Harry's POV
"Hawaii?!" Hails asked excitedly as we stepped off the plane to be greeting by two ladies who placed lei's around our necks.
Of course we'd had to fly into a private airstrip, and I'd tried to take every precaution to make sure that I wasn't outed for being there, but the look on her face was priceless as she realized where we'd arrived.
"You brought me to Hawaii?" She asked again, looking for confirmation.
I just smiled and nodded as I thanked the lady for my lei, before taking Hailey's hand and leading her over to our waiting car. We climbed in the back seat as the driver loaded our bags into the back seat and we eventually pulled out of the airstrip and made our way toward our location.
"How was your flight, Sir?" The driver asked as we pulled onto a main highway and Hailey stared out the window like a small child.
"Very good, thank you." I smiled. "These windows are tinted, yeah?"
I knew they were, but I need to ask for my own sanity as I noticed the amount of cars around us, reminding me of LA and the paparazzi who follow me on a regular basis.
"Of course." He said reassuringly. "I can assure you that we are doing our best to maintain your privacy."
"Thank you, I appreciate that." I sighed as Hailey reached over and took my hand, squeezing it softly as she picked up on my anxiety.
"Harry, you didn't have to do this. We can go home if you're not comfortable. I don't want you to be worried." She said sympathetically.
"I'm fine, Bear." I chuckled. "I just want you to have a good birthday, that's all. I don't want it to get ruined because of me."
"Well...this is already the best birthday I've ever had." She smiled as she leaned up and kissed my cheek, resting her head on my shoulder as we both watched the scenery out the window.
It was quite a contrast from the mountains and big trees of Lily Ridge, with the palm trees and beaches that lined the side of the highway. It definitely wasn't as green, but it had that small island feel that I appreciated. A little while later, we pulled onto a dirt road and headed up around a mountain to the other side, where we pulled up to the place I'd found for us to stay.
The driver parked as we got out, Hails looking up at it and taking it all in as a man came out to greet us.
"Mr. Styles, so happy to see you've arrived." He said politely as he shook my hand. "If you come with me I can show you around."
I nodded as I motioned for Hails to go ahead of me, the three of us heading into the house as the driver unloaded our bags.
"As you can see it's quite large, there are three bedrooms upstairs, and the master bedroom is just off the kitchen. There is a private beach, so there is no need to worry about anybody bothering you while you are here, and we have limited the number of staff during your stay as well. All of your requests have been carried out, and I hope that everything is up to your standards." He said as he showed us the patio, Hails taking it all in as she looked out at the turquoise blue water of the beach.
"I'm sure everything is wonderful. Thank you so much." I thanked him as he went over a few more details before he excused himself and left.
I went over and wrapped my arms around Hailey's waist, resting my chin on her shoulder as we both stared out at the ocean.
"This is so beautiful, Harry. I can't believe you did this." She sighed, obviously thankful to be there but a little uncomfortable that it was a gift from me.
"I'm glad you like it." I smiled as I kissed her cheek before she turned to look at me.
"Can I ask why Hawaii?" She asked curiously.
I smiled to myself as I remembered the first time it had occurred to me, a fond memory of the two of us and one of the many nights we'd spent stargazing.
"Well...you remember the night of Sam's birthday party? When we got drunk and walked home with the sparklers?"
"How could I forget." She laughed.
"Remember when we collapsed in the yard and didn't wanna get up and we just laid there staring at the stars and talking?"
"Yeah, when I told you it felt like I had to choose between having a family and settling down in Lily Ridge or going on adventures. I remember." She said as she looked up at me, her hair blowing softly in the ocean breeze.
"That night, you were talking about all of the things you wanted to do. One of them was chase waterfalls in Hawaii." I said simply as I watched a smile cross her face.
"That's why you brought me here? Because of something I said months ago?" She asked in disbelief. "I can't believe you even remember that."
"I remember everything you say." I said as I reached up and tucked the piece of hair that was blowing across her face behind her ear. "You also said you wanted to swim with sharks in South Africa, but I figured Hawaii was closer and we'd have a bit more time."
"I can't believe you did this." She said as I watched her eyes gloss over, and she quickly turned to look at the ocean again in an attempt to hide it. "I don't even know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything, Bear. Just enjoy the next two weeks, and come see waterfalls with me." I said as I grabbed her hands, lacing her fingers between mine.
"We're actually going to find waterfalls?" She said, excitement creeping into her voice as I kissed the back of her hand.
"Of course we are." I scoffed. "That's the reason we're here. I already chose some that look really fucking sick, and if there's any you had in mind that aren't already on the list we can add them."
