Waking up on a beach is not as glamorous as it sounds. The brightness of the early morning was annoyingly glaring directly on our faces. The seagulls were screeching in our ears every 10 seconds. It felt like there was sand crawling all over. Before I can process anything, I hear the sound of Louis' voice. He was trying to wake everyone up.
"To our beds, yeah?"
I start to move my body but I was restricted by a pair of arms wrapped loosely around my waist. My back was facing Harry so I could only feel him waking up rather than actually seeing it. He moves around a bit before he pulls his hands away. He yawns loudly then burps which makes me want to laugh but I am so tired and possibly still a bit high that I can't.
We all slowly get up and begin our walk back to the house. I don't know any other way of describing what I was feeling other than very zombie-like. I even look it too. We all did. We were all walking slowly, mumbling incoherent sentences amongst ourselves. We also don't look our best. Liam and I were helping each other out, leaning and walking next to each other, trying not to drag the other one down.
I look up and see Louis and Harry were walking a few feet ahead of me. Louis was leaning in, telling him something quietly. I see Harry shake his head at him. I am able to just barely hear his response.
"It's too bloody early for this."
When we finally reach the house, I take in the mess in the kitchen and living room, as well as see everyone who passed out here before going back to our rooms, in desperate need of more sleep. I enter the empty room and head straight to the bed. I let out a quiet sigh when the front of my body hits the mattress. No beach can compare to this. My face feels hot against the cool, soft pillow, making me realize I probably got sunburnt.
The bed shifts next to me. My eyes were closed at this point but I know Harry is here. I can feel him moving around, placing the blanket on both of us. I can barely react when he cuddles up to me, resting his head on the middle of my back, using me as a pillow. He wraps a hand on my waist and tangles his legs with mine, cuddling in closer to me. I feel like I can barely think straight to react to this.
Once he settles on a spot, my head turns to rest my cheek against the pillow. My arm subconsciously moves. It ends up moving behind me and looped around Harry's neck. He feels chilly, which makes me realize I'm still wearing his hoodie. I feel guilty about wearing it all night.
He shifts slightly and covers us with more of the blanket. My hand on his head ends up somehow being tangled into his hair, which emits a low groan from him. This position sort of hurts my arm but I don't care. My fingers use up the little energy they have to slowly massage his head. It doesn't take me long before I fall fast asleep.
-
The only reason I wake up in what feels like an hour later was because I felt hot. Like I was boiling on this bed. I lowly groan, barely able to open my eyes, needing to move the blanket away from me. I felt like I was suffocating in this hoodie. I focus on the ceiling above my head and my cheek resting on something that didn't feel like a pillow.
I struggle for a bit because I could barely get it through my head. But at last, I am feeling significantly cooler without the sweater and blanket on me. I can barely open my eyes any longer than a few seconds after turning back on my side.
-
I don't know how long it's been the next time I wake up. It feels like I slept through the day but at least I wasn't that tired anymore. I was only beginning to fully wake up when I feel another body move right next to me. I realize Harry and I got pretty cozy while we were asleep. I blush when I feel my legs in between his and my head on his shoulder. He seemed to be waking up as well. I look down and see his arms were around my waist. I don't know how to describe what I was feeling right now. It had my stomach jumbling up in ways I've never felt before.
My eyes double in size once I see my shirt was gone and I was just in my black bra. I was frozen for a second, unsure of how this happened. The only logical explanation I can think of is that I must have accidentally taken it off when I took off the hoodie..
I quickly sit up, cringing at my sudden movements and hoping I don't wake Harry up. The last thing I want is for him to wake up and see me like this. I look around the bed and move the blanket slightly to see if my shirt was here. I grew frustrated when I didn't see it. My legs were underneath Harry's legs so it was an interesting position for me not to be able to just smoothly leave the bed to dress.
"Whoa," I hear a voice next to me murmur. My head quickly turns to Harry as he stares at me then immediately looks away. "Sorry, shit, erm—" he clears his throat.
I flush, feeling embarrassed and awkward. I look around frantically for my shirt or literally anything to cover my upper waist. I grip the blanket against my chest.
"Last night must have been crazy," he says. I pull the blanket higher and look over at him. His eyes were closed. "Er, I meant, like, out on the beach and stuff," he quickly says. That was the fastest I've heard him talk. "Not, like.. that.."
