall,” she said, looking back up at him.

“It reminded me of you.”

A pink flush filled Vivian’s cheeks and she peered back down at the bracelet, picking it up out of the tiny box. “Can you help me put it on?”

Giving her a nod, Niall swiped his sweaty palms across the front of his pants and stepped over to her. Vivian swallowed hard as she held her arm up between them, intensely aware of just how close to her he was standing, any closer and their bodies would be touching and it was as if a fogginess instantly invaded her head. She was reacting to him in ways she had never felt before; his musky scent that wafted over her nose, the heat penetrating from his sticky body, practically dripping in sweat. His touch on the tender skin of her wrist when he clasped the bracelet closed, sent her into a wicked unexplored state that she didn’t even know existed. One that she had yet to fully comprehend.

Her breaths jilted in the back of her throat as they both stared at her wrist, watching as Niall ever-so-gently ran his fingers down the length of her forearm. His touch was burning hot, like fresh lava searing into her skin but he was so soft, so tender, that it caused goose bumps to form in his path. Niall huffed out a short chuckle and Vivian peeked up at him. “Thank you,” she whispered, tucking her bottom lip into her mouth.

It was really more than Niall could take seeing her like that in front of him, his prurient gaze swarming heavy over hers and he slowly reached up, cradling his hands around her jaw. Vivian’s eyes fluttered closed in ardent anticipation, and Niall swallowed the breathless whine that she let escape just as he pressed his mouth to hers. Vivian melted into him, her small hands resting at the peak of his chest as his mouth moved over hers, Niall nibbling playfully at her bottom lip. She giggled against his tongue, the taste of her igniting something inside of him and it was another few seconds of heated bliss before Vivian slowly pulled away.

Resting his head to hers, they both strained to gather their breaths when Vivian heard the song on the radio switch over. Elvis Presley. It was one of her favorites, and she knew in that moment that it was meant just for them. Lifting her face to sweetly gaze up at him, Vivian darted her eyes over his. “Dance with me,” she said.

Niall wrinkled his brows. “Right here?”

“You owe me, you fool,” she replied.

Tossing his head back in a laugh, Niall wrapped one arm around Vivian’s waist, his palm sitting just at her lower back and grabbed her hand in his. “I guess I do.”

Vivian placed her other hand at his shoulder and together they began to lightly sway back and forth. They giggled and tried to fight off their budding smiles at first, but it wasn’t until Vivian leaned in to rest her head at Niall’s shoulder did the mood turn more sincere. Both her arms wrapped up around his neck, clinging as tight to him as she could manage as he held her around her tiny waist. Burying his face down against the slope of her bare shoulder, Niall dotted tiny kisses to her skin before lifting his face and pressing his lips to her temple. His eyes closed as he lightly moved with Vivian to the rhythm of the song, his heart pounding incessantly in his chest as he snuggled her in. He would never let this girl go again.

“Baby,” he muttered, turning his face just enough to push his nose into her hair. It lingered of rose petals. “I’m so sorry. I won’t ever do that to ya again. Please, ya gotta forgive me...”

Vivian let out a faint hum, nuzzling closer into his neck. “Of course, I forgive ya,” she muttered back, “why, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

His strong hands splayed wide over her back, and Niall slowly drifted one up to cup around the back of her head. “I will never leave you,” he breathed out.

Giggling from the tickle of his hot breath on the shell of her ear, Vivian picked her head up from his shoulder to look at him. “I wouldn’t let you anyhow.”

Niall shook his head with a pleased little smirk and pulled her into another sweet kiss. Her eyes pinched closed as she kissed him harder and Vivian felt a pulse of greedy warmth slowly seep through her body, like the rising waves of an evening tide. Niall was all over her; touching her more than he had ever touched her before and each feel of his skin to hers was electric, a thousand sparklers going off against her flesh, tingling and causing a burst of uncontained heat to cascade through her. Forcing herself to pull away to breathe, she opened her eyes and caught Niall’s stare. “Take me upstairs,” she whispered.

His blue eyes widened as their swaying bodies fell to a stop. “Viv…”

Scraping her teeth over her bottom lip, Vivian reached up and softly carded her fingertips through the side of his hair, just skimming over his ear. “Niall...I wanna be with you,” she said softly, leaning in to press her mouth under his jaw. Her lips wrapped around the steamy-hot skin, teasing him with wet kisses as she curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Please–...I want you...to take me...upstairs.”

