"So what movie are they playing?" I ask Harry as we climb up the final set of stairs to the roof. You would think that they would have put in an elevator to make it easier to get to this thing, but I guess that's not high on these peoples agenda.
"It's called 'Love Really' I think, apparently it's got some pretty famous actors in it. Might be alright" Harry shrugs his shoulders and waits for me as he finishes the stairs before me. I pause on the third stair from the top and grin at him, raising my eyebrows. "What?" He asks.
"Love Actually?" I ask him, correcting his previous assumption as I try not to give away just how out of breath I am. It was only five or six flights, I shouldn't be this out of breath. Next time I sign up for a gym I shall utilise the stair master. He smiles and nods his head, clicking his fingers together.
"Yes that's it. Hey I was pretty close with that guess" I nod and smile as I finish the stairs and walk with him through a set of doors into an outdoor area. A woman stands at a makeshift looks up to greet us.
"You guys here for the movie?" She asks with a vague American accent, I nod and smile as Harry produces two tickets from his pocket and hands them to her. She picks up what looks like a remote control and scans them before picking up two wrist bands.
"These are for your seats and your box of popcorn" she explains as I hold out my wrist to her. After she attaches mine Harry reluctantly gives her his wrist before we head down a small seat of stairs towards an expansive open air area. There are food stalls across the back of the deck with a large area of tables and bean bag chairs in front of a stage. There are a group of young boys setting up musical equipment in the makeshift band stand as people queue up for one of the two bars beside them.
"Who the fuck uses paper wristbands anymore" Harry grumbles beside me as we follow the arrows to the right and walk down a pathway.
"Oh you'll be fine" I grin as I tease him.
"I feel like a child at a music festival" he complains further, but he can't hide the slight amusement in his voice. It's because of that that I don't stifle my giggle as we round the corner. Against the London skyline is a large cinema screen standing up in front of a series of reclining deck chairs sitting on fake grass. A young woman and a man greet us as we approach a makeshift hut with a popcorn machine and a selection of candy bars. The young girl scans our wrists as fills up two medium boxes of popcorn while the man hands us each a blanket and a set of headphones.
"You guys are in the VIP section, they are the double recliners at the back" the young woman confirms with us as we leave the stand in search for our seats.
"What's so funny?" Harry asks as we choose one of the recliner couches and sit down on it.
"Of course you got us VIP seating" I comment with a soft grin, the thought is just very amusing to me. If there's a possibility to upgrade Harry is going to do it, no matter what kind of occasion. The alternative seating were individual recliners sat just two steps lower than us closer to the screen, so the difference isn't so massive.
"Well of course, why would I mingle with the commoners? I am a very important person after all" Harry smirks, leaning into the joke. I roll my eyes grinning and take the blanket out of its plastic and draped it over my knees.
"I'm going to get a drink, what would you like?" Harry asks, standing up from his seated position. Maybe I should act like an actual grown up and order something with alcohol? Or I could ask him for something that I know I will actually enjoy.
"Just a lemonade, thanks" I smile as he nods his head and walks back down the steps and heads off in the direction of the bar. The sun has almost completely set now, several strings of twinkling lights hang above the seats as more people begin to arrive and set themselves up. I don't feel out of place here, for possibly one of the first times with Harry I feel truly comfortable out in public with him.
Many of the other times that we have been together it's been on his terms; the restaurants, charity events, even the shopping trip it was all something he decided we should do. Whereas this time; Harry thought about something that I might like to do and made it happen. It may seem like a small gesture, and maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it feels like a big moment for us. What if most of our dates could be doing things like this? In amongst all of the events and fancy things that he needs me to attend of course. What if we went to the arcade, or the sea side, or a museum, or picnics in the park, or the zoo? Instead of becoming completely ingratiated with his world, we could merge our worlds together.
It's a nice thought, but maybe not a practically one. Because at the end of the day, he is who he is. He won't always get off work this early, he won't always be in the great mood he seems to be in, he won't even always be in town when i want to see him. He's still an incredibly busy and powerful man who may not want to go to the zoo or the arcade, even if it was with me. I may not be enough for him to change his ways. I wish I could shut these thoughts up, but they always manage to creep their way back in, throwing me into a state of self doubt and anxiety. He's doing a nice thing for me, he's organised something for me to enjoy and here I am wondering if he's going to throw me away in five months time. Is he going to throw me away in five months time? I don't want to go, I feel like a child begging to keep possession of their security blanket. Because when it's good between us, my god is it good.
"That line is insane" Harry's voice breaks me out of my thoughts as he places the drinks down onto the small marble table in front of us. "I got us both two drinks so we won't have to get up during the movie. You alright? You look very worried?" He sinks down into the seat next to me, a look of obvious concern on his face as he peers down at me.
