"You know," I begin as Harry and I walk up the driveway to my parent's house. "We could always just go back to the city and find something to do."
Harry stops walking and looks at me in amusement.
"Aren't I supposed to be the one to be nervous?" He grabs my hand and squeezes it gently. "You have nothing to worry about, Em. Just relax."
I wasn't nervous at all until we pulled up to the house. It's not that I don't want to bring Harry around my family, I know they'll love him, it's the bringing Harry to events that include my sister that I'm worried about. She did tell me to do what I wanted when it comes to him, but I know better than to think she'll just leave it at that. I was also still pissed at her for inviting Jane The Slutbag to the wedding. As soon as we reach the front door, I stop when my hand touches the handle and I look at him.
"Last chance to get out of here." Worry fills my eyes as I play with the door handle. The corners of his lips turn up slightly as he leans forward and kisses me.
"Let's go inside." He says as he pulls away. I take a deep breath and open the door.
My parent's house is pretty big and my mom is an interior designer, so everything inside is perfect. The dark brick exterior is the complete opposite of the interior, which is very bright and welcoming. We walk through the large foyer and go straight down the hall to get to the kitchen. As we're walking, I notice Harry slowing down a bit, looking at all the pictures of my family hung up on the walls.
"You were an adorable child." He says with a smile.
"Thanks. I don't know what the hell happened." I smirk and tug on his hand to keep walking.
Harry and I squint a bit when we walk into the kitchen. My mom is really into bright kitchens, which is why the entire back wall is covered with windows and all of the cabinets are the brightest white you can find. In her defense, though, they do go really well with the slightly darker granite.
"Mom?" I call out, looking around for any sign of my family. I hear the faint sound of laughter and I squint even more to look out the windows. When I see my family sitting outside, I grab Harry's hand and lead him to the back door. The door opens with a squeak and everyone averts their eyes to Harry and I.
"There she is." My dad says with a smile before standing up and walking over to give me a hug. His excitement dwindles a bit at the sight of the guy behind me, which causes me to laugh and roll my eyes. Without getting a chance to introduce him myself, Harry steps forward to do all the work.
"Mr. Stevens. Very nice to meet you." Harry extends his hand and my dad does the same. "I'm Harry."
"Harry." My dad says, nodding his head while he shakes his hand. "Welcome."
I watch the two of them in silence for a second, looking back and forth before chuckling and stepping to the side.
"Hey, guys." I yell as I look around to see my uncle an cousin sitting at the outside table in front of me, my mom and aunts gabbing in the gazebo on the left side of the yard, my other uncles and a few cousins playing pool volleyball and, of course, my unhappy sister sitting with Ben on the far side of the pool. I squeeze Harry's hand a little tighter and pull him next to me. "This is Harry. Harry, this is everyone."
Before he has a chance to say anything, my mom immediately runs up and gives him a hug.
"Hello, sweetheart. So nice to meet you." He looks back at me with an amused smile before she pulls away.
"Nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Stevens." He says with a smile. She pauses for a moment and admires him before looking at me.
"Well done, Em." She tries to say quietly while leaning in and nudging her elbow into my side. My cheeks flush instantly as I look at Harry, who is laughing at my mother's comment.
"Come on, Harry. I'll introduce you to everyone." Mom takes Harry's hand and I shoot him a sympathetic smile before he disappears into the backyard.
I walk over to the patio table and take a seat between my dad and my Uncle Tim. My dad is a classic dad, with his slight southern accent, greying brown hair and a hint of a beer gut. My Uncle Tim, being his brother, is pretty much the same. My younger cousin, Paul, is sitting on the other side of the table, but he's too busy with his phone to join in the conversation. As soon as I sit, my dad hands me a beer.
I groan, but open the beer and take a sip.
"Did you go out last night?" Uncle Tim asks, entertained by my groan.
I lift my eyebrows at him. "It was the night before a holiday, of course I went out last night." We laugh and he taps his beer can to mine before taking a sip.
"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend." My dad says, slightly serious but mostly joking. I nudge him as I chuckle.
"He's not my boyfriend." I assure him. Although, I wouldn't mind giving Harry that title. "He's Ben's friend."
"Well now I definitely don't want you hanging around him." Dad jokes as him and Uncle Tim laugh.
"Ha-ha." I say sarcastically while rolling my eyes before laughing along with them.
"I'm kidding, Emmy. If you like him, then he must be great." Dad says, making me smile. He's been calling me Emmy for as long as I can remember, and every time he says it, it gives me a quick reminder that I'm still his little girl. I lean in and rest my head on his shoulder before taking another sip of my beer.
After what seems like a while of talking and laughing, I look around the yard and eventually find Harry, standing by the gazebo talking with my mom and aunts. I chuckle to myself as I watch him, laughing and smiling with my family as the women practically swoon at the sight of him. I have to admit, though, I don't blame them.
"I do have to thank you." My dad says as he leans in, interrupting my thoughts and bringing me back to reality.
"For what?" I ask curiously. More laughing is heard from the gazebo, but I keep my focus on dad.
