SONG OF THE CHAPTER: LITTLE BIT BY LYKKE LI
http://youtu.be/G6Qqhhlb3T0
RILEY'S POV
"So you love each other?" Gabbie asked as I continued to french braid her hair down her back.
"No" I sighed lightly.
I'd just finished explaining to her everything that happened in the past week: me thinking that Harry was using me, how Jake tried to come between us and how I stupidly believed him. How Jake had somewhat assaulted me in the hallway and how Harry was there to help me. I finished telling her that Harry and I finally talked and worked everything out and things were fine now.
I managed to fix things with him and now it was time for me to apologize to the second person I hurt this past week. But Gabbie being Gabbie, she focused on the last part of my long and very detailed story, instead of all the events that happened in between and what led up to the present moment.
"We're in love with each other."
"Same thing" she shrugged as I tied the end of her finished braid. She turned around to face me, the happiness in her eyes lighting up her entire face. I could tell she was happy for me, the same way I'm always happy for her when something goes her way. We always fed off of each other's emotions, I think that's why we got along so well and why we were so close.
"No, it's not" I tried to argue but I knew that Gabbie was set on what she thought and there was no convincing her otherwise. "And anyways, that's not what I'm getting at. I wanted to say I'm sorry. Sorry for ignoring you when you tried to help me and for shutting you out and not letting you know what was going on. You didn't deserve that and I hate that I acted like that towards you... because you were right. I was scared and I guess it got the best of me."
Gabbie watched me intently as I finished my apology, a smile smile tugging at the end of her lips.
"It's okay Riley. I'm glad things are better. You know I'm always here for you. Plus, I think a little tough love from me was what you needed."
My mind jumped back to a few years earlier to what Gabbie was referring to with her last statement.
After the disaster with Brandon, Gabbie was used to me not wanting to talk. She was always there to comfort me when all I did was cry on her shoulder. It's crazy how all this time has passed and I could still rely on her to make me feel better.
"Yeah, I'm definitely going to work on not blocking people out, especially when it comes to my emotions and how I'm feeling. But seriously, thank you."
Before I knew it Gabbie was pulling me into a hug, the both of us squeezing the other with the same amount of strength. She always did give the best hugs. They were almost as good as Harry's or my brothers. They made me feel safe and loved.
"You're welcome" she mumbled into my shoulder. "I love you Riles."
"I love you too" I whispered back. "What time does your final rehearsal start?"
She pulled back from our embrace and checked her phone.
"In an hour" she answered as she checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror once more. She had on the full wardrobe she'd be performing in tomorrow. "I better get going."
Now that the term was practically over, Gabbie was having her final dress rehearsal for their dance recital. I could tell she was really excited to finally perform the choreography she'd been working on all semester but I also knew she was looking forward to having a few weeks off from dance once it was over.
We walked out of the bathroom and I followed her into living room, plopping myself on the couch as she grabbed her bag.
"Riley?" she called timidly from the kitchen as she began walking towards me. I glanced up from the TV and faced her, a very apprehensive expression crossing her features. "Are you going to report that Jake guy? Because from what you told me, he should definitely get some kind of punishment for what he did to you."
She watched me with wide eyes. From her tone of voice, she sounded almost worried. Her eyes were filled were concern and her eyebrows hung low on her face.
I'd thought about telling the campus security or even Professor Livingston about what happened in the hallway a few nights ago but for some reason I was scared to. Jake had been very frightening that night and I could only imagine how angry he'd be if he found out I reported him.
I opened my mouth to answer but Gabbie continued before I could.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Harry was able to intervene, but what if he hadn't been there? Who knows what could have happened. And what if Jake does that to another girl and no one is there to help her?" she asked.
The thought scared me because I could still remember the surge of helplessness I felt when Jake had me pinned against the wall. Gabbie's hypothetical situation really did put it into perspective for me. I wouldn't want the chance of that happening to someone else, especially when I had the ability to report what Jake had done and stop it from happening again.
"I know" running my fingers through my hair. "I want to tell someone what happened. I'm not afraid of them not believing me. I'm just afraid that he'll find out I said something."
"I'm sure there's a way for you to report him anonymously. And if you want, I can go with you to file a report" she reasoned.
Gabbie was right. I didn't want the incident that happened to go unnoticed.
