A/N: Chapter thirty....you know what that means. Harry's point of view tiiiimmmmeeee! WARNING: Over 7000 words long. Hope you enjoy, love y'all xx
Harry's P.O.V
Normally I find plane rides to be dead boring, especially the shorter ones. There's no point getting stuck into a movie or your book because you'll have to put it away soon after. But this flight, it's been different.
That's what she does; the girl in the seat beside me, she makes everything different. She's somehow managed to curl her legs up in her seat and rest her head on my shoulder and dozed off. I was surprised with how quickly she fell asleep, it having happened relatively soon after we took off but then I guess she's not used to this sort of travel like I am.
My right hand is still holding hers, I'm afraid to move it in case the movement wakes her up or we hit a bad spot of turbulence and she needs it. So I'm using my phone with one hand, playing a game of solitaire with my non-dominant hand, and it's a bit of a struggle, but I don't mind that much. I have had an amazing weekend.
The trip got off to a bit of a rough start, as do most of these sorts of trips. I could get someone else to go out and handle these situations for me, but I'm a control freak and I need to see things through from start to finish. But I was hesitant about this trip, and even more so about the trip to New York in a couple of weeks. Because again, she makes things different.
From the second Elena told me to book her a ticket to join me I've felt like I was on cloud nine. I had no hesitation in rearranging all of my plans so I could spend as much time with her as I could. Though I have no problem admitting that I don't like being away from her, it wasn't clear just how strongly I disliked it until I arrived.
Exploring with her, it felt like seeing the city for the first time again. Through her eyes; I could see all the beauty and wonder that Paris has to offer when for the longest time its just been the city with one of my more problematic hotels. The beaming smile she gave me when I picked her up from the train station along with seeing the wonder in her eyes as we drove through the city were without a doubt moments I won't soon forget.
If only we didn't have my uncles birthday tomorrow I could have shown her so much more of the city. 'We', I don't think I've ever said that before with quite that much comfort. In my other relationships it didn't feel like 'us' or 'we', there was no partnership there. Now look at me; happily taking my girlfriend on trips away and off to meet my entire family tomorrow. What the fuck has gotten into me?
Elena stirs beside me as the plane dips slightly. We shouldn't have too much longer, maybe another ten minutes before they start landing.
"It's alright bubs" I reassure her as her head is slowly lifted off of my shoulder. Her brown eyes are struggling to stay open, fighting a loosing battle against her heavy eyelids. Her long eyelashes flutter against her cheek as she wills herself to stay awake, turning her head to give me a small smile.
"How long was I out?" She asks, swiping her finger under her eye.
"Around half an hour, we should be landing soon" Her head nods slowly, I know she's probably a little bit nervous about the landing part. "Good nap?"
"Yeah, I definitely needed it, your shoulder is comfortable" her lips curl upwards into a smile as she speaks, taking her water bottle out of the seat pocket and taking a large swig.
"Comfortable shoulders huh? That's something new for the resume" I tease, though I'm actually very pleased with this response. She's become much more comfortable around me as our relationship has progressed, I have a feeling I used to intimidate her. I only like intimidating people within a business setting, it means I can easily get what I want. This isn't a business setting, not anymore.
"Thank you, for this weekend. It was wonderful" She says to me, tilting her head slightly to the side and grinning sleepily. It's probably the 18th time she's thanked me for this trip, it's not like I didn't want her to come with me, I wanted her with me so badly.
"You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed it" It's probably been my favourite work trip that I've ever been on, and I've been on some pretty good ones. I'm about to say more when a voice speaks timidly through the overhead speaker in the cabin, indicating that we were beginning to land.
"Is the landing going to be as bad as I'm imagining it to be?" She asks me as I place my seatbelt back across my lap. Elena has kept hers fastened the entire time.
"Nah, it's not as bad as the takeoff is. There's a few bumps and dips but it's all normal" I reply, hoping it will ease her mind a bit. I still find it a little bizarre that at 19 years old she's never been on a plane before. Eh, I hate remembering how old she is sometimes.