She just looked up at me, an expression on her face that I couldn't read, before she just wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. I smiled against her lips, unable to contain myself, before she pulled away and rested her forehead against mine.
"Thank you, Harry. Not just for bringing me here, but for everything you'd done for me. I can never repay you for any of it." She sighed as she closed her eyes and I kissed my forehead.
"You've given me more than I could ever give you, Bear. I just want you to be happy."
"I am happy. I'm so happy I don't know what to do with myself." She chuckled.
"Well...why don't you get your cute little butt into a bikini and we'll go for a swim." I suggested and she smiled up at me. "Or...you could just not wear one. That would also be enjoyable."
"I mean...normally I'd probably roll my eyes at you and call you a perv, but you could literally get away with murder right now." She laughed.
I just kissed her cheek as I led her into the house, finding our bags in the master bedroom as she unzipped hers to find a bathing suit. I was just pulling my swim trunks out of my bag when I heard her scoff.
"Let me take a wild guess who you got to pack this bag." She said as I turned around to see her holding up a piece of skimpy lingerie.
"Holy shit, I really need to spend more time telling Sam how much I love her." I laughed as I tried to picture what Hails would look like wearing what she was holding up. "What else did she put in there?"
"I don't know, but I take it you didn't ask her to pack me a bag full of sex clothes so I hope there's normal clothes in here." She sighed.
"I just asked her to back you a bag for a trip to Hawaii...I didn't request sex clothes but I am definitely not complaining." I laughed as she threw a pair of lace underwear at me.
I waited patiently until she finally found a bathing suit and a pair of shorts to throw on, before we both made our way out to the beach to take a dip in the ocean. It had been a long time since I'd actually been on a beach, able to swim in the ocean without any prying eyes, no paparazzi parked on boats trying to get a shot. It was yet another way in which I was able to feel normal with Hailey, were I could protect her from the invasive nature of my life and feel like a normal human being on vacation.
"I already don't wanna go home." Hails laughed as we stood in the ocean, jumping over the waves as they came in, the smile on her face directly responsible for the one on mine.
"Well we've got two weeks, babe. You might be over it by then." I said as she turned towards me and jumped at me, wrapping her legs around me as she pulled me into her.
"I doubt that." She smiled.
I could taste the salt water on her lips as she kissed me, giggling against me as I reached up and laced my fingers through her hair.
"I wish we could just stay here forever." She sighed as she rested her forehead against mine.
"Me too, Bear." I said softly as I stood there, holding her while the waves crashed against us.
We eventually got out of the water, both of us collapsing on the sand as we let the sun beam down on us. I was so relaxed I could have fallen asleep before I heard Hails gasp beside me, followed by her smacking me in the chest a few seconds later.
"Oh my god, Harry! Look." She said, almost whispering as she pointed ahead of us and I sat up to see what she was looking at.
I squinted as the sun hit my eyes, trying to focus on what was in front of us, when I saw a giant turtle making its way out of the water and up the beach where it started to dig a hole.
"What's it doing?" I asked Hails as I sat up.
"It's laying its eggs." She said excitedly. "But turtles are very specific about where they nest...so I bet you anything there are a bunch of turtles ready to hatch on this beach!"
"Really? How do you know?"
"Well look over there, you see those mounds. Those are nests. I didn't notice them until I saw this one digging, but there's a whole bunch of them. I bet some will hatch while we're here!"
"Sick." I said, loving how excited she was and finding it pretty cool myself.
"Only a small percentage of them actually survive, so if we're here we can probably help them make it to the water!" She said excitedly.
"Look at you, my little conservationist." I laughed as I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Sounds like fun, I'm down to help some baby turtles."
I always loved the way her face lit up when she talked about something she was passionate about, and the fact that she wanted to spend part of her vacation making sure as many turtles survived as possible was just a testament to her big heart.
"Is there any way we can tell when they're gonna hatch?" I asked as I stood up, brushing the sand off myself as I pulled her up to me.
"Well after they're put in the nest its about two months before they hatch, but once they do it can take a day or two for them to climb out of the sand. We could just keep an eye on some of the older nests and once we see some surfacing we could dig the other ones out and help them get to the water." She said simply.
"Okay, so we just have to keep an eye on the nests?"
"Yeah, I don't know what kind of predators they'd have out here, but we might need to shield them from that. Do they have raccoons in Hawaii?"
"Bear, I have no idea." I laughed, amused by all of her questions.
"I'll look it up." She said, furrowing her brow in thought.
"You really love this stuff, huh?" I smiled. "I've never really seen you put all the stuff you know from school to work before. It's kinda sexy."
"Well at home everything is familiar, I know everything that's in place to preserve things. We don't have turtles at home, it's something new I guess." She shrugged.