"Okay, okay yeah" I turned to face her again. "I'll file a report."
"You don't have to do it just this minute Riles, but just think about it okay? I don't want him to get away with hurting my best friend."
I smiled at her overprotective gesture, feeling so incredibly loved and supported by her simple persuasion. I'd managed to block out what happened with Jake because I was tired of the images running through my mind and haunting me when I tried to sleep. I didn't want Jake to hold that kind of power over me, not when I was trying so hard to work on myself.
"Okay, I will" I replied much more confidently.
"Good, I'll see you later. Tell Harry I said hi" she smiled as she made her way to the door. Her slightly sad tone had wavered and she returned to her usual preppy demeanor.
"Okay, I will- wait" I cut myself off. Harry was planning to come over but I hadn't remembered telling Gabbie that he was. "How'd you know he was coming over?"
I heard the front door open as Gabbie answered my question. "Oh please, if you guys are together now I only expect you two to be spending as much time with each other as possible. And since it looks like you're not going over there, I figured he's coming here."
From the sassy tone in her voice I could tell she was smirking and that she was proud of herself for knowing what would be taking place now that Harry and I had finally expressed our feelings to one another.
"Exactly" Gabbie yelled as she started closing the door. My silence only proved to her that she was right and there was no way I could prove what she had predicted wasn't spot on. "Don't forget to remind him about coming to the recital tomorrow. See ya!"
"Bye Gabs" I laughed as she closed the door.
Everything was slowly falling into place.
Things were good with Harry. I'd patched things up with Gabbie and I had taken my last final so I was officially on winter break. I felt a wave of relaxation fall over me. I picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels, landing on a show that seemed the most interesting.
I ended up watching three hour long episodes before a knock on the door shook me from my binge watching state. I got up off the couch as quickly as possible, adjusting my shirt on my way to the door. I opened it to see Harry standing there with a take out bag in one hand a drink tray in the other.
"Hi" he smiled cheesily, bearing all of his teeth in a child like grin.
"Hi, Harry" I greeted him sheepishly, knowing I probably looked just as happy to see him as he was to see me.
We hadn't seen each other the past two days after our talk so I could focus on my last final but we'd been constantly texting. Now that I was done with my finals, we could spend time with each other and not have to worry about needing to get some last minute revision in.
I moved to the side to let him in. He kissed my cheek before heading towards the kitchen to set down the items in his hands. I was instantly thankful he brought some food as I noticed my hunger had been suppressed while I was fully in tune to the show I was watching.
"I brought you some tea and a sandwich from the cafe" he explained as he pulled food out of the bag. "The barista said it was the sandwich of the day so I hope it's good."
I walked up and stood beside him, wrapping my arm around his waist. It seems like it was so long ago that he'd offered to take me home that first week after Professor Livingston's lecture and we had stopped for drinks. The memories came flooding back all at once, making the strain of my cheeks tighten from my grin.
"Thank you" I smiled up at him.
"You're welcome" he smiled back before kissing my temple. It felt like nothing had changed at all between us, and I was so thankful for that. "What have you been up to today?"
I followed his lead and took a seat on a bar stool as he placed some food in front of me.
"Nothing really. I helped Gabbie get ready for her dress rehearsal but that's all. I just watched three hours of some show I don't even know the name of" I chuckled before taking a sip of my tea. He laughed as he took a big bite of his sandwich. "What did you do today?"
"I hung out with Louis for a bit at the radio station and then went to the school to find out my grade for the last final I took" he explained. "There were a whole bunch of signs about the dance recital tomorrow that Gabbie's in. Like all over campus. It's gonna be quite big, isn't it?"
I nodded my head in agreement.
"From what Gabbie told me, they had to move the recital location from the dance hall to the main theatre because they were expecting such a large crowd." I unwrapped my sandwich before remembering what Gabbie had told me just before she left. "Oh yeah, she wanted me to remind you about that. She hopes you're still coming."
"Oh, I haven't forgotten" Harry spoke with a mouth full of food. He swallowed and nodded his head ambitiously as he turned to face me. "I wouldn't miss that for anything. Niall's going and he said that he's bringing the guy Gabbie made out with at his party. You know, the one who gave her all those hickeys? I guess whoever the guy is really likes her and wants to get in touch with her."
