I'm concentrating on dissecting a revised budget for an existing project late Friday evening when there's a soft knock at my office door, my eyes met with a smile so bright it's like I've been working in the dark.
Since Harry had come over and stayed last weekend, things between us were different. We had text all week with an occasional call from him about work which could have been sent in a one-line email and the conversation had quickly changed from business to leisure in a matter of seconds.
I can't help the mirroring smile taking over my face as he walks uninvited into my office, his jacket swung casually over his shoulder.
He looks perfect, as usual, his suit an unusual geometric pattern that resembles something from the '70s with a hint of art deco glam.
I shake my head a little at the sight of the flawless man rocking the flamboyant outfit with so much confidence that he makes it seem like he is wearing a boring t-shirt and jeans.
"What?" he laughs knowingly, a sly smile on his beautiful lips as he notes my expression.
"Your suit is outrageous," I giggle and he takes the cue to spin dramatically like a model at the end of a catwalk, making me laugh even harder.
"You love it," he jokes.
I respond with a childish, "You wish."
He drapes his jacket over the chair opposite me as he flops down into it. I glance at the clock and realise it's already past 8 pm.
"What do you wanna do tonight?" he asks casually as if it's a given we would be spending it together and he flicks through documents on my desk curiously.
I grab the files out of his hands with a fake scowl and he grins as he achieves the exact reaction he wanted.
"I don't mind," I tell him, sorting things on my desk because, for the first time in so long, I'm not sure if I will be here on the weekend.
"Have you eaten?" he asks, fidgeting with my stack of business cards, flicking through the contacts I have accumulated over the years.
"No, and stop snooping!" I snatch the pile out of his hands and he cackles as if he has just discovered the most entertaining way to annoy me.
"What's your favourite food?" He holds his hands in the air to show me he is done touching things. "If you fucking say salad, I'm leaving."
I hold up my middle finger as I grab my bag from beside my desk before answering, "Honestly... tacos."
A devious smile creeps up his face, "I know just the place."
Standing abruptly he points at my feet, "Got any flat shoes? It's a bit of a walk."
"No car?" I ask as I open the cupboard behind me with more in it than my wardrobe at home, pulling on some ballet flats.
"Nah, it's a nice night out."
"I read it was meant to storm?" I tell him, taking out my phone and trying to open the weather app before he grabs it out of my hand.
"Live a little. You're being dramatic!" he laughs, holding the phone out of reach as I try to take back what's mine.
"C'mon. Open mind, alright? We've talked about this," he mocks, holding a scolding finger up as if I'm a child before flinging an arm around my shoulder while we walk towards the door and I roll my eyes, silently just happy for the physical contact.
He's right, it is a beautiful night, the evening air warm but not stifling, and I wonder if it's the gentle breeze or Harry's arms that keeps brushing against mine that is causing the goosebumps on my skin.
What any normal person would consider flirting, seems to be ramped up a little tonight, the amount of times he teases me or nudges his shoulder into mine has increased, at one stage his hand reaching up to tousle my hair in the most careful of ways.
I'm being just as unsubtle, my hand swatting his shoulder for next to no reason, tugging on his black shirt to be annoying, even wrapping my arm around his waist it while we walked stride for stride at one point.
"Okay," he stops suddenly, his hands on my shoulders and he stands so close I can smell his intoxicating cologne.
"Remember your promise to keep an open mind. It's really fucking good, I swear," he prefaces in the empty street and his hands mindlessly pushes my hair back off my neck sending a shiver down my spine. I think he could tell me to eat leaves out of the gutter right now and I'd do it willingly.
I nod cautiously before he bends his knees to be on my eye level, his gaze serious as he presents his pinky finger in the air for me to swear on.
Laughing, I hook it around my own and hold his stare, desperately wish I could feel the warmth of his fingers intertwined with mine.
Spinning me around, Harry leads me to a back street, faint light projects out of a tiny van that has a couple of people lined up in front of it, a sombrero painted messily on the side of the white panels.
"You're shitting me," is all I can say but slowly forget my concerns as he grabs my hand in his and pulls me towards the taco truck.
"Promise is a promise, baby," he mocks and my heart surges forward without warning.
