Entitled . HS

EIGHT. *

I walked the block to Berry Street and turned right. From there, the distance to his apartment was only another three blocks, which by New York standards was like it being right next door. Even more shocking was that my dad's place was only about ten blocks from his. No wonder he knew where to exit to get to Lavender Lake when he drove me to pick up the files I forgot.

I found his building and contemplated going inside for long enough that I started getting cold. So, I opened the door and entered the foyer and stood just inside the door, looking at the second door that separated me from access to Harris. As I stared at the three names, the handwritten Sinclair haunted me next to number 3. What the hell was I doing? I was about to turn around and leave when I heard the second door buzz open. Then, over the intercom I heard Harris say, "would you just come up already," sounding annoyed.

When I got through the second door, I saw that it was a walk up. I climbed to the second floor, stopping on the landing long enough to catch my breath before climbing to the top floor. Not that I was out of breath from the climb, but more so the anxiety bubbling up inside of me. "Seriously, Tate." He said, peering down from the top floor.

"Can you not call me that when we aren't at work," I asked him, honestly. I finally looked up at him. He was standing there, shirtless, in a pair of low-hung sweats with boxer briefs peeking out from underneath them.

"It took you long enough to get up here," he said, then added "Grandma Atty." His body was propped against his door where he held it open for me to enter.

The outside of his building had given me no indication of what was waiting for me behind the door. Now that I was seeing it, I was surprised. It wasn't that I didn't expect his apartment to look like it did, but I wasn't expecting it to feel so homey, while still being fairly modern. Honestly, that balance was really hard to accomplish. Even Guin and Lawson's place felt sterile compared to his.

"You gonna come all the way inside or just stand in the doorway?" He asked me and I realized I'd been standing next to him so he was unable to close the door. Go figure. I seemed to always be in the way when it came to my interactions with him. Maybe this wasn't a good idea?

"Still trying to decide," I said and he pushed me into the apartment with the closing door.

"Listen, I don't care what we do. I'm just glad you didn't go with Texas... I mean Austin. He has a reputation for being rough with girls."

"Texas?"

"Nickname in the frat."

"It's so strange to think of you in a fraternity."

"I was a legacy, so I kind of got pushed into doing it. When Covid hit and campus shut down, I moved home to finish the semester online and never rejoined the fraternity after I went back."

"The shut down. Now THAT was a fun time," I said sarcastically. "The dorms shutting down is actually how Benji talked me into dating him... I moved in with him that spring and he basically wore me down." I suddenly felt awkward telling him about me and Benji. "Anyways. Where were we?" I asked, seeing what he would do with that question.

He stood a few feet from me, taking me in. "I like your hair. I didn't have a chance to tell you that at the bar."

"Thanks," I said, "but you're stalling. What are we doing, Harris?"

"My offer still stands," he said as he walked forward, taking small deliberate steps until he reached me and cautiously placed his hands on my hips. "There are no expectations here, but my offer is the same. It's completely up to you where this night goes." His hands squeezed my hips as I uncrossed my arms and reached down to touch his bare chest. He looked down at my hands cautiously touching him. "And if that itch still needs scratching," he said shakily, "I'm happy to scratch it for you."