You Again || H.S

Part 1

He should have gotten her number.

That thought had been circling his mind for the past year since this stupid speed dating event he had gone to. She was a younger girl, Ivy, her name was. She had been the only one to grab his interest truly, and they'd both laughed off the prospect of dating because, well-- she was 22, and he was 35. That was a major age difference and neither of them were into that. Or so it seemed.

He didn't get her number.

They'd had a good conversation about how awkward this stuff was, they'd laughed all 10 minutes of the speed date before saying farewell and at the time, Harry ignored the little twinge in his chest that sprouted when she had left him to go talk to someone else. He had figured it was because he thought she was fun to talk to. Now, after many failed blind dates set up by his mother with snooty or money-hungry heiresses, he was looking for something real. Something born out of a connection. Not a fat wallet. And as much as he had tried to deny it in the past, Ivy had been the only one he had felt that with.

He searched for her on Facebook, a website he only used for looking at cat pictures and videos of food he would never make, looking for Ivy's in the area. He didn't think there were this many.

That led him back at the place where it all started, this stupid fucking speed dating event that landed him in this mess. He wasn't sure what he was thinking. Part of him was hoping he would see her by chance, or maybe someone else that would light up his heart. Naturally, Harry was disappointed to walk in before it started. Ivy wasn't there-- and yeah, he knew it was a long shot. She was a young, beautiful, sexy and intelligent woman. It wouldn't surprise him if she had been scooped up and had a child on the way already.

It filled him with a sadness he couldn't describe, not having his own family yet. He wanted children so badly, wanted a wife to come home and kiss. His house was too big to be alone. Harry had known what he wanted. A year to be selfish and take up all of his woman's time, and then babies. Whatever type of marriage ceremony she wanted, he wanted a wife to love on and kiss, to make love to and be silly with.

He looked down at his phone and sighed, scrolling through emails when he heard a familiar voice. Soft and distinct to him-- no fucking way. There was no way.

"Hi, sorry I'm late! I got caught up in traffic and I had to rush over here... did you already start? Is there room for me?" Ivy asked the organizers kindly, knowing they worked so very hard on these events and that lateness was probably not the most tolerated. She had offered up a gentle smile as they told her she'd made it just in time, ushering her over to a table that already had someone sat at it.

Ivy couldn't lie and say she didn't come here without purpose. It's been about a year since she had last been to one of these events and she still thought about what it would have been like to actually date him-- Harry. In their brief 10 minutes together, she gathered that he was ready to settle down, he had his life already together. At the time, it all seemed too quick for her, the idea of having a family at the ripe age of 22. She thought that dating a man who was so set in his ways would mean she didn't have freedom anymore, but what had really changed in a year? Her mother was still pestering her about having grandchildren, all her friends were getting married. She was still the same Ivy, she still wanted the same things. Sure he was older, 12 years to be exact, but they were both adults! They'd gotten along well! They'd had a good laugh and he wasn't unattractive either— she so blindly shrugged him off because she thought he wouldn't want someone so young. Come to think of it, he was a great fit for her and she blew it. Instead, she spent a whole year going on shitty dates, horrible horrible dates that made her want to give up on anything at all. Maybe this little speed date thing would bring her luck again. Just one guy who gave her the same vibe Harry did and she'd be okay.