habits of my heart (h.s.)

twenty-six

"So, what are you going to get Nate for Christmas?"

I glanced up from my phone at Niall, who was staring at me with an expectant look on his face. Harry was sitting next to him, his eyes awkwardly darting back and forth, clearly trying to look like he wasn't listening.

"Um.....I'm not sure yet," I responded. "I'm really bad at getting presents for guys." It was true. When I had been dating Ray, I had always struggled with what to get him for Christmas and his birthday. Thankfully, he was a pretty easy guy (aka: he was boring as shit), so he was always happy with lame stuff like pens or the kind of books only very straight, very white males liked to read.

"It's okay, Aly, I'll make it easy for you," Niall grinned. "I lost my AirPods, so...."

I scoffed loudly. "And where would I get the money for that, exactly? You seriously think that I would buy them for you before I bought a pair for myself? Nice try."

"It was worth a shot," he shrugged. "But seriously. What are you going to get Nate?"

Harry caught my eye for a second, but he quickly looked away. As he should. He was taking this whole friends thing a lot better than I had expected him to. He had yet to crack a snarky comment about any of the three dates Nate and I had gone on. Which was good, of course. It was exactly what I had asked him to do. And yet....

It wasn't that I didn't like Nate. He was extremely attractive, and very nice. He laughed at all my jokes, even though he wasn't really the funny type. And he was clearly smart. He was the perfect guy. The fact of the matter was, if I had never met Harry, I probably would have really liked him. I just wasn't there yet. Part of me knew I shouldn't be leading him on when I had my mind on someone else, but I needed to stop being a hypocrite and follow my own advice: move on. The problem was, it was all a lot easier said than done.

Who knew.

"I really have no idea," I repeated. "Do you guys have any ideas?"

Harry's head lifted up, clearly surprised to be included in the conversation. "How about a stethoscope?"

I rolled my eyes. There was that sarcasm I had been missing. "Very funny."

"Hey, he's a doctor, isn't he?" Harry asked not-so-innocently.

"Not yet," I reminded him. I knew that I was supposed to act irritated, but it was very hard to keep the smile from breaking out across my face. Even though I knew it was extremely hypocritical, part of me--well, most of me--wanted him to be jealous. The rational side of me knew that the two of us were better off as friends, but I had been listening to her less and less as of late.

"Get him some lingerie," Niall suggested.

Both Harry and I frowned in confusion. We exchanged an eye roll before I deadpanned, "I would, but I don't know his size."

"Not for him, you idiot," Niall scoffed. "For you. Buy a sexy pair of lingerie and then surprise him with it! Perfect!"

I stole a quick glance at Harry, who looked like he was trying very hard not to lean over and punch Niall in the face. When he noticed me staring at him, however, the expression on his face quickly softened and he nodded his head. "That's a good idea." Friend, he mouthed when Niall wasn't looking.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring him. "I appreciate the suggestion, Niall, but I'll pass."

"Why?" Niall asked. He paused for a minute before asking me, "Wait, you guys have had sex yet, right?"

It was hard to tell who was blushing more at his question, me or Harry. My bets were on me. "Niall!" I exclaimed. "That's none of your business!"

"Oh my God," he breathed. "That means you haven't. What the hell!"