Townes' POV
I got to the rehearsal space early the next day, the room was still completely empty. I took a deep breath and walked over, pulling a stool to sit at the keyboard. I played "Sign of the Times" softly, taking it a key up for myself, singing lowly.
"We don't talk enough, we should open up, before it's all too much, will we ever learn, we've been here before, it just what we know."
I heard someone clear their throat, making me jump just a bit. Harry stood in the doorway, and the moment my eye sight met his he lowered his eyes.
He had a black sleeveless shirt on today, pair of black sweats, and black trainers. His hair had grown in the time since I met him, enough to create a small man bun. I looked away and back at the keyboard. I knew he was attractive since the moment he walked into Benny's, but him having kissed me the way he did had me thinking too many impure thoughts.
"Do that again." He said, his voice was strong.
I began playing the song again in its original key, "No, no, in the key you were playing it." He said and I took a deep breath starting over.
He began singing, and stopped, looking over at me, "Sing Townes. Sing it with me come on."
I nodded and as I played and began singing, he did too, staying in his normal key, "We don't talk enough, we should open up, before it's all too much, will we ever learn, we've been here before it just what we know."
He smiled rubbing his chin and looking over at me, "You got my brain working. We will have to try that with the band. You'll obviously have to play it in the right key, but singing where you just sang it now. Sarah can maybe take the middle with some 'ahhhs' or singing with us."
He smiled and I felt immense relief when he didn't look away, "Whatever you say, you're the star anyway, we just make you sound better." I teased a little and he chuckled.
I opened my mouth to say something but closed it as I could hear more people making their way down the hall. He held my gaze until Pauli walked in, turning to greet him.
—
Rehearsal went by smoothly, and working through "Sign of the Times" meant Harry was very vocal with me. It helped that we had Sarah as a buffer for a lot of it.
The song with the changes we made sounded even better with the entire band. I just knew his fans would eat up the note changes he also personally made for himself.
We began packing up for the day, and I squatted down to make sure my wires weren't all tangled under the keyboard. I saw his black trainers and I peeked up at him through my lashes. I bit my lip and stood up, pushing my hair behind my ear.
"Hey." I said softly.
"Hey, uh, you busy today? Any plans?" He said and I shook my head.
"Nope. Was probably going to curl up in bed, order room service." I smiled.
"How about a homemade meal?" He smiled small and I shrugged.
"I'm never one to turn down food, so, sure."
"Perfect, my mum's making shepherd's pie, with impossible meat, but I swear it tastes the same, especially the way she makes it." He smiled and I couldn't help but laugh a bit.
"So that's what a kiss gets me huh? The silent treatment and meeting mom?" I raised a playful eyebrow at him and he opened his mouth to speak, closing it quickly. He pinched his lower lip, struggling to find his words and I couldn't help but laugh more.
I placed my hand on his chest and shoved him back gently, "I'm just messing with you, Harry." I reached down and picked up my purse, "Would I be me if I didn't?"
He shook his head and turned away from me starting to walk ahead, "I should have listened to Benny."
I giggled, calling out, "Too late." I bit my lip and moved quickly to catch up with him.
—
We pulled up to the house after a bit of a drive and I smiled at the look of it. It reminded me of the movie the Holiday or like something out of "Once in December", a book I had read just last winter. We got out of the car and he pointed his arm out, allowing me to walk up the walkway first. We got to the door and he unlocked it with his key, letting us in.
I chuckled a bit to myself, bringing my hand to my mouth. Something about Harry Styles unlocking the front door felt so, obscure. I was well aware he was a normal human, normal person moving through life, but a task so simple on him, felt....almost unreal.
"What are you laughing about?" He asked as we walked in and I waved him off.
"Just ignore me. I'm...just yeah." I chuckled and he did too, biting his lip at me.
"Mum, I'm home and I bring a stray." He called out.
"Ahhh, my favorites." I heard a voice call back, a sweet laugh following after. A woman appeared to greet us, black brown hair, she looked so much like Harry, dimples on her face as well.
She hugged Harry tightly and he kissed her head before proceeding to kiss her cheek. They both pulled back and looked at each other with such adoration, I felt my heart melt.
Of course, a smug ass but a mommas boy. Perfect combination.
I shook my head and smiled as she turned to give me attention, "And you must be the stray." She said letting go of Harry and walking over to me, pulling me in her arms and hugging me tightly. I couldn't help but hug her back, and fully absorb the love her hug was radiating.
She pulled away and smiled, "I'm Anne Twist, you can just call me Anne."
"It's nice to meet you ma'am I'm Tow...Carolina. Carolina Townes." I smiled at her and Harry scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"She likes to be called Townes, and don't let her fool you, she lacks manners. I don't know where the sudden proper act came from." He said and I glared at him, Anne reaching over swatting him.