I can be honest with myself, it's fucked up that someone my age is dating someone of her age. I've dated women around her age, but not quite this young and not someone quite this innocent. It was one of the reasons why I agreed to meet her, I didn't want her to end up with somebody who would use her and mistreat her. There was an instant feeling I got as soon as Grace presented me with her Polaroid picture. Her doe brown eyes staring up at me; her obvious youth and timid nature, I had to protect her.
"Well, it will all be over soon right? How long does it take to land a plane?" Her sweet voice breaks through the thoughts in my head. It takes me a second to come back to the conversation.
"Around ten minutes, you don't want them to just drop straight down like a roller coaster do you?" The shudder of her shoulders gives me my answer, fuck no. I chuckle lightly and reach over into her lap and take a hold of her hand again, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She seems to appreciate it, as I can see her release the tension in her shoulders and relax into the seat. She's still nervous and there's only so much I can do, but at least I'm trying.
This girl can sleep anywhere. I know this because she fell asleep almost as soon as we got into the car after John picked us up from the airport. He landed back home on an earlier flight this morning.
"Bub, wake up" I nudge her shoulder gently as the hotel becomes within sight. Once again her head is resting on my shoulder, never stirring once through speed bumps and roundabouts. I answered quite a few emails on the ride home, in anticipation with being unavailable for most of the day tomorrow. Her head bolts upright after one more nudge before she rubs her eyes.
"Sorry, I keep falling asleep on you" She half laughs as she gathers her things and climbs out of the car with Johns assistance.
"I don't mind at all darling" I smirk as I climb out, walking around the back end of the car and taking both of the bags before walking through the entrance. The staff immediately straighten out their posture as they see me walk across towards the elevators. I'm surprised they don't have some sort of alarm system set up for when I arrive back to the hotel; I did once fire someone on the spot for wearing the wrong kind of shoes, but that was a long time ago.
"I can carry my own bag" Elena stubbornly reaches for the handle of her bag, but I angle it out of reach and shake my head.
"I got it" I smirk at her as the elevator arrives to take us up.
"What time are we leaving in the morning?" She asks as we travel quickly up to the top floor.
"Around 10 maybe, it's a couple of hours drive so we don't want to waste too much of the day here" I respond before the door opens up. Home sweet home I guess, I don't truly consider this place home. It's just a place where I sleep and eat, it's nothing special to me really.
Elena nods her head as we both step out of the elevator. I carry the bags upstairs and place them down at the foot of the bed, Elena follows behind me and flicks on the bedroom light, illuminating the room in a soft glow. Of course she heads straight for the large windows, like she's forgotten what the view looks like, or she's curious to see if it's changed.
"Which view is better? Paris or London?" I ask her softly, pacing over to the window to stand beside her. She warmly smiles, her gaze still straight ahead of her.
"They're both beautiful in different ways, it's so weird that I can compare the two now" She sounds like a political candidate, not wanting to pick a side. I find politics rather boring, but I don't think I could ever be bored of this girl beside me. I remember the first time she saw this view, she let me touch her for the first time. Just the memory of it is making me hard, she's still so innocent, but I have a crazy feeling that she needs me almost as much as I crave her.
I move my body slightly behind her and push her hair over to the left hand side of her body. Dipping my head down, I press a soft kiss to the smooth curve of her neck, feeling her breathing increase slightly by the soft touch. I know she's tired and we have a big day tomorrow, but I want her.
I place my hands on her hips and slide her T-shirt up slightly so that my hands can make contact with her soft skin. Her head tips backwards and rests on my shoulder as I graze my teeth across the spot on her neck I know she loves.
"Harry..." she softly moans in my ear, it drives me fucking wild. I love making her feel good, knowing that I'm the only man to touch her like this. No stupid high school boyfriends, not that fucker Ryan, no cocky Frenchmen, just me.
"Tell me what you want baby" I tell her quietly, tugging on her earlobe with my teeth and sliding one of my hands across her stomach, just along the lining of her jeans.
"Y-you, I want you" She whispers quietly, and it's music to my ears. After all, what sweeter sound is there than the person you want the most telling you they want you too? All my adult life I've been in control, it's been a rule of mine. I answer to no one, and I take no crap from anyone. But this girl, I feel so out of control when it comes to her. The simple phrase of 'I want you' is enough to spin me out of control.