Her words, honest and deliberate, were muffled against his neck and Niall swallowed hard as he tried to control himself, twisting his fingers into the material of her dress at her waist. It wasn’t but a few more tempting licks of her tongue on his salty skin before Niall had given up and puffed out a low ‘okay’ under his breath. Grabbing her hand in his, Niall switched off the small radio and closed up the garage before he led Vivian through the door and up the staircase to his meager apartment. Each step they took, it was as if the ground was shaking violently beneath their feet. Vivian was shivering, Niall could feel it through her fingers that were laced in his and he peeked back at her, the young woman reassuring him with a soft smile. She was nervous, more than nervous, she was terrified, but there was nothing more in the world that she wanted than to be with Niall. To be with him in a way that she had never been with anyone else before, that she had only dreamed about.

She wanted to lay with him, feel him, experience that heady raw intimacy that other couples did and as they stepped into his one room loft, she knew that what was about to happen was going to be everything that she had been waiting for. Niall was everything that she had been waiting for, and Vivian knew with all that her heart could muster, that he was the right one, the only one.

Niall led Vivian over towards the foot of the bed, and after their shoes had been tossed to the wood floor, they both stood silently facing each other, stares fixated tight. He didn’t know what to say, and he almost felt as if he didn’t know what to do. Niall had been with girls before, he wasn’t new at it by any means, but it was different with Vivian. It all felt special and new–and real–, like it was his first time all over again, and he would have been lying if he said the nerves weren’t jittering through his own body just as much as Vivian’s. Their hearts were thumping, louder and louder in the backs of their ears and it seemed like a million years had floated by of them just standing and staring at one another before Niall slowly reached out and ghosted his knuckles down her cheek.

Vivian’s eyes fluttered slightly upon feeling his touch on her again and Niall traced the soft line of her jaw and down the delicate slope of her neck. “You sure ‘bout this?” he asked, not wanting to put her in a position she wasn’t truly ready for.

Nodding at him, Vivian smiled. “Yes.”

Not wasting another second, Niall eagerly grabbed at the hem of his tank, attempting to yank it up over his head. Vivian stepped closer and stopped him, her hands wrapping over his. “No,” she said, “I...wanna do it.”

Niall’s brows folded in for a moment before he saw a softness gleaming in Vivian’s eyes. She looked so perfect; so pure and angelic, it was hard for him to say no to her. Not that he wanted to. Lifting his arms up, Niall let Vivian tug his top off of his body and the young woman dropped the fabric to the floor, her gaze wide and inquisitive as she drifted it across the span of his naked torso. Her chest was heaving beneath the tight bodice of her dress, and it was more than nerves crashing over her as she ogled him, she was riddled with an excitement that was rattling her bones and making her belly flip.

Laying her hands on the front of his shoulders, Vivian very slowly dragged her palms over Niall’s chest, the soft dark hairs that splattered across very faintly tickling her skin. He was hot to the touch, almost blistering and as she passed her one hand down his left side, she felt the undeniable racing of his heart. She glanced up at him, Niall’s dark and fiery stare already glued to her face and he gulped back a breath as her fingertips slipped down even further towards his waist.

Vivian felt brave. Braver then she had ever felt in her life, and she knew it was because she was with Niall. He brought something out in her, something euphoric and arousing, needy almost, and she loved feeling like that. She had never touched a boy like she was touching him, had never really wanted to, but being in that room with him; seeing the dark hunger for her fill the light blue of his eyes, feeling the tension vibrate through his body as her hands traced his lean frame, she was anxious to see what would come next.

Biting on her bottom lip, Vivian looked down with curiosity as her fingers started to undo Niall’s belt buckle. It was only another few fumbly impatient seconds before she had his slacks unbuttoned and pushed all the way down, circling in a heap around his ankles. Niall kicked his feet out of them and Vivian took the time to spin around, reaching behind her head to sweep the ends of her wavy hair off the back of her neck. “Now, undo me,” she instructed to Niall over her shoulder, motioning to the dress’ zipper that lined down the length of her back. Stepping up behind her, his body was nearly pressed against hers as Niall carefully unzipped the dress, letting the expensive material fall off of her body. His big hands wrapped around her waist, covered in just her slip and Niall leaned his face down, peppering tiny kisses from the round of Vivian’s bare shoulder to the enticing bend of her neck.

