Until I Asked [Harry Styles]

Chapter 1

Lexi never planned to go out.

She told herself she would eat something small, answer two emails, and pass out early. London had chewed her up all day. Meetings. Deadlines. A client who spoke in circles like it was a hobby. By the time she got back to her hotel, her brain felt like static.

Then Paige texted.

Paige: One drink. You owe me for dragging me to that gallery in Tribeca last month.

Lexi: I owe you a refund.

Paige: I am outside. Shoes on. Move.

Lexi stared at the message, then at the quiet room, then at her own reflection in the mirror. Hair in a low knot. Mascara smudged. Blazer tossed over a chair like it had given up.

"One drink," she muttered.

She changed into jeans, a black fitted sweater, and boots. Nothing special. Something that made her feel like herself again.

Paige chose a pub tucked off a busier street, the kind with low ceilings, warm wood, and a crowd that felt local. Music played, not loud enough to drown out conversation. The air smelled like beer and fries and damp coats.

Paige grabbed a table near the back.

"This is what you needed," Paige said, peeling off her scarf. "Noise. People. A life."

Lexi slid into the booth. "I have a life."

"You have a calendar."

Lexi laughed, tired and real. "Fine. One drink."

Paige flagged down a server like she owned the place, but was ignored.

Lexi glanced around. Groups leaning close. Couples arguing softly. A guy at the bar trying to look mysterious and failing. It was comforting. Ordinary. Nothing about it screamed consequence.

Then she saw him.

He wasn't trying to be noticed. That was what made her notice.

He stood near the far wall with a friend, both in dark coats, both half turned away from the room like they wanted an exit. The man beside him talked with his hands. The one Lexi couldn't stop looking at listened. Smiled once. Brief. Sharp. Like he didn't waste them.

He had curls, messy and intentional. Rings on his fingers. A calm in his posture that didn't match the chaos around him.

Paige followed Lexi's gaze and lifted a brow.

"Oh," Paige said.

Lexi kept her voice flat. "What."

Paige leaned in, grinning. "You're staring."

"I am not."

"You are, and you look like you forgot what you came here for."

Lexi took a sip of water to buy time. "I came here because you threatened me."

Paige's grin widened. "Go get your drink at the bar. I need the loo."

Lexi narrowed her eyes. "You're setting me up."

Paige slid out of the booth. "I am setting you free. One drink."

Lexi watched her go, then stared at her own hands like they were the problem.

She stood anyway.

The bar was packed, shoulders and elbows and conversations overlapping. Lexi waited behind two men ordering whiskey and a woman arguing about gin. She tried to focus on the chalkboard menu, but her attention kept drifting to the corner of her vision.