I spin her around and kiss her hard, pinning her body to the window with my hips pressed against hers, rolling them roughly. Her hands wind themselves through my curls and tug me closer until there is no space between the two of us, just how I like it. My hands fumble with the bottom of her shirt until I slide it up her body. Our lips part momentarily as the material slides up off her body and I deposit it onto the floor. I step back for a moment and gaze at her; long brown hair slightly askew, lips red and slightly swollen, her cheeks slightly pink as she catches my stare, the skyline behind her shoulders.
"You're so fucking beautiful" I mumble quietly. I've told her this before a few times, I've said to myself a couple of hundred times. She's the kind of beautiful that makes everyone else seem dull in comparison. It's not just her looks, it's all of her; her personality, her soul, everything.
Instead of replying with a meek 'no I'm not' or 'thank you' as she has in the past, she reaches out to grab my hand and pulls me back towards her. Her lips find mine again, her hands on my neck drawing me in. My hands have other priorities, quickly unbuckling her jeans and sliding them down her legs. I step backwards and pull off my own shirt before I kneel down before her, pressing soft kisses underneath her belly button while I pull her jeans off the rest of the way.
"Fuck..." Elena mumbles quietly, tipping her head back to rest against the glass and closing her eyes. She's not known for her swearing, so I must be doing something right. I decide to tease her a little, dropping my lips down and kissing her in her inner thigh. I hold her waist steady, as her hips begin to quiver and shake. As much as I'd love to make her cum with just my tongue, I'm selfish and I know she will want to sleep after she finds her release. And I need to find mine.
I stand up press my lips to hers, slipping my tongue in between her lips and navigating her blindly towards the bed. I feel her hands palm my jeans as she attempts to undo them, requiring a little bit of help from my eager hands. The second my jeans pool around my ankles her hand is pressed against my bulge, it instantly hardening under her soft delicate touch.
Elena's legs make contact with the bed before she lays her body down off the edge of it, tugging gently at my boxers. I smirk down at her as I place my hands on either side of her lovely little face.
"You want it like this baby?" I ask her, raising my eyebrow. I'm being a teasing asshole, but I'm also serious. I would never want her to be uncomfortable with me in this sort of scenario. She's fairly new to sex, and I don't want her to have any regrets about trusting me with her body. Her eyes are hooded and needing as she nods her head. I lean over to the bedside drawer and take out a condom and begin to unwrap it. I'd love to stop using these fuckers, but now is not the time to talk to her about birth control.
"Get undressed for me baby" I tell her as I deposit the condom wrapper on the side table. Elena sits up slightly and unhooks her bra, sliding it off her shoulders and tossing it out of the way. I bite down on my bottom lip hard as she lifts up her legs to help her slide her panties down them, leaving them to the side. Laid out in front of me, a beautiful goddess, only in my wildest fucking dreams did I ever really think that she and I would get here.
"So fucking perfect" I mumble quietly as I slide the condom along my length and press myself slowly into her. Her back arches up as I slide all the way in, her eyes wincing shut ever so slightly. I have to remember to be gentle with her; she's not a toy for me to use for my pleasure, she's Elena.
I begin to thrust into her, finding a rhythm that I know is comfortable for her; at a sort of medium pace halfway between where I normally like it and where she feels comfortable, a compromise. Her eyes flicker open as her lips part, letting out a series of gentle moans. Fuck I love making her feel good, I lift up one of my hands and slide it down to where our two bodies meet, rubbing her clit gently with my thumb.
Her legs wrap around my waist as I slide my body upwards, supporting my body with my elbow. Our lips meet in a feverish kiss as my rhythm increases, both in my hips and my fingers.
"Feels so good..." Elena moans against my lips. I normally have to tell her to tell me that sort of thing, I reward her with rubbing her faster, sliding my lips down to press kisses across her neck and chest. My thrusts become rather sloppy, mostly because I want to last longer, every time I hear her sweet moans I inch closer and closer to my release.
