Harry's POV
I finish pulling my hair up into a bun before grabbing my black jacket and shrugging it on, satisfied with my chosen outfit.
I walk out of the bedroom and head into my small office to check my emails, sitting myself down and waiting for my laptop to turn on.
My knee bounces up and down, impatient for them to load and see if the one I'm waiting on has responded.
And it has.
I hold my breath as I skim through the pleasantries and get to what I want to know.
And there it is.
Ms. Westlake is most certainly able to continue her research work for us whilst residing overseas.
I sit back in my chair and let the welcomed news sink in for a few moments before turning my laptop off and heading out and down the stairs, only to be greeted by a very irritated little girl, stomping all the way out of her room and towards the kitchen.
Wonder what's got her so annoyed?
She's too quick for me to stop and ask her what's going on as I watch her charge on into the kitchen.
"Better?" I hear her ask.
"Much," Beth replies to her, "excited to go shopping?"
"Yes! I wonder what he'll buy me?" she asks Beth.
"Now listen," Beth's voice becomes serious and I stop in my tracks, "just because we know Harry can afford to buy you anything-"
"Doesn't mean he has to," interrupts her, "mama I know."
I feel a sudden sense of pride that she already has such morals at her age.
"Good girl," Beth replies, "just try and keep the excitement level down so you don't get too caught up in it."
"You know I don't get too excited mama," she says.
"I wasn't talking about you," Beth says, "I was referring to Harry."
Pity I can't always say the same about her cheeky mother.
I slowly walk closer to the entrance to the kitchen, careful not to be seen or heard.
I know I really shouldn't be eavesdropping but...
"You are not getting a pony!" Beth raises her voice again and it makes me jump in fright.
Silence.
"Sweetheart," she says more gently and I can hear her footsteps as she moves, "we can't take a pony home with us anyway, it wouldn't fit in a seat on the plane..."
There's a small giggle in return.
"And it would never be able to pull that tray table down in front of it I'm sure," she adds.
"But we're not going home are we?" Chloe suddenly asks.
Way to ask the important questions.
"Well, yes we are," she begins, "our visas run out after six months, so we have to I'm afraid."
No you don't, you don't have to.
"Don't you want to stay?" Chloe asks.
Please say yes.
I want you to.
I want you to stay.
"It's complicated," she sighs, "there's a lot more to it..."
It's not.
Don't make it out to be when it's not.
"Do you want to stay?" Chloe repeats her question.
I lean a little closer, waiting for her to say that she does when I accidentally knock over a picture frame sitting on the fireplace mantle.
Shit.
I quickly stand it up and make my way into the kitchen as though I haven't been standing there for the last few minutes.
Act normal Harold, act normal.
I breeze in like all's well, even though it might not be right now, but hopefully it will eventually be.
If I have any say in it.
And I have a lot to say.
"Ready to go I see?" I smile down at my youngest girl who gives me an enthusiastic nod in return.
I walk over to Beth and cuddle her close to me, inhaling her scent as I rest my lips on her neck before kissing her quickly on the mouth.
"What are you going to get up to today while we're gone?" I ask, receiving a shrug of her shoulders and a look of indifference on her face.
"Bit of housework, might go for a walk with the boys, just potter around..." she replies.
"Well try not to get up to any mischief while I'm out eh?" I smirk.
A random thought of her getting up to mischief forces a sudden rush of blood to my nether regions.
Shit.
Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies.
"You'd never know," she cheekily winks at me.
Fuck.
Think of more cute little fuzzy wuzzy animals Harold.
"You better get going, I'm sure you've got a full day planned if I know you," she smiles.
I give her a kiss on the cheek and grab my car keys before holding out my hand for Chloe to take.
"Behave," Beth says sternly.
"She will," I shout out over my shoulder.
"I was talking to both of you," she replies.
"You got told," Chloe giggles.
Bloody hell.
"She said both of us so that means you as well," I reply like a five-year-old, "bye love," I remember to call out to Beth as we head outside.
Chloe's much quicker than me and has the door open before I can get around to her side, jumping in and shutting it before giving me a curious look as I backtrack and go around to my side.
"What are you doing?" she asks as I put my seatbelt on.
"I was going to open your door for you," I reply as I start the engine and push the button for the garage door to open.
"I can do it myself you know," she replies as she looks out the window.
"I know," I grin at her, which she returns.
"Let's go Harry!" she points towards the windscreen, before stopping and giving me a side glance.
She pulls her hand back and points behind us.
