Ellie.
Today was September 7th, and that meant three things.
One, it'd been about a week since Harry was featured on the Patteleci show and officially announced he would be pursuing a career in music. It was a complete shitshow, to say the least. A moment that was supposed to end in champagne toast ended in red-rimmed eyes and silent tears after he'd gotten yet another call from his father. This time, his words were harsher, and his tone was angrier. I couldn't explain the pain that sank in my stomach as I watched Harry hang up the call. The look of defeat on his face was something I'd never forget, and I fucking hated Walter for it.
Two, I woke up 36 weeks and three days pregnant. It was yet another accomplishment to be celebrated, but in all honesty, I was beginning to grow frustrated with the constant weight on my spine and the stretching of my uterus. While it may have been adorable in the first couple of weeks, all I wanted now was to get this six-pound baby out of me. And if the days weren't bad enough, the nights were.
I usually woke up around three am, when the contractions normally got to be too much to bear. Harry, who'd be half asleep would tiredly shuffle behind me, so my back was against his chest, and I sat in between his parted legs. He'd rest his chin on my shoulder and slowly begin to rock me back and forth with his hands under my belly until the pain eased. Some nights, he'd hum a raspy song to keep himself awake. Other nights, he simply fell back asleep with the gentle rocks as I always did.
In those moments, I couldn't help but feel an immense amount of gratefulness that I had him here. I couldn't imagine doing any of it alone, and his constant patience was enough to soothe me more than anything. He never complained, despite going through everything he was going through. In fact, I think he's secretly happy with me needing him.
This all leads me to the third thing happening today- we were officially moving out of the condo and into my apartment.
It was only until Harry was able to find another place to rent, which should be soon, he promised. I didn't necessarily mind moving back into the carpet floors and creaky ceiling fans. What I was worried about was how he'd feel. It was a drastic change from the city view and smart home, and I'd imagine it took a toll on him. All of his things would have to be moved into storage, for the time being, so he'd have nothing of his in the apartment except the clothes on his back and a few toiletries. He swore he'd be fine, but a small part of me was insecure that once he got a taste of my usual way of living, he'd realize exactly how different we were.
Now, though, Niall and Gale were helping Harry load his things from the condo. So it felt a bit late to reconsider; we were doing this.
Harry had gotten rid of his shirt about four heavy boxes ago and was now bare-chested in the heat of the late summer. Jenny and I, on the other hand, sat on the metal floor of the moving truck. A bottle of water was in my hand as I rubbed my belly over the yellow overalls I'd stolen from Harry's closet. I take a swig of the drink and took in the rather pleasant image in front of me while Jenny talks about her apprenticeship on the northside. I feel like a bad friend for not being in tune with the conversation, but it was a genuine challenge.
Harry's back muscles tightened under his tanned skin as he bent down at the knees to grab a box. He huffed out a heavy breath as he quickly moved to his feet and balanced the box on his shoulder. His brows were furrowed in concentration, and his features were sharp as they dripped in sweat. His basketball shorts were shamelessly loose in all the right areas, and the tee shirt he wore earlier was now tied around his head in the sloppiest but hottest way possible. I swear he was walking in slow motion when he made his way toward the truck.
"I'm gonna get some water from the car," Jenny says.
"Okay," I responded, my eyes trained on Harry. She nudges my shoulder with hers, making me turn my head to see her lifting her brows at me, then at Harry. I immediately know what she's insinuating.
"I'm not-"
"Yeah right. I can see the drool from a mile away." She snorts, cutting me off. I roll my eyes as she hops off of the truck and makes her way toward the car, meeting Niall halfway who seemed to want a drink as well.
"Take a picture," Harry remarked smugly as he slid the box onto the truck with a soft grunt.
"Are you done, Magic Mike?"
His brows lift into his forehead as he placed both hands on the edge of the truck, blocking the sun from my eyes and trapping me in. I instantly move my hand from my belly to press against his bare chest. My face recoils in disgust when my palm becomes wet with his sweat. It was sexier when he was seven feet away.
"Harry, back up,"
"I wanna say hi to Harry Jr," He says innocently, moving his hands to rest on my thighs. While I was insistent our daughter would be named Aaliyah, Harry was set on a son named Harry Jr. It's funny to think about considering his reaction when Gale first suggested it that day in brunch.
I angle my head to the side and look up at him. Behind his head, the sun shone proudly, creating a small rim of light around him. The stubble on his jaw and chin was accentuated because of it, making me reach up and touch the prickly hairs.
"You need to shave," I mumble teasingly.
"Fuck off," He slaps my hand away before tickling his hands on my belly. "Hey, Junior. You think you can talk your momma into actually helping?- Hey!"
He's cut off when I swat his hand away.
"I have an excuse, asshole,"
Harry laughs, and it's an angelic sound. He leans forwards and presses his soft and slightly damp lips against mine. "It's a joke, baby. You know that." he apologizes, still snickering.
"Yeah right...where's Gale, anyway?"
"He's getting the last couple of boxes. We're gonna take a lunch break and then get the couches and TVs, the bigger shit."