"Faster, please sir" she moans quietly. Well fuck, I nearly explode just from hearing the words. She knows what she's doing to me, she knows what she wants, my insatiable girl. I flick my tongue across her hardened nipples before I roll my hips fast and hard against her. She won't last long at this punishing rhythm, neither will I. Her hands slide from out of my hair and rest on my back, dragging her nails up along then skin. I hope there are scratches left behind, the mark she leaves on me being in physical form.
"Good girl" I groan in her ear. No less than ten seconds later Elena's legs begin to shake as she finds her release, shattering my ear drum with her loud moans and quite possibly drawing blood from my back. Thank god, I release into the condom after a few thrusts, stilling my body and watching her face. Her neck slightly red from my lips, doe brown eyes staring back at me with adoration, no one has ever looked at me the way that she looks at me.
I slip the condom off and deposit it into the bin near my bed while Elena slides on her panties and goes over to her bag. I pretend not to notice her legs shaking slightly as she makes her way towards it, climbing into the bed after pulling my boxers back on. I'd love for her to sleep naked, but I don't know if I'd be getting much sleep. The only thing better than that is when she slides the Fleetwood Mac T-shirt over her head that I gave her the first time she stayed over. I've had it for nearly ten years, but it feels like it was made for her, I'll gladly relinquish my ownership of it to her.
"It's comfy" Elena explains as she notes my staring before she climbs up into the bed beside me.
"I like that you wear it" I reply as she curls her body up against my side. I've never been one for cuddling, but that's just one of the many things that has changed about me since I met her. I press a soft kiss to the top of her head as she drifts off quite quickly, a warm smile on her lips.
"What's floor is C1?" Elena asks me the next morning as I press one of the bottom buttons on the dial on the elevator wall.
"Carpark One, I'm going to drive us to Manchester" I reply. The answering grin is not one I was expecting. "What?" I ask, unable to stop my own smiling forming as a response to hers. She just has one of those smiles, it's fucking infectious.
"Nothing, I'm just glad that John is getting a day off" She muses, looking ahead at the walls of the elevator.
"He gets time off, not often though" I admit with a soft grin. He's been with me since I was 18 years old, it would be weird doing most things without him. And it's not like I don't pay him a lot more than any other assistant would get, plus setting up a college fund for his three kids. I'm a good boss, but only if you're a great employee.
The elevator lets us out onto the concrete structure and I lead the way to the left towards a stairway and descend down them.
"I feel like I'm being lured to my death. I thought we were getting your car?" Elena half laughs behind me as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. It is a little spooky, one of the lights in the stairwell isn't working properly and it flickers on and off at random intervals.
"We are" I turn back to face her as I take out my key card and swipe it through the panel sitting at the side of the door. It beeps quietly and the door unlocks, I hold it open and allow Elena to walk through first before I follow behind her. "But I couldn't possibly keep my cars with everyone else's, so I have a private parking area for mine" I reply smugly as Elena's jaw drops open looking at the collection, I enjoy being rich.
"Which one, your choice" I say to her as I stand beside her. She's got quite a few options in front of her, seven to be exact. I haven't bought a new car in a while, maybe a year. Perhaps it's time to start having a look around.
"I like that one" She lifts her hand to point over to the corner where the black Ferrari is parked beside the wall.
"Hmm, you like the sports cars?" I hum softly as I walk over to the safe holding a set of keys to each car, enter the combination and remove the correct set of keys.
Her shoulders lift up in a shrug as we make our way over to the car after I unlock it. "You took me to the movies in this one, so I like it" She smiles as she walks around to her side and slide herself into her seat. Her reasoning is adorable.
"Ah yes, the rooftop cinema, that was a good night" I smirk as I climb in and place my seatbelt on, remembering all that happened that night. Yes I had to sit through a romantic movie, eat oil soaked tacos and slow dance in public, but it was all worth it. She trusted me to take her virginity that night, and fuck if I haven't been hooked on her ever since then.
"We should do it again soon" She suggests as the car roars to life and I begin to navigate it out of the garage. I'm about to be a cheeky shit head and suggest that we've had sex since that night, but I know she's talking about the date that we went on. Never have I put in such effort to plan something that I thought the other person would like for a date. I wanted her to know that I cared, that I listened. I didn't do any of it just to get into her pants, that was just a nice reward for a job well done; I did it because I thought it would make her happy, and apparently I like that a whole lot more than I like many other things.