"No, no I'm fine. Good idea about the drinks, how long until it starts?" I say quickly, hoping my questioning will distract him from the dead giveaway of my face. I can't think about him throwing me away right now; because if he does these are the nights I want to hold onto. And if I'm too busy worrying about all of this stuff for the future I won't have a happy memory to look back on.
"Uhh, around 5 minutes I think. Are you sure you're alright?" He asks after he slides his suit jacket back slightly to check his watch. There's is still that look of worry on his face, I want it to go away. I don't want to scare him into not doing things like this for me anymore. I nod my head and give him a gentle smile as I lean upwards and press my lips against his. He places a hand on my neck and pulls me closer to him, seems he's been distracted.
"This is such a nice idea Harry, really, thank you" I mumble quietly against his lips when we eventually part. His hand remains on my neck as he smiles widely, like a child who's just been showered with praise.
"Have to admit, it's been a long time since I've gone to any kind of cinema. Well one that wasn't for a premier" I roll my eyes at his statement and slide my body slightly closer to his arms his arm is tucked up behind my head.
"When was the last time you went to the movies, just for fun?" I ask him grinning, now this will be a fun game. He thinks for a moment, must have been a rather long time.
"I think I was maybe 17? Or 18?" He tilts his head back to think.
"Oh wow, so like four decades ago? What kind of movies did they play back then?" I grin teasingly, I'm punished for my comments as he slides his hands down under the blanket and tickles my sides.
"Very funny missy, and it was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre" I shudder slightly as he tells me the name of the movie.
"Oh god I hate scary movies, I've never completely sat through one, I get scared very easily" I reply quietly.
"They aren't so bad, it's good to get the heart racing every now and then" Harry smirks softly before he's interrupted by someone standing at the front of the screen telling everyone in the audience to place their headphones on as the movie was about to begin. I slide mine on over my head and ready my popcorn, Harry does the same, keeping his arm draped over my shoulder effectively pulling my body into his side. I go willingly, I love it in there.
"That wasn't too bad" Harry says to me as I remove the headphones from my head as the credits begin to roll and people rise from their seats. I smile up at him, this is one of my favourite movies of all time as I try to watch it at least once a year, so I'm glad he didn't hate it.
"Yeah?" I ask as we stand up and collect our things, walking down the steps to deposit our blanket and headphones into a set of bins.
"Yeah, I liked how all the stories were kind of connected in a weird way, it made it all a little more fun" Harry threads his fingers through mine as we reach the open air restaurant area we passed through before. There is now a hype of activity as the various food stalls work like crazy to serve food to the lines of people waiting. While others are watching the group of boys play covers of songs under a set of multicoloured lights. It's all very millennial, and not exactly Harry's scene. I don't want him to be uncomfortable eating here.
"You know we can go somewhere else for dinner if you like? I don't mind" I stand in front of him and tell him, to my surprise he smiles and shakes his head scanning his eyes across the area.
"This will be fun, come on let's pick something to eat" He leads me over to the collection of stands serving different ethnicities of food. "Anything you're in the particular mood for babe?" My heart swells as he calls me 'babe' but I choose not to bring it up, pointing to the stand in the corner.
"Those tacos are certainly calling my name" I smile sweetly up at him before he nods and we walk over to the stand and examine the menu. I wish I had brought my wallet out from my bag in Harry's car, this is probably the only date that I could really have afforded to pay for. We both order our tacos and a drink and take our table number and hunt for a seat. Due to the large crowds, we sit on the edge of a park bench style seat side by side. Harry chooses to sit with his legs facing away from the seat, his back almost leaning against the table while I sit like a normal person.
"Enjoying yourself babe?" He asks me quietly after we sit ourselves down. Despite the internal turmoil bubbling away at me, his continual soft tone and sweet words urge me to nod my head yes.
"I am, I really am. I'm so happy you wanted to do this" I reply just as quietly, our bodies are rather close to one another so despite the loud music and chatter around us we don't have to talk so loudly. I prop my elbow up on the table and lean my head on my hand as I peer up at him.
"Well you know, I said I was going to try. And I meant it, I want you to feel more comfortable with me. I know you're having to make a lot of big changes to be with me, I didn't want you to be disappointed with what you got in return" he replies honestly, shrugging his shoulders as he finishes his statement.
"It's not like I don't want to make the changes, you aren't holding a gun to my head. I want to, I want to be the person that you want me to be" I tell him quietly, it's the truth after all. It sure would make things easier if neither of us had to change but that's not what the reality is for us. And I know I'm prepared to make the sacrifices to be with him, it feels too good with him to go completely without him over small things like wardrobe and contract clauses.
"I like who you are, and I don't want you to think that I want you to change who you are completely" He's cut off momentarily as an older woman with a sleeve of tattoos present us with two plates of tacos and a light beer and a cola. I thank her before she hurriedly disappears back into the kitchen as the queue continues to grow.
