EDITED TO FIX TYPO SORRY FOR CONFUSION
Tash opens her eyes and immediately closed them again.
It had taken her a ridiculous amount of time to get to sleep last night, her heart thumping in her chest every time she heard Harry rustle on the sofa just a few feet away.
She can't fucking believe he slept in her apartment. She squeezes her eyes a little tighter as she silently curses herself for her lack of self control whenever his lips are on her.
She had literally begged him to sleep with her last night and he had rejected her which, to be honest, she was slightly grateful for. She had developed a tendency to make regretful decisions when it came to sex and for once it was kinda nice not to feel that.
But with the clarity of a new day upon her she was embarrassed by her forward advances and wishing she at least had a goddamn door on her bedroom so she could get her shit together without waking him.
His slow steady breathing is loud enough for her to hear and she peeks her eyes open and as quietly as possible, pushes herself up to sit in her bed.
A sweatshirt she had discarded, probably days ago, lies on the floor next to her and she slinks off her mattress and tiptoes over to pull it over her head.
"Morning," a raspy voice sounds suddenly behind her, startling her and making her jump with her arms in the air and her head caught in thick material.
He breathes out a chuckle before she pulls the sweatshirt down over her chin in a hurry, her hair covering her frazzled features as she spins quickly to face him only to stub her toe on her clothes hamper and squeal in pain as her butt unceremoniously hits the floor.
"Oh god. Are you ok?" Harry rushes over to her where she is gripping her foot and grimacing. She's biting her bottom lip and rocking forward and backward as the sharp pain starts to diminish and she nods, her face starting to heat up with embarrassment.
"You may have become some sort of confident temptress over the years," he smirks as he takes her hand to help her stand, "but you're still as clumsy as ever."
A laugh breaks through her lips and she pushes his shoulder back in jest.
Only then does she realise the skin she hit was bare, her smile dropping and her eyes glancing over his body covered in nothing but seven years of ink and a pair of black Calvin Kleins.
His artwork is all in black, the most prominent apart from the twin diving swallows below his collar bones are two laurel leaves tattooed above each hip, the stems curved down and dipping dangerously close to the band of his boxers and a solemnly dark but beautiful butterfly sitting proudly on his sternum.
She wants to reach out and touch it, run her fingers delicately over the outline and feel the contrast of the sharp lines on his soft skin.
"Urgh, sorry," Harry interrupts her thoughts as he too realises he is in his underwear.
He rushes to pull on his black skinny jeans and she looks at her feet as his hands reach down to button them up over his bulge.
She swipes her lips with strawberry chapstick and tries to fill the awkward silence.
"Umm, do you want coffee? Or I have tea, do you still drink tea?" She fumbles as she makes her way to her little kitchen and rummages through the cupboard to pull out a box of English Breakfast Tea bags.
"A tea would be great, thanks," he tells her as she frowns and checks for the date on the unopened packaging before letting out a little sigh of relief and looking back to smile at him.
He's smiling at how cute and flustered she is and he pulls out a stool to sit at her kitchen table.
She fills the kettle and takes in a cleansing breath, she needs to calm the fuck down.
"What do you drink in the morning?" He asks, as she bites her lip as waits for the kettle to boil. "Clearly not tea," he grins, pointing at the new packet on the counter.
"Um, coffee mainly, but when i'm feeling like a decent human I try and make a smoothie, which really doesn't happen very often," she grins back, the casual conversation calming her down and Harry's green eyes sparkling as he puts another piece of her never ending puzzle together.
She looks down at her toes and bites the side of her lip. Memories come flooding back to him, Harry knows this look.
"Wait, what are you hiding," he chuckles, pointing a finger at her and she looks up at him with amused shock.
"To be honest, if I could start every day with chocolate milk I would be seriously happy," she giggles and he tilts his head back in laughter.
"Oh my god, what are you, five?" he cackles and she throws a tea towel at his head nearly toppling him off the stool as he tries to catch it, making them both laugh harder.
Tash makes them both a tea, and they sip it cautiously as she leans against the counter and takes in his messy hair and shirtless form sitting at her high table.