"Why don't you check their calendar, see what's coming up in the next month?" I reply as the road begins to open up as we approach the highway. My eyes are focused on the traffic stopping ahead of me, but in my peripherals I can see the warmth rise in her cheeks as a grin spreads across her lips. She leans her body forward and retrieves her phone from her bag and begins to type on it as I wait behind a line of cars heading for the highway.
"Anything you refuse to see?" She asks with a small grin.
"Nothing animated" I reply.
"Awwww! Why not?!" I turn my head to see Elena as she pouts out her bottom lip. A small laugh escapes my lips before I reply.
"Because animated movies are for kids, which I am not"
"But what about the nostalgia? I love watching old Disney movies, they make me feel like a little kid again" Her tone is almost dream like. Of course she loves Disney movies, she practically is a Disney princess character. Beautiful, kind, full of hope and promise; I just hope that I'm not the bad guy who tries to ruin everything for her. Do I want to be the knight in shining armour? The prince who gives her a brand new life and with whom she will live happily ever after? Who the fuck knows.
"Yeah I'm not down to watch Disney with a bunch of kids, come on what movies do they have?" I ask her, returning back to the topic at hand. What kind of weird place did my mind just go to? Was I seriously picturing myself as a prince in this kind of scenario? I've known her for barely three months, what is wrong with me?
"How do you feel about musicals?" She asks with a slight note of hope in her voice. To be honest I don't mind them, but I've only really seen the classics; Grease, Dirty Dancing. I shrug my shoulders.
"They have Footloose playing at different times this month?"
"Is Footloose really considered to be a musical?" I furrow my brow while I press my foot down on the accelerator, the open road of the highway opening up in front of us.
"I think so, there's singing and dancing in it?" I see her shoulders shrug out of the corner of my eye. It sounds like one she would enjoy, I'll suffer through it.
"Alright then, I'll book us some tickets tomorrow" I reply. I'm happily surprised when Elena leans over in her seat and presses a soft kiss to the side of my cheek.
"Thank you" She says quietly, resting her head back against her seat, staring out ahead to the long stretch of highway in front of us. I nod my head.
"It's gonna be around a three hour drive, if you wanna have a bit of a sleep" I suggest, checking the time on the dashboard. 9:57; we'll arrive a little after it starts but that's fine, they're lucky I'm even showing up to this sort of thing. It's a lot for me to give up a day of working and drive all the way out to be with my family. I've tried to prioritise what kind of event gets my attendance; it's normally only Christmas, Easter, funerals and maybe a christening.
"But if I fell asleep who would keep you company? Plus I slept quite well last night so I'm wide awake" Elena replies, stretching her long legs out in front of her. Indeed after our escapades last night she pretty much passed out on my chest. I wasn't quite as quick to drop off; enjoying the view of her sleeping peacefully on my chest too much only slightly lit by the lights of the London skyline.
"When was the last time you were back home?" She asks after a moment or two, the car fills with sounds emanating from the radio as I think back to the last time.
"Christmas, I think" I press my lips together and think back. Yeah it must have been Christmas, yikes, it's been a while.
"Really?"
"Both my mum and my sister visit London quite often, saves me from having to get time off and make the trip. Plus the rest of my family can be a bit hard to manage" I shrug as I explain myself. It's something that my sister tries to make me feel sorry for whenever I see her, but it doesn't work. She relies too much on my mum to help her now that she has a baby, the two are basically joined at the hip. Not that mum complains, she's been wanting grandkids for years, I pray to god it's not something she brings up with Elena today.
"How do you mean?" Elena asks with a slight hint of nervousness
"What?"
"How are your family 'a little hard to manage'?"
"Oh" I nod, I can see why that might have made her a little nervous, me taking her to meet them for the first time and then notifying her on the way that they're a little difficult to get along with sometimes. Like inviting someone to the zoo only to tell them that they're feeding the lions. "They're perfectly nice people, they can just be a lot to handle at once" I reply. A small laugh from the passenger seat catches me off guard.
"Do they know I'm coming?" She asks.