My eyes almost popped out of my head.
"So we'll finally get to know who it was?" I asked excitedly.
"Mhmm" Harry nodded, resorting to using his manners before talking with his mouth full again. He shot me a closed lip smile, his cheeks puffed up with food.
"Yes, finally" I grinned. It'd been awhile since the whole situation Gabbie had with Derek and I was excited knowing she had an opportunity to get to know someone else. Judging by how enthusiastic Harry was about the guy and that he was Niall's friend, I figured the mysterious man was probably a good candidate. Both Niall and Harry had a good judgment of character and if they trusted whoever this guy was, then so did I. "Does Gabbie know he's coming?"
"From what Niall said over the phone, it's a gonna be a surprise."
"Wow." Surprise was an understatement. Now, not only was I really excited to watch my best friend perform the routine she'd been working on for months but I was even more excited to see the look on her face when she saw her mysterious hook up in the audience.
We quickly finished our food and headed to the couch to sit and relax. The show I'd been watching before Harry came over wasn't on, so Harry muted the TV.
"Riley?" Harry asked from below me after a moment of silence. He had decided to lay down on the couch and his head rested in my lap.
"Yeah" I answered, looking down at him. I'd been messing around with his hair, braiding random sections and just letting it slide through my fingers.
He watched my eyes for few seconds, like he was nervous to say what he had gotten my attention for.
"We're together, right? I mean, we're exclusive, yeah?" His nervous expression quickly wavered as he began grinning up at me, his eyes crinkling up at the sides. I realized that even though we'd finally told each other how we felt, we never really said what we were.
"Is that what you want?" I questioned, even though the huge grin taking up his face already answered the question for me.
He nodded his head as I continued to run my fingers through his silky hair.
"Yeah, I just wasn't sure if we were both on the same page. I mean, after our talk and stuff. I didn't know if you were all that into labeling us or whatever."
I leaned down to kiss his lips, just enough to where I could feel the warmth of his breath transfer onto my mouth. "We're definitely on the same page."
He picked up my free hand began to play with my fingers, something I noticed he does without even thinking.
"I'm kind of glad things are back to normal" he continued to talk. "I was kind of worried it would be difficult getting back to how we used to be, like it'd be awkward after everything but, this feels just as right as it did before. It actually feels better than before" he chuckled.
"It does" I agreed.
I'd been worried about that too.
I didn't know if we were going to start over again and take things slow or just pick up where we left off. But I guess things just played out naturally, like they were supposed to. We were moving at our own pace. It felt like the whole Jake situation hadn't even happened at all, like nothing tore us apart. We hadn't even skipped a beat.
"And with school over and everything I figured I could take you out on a proper date now. I mean, I did pass all my classes" he smirked up at me. It seemed like the little bet we placed during the middle of the semester hadn't even slipped his mind after all this time.
"I think I'll need proof of that. Maybe have your teachers send me your final grades in an email or something..." I joked with him. He dropped my hand dramatically and stuck his lips out in a playful pout. "I'm kidding" I laughed at his sultry attitude.
"You better be" he quickly regained his composure, sitting up and grabbing my waist from the side and pulling me down so I could lay next to him. He adjusted his body so that I could fit comfortably as he held me to him. I rested my head against his chest, hearing the familiar beat of his heart as I closed my eyes. I hadn't gotten too much sleep lately, with all the exams and drama going on, so I quickly found myself wanting to fall asleep.
"I've missed this" I admitted. I forgot how comfortable and perfect his body felt against mine. I adjusted myself so I could snuggle into him even more when I felt a sharp pain shoot up from my side. I quickly jumped up and out of his grasp and winced, cursing to myself as I sat upright. "Damn it!"
Harry propped himself up as he studied my face with furrowed eyebrows. "What's wrong?"
"I keep forgetting about this." I looked down at my waist and lifted my shirt to show Harry what I was talking about. His eyes grew wide as an angry and worried expression fell over his face.
"Jesus Christ, Riley" Harry shouted as he sat all the way up and peered down at my hip. There was a deep purple and blue bruise expanding over my scar and hip bone all the way towards the middle of my abdomen. "That's not from Jake, is it?"
I looked down at what Harry couldn't take his eyes off of and nodded slowly. In all actuality, it was looking better today that it had the previous two days. "Uh, unfortunately, it is."
