April 2015

Bring it on? BRING IT ON??! What the hell had I been thinking, being so overtly flirtatious? It was all very well having this confidence when I was sitting on my sofa texting, but arranging to meet up with one of the objects of my obsession since 2013, and planning on spending an evening in his company, was an entirely different kettle of fish. 

Louis had told me he would be at Cirque Le Soir the following Monday night, and although I was due to be in work on the Tuesday at 8am, there was no way I was missing this opportunity to see him again. When I told Sarah about the text exchange between myself and Louis, and invited her along to Cirque Le Soir with me, she literally screamed.

"You've been given a second chance!" she crowed. "You'd better shag him, after all this. You can't turn him down twice!"

"Who says the offer will even be there?" I retorted, and she gave me a look of disbelief.

"Jess, without wanting to sound crass.... I think this is the whole point of the invitation?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? But you know I don't do one night stands. I'm not going to drop my knickers for him, just because he clicks his fingers. That's not really my style."

"What are you expecting to happen, then?" she asked, a little uncomfortably. 

"I'm expecting to go to the club and have a few drinks with him, and take it from there," I answered truthfully.

"And will you be wearing a new outfit and your best underwear?" Sarah teased, and I grinned sheepishly.

She cackled gleefully. "I knew it!"

"Just because I'm making an effort doesn't mean I'm planning on having sex with him," I added, hastily. "I want to hang out with him again - I'm not going to deny that. And I know you and I always joke about famous people we would sleep with if the opportunity ever arose, but it feels different when it might actually be a possibility. But then again, it might not be."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Of course it's a possibility! He wanted to kiss you last time! He's definitely interested, or he wouldn't have asked you out again."

"We'll see," I said, noncommittally. 

The last thing I wanted to do was get my hopes up that Louis might be genuinely interested in me, even more so because he was fresh out of a long term relationship that had been in the public eye. But I couldn't deny I was excited about seeing him, and knowing he was no longer in said relationship left me guilt-free if he did make a move on me. I had imagined kissing him more than once since our meeting, and every time I thought about Monday night I felt sick with nerves.

Sarah and I spent Saturday on Oxford Street shopping for new outfits to wear, and by the time Monday evening arrived we were both uncontrollably giddy. Sarah had turned down my offer of getting ready and staying over at my flat, insisting I leave myself free to go off with Louis if I wanted. No matter how many times I repeated that it wasn't going to happen, she was adamant she was being a good friend, and agreed to come to my flat once she was ready, and we would get the tube to Oxford Circus together.

By the time we arrived at the entrance to Cirque Le Soir my legs were trembling with nerves, and the two glasses of Prosecco I'd had while I was getting ready were doing nothing to calm me. Our names were on the guest list, as Louis had promised, and we entered the club as casually as we could and headed straight for the VIP section. As we weaved our way through the crowd of clubbers, I caught sight of Louis at the bar just as Sarah shouted in my ear, "There he is! Oh my God Jess - he's looking for you, look!"

I watched Louis for a moment as we made our way towards him. He hadn't yet seen us, but was looking at the main entrance expectantly, and I felt a stab of butterflies as I realised Sarah was right; he seemed to be looking out for us arriving. I took the opportunity to stare at him, taking in his plain black shirt unbuttoned over his black tshirt, his black skinny jeans and his perfectly messed up hair. Once we got within a few feet of him his gaze shifted and he caught sight of us and immediately smiled.

"Hey! I was wondering when you were going to get here. I was starting to think I'd been stood up."

"Does that happen to you often?" I asked innocently, and he chuckled and shook his head at me, grinning.

"Cheeky. No it doesn't, thanks. I see the sass you gave me last time we met was clearly a true reflection of your personality."

"Of course," I grinned back. "What you see is what you get with me."

"Obviously," he smiled, and leaned forward to give me a kiss on the cheek. "You look gorgeous. How are you?"

My heart missed several beats as his hair tickled my face and I breathed in his aftershave. "Thanks. I'm fine, how about you? Enjoying your downtime?"

"Very much," he nodded, before greeting Sarah with a smile and a kiss on the cheek also. "Can I get you two a drink? We've got an open tab at the bar, and we've just ordered some Champagne."

"You trying to impress someone?" I teased, remembering his admission from last time.

"Yep," he grinned, with a flash of his eyebrows. "Is it working?"

I laughed nervously, thrown off guard by how quickly he had managed to turn my own remark back on me. As Sarah nudged my side discreetly, he gave a satisfied smile at my silence. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

One-nil to Louis. 

As he turned momentarily towards the bar to take his credit card from the bartender, Sarah and I exchanged hysterical looks. If I had been in any doubt over whether or not he was interested, it had just been confirmed. My insides were dancing.