Her eyes fell closed upon feeling the warmth of his mouth and she tipped her head to the side just enough, Niall sucking tenderly at the soft skin. Vivian moaned, a sweet little sound that made the young man even more eager to have her and just as she rolled her head back, Niall slid his fingertips down into the waistband of her slip and yanked at the silky undergarment. It fell to the floor, and Vivian lifted her feet from the mound of material before she found Niall’s mouth with her own, turning herself around as he kissed her.

The heat of his rapacious touch seeped through her body, his fingers digging into the skin of her waist as he slipped his tongue over hers. Pulling back from the kiss, Vivian faintly gasped and Niall kept his stare focused on hers as he crouched down in front of her. The span of his large palms ran down the length of her sides, swimming across her lower tummy and over her hip bones, as Vivian chewed lightly at her bottom lip. She was shaking again, out of her control at that point and Niall swallowed hard before he let his fingers drift over the front of her lace-trimmed panties and down to the garter belt straps that were hooked to the ends of her stockings.

Vivian watched on with bated breath as Niall began to undo the buttons of the straps, one by one, until her stockings were barely hanging onto her thighs. Her head tipped the side and a smile pressed to her lips in amusement as she saw the tip of Niall’s tongue poke out of the corner of his mouth and his brows furrow, deeply concentrating as he slipped off Vivian’s stockings. Standing himself back up, the two once again stood silently facing each other, both of their chests rising and falling in unison before Vivian reached behind her back to unhook her bra.

With his salacious stare drifting from her face to her breasts as she let the constricting material fall from her chest, there was no mistaking the red that had punched its way up to her cheeks. Her face felt hot, like she was going to melt away from how intensely he was looking at her. But she rather liked it, liked the way it made her feel as his darkened eyes hungrily swam over her exposed body like that. She felt vulnerable yet exhilarated. Peeking back up at her, Niall ran his fingers through the side of his messy hair and chuckled, more out of nervousness for what was to come than anything and it was when Vivian brought her hands over to her hips and tucked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties, that Niall knew that this was it.

He quickly cleared his throat and followed suit; taking Vivian’s cue and easing down his own underwear along with her. It was an intimate moment, pivotal and sensuous, and they both stood fully naked, soaking in the arousing sight of the other and Vivian could hardly breathe, her lungs squeezing tight and her legs wanting to collapse beneath her. Niall gave her a smirk as she let her big green eyes drag down the length of his unclothed body and when she caught his stare again, she smiled at him, swallowing hard as he stepped right up to her.

Her mouth fell open, as if she was anticipating a kiss, but instead, her stare followed Niall’s hand as he reached up to the side of her hair and gently pulled out the small clip. Tendrils of her ash brown hair fell down her shoulder and she met his gaze again as he slipped his hand around the back of her neck and gently pulled her into that much needed kiss. Her naked body pressed to his, his heat unparalleled and engulfing her as their mouths moved perfectly together. Vivian wrapped her arms around Niall, the feeling of his clammy skin and his soft body against hers creating a lascivious buzz inside her that was hard to fight off.

She was well aware of how much he was growing for her as they kissed, his lower half rocking subtly against her hip as he held her tight to him. His tongue rolled over hers, tasting at her and gathering her choppy breaths as Niall swung an arm around Vivian’s waist and twisted their bodies, easing them both down onto the bed. He sure didn’t miss a beat, and a giggle burst past Vivian’s sweet little lips as she bounced down against his mattress, Niall hovering above her.

His eyes, heavy lidded and as black as the night sky, drifted over Vivian’s face. She looked so beautiful like that underneath him, ethereal and graceful. Her hair spread out in soft delicate waves beneath her head, her cheeks a bright blushed pink, clear evidence of the way Niall was making her feel. Her puffy red-bestrewn lips, laced with his fervent kisses and the sweet moan he had coaxed from her. He knew he needed more. She knew she wanted more. Her heart was racing, knocking wild against her chest as she watched Niall hoist himself up and kneel at the end of the bed between her legs. Her mind was going crazy, and she tried to settle her shaky breaths–inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale–but all she could see was the animalistic lust budding in his stare as he immersed himself in her fully naked body that laid before him and Vivian giggled lightly before slapping a hand to cover her eyes.