"Probs should go that way," she giggles.
I grin at her and reverse out of the garage, pulling out onto the street.
As we drive off, I notice a small group of girls standing across the road across from my home and I frown a little.
I hope they stay over on that side whilst I'm gone.
"Are they waiting for you Harry?" Chloe asks as we drive past them, yelling and screaming coming from them as we do.
"Uh...yeah..." I reply, wondering how to explain these kinds of fans to her.
"That's crazy," she says before I can formulate a response, "standing out the front of your house? That's so wrong..." she trails off, looking out the window as we drive.
Okay then.
Guess I don't have to try and explain it to her like I thought.
"So where would you like to go today?" I ask her, even though I have an idea of where I'd like to take her, it's still up to her.
"Um...clothes and shoes..." she trails off.
"Anything else?" I encourage her.
"Ooh! I want the same glitter polish that Gemma has!" her eyes light up at the thought of it.
I smile and shake my head at the thought of a mini Gemma.
"We can do that," I reply with a smile.
"And can I also get my hair done like Gemma's?" she goes on, "I've always wanted to put pink in my hair..." she sighs wistfully.
"Don't you think that's a decision your mum might have to make?" I remind her.
Chloe thinks for a minute before answering.
"I don't think she'll mind, really..." she replies.
Am I hearing her right?
Surely not.
"That's what you said about the horse and look what happened," I say, a bit more of a firmer tone in my voice this time.
There is no way I'm doing anything out of the ordinary without Beth's consent.
Unless it's an emergency.
And colouring one's hair is not classed as an emergency last time I checked.
Gemma or Lou might disagree but I'm standing firm this time.
I glance over at Chloe and see her now wearing an expression of contrite and so she bloody well should.
And now I feel guilty.
"All I'm saying is, is that we need to get your mum's permission first okay?" I say gently.
"Okay," she nods in agreement, "I'll ask her when we get home," she smiles up at me.
I glance at the time, noting how far we've still got to drive.
"It's a bit of a drive so feel free to have a nap if you..." I stop talking as I notice she's putting her headphones in and has her iPod in her hand.
She's scrolling through her music and I try to inconspicuously see what she's choosing to listen to. A grin spreads across my face and I'm filled with pride when I see she's chosen our Take Me Home album.
Bless her.
She settles back in her seat and closes her eyes before her hand reaches out to me and she wriggles her fingers, indicating that I should take hold of it.
So I do.
~~~~~~
We're not far from London when Chloe takes off her headphones and turns her iPod off.
"How much further until we're there?" she asks, letting out a yawn.
"About twenty minutes," I reply.
"Cool," she says, nodding her head as she looks out the window, her head bobbing along to the beat of the music coming from the radio.
My mind wanders to the conversation I overheard between her and Beth this morning and my hands grip the steering wheel a little more tightly.
Should I ask?
Before I can even stop myself, I start asking her.
In a roundabout way of course.
"So," I say.
Great start Harold.
She gives me a sideways glance.
"Have you been enjoying living here?" I ask.
Her face lights up like it's Christmas.
"Oh I love living here!" she says, "even though it's cold, it's so awesome to see snow!" she continues, "and I love how people talk here, I personally don't have an accent but if I did, I'd speak with an English accent, it's so cool!"
"Okay, what-" I start to speak.
"And I've met you and your mum and Gemma, and Gemma is like, so, totally awesome! I love Gemma..." she sighs, "and Jamie loves your mum, though it could be her cooking, but I think he really likes her too..." she rambles on, "and Robin..." she trails off.
I look over at her and her smile is gone.
"What about Robin?" I ask her.
She lets out a sigh much too big for a girl so little.
"He gives the best hugs," she says.
"I agree with you there," I reply.
"And he tells the best stories," she goes on.
I nod in agreement.
"And he..." she starts before pausing, "he reminds me of what I think a grandad should be like..."
I frown a little at her statement.
"Just what do you think a grandad should be like?" I quietly ask.
She bites her lip, deep in thought.
Just like her mother.
"A grandad should just love their grandkids right Harry?" she asks, looking over at me.
I feel like she's just reached in and squeezed the life out of my heart and I respond by squeezing her hand in return.
"Yes they should," I say, "absolutely."
I think about Robin and how great I know he'll be when Gemma and I eventually have kids of our own, he and mum will be amazing with them.
Knowing mum, I'll probably have to book in time just to see my own kids she'll be around so much.