"If you hadn't brought him here, we would've never heard the end of that damn wedding." He admits. A laugh escapes my lips before I can stop it. He smiles and chuckles quietly. "I'm serious."
"Glad I could help, dad." I touch my beer to his and take a sip. He does the same.
"Am I interrupting?" A familiar voice asks as my eyes meet with Harry's. My heart stops for a second at the sight of him and the corners of my lips turn up slightly.
"Of course not, son. Take a seat." My dad nods at the chair next to Paul and Harry sits. Paul looks up for a brief second before looking back down at his phone.
"So, what brings you to the states?" Dad asks, reaching in the cooler to hand Harry a beer. Harry nods as he takes it.
"Better opportunity, really. I came here for university and really enjoyed it, so once I graduated I knew I had to come back." Harry admits calmly. I find myself trying not to stare, especially with my dad sitting right next to me.
"Hmm." Dad nods. "You plan on staying?"
Harry looks at me and winks before speaking.
"I think so. I've got a good job and live in a pretty good part of the city, so I don't have any plans on leaving any time soon."
"Hmm." Dad nods again. "And what are your intentions with my daughter?"
I find myself choking on my drink as soon as the question is asked, leaving me hunched over with a coughing fit. Uncle Tim pats my back as he laughs.
"You okay, Em?" He asks, still amused. I glare at my father while trying to get my throat to stop stinging. He tilts his head back and laughs, holding onto his stomach.
"I'm just messin' around, Emmy. Relax." He says before looking at Harry. "You seem okay to me, son."
Harry laughs. "Thank you, sir."
"What did I miss?" Ben asks, sitting down at the end of the table. Chloe joins him, and shoots me a glare as she sits down. I, however, am having too much of a good time to be bothered by her bitchiness.
"Ah, nothin'." Dad says. "Just givin' these two lovebirds a hard time. So, Emmy tells me that you and Harry know each other."
We all hang out for a while, laughing at Ben and Harry's college stories. I sit there and watch Harry, thankful that he's enjoying himself and thankful that my family is enjoying his company. This is the first family function that isn't filled with comments about my sister's life, and I have him to thank for that. He glances over at me every time there's a pause in the conversation and winks, making my cheeks flush and my heart even more attached to him. His and Ben's stories are followed by my dad and uncle's equally funny college stories and before any of us know it, the sun sets and my mom walks out of the house with a massive pile of blankets.
"Ready everyone?" She asks, her dirty blonde hair hidden under the hood of her sweatshirt. The sound of her flip-flops bounces off the house as she steps closer. Everyone around the table stands up, and Chloe walks over to me.
"What are you doing?" She asks quietly, annoyance in her tone.
"Enjoying the holiday, sis. You should do the same." I'm still pissed at her for what she did, but instead of ruining the day, I take the high road and pat her on the shoulder before walking over to Harry. He leans down and kisses me on the top of my head before whispering in my ear.
"What's going on?" He asks curiously. I smile at his cluelessness before grabbing his hand.
"Fireworks." My smile grows as I grab his hand and follow the rest of my family to the open part of the backyard. I grab two blankets from my mom and walk over to him.
"There's a lake not to far down the road which is where they light the fireworks. You can see them really well from here." I begin to lay them down, but Harry stops me.
"Wouldn't they be better to see from the lake?" He lifts his eyebrow at me and my heart begins to pick up speed.
"Yes. Yes they would." I smile and leave him for a second to walk over to my parents. "Hey, we're going to walk down to the lake to watch the fireworks."
My dad looks like he wants to say something, but my mom quickly steps in.
"Have fun, honey." She smiles, then turns her attention to my dad. They begin talking about something, but before I have a chance to listen, I walk back over to Harry.
"Let's go." I smile slightly and he nods, following me through the backyard and into the house. I can feel my sister's eyes on me as we walk, but I refuse to give her the satisfaction of turning around to look at her. As we leave the house and walk down the road, Harry grabs the blankets from my hand.
"So, was today as bad as you thought it would be?" He asks, making me smile.
"Today was perfect."
Perfect like you.
He chuckles slightly as he walks. "Good."
We turn down the gravel road that leads to the lake and when we get there, Harry lays down the blankets and I join him on the ground as we wait for the show to start.
"Seriously, though. Thank you for today." I say, resting my hands on my stomach as I look over at him. He looks at me and smiles.
"No need to thank me, love. I'm happy to be here." He reaches over to grab my hand before looking back up at the sky.
As the multicolored explosions fill the air, I rest my head between his chest and his shoulder, the same spot I found myself in the night before. The rest of my night is spent in his arms, wondering what on earth I did to get so lucky. Whatever it was, I'm glad I did it.
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So, a few things...
First: What's your favorite song on the new album? My favorites are A.M. and I Want To Write You A Song :)
Second: Please tell me someone else watched Ellen play 'Never Have I Ever' with the boys, especially the part when Harry admits to hooking up with a fan.....
......DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?! THERE'S HOPE, PEOPLE. HOOOOOPE.
Anyways, thank you so, so much for your votes and comments. You all are lovely :) xx