"I told my mum, I'm not sure who she's told". If I know my mother, she's told everyone who will listen that I'm finally bringing a girl home to meet them. Elena nods her head. "You'll be fine" I reassure her, she's still nervous I think.
"But what if they hate me Harry? They could hate me" I was right, her voice quivers with nervousness. I've told her a bunch of times that she's going to be totally fine and she just doesn't believe me.
"That's ridiculous, they aren't going to hate you" I half laugh at the thought of someone hating her. She's quite possibly the sweetest person to have ever existed. "Just be yourself, they couldn't hate you"
Elena gives me a warm smile, with all that said I do hope that they like her. Not that their opinion means a whole lot to me, but I still weirdly want their approval. So long as my mum and my sister like her I'll be happy, aside from that I couldn't care less.
There's a lull in the conversation, Elena leans forward to turn up the sound on the radio slightly.
"Are you excited to see your family?" Elena asks, sweetly grinning over at me. It's a contagious smile that I can't help but return as I shrug my shoulders.
"Eh, I guess so. It will be nice to see some of them again" I reply.
"Only some of them?" She asks. I simply nod; there are a few people there that I'd rather not see, and some I just don't want to deal with today.
"You know what families are like, you don't always get along with all of them" out of the corner of my eye I see her shrug. Maybe she doesn't really know, I need to get to know a little bit more about her family. From the very little I know I can probably surmise that growing up wasn't so easy. Maybe this will be nice for her then, I know my family are going to be overly loving and kind to her because they won't want to 'mess things up for me' so she might have a good time.
The radio distracts me for a moment as the beginning chords of 'The Chain' begin to play. I give Elena a knowing glance which she returns. She hums along, quietly though so she thinks that I can't hear her. But I can, her voice is nice, soft and melodious. I would sing along, but I don't really sing. I used to when I was a kid, I used to love it, now there's no real reason for me to sing anymore.
"Can I ask you something?" Elena asks out of the blue. This girl loves to ask questions, and it used to annoy me, but now I find it endearing.
"Sure" I smirk. "Go ahead".
"You have a very random assortment of tattoos. Why is that?" That's not the kind of question I was expecting.
"Yeah, they are a little mismatched aren't they" I let out a small chuckle, lifting up my hand slightly and turning it over, examining the ink.
"Just a little" Elena giggles too. I know she likes my tattoos. Sometimes at night I swear I can feel her tracing the outlines of them when she thinks I'm asleep. It started with the tattoo on my stomach, then some of the smaller ones down my arms. It's something I've kept to myself though, I'm afraid if she knows that I know she'll stop doing it.
"Believe it or not I had a bit of a rebellious phase as a teenager"
"Bull" Elena laughs, I nod my head grinning.
"Oh I definitely did. It lasted a while too, I didn't do anything too crazy.."
"Didn't steal any other people's cats..?" Her head tilts towards me as she teases. I raise a hand off the steering wheel and shake it at her grinning widely.
"Hey, I was an accessory after the fact and you know it" She laughs, a gorgeous sound. It's distracting, takes me a second to remember I'm telling a story.
"I went to way too many parties I shouldn't have been at, drank more than I should have and got too many random tattoos. They all sounded good at the time"
"Do they hurt?" She asks curiously. I shrug.
"Nah not really, depends on where you get it"
Elena stares out the window. "I've always wanted one" She says quietly. It would be hard to picture her with one, her smooth porcelain skin doesn't seem like the place for a tattoo.
"What would you get?" I ask her.
"Not sure, nothing too big or anything. I'd like to have something that means that much to me that I would want it on my body forever" Her soft voice mumbles. She doesn't have any tattoos, does that mean she doesn't have anything that means a lot to her? It's a sad thought, one I don't want to dwell on for long.
"That's a good reason to get one, not like when I got one because I lost a bet to a mate" I reply, attempting to make the thought of Elena being sad out of my head. It seems to work, she raises her eyebrows and smiles at me.
"What was the bet?" I turn my head to her and smirk.
"I bet him that he couldn't finish a massive plate of ribs in 10 minutes. He had time to spare" I shake my head, god I was a drunk idiot. Elena seems entertained, at least I got some good stories out of all the mess I made.
"What's the tattoo?"