Niall chuckled at her amusing display of innocence before he leaned over and very softly placed a kiss to the inside of her knee. Vivian gasped, not expecting to feel his mouth there and she picked her head up off the bed to peer down at him. Smirking up at her, Niall’s palms splayed around the outside of her thighs as he gently dragged his mouth up the span of her leg. He placed a small kiss at her inner thigh and then another at the jut of her hip bone. Throwing her head back, Vivian let herself give into the glorious sensations he was providing and her eyelids eased closed, a tiny moan–the very one Niall had been after–slipped deliciously off her parted lips as Niall kissed his way across the peaks of her ample breasts. His mouth slowly teased its way up to her neck, sucking across the tender skin before he was once more pushing kisses to her mouth.

Vivian hummed lightly, carding her fingers up through Niall’s brown hair as he nestled his body back between her legs. She felt so good like that under him, so perfect, like it was where she was always meant to be. Peeling his lips away from hers, Niall stared down at the gorgeous girl that laid beneath him and he cradled her head in his hand, their eyes locked firm. Vivian bit at her lip, her body still trembling with nerves and Niall leaned in, just softly brushing the very tip of his nose to hers. The gesture was cute, silly and sweet and meant to make her relax and watching Vivian’s eyes squint shut with the soft sound of her giggle, his heart was nearly bursting with how he felt about her. Niall had never wanted to make love to a girl more than he did right then.

Reaching up to grab one of her hands that was still twisted into his hair, Niall brought it over to his lips and softly pressed kisses across Vivian’s knuckles. She stared up at him, the handsome and generous yet self-assured man who was resting naked between her thighs and shaking with desire, and wrinkled her brow. Niall saw her expression change slightly and he breathed out a smile. “Just wanted to kiss your hand, to be a gentleman. I know ya like that.”

Vivian burst out a laugh and grabbed around Niall’s stubbled jaw, bringing him down into another kiss. Her lips locked with his and it was only a matter of a few more seconds of rolling tongues and sticky bodies before Niall had his hand down between Vivian’s legs. A shudder ravaged her tensed body, her mouth falling open in a delectable little whine as she felt his touch slip across her trembling center. She was wet, silky on his fingertips and Niall propped himself up on his elbow, taking the time to gently play with her. He slowly rubbed along her warm folds and teased at her opening and Vivian almost couldn't move, stunned by the overwhelming feelings of pleasure.

Niall watched her, their eyes darting fast over one another as her chest heaved with her rapid breaths. His fingertip dragged over the soft little nub that was nestled between her folds and Vivian’s body coiled up in a whimper from the intensity of the feeling. It made a grin slip over his lips and he slowly moved his touch downwards, closer to her entrance. His gently pushed the very tip of his middle finger past her opening, Vivian letting her mouth drop open as she scraped her fingernails along his scalp. Niall was pleased with her reaction and he eased his finger in a bit further, just enough to ready her and he slowly began to slide it in and out.

Gasping for a breath between her soft moans, her eyes rolled back for a mere moment before she glanced back up at Niall. “I wanna touch you too,” she choked out. Vivian had no idea what she was doing, or what she was supposed to do. She had never even seen a man down there before, let alone put her hands on one, but all she wanted was to touch him. To feel him. In the same way that he was feeling her.

Niall just smiled at her uncouth eagerness, twisting over slightly so that she could easily slip her hand down the front of his body. Staring up at him, she tangled her hand around his swollen length, quickly noticing how much it had fattened up since before and Niall’s eyes rolled back slightly as she began to gently tug at him. His fingertips explored along her core, slipping through the wetness that was leaking from her as Vivian continued to play with him.

Moments later his mouth was back on hers, kissing her full and deep and she yanked her hand up from between them to grasp around the sides of his face, urging him further into the kiss. Niall was ready, ready to be with her–be inside her–and he slid his fingers away from her blistering hot center, tangling them up into her hair. “I don’t wanna hurt ya,” he breathed out.  