My stomach rumbles at the thought of food. It seemed like these days I could never get enough.
"What are you getting?"
"It's up to you and Jenny. Niall and Gale are okay with anything, and so am I."
"Chipotle?" I suggest, and he rolls his eyes.
"I knew you'd say that."
"Then why'd you ask?"
Harry pinches my cheek at my response, leaning forward for another kiss, "Alright, smartass." He murmurs against my lips. I can't help but smirk a little when he kisses me a little harder, his lower lip coming underneath mine in a wet pucker. My heart begins to inevitably beat faster, sending blood rushing southward as I kiss him back.
He knows that these last couple of days my hormones have been through the roof. I can't even count the number of times he's had to help me get off because he's too afraid to hurt me by actually having sex. I wanted to tell him that he won't hurt the baby or me, but he had none of it, only insisting on makeout sessions and sex toys to fuel my needs.
"Don't be a tease," I mumble into the kiss, my hands coming to rest on his lower hips and his still on the surface of the truck. He groans softly in response when I tug him a fraction closer and angle my head upward so he can deepen the kiss.
It felt like something out of a cheesy romantic movie, the way my body warmed over and my hairs raised on my skin. My body always reacted that way with him, and it's only gotten stronger and stronger over the span of these last seven months. I'm always wanting him. Not only his kisses but his presence. His smile, his laugh, his cheesy jokes.
I've grown to adore the six crinkles that appeared near his eyes when he smiled. Or the way one of his eyebrows overgrows quicker than the other. Or even the fact that up close, his eyes are a green forest of adventure. Light enters me when I'm near him, I can't help it. He's electric and magnetic in all the best ways.
I want to drown in him, and it scares me because I'm starting to have an idea of what it means.
---
"It's a weirdly placed tattoo, but I'm saying it couldn't have hurt that bad," Jenny shrugs at Harry before taking a bite of her burger.
"You know, for someone who has none, you sure do know a hell of a lot about tattoos," He refutes, sipping his sweet tea.
We all sit on the floor of my apartment, cooling down from the sweaty day. All of Harry's things were officially in the storage unit a few blocks away with the exception of a duffle bag of his essentials, which sat atop my bed.
The sun was low in the sky, creating a blue tint in the room since the sliding door and curtains were open to let in the fresh air. Gale sat on the floor, using the coffee table as a table as he sat crisscrossed and scrolled on his phone. Niall lay on the floor on his stomach beside Jenny's feet. He was strategically painting her toes, occasionally jumping into the conversation to remind us exactly how much he hates tattoos.
Harry was the only person in the room with a tattoo, so it pretty much made him the main target. I sat on the opposite end of the couch while he was on the floor in between my legs, allowing me to braid his growing hair while they ate. I was pretty full from the chipotle, so the veggie burger I ordered was now being finished off by Harry. I won't lie; I enjoyed being in the presence of my friends back in my apartment again. It put me in a content mood. I didn't realize how much I missed this shaggy place until now.
"That's because I do them for a living," Jenny says.
Harry rolls his eyes, "Until you're under a needle, you have no idea how it is."
"Where'd you even think to get all your tattoos anyway?" Niall wonders, not looking away from Jenny's feet as he applies a fresh coat of red. I realize I'd never asked Harry about his tattoos, no matter how much it's crossed my mind. Especially since I'd given him one.
"A lot of them were shitty drunken decisions," Harry answers. I gently push his head for him to rest his cheek on my thigh so I could begin the third braid. He obliges, the prickly hairs on his jaw line grazing my leg as he snuggles his face in the area, being sure to plant a small kiss first.
"And what about the rest of them?" Jenny adds.
"What like the meaning?"
"Mhm,"
"This should be good," Gale places his phone down and flashes his brows jokingly at Harry, who flicks him the bird.
"Right," I laugh.
"None of them have any meaning," He says. We all collectively groan at his obvious lie.
"Oh bullshit," Niall scoffs.
"Is it hard to believe that I get tattoos because I like them?"
"Yes, it is. Nobody gets that many tattoos for the fucks of it."
"I don't know," Gale squints at Harry's bare chest, his eyes raking over the tattoos. "Some of them are really fuckin' ugly,"
Harry snorts amusedly, and I can't help but do the same. I can tell we're both thinking about the same tattoo. The one I'd given him. I roll my lips into my mouth and pretend I'm focusing on his braid when Gale points to the ink I'd placed.
"That looks like chicken shit, I'm just saying."
"Yeah, you should sue that tattoo artist," Jenny agrees, her brows furrowing at the scribbling writing.
I have to hang my head low to hide the giggles that threaten to come up, and I can feel Harry's body rocking in a stifled laugh as well.
"I should, shouldn't I,"
I tug his hair harshly, something that only I would see and he would feel. He chuckles against my thigh, and it sounds the same as that night. I remembered his urgency to get ink, I remembered the way he slammed the money on the table, and I remembered the way his dick jumped underneath his dress pants.
"But it feels great; keep going, yeah?"