"It's long gone now, I got that one removed a while ago" I grimace, but she's a dog with a bone.
"What was it!? Where was it?" Her eyes are wide, picturing all the possibilities I'm sure. I sigh heavily.
"I had his name tattooed on my ass for a whole summer" I mumble quickly. Elena's hands are quickly lifted up to cover her mouth as her gasp turns into loud laughter.
"Oh god that's awful!" She says between laughs. I nod my head, unable to shake my smile. Jeff's always been a real bastard, but that was one of his finer moments. I should catch up with him, it's been a while.
"It is, but you're sworn to secrecy, no one knows about that" I try and keep a straight face as I warn her, but it's hard given the context of the secret. When she recovers from her laughing fit she nods her head and simulates a mouth zipped shut movement with her hand. This girl knows way too much about me.
"Welcome to Holmes Chapel" I read the welcome sign aloud as we turn down one of the single lane streets. It really is a tiny village with not a whole lot to offer, but from the look on Elena's face it was as if she'd been taken to Disney Land.
"Oh it's so cute!" She grins, staring out the window at the local set of shops, some of them have already started to decorate for Halloween. I guess it's not that far away now, but I know that as soon as November rolls around the Christmas shit is going to be everywhere. Mum used to complain about it constantly when I was a kid.
"It's alright" I shrug, stopping at a pedestrian crossing so an old couple can slowly make their way over to the other side. There are a few people who are looking at us strangely. It's the car, it's always the car, I just know some of my relatives are going to want to 'take it out for a spin'. Kill me now.
"You grew up here, your whole life?" Elena asks as I start to drive again, the couple safely heading towards the bakery I used to work at in the school holidays.
"Yup, until I moved to London" I nod.
"Well it seems lovely" She says cheerfully. I shake my head but smile as we turn down the all too familiar road leading to my mum's house. I've offered to move her somewhere bigger and better at least fifty times but she insists on staying where she is, in the home where we grew up warts and all. Hey that's something she and Elena have in common.
"Here we are, home sweet home" I say rather mockingly after pulling into the driveway and turning off the car. Elena doesn't move, though she does take in a deep breath. "You're gonna be fine. It's just for a couple of hours, 3 at the absolute most" I reassure her. She turns her head to me and nods. I'm still surprised that she even wanted to come with me, but I'm grateful she's here.
We both step out of the car and I take the wrapped present out of the back of my car. John did a nice job of it, even put a nice bow on top. I walk around to Elena's side of the car and take her hand, leading her up to the front door.
I knock and wait, even through the door I can hear the loud roaring laughter of my aunt Margie, the party appears to be in full swing. I'm about to raise my fist and knock again when the large wooden door swings open to reveal my mother.
"Elena! It's so nice to meet you!" My mum immediately steps out the door and wraps Elena in a tight hug, catching her quite off guard. She tentatively wraps her arms around my mothers waist.
"Oh wow, hi it's um it's nice to meet you Mrs Styles" Elena replies quietly, settling into the hug eventually. Perhaps I should have warned her, mum's a hugger.
"Please, call me Anne" she says proudly as she steps back, holding her at arms length for a moment beaming widely. Her attention is then turned to me. Her black hair is slightly curled and tucked back behind her ears, her small frame covered in a red sweater dress.
"Hello my lovely boy" she gives me a tight hug as Elena looks on grinning softly, cheeks still red from my mothers affectionate introduction.
"Hello mum" I put an arm around her before she pulls back, she knows I'm not into hugs and yet she gives me one every time.
"Come on then you two in you get!" She ushers Elena and I into the house and closes the door behind us. The front room is packed with people; I don't know what my mum was thinking hosting the party here, there's at least 30 people here all crammed together in this little cottage. Too many familiar faces all at once, but they're all wrapped up in their own conversation to notice our entrance, thank god.
"Is that my baby brother I hear?!" My sisters cheery voice sounds from around the corner in the kitchen. I take Elena's hand back in mine as my mum leads us to the kitchen where a table of presents sits against the wall. I place the rectangular box on the side as my sister comes into view. A flurry of activity as she bounds towards us in her black polka dot dress.