I cross my arms as his hand leaves mine, feeling empty but his body standing close behind me in the line is keeping my nerves on edge.
"Gotta try the pork, it's the best thing you'll ever eat," he whispers in my ear, his hand on my arm and I'm sure that he can see the effect he has on me.
"I'm not sure I want to die of food poisoning tonight," I lean into him to whisper, the warmth of his chest radiating against my back and he's so close I can feel the puff of breath on my neck as he exhales a laugh.
-
"Who would have thought, Alexa Patterson - Development Manager, would be sitting on the side of the road eating food from a truck," Harry jokes as I devour my second pork taco long after he's polished off at least three, maybe four.
"That was seriously good," I mumble as I wipe my hands with a napkin before pulling out a small bottle of hand sanitiser from my bag and rubbing a drop into my hands.
"I told y-, oh, for fuck's sake!" Harry exclaims with an amused eye roll, grabbing the plastic from me and throwing it carelessly behind him.
"Harry!" I yell as he takes off laughing down the street like a child, turning on his heel and jogging backwards as he urges me to chase him.
Something I'm getting quite used to.
Just as I get to him, his face smug with his shitty humour, a drop of water lands with a splat on the tip of my nose.
I stop in my tracks, a breath sucking past my lungs as another one, then two drops, fall on my head.
Harry and I both look up to the heavens, our hands out as if it will tell us something we don't already know and it seems like only a split second before the skies open and rain is falling in heavy droplets around us.
"I told you!" I scream in accusation, uselessly holding my bag over my head as it turns from a slow patter to intense downpour in only moments.
The torrential rain is cold on my skin as it pelts down and I give up trying to shelter myself in the middle of the street, my arms dropping by my side in an exaggerated huff.
"Oh my god," Harry claps his hands together with a loud cackle that echos above the relentless drumming of the water coming down in buckets. I try to resist the laugh bubbling up at our misfortune but there's nothing else to do.
Harry looks like he is enjoying the moment far too much as he tilts his head back, his tongue pushing theatrically out past his lips, catching the rain in his mouth.
My hair is sticking to my forehead and neck, my clothes soaked through as I watch him, a rainbow in the middle of the storm.
His hair is drenched as he runs his hands through it to push it back, his dimple caving in his cheek and his eyes sparkling with innocent joy before sticking his tongue back out.
I don't even realise how close we are until I playfully push him from his tongue protruding position and he retaliates by grabbing me around the waist, swinging me around as a squeal burst from my lungs and mixes with our laughter that is drowned out by the rain.
Our breath is short when he finally drops my feet to the ground, adrenaline and giggling stealing bits from our lungs but it is lost completely when his face falls serious and his hands reach out to hold either side of my face.
My smile diminishes, every cell in my body standing to attention as I can see our warm breaths hit the now cold air and mix together between us.
His eyes are searching mine, our feet planted firmly in the middle of the dark street but my mind is swimming somewhere above us, begging for him to kiss me but just as terrified that he actually might.
My ears are ringing and I can't hear a sound, time stopping as his thumbs brush my cheekbones, my other senses on overdrive as he leans forward and rests our foreheads together.
His eyes are closed, conflict crossing his features and it's as if he is fighting with an internal demon that won't be silenced.
He reaches down and runs a thumb down my bottom lip, his own parting with a heavy pant as he drags down the plump skin and I can feel my pulse thumping in my veins.
The rain is relentless but I no longer notice the cold as he swipes the tip of his nose once then twice across mine. His breath is warm on my lips, our hair dripping onto our skin as I watch him harshly swallow with his brows furrowed and explainable pain etched into his handsome face.
I close my own eyes and wait with bated breath, my heart slamming into my ribs when I feel his hands leave my face and squeeze the tops of my arms, mumbling something under his breath to himself, before pulling away, leaving me standing there, dumbfounded.
"We should get going," he says so quietly I can only just make it out above the noise of the rain as he steps back and runs a hand through his wet hair.
What the fuck?
A/N:
*Runs from readers throwing things at me*
WHAT IS HE DOING!
WHY HARRY WHY!? Do you have a theory i wanna hear it!
Vote my loves!
Love Ruby
x