"So it's not bad here then?" I clarify, and she nods her head, "cause eventually you'll have to head back home again..." I trail off, a lump beginning to form in my throat at the thought of it.
I don't want them to leave.
"Mama was just saying that this morning," she sighs.
"Aren't you looking forward to going home?" I ask.
She frowns in thought again, her hand indicating a half-half gesture as she shrugs her shoulders.
"Well I miss my friends," she says, "and my bun buns," she goes on, "and Rosie..."
"Who's Rosie?" I ask curiously.
"Rosie's our pet sheep," Chloe says, "we bottle fed her for ages Harry," she tells me with a slight roll of her eyes, like I should just know this.
"Ah..." I reply, "anything else."
She shakes her head in response.
"Not really," she says, "daddy's not there anymore so there's really nothing...and you won't be there..." she trails off.
"Well no," I reply, "my home is here."
"Would you come back with us?" she asks.
Would I?
I never thought of it to be honest.
Could I see myself setting up a base from Australia?
I don't know.
"At the moment, I don't think so, but I don't honestly know," I reply, thinking it best to be honest with her, "but you could always stay you know..."
Way to go Harold.
Plant the idea in the kid's head so she can guilt her mother into staying.
This is low Harold.
Not it's not.
It's just getting additional assistance to help strengthen my case.
The heart can't help what the heart wants.
"We could?" she looks up at me, surprised at first and then hopeful.
"Absolutely," I reply.
Harold what are you doing?
I ignore the voice in my head and keep on talking.
"Do you think your mum wants to stay?" I ask.
Silence.
"I think she does," Chloe begins, "I don't know if she misses home, but I think she would stay here if she could."
Interesting.
Very interesting.
I pull the car into a street I'm familiar with and find a park outside one of my favourite shops, and also a perfect place to start our shopping trip.
Gucci.
We slip inside unnoticed by anyone outside and I urge Chloe to look around, slowly trailing behind her as I glance around at the clothes.
I give a smile to the staff at the counter and they give me one in return, knowing that if I require any assistance that I'll be sure to let them know.
Oh I must have a look at their shoes while I'm here, I wonder if-
"Harry!" Chloe's whisper is a one of hushed excitement and I wander over to where she is, "Harry it's a cat! A cat with a butterfly...oh!" she gasps and grabs hold of my arm, "just like your tattoo!"
"Would you like this one?" I ask.
"Yes please!" she says, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
I hold onto the t-shirt, continuing to follow her around the store until she adds a pair of applique jeans with various insects on them, animal print loafers and a pair of pink glitter sneakers that almost has her beside herself and in tears at how perfect they are.
I add a couple of shoes and a jumper to our purchases and we leave the store, heading inside a cosmetics shop in search of glitter polish.
As we finally exit, who knew you needed so many bottles of said polish as well as chrome polish kits that she just 'had to have?'
I mean, I'm pretty partial to plain old black myself.
I might even try her black glitter one, jazz it up a bit...
"Harry!" she squeals out loud, drawing attention from people around us.
I look to where she's pointing and see what the fuss is all about.
"There's a shop named after me!" she says, pointing to the outside of Chloe.
I'm about to correct her in that I believe the shop was around before she was when I feel myself being dragged over to it and inside.
"Oh my..." she says as she looks around, "it's so pretty..."
Again I encourage her to browse the clothes when I notice a flash out of the corner of my eye.
Of course.
I try not to frown as I ignore it and concentrate on Chloe instead.
"Oh. My. God," she whisper-shouts and I know it must be good.
She holds up a bomber jacket that is pink with applique leopards on the front, before she turns it inside out to change the colour to black, flipping it round to show the word 'Chloe' on the back.
I simply smile and hold out my hand for her to give it to me and wait patiently for her to finish looking around.
We stop for a late lunch before I suggest we should start to head back home.
"Wait...just one more?" she asks as her eyes light up with something that's obviously caught her eye.
"Where to?" I reply, knowing full well I'll indulge her.
We soon walk into Stella McCartney and straight to a window display where she points at the poncho in the window.
"Harry, it has ice creams on it...with sunglasses..." she says as though it's the most natural thing in the world.
"You didn't like the nice blue one we saw in Chloe? You know, the one with the fur-lined hood?" I ask.
"Not unless I want to look like an eskimo," she replies.
Point taken.
What do I know about fashion anyway?
I motion to one of the staff that we would like to take the stylish ice cream poncho when I realise that Chloe is nowhere near me.
However I find her over at the shoes, already in just her socks as she pulls on a pair of boots.