"You're back to blonde" I remark as she reaches me, wrapping me in a tight hug. She's changed her hair since I've last seen her, but that was at least two months ago. She has a kid, visiting London is difficult for her.
"Yes I did how astute of you to notice" she steps back and turns to Elena, a bright smile across her freckled face. "You must be Elena, I'm Gemma, Harry sister" she formally introduces herself before Elena too is subjected to one of her tight hugs.
"It's nice to meet you" Elena replies politely as both my mum and sister stare at her.
"I'm so happy you both could come down, Harry you should find your uncle and say happy birthday. I think he's in the sitting room" My mother cheerfully says as she wanders over to the oven, checking something inside before closing it again. I know what they're doing, they're trying to get Elena on her own so they can ask her a thousand questions without me being there to calm them down.
"Sure, come on Elena I'll introduce you to him" I announce to the group of women, despite the fact that Gemma and Elena are already deep into a conversation. My mum shoots me a stern look that I ignore as I take Elena's hand and lead her out of the kitchen, she takes a hold of my arm as we walk.
"They seem lovely. Did I do okay" Elena whispers to me quietly as we descend down the two steps that lead into the sitting room.
"You did great, don't worry love" I give her hand a gentle squeeze before I navigate us past some of my uncles friends and find him sitting on the couch surrounded by other members of my family. He's a large man, always looked a lot like Santa. Which was fitting because as I found out later he was the one who would dress up like Santa for us during Christmas time.
"Harry! Oh it's good to see you mate!" Uncle Will immediately stands up and gives me a rough and vigorous hand shake. He's not so bad of a guy, just a little rough around the edges.
"Happy birthday Uncle Will. This is my girlfriend Elena" I gesture beside me to the smiling girl who's small hands are now being squeezed in a tight shake.
"Happy birthday" she tells him sweetly.
"Good to meet you darling, thank you for coming all this way. Both of you, I know you're busy but it's good to see you" Will addresses us both with a warm smile as Elena's hand is released from his grip. I can see Jack sitting nervously in the corner of the room, I choose to ignore him as I introduce Elena to my aunt and my two cousins.
A sudden shake on my leg causes me to look down as I see Charlie tugging on my jeans. Fuck she's grown up, she's standing pretty steadily on her feet, her blonde hair in two pigtails at the side of her head. I bend down and pick her up as she snuggles her head into me, I'm not much of a kid guy honestly but she's my niece, I have to be nice to her.
"Hello little missy. Charlie this is Elena, Elena this is my niece Charlie" I say softly to Elena, who immediately beams at the little girl.
"Hi sweetie, it's nice to meet you" Elena says to Charlie, who shyly hides her face in my neck for a second before peeking her head back out. She does this a couple of times, effectively playing peek a boo with me in the middle. I crane my head around, looking to see if I can find my sister.
"Come on lets get you back to your mama" I say to her as I gesture for Elena to follow me as we make our way back to the kitchen. Gemma grins widely as we enter.
"There's my munchkin" She squeals as I pass her over to my sister. Charlie still twists her head around to smile at Elena, who she seems to have warmed to quite quickly. "Did you say hi to Elena?" She asks the little girl, who pouts through her smile as she lifts up her hand to give Elena a small wave. Elena widely smiles back at her, giving her a little wave back.
"Elena would you mind giving me a hand with some of this food?" My mum asks from behind the counter, smiling dotingly at the four of us.
"Yeah of course, happy to help" Elena quickly hurried over to the other side of the counter to help my mum carry some dishes over to the dining table. Gemma comes to stand next to me as we watch them work.
"She seems lovely, I like her already. You should keep her" Gemma teases, rubbing her daughters back. I roll my eyes, of course she wants me to settle down, her and mum have been trying to talk me into it for years now.
"Well you like her too right? That's why she's the first girl you've ever brought home, ever actually talked about?" She reaffirms quietly. She's not wrong, I like to keep that sort of thing to myself, not that I have ever had this type of relationship before. Not all of my relationships have been through the matchmaking service but even they didn't feel as real or genuine as this one. As I watch Elena navigate her way through my childhood kitchen, helping my mum fill some pastry dishes with apples and strawberries, it all feels quite real.
I shrug. "We'll see"