Harder Than Ever After [H. Scott]

07

Esther is still embarrassed for getting drunk in front of Hardin so soon; she's not a nice drunk. She (luckily) remembered their altercation and while he still sulks at her for running off she still sulks at him for being an ass. But the important thing? They're still together. Phew. She didn't push him away too much.

He rolls over beside her and sees she's wide awake. "Did you sleep much last night?" He asks tiredly.

She shakes her head. "No. I'm not too excited about sitting through classes hungover, either."

"Skip. Hang out with me." He says, wrapping an arm around her.

Esther smiles and plays with his hair. "No, I gotta go." She kisses his head and pulls away as she gets up, going to the bathroom.

Hardin stays in bed and watches her through the open door. "Then meet me for lunch. My treat."

"Now that, I can't refuse." She smiles. "I'll have about 45 minutes between my classes."

"I'll sort it." He promises.

Esther smiles and climbs in the shower; she's glad it isn't as awkward as last night. She is embarrassed still and she knows a part of Hardin is still mad, but she's sure they'll get over it easily.  At least, she hopes so.

"I'll drop you at your class if you want." Hardin calls as he grabs some fresh boxers.

"Okay, I'll buy breakfast then." She says. "If we both hurry up, we can stop at eat." She calls.

"Sounds like a plan." He smiles. He's already planning lunch to be a little romantic - at least, his idea of romantic. He doesn't exactly know what is or isn't classed as romantic as every girl is different and everyone has a different opinion. And gosh, Esther has opinions. And that is what he loves.

He grabs his usual jeans and a black tee, slipping his trainers on and grabbing his keys as Effie comes out in a similar outfit. He smirks. "Already rubbing off on you, huh."

"Yep. I have no clean clothes so I stole your t-shirt." She winks, tying it at the side to create a shorter t-shirt. "Ready?"

He nods and opens the door for her. They stop at the nearby IHOP, both ordering some pancakes and scarfing them down before Hardin drives her to campus. He pulls up. "What time?"

"12:15." Esther grabs her bag and reaches over to kiss his cheek. "Byeee."

He watches her run into the University building before he drives away and heads home for a while. At about 11, he heads out. He first grabs some strawberries, grabs himself a bottle of water and her a can of Monster. He then goes and stands by the flowers, staring at them for a good few minutes.

"Scuse me?" He says after a moment, looking at the girl who works here.

She looks a lot like the type of girl he used to hook up with. "Yeah?"

"What flowers would a girl like from her boyfriend?" He asks, scratching his neck as he swings the basket a little at his side.

She laughs small. "Not used to this I take it?" She asks. He shakes his head. "How long have you guys been together?"

"Technically? Couple of days." He laughs nervously. "But we've been on off seeing each other for a while."

The girl looks at the flowers. "Okay, go for these. Nothing too flashy but enough to say 'I put effort into these'." She says, handing him the bouquet of pink/orange tulips.

Hardin blushes as he takes them, smiling gently. "Thank you, I really appreciate the help."

"No problem. She's a lucky girl, I saw you staring for a while." She smiles warmly, walking back to the aisle behind him to stock the shelves.