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The mirror was far from Niall’s best friend at that moment as he gave himself yet another once over. His clothes looked alright and his dark brown hair was stylishly combed over, though there was little he could do about his average at best countenance.

Work had zipped by. The entire workforce only had to do a half day as there was an important management meeting to be held at their unit. In some ways, Niall was grateful of the fact as it didn’t give him much chance to procrastinate. In other ways he wished he could have stayed as he felt sick with nerves. The upcoming date with Chantelle would be an entirely different scenario to their first encounter. They’d be in close quarters and without the security blanket that alcohol typically provided. He wasn’t worried about her at all; he was worried about what she’d think of him when she really got to know him.

He brushed himself down with his hands and posed before the mirror one last time. “This’ll have to do,” he declared.

His attire was a simple navy blue V-neck tee with stonewash jeans; nothing fancy. He left the bedroom and made his way downstairs; shouting goodbye to his mum before grabbing his keys and heading out. Once inside his car, Niall sat for a moment and took a few deep breaths in order to calm his nerves. Satisfied they were jangling slightly less, he put his key in the ignition and fired up the engine.

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Once he knocked on that door then there was no turning back. That’s what Niall told himself anyway. Although in reality he knew there was no turning back regardless, to him the knock on the door represented a knock on a completely different door; one that led directly to the end of everything with Fiona. Today could well be ground zero for everything between them.

He pushed everything back again just as he’d done the previous night with the text and asked himself a simple question. Do I want to go into the house?

He raised his hand and knocked aloud. His heart pounded as he anticipated Chantelle’s appearance. After a short wait the door opened. Chantelle stood before him dressed in every bit as simple garb as he. She also looked incredibly nervous herself, which ironically calmed him down a touch.

A genuine and pretty smile spread across her face. “Hey. Come on in.”

“Don’t mind if I do. It’s freezing out here.” Niall wasn’t entirely sure why he’d said that as the weather was actually very clement. He hoped that wouldn’t set the precedent for further idiocy to pour unwittingly from his mouth.

Niall followed as Chantelle head into the house, a simple bungalow. The house was cosy and warm. Though much smaller than the house of his parents, Niall liked the place. Everything was in easy reach; however, it was more spacious than it might have appeared from outside.

All of that was inconsequential because only one thing held his attention and that was the beautiful young woman walking ahead of him. In spite of her simple attire, Niall couldn’t help feeling she somehow looked more attractive than she had on Sunday despite having looked incredible then. Her backside wiggled provocatively as she walked and he did everything in his power not to stare; difficult as the leggings she wore moulded around her posterior perfectly. It was a glorious spectacle. He was admittedly quite glad when she turned the corner to head for the kitchen and it broke his line of sight.

She turned to look at him with that smile again. “Take a seat in the front room. I won’t be long.”

Niall smiled back in what he was convinced was a pathetic and love-struck gawp. In less than a minute he’d gone from uncertain to unrestrainedly horny. Chantelle continued to the kitchen while Niall went and took a seat to stare dumbly at whatever was on the TV. Her taste in televisual viewing left something to be desired he thought to himself jokingly. The smell in the air told him that the house was home to a cat and hoped that wouldn’t play havoc with his allergies. A sneezing fit was the last thing he needed.

Chantelle entered the living room after a couple of minutes and took a seat next to Niall with a thud and a tired sigh. “Food shouldn’t take much longer,” she confirmed.

“Nice one. It smells great.”

“It’s just chicken, potatoes and veg. Nothing special.”

“Sounds just about perfect to me,” Niall said with honesty. He was all for simple, British fayre.

“I just hope I cook it all right. I don’t do it too often.”

“You shouldn’t worry so much.” Niall chose to ignore the irony in what he’d said.

The conversation was a little awkward for all of a few minutes. It wasn’t long before they were in the swing of it though and they both quickly eased into each other’s company. There was little in way of obvious flirtation from what Niall could tell, which played on his mind a little. The conversation flowed nicely though and that was good enough for him.

Dinner was soon ready and Chantelle served it up. Niall was happy with it. Everything was cooked just right and it tasted great. It filled him up nicely too. He thought of the old adage “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. Frankly he couldn’t have cared less if Chantelle was a good cook or not. Nevertheless, it was certainly a positive that she was.

They flaked out on the sofa and watched some TV as the food settled in their bellies. Initially they sat with a little distance between them. The distance gradually shrank until ‘accidental’ touches of one another’s leg started. They both took note of that and the conversation suddenly stopped. It wasn’t an awkward silence. It was a silence thickly laden with sexual tension.

Niall felt the butterflies flapping excitedly. He looked at Chantelle and she looked at him with a nervous smile that read for him to take the lead. Niall wasn’t going to wait to be asked. He leaned in to her and kissed her lightly on the lips. She responded in kind. This quickly turned into a flurry of passionate kissing as they each discovered the clothed body of the other with their hands. The desire was strong in them both. They were each giving as good as they were getting; both pushing the vehicle along to its destination.

Chantelle suddenly stopped kissing Niall and stood, holding her hand out to him. He looked up into her big blue eyes and took her hand. Her strength surprised him as she pulled him up to his feet and then led him out of the living room into what was evidently her bedroom. There the kissing resumed along with the removal of one another’s clothes until both of them were completely naked.

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For the first time in what felt an age, Niall was totally relaxed. What he and Chantelle had just done was exactly what he’d needed and he hadn’t even realised it. There was no tension in him whatsoever. He looked at Chantelle next to him and kissed her affectionately. She seemed every bit as contented as he did.

What did this mean? One thing it meant for sure was that Niall was finally over the hurdle. He hadn’t felt any guilt at all about what had happened and continued not to feel any. The only thing he felt bad about was the fact he’d have to leave soon so he could get himself prepared for work the next day. He didn’t want to go. He could happily have laid there naked next to Chantelle for the rest of the night and beyond.

“In case you were wondering,” Chantelle whispered; breaking Niall’s thought process,” that was every bit as good as I’d hoped and more.”

A cocksure smile appeared on Niall’s face inadvertently. He had a feeling he’d done a good job as Chantelle had made a point of telling him “well done” when he’d made her climax partway through; something which in hindsight amused him greatly. He most certainly couldn’t deny that she’d done a bang up job on him too. It seemed both parties could agree that the sex was simply superb. “I have no choice but to concur, babe,” Niall responded.

They remained where they were for a while longer. When Niall felt that he might start to drift off to sleep he decided it was the right time to get himself together and ready for the off. Chantelle protested to him half in jest; however, she understood that he needed to head home. They got dressed and had another quick cuddle before Chantelle followed Niall to the front door where they shared a kiss.

“I’ve had a great time,” Niall said.

“So have I,” Chantelle agreed. “I hope I won’t be waiting long until the next time.”

“I’m free this weekend if you are.”

“We’ll sort something out. See you later.”

“I miss you already.”

Chantelle laughed at Niall’s cheesy line and gave him another quick cuddle and kiss in response. Niall then edged regretfully away from the door. He could feel Chantelle’s eyes on him for several seconds before the door closed.

Once he was back in his car, Niall sat and thought for a moment. He didn’t like it; nonetheless, he knew he’d need to bring things to a definitive end with Fiona. Chantelle’s basket was where his eggs now firmly lay and he felt no regret in that. He knew he was doing the right thing. That didn’t change the fact that he was sad he and Fiona were now done. He wondered just how she’d react when he told her.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Title image from Shine Aloud.