♡
Moving day.
I couldn't be happier to get off of the air mattress in Jordan's office, but I was grateful to him for letting me stay with him, nonetheless. We were moving my things out of a storage locker I had temporarily hired, I didn't have much, but it was enough that it would clutter Jordan's apartment. Cal had texted me to say that he would be out all day, but that Harry would be home to let me in and give me my new key.
Harry. I can't quite figure him out. From what I have seen, Cal is very loud and outgoing, he seems the opposite which makes me question how they even became close in the first place.
I knocked on the apartment door, a suitcase on either side of me. So, this was it. A moment or two passed before the door opened, revealing Harry. I took in his appearance, he had a muscle shirt and shorts on, his large biceps now in full view and hair tousled. My stomach did a little flip.
"Ah, hello. Come in, come in." He said, ushering me inside.
"Sorry, were you just heading out?" I asked, dragging the suitcases in, wheels echoing on the wood flooring of the kitchen-living area.
"Nah, just got back from a run." He said, running a hand through his hair. "Let me get that for you."
"Oh, I got it, thanks. My brother should be heading up with my boxes in a moment."
He nodded, "Jordan, right?"
"Yeah, how do you guys know each other again?" I asked, taking off my hoodie. I looked up to see him watching me. "Oh uh, he's done some work for me in the past. More mates with Josh though, not sure how they met." He rambled.
On cue, the door knocked and he tore his attention from me, answering the door and greeting Jordan in their weird "bro" fashion. Harry helped with the boxes that had been brought up on a trolley and I watched as the muscles in his arms flexed. He was very attractive, though I think he is blissfully unaware of it.
"Elle, Earth to Elle!"
I snapped my head in the other direction to see Jordan waving frantically at me. Oh no, I hadn't realised that I was staring. My cheeks grew hot and I jogged over to where he was, picking up a box, too. I hope he didn't notice.
Harry's POV
"Elle! Earth to Elle!"
I turned around from carrying the box to see Elle's long, brown hair whip around, away from me, as she turned to Jordan before mumbling a quick, "Coming", her cheeks flushed slightly pink.
When Cal had mentioned a girl moving in here, I was sceptical. You can never be too careful with who you choose to bring into your life as you never really know their true intentions - for example, did they know who we were and this was a way in? Then, I checked my ego and realised I was just being dumb.
I didn't know that Jordan had a sister, or that she was stunning. I was taken aback the other day when she viewed the flat; I'm awkward with women at the best of times, let alone when I'm caught off guard - caught off guard by someone this beautiful.
Elle didn't seem to know what Cal and I do for a living, which was perfectly fine by me. She seemed genuine, it would be hard to believe that she was a calculated person. There was a natural poise about her that didn't come across as cocky, but classy. I was intrigued by that.
Now, if I could string a sentence together, that would be great.
Elle's POV
It took just over an hour to move all of my things into my room, I bid Jordan farewell and thanked him for helping me. I loved that we were now nearby and could hang out more when his schedule allowed for it.
I was hanging clothes into my new wardrobe when there was a knock at the door, "Come in," I called.
The door opened to Cal, he smiled and leant on the doorway, "Settling in alright?"
I nodded, "Yes, thanks. I didn't quite realise how much stuff I had," Gesturing the bags and boxes scattered across the room.
He chuckled, "Well if you fancy a break from unpacking; Harry and I are going out tonight, you should come. It'll give you a chance to see the area and meet some people."
I nodded, that sounded fun. I did currently only have Jordan around here so it would be nice to make a few connections, "Sure, thanks. What time should I be ready?"
"We're going to have pre drinks at a mate's flat, so if we say like 8:30?"
Pre drinks, I liked the sound of that. The less money going out of my pocket the better. Lord knows that I'm very generous once the alcohol has entered my system.
I laid on my freshly made bed and texted Olivia, updating her on the move and she congratulated me, adding that she's looking forward to visiting once I'm all settled in.
