I took a few steps backwards, pulling Louis with me, until we reached the door of my flat. We stumbled inside, his mouth now planting soft kisses slowly down my neck and raising goosebumps on my skin while I fumbled to shut the door and turn the key in the lock behind us. Once it was secured I buried my fingers in his hair and let my head fall back to allow his lips free rein. His arms tightened around my waist and his hands slid under my top, caressing my back before pinging my bra strap cheekily, his mouth curving into a smile against my neck.

"What are you, twelve?" I teased, flicking the side of his head with my finger and earning a soft, throaty chuckle in response.

He lifted his head to look at me, his eyes smoldering with desire, and sending a flutter of nerves to the pit of my stomach at the intensity of his gaze. I maintained eye contact for a moment, heat flooding through my body under his scrutiny, until he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine again. His hands trailed from my back around to my sides before venturing slowly upwards and coming to rest just under my breasts. I held my breath in anticipation, waiting to see what he would do next. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine for a moment; both of us breathing heavily, Louis' eyes closed. 

"So," I murmured. "This is a surprise. Last I heard, you were in LA."

His eyes opened again and the corners of his mouth lifted into a smirk. "It was a bit of a last minute thing. I could have told you I suppose, but that wouldn't have been half as much fun."

I grinned at the mischievous glint in his eye and pulled his face down to mine again, taking a couple of steps backwards towards my bedroom as our lips touched again. He walked with me clumsily until we collapsed on the bed, a tangle of limbs as I pulled his tshirt up and over his head and he tugged at the bottom of my top. His chest was warm and smooth beneath my fingertips; a contrast to the gentle grate of stubble from his chin against mine. I eased his joggers down over his hips, feeling him already hard against my leg, and I paused to rub my palm over him through his boxers. He gave a murmur of enjoyment, his breath tickling my cheek. 

His fingers fumbled with the clip of my bra underneath my back, taking longer than necessary before I eventually arched my back impatiently and unfastened it myself. He pulled it off before dropping his head to my chest and flicking his tongue over my nipple. I sighed involuntarily, buried my fingers back in his hair again and closed my eyes. My skin burned with every touch of his lips and his hands, and my heart galloped in my chest. Never before had anyone had this effect on me - it was as though the minute Louis walked into the room it exploded around us, like an exothermic reaction. Our chemistry was intense; every look, every touch, every emotion was magnified. 

I grated my fingernails gently down his back as he thrust his hips forward, pressing his erection against me. I slipped my hands inside his boxers, curling my fingers around his length and feeling a surge of heat through my veins as he grunted softly in enjoyment. He was hard and hot, and as I began to run my hand slowly up and down, he let out another murmur of pleasure and lifted his head to press his lips to mine.

"I missed you," he whispered, so quietly I could even have imagined it, and I responded by cupping the back of his neck with my other hand, pulling him close to me and kissing him with more fire and passion. 

I fumbled in the drawer next to my bed for a condom, and once it was on he lay in between my legs, propped up on one elbow as he kissed me and stroked my skin delicately with his other hand. I pulled him higher, desperate to feel him inside me, and he pulled back from my lips to stare at me intently.

"Impatient," he muttered.

"I missed you," I admitted, and his smile was gentle and almost shy.

"Do you want me?" he murmured.

"Yes."

"Then say it," he whispered. "Say you want me."

"I want you," I whispered back, looking deep into his eyes. "You know I want you."

He leaned down and kissed me hard as he pushed into me, and I cried out and pressed my fingertips into the flesh of his back. He moved in and out, smoothly and evenly, never breaking our kiss; not even as he lowered himself onto both elbows on the bed. I wrapped my legs around his, crossing my ankles and pulling him closer, and deeper inside me. I lifted my hips to move in rhythm with him, concentrating hard on the feeling now building between my legs, as his pace began to increase and his breathing quickened.

We didn't speak as we moved like this together for a few minutes. I was lost in the moment, lost in the feeling, lost in him. The rest of the world ceased to exist, and that was just fine by me. All I needed was Louis, all I felt was Louis. If I had been paying attention, I would have realised then that this was the moment things changed between us. We had both already voiced a desire to take things further than just a casual fling, but there was a newfound tenderness between us this time that had never existed before, that seemed to bring us closer together. I was falling for him, and looking back, it was obvious he was falling for me too. 

His thrusts became faster and faster, and eventually he pulled away from my lips, unable to continue the kiss as we were moving too fast now. I squeezed him with my legs and dug my nails into his back, panting hard as I neared my peak.

"Are you close?" he spluttered in my ear. "I can't hold off much longer."

"Really close," I nodded, my eyes squeezed shut as my whole body tensed. "Don't stop..."

"I can't stop," he panted. "I'm really sorry -"

I cut him off by grabbing his face and pulling him down to me again as I started to come, and let out a whimper as he pounded hard into me, undoubtedly coming too. He gave a couple of strangled growls as he fisted the covers beneath us, his hair flopping into my face and his stubble now burning my skin from the friction.

Every inch of my skin tingled, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. My heart was hammering so fast it felt ready to jump out of my chest, and the feeling of pleasure spread like fire through every fibre of my being. When he collapsed on top of me and rested his head on my shoulder I stroked his hair, scratching my nails gently across his scalp, and he gave a relaxed murmur and a soft sigh.

We lay like this in silence for a couple of minutes, breathing heavily until our heart rates slowed. Louis was the first to speak.

"If that's how you welcome me back, I might have to go away more often."

"I'd really rather you didn't," I said softly, and sincerely, and he tilted his up to meet my eye with a soft smile.

He rolled off me to lie beside me on the bed, his fingertips gently grazing up and down my arm. 

"So... how was LA?" I asked after another minute of silence.