"You want to come and join our booth, then?" he asked, inclining his head to the seating area, indicating we should follow him. We made our way across the VIP section and he stopped at one of the booths that contained a couple of guys I hadn't seen before, and Oli whom we had met last time. He quickly introduced us to everyone, and they all moved up so we could slide into the booth. Louis slid in next to me, just as a waiter appeared with two ice buckets and a tray of glasses, and began pouring out drinks for us all.

"So," Louis began, focussing his attention on me. "What have you been up too since last time we met? All sorts of mischief, no doubt."

I giggled, unable to stop myself from beaming at him. "Actually nothing exciting, really. Just work, mostly, and seeing friends. I went to see my parents for Easter, and came back with about twenty Easter eggs, and caught up with my older brother and younger sister. Have you had a good Easter?"

"Yeah, we all had dinner at my mum's," Louis replied. "I have quite a big family - all sisters apart from one baby brother who is a twin. So it was a bit hectic, but fun."

"Sounds fantastic," I smiled, deciding not to tell him I already knew about his family, in case I came across like some sort of stalker. "Poor you, surrounded by all those women."

"Why do you think I moved down to London," he winked, and I laughed. "Nah, I'm just kidding. We're a close family really. I miss them a lot when I'm away."

"I imagine they're happy to have you home for a few weeks," I observed.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Not for long, though. I'm heading over to the US at the beginning of next month for some writing and recording. We might be on a two-month break from touring, but there's still work to be done."

I tried not to look too interested as the conversation turned towards One Direction, but inside I was screaming. "Wow," I remarked. "I guess so much goes on behind the scenes that most of us don't know about."

He smirked knowingly. "It sure does. Writing is one of my favourite parts of the job."

"I'm not surprised, you're very good at it," I said before I could stop myself, and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh really? Care to elaborate?"

I felt my cheeks blushing crimson, and I reached for my glass of Champagne, stalling for time and hoping someone else would interrupt us and divert the conversation elsewhere. Sadly, my luck wasn't in.

"Well, I just happen to think you write very well with Liam," I said, hoping my pitch hadn't progressed from strangled parakeet to chipmunk. "You both co-wrote most of my favourite One Direction songs."

"Really?" Louis was beaming now, and not a mischievous, flirty smirk but a genuine, proud smile. "Which ones?"

"Little White Lies is my all time favourite," I explained. "But I also love Diana, No Control, Fireproof, Midnight Memories, Better Than Words..." I trailed off as he raised his eyebrows and smiled even wider.

"Wow," he said, looking surprised. "You really know your stuff."

"I like knowing who wrote what," I admitted. "It interests me, hearing your individual styles showing through in the songs. And it annoys me when non-fans ridicule the band for being talentless, when actually I think you're all amazingly talented - it's obvious to anyone who bothers to delve into the songwriting dynamics."

"You're making me blush," he teased, taking a sip of his drink and grinning.

"Hardly," I snorted. "I think my face must be on fire by now."

"Your face looks pretty fine to me," he winked, and my stomach fluttered in a way that had nothing to do with the bubbles from the Champagne.

I sneaked a glance at Sarah, who was deep in conversation with Oli and another of Louis' friends, and Louis and I joined in their chat for a bit, although the music was getting gradually louder and it was becoming harder to hear across the table. The two bottles of Dom Perignon didn't last long between us all, and no sooner had Louis finished pouring the drops from the second bottle, a waiter appeared at the edge of the booth and Louis signalled for two more bottles.

"Unless you'd prefer cocktails instead?" he asked me, and leaned towards Sarah to include her in the offer.

"I'm fine with Champagne," I shrugged, and Sarah said the same, along with our thanks. 

"So, what about this dance-off you promised me?" he asked wickedly, after about half an hour. "I doubt they'll play any One Direction, but I'm willing to give you a head start on the dancefloor, to put you at ease."

"I don't know if you're up to the challenge," I teased him. 

"Oh don't you worry about me, love," he retorted. "I've been brushing up on my moves. You're going to wish you looked as cool as me in a minute, when I'm owning that crowd."

"This isn't a sold-out stadium full of screaming fans," I reminded him. "Skipping up and down a  walkway isn't going to cut it in here."

"Been watching our concert videos on Twitter, have we?" he smirked, and I didn't have an answer for this, as he was absolutely right: I had been doing just that, but of course I wasn't about to admit to it. "I'll take that as a yes," he nodded, for the second time that night.

"Whatever gets you through the night," I shrugged nonchalantly.

"To be honest, the nights have been pretty lonely lately," he said, sideglancing me. "But who knows... maybe that might change...."