"And I like you too, and I really like this softer side of you. It's nice to have a bit of nice normalcy between us" I smile up at him once the woman leaves. Harry grins and picks up his bottle of beer and holds it out to me in a cheers motion.
"To nice normalcy" I pick up my cola bottle and clink it against his bottle.
"To nice normalcy" I return the sentiment and we both take a sip of our drinks. I quite like Mexican cola, it has quite the different taste to normal cola but I still enjoy it whenever I get the chance to have it.
"Can I ask you a question?" My heart rate picks up slightly as I place my glass down on the table. Harry nods his head.
"Of course you can" Harry replies, looking at me curiously. I'm begging all of the deities in the universe that this evening won't be ruined once I ask this question, and that it will provide me with some answers and some clarity.
"What's going to happen between us, after the six months end" I stutter out the question and hold my breath as I wait for an answer. Instead of rising from the seat and bolting in the direction of the fire exit like I thought he might, he smirks softly.
"You don't think you can get rid of me that easy do you baby?" His words melt me, completely and truly melt me. "I'm not going anywhere" His sincerity soothes my anxious thoughts almost instantly. That's all I wanted to hear, because I believe him. A few weeks ago I didn't trust this man at all, now he could almost be the man I trust the most.
"Good, I don't want you to go anywhere" I sheepishly admit, unable to pull the delighted grin off of my face. Harry leans his head down and places a soft delicate kiss to my lips. The familiar fire within me is ignited, drawing me close to him. When he pulls his lips away I want desperately to pull them back, but I don't quite know if I would be able to stop myself if I did.
"Alright" I say quietly after our lips part. I swallow the lump in my throat as I attempt to neatly pick up one of my soft shell tacos. "This is about to get super messy" I smile up at Harry as I take a large bite of my taco, immediately feeling the sauce drip out of the side. Harry laughs beside me as I put the taco down, I eat it and wipe the side of my mouth with a napkin. It tastes incredible, and it's totally worth getting a little dirty over.
We eat in silence for a moment or two, the only sounds exchanged between us are the slight crunch of Harry's hard shell tacos and a few appreciative hums.
"Yours good?" I ask as I wipe my mouth, having completely devoured my tacos in less than five minutes.
"They're surprisingly very good" Harry admits with a soft smile as he takes another bite of his last taco. I wipe my hands with another napkin and watch him with a grin.
"Are they as good as ones I'm sure you have enjoyed in South America?" I ask him, I love hearing all of his travel stories. It seems like he's been almost everywhere in the world, I wonder what that's like. He nods his head.
"I've had quite a few good ones, the ones that our resort restaurant makes in Mexico are out of this world" he grins proudly and takes a sip of his beer.
"I had no idea that the Arcadia did resorts too" I comment, I really should make more of an effort to learn about his business. He raises his eyebrow in surprise.
"Really?"
"Yeah" I smile and shrug my shoulders. "I had never stayed in one of the hotels either. They were always far too fancy for my family and I growing up"
He smiles softly and wipes his hands before tucking a loose piece of my hair that had fallen over my face behind my ear. "Well now you get to stay in one whenever you like"
"How about tonight?" I ask him quietly as my heart starts to race. He raises his eyebrows gently with a soft smirk on his lips.
"You want to stay at my place tonight?" He questions me quietly. After I nod my head softly he asks. "And what would you like to do there baby?" My entire core seems to tighten at his words, I know what I want, I'm just not that sure of how to ask for it.
"I'm ready, I want to...you know" I say rather breathlessly. Harry seems to catch on as he widens his eyes softly and bites down on his bottom lip. I want to take things further, more than I ever have before. And I finally feel ready.
"Are you sure?" He asks me quietly. I once again nod my head quickly.
"I do have one condition though" I grin up at him as he nods his head.
"An ultimatum huh?" His smirk grows wider as he nods his head. "Alright, what's the condition baby?" I press my lips together in a smile and look over to the band in the corner, seemingly having moved on to the acoustic Ed Sheeran section of their set. I immediately recognise one of my favourite songs of his is beginning, sunburn.
"One slow dance" I look back at Harry and smile gently. He lets out a soft chuckle and nods his head before taking one last sip of his beer and standing up, holding his hand out for me to take. I place my hand in his and swing my legs over the seat as he leads me down to the group of people who have also begun to slow dance together.
I wrap my arms around Harry's neck as he places his hands on my lower back, pulling my body against his chest. I rest my head on his chest, his heart is beating quite rapidly, my own is at rather the same rhythm. We sway softly underneath the dimly lit rooftop courtyard, my mind in a swimming state of both never wanting the song to end to remain in his embrace and also desperate for it to end, so that the next portion of the evening can begin.