I stare at (Y/N) from the bed, watching her put her clothes back on. My eyes linger on her body for a moment, enjoying the sight until I can no longer ignore the ache in my chest, knowing that this means she has to leave. She looks around her feet for what I assume is her shirt, but it's nowhere in sight. I would help her look for it if I could remember where I threw it when I took it off last night in a haste. If my mind wasn't still fuzzy, I'd probably just hide it so she'd have an excuse to stay here.
She walks around to the front of the bed and bends down, disappearing from sight momentarily and then pops back up with a piece of fabric in her hands. She quickly pulls the shirt down over her head and walks over to the chair by the door and picks up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.
"Stay," I say, and I hate the way it sounds like a whine. "Please, stay."
"I can't, Harry. I have a flight to catch."
"I'll book you another flight," I say, scooting across the bed to reach for her hand. "You don't have to leave yet, there's still plenty of time left."
She doesn't look at me, only looks at the door as she breathes out, but her eyes eventually find mine and she replies with a quiet, "Okay." She removes the bag from her shoulder and places it back on the chair before climbing back into bed with me. "What do you want to do?"
"Whatever we want."
-
I wake up to the sound of my alarm and immediately throw my pillow over my head because it's that godawful marimba tone I despise. Groaning, I roll over to shut it off and make a mental note to change it later. I blink my eyes a few times, and when my vision refocuses, I notice (Y/N) lying next to me and I smile.
I stare at her for a few moments, admiring her sleeping figure before I unwrap my arm from around her head and begin to sit up. I grab my pants from the floor and quickly put them on, knowing I have to be on the bus in five minutes.
"Leaving?" (Y/N) asks quietly.
"Yeah, we have to rehearse early and then we have a whole day of interviews," I say, glancing at her before looking back at the floor and searching for my shirt. I find it and quickly pull it over my head.
"Well, I guess I should leave then," (Y/N) says, starting to sit up, but stops when I speak again.
"No, just go back to sleep, or order room service," I say. "I changed your flight. It's not 'til Monday."
"Harry, that's-"
"Two days away, I know. But I was thinking that maybe you should stay for a couple of days. It's just one weekend, please?" I plead, meeting her eyes for a second before searching for my jacket and wallet. I find my wallet sitting on the bedside table. I grab it and stuff it in my back pocket before walking over to the chair by the door and grabbing my jacket from the back of it and putting it on. I grab the handle of the door and look back at (Y/N), waiting for her answer.
"Won't the boys find out? I thought the whole point of this-" she pauses to motion between us, "-was to keep it a secret."
I remove my hand from the doorknob and walk back over to her. "About that-" I start but I'm cut off by a buzzing coming from the bedside table. I glance over to see my phone glowing, obviously a text from Paul or one of the boys telling me to hurry up. "I'm so sorry, but I really have to go. Can we talk about this later? Over dinner maybe?"
(Y/N) sighs but eventually nods. I smile before kissing her forehead quickly and rushing out the door and towards the bus.
-
I take a deep breath and smooth out my blazer before walking into the dimly lit restaurant. It's fancy - maybe a little too fancy, but it's the perfect setting for what I've been wanting to tell (Y/N).
My eyes scan each table, and my breath catches in my throat when I see (Y/N) sitting at a table towards the back, wearing a red dress and looking more beautiful than I've ever seen her. I slowly walk over to the table and when she notices me, she smiles.
"Why did you pick this place? You don't have to wine and dine me y'know."
I shrug. "Maybe I want to start," I say with a smile. She smiles again and returns to looking at her menu. I pick up mine and begin skimming through the various choices of meals, all with seemingly unpronounceable names.
The waiter comes by to take our orders and retrieve our menus. When he leaves, (Y/N) looks at me and I immediately reach for my glass of wine to steel myself for what I know she's about to ask.
"So, what did you bring me here to tell me?" she asks, crossing her arms on the table and leaning forward.
I scratch the back of my neck nervously. "Um, well..." I start, but I don't know how I want to tell her or how I should even word it. "These past couple of months have been amazing and-"
"You don't want to continue this arrangement, I get it."
I shake my head. "No, I do want to continue to see you, just as maybe... more?" It comes out as a question and I hate it, because I want her to be more than just a friend with benefits and I don't want to sound uncertain.
"More?" she says slowly, like she's testing the word. "Like a real relationship?"
I chance a glimpse at (Y/N), my eyes meeting hers, and I nod. (Y/N) doesn't say anything, she just smiles and reaches across the table to place a hand on my arm.
"I'd like that," she finally says.
-
(Y/N) steps out of the restaurant into the cool air of the night, me following right behind her. She visibly shivers as we begin to walk down the street back toward the hotel, which is luckily only a block away.
I take my blazer off and drape it over her shoulders. She looks up at me and gives me a gracious smile. "Thanks," she mumbles through the chattering of her teeth. "Thanks for dinner, too, it was lovely."
"So are you."
She shoves me playfully, still smiling. "You know what would make this night even better?"
"What?"
She stops in front of me and grabs the front of my shirt, pulling me down into a kiss. It's different than our normal kisses that are usually sloppy and rushed. This one is sweet and slow, sending a wave of heat throughout my body even though it's freezing outside.
"Aren't you glad I changed your flight?"
"Shut up," (Y/N) says before dragging me down for another kiss. When she pulls away, she slips her hand into mine and leads me down the street back to the hotel.