Not just any pair of boots.
Swan boots.
"Oh my god Harry they have them in pink too!" she says as she walks over with one silver boot on and the other in her hand as she pulls a pink one off the shelf.
She turns and holds one of each colour in her hands and waits for me to say which one I like best.
"Uh...both?" I suggest.
I am such a shopping whore.
"Yes!" she says in excitement, jumping up only to realise she still has one boot on and promptly loses her balance and falls over.
I reach down and remove the boot from her foot before helping her up, a sheepish grin on her face.
"We'll take both of these as well thanks," I motion to one of the nearby staff, who takes the boots from me and over to the counter.
We exit the shop, my hands full of bags when I firmly remind her we should get some lunch before heading home.
As we sit and eat, I'm well aware of people looking at us, some trying to take photos on the sly, others being quite blatant about it.
But if Chloe notices, she doesn't point it out, she keeps on eating and chatting and to be honest, I'm really enjoying my time with her.
She's a pretty good kid.
We finish lunch, ready to head back to the car when we wander past a jewellery store, causing me to be the one to slow down this time.
"What?" Chloe asks.
"I think I'd like to get a little something for your mum," I reply, giving the windows a cursory look before opening the door and ushering her in ahead of me.
I browse around for a bit before I'm approached by a staff member asking if I need assistance.
I already have a bit of an idea, so I ask if they have something like it.
She brings out a couple of pieces for me to look at and I ask Chloe which one she thinks is the better one.
"Oh it's like your tattoo!" she exclaims happily and even though I'm sure a great deal of my fans know I have the laurels, it's kinda weird hearing it come out of a kid's mouth.
Satisfied with our choice, the salesperson wraps it up and places it in a little gift bag for me to take.
Now we decide it's time to head home.
~~~~~
I pull the car into the garage, the sound of the engine cutting off wakes Chloe from her slumber.
"Are we home already?" she asks sleepily.
"We are princess," I pull the keys out of the ignition and open my door, stepping out and around to the boot to collect all our purchases.
I almost drop them when a pair of arms wraps themselves tightly around my waist.
"Thank you for today Harry," she says, "I know you didn't have to take me out but I'm glad you did...I really had fun today, thank you for buying me all this stuff..."
"I had fun today too princess," I hug her back and kiss the top of her head for good measure.
I hand over her shopping bags to her, which she gleefully accepts, and I grab my couple and close the boot.
I start to walk inside but stop when I notice she hasn't moved.
"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" I ask.
She looks hesitant and I can't think for the life of me why.
Instead she looks up at me with a serious look on her face.
"I love you Harry," she finally says.
Well fuck.
That was not what I was expecting her to say but I'll take it.
I walk back over to her and wrap her tightly in a hug again.
"I love you too princess," I reply, "very much."
She seems satisfied with my response and we head on inside, greeted by an amazing smell coming from the kitchen.
I give Beth a kiss and a squeeze on her bottom because honestly, her pyjama pants make her ass look very inviting.
Chloe and I put our bags away in our rooms and I put the little bag with Beth's necklace on my bedside table, ready to give to her later before heading back downstairs for dinner.
~~~~~~
"I'm just gonna have a quick shower love," I say as I start to change out of my clothes, "unless you'd care to join me..?" I give her a wink in the hopes she'll say yes.
"As much as I'd love to I was thinking that maybe we should wait until your birthday?" she replies.
What?
But that's...
"My birthday? But's that's not for another couple of days..." I say in confusion.
"Well...I spoke to your mum today and she thought we should have your family dinner with them on the night of your birthday and she's offered to have the kids the night after..." Beth smiles.
"Why would she want to have them?" I ask.
Beth looks at me like I've grown another head.
Hang on.
No kids.
Just Beth and me.
On. My. Birthday.
"Oh! Ohhhhhhhhhh," I smirk but then stop, "I still don't see why I can't throw you on the bed and have my way with you though, multiple times."
A win-win for everyone really.
"Well I thought by not having any sex...you know, waiting will make us want each other more?" she says.
Is she fucking insane?
I...
Fuck.
"I couldn't want you any more than I already do," I tell her, feeling my pants tighten at the thought of her naked.
"Well a couple of more days won't kill you," she says in a way that lets me know the conversation is over as she walks off to the drawers, "and besides, I promise I'll make it worth your wait..." she says as she turns around, her nipples sharp through her singlet, a smirk on her face.
Bloody smartass.
I'm not going down without a fight.