Glancing at the time on the top of the screen, 6:30, I should probably start getting ready. Hauling myself off of the bed, I grabbed my towel and toiletries that I was yet to unpack and headed for mine and Cal's shared bathroom.
To my dismay, I heard the water running already. "That's so typical," I laughed to myself.
"You can use mine if you want,"
I turned to see Harry sat on the sofa, nodding in the direction of his room. His hair was damp, indicating that he'd just got out of the shower himself.
"Are you sure? I can wait,"
He shook his head, "Don't be daft, go ahead, I won't come in."
I thanked him quickly before heading to his bedroom. I looked around as I entered, it was surprisingly tidy and well decorated for a guy's room. I noticed the large array of hoodies in his open wardrobe and his desk set up, ah, he's a gamer.
Deciding not to pry too much, I headed into the adjoining bathroom. It was like a wet room, which was nice, but also made me a bit nervous since there wasn't actually a door sectioning off the sinks from the shower. Now I really hope that he doesn't come in.
Shutting the shower off, I wrapped my towel around my body and stepped back out into Harry's room. His phone was on the bed, which started to ring. I glanced down at the name, Ethan. Perhaps this was someone I'd be meeting tonight.
There was a knock on the door, "Uh, Elle? I-is that my phone ringing?" He asked. I jumped, clinging to the towel a bit tighter. "Yeah, um, one sec!" I called, reaching for it and accidentally pressing accept.
Shit.
I raised the phone to my ear, "One second!" I announced, opening the door and passing the phone to Harry. I felt nervous as he looked down at me, stood only in my towel. It took a second to register, but he took the phone from my hand, thanked me and headed back to the sofa.
Awkwardly reopening the door, I headed back to my room, cursing to myself for not bringing in some clothes with me. I glanced over to see Harry already looking at me, which made him look away quickly. My face felt warm as I entered my bedroom and shut the door behind me.
♡♡♡
I was ready at 8 pm, my long hair curled loosely, light face makeup, but false lashes were essential. I had texted Cal and asked what sort of vibe we were going for and he told me that the place we were going to was boujee. So, I settled on a black blazer dress and strappy heels.
Heading out of my room, Cal playfully wolf-whistled, "Very nice!" He exclaimed, making me laugh. I think he may have had a beer or two already. He was wearing his usual cargo pants and graphic tee, this time with a plaid shirt over the top. I looked over to see Harry stood next to him, also taking in my appearance, "Yeah, you look nice."
I thanked them and came to the kitchen counter where they were stood, I felt a little overdressed, but I guess they would tell me, right? Harry was in a white short-sleeved t-shirt and black bottoms, it was a very simple outfit and yet I thought he looked really good.
Cal poured three shots and passed them out, "Sambuca time!"
My nose wrinkled in disgust, sambuca is my least favourite alcohol by a long shot. Nevertheless, I picked it up and we "cheers"ed, before knocking back the shot.
"Oh nelly," Harry muttered, reaching for his beer.
We Ubered to the other flat for pre-drinks, Harry informed me that it was their friend's Simon and JJ's shared apartment. I was squished between the two guys, so I hoped the journey wasn't too long. I'd noticed that Harry grew more talkative as the alcohol hit him, which was nice. It seemed to take away whatever awkwardness he felt.
Knocking on the apartment door, I could hear the music from the other side of the door. Somehow, somebody heard us through the bass and opened the door. It was a tall brunette, also in a dress and heels, I felt instantly better. "Cal, Harry, hey! Oh, whose this? Come in, come in!" She exclaimed.
"This is Elle, she's our new roommate now that Lux is out."
The girl smiled, "You look stunning, I'm Talia. My boyfriend Simon lives here."
I returned the compliment, "It's nice to meet you."