I just smiled over at her, admiring how innocent she could be sometimes when it came to loving animals and the environment, before I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her temple.
"What's that for?" She laughed.
"Nothin." I smiled. "Let's go get changed, we've got dinner plans."
We headed back up to the house to shower, and an hour later I found myself impatiently waiting on the bed of the master bedroom for Hails to finish getting ready. It wasn't like her to take so long, and I was worried we were gonna be late. I had no idea what she could possibly be doing in there, so I finally decided to check.
"Are you alive?" I chuckled as I gently tapped on the door to the bathroom.
"Barely." I heard her sigh from the other side, sounding like she was struggling with something.
"You alright? It never takes you this long to get ready."
"I'm having a wardrobe problem..." She sighed, and I immediately felt a smile cross my face.
"You're hiding aren't you?" I laughed. "You've been ready this whole time."
"No!" She defended. "Well, not exactly. I've been ready except for something to wear. Sam only packed me one remotely nice dress and I can't be seen in public like this. I'm trying to figure out if I have something else."
"Let me see." I said as I tried the door to find it was locked, grinning to myself as I pictured her in there trying to find something to wear. "I'm sure it's fine."
"It is definitely not fine. There is no way I'm letting you see."
"Bear, come on. It's just me. I'm sure you look great, you're being ridiculous." I said softly. "We're gonna be late, just let me see."
I heard her sigh before I heard the lock shift on the door and she slowly poked her head out. She'd done her hair in loose waves, with very minimal make up as usual, and I could already tell she looked amazing as she hid her body behind the door.
"Swear you're not gonna laugh." She said seriously.
"Why would I laugh? It can't possibly be that bad." I scoffed.
"It's not bad...for some people. It's just not me."
"I promise I won't laugh, just get out here." I chuckled as I motioned for her to come out.
I stood a few feet away from the door as she sighed, slowly opening the door and entering the room. I watched her long tanned legs as they stepped out, looking silky and smooth as my eyes trailed up, and I almost thought she was naked before my eyes landed on the fabric that hugged the top of her thighs. It was a skin tight black dress that left very little to the imagination, and I'm sure that if she'd turned around it was short enough that her ass would be hanging out if she even remotely bent over. The plummeting neckline dropped all the way down her chest, stopping just above her belly button, and the curve of her breasts could be seen since she wasn't wearing a bra.
I didn't realize my mouth was hanging open until I felt my throat get a little dry, and I realized I'd been staring.
"Uh, um." I coughed, trying to clear my throat to put some moisture back in it. "It's uh...it's not that bad."
"Harry, I look like a prostitute." She scoffed. "I can't go out like this!"
I'd obviously never seen her in anything like that, and I can't say that I minded all that much. I was seriously contemplating if going to dinner was even worth it, thinking I'd much rather stay home and peel her out of that dress instead.
"I know it's short, and you don't usually wear things like that...but you look good." I said, trying to make her feel a bit better.
"Oh please. Would you take me home to meet your mother in this? No bloody way. I look like a whore."
I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my mouth at her choice of words. Hailey was the farthest thing from a whore, those two things didn't even belong in the same sentence.
"Well, no. I don't think I'd take you home to Anne if you were wearing that....but I have to say I kinda I like it." I laughed. "I've never seen you like this."
"Okay, well while I'm happy for you that you're apparently living out some fantasy in your mind right now, I still have to wear something to dinner and there's no way I'm leaving the house in this." She said as she tried to pull down the hem of it to cover some more of her legs but it was so tight it would just slide back up.
"If it makes you feel better we'll be the only ones there?" I said in an attempt to make her more comfortable.
"What does that even mean?" She scoffed as I walked toward her and placed my hand on her waist.
"It means that the only people who would see you are me, a driver and maybe a waiter." I said softly as I tucked her hair behind her ear. "But if you're that uncomfortable we can stop somewhere on the way and get you something else, I don't want you to be worried about it all night."
She sighed as she threw her head back in frustration, obviously just annoyed it was even an issue, before she let out a small wine and leaned forward to press her forehead to my chest.
"You swear nobody else will see me?"
"I'll even give you my jacket to put over yourself, and then tomorrow you can go buy yourself all the dresses you want." I promised. "Besides, it'll save you the trouble because you would definitely be putting it back on when we got home anyways."
"I hate you." She chuckled before she sighed in defeat and walked over to slide her heels on.
"You do look really hot though, I'm not just saying that. I'm having a hard time even trying to convince myself to leave the house." I laughed as she swatted me.
"This isn't funny." She scolded me. "It's like if you had to go to dinner in your boxers or something. I feel naked."
