Chapter 6

I walked into the room behind Niall. He flipped the lights on from behind me. His suite was beautiful, like a cozy apartment. I could tell that he had been there at least a couple of days because a men's cologne scent still lingered in the air. It went a sweet, yet masculine smell. I walked farther into the room. I noticed the sofa in the middle with of the living room and two hallways down either side of the room. Niall came up and stood beside me.

"I'm sorry I don't have a guest room," he said.

"Oh, it's fine. I'll crash on the couch," I said as I sat down. Niall came over and sat on the chair across from the couch. He didn't say anything; he just sat there, hands folded in his lap. We sat in silence until we saw the lights turn off, and then back on.

"Whoa. Looks like the storm is knocking out power," he said as he looked up. I smiled back at him. I hated storms. This was going to be a long night if the storm was going to continue. "Would you like anything to drink?" Niall asked. "I have bottled water, some juice, and coffee. I'd have beer but, you know, America." The side of his lips went up as he gave a half smile.

I smiled back. "Bottle water would be good, thanks." I watched as Niall got up and walked over to the fridge. He opened it up and pulled out a bottle of water. He came back over and handed it to me. Right as he handed the bottle to me, a loud crack of thunder rang through the hotel room. I jumped. Niall laughed.

"Looks like someone's afraid of a little thunder," Niall teased as I looked up.

"I'm not that afraid. I just don't like storms that much," I replied. I took the cap off the water bottle and took a drink. Refreshing. I stood up and faced Niall.

"So, where is the bathroom in here? I've never been in a hotel like this before."

"Well," Niall started. "Down this hallway is the bathroom." He pointed and turned to the other side of the living room where there was another hallway. "And down here is my room. There's an extra toothbrush in the bathroom. I'm assuming you didn't bring one." He looked at me. I shook my head.

"Okay. There's towels in there too if you need to shower or anything. There might be robe too, I'm not sure. I'll grab some blankets for you."

I smiled, picked up my purse, and walked to the bathroom. I didn't really want to take a shower, but I had been sweating at the concert. I closed the bathroom door and locked it behind me. I sat my purse on the floor and opened the cabinets, looking for towels. I finally found some and noticed the robe on the back of the door. Perfect. I started the shower as I slipped out of my clothes. Here I was, standing in the shower of a stranger's hotel room, naked. I would only imagine what my dad would have said if he had known where I actually was. I continued my shower and shut the water off. I grabbed a towel to wrap my hair and a towel to wrap around me. I searched the bathroom for the toothbrush and toothpaste. I also found a hairbrush in a welcome bag from the hotel. I might as well use it. I brushed my teeth and unwrapped my hair to brush it. I was looking in the mirror when it hit me. I had no clothes to wear to bed. I started to panic. What the hell was I going to do? I looked at my clothes on the floor and picked up my Gone Away t-shirt. I guess I could wear this to bed. I took my towel off and slide the shirt over my head. That would work. I took the robe off the hook from behind the door, put it on, and tied it. I figured this would be okay. I was picking up my clothes and purse on the floor when I realized I wouldn't have any underwear to wear the next day. Shit. I planned this trip perfectly. I opened the door and walked slowly into the hallway. The lights went off again. I wanted to cry. Nothing seemed to be going right. I started walking down the hallway when the lights turned back on. Thank God. I walked into the living room and saw Niall sitting on the chair. He turned and smiled at me.

"What's wrong?' he asked. He must have noticed my facial expression of worry.

What was I going to tell him? I was out of underwear? "Well, I was wondering if there was any place I could do my laundry quick. I need to wash my clothes for tomorrow."

"Sure thing," he said as me picked up the phone off the table by the chair. He muttered something into the phone and set it back down on the table. "One of the housekeeping ladies will be right up to take your clothes and wash them. She'll bring them back in the morning.

"Thanks, Niall," I said as I smiled and set the clothes down next to me on the couch.

"I see the shower worked for you," he said looking at me. What the fuck did that even mean? How do you respond to that? I smiled back. We sat in silence as the lights flickered on and off again numerous times. There was suddenly a knock at the door. Thank goodness, something to break the silence.

Niall quickly got up and grabbed my clothes as he headed for the door. He opened it, handed my clothes to the lady, and smiled as he shut the door. He came over and stood by the couch.

"Here's your blankets. Do you need anything else?" he smiled.

"Nope, I should be good. Thanks again, Niall. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, love," he said as me placed his hand on my shoulder and then walked down the hallway. That accent. It gave me goose bumps.

I got the blankets all ready and took my robe off. I slide under the blankets and grabbed my phone from my purse. I didn't have a charger, so I shut it off and placed it on the table by the couch. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until now. I shut my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I woke the next morning when I heard a knock at the door. I didn't bother looking until I heard a sleepy, Irish voice at the door.

"Thanks, ma'am." Niall. I sat up and peaked behind from behind the couch. Oh goodness. Niall was barefoot and wearing grey sweatpants that hung loosely from his hips. I could see a faint v line near the waistband of his sweats. He looked hot. He carelessly walked over to the table and put my clothes down. He turned, took his hand and ran it through his hair as he stumbled down the hallway back to his room. Sleepy Niall was my favorite Niall I had seen so far. I lay back down and looked at the window. The sun was shining though the curtains. What time was it? I checked the clock on the wall across the room. Nine thirty. I didn't want to get up, but I had to. I pulled the blankets off of myself and sat up. I stood up and slung the robe over my shoulders. I walked over to the table and picked up my clothes as I made me way down the hallway to the bathroom. I went into the bathroom, changed my clothes, brushed my hair and teeth, and walked back out. I heard my stomach grumbled and realized that I was hungry. Niall wouldn't care if I made some food. I found some cereal in the cabinet and milk in the fridge. I poured some in a bowel and sat down at the island. I was eating when I heard Niall come out of his room down the hall. I finished my last bite as he walked into the kitchen. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark V-neck t shirt. How did the guy that I just saw in sweatpants turn into this? I placed my bowl in the sink and smiled. "I was hungry," I said.

Niall smiled as he poured himself a bowl of cereal and made some toast. "That's fine, love. Help yourself." I sat back down on a stool at the island. When his toast was done, Niall sat down across from me at the island.

"So, Niall, when do you go back to Ireland?" I asked. I might as well have a conversation.

"I haven't decided yet," he said between bites. "Sometime. I'm not in a hurry to get back home." I smiled. How could he not miss being home? He was so far away.

"So what are your plans today?" He caught me by surprise.

"I'm heading back home. Oh, shit! I need to check my train schedule." I ran over to my phone and started turning it on. Hurry up!

"Here," Niall said as he handed me his Mac. "Use this." I took the computer and went to the train's website. My next train wasn't set to leave until two. I looked at the clock. It was now ten thirty. I still had a few of hours. I closed the computer and went back to sitting at the island with Niall.

"What times your train leaving?" he asked as he finished his breakfast.

"At two. I'll probably just head to the station whenever and wait." Niall looked at me and was about to say something when my phone started beeping. Ten beeps. Ten missed calls. A chime noise came from my phone. A text message too. I walked over to my phone and checked it. Oh, shit. Seven of the missed calls were from my dad; the other three were from Mel. I checked the text message I had. My stomach dropped. Shit.

"I'll pick you up at Mel's at 12. –Dad"