Deserve [H.S.]

Chapter 16

PROMISING

During the upcoming week, every single notification on Harry's phone nearly gave him a heart attack. Every time his phone went off, he'd hold his breath before he checked it, hoping it was Noah. Every time he checked, though, it wasn't.

Harry was beginning to lose confidence that Noah would even reach out to him at all. He knew he could have potentially ruined his entire chances with her, but he was really hoping that wasn't the case. After all, she said she would think about it and contact him. He believed her.

Thankfully for Harry's sanity, he had started training again that week. His first fight back was going to be the weekend after next and he felt prepared enough because he stayed as active and fit as possible while he was recovering. By the time that fight came around, he would have been back to training for two weeks anyway, so he knew he'd be prepared.

It was on Wednesday evening when Harry's phone went off while he was in the shower. The sound startled him so much that he nearly slipped as he tried to peek out of the shower door at the counter that his phone was resting on. He couldn't see exactly what or who the notification was from, so he just huffed to himself and closed the shower door, finishing up washing himself faster than he ever had before.

When he finally climbed out the shower, he once again nearly slipped on the tile floor as he stepped towards the counter. He caught himself at the last second, though, and quickly grabbed a towel, running it through his hair hastily before wrapping it around his waist.

After he reached for his phone, he felt his heart flutter and pound in his chest when he saw a text message from Noah.

Noah: hey. do you have a moment to talk?

Harry nearly felt like throwing up because of his anxiousness, but, nonetheless, he calmed himself down to type a simple reply.

Harry: Of course.

Within a minute of him sending his reply, Noah's name flashed up on his screen as an incoming call. He nearly felt his heart fall out of his ass, but he quickly cleared his throat before pressing the green accept button.

"Hello?"

Noah's sweet voice filling his ears was more soothing than he could have ever imagined, "hey, Harry. How's it going?"

"Going okay, how about you?" Harry really wanted to skip the pleasantries and simply ask, will you actually go out on a date with me? But he figured that wasn't the best way to start the conversation.

"I'm doing okay, too, thanks," she let the silence linger for a brief moment, "so, I've been thinking. And... I will go on a date with you."

Harry nearly collapsed at that exact moment.

"But... I need you to be as transparent as you possibly can be on the date, okay? It's hard for me to fully trust you right now, especially because I have no way of knowing if you're just gonna push me away again when things get tough."

By that point, Harry had already walked to his bed and had taken a seat at the edge of it, placing his free hand on his forehead where he rubbed in stress. "Yeah, yeah, of course. I'll explain everything in more detail. It won't happen again. And thank you so much for giving me another chance. I've really, really missed you."

Noah would never admit it, but her heart fluttered at his words. "Honestly, I missed you, too. So, does this Saturday work for you?"

Three days. Three fucking days. Thankfully, Harry still wasn't back to fighting so he was free on Saturday. "Yeah, that's perfect. I'll pick you up. Earlier in the day? 3 o'clock?"