His voice echoed in my ears, the raspy desperation accompanying the stifled moans I knew he fought to silence. The tension between the two of us in that room was unbearable, and it was all seeming to come back to me. It was like the start of a shitty porno, honestly.
Who knew we'd come so far since then? That he'd be in my apartment letting me braid his overgrown waves. That'd he'd see my friends as his, and vice versa. We were all hanging out in here like we've known each other our entire lives because that's truthfully what it felt like.
The conversation continues, and my thoughts do as well. With the series of genuine laughs and jokes today, I couldn't help but feel glad. Not only because of who they came from but because all I could think about is the amount of love Aaliyah would be receiving. I imagined Jenny plastering shitty, sticker tattoos on her just to make my heart jump. I imagined Niall teaching her Irish slang and constantly buying her clothes with beer innuendos, and I even imagined Gale buying her first bike.
Most of all, I imagined Harry changing shitty diapers at two am. I imagined him balancing the back of a pacifier in his mouth as he burped her on his shoulder while rinsing out a baby bottle. Him holding her little fingers as he excitedly urged her to walk, teaching her first word, potty training her, tears welling his eyes as he reluctantly sent her off to her first day of daycare.
I imagined all of those things. I imagined Harry as a father for the first time in our pregnancy, and it made an unexplainable feeling spread across my chest, feeling my being with nothing but adoration for him.
He'd be such a good fucking dad.
My phone vibrates next to me, making me blink out of my daze and look up. My eyes immediately lock with Jenny's, seeing that she's on her phone and already staring at me with a soft grin on her face.
I tie a rubberband to the bottom of Harry's braid and let it fall before grabbing my phone.
Jenny from the block: u were thinking about your babydaddy weren't u
I feel a tingle rise to my cheeks at the accusation.
Me: Why?
Jenny from the block: its the only reason i can think of for you to be cheesing that hard
I wasn't cheesing hard...was I?
I shake my head and place my phone back next to me, flickering my eyes up to Jenny to narrow the at her. She raises her hands in faux defense and shrugs, doing the same. What does she mean it's the only reason she can think of? I'm having a baby along the way. I could have easily been thinking about her. In fact, I was. My reaction was purely because of her and had nothing to do with the image of Harry. It was just her.
Eventually, Gale has to leave seeing as he isn't too fond of driving in the dark. Niall and Jenny both hug us as they make their way out, saying goodbye to Aaliyah as well. Jenny's sure to give me a knowing smirk as she walks out of the door, twinkling her fingers in a wave as Niall closes it behind her.
"She's something else," Harry shakes his head, being over to grab his fast food bags and shove them into a trash bag.
"That she is," I agree.
"Have you told her? About us?"
"What? That we're dating?"
"Yeah,"
"No, but I'm pretty sure she knows. Have you told Gale?" I ask, palming my belly and plopping down on the couch. Harry places the bag in the kitchen and ties it up before making his way back toward me.
"I think he knows. He's really hard on me about you, you know,"
I laugh lightly, allowing him to shuffle behind me, similar to how we do during the nights. His braids prevent his hair from brushing against my ear, and I kind of miss it.
"I think he's just hard on you in general," I lean back into him.
"No. He's super protective over you. It's a pain in my ass, but I'm glad you have people like that."
"Gale's just that way because of how we were when we first met," I say, referring to our constant bickering that Gale was often in the middle of.
"Could be...ready, momma?" He asks, his hands under my belly. I nod, and he lifts gently and slowly, this being routine by now.
As usual, I inhale and exhale a breath, taking advantage of the ability to do so. I never realized how hard it would be to breathe with a bowling ball of a stomach until these last couple of weeks.
Harry drops my belly and repeats this about three times until his wrist begins to ache and I let him know I'm fine. It's getting late, and his yawns are getting closer and closer apart, telling me that he's ready to sleep but won't until I say I am. His rocking us back and forth doesn't seem to be helping, either. I hope he knows that my couch is nothing like his and will genuinely fuck up your back if you tried to sleep on it.
"You wanna shower?" I ask, nudging my shoulder back into his chest softly.
"Hm?" He hums tiredly.
"Shower, babe. Do you wanna shower?"
"I want to sleep,"
"We can't sleep on the couch, H,"
"Why not?"
I can tell he's practically half asleep as he mumbles in my ear, and it makes me smile.
"Because it'll kill your back...mine too."
"Five more minutes,"
I exhale a breath through my nose, deciding a couple of more minutes won't hurt. It isn't like we have anywhere to be. It was moments like these where we rocked together in silence that I knew I would miss once Aaliyah arrived. Moments where it's just Harry and me.
"Five more minutes," I repeat and rest my hand over his, letting my eyes flutter shut.
Five more minutes.
A/N ok so two updates in a row wow crazy ikr haahah so i started classes today and instead of finishing orientation assignemtns i wrote bc i love u guys that much :)))) don't forget to drink your water and eat your veggies pls pls or ill throwup and cry >: -mom
so some more trivia since some of ya'll were saying the last one was too easy- without looking back, what tattoo did ellie give harry??? o.0
ILY GUYS UNTIL NEXT TIME- mom