Tangerine

Chapter 66

Soundtrack: Chapterhouse - Breather

Dedication: (@Norski) thank you for taking the time to read through this whole book and vote for literally everything, you're awesome! i hope you're liking the story so far and hopefully you'll dig this update ;)

·

Harry looks at me; his eyes a reflective shade of emerald with pupils the size of Mars. And even I have to humbly admit, the way he's looking at me is beyond keen.

"What might your question be?" Harry slowly mimics the way I put my words together.

"Okay, I know it's- entirely bananas at this point, but- well..." my vision spins a little from the effects of the alcohol hitting me. I scoff at myself for even bringing up such an embarrassing thought. "You know what-? Nevermind."

"Hey!" Harry frowns, a bit more serious now. "No, tell me."

"You really wanna know?"

"'Course, I wanna know."

I sigh, scanning my eyes over Harry's face, then drop my gaze to stare hazily at my hands.

"Remember, uh, way back when we first went out?" I question lowly so only Harry can hear. I don't look directly at him as I speak, I'm just that bloody bashful. "Like, when Mitch told us to get together and we went to that cafe...? Uh... I know we, like- talk about it a lot... without actually talking about it, but..." I sigh, smiling up at Harry from the ridiculousness of my thoughts. "Was there really a fly?"

Harry chuckles; his dimples as bright as ever.

"Yeah," he grins, watching me intently, "there was..."

I nod once, "Shit."

"...but I didn't need to touch your hand to get rid of it."

My eyes bulge right out of my head. I'm surprised my jaw hasn't gotten any splinters from hitting the wooden floor so hard, "THE TRUTH FINALLY COMES OUT, HEY, STYLES?!" I hit Harry's chest, making him giggle and throw his head back against the couch.

The more I think about it, the more I'm being swallowed and engulfed to genuinely accept that Harry Styles has a big fat crush on me. It's so unreal ‒ still, even after all we've been through during our close, chance friendship... and more ‒ but it's far past the point of second-guessing, now.

It's far past the point of him simply wanting to kiss me.

Harry seeks information about my life and he cares about how I feel. We basically share the same daily routine, aside from our own individual responsibilities, and he shows me off so naturally to the world whenever we're out together. More importantly, he's happy to admit that he's attracted to me. He doesn't keep me wondering and there have yet to be any uneasy situations between us that I could account for.

Aside from, maybe, the first time he got off on me in Cheshire.

Neither of us could ever forget that.

"'M gonna go meet some people, but you stay around," Harry slurs softly as he notices me staring. I'm practically entranced by the way his mouth curves a little more on one side than the other. "I wanna see you, okay?"

Yeah, sure, anything, my brain fires off a million drunken promises. What else do you need? A back rub? A hand job? A cup of tea? I'm yours.

"Okay."

Harry squeezes my hand as he gets up off the couch and crosses the room.

Once I blink, he's disappeared.