Shaking her head, Vivian pecked his lips. “You won’t hurt me, I know you won’t.” She was more than ready, she knew she was, though she had no idea how any of it was going to feel. But she had never wanted anything more in her life than to be with him in a way that she had never been with any other man. Niall gingerly nodded his head and barely lifted his hips to line himself up. Vivian held back a deep breath, the anticipation over riding her as he very slowly slid himself past her opening. Her eyes pinched closed in a sharp inhale as his thickness stretched her inner walls, the slight burn pulsing through her entire body. Niall paused, holding himself still inside her as his worried eyes scoured over her strewn in features. He didn’t want to hurt her, he didn’t want her in pain.

Scrunching up her face even more, Vivian nodded her head and wrapped her arms around him. She could tell that he had stopped, and she didn’t want him to stop. She wanted him to keep going. “It’s alright,” she whispered to him, encouraging him by gently rolling her hips.

Niall took her hint and he started to move again, slowly inching himself deeper into her until he was buried as far he could go. He held her head in his hands, resting his forehead to hers as he kissed away the tiny whimpers that left her parted mouth. Niall wanted to take it slow with her, he wanted to take his time, feel her tightness around him as he worked above her and he began to rock his hips back and forth. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her; flicking over her face as he pushed himself in and out of her and Vivian’s grip grew tighter to Niall, the pads of her fingers sinking into the sticky flesh of his back. Niall’s hands cradled the sides of her head, holding her as close as he could and a few minutes went by, his thrusts picking up, faster and with more power as his chest heaved and the sweat beaded up along his hairline when he noticed the corner’s of Vivian’s closed eyes welling up with tears.

Niall choked back a ragged breath and slowed the rolling of his hips. His lips parted as he stared down at her flushed face and used his thumbs to wipe away at the escaping tears. Vivian opened her watery eyes to peer up at him. “Please don’t cry, love,” he whispered, darting his concerned stare with hers, “I’m sorry, I’m...I’m not tryin’ to hurt ya…”

Vivian’s chin trembled through his kind words, but she shook her head and hugged her arms around Niall even tighter. “You’re not...I promise, keep goin’...”

Biting down on his lip, Niall nodded and slipped his one hand down the length of her body, splaying his large palm around the side of her bottom. He helped to guide Vivian’s legs up around his slim hips, hooking her ankles around the back of his thighs. The new angle allowed him to go deeper, fill her more as he buried himself all the way inside her. A garbled cry edged from Vivian’s throat, her head pushing back into the mattress as Niall started to work her even harder. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling in that moment, too much at once; the heat and weight from his rolling body, the burn from him stretching her slowly dissipating with every thrust, the heady smell of his skin and the blurry vision of him moving on top of her. It was overwhelming and invigorating all at the same time. Sex was new to her and Vivian wasn’t clear on what it was supposed to feel like, but all she knew is that it had started to feel good down there and having him inside her like that, with his soft thick body melded to hers and his lips brushing at her mouth with every thrust, it made a wicked fire rumble in her belly and tingle over her flushed skin.

Niall slipped his face down to the side of Vivian’s, his grunts, short and guttural, filled her ear as he rocked his hips against hers. Screwing her eyes closed, the young woman squeezed her arms around his body and tucked her face in against the slope of his shoulder. His fingers entwined in her hair as he cupped the back of her head, her center was warm and throbbing around him with every thrust and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold off much longer. She just felt so good–too good–and Niall attached his mouth to the tender spot under Vivian’s ear, sucking lightly at the skin.  

Vivian cried out at the feeling, the air around them dense and tacky, sticking to the back of her throat as she struggled to pull in a decent breath. It was only a few more thrusts, Niall’s body glued to hers with the pooling sticky sweat before he was writhing above her and mumbling the sound of her name. Her mouth fell open in a shallow gasp against his neck as she felt him stiffen up inside her and his entire body tense, Niall groping rashly at the fleshy side of her bum as he slowed and strained to catch his breath.

The room was quiet, so quiet that Vivian could have sworn the earth stopped spinning as her heart thumped wild in her chest. Niall wasn’t moving anymore, and the sweet sound of his heaving breaths pelted against her ear as he brushed his hand down her hair. Their bodies, spent and damp with sweat, fell idle as Niall slowly slid his face away from the side of Vivian’s to catch her stare. Her head gently laid back down to the bed and she saw Niall’s face, mottled red with a slick sheen along his forehead and he darted his eyes with hers. “I tried–,” he spit out, crinkling his brow, “I...fuck, I couldn’t hold it…”

Vivian softly smiled up at him, her eyes fluttering as she brought her hands over to cup around his stubbled jaw. “It was perfect, Niall,” she told him, a small tear slipping from the corner of her eye, “it was absolutely perfect.”