"What are you doing today?" He asks curiously as he blows on his tea to try and cool it down.
"I have a lot of work to do actually, I have a new client that I'm meeting later, making logos and stuff for his new business."
He's staring at her like she's reading a love sonnet and her face breaks into a confused smile.
"What is it?" she laughs softly.
He shakes his head quickly, realising he got sprung gushing over her. "I knew you always had your shit together but seeing you really do it... m'just proud of you s'all."
She tucks her hair behind her ear and smiles down at her feet, a little taken aback by the sincerity of his compliment.
"Oh, thanks, I wish you could tell that to my dad," she rolls her eyes and Harry's brow creases.
He remembers Tash's dad well, he was a harsh guy, never one to be overly warm or emotional. He was in banking or finance or something like that and he was always pushing her to be an accountant or broker or anything similar to him. Needless to say he never warmed to Harry, making it pretty obvious to both him and Tash that he thought Harry wasn't going to amount to much.
His stomach drops at the thought of how happy must have been when Harry completely fucked things up with her at the end of high school.
"Unhappy you're not an investment banker?" He finally asks sympathetically.
"Pretty much, apparently me 'colouring in' all day isn't a respectable career," she huffs at the same time Harry scoffs.
"He hated that I put off going to university to travel, blamed you a lot, then blamed me for not having my head screwed on right and telling me I was going backwards in life."
"I'm sorry," Harry whispers, knowing how brutal her dad can be and feeling horrible that he is responsible for setting her back in life in anyway.
Tash shakes her head, "Don't be, I don't regret going away at all, I could never replace that experience and honestly I wouldn't have done it otherwise, maybe ever."
Harry nods and wants nothing more than to walk over and hold her body into his, but he's so happy to be just talking to her that he doesn't dare move.
"How are you parents?" She asks innocently and watches as Harry shifts uncomfortably in his chair and runs a hand through his hair again.
"Mum's good, really good, still in the same house," he says hoping she doesn't pick up on his omission.
"And your dad?"
Harry sighs, he never talks about his dad anymore. To anyone. "Dad? Um...so dad left. Right after high school and I-um, we, haven't seen him since."
Tash covers her mouth as it opens in shock. The Styles family were always so incredibly close, she always felt so welcomed and loved in their house which was such a stark contradiction to her own home.
"Jesus, Harry, I'm-" she starts but he cuts her off.
"s'fine, I-I caught him cheating once, he told me Mum knew but she didn't. I think he lives in like the Caribbean or something now with his new wife, I heard a few years ago that they had a baby so... yeah."
"Holy fuck, Harry! I'm so sorry," she says, a lump forming in her throat.
"Thanks," he smiles his tight lipped smile at her and she moves instinctively towards him.
Her arms wrap around his neck and she doesn't care if she's being too forward as she is pulling him into her without hesitation. His arms circle her little body as he hugs her tightly back, his face falling into the crook of her neck and the smell of her skin and scent of her shampoo instantly relaxing him.
They stand like this for a long time, their empathy and support for each other feeling as though no time has past.
After a while Harry reluctantly pulls away, his hands staying on her hips and she watches with her hands on his bare shoulders as he lick his lips to speak.
"So, um, with the bar, I have to work most weekends and nights but, um, do you maybe wanna do something later in the week, when I have a day off?" He has never been this nervous asking a woman out before. His nerves are obvious as he bites the inside corner of his lip.
"Yeah, I'd like that," she smiles at him softly and his heart soars.
He smiles back and gently leans in and kisses her lips, just once, so delicately she thinks she might be dreaming.
"I have to go, but is Wednesday night ok?" he asks watching as her eyes look to the ceiling in thought briefly before she nods and kisses him once more.
"I already can't wait," he confesses.
A/N:
Firstly.. gif.. what an angel.. that goddamn dimple..
ok now to H&T - SOOOO much new info in this chapter!
What do we all think about how their relationship is progressing/getting back on track?
also what do you think they are gonna do on their date?
I might only be able to update once next week as I am swamped at work but PLEASE be patient with me! next chapter will be up as soon as i can write it!
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME
Love Ruby
xx