"It was good," he replied, his face lighting up. "We got in some good studio time. We've nailed some lyrics for the next album. It's starting to take shape a little."

"Sounds exciting," I grinned, trying (but more than likely failing) to act casual.

"It is," he grinned back. "It's a progression from our last album. A more mature sound, I think. But ultimately One Direction. But then, I don't really know for sure whether any of what we've written so far will even make it onto the album. We're a long way off deciding a track listing."

"Do you have any in particular that you really want to include?" I wondered.

"Funny you should ask," he said. "There's one that I can't get out of my head that we considered for Four, but I keep playing around with the arrangement. I think it would work if we mixed it up a bit. Liam and I originally wrote it together, and I want to run some more ideas past him. We only worked on new stuff in LA, but we've got more studio time planned in for June and July so I'm going to bring it back to the table."

"I like it already," I teased.

"You haven't even heard it," he smiled.

"I don't need to. If you and Liam wrote it, I know I'll love it."

Louis' smile widened and he averted his eyes in a gesture of shyness that could only be described as cute. "Well that's good to know," he said, a little gruffly, and I couldn't stop myself from leaning forward and kissing him softly on the lips.

He kissed me back with equal tenderness, sending a flurry of butterflies to the pit of my stomach.

"Shall I order us a takeaway?" I asked him, once he had pulled away. 

"Have you worked up an appetite?" he smirked.

"Yes," I answered truthfully, and he laughed. 

"A takeaway sounds great," he agreed, sitting up and pulling on his boxers as I grabbed my dressing gown from the back of the bedroom door and slipped it on. "I could murder a curry."

"Curry it is," I nodded. "Can I get you a drink? I've got wine, beer, soft drinks.."

"To be honest, I'd rather have a cup of tea," he admitted.

"Rock and roll," I quipped sarcastically, and he threw his tshirt at me as I ducked out of the bedroom door and into the kitchen to put the kettle on. He joined me a few moments later, fully dressed, as I was pouring boiling water into two mugs on the worktop, and slid his arms around me from behind.

"That better be Yorkshire tea," he murmured in my ear.

"Of course," I snorted. "I don't stock any of that PG Tips or Tetley shit in my flat."

"Glad to hear it," he said. "Nothing worse than finding out on, like, the fifth date that someone is a Tetley fan, or puts the milk in the cup first. Talk about a passion killer."

"No Tetley fans in my family," I retorted, wrinkling my nose in disgust.

"Harry drinks Tetley," Louis supplied.

"Yeah he looks the sort," I joked.

"You can never get a decent brew at his house."

"Do you hang out with him often, away from the band?" I asked.

"Not that much," he replied. "We talk on the phone more. To be honest, when you spend as much time together working, as we all do, it's sort of nice to have a break."

"You go clubbing with Liam, though," I pointed out. "And Niall."

"Well yeah, but Harry isn't really into all that. He prefers a quiet bar or restaurant to a noisy club. I prefer partying hard. Harry is a little more reserved. I don't give a shit about being papped falling onto the pavement at three a.m., but Harry hates all that. He keeps his life outside the band so tightly under wraps. He reckons it keeps him sane. My view is, if you give the press a few titbits they're less desperate to dish the dirt on you. But Harry plays the opposite game."

"I suppose you have to find whatever works for you," I mused, as I handed him his mug. "I wouldn't have a clue how to deal with all of that."

"It has been nice staying under the radar with you," Louis conceded. "And the longer you stay anonymous, the better it is for you. Once the media gets wind of us, everyone will be digging up all sorts of dirt. You don't have any skeletons in your closet do you? Anything I should know about?"

He was only half joking, I could tell.

"I haven't made any sex tapes or anything like that," I joked. "No past relationships that ended badly or anything. I suppose I'm quite boring, really."

"You are anything but boring," he said seriously. "I think you're pretty amazing, actually."

I could feel a hot flush rising in my cheeks at his words, and as I took a sip of tea my hands trembled slightly. "Well..," I began, my mind now wiped completely blank. "Thank you."

He chuckled softly, and took a sip from his own mug, before setting it down on the counter and looking at me. 

"Look, I sort of think I should tell you about LA," he began, and I looked at him quizzically. "I mean about the people I was hanging out with. In particular, a girl," he elaborated. "The one you saw in the press article..."

I held my hand up to stop him. "You don't have to tell me," I said firmly. "We weren't together then. Everyone has a past, Louis. It's not like you cheated on me. As far as I'm concerned, we're starting from now. Anything that happened previously doesn't need to colour the present or the future. I'm cool with it if you are."

"Well, yeah..," he said, looking unsure that he was seemingly getting out of this so easily. "I mean, I'm happy to tell you anything you want to know, though. I don't want the past coming back to bite me on the arse."

"Why would it?" I asked. "Some things are better left unsaid. I'm sure the conversation about exes will come up at some point, but I certainly don't need details of your recent hookups. And I have no hookups to tell you about, as I have never had a one night stand, so I'm happy to leave the past in the past and takes things forward as they are."

He nodded seriously. "OK. Then that's cool with me, too. As long as you know I will never hide anything from you. I'm not into playing games and keeping secrets. When I trust someone, I'm an open book. And I trust you." He added this last part a little shyly again. It was a trait that was so endearing in someone as usually outwardly confident as Louis.

"I trust you, too," I replied, inwardly rolling my eyes at how squeaky my voice sounded. 

We smiled stupidly at each other before I turned away to retrieve an array of takeaway menus from the drawer, wondering not for the first time just how I had managed to end up in the beginnings of a relationship with one of the members of the biggest boyband in the world. I had no idea how this was going to pan out, in a world of which I had absolutely no experience, but I was happy just to wing it, and ride this ever growing wave in whichever direction it took me.