I softly chuckle at him, which makes him open his eyes. I glance at the blanket covering my upper half.
"I guess I was too hot in the middle of the night.. or morning."
He smiles at me. It's actually unfair how handsome he looks upon waking up after a night of drinking and sleeping on the beach. I decided I embarrassed myself enough in front of him so I move to get off the bed but then realize that his legs were on mine.
"Oh, sorry," he quietly says before he lifts up his legs and moves them to his side of the bed.
I smile as I swing my legs on the edge of the bed and spot the hoodie and shirt together on the floor. It was kind of funny how much of a hot mess we were sleeping. I toss my shirt over my head but want to immediately take it off once I smell faint odors of weed, wet sand, and sweat.
I walk over to my clothes and grab a fresh t-shirt. I've been using my suitcase as my closet since we've gotten here. I always told myself that I would honor what I said and only stay in this room until my bruise was gone. But after recent events with Harry, I was tempted to stay.
I can't, though. I know Gigi was up my ass about switching places with Adam, remember what she was saying last night after Pictionary. It would be nearly impossible for her to change her mind or even forget about the whole thing anyway.
I pop into the bathroom to refresh from last night's events. I don't feel 100 percent great, a result from lots and lots of drinks and getting high last night. My head has a dull headache and my throat felt scratchy and sore.
As soon as I exit the bathroom, my eyes lock with Harry, who's sprawled on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. His hair is messily laying on the white pillow while his body looks relaxed underneath the comforter. I put my dirty clothes on my suitcase and then walk over the bed, keeping an eye out for my phone.
"Wanna go out again?" He asks, his voice still raspy and a little sleepy. His eyes were still glued to the ceiling.
I stand in place, unsure he said what he said. "Like on a date?" My voice was hesitant and soft.
He nods and smiles, before turning his head to meet his eyes with mine. My heart flipped. Not just at his words but at the sight of him smiling lazily at me.
"Okay." My lips curl up into a shy smile. He sits up and rests on his elbows, green eyes still gazing into mine.
"Tonight?"
"Tonight?" Tonight was only a few hours from now. For our first date, I had time to prepare emotionally and physically. Tonight was tonight. There was just no way.
"Yeah, why not." He shrugs at me, a lazy smile hanging from his lips.
"Tonight?" I repeat. My eyebrows are raised as I glance at the clock on the nightstand and quickly do the math. "Like in 8 hours?"
"Yes, Ace." He chuckles. "Tonight."
Oh, my god. This triggers a memory. That's the nickname he gave me last night. God, it sounds even better than I remember.
What else happened last night? My mind quickly goes down the line of events: game night, drinking, winning Pictionary, more drinking, a certain lap dance that brought a flush to my cheeks at the thought, hanging out with the guys on the beach and smoking.. There was a few gaps that weren't filled, my mind too hazy to come up with the memories.
I try not to focus on that for the time being because I need to focus on giving him an answer. This date was so soon. Did he even have anything planned? How could we possibly sneak out like last time? What would we tell everyone? What would I even wear?
I had so many questions I wanted to ask but looking at Harry, laid across the bed, the natural light of the room bringing out the jade green in his eyes while his hair was a messy perfection, I felt like all I wanted to say to him was yes.
So that's exactly what I did.
"Alright," I say, "tonight."
"Details are forthcoming." He smirks. He pushes the blankets away from the bed so he can get up from the bed. He gives me a final look before walking past me and into the bathroom.
I am able to finally release the breath I didn't know I was holding. I stand in the same position for a minute more, trying to absorb everything that just happened. The fact that I thought I would never talk to someone like him much less go out, not just on one, but two dates with him just fucking blows my mind.
I think about everything that's happened between Harry and I. We end up sharing a bed because he accidentally gives me a giant bruise, he walks in on me while I was only in a bra (and saw me topless yet again this morning), we randomly made out the night of going to the club, we go on the most amazing date I've ever been on, I give him a fucking lap dance because of a game, and now we're going out again. Tonight.
I mean, I can write a whole novel as to why my life is fucking insane right now. There could be a whole movie or Netflix series about this summer—my summer— and how fucking amazing it's been.
