Harry Styles
I could tell she surprised everyone.
She turned up in her red Lamborghini as the last of us and that made April and Ethan scoff so loudly that even if I would have tried to ignore them, it would not have been possible. I gave them both a stern look and cleared my throat as I made my way over to her. Her strong perfume instantly crawled up my nose, my curious eyes travelled up and down on her outfit which was much like the rest of ours.
I so badly wanted to lean in and kiss her to welcome her but I could tell she was on edge and therefore decided against it. She gave me the fakest smile I had ever seen on her pretty face and then I somewhat introduced her to my friends. They all nodded then walked off. Well... April and Ethan fucked off and mumbled to themselves whilst Niall, Levi and Toby gave her the benefit of the doubt, it seemed like.
Niall kind of knew her so he engaged in a conversation with her about the weather as we made our way inside.
Now, as we were on the golf course, I just watched her play. She was in her own little zone, completely focused on the game. We were all kind of scattered all over the course, April way ahead of us, closely followed by Toby, then Ethan. Niall, Levi and I kind of stuck together although Kensington never left my sight. I could tell she did not want to be around anyone for now which I – we all – had to understand, though I knew for a fact my friends just did not know how to approach her.
"So, she's into golf then?" Levi questioned me as I watched Niall get into position whereas I had a feeling, he watched her. Slowly, my eyes travelled over to Kensington, she placed the club back in her bag and grabbed it with her hands to pull it behind her.
"Yes," I nodded. "Said her parents love playing and so she knows a trick or two."
"She takes it rather seriously, doesn't she? Her focus has been on nothing but the ball."
"Yeah... she's... she either puts her all into something or not at all, you know?" I looked at my best mate who hummed and already had his eyes on me. He smiled and I raised my eyebrow at him. "What?"
"Nothing, mate," he laughed. "Alright. Well. Since everyone is elsewhere, guess I'm going to go make some friends."
He was about to walk off when I grabbed his upper arm, his bicep under the palm of my hand felt firm.
"Don't be an arse," I told him and he scoffed. "She's... don't tell her I said this, but she's shitting this. I can tell."
"I reckon we've all gathered that much," he shrugged. "Don't you worry, Styles, I won't scare your wifey off," he placed his hands on my cheeks and pulled my head closer to his, a pair of lips touched my forehead as he pressed a kiss there before he said. "See you later, my love."
"Fuck you," I hit his arse with my golf club and he placed his middle finger in the air for me.
After that, it was my turn to hit but before that happened, I watched Levi walk up to Kensington. My friend was a little taller than I am therefore he kind of towered over Kensington. She seemed surprised when she realised, she was no longer on her own, a smile creeped on her lips and she looked away when Levi said something to her.
"I didn't expect her to turn up in golf gear," Niall told me as a matter of fact. She was definitely kitted out, from her head to her toes. It was actually kind of hot.
"No one did, pal," I chuckled. A sigh escaped my lips as I looked ahead of me where April and Ethan found themselves in a conversation. "Got a feeling those two dislike her still."
"Maybe. I think they are just confused," he said. "Like, she turned up in a super car and then shyly waved at everyone? She didn't even initiate a conversation with anyone other than you. And, well, me, sort of."
"I know. It's so not like her to be so intimidated. I think she's just scared of what I'll think of her if she doesn't end up liking you lot or the other way around."
"Yeah... April and Ethan seem like they won't let her off too easy."
I sighed in response and decided to continue with the game. It itched me to know what Levi and Kensington spoke about, it seemed like they got on well. For the most part, only one of my best friends spoke and she just nodded or smiled or forced a laugh. I knew when she was genuine and when she faked it.
Until we stopped for a quick lunch, I didn't speak to anyone else other than Niall. By that time, my lips craved the feel of hers on mine so desperately that I didn't even care if my friends witnessed it. Why should I have cared at all?
"What are you doing?" she giggled against my lips when I gripped her waist a little tighter than I should have considering we were in public. I kissed her multiple times; small pecks caused her giggle to never die down and I swear I fell in love with her. "Stop it."
"No," I mumbled. "Missed you."
"I was literally here all day," I rolled my eyes at her smart answer then pressed another kiss on her sweet lips.
"Okay. Some of us would like to eat," Toby spoke up, the sarcasm in his voice made me roll my eyes and I snuck my arm around Kensington's waist. "Sit the fuck down."
"Watch how you talk unless you want to get kicked out," I told him and he just scoffed. I looked at my girl next to me, my tone turned softer when I spoke to her. "Where do you want to sit?"
She took the seat next to Levi which left an empty seat right next to her and Ethan. Soon enough, the waitress came to take our orders and then gave us our drinks not long after.
"So, Kensington, how do you know how to play?" April popped the question. She addressed her by her surname and I wasn't sure how she'd take it. Other than me, everyone called her by her first name.
"My name is Renleigh and I suppose it's thanks to my parents," she replied with a soft tone, her smile genuine but definitely small as she mentioned her parents. I could tell she loved them.
"Oh?" Ethan joined in the conversation. Slowly, I slipped my hand over to her thigh where I knew her hand was balled into a fist, mine carefully unfolded it and intertwined my fingers with hers. My friends were going to put her to their tests and I knew she was shitting this. "How come Harry calls you Kensington?"