"Riley" he sighed and brought his hand up to brush over the colored skin as slowly and gently as he could. "Does it hurt? God, should we take you to the doctor or something?"
"No, no it's fine. It looks worse that it feels" I tried to reassure him. It was true, the skin of my scar was extremely sensitive, so it looked like it hurt a lot more than it really did. "I've been putting ointment on it and it's actually helping a lot. It only hurts when I lay on it and I keep forgetting it's there."
"No, that doesn't look good" Harry disregarded my words. "I didn't realize his grip on you was that tight."
I pulled my shirt down so that we would both stop looking at it. Harry finally tore his gaze away from my waist and looked up at me. I grabbed his hand and proceeded to lay us back down, this time I laid directly on top of him in between his legs like I usually did, relieving any pressure from being placed on my bruise.
"It's okay, it'll heal" I tried to change the subject as I kissed his knuckles. "I'm gonna report what happened to campus police. So let's just forget that it happened, okay?"
He huffed out in frustration, making my body move harshly with the rise and fall of his chest. I lifted my head and looked up at him and rested my chin on his chest so I could see his face.
"He's a fucking asshole. He deserves whatever karma throws his way" he spat out harshly.
"I know" I agreed. I lifted my hand and ran my fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp lightly with my nails. He flashed me a small smile, obviously liking the fact that I was caressing him and trying to get him to relax. We stared at each other for a few seconds, a couple of facial expressions dancing across his face before he spoke up.
"Can I ask you something?" His voice was low and raspy and his tone laced with curiosity.
"Of course" I encouraged him, never ceasing my fingers movement in his hair.
"I- I know you said the scar was from when you were with Brandon and that it was some sort of medical issue, but he didn't... he didn't, like.." he trailed off, as if he wanted me to finish the sentence for him.
"Hit me?" I asked. He nodded his head slowly."No. He never did anything like that."
"Did he cause what ever happened for you to have those medical issues?" he continued with his questioning.
I'd been hoping we'd be able to avoid having this conversation, especially after having such a dramatic and emotional few weeks. But I knew it was only fair for Harry to want answers. I just didn't want to give him the whole truth just yet.
"In a way, yeah. Yeah, I guess he did" I answered vaguely.
"What did he do-" Harry started to ask before my phone started ringing from the coffee table. I rolled off from my place on top of him and grabbed my phone. I was relieved to have gotten a phone call to distract me from having to answer Harry's question in detail but as soon as I saw the name on my caller I.D, I quickly got anxious again.
"Oh crap" I stared at the flashing screen.
"Who is it?" Harry sat up while I took a seat next to him. I grimaced at him apologetically and knew that even though this was better than talking about my scar and how I got it, the conversation I was about to have with my brother would be equally as dreadful.
"It's Ryan." I sat down next to Harry and pushed the answer button. My brothers face lit up on the screen. Harry quickly got the hint and distanced himself so he was out of the frame. This could possibly be the most awkward Face Time call I'd ever have.
"Hey Ry" I tried greeting my brother innocently.
"Don't hey Ry me" my brother said as our connection became clearer. He was sitting in what I recognized as our living room, a very harsh expression on his face. "Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to call you for like a week and a half."
I positioned the phone so that Ryan could only see me on his side of the screen, instead of me and Harry. I had to fight one battle at a time. "I know. I'm sorry, its just I've been really busy with a lot of stuff and-"
"You're lucky that I've been talking to Gabbie this week and she's been assuring me you're still alive" he cut me off. Gabbie and Ryan were always close, so it was no surprise that she was his second best option at trying to reach me. "I was about ready to buy a plane ticket and come see you."
I couldn't help but smile at how over protective my brother was. It was how he showed he loved me, even if he did come on a bit too strong sometimes. "I'm sorry. I was going to call you back, I promise."
"Yeah, sure" he snarled playfully. "I'm not trying to be in your business or anything, I just wanted to make sure my baby sister was alright, that's all."
"I'm perfectly fine" I blushed, taking a quick glance to my side to see Harry watching our conversation intently. He grinned back at me, the subtly of my statement registering in his brain.
"Who are you looking at? Is Gabbie there?" Ryan quickly began spurting out questions.
"No, no ones here."
"Then why are you smiling like that?"
