Adore You [H.S]

38 // I'm Not Good At Making Promises

"Are you sure you're alright?" Harry asks worriedly, holding me gently by my shoulders so he could easily look into my eyes.

"Yeah," I say, still the slightest bit shaken up.

I knew Scary Guy was aggressive, he just gave off that vibe. But I wasn't expecting him to grope me or anything. And thank God Harry was standing as nearby as he was. I don't even want to begin to think about what could've happened if he hadn't stepped in.

"Promise?" he asks seriously, eyeing me down still.

"I promise," I say firmly, nodding and forcing a smile to spread my lips.

He lets out a sigh of relief, happy that I was going to be alright. "Okay. Good."

"Wanna sit?" I offer, gesturing to the bar stools beside us.

"Sure," he says, "that was you can enjoy your drink. In peace."

I chuckle fondly and he pulls a chair out for me, which I thank him politely for before taking a seat. He pulls the stool next to mine out and sits down as well, sliding my drink over in my direction.

"You didn't poison it, did you?" I ask jokingly, wrapping my fingers around the glass and eyeing him as I bring the straw up to my lips.

He waits until I've taken my first sip to respond to my question. "Actually, yes. Me and dickhead teamed up and we're planning to kill you."

"Mmm," I hum as the cold slushy slides down my throat, the taste of pineapple still lingering inside my mouth. "I see."

"How's your drink?" he asks, switching the subject.

"You know," I say after swallowing another sip, "it's really amazing. Thank you."

"No problem." He shrugs.

He brings his ringed fist up to his lips, covering his mouth as he clears his throat.

"So," he says, clasping his hands together against the counter of the narrow bar. He looks down at the chunky rings on his fingers intently as he talks. "I-uh... I recently got invited to go on a little getaway vacation."

He looks up at me to make sure I was listening—which I was of course.

"Anyways, I'll be going to Anguilla the afternoon of New Year's Day. James Corden invited me to stay in an Airbnb there with him and Adele and few other people will be there too," he explains after staring back down at his hands.

"Okay?" I said, gesturing for him to continue further and get to the point he was trying to make.

"The reason I brought this up," he lets out a single laugh, "is because I was going to see if...you...maybe would want to come with me?"

"Wait, like to Anguilla?" I ask, just to make sure I wasn't going crazy and he really said what I thought he did.

"Well, yeah," Harry says, chuckling softly.

"W-won't I will be intruding?" I ask worriedly, sinking down on the stool. "I mean, I'm sure James invited you with the intent of only you going. Don't you think he'd be a little mad if I just showed up with you?"

"Well we won't have to worry about that because I already asked him," he shrugs as he explains. "He encouraged it actually."

"You already asked?" I ask, smiling.

"I mean, yeah. I wanted to make sure he was okay with it before I asked you."

"That's so kind of you, Harry," I say, placing my hand over my heart in pure affection.

"Hey, practice what you preach," Harry says, raising the palms of his hands up.

"But, yeah, I'd love to go," I say, my piña colada halfway gone by now. "I will have to check with Jess first of course."

"Wait, why would you need to check with Jess?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Well, I've just been apart from her so much recently," I explain, "and we've been basically inseparable for the last couple years, so I just want to make sure she'll be able to manage on her own for a little longer."

"You two are really close, huh?"

"She's practically the only family I have left."

Harry watches me take another drink of my beverage. He doesn't say anything, he just stares.

After swallowing, I inhale sharply, feeling the awkwardness grow rapidly.

"So when would we leave?" I ask.

"I have a flight booked for New Year's at 11:40 am, and I can buy you a ticket at any time if I need to since not many people are going there right now," he explains, a smile creeping across his lips.

"But that's only a few days away," I say nervously, taking a deep breath, "Are you sure the flight won't be booked out?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure," he admits, "but it's a fairly good chance. And even if it is booked, I can always just reschedule my flight so we can fly together."

He seemed so insistent on me coming. Like he would actually stay home if I didn't come with him.

I wasn't sure if this seemed like a good idea, but he was so sure about it. I mean, he already asked James if I could tag along, so that must mean something.

"As long as Jess will be okay by herself for a few days, then I'm in," I say, shrugging.

"Perfect," he says enthusiastically. "And if she needs money for groceries or anything like that, I can always—"

"Harry you don't need to do that," I say.

I take a deep breath, preparing for my next question.

"Why do you always bring everything to the money? Like why are you always wanting to pay for everything?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"I feel like I should," he says.

"But why?" I press further.

"I don't know," he admits, looking down. "I just do."

"Well, you shouldn't." I place a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner and he tilts his head up to look at me.

"Lili," he begins. I hum in response and he continues, "if you ever need help, please don't be scared to ask me. Like, I know how embarrassing that can be and whatnot, but I just don't want you to struggle. Ever."

"Harry," I say, but he stops me, placing a hand on my thigh.

"Promise me," he demands seriously, staring me down.

"I promise," I nod.

Good, he sits back up straight in his seat and turns to the bartender.

"Excuse me miss, another piña colada for the lady," he instructs and she nods, ready to make his order.

I look down to see I completely emptied my slushy without even realizing it.

Harry turns to me and smiles toothlessly, his dimples deeper than the ocean.