Niall huffed out a relieved and contented sigh, and smiled, leaning down to let his lips ghost over hers. “Happy Birthday, baby,” he breathed, giving her the most sweetest of kisses.

*****

They had fallen asleep in each others arms, the blinding light of the moon spilling in through the only window of Niall’s apartment. Cuddled under the blankets, Vivian awoke a few hours later only to realize that Niall was no longer beside her in the bed. The warmth from his body had long left the wrinkled sheets, but she could still smell the linger of smoke and Vivian blinked open her sleep-laden eyes to peek around the room. Her heart nearly stopped as she tried to focus through the darkness of the scantily decorated space and she propped up onto her elbows, her brow folding in as she heard what sounded like the faint crinkle of paper.

It was Niall. Standing naked off to the side of the bed and right in front of the open window, just staring out into the cloudy night sky as he smoked a cigarette. He hadn’t heard her waken, and Vivian breathed out a soft smile as she took a second to watch him. He carded his fingers up through his hair and down the side of his face as he took a long puff of his cigarette and blew the smoke out above his head. She could see the very glint of light coming in from the moon and the street lamps, shining across his glazed eyes and along the front of his body. Licking over her lips, her gaze drifted down the front of him, seeing each dip and valley of his frame, each part of him that had been so new to her but a mere few hours before, being highlighted to the point of perfection. He was exquisite.

Grabbing at the blankets, Vivian carefully flipped them off her naked body and clambered off the bed. She tiptoed over to Niall, and her touch as she dragged her hand along his lower back, barely startled him and he chuckled lightly as he peeked over at her. Vivian leaned in, pressing a tiny kiss to the side of his shoulder. “Come back to bed,” she breathed out, pushing her chin to his arm as she looked up at him through the tops of her eyes.

His eyes fawned over her face, and he gave her a smile. Her heart was still reeling with the night they had spent together and she knew he felt it too. Vivian smiled back at him but Niall continued to stay quiet, just starting over at her as she kept her chin resting against his shoulder. “What?” she asked, curious to his reaction.

“I love you, Vivian.”

Shifting away from him slightly, Vivian tipped her head to the side. If he could have heard how loud her heart was pounding, surely it would have sent him in hysterics. Those three little words, ones that Vivian had been holding onto so dear, afraid of actually saying them out loud for fear of how he would react, were now floating in the air between them. Dangling like the string of a kite in the wind just waiting for her to grasp ahold. And he had been the one to let them go. For the first time, Niall was in love. And for the first time, so was Vivian.

If only she knew that his heart was pounding in his chest just as loud as her own. “I...I dunno how I know, but I do. I love you,” he finished.

Scrapping her teeth across her bottom lip, Vivian took in a shallow breath. “I love you too, Niall,” she said back to him. It was but a split second before Niall had her face in his hands and his lips pressed to hers. She giggled into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his waist as she pulled him into a hug. “C’mon,” she continued, breaking the meeting of their lips, “let’s get back to bed, now.”

Niall attacked her neck as he shuffled them back over to the bed, nibbling playfully at her skin as the young woman giggled and threw her head back in jest. They tumbled to the mattress in another passionate kiss, and it wasn’t long until they were once again snuggled into each others arms and falling back to sleep.

*****

He watched intently from his parked car as the garage door lifted open and the two young lovers emerged early that next morning. Squinting past his intoxicated state, he brought the bourbon bottle that he had been nursing all night up to his lips, and it swayed a bit as he gulped back a generous sip. He wiped across his mouth with the back of his hand, his jaw clenching and his fingers tightening around the bottle as he saw Niall walk Vivian over to her car, her shoes dangling from her fingertips and her usually pristine hair askew, and kissed her goodbye. But it was more than a kiss goodbye, it was a feverish kiss, heartfelt and impassioned, one that marked the blissful end to the magical night they had spent together. A night that he felt was meant for him, not for Niall.