I looked out of the side of my eye to see Harry smirking and covering his mouth so his laughs couldn't be heard. I'm glad he was catching onto the idea that I needed the right moment to introduce him to my brother. He didn't seem offended that I was hiding him. "I'm just really happy to be talking to you, Ryan. Is that such a crime? I can't smile at my own brother?"
He squinted his eyes at me through his phone as if doubting my horrible reasoning for an excuse. "Right" he dragged out the word. "Anyways... how were your final exams?"
It looked like he bought my explanation for now but with Harry literally at arms reach, I knew that I'd have to control my facial expressions if I wanted Ryan to buy my act. "They were good, yeah really good" I snuck another glance at Harry. "What about yours?"
"There! You did it again?" Ryan yelled through the receiver. "Riley, you better tell me who's there or I swear to-"
"No ones here" I chuckled uncontrollably. "I'm here, alone, watching-"
"Bull shit" Ryan yelled at me, a huge smile taking up his face as he chuckled. Even though he was cursing, I knew he was being playful. He was definitely the more vulgar twin. He couldn't control his potty mouth as much as I could. "I'm you're twin, Riley, not an idiot. We have that special twin thing going on and I can sense you're lying to me. Who's there?"
I looked over at Harry and he had his lips pressed into a thin line, his eyebrows raised as he waited for me to decide what I was going to say.
"Uh..." I smiled sheepishly.
"Is it a boy?" Ryan prodded, moving his phone closer to his face like it would enable him to see inside my apartment. He looked ridiculous, which only made me start to laugh even harder. "It better not be Riley. I will literally catch the next flight out there and beat his ass. Tell me who's with you! And the truth, don't say no one again."
"Um..." I stalled. "Judging from how you're already reacting, I don't think telling you is the best idea."
"Riley." His tone of voice demanded that I take him seriously even though this whole situation was humorous.
"Ryan" I replied in the same fashion. I heard Harry finally burst out into laughter at my obvious attempts of avoiding my brother's questions. I looked over at him and he had his face buried in his hands like he was trying to silence himself, even though it was too late judging by the look on Ryan's face.
"Who's there?" Ryan shouted out, like he was calling out who ever he was sure of was in the room with me.
I turned to face Harry and he brought his hands down from his face and shot me a worried expression. I laughed lightly and nodded my head, letting him know there was no getting around this. He scooted closer to me so that he could be seen on my brother's screen. He grinned sheepishly and waved to my brother through the phone.
"Uh, hello. I'm Harry" he introduced himself. His accent seemed particularly strong in contrast to my brother's. He spoke timidly and I could see that his face was turning a bit pale, from what I'm guessing was nerves. I couldn't blame him though, my brother was very aggressive when it came to me and guys, especially after my last relationship.
"Hello" my brother greeted him sarcastically, yet there was still a playful hint in his tone of voice. Only I don't think Harry recognized it from the way he tensed up by my side. "What are you doing in my sister's apartment, Harry?"
"Uh, well we're just hanging around and watching TV" Harry answered slowly as he watched me like he wanted assistance. "Nothing too crazy, I promise."
My brother furrowed his eyebrows at Harry and then focused his eyes on me.
"Is this your boyfriend Riley?" my brother asked pointedly.
I bit my bottom lip and sucked in a deep breath.
"Mhm" I hummed quietly. I pressed my lips together to keep myself from smiling enthusiastically. For a second I hoped he didn't hear my light confirmation. There was an awkward silence as the three of us took turns glancing at each other.
"That's it" my brother stood up from the couch. "I'm coming out there."
"Ryan, seriously. Sit down. You're being ridiculous. This is exactly why I was trying to hide him. You always act like this."
Any time after Brandon, when Ryan would see me with a guy, he'd give him the third degree. I never dated these guys, they were usually study partners or friends but Ryan never believed that.
He once threatened my co worker because he'd given me a birthday card for my twentieth birthday. Not a present, just a card, and Ryan flipped out. Harry was the first person I'd actually dated since Brandon and I knew that Ryan wouldn't take it lightly.
"Well, what do you expect? I'm your older brother. I'm supposed to protect you."
"You're older by like ten minutes, get over it" I groaned. He always pulled out the age card when it came to stuff like this. "I don't need you to come out here and do anything. I don't need you to protect me from him. Nothing's even wrong."