I looked up into his deep blue eyes and felt a new jolt of nerves shoot through my stomach as he winked at me yet again. He slid out of the booth and held his hand out to me.

"Come on," he said. "Or I'll start to think it was all just talk."

"Alright," I said firmly, getting to my feet and taking his hand, which sent another crackle of electricity through my body. "Let's see what you've got."

"You only have to ask, and I'm happy to show you," he said cheekily in my ear, and caught my eye momentarily as he led me through the VIP area towards the dancefloor. I glanced over my shoulder at Sarah, who gave me a discreet thumbs up, letting me know she would be fine on her own with Oli for a bit. I followed Louis through the crowd, just like last time, and he took me right into the middle of the heaving mass before he stopped and turned to me.

"OK, so I may have lied," he said, leaning close to my ear so I could hear him over the pounding bass. "I may not have been practising my moves."

"You mean this was all an elaborate ruse?" I pretended to be affronted.

"Well, not exactly," he said, twisting his mouth into his trademark smile. "I do want to dance, but maybe you could give me a few pointers instead?"

"Oh really? Pointers like how?" I asked, thankful for the vibrations from the speakers that disguised how badly my legs were trembling.

He stepped towards me and slid his arm around my waist, pulling my body against his and sending a flush of heat through my veins. "Pointers like... is this too close, or is this OK?"

"Depends what kind of dancing you want to do," I said in his ear, unable to break the banter, and using it as bravado to mask my nerves.

"The dirtier the better," he replied, his lips brushing my ear and causing a shiver of excitement to run down my spine.

"Well in that case, this is just fine," I squeaked. 

He smirked in satisfaction, and began to move to the music, his hips against mine, swaying to the beat of the bass. It was a song I didn't recognise, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that his body was pressed up against mine, just as close as last time, and there was no reason for me to push him away.

His face was centimetres from mine, and I felt suddenly too shy to look at him; to make eye contact. I shifted my gaze around the room several times before risking a glance at him, only to find he was watching me intently, his eyes smoldering.

My insides began to tremble again as he adjusted his arm, pulling me closer as I was bumped and jostled by the people around us. 

"So how am I doing?" he asked after a minute. "Any tips on my... technique?" 

I grinned at him. "Your... technique is fine so far. Do you always ask for feedback like this when you're learning something new?"

"Depends how badly I want to succeed," he fired back. 

"Your enthusiasm is admirable," I acknowledged.

"Thanks. But we both know it takes more than enthusiasm to get what I want."

"And... and what is it that you want?" I asked, timidly, my heart now pounding in my chest.

He smirked down at me. "I think you know."

"Maybe I don't," I countered.

"Don't what? Don't know, or don't want the same?"

This was getting confusing now, particularly with the amount of alcohol in my bloodstream. I paused for a second, thinking about how to respond to make it clear I liked him without actually saying something as obvious and stupid as, "I like you."

But he seemed to take my hesitation as uncertainty and loosened his arm around me slightly, putting a couple of inches of distance between us again and looking away. "Sorry, love. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No, no!" I said, hastily. "You didn't at all! I do! Know, I mean. At least, I think I do. I think I know what you mean. What you want."

He looked back at me again, waiting for me to explain further, but I was suddenly tongue-tied again, and even more shy. I blushed deeply, searching for something other to say than the aforementioned "I like you" which was about to fall from my lips at any moment, if only to break the silence that was now stretching between us.

He smirked at my embarrassment, and ran his fingers through his fringe, brushing it to the side. "OK, shall I be honest?"

I nodded, my heart rate accelerating again.

"I like you." 

How did it sound so cool coming from him, yet so stupid when I said it in my own head?!

"I like you," he repeated, looking down at the floor, "and I'm trying to work up to the right moment to kiss you, but each time I think I'm getting somewhere you just give me a load of sass and I'm left hanging. And if I'm being really honest, I dig that. Like, really dig it. But if I'm reading this whole thing wrong, and you're not interested, that's cool. No hard feelings."

My heart was beating so fast I was pretty sure it was now just a constant hum. I felt my mouth breaking into a shy but elated smile, and when I didn't answer he lifted his gaze from his shoes to meet mine. After a second, his own shy smile began to form. 

I chuckled softly and reached forward with my right hand, hooking my index finger into the neck of his black tshirt and pulling gently so he was forced to lean towards me. I tilted my head up as his face came closer, and saw his eyes closing in anticipation of what was about to happen. I closed my eyes too, and a moment later I felt the softness of his lips against mine and his arm sliding back around my waist, claiming me as his for the evening, as if there might have been the slightest chance I would have turned him down.

----

Sorry it's been a while since I updated this one! If you liked the chapter please don't forget to give it a vote by tapping the yellow star! 🌟