"Look who's lacking manners now!" She exclaimed at him and I couldn't help but laugh.
"I do prefer to be called Townes, but Carolina is fine too." I giggled again covering my mouth as Harry glared at me.
"Well I'm happy to have you here Townes. You can hang your bag and jacket there, food is just about ready." She smiled, pointing at some hooks on the wall. She turned to Harry, shaking her head at him as she patted his shoulder and walked away.
I bit my lip and turned to hang my purse, slipping my jacket off. I reached in my purse and pulled out my clip, twisting my hair up. I felt a finger on my butterfly tattoo, instantly giving me chills and I turned, stepping back a little not expecting Harry to be so close.
"Ready?" He said, a small smug smile on his face and I nodded as he began to lead the way.
—
The food was beyond amazing, and it made me miss my grandma's cooking so much. Harry was right, even with it being made with impossible meat, it tasted just like normal shepherd's pie.
"You know the only time I've had this is at an Irish bar back home? They had different UK dishes, and my grandpa and I shared it." I smiled, taking my last bite.
"You take your grandpa to a bar?" Harry said raising an eyebrow at me.
"No, my grandpa takes me to the bar." I giggled and Anne laughed with me.
"He's part of the reason I have, no manners, as you like to say. He's got a mouth on him." I shrugged and Harry laughed.
"Don't blame the poor man for your personal choices." He said turning to his mom, "I've been nothing but kind to her mum. She's just been rude, questioning my musical talents." He pretended to pout and I couldn't help but shove him softly.
He glared at me and I rolled my eyes, looking back down at my plate. I peeked up at him again and we both laughed. We spent the next hour or so talking about Harry as a kid. Anne had so many stories to tell and I could tell he hated every second of it.
His falls, his attitude, his temper tantrums. I felt like I could build an entire months worth of jokes to use on him later. Anne began clearing the table, and I got up to help, picking up the cups. Harry just sat there and I shifted my weight to one hip raising my eyebrows at him.
"What?" He said.
"Get up and help. Your mom cooked, we pick up and wash dishes." I said matter of factly.
"Says who?" He said, leaning back and crossing him arms in front of his chest.
"Says me. So get up." I said grabbing one more cup before looking back at him. He sat there with his eyebrows furrowed and I rolled my eyes, turning to go in the direction Anne had headed.
A few minutes later, Harry walked into the kitchen carrying the rest of what was on the table, his face clearly upset. I couldn't help but laugh as I turned on the sink water and looked for their scrub and soap.
"Oh sweetie, you don't have to do that." Anne said and I shook my head, grabbing a towel and handing it to Harry.
"You cooked Anne, I'll wash, Harry can dry." I smiled and she laughed.
"Hazza? Going to help? That's a sight I'd actually like to see." She leaned back on the island, and Harry rolled his eyes facing the sink. He muttered things under his breath causing me to laugh.
We worked our way through the dishes, at some point Anne leaving us to head upstairs and rest.
"I like your mom. She's really lovely." I said, smiling at him and he smiled too, nodding.
"Yeah. She's, she's truly my favorite person. I don't know how my life would be without her. What about you? What's your mum like?"
I stared at the sink, washing the same dish again and chewing on my lip, "She's a bitch." I said, and I watched as his head shot back quickly, looking over at me.
"You can't possibly mean that?" He said, and I shrugged.
"Trust me, that's the nicest way to express how I feel about her." I rinsed the dish handing it to him and turning off the water.
He dried it off and placed it to the side, leaning on the counter, searching my face, "This sounds like a conversation to have over tequila."
I laughed a bit, "We still have to drive back."
"Says who? My mums got extra rooms." He smirked playfully, and I found myself blushing slightly, "Trust me, we will be back in time for fittings tomorrow. I got an earlier call time than you lot."
I took a deep breath, "Fine, but it better be some good ass tequila."
—
We were upstairs in one of the guest rooms and the southern upbringing had me feeling like the whole town would be talking about me tomorrow. Harry had left to find me bottoms to wear so I could get out of my jeans, and came back shortly, handing me a pair of leggings.
"They're my sisters, she said you could keep them." He smiled, sitting down on the floor near me.
"Thanks. Where is she anyways?" I smiled looking around the room for a place to change.
"She's on holiday with friends." He smiled and I nodded, getting up, making my way to the small closet, stepping inside and closing the door so that I could change.
Harry's POV
I watched as she walked into the closet, closing the door behind her, the smallest bit of the door left open. I tried not to look, in that direction, but my eyes had a mind of their own.