My grumbling stomach pulls me out of the room. So much was going through my mind that if I didn't have a bite of food, I would probably faint. I find Liam in the kitchen. He was sitting on one of the chairs, his head resting on his arms that were on the counter. I chuckle once I hear him snoring. I walk past him and pour myself a glass full of ice cold water and take large gulps of it. It felt so satisfying down my throat. This was very much needed. I pop two Advil pills so I can make it through today without wanting to stuff my head into a bowl full of ice.
I couldn't find the energy or time to make myself something for breakfast so I just gather a bowl of cereal and milk. I walked to the living room where the couch was. Bella was sleeping on one half of the couch and Maggie on the other while Niall was sleeping underneath the coffee table. I chuckle at both of them before I go to sit at the kitchen table go eat.
A couple minutes later, I hear the sliding door from the backyard open. A towel-clad Beau with wet skin and hair walks in the kitchen.
"Morning," he tells me with a grin.
"Hi," I say, "were you out swimming?"
"Yeah," he says as he walks towards the fridge, grabbing a water bottle, "water feels so good. You want to join?"
"Shh," Liam grumbles from above the counter. Beau and I softly chuckle at him.
"Oops," he says.
"You know what?" I say with a quiet voice. "I'm in. Just let me finish my cereal."
"Yay! I'll meet you out there."
I eat the rest of my cereal as fast as I could. Being in the warm sun and water sounded really nice right now. It would help me recover from last night and well as calm me down for tonight. I wash my plate and cup then head upstairs to change into a swimsuit. I don't see Harry when I walk into the room. He's still showering. I choose my most revealing bikini, which was the teal one that I wore the other day we went swimming, because I wanted to lay out in the sun to get a bit of color.
Everything was exactly the way it was when I come back downstairs. It was weirdly quiet in this house. I guess everyone was still sleeping or just too lazy to get out of bed. But that wasn't so shocking because we all drank so much yesterday. It was questionable that none of us were at a really bad state right now, as far as I know.
I smile as soon as I get out of the house. The air was nice and fresh. I could hear the faint sounds of the waves in the distance. The sun was shining on the pool water. It was another beautiful day.
"How were you able to just wake up and come out here?" I ask Beau once I approach him. He was fiddling with a Bluetooth speaker on the patio table.
"I actually woke up feeling like shit." He chuckles. "Threw up a bit and thought I'd feel better spending time out here. Works wonders."
I nod and grab a towel and place it down on a lounging chair. I walk over to put on some sunscreen. It wasn't too hot. It was a little breezy but the sun was warm enough to want to jump in the pool. It was heated anyway.
"How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good, weirdly enough," I say, "I don't know how I'm not unconscious right now."
I think the Advil kicked in already, thankfully.
"I feel you."
"Is everyone else asleep?"
"I think so."
I lay down on the chair and sighed contently as I make myself comfortable. Beau rests on the chair next to me after connecting his phone to the Bluetooth speaker.
"What time did you sleep?"
"I.. don't know," I respond, "really late."
"I don't recall falling asleep in the living room," Beau says with a laugh. "Woke up confused as fuck."
"I do," I tell him, "I considered waking you up but you looked so peaceful."
He and I giggle and then spend some time listening to the music while enjoying the feel of the sun on our skin. It felt like my body was waking up and absorbing energy back into it.
"I can't believe this is our summer," I say, almost pinching myself. I feel like I've been repeating myself since we got here but every single morning was so shocking and amazing. Everything was so perfect and it was only just getting started. Then I realized I haven't talked to my mom for a while. I mentally note to call her later. I was still squirming with guilt but as the days went by, I knew the risks was worth taking because I knew that this was going to be the best summer ever.
"I know right," he says with a sigh, "so, who's the cutest in your opinion?"
"What?" I ask, looking over at him.
"Of the guys!" He says with a cheeky smile, sunglasses resting on his nose. "Zayn is almost too handsome, if that's even possible."
"Ooh, someone's got a crush!"
"Just a mere appreciation," he says with a small giggle.
"Yeah, he is pretty," I say, "prettier than me."
"Niall's cute too. You know all of them have their own little thing, it's sickening."