"Just how I like you." I smiled as I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'll go in my boxers if it'll make you feel better."
"I should have known that analogy wouldn't work on you, you'd be naked 24/7 if it was socially acceptable." She laughed as we made our way downstairs and out to the waiting car.
*******
Hailey's POV
I anxiously pulled on the bottom of my dress, knowing it would just slide back up but wishfully thinking it might cover even an inch more of my thighs if I tried hard enough, as we pulled up to the restaurant and the driver opened the door. Harry slid out before me before turning back and offering me his hand as I looked up at the restaurant and shot him a look.
"You said we would be the only ones here!" I whisper-yelled at him as I reluctantly took his hand and slid out of the car.
He immediately smiled as he wrapped his jacket around my shoulders, which was thankfully long enough that it came down past my dress and at least covered my backside.
"We are, relax." He chuckled into my ear as he thanked the driver and led me inside.
He held the door open for me as we stepped inside, and I looked around to see a completely empty restaurant. An older man eagerly made his way over to us, shaking Harry's hand and introducing himself before he led us through the restaurant out onto a back patio overlooking the beach. He pulled out my chair for me as I carefully made sure my dress covered my ass as I sat down, and I heard him chuckle behind me.
I shot him a look as he made his way to the other side of the table, still smirking to himself as the waiter filled our glasses before he walked away.
"I'm so glad you're so amused by this." I scoffed.
"I'm sorry." He laughed, trying to contain it but failing. "It's just fucking adorable."
"Okay, I think adorable is the last word I would use for this dress."
"I don't mean the dress." He chuckled. "I meant you."
"How am I being adorable? I feel so awkward."
"I know, that's why it's adorable." He smiled as he took a sip of his water and leaned forward. "You have no idea how many women I know who wear dresses like that every day, purposely bending over in front of guys to get their attention, flaunting their bodies to get what they want."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Look at you," He laughed. "You look like you'd rather die than have anybody look at you in that dress."
"And you somehow find that attractive?" I chuckled, not getting what he was trying to say.
"No, I find your confidence attractive. You're confident in the right ways, Bear. You might feel self-conscious in that dress, but not because you're uncomfortable with your body. You're uncomfortable because you know who you are, and you know that a dress like that is only gonna attract the kind of attention you don't want. You know you're worth more than that, and that's attractive."
I wasn't sure what to say, so I just nodded as I took a sip of my water, Harry smirking at me across the table because he knew his compliments always made me uncomfortable. I wasn't sure why, maybe I just wasn't used to that kind of attention, but at the same time I still liked it.
"You look amazing in that dress, but I'm glad I'm the only one who gets to see it." He smiled.
"Why is that?" I asked, smirking back at him like he'd been at me.
"Cause I don't like the idea of a bunch of douchebags looking at you like that." He shrugged.
"Like what?"
"Like that's all you are. Like you're one of those girls, cause you're not."
"Oh, so you're just looking out for me then eh?" I smirked. "Just being a good friend."
"The best." He smiled back.
"Good, cause for a minute there I thought you were saying you'd be jealous."
"Me? Nope." He smirked. "I mean, I'm the one who gets to take it off you later, so what's there to be jealous of?"
"Don't count your chickens, Styles." I laughed.
We spent the next two hours laughing at each other while we ate one of the best meals I'd ever had, listening to the waves crashing against the sand while we talked all about the things we hoped to do while we were there. It was a little strange to me that we had the whole place to ourselves, but I assumed it was part of Harry's plan to fly under the radar and I can't say that I minded given my wardrobe situation.
Once we finished and Harry and I had spent ten minutes arguing over who paid the bill, we got back in the car and headed back to the house. I was a little tipsy from the four pina coladas I'd had with dinner, so Harry let me hang onto him on the way in until I could kick my heels off inside.
"Thank god, my feet were killing me." I laughed as I threw them onto the couch before skipping into the kitchen to find the bottle of pina colada mix I'd seen in the kitchen earlier.
Harry stood in the doorway of the kitchen with his hands in the pockets of his dress pants, watching me as I grabbed two glasses and searched the cupboards for rum, a look on his face I couldn't quite make out.
"What?" I asked as I looked over at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No reason." He smiled, not making any attempt to shift his eyes from mine.
"Are you judging me for drinking more?" I laughed.
"Definitely not." He smiled.
"Good, then help me find the pina colada mix so we can take this down to the beach." I smiled as I held up the rum.
He chuckled as he walked over to me, pulling the cupboard open and grabbing what I was looking for. He grabbed the ice from the freezer and threw it in the blender as I added a ridiculous amount of rum along with the mix. He mixed it all up in the blender before he poured it into the two glasses I'd grabbed, and motioned toward the patio door as I skipped towards it before he stopped me.