I could see the smallest glimpses of her skin, and I bit my lip. Since our kiss, I wanted nothing more than to do it again. Nothing more than to feel what her skin felt like under my touch.
I watched as she slipped on the leggings and quickly looked away as she made her way out. For some reason I wasn't surprised when she just balled up her jeans and threw them in a corner, causing me to chuckle a bit. As she sat next to me, I served us our first round of shots.
"So do tell me about our dear Mrs. Townes." I said handing her the shot. She took it quickly, holding out the shot glass for another and I laughed, "Right I forgot, the warm up shot."
"No, that was a 'I'm talking about my mother' shot." She said making a face of disgust.
I laughed pouring her another, tapping it with mine and we both took them.
"Okay. So my parents, are southern conservatives who spend their free time at the country club, made me take etiquette classes and expected me to go to the big three—wait what's the big three?" I interrupted her.
"Harvard, Princeton or Yale." She said and I nodded.
"Ahhh, got it, uni, football, money." I said and she laughed.
"Perfect, so we are definitely on the same page." She smiled, reaching for the bottle and pouring us another, but she didn't pick it up, she kept talking, "So, her and my dad have had this life planned out for me, and I just started going against it consistently. I got grades to make sure I passed high school, but not well enough to go to university. I got fired, from every job, I mean every job. I would do small singing gigs, but, either they would come and drag me out, or their friends would make sure I was shamed for it. They never supported me. Were always....embarrassed by me. The day I finally reached my breaking point, my mom told me she wished she had a different daughter."
She reached down and took the shot, looking away from me, "I called my grandma and she said, 'Townes, better swim before you drown'. Two weeks later, her and my grandpa flew me out and I never went back." She turned to look at me and smiled a bit, but I could tell how badly she was trying to hold in her tears.
"You would think, that, Los Angeles is the dream, but, I never really saw myself living there. Ever. I wanted to go to Nashville, and get a record deal there." She chuckled a bit, looking down.
I reached over and lifted her chin, "Hey, Nashville isn't going anywhere. You, you're about to be everywhere. Just wait." I smiled at her, letting go of her face and taking my shot.
She smiled, "Thanks Harry."
We spent the next few hours just laughing, and I lost track of how many shots we had taken. She had spent the last few minutes pointing to tattoos on my arms, asking when and why I got them. She would trace over them lightly with her finger as I explained, and each time I felt her draw little paths of electricity on me.
"And what about you? Huh? Why did you get this one?" I said, reaching up and running my thumb softly over her tattoo. She titled her head toward the direction of my hand and smiled. She was drunk, it was clear as day and she had the sexiest smile on her face, and I don't think she was even trying.
"LA, first night I went out with Tash, it was to mark the start of my metamorphosis. From a funny looking caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly." She slurred and laughed, hiding her face behind her hands, then moved them away, "It's stupid, I know." She chuckled looking at me and I shook my head.
"It's not stupid, it makes sense, the beautiful butterfly." I smirked softly at her, leaning in a bit, before moving my lips completely forward and kissing her tattoo softly.
I heard her suck in air as I pulled away and I chuckled, turning to look into her eyes. I knew what her look was, it was the same one from the other night, and she moved to lean in and kiss me, my hand quickly wrapping softly around her neck to stop her.
"Mmm, manners Townes, manners." I whispered, and I watched as she narrowed her eyes at me.
"So you can do whatever you want, but I have to ask for permission?" She said softly and I nodded, tightening my grip softly on her neck.
"It's just the way I like things." I said, leaning in and running my lips softly on hers. She attempted to nip at my lip and I pulled away.
I let go of her neck, moving my hand around to the nape of her neck, my fingers moving to wrap themselves into her hair, "And what about how I like things?" She said, her sass creeping out, trying to disguise the way her chest rose and fell for me.
I bit my lip, grabbing her hair tightly in my hand, pulling her head back, my lips hovering over her neck, my breath moving against it, "Trust me Townes, you'll like things the way I like them too."
"Show me." I heard her say, and I bit my lip, reminding myself we were in my mother's house.
"Not tonight, beautiful butterfly. Not tonight." I whispered, kissing her neck softly, before letting go of her hair. I moved to fix the bed for her, walking back over and scooping her up off the floor, laying her down on it, moving the covers over her.
I kissed her forehead softly, before pulling away to head to a different room. I felt her hand wrap around my wrist, "Mmm, stay." She said, the soft whine to her voice wanting to take over my senses, but I wouldn't be able to lay there and control myself. I knew I wouldn't.
"Go to sleep Townes." I said, pulling my arm away.
"Always so bossy." She pouted, turning and slipping further under the covers, causing me to laugh softly.
"Good girl, Townes. Good night." I said softly, before leaving the room, closing the door behind me.