"That's my surname," she stated the obvious which made me smirk as I zoned out a little bit. My eyes suddenly looked at Levi who had a smug grin on his face, his drink in his hand, near his mouth then back on the table as he quietly listened. "And meanwhile he addresses me by it, I prefer others calling me by my actual name."
"Sure, no problem," Toby smiled when I looked at him. "So, has he been treating you nicely? He never shuts up about you and how we need to meet you."
"Because apparently, we are wrong about you," April added, her sour tone made my eyebrows furrow and I had no idea why she was being this way. Usually, she gave up by now but it seemed like she was proper onto Kensington and I didn't really like it.
"Yes. He has been wonderful, if you must know," she responded, her voice sharp and confident. The answer that slipped through her lips surprised me, not because it wasn't true but because she admitted it. My smirk grew and I sighed as I reached for my drink. My left hand still held hers and I enjoyed the way she played with my rings.
"Alright, chill out, hun," April laughed. She was so off putting. I really disliked the way she behaved. No one was being a dick when she brought her boyfriend around.
"Oh, I'm chill, darling," Kensington bit back, another forced laugh out in the open. Everyone around the table just sat and listened. It would have been a bad idea to interfere. "If you think that was me worked up, you probably shouldn't be around me when I am worked up."
"What makes you think I want to be around you at all? If it wasn't for my best mates, I probably wouldn't be here, talking to your boring ass."
"April, take it down a notch, will you?" I looked at her with an emotionless face. My voice was deeper than I thought it was going to sound and it caused all of the heads at the table to turn towards me.
"Why? Can she not handle it, after all?"
"I can handle a lot more than you think, my love," she sighed next to me. I turned my attention back to her, the smirk on her face but her sad eyes made my heart miss a beat. She answered that much deeper than it was meant to leave her mouth, I thought. She didn't sound rude or annoyed, she sounded kind of... sad. "You may have a preconceived notion about me and that's fine. You're allowed to have it and frankly, I really do not care what you think. I just find it quite amusing how much you desire to let me know of it. It's like you're itching to make sure I know how much you dislike me. I'm sure it takes a lot of effort so I'm just letting you know, you can stop now. I know you despise me so there is no need to make a fool out of yourself any longer."
She was so... calm. I have not seen her be so rude but so nice so calmly. She surprised me but then again, it was something I expected. The others, not so much. April quickly shut her mouth which, in any other situation, would have made me laugh. She was not easy to silence but Kensington had done it. It was most likely the tone she used. So gentle and normal, it was actually pretty fucking scary.
"Alright then," the waitress spoke up after she appeared out of nowhere. "Salmon with tarragon and mushroom sauce."
"Yeah... that's me," Kensington looked up at the staff member and she smiled down at her as she placed down the food.
The waitress kind of eased up the awkward silence as she did two rounds with to serve all of us. Kensington held my hand until I got my food too, her eyes never met mine and I felt unsure of how she felt. I leaned closer and pressed a kiss to the side of her head before I got on with my good, a pair of eyes burned a hole into my forehead through the action.
Kensington was the first to be done with her food and she excused herself almost immediately. I didn't want to hold her back, I could tell she didn't feel comfortable and frankly, I wouldn't have had I been in her shoes. I had no idea how she even sat through her food after what happened.
"That was fucking shitty of you, Ape," Niall sighed as he reached for his beer.
"I didn't do anything, really," the girl shrugged.
"You were trying to get a reaction out of her and you know it. Everyone knows it," I mumbled. I loved April, I really did. She was a great friend of mine and we got along really well. But she was just so weird today. I knew she disliked Kensington but she was being extra bitchy for no reason.
"Not my problem if your girl takes everything to heart."
"I just don't understand why you have to be such a pain in the arse," I shook my head. "The lads tried their best so far to put their opinions aside and get to know her for who she is. You, on the other hand, have been giving her dirty looks and digging at her."
"I've not been digging at her, Harry. I just wanted to push her. It's not my fault if she cannot take a joke."
"Trust me, she can take a joke. But when you so directly dislike her and your aim is to make her feel uncomfortable in front of everyone, I don't think that's considered as 'pushing her'. You can do that in different ways."
"You are just saying that because I'm the only one who dislikes her," she rolled her eyes. "If Levi had a distaste towards her, you would talk to him differently. We all know he's your closest friend out of all of us and you don't treat us the same."
"Don't bring me into this, mate," Levi spoke up. "Sure, we have known each other the longest, but that doesn't mean he treats me differently. For godness sake, just apologise to Renleigh for what happened, clear your mind and give her a chance instead of blaming others for whatever you are feeling."
"I don't want to give a chance to a rich cunt who will do nothing but use our friend and keep him away from us."
"Don't be disrespectful. There was no need to call her that," I said angrily. "I have no idea what the hell as gotten into you, perhaps not enough dick this past week, but you need to sort it out before it bites you in the arse. Now, I'll go and pay for our food and I guess I'll see you lot out on the course."