"Do you wanna change or anything first?" He asked and I audibly scoffed.
"Why? So I don't ruin this dress?" I laughed. "I am never wearing this again, so I might as well have some fun ruining it."
"Fair enough." He laughed.
Half an hour later we were laying side by side in the sand, our drinks long gone, finding ourselves in the familiar position of staring up at the stars. We talked about any little thought that popped into one of our heads, our current topic being whether or not we thought Niall and Gemma had ever hooked up, a topic that Harry was extremely quick to try to dismiss.
"Oh come on, you've never thought it might be possible? They seem close." I scoffed.
"They're friends." Harry said sternly, desperate to push the image from his mind. "Besides, Niall knows I'd kill him. They don't look at each other that way, they're just good friends. End of."
"Well maybe they're good friends like we're good friends." I laughed, taking great pleasure in pushing his buttons before he quickly rolled over glared at me.
"Stop it, Niall is not fucking my sister." He said sternly as he shoved his elbow into my side. "You're gonna pay for even putting that image into my mind and making me say those words out loud."
Before I could even respond he'd picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, running into the ocean as I squealed with laughter.
"Stop! You're gonna ruin my favorite dress!" I laughed as he waded into the water, finally just throwing me into the water once it was up to his stomach.
I was laughing and sputtering by the time I resurfaced, my hair matted to the side of my face as I opened my eyes to see him cackling while he held his hand to his chest, throwing his head back like it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.
I immediately started swimming away from him, his face dropping as he saw I was leaving as he watched me.
"Wait...where are you going!?' He said as he started to swim after me.
I dove under the waves as they rolled over me, the water rushing above me as I swam further out into the ocean. I was about to surface when I felt a large arm wrap around my waist and pull me upwards, pulling me into him as I inhaled once I reached the air.
"And where do you think you're going?" He said against my ear, and I could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Me? Oh I was just going for a swim. You know, just a little midnight dip." I laughed as I turned around to face him.
We were both out deep enough that we were now treading water, the only light coming from the moon as we just grinned at each other. It took a me a minute to realize it had started to rain, since we were in the ocean, but I saw the drops starting to fall onto Harry's face before I looked up to the sky and felt them on my own.
It was strange to me how it could be raining on such a clear night, but I knew Hawaii often had sudden downpours for a few minutes and then it would just stop, so I just threw my head back and allowed myself to float as it pelted down on me. Before I even realized it, I was singing the song that had popped into my head.
"If you like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain..." I sang as Harry joined in.
"And the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne." We yelled into the night in unison. "If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape, you're the love that I've looked for, come with me and escape!"
The waves slowly carried us into shore as we sang the melody, immediately starting to dance as we stood up. We skipped around the beach, Harry playing air guitar while I hummed the tune between choruses before we'd both yell the chorus. Had anyone else been around to see us, both soaking wet in our evening wear, playing fake instruments and yelling song lyrics, they would have had us committed. Yet for us, it was just another typical night as we sang and danced with each other, having fun no matter what we were doing. I was laughing so hard when Harry started skipping down the beach, occasionally spinning like a ballerina with his arms over his head, that I collapsed into the sand and struggled to breathe.
A few minutes later he collapsed beside me, breathless and laughing at himself as we stared up at the moon.
"What a tune." He chuckled as he laid next to me, smiling over at me.
"That it is." I sighed.
We fell into a comfortable silence, both of us lost in our thoughts, before Harry spoke a few minutes later.
"I wish things were always like this." He sighed.
"Harry...things are always like this." I laughed. "We literally sing and dance like every day."
"And night, don't forget the fridge light makes for epic dance floor lighting." He chuckled.
"Of course."
"I just..." He sighed. "I guess I just hate the idea that in a couple weeks I won't be spending every day laughing and having fun with you."
The silence returned as we both continued to stare up at the moon, letting the reality of what he was saying sink in. It was so strange to think about, Harry had become such a huge part of my life that the thought of him not being around already made me feel lonely. I missed him before he was even gone, and before I could let the sadness of it take over, I jumped up and leaned down to pull him up with me.
"What are we doing?" He asked as I pulled him to his feet.
"I don't know, but not this." I said. "We aren't gonna sit here and be sad, so we're gonna go do something else."
"Like...?" He chuckled.
"Well, I'd say we could burn this dress but it's too wet to catch fire, so that's out." I shrugged as Harry let out a big laugh, throwing his head back and immediately making me smile. "I think I saw a hot tub on the deck, let's go."