Chasing Blue Roses

10. FYI: There Were No Boy Bands in 'The Karate Kid'.

10. FYI: There Were No Boy Bands in 'The Karate Kid'.

   I was in a car with Harry Styles. Again. Why did this keep happening?

   “Address, Miss Price?” Harry’s bodyguard, Basil, glanced back at me from the rear-view mirror.

   “222 Morton Avenue.” The address slid off my tongue without a second thought. “And you definitely don't have to call me 'Miss Price'.” I returned Basil's smile in the mirror. "Ava's just fine."

   We were a twenty minute drive away, possibly closer to thirty in traffic. With the silence that currently enveloped the car, it felt more like I was losing a year of my life. Screw it. The silence was welcome. In fact, I preferred it that way. I was suddenly very aware of the few inches that separated Harry and I in the backseat of the SUV.

   I was ignoring him. Or maybe he was ignoring me, I couldn’t tell. And yeah... maybe he did smell amazing – woodsy and warm in a way that made me want to breathe in deeply, but I didn’t do that... because I was ignoring him. I wrinkled my nose at the thought. And it would be super weird.

   Staring out the window determinedly, I heard a snicker from Harry. He unwrapped a piece of gum, still reading a message on his phone. He offered me a piece, but I shook my head. My eyes traced the black tattoo of two hands shaking on his left forearm and wondered what it meant.

   “They’ve noticed.” Harry smirked at me, staring down at his phone. “Should be getting a call any – “ His phone chirped. “Oh, would you look at that..” He grimaced before answering, a rueful smile on his face.

   “Missing persons hotline, Harry Edward Styles speaking. May I ask who’s calling?” His voice was dry with humour and I returned his smile without intending to. The muffled reply of whoever was on the other end was audible.

   “She’s with me.” Harry tapped his fingers restlessly against his seat, an impatient look across his face. “She felt sick. We got some fresh air and went for coffee.”

   I bit my lip, surprised. Was Harry covering for me?

   “I insisted.” He frowned. “Side entrance. We ran into a small group of girls.” He paused, listening to the lecture he was probably getting on the other end. “No, we’re going to her flat now. She forgot a few things.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’ll mention that to her.”

   He hung up and dropped his head back onto his headrest with a sigh. “That’ll buy us a few hours. Unless your friend Ellie is crap at lying and they get it out of her.”

   I knew that by ‘it’ he meant the fact that James and I had slipped out of ‘hotel arrest’ unnoticed. I did feel a little guilty about Andy, and how he’d let James in, in the first place. I bet he was regretting that now. A million thoughts raced through my mind.

   “Thanks.” My voice was reluctant. “For covering for us, I mean. I can only imagine how loud Paula is when she’s mad.”

   Harry chuckled softly. “Thanking me for something, are we? I should record this to mark the occasion.”

   “I take it back. Consider it refunded.”

   He laughed. “It’s non-refundable. Besides, you don’t think you’re the only one who’s tried to do a runner before, do you? We’ve done a number on Paul more times than he can count.” He shot me a wry smile. “Made a real mess of things a couple of times, too.”

   It only occurred to me now to think about how much time the boys must spend in hotel rooms. I loved staying in hotels for the sheer escape of it all, but after a couple of days, the novelty died down and I was ready for my own bed again. I tried to imagine how many days a year the boys must’ve spent sleeping in strange beds.