"Wait a second" he stopped walking out of the living room and stopped in what I could see was the kitchen. "You're name is Harry?" he directed his attention back to Harry sitting beside me.
"Uh, yeah" he answered warily.
"Isn't that the name you yelled out when I called you to wish you a Happy Birthday a few months ago? When you walked into your apartment?" Ryan asked suspiciously.
I'd totally forgotten that when Harry surprised me for my birthday by putting up all those decorations and waiting for me to get home that I was on the phone with Ryan when I walked in. The memory made me smile and I grabbed Harry's hand with my free one and sent him a small smile.
"Um, yes. Yes, it is" I answered truthfully.
"This has been going on for that long?" Ryan shouted as he threw his hands in the air, making the picture go fuzzy on our side. I laughed at him and the shocking revelation he made.
"Kind of?" I chuckled as I felt Harry's grip on my hand tighten. I felt bad for him. This wasn't exactly how I hoped to introduce him to my brother.
"Holy shit" Ryan rubbed his hand down his face.
"Ryan" I shouted. "Watch your language. Arielle could hear you" I chastised him.
Our niece could be listening into our conversation. I couldn't exactly tell who was home from the little bit of the house I saw but I figured it was a possibility that she could be there.
"She's not here. Mom took her to the park" Ryan quickly brushed me off. "So, when we talked on Thanksgiving and I brought up how I saw an article about a "Riley and a Harry", this was that Harry? And you were the one they were talking about?"
I scrunched my face up at his mentioning of another time I avoided telling him what was going on. Not to mention the article he was talking about was the one where I had hickeys all over my neck.
"Yeah, that's him" I pointed out. Glancing to my side, I saw Harry freeze.
"So, you lied to me?" Ryan asked.
"I didn't lie, exactly" I tried reasoning with him. "I just avoided the subject entirely."
I heard Harry chuckle lowly into my side as I watched my brother connect the dots.
"Oh fuck me, this is all too confusing" he groaned as he plopped himself down onto the couch in the living room again. He held the phone above his head and I watched a she shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. "This is fucking ridiculous."
"Ryan, watch your mouth" I ordered. "If you're gonna be dramatic then I don't want to talk to you."
"Well, what do you expect when I find out my baby sister is alone in her apartment with her "boyfriend" and I can't even talk to the guy and see if he passes the older brother test?" he moaned as he opened his eyes again to look at me. His test was perhaps the dumbest thing he had ever made up.
"Why are you talking like he isn't here?" I laughed. "If you want to talk to him, then talk."
I handed Harry my phone and he stared at it for a second before reluctantly taking it from my hand. I was curious to see how this would go, and if things didn't go well I could easily intercept the call.
"Okay, fine" Ryan pouted. "Are you treating my sister right?" my brother vaguely asked.
"Um y-yeah, I believe so" Harry answered shyly and I could see his cheeks blush a bit.
"Why'd you hesitate with your answer?" Ryan interrogated harshly.
"Well, I um..." Harry stuttered as he looked at me for assistance. "I'm honestly shitting my pants right now."
My brother and I both broke out into a loud fit of laughter at Harry's honest statement, our laughs echoing through the apartment in unison.
"Honesty. I like that in a man" my brother noted. "Alright, you passed the first test. Now, how many times have you-"
"Okay, that's enough" I quickly cut my him off from asking a very personal question. I knew what his dumb older brother test consisted of and I didn't want him going through with it. I quickly took the phone from Harry and stared into it. "Why did you call Ryan? What do you want?"
"Well, I called because I was wondering when you're coming home for Christmas?"
I frowned suddenly. The thought of me not going home for the holidays was really saddening. "I don't think I am. Tickets are too expensive."
"What?" he gasped. "Well, what about... Really?" The playful expression soon disappeared. "Is that the truth or is it because you're afraid to bring him home to meet the family?"
I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
"No, it's because tickets are too expensive" I repeated. "I don't have the money to come home for a week and then fly back out here to finish up school."
"Damn" he muttered to himself. We both sat in silence and I'm sure we were thinking the same thoughts. I wouldn't be able to spend the holidays with my family for the first time in my life. It was such a big deal because we were all really close, especially Ryan and I.
"Well, I could- I could buy you a ticket Riley" Harry intervened. My head shot over to him as I shook my head defiantly.