Cal had found someone with shots and headed off, his voice being heard before he was seen. Harry just laughed and shook his head, he was drunk but not on Cal's level by any means. He put his hand on the small of my back, which made me smile a little, "Come on, I'll introduce you to people since the mad bastards ditched us."
We walked around and I was introduced to everyone, including this "Lux", person.
"So you're the one who stole my room?" He joked, nudging me slightly. I laughed, "Ah, well from what I heard it was fair game."
Harry had stayed by my side the whole time, which was nice. It was nice to have someone familiar in a room full of strangers. He made small talk with a guy called Vikk whilst I was talking to Lux, another Cal, I had learned.
"Lads, lads! It's the sambuca alarm!"
I turned to see one guy with his phone in the air, a siren alarm going off. "Ethan man, are you trying to kill us!" JJ exclaimed, exaggerated arm gestures everywhere. Ah, so this was Ethan.
"Get it down ya lad! You too, Bog; don't think you're escaping this." He said, handing a shot glass to Harry.
So many nicknames I can't keep up.
I thought I had gotten away with it but before I knew it, Ethan was walking towards me with a shot glass, "Aye! Aye! Whose this, Bog? Shot for the lady!"
Ethan wiggled his eyebrows at us and I was just now realising that Harry's arm was instinctively around my waist. "This is Elle, our new roommate."
"Roommate, yeah?" He grinned, "Go on, Boggo lad!"
I laughed and took the shot from Ethan, he was clearly also very drunk. "Piss off lad, she is." He said, going back to his slightly awkward state, arm loosening around my waist. I internally pouted, I liked being held by him.
♡♡♡
We'd been in the club for about an hour and everyone was very intoxicated. I stuck with Talia and another girl Freya, who I'd learned was actually Josh's girlfriend. It was nice to meet Josh, I thanked him for passing on the offer to Jordan and he just said it was no big deal. He seemed a lot older than Harry, so again, begs the question of how they all became friends. I made a mental note to ask when I was sober.
I looked over at the booth that the guys were sat in as I danced with Freya and Talia, with her behind me as I danced on her. Harry was watching us and I smirked, I wanted to bring him out of his shell, and I intended to. Announcing to the girls that I'd be back, I walked over to the booth and stuck my hand out to Harry, "Dance with me."
"Oh uh, no, I can't, I can't dance." He shook his head, sipping his drink. Suddenly all the guys were cheering and shoving him around, "Go on, Bog!"
I laughed and pulled him up anyway, dragging him to the dance floor. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I swayed my hips to the music. "You need to let loose!" I shouted over the music. His hands found my waist and I could see him looking over at the boys, who were watching us closely.
Turning his head back to face me, he looked down at me and I smirked, "Keep your eyes on me, just feel the music."
We stayed close, eyes on each other. Perhaps it was the alcohol in my system that was giving me the sudden confidence to dance with a guy I'd practically just met. The DJ switched up the music to something a little more sensual, I could still sense nervousness, but Harry had loosened up, Dutch courage is always a winner. I watched him as our hips moved together, he really had no idea how good looking he was. Despite being the more outgoing one, the combination of his eye contact and the good 5-6 inches in height difference made him the dominant one here, whether he realised it or not.
Suddenly, I could see Harry's eyes flickering between my lips and back up to me. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I looked up at him, was he going to kiss me? He pulled me in closer by the waist unexpectedly and I gasped quietly. My chest was now flush to his and my arms instinctively tightened around his neck. The room felt like it was getting hotter, but it was definitely just me. I could feel how fit he was under his t-shirt and just like that, I couldn't think straight. Harry leant forward, as did I, oh God, we were going to kiss. Did I want to kiss him? Was it just the alcohol?
"Man like Bog!!" Ethan screamed, making Harry instantly pull away and look over in his direction. His grip loosened, as did mine around his neck. "Um, sorry," Harry mumbled, letting go of me and heading back to the booth. I stood there, confused and embarrassed before I felt Talia grab me and pull me towards the bar.