That Sounds Fake But Okay

Chapter 7

Liam's flight arrives late the next morning, and Louis, Harry, and Niall swing by the airport to pick him up.

"Now, I want to take you on a real tour of St. Louis," Louis tells them all, grinning, as soon as Liam's thrown his bag in the trunk and slid into the backseat. "Niall's been here a few times, but he won't mind, will you, Niall?"

"Not at all," Niall confirms. He and Liam are already bent over their phones, strategizing about their next Clash of Clans battle.

"Maybe you should attack a lower town hall and three-star that first," Niall advises Liam. "Then move up."

"You're so right," Liam agrees. "Anything less than a three-star is pointless."

"Well, hello to you, too, Liam," Harry turns around from the passenger seat. "Didn't realize you had joined Niall's...clan...war thing."

Liam flushes pink. "Hey, Haz. Sorry. It's just...this battle is starting in two minutes, so we gotta...oh, what if I use goblins here instead of giants?"

"Fucking genius!" yells Niall.

Harry just shakes his head and smiles at Louis, who's mirroring his amused expression from the driver's seat. It feels as if everything is really okay between them now, and Harry likes it this way. He hopes it can stay like this forever. Well, for the rest of the agreement, he reminds himself.

He can't stop sneaking glances at Louis from the passenger seat. He looks so relaxed now that the tension of the past few days has dissipated. He's wearing a new pair of Aviators, and his hair is getting so long it's curling past his ears and over his collar. He clearly hasn't shaved since before the ill-fated club outing. Harry wants to feel that scruff on his thighs again. He can't help it- Louis is so fucking hot. He knows now that Louis is not the kind of thing you can have just a couple of times and get out of your system. And that's exactly why it can't happen again, he tells himself.

"So where are we off to first?" he asks, shaking his head a little to try to break the spell.

"Lunch," Louis declares.

He drives them to an old section of the city called The Hill, explaining a bit of its history as a neighborhood of Italian immigrants, starting back in the 1800s.

"You like baseball, right, Harry?" Louis asks, and Harry nods. "Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola both grew up here on The Hill. Their childhood houses are right across the street from each other, actually."

"And this place has some of the best Italian restaurants you'll ever find," Niall adds.

"Better than New York? Doubtful," Harry teases, knowing full well Louis will make it his personal mission to prove him wrong.

They settle on a casual place called Zia's, where the owner is kind enough to give them a private room in the back. And despite his resolve not to give Louis any satisfaction, Harry has to admit that toasted ravioli is something he never knew was missing in his life until he tried it.

"Is this another St. Louis thing?" he asks.

"Yep," Louis says proudly, dipping another ravioli in marinara and popping the whole thing into his mouth. "I knew you'd like it."

"Well, at least we'll have the memories of all the fantastic meals we've had together," Harry answers. It's meant to be light-hearted, but the statement hangs heavy in the air between them until Niall speaks up.

"So what's next on the agenda, Louis? Brewery tour? You know I can't pass up free beer...or Clydesdales."

"Yeah, we could definitely do that," Louis says, pulling up the Budweiser site on his phone to check the times.