I pushed my chair out and stood up, I downed the rest of my lemonade and left the glass on the table with my friends. I walked up to the bar and sorted the bill as well as left a tip then went to find Kensington. I felt so bad for her. I just needed her in my arms to make sure she was alright.
It took me at least five to ten minutes to find her out in the garden. She sat on one of the benches and stared out of her head. The scene made me chuckle to myself, it felt very much like we were in a movie. My feet had taken me to her in a matter of seconds, my heart raced fast in my chest as I felt my hands sweat in my pockets.
"Can I sit?"
"If you want," she mumbled quietly. I nodded and sat down, my ankles crossed under the bench, thighs a little apart as I crossed my fingers between my legs, my shoulders slumped. "What brings you here?"
"My worry."
Kensington scoffed and then let out a sigh. "I'm fine. You should probably go and get some ice for your friend's burn, though."
I laughed out at what she said and with a shake of my head, I turned towards her. She had such a strong and defined jawline, her cheeks looked like they needed some meat on them and her nose was like a button and a little flat. Her lashes looked kind of long, coated in more than one layer of mascara, eyebrows slightly bushy yet still had a spikey look to them, much like the back of hedgehogs. I wondered what she put on it... maybe some kind of gel? I had no idea. She had lip balm on, her lips were really glossy and full. I wanted to taste them, feel them, kiss them.
"I-I don't know what's gotten into her... April, I mean," I spoke up. "She's usually pretty laid back and she likes to joke around with everyone."
"She just dislikes me and that's why she acted out. It's fine. I was never a really liked person, anyway. I knew that already... it's just... I don't know," she sighed. "Like, we are not together, are we? I don't know why I want to be liked by your friends and family so much... it's so fucking stupid. It makes no sense to me."
"You are so easy to like, Ren. So easy," I told her softly as I reached for her hand. It was kind of red, she must have scratched it or something, and it felt warm as I linked my fingers through hers. "You are wonderful and so many people don't get to see that which is a shame."
"I'm really nothing special," she scoffed.
"You are special, though," I smiled as I looked at her. I wondered when she'd look at me already. My heart felt empty without her attention, her eyes on me. "You are so special, sweetheart. My siblings know it. My nan knows it. My uncle knows it. My best friends know it. I know it. It's so okay for you to feel like you want to be liked by everyone, it's what all of us want. Sure, there might be some people who will not want us around and that is so fine as long as we know that there are others who do and we focus on them."
"Focusing on the negatives is easier."
"No, baby, it really is not," I sighed. The pet name slipped my mouth like it was the most normal thing ever and, in a way, it really was. I adored calling her sweet names, most likely because I knew she hasn't been addressed that way in a long time. We all needed some love and attention and care every once in a while, and I knew, for me personally anyway, a pet name was so nice to hear when I felt down. "Listen. I'm so sorry for what happened before, okay? I'm sorry April put you in such an uncomfortable situation and I'm sorry for what she said about you once you left. I gave her a piece of my mind and so did Levi and Niall. I don't want her to ruin the rest of our day so we can either go back and just ignore everyone or we can leave and, I don't know, cuddle... or do other fun stuff," I wiggled my eyebrows at her and she just gave me a disgusted look. A loud laugh erupted from my chest as I leaned towards her and kissed her cheek.
"How can you go from being so sweet to being so nasty so fast?"
"It's one of my many talents," I smirked. "Gotta keep my baby on her toes, don't I?"
"Your baby?" she questioned and I weirdly felt my cheeks heat up. I looked away from her with a shy smile then her cold hands rested against my hot skin. I felt her move until she faced me, her legs crossed on the bench as best as she could. She lifted my head up and made me look her in the eyes. It was different. She was so... different. God. Was I ever going to be able to describe her as anything else? "I kinda dig that."
"You do?" a low chuckle escaped my lips as she hummed and smirked at me. "What else do you like?"
You.
Please, say you.
Pretty please say me.
"You between my legs," she laughed and I pushed my face more into her hand as I closed my eyes and chuckled. She did say you. When I opened my eyes, she looked at me with her head slightly tilted, a bright smile on her face as her thumb softly stroked my cheek. Her touch kind of burned my skin but in the nicest way possible.
"What?" I asked quietly when she kept her gaze on me. The joy of having her act so tenderly with me filled my insides and I tried to lock it away so bad so that I could always feel it.
"Nothing," she sighed. "You're pretty, did you know?"
"Yeah," I smirked and she rolled her eyes at me. "What? Did you think I wasn't aware of my dashing looks?"
"How could I think that? I was just testing you were still in love with yourself or not."
"I'll let you know when that changes," I told her.
"Oh, yeah?" she raised her eyebrows at me as I pulled away from her touch. I instantly missed it. "How are you going to do that?"
"You'll see," I smiled as I leaned in and this time, I was the one to hold her face in my hands and kiss her on the lips.
Goddamnit, that was truly my most favourite thing to do.
• • •
a.n.
i guess i gave u the first woman in this story to dislike, you're welcome x but also feel free to express your opinions on the others cos i wanna know 😌
as for henleigh, they're being cute but i can't promise that will last very long hehehehe
don't forget vote and comment xx