"No, no way. I'm not letting you do that."
"Why not?" he asked with more confidence.
"Because I don't want you to do that, Harry" I answered. "I don't feel comfortable doing that and I already told you if I go home I'm not gonna want to leave my family again to come back and finish my last term here."
"Well, I'd be here" he said, a smirk slowly etching on his face. His lips curled up and I wanted to lean over and kiss him right then. "That's a good incentive for you to come back."
I giggled before remembering my brother was watching this unfold. I quickly returned my attention to Ryan and cleared my throat awkwardly. "You're not buying me a ticket. End of discussion."
"You know what" Ryan spoke up after watching Harry and I have our own little conversation. "You're quickly growing on me, Harry."
I raised my eye brows and saw that Harry had a smile on his face.
"That's a good thing right?" he asked cautiously. It was hard for him to tell if my brother was being serious or sarcastic.
"Yeah, it is." He smiled genuinely at us before I heard the doorbell ring on his side of the call. He got up from the couch as an excited smile crossed his features. "Listen, uh Riley I gotta go. But we'll talk later okay? There's a lot we need to discuss. As for you Harry, I'll be in touch."
I disregarded everything he said and his lame attempt at trying to scare Harry. Instead, I questioned him on something I already knew the answer to.
"Is Sienna there?" I smirked. I watched as Ryan's face slowly reflected the smirk on my face.
"Sure is" he answered simply. "Gotta go. Love you, bye."
"Bye" I quickly ended the call. "I never thought there'd be a day I was happy my brother's girlfriend was coming over to do who knows what."
My brother and his girlfriend had been dating a while now, and us being so close resulted in Ryan telling me way too many personal details about their relationship.
"That was intense" Harry sighed and slumped back into the couch.
I set my phone down and didn't hesitate climbing into his lap, perching my self comfortably and looking into his emerald eyes.
"I know, sorry" I apologized as I wrapped my arms around his neck. "I've been dodging his calls for a week so I knew I had to answer or he'd think something was up. I wish I could have given you a warning."
"Yeah, me too" he laughed lightly as he clasped his hands around my waist. "He's just like you, only scarier and a lot more manly. He swears a lot and is really straight forward."
I laughed at his short but detailed description of my brother. It was pretty accurate seeing as we were only on the phone for a little and Harry had seemed to gather that much. "He is, but you handled it well."
I leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. It took not time for him to react.
"I meant what I said about the ticket though, Riley" he pulled away. I watched his lips formulate each word as he continued. "If you want me to get it for you or you change your mind, let me know."
"I won't change my mind. I was kind of planning on staying here over break with you" I gushed truthfully. "There's no better feeling than knowing you have three weeks off from school and you don't have to worry about waking up early or staying up late to do homework."
"I can think of a few things that feel better" Harry spoke suggestively. I playfully squinted my eyes at him as I caught onto his insinuation.
Honestly, I was thinking the exact same thing.
Harry leaned forward and kissed my neck, leaving a trail all over my skin.
"Not here" I chuckled. I knew where this was headed and it wouldn't take long for things to go too far and considering we were on the couch, I didn't want to get ahead of myself.
"Let's move to your room then?" he asked as he began to sit up, lifting me into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist to keep myself from falling.
"Gabbie will be home soon though" I groaned. We had the worst luck with people walking in on us. And I knew that things would get a bit noisy if he was thinking the same thing I was. "She might hear us."
Harry continued walking down the hallway and I felt my back come into contact with my bedroom door.
"You'll be quiet. Like the last time, in the hotel" he refreshed my memory as he placed me on the bed and shut the door. We didn't have sex, but what we did do was amazing enough.
He hovered over me, as he kissed the exposed part of my chest and made his way to my lips.
"Okay" I gave in and wrapped my hands around his neck to bring him down to me. "You deserve a bit of reward for me putting you through the conversation with Ryan. And for getting through your first college term."
"Mhm" he hummed against my lips as I felt him slowly push his tongue in my mouth. I didn't realize just how much my body craved him, but now that his hands were all over my body, I felt myself unwind even more under his touch.
This was going to be a very, very good break.
AUTHORS NOTE
hi
super long chapter. voting and comments are always welcomed.
LOVE YOU Bye
FTSIO
-M