matchmaking for experts || h.s au

three

"Do you wanna go now?"

"I'm waiting for Chelsea," she says. And as soon as those words are out of her mouth, a text message from Chelsea appears on her screen.

Chelsea Pratt: Sorry sorry sorry I slept through my alarm

And then another.

Chelsea Pratt: Is it ok if I meet up with you at Hampstead Heath?

Maia's about to type a reply when, again, another one comes in,

Chelsea Pratt: I could definitely go over to Matchcierge if you prefer to leave together!!

Maia Ortiz: No, that's fine. I'll meet you there.

When Maia looks up from her phone, she finds Harry looking at her. "Chelsea's meeting us at the location," she tells him.

"Okay."

Harry finishes his coffee and washes the cup before they make their way out of the kitchen and out of Matchcierge's office.

"I'll drive," Harry says when Maia starts heading for her car. She halts in her tracks and glances over her shoulder to look at him. "Gavin told me that he's supposed to drive you and Chelsea."

"You don't have to do that. I can drive."

Harry doesn't warrant her statement with a response. He simply makes his way to his car and unlocks it with a button on his key. Then, he opens the passenger door and waits for Maia to come to him.

Maia swallows the sigh that's threatening to leave her throat as well as her pride and ego, and strolls over to Harry's car. She mumbles her thanks when he shuts the door for her and watches as he jogs to the driver's side.

Being inside Harry's car makes her feel as though he is wrapped around her. The smell of leather and cedar with a hint of citrus -- it's intoxicating and it's driving her crazy.

The moment Harry pulls out of the parking spot, the two of them fall into a bone-crunching awkward silence -- it's stifling.

Maia opens her mouth several times only to close it because she can't seem to figure out if it's best if they spend the rest of the car ride in silence or if she tries to make small talks. It's a short drive so she won't mind sitting in silence but the stillness in the car is begging her to say something. Anything.

Things have never been this difficult for Maia and Harry. Even when they weren't close back then, being around each other had always been easy. That's one of the reasons why Maia enjoys being around him. It felt easy. Like everything comes together when she's with him. Them against the world -- that's what she always says to him -- because it does feel like that when they're together.

Now, it feels like they're not the same people and the most frustrating part is this: if you ask Maia why she thinks things are awkward between her and Harry, she wouldn't be able to give you an answer. She doesn't even know why. All that she knows is that ever since the night she found out that he said yes to their friends' plan to set him up, things have been feeling... off. Like there's a weight on her shoulder and it seems to only get heavier when she's around him.

And she doesn't know how to fix that.

Sitting in silence isn't going to change that, she realises, so she opens her mouth to speak,

"How—"

"You—"

Then quickly, Maia says, "You go first."

Harry shoots her a smile. "You can choose the music," he tells her. She's glad he's not fighting her on this because now that she's heard what he said to her, she's glad she didn't say what she was going to say. "You know the password to my phone."