Two can play at this game.
I glare at her before heading into the bathroom to shower.
I let the water run over me and twice I have to stop my hand from grasping my dick, wanting to give it some form of release. But I don't, still hopeful that she'll come through for me tonight.
Or under me, on me, I don't care.
I dry myself off finally and wrap the towel around my waist, as low as I can get it.
I'll show her.
"I've been meaning to ask how the day-" I hear her say as I walk in the room.
"You were saying?" I ask, hiding a smirk as I head over to the drawers and take out a pair of boxer briefs.
I see her swallow, as she looks me up and down.
Hopefully that's not the only time she's going to swallow tonight.
"Beth?" I call her name.
"Yes?" she asks.
"You were saying?" I repeat.
"Oh...I...uh...was going to ask you how your day with Chloe went," she finally says.
"It was a really great day," I smile, wondering if I should tell her that Chloe said she loved me, but deciding to keep that to myself for the moment, "oh I almost forgot, I bought you a little something."
"You did?" she asks shyly, "you didn't have to..."
"I know, but I wanted to," I say as I move to sit on the bed and pass the bag to her.
"Harry, you really shouldn't have," she says as she opens it up and takes the small box out, "oh Harry!"
"Do you like it?" I ask.
"Well I like the real thing of course," she smiles as she holds it in her fingers, "but this is beautiful Harry...can you put it on for me?"
I take it out of her hand and she turns around, lifting her hair so I can put the necklace around her neck.
She smells so damn good.
I lean forward and kiss the back of her shoulder, then another onto her spine and then finally on the back of her neck which I now always elicits a shiver from her.
"Are you sure you want to wait until my birthday?" I whisper in her ear.
"Yes...no...I don't know..." she breathes out.
Let me help you with that.
I slowly pull the strap of her singlet down and run my tongue over her skin.
"Just a little something..?" I trail off, "I'm happy just to use my tongue and nothing else..."
"Um...I..." is all I get out of her.
I move my hands to her waist before slipping them under her singlet and slowly upwards, cupping her full breasts, running my thumbs over the already hard nipples, earning me a small moan from her.
I think I'm gonna win this time.
"Just a little play with my tongue, nothing more love," I whisper as I grab the hem of her singlet and pull it over her head before I throw it away.
She looks over her shoulder at me, her face just centimetres from mine.
"And you say I'm evil," she smiles before her tongue flicks out onto mine.
"Well let's be little devils together," I smirk before I kiss her again.
I feel my towel being pulled from my body and I smile into the kiss, knowing I won the battle but we'll both win the war tonight.
What I wasn't expecting was to be pushed down onto the bed so suddenly before she lowered herself straight onto me, slowly, painfully, teasing me.
"Beth..." I let out a strangled moan as she slowly starts to move up and down on me, her bottom lip in between her teeth.
She starts to move a little quicker and my gaze moves from hers and down to the necklace, shimmering on her skin, bouncing with each downward thrust.
My attention is then caught by her breasts and how they move when she does and before I can reach up to touch them, she cups them herself, pinching her own nipples which she knows I fucking love.
"Fuck...Beth..." I groan as she continues to ride me, "I'm not gonna last long...are you close?"
She shakes her head and let's one of her hands slide down the front of her body and down between her legs, letting her fingers rub her clit, a groan falling from her mouth when she touches herself.
She soon lets out a gasp and now I know she's close, she places both her arms on my chest, squeezing her breasts together and it's all I can do to not throw her onto her back so I can have my mouth on them, but since we're both so close...
"Oh fuck...Har-ry..." she moans, and I feel her spasm around me, urging me to come with her.
And I do.
But it's not enough so I grab her around the waist and flip her over onto her back, so I can finish off hard and fast as her legs wrap themselves around my waist.
I finally start to slow until we're both out of breath and now in the post orgasmic haze.
I stay inside her for a few minutes before reluctantly pulling out, placing lazy kisses over her face, her mouth, her neck and finally down to her breasts, lazily running my tongue over one and then the other.
"Harry..." she moans.
"Yeah?" I mumble against her skin.
"We were supposed to wait," she half laughs, half groans.
"Well we did wait," I lift my head up and look at her, "for about five minutes in total."
She rolls her eyes and lets out a deep sigh before she tries to sit up, but I place my hand on her stomach to stop her, earning a confused look from her.
"I did mention I wanted to use my tongue," I raise an eyebrow as I dip my tongue back onto her breast and start to slowly trail downwards.