"Yeah," I say, trailing off. He was right. Every single one of them were ridiculously good looking. I couldn't believe we're actually sharing a house with them and becoming good friends. They were all so charming and fun to be around. I don't know how I got so lucky to even be in their presence.
"Oh, my god, and Harry is, like," he pauses as he fans himself, like the temperature suddenly rose, "a whole ass man."
I feel butterflies in my stomach just hearing his name. I don't know how to respond. I don't want to be too obvious with my crush or how we're actually pretty good friends. And that we've been on a date together.
"By the way, you're fucking welcome! How was it giving the world's hottest lap dance to the world's hottest man?!"
I laugh beneath my hands covering my hands, shaking my head. The foggy events of that moments burn in my brain. I don't remember everything but I can picture the beginning of what happened and when it was over.
"It was.. I don't know!" I squirm at his questions, my cheeks burning, "you and Bella have some fucking nerve doing that to me!"
"Please, we did you and Harry a big ass favor. I was going to go crazy if I spent another day feeling your guys' sexual tension without anything being done."
"Beau!" I gasp, taken aback by his bold statement but I should've seen it coming from him. "Jesus."
"Oh, come on, it's there, bitch. Admit it."
"Nope," I say, mostly just to make him drop the subject.
"Whatever you say, hon," he hums, "but you cant deny this: both of you enjoyed the show."
I glance over at him, wanting to ask more about Harry's reaction because I don't really remember and was aware of it. I was going to grill Bella as soon as she is able to sit and have a conversation. But I could ask someone who doesn't know about of Harry and I and whatever is going on between us like Bella does.
"I have never seen you like that with a guy," he adds, "made my entire fucking summer."
"That's 'cause I'm not like that," I snort, "I had a million drinks in my system and the intense peer pressure from a group of people."
"I lived for every minute of it, Lace," he says, "we all did, especially Harry."
"Really? He didn't look.. grossed out?" I laugh, unsure on how to ask him to give me more details.
"No, Lace." He chuckles. "He was definitely feeling it, you lucky bitch. I took a shit ton of videos if you want to see for yourself."
"Oh, god, no." I'd rather not relive that embarrassing and cringe-worthy moment. But then again, my friends have been nothing but nice about it since last night. Maybe I didn't do as bad as I imagined. I'm mentally patting myself on the back. I still feel totally embarrassed but felt slightly better about it now after listening to what Beau has to say.
"You two have the right idea." We both turn around to see who it was. We both smile and greet Niall as he squints at us.
"Come join us," Beau exclaims with a smile.
"For sure. Give me a moment." He walks away from where the sliding door was and back inside. Beau and I both turn back around and continue laying with our eyes closed.
"So, like, do you think if one of us hooked up with one of them, it would be bad?" I ask. "Like it would affect.. the house or change anything?"
"Who did you hooked up with?" He asks me immediately with narrowed eyes.
"No one," I answer back at let out a breathy chuckle. "I was just wondering.."
"Mhmm," he says with a smile remaining, "well, to answer your question, I don't think it'd be bad. I don't think it should be because that's the business between two individuals and only them. But I guess at the same time, something would be different with the dynamics."
I nod thoughtfully. "You think Gigi would care?" I blankly ask. "'Cause, you know, they're her brother's friends."
"Only if it was Harry," he snorts, "she practically has a leash on him."
I stay quiet. I don't want him to think anything of these questions I was asking since he's already pretty suspicious. I just couldn't help myself. I was so curious as to what he thinks of having a potential romance with one of the guys.
I had no clue what would happen between Harry and I from now on. All I know is that we've shared a few kisses, been on a date, and gotten closer ever since we met a week ago.
I do see him as my friend and as someone that I have a genuine connection with that's mostly platonic now. Every time we have a conversation, it just flows out of both of us and we can talk about anything for hours. We both have similar interests and a similar sense of humor. We get along well and I would hate to ruin that.
I don't know how he sees me/us. I don't know exactly what his intentions are. I can only hope they're good ones. I know I'm attracted to him and think he's a great guy. I can feel myself liking him more and more as more than a friend. At the same time, I don't want to jump ahead of myself because I don't know where he's coming from. At the end of the day, he's a guy. I know how cruel they can be (my father being a prime example) and have experienced meeting some and being so disappointed that they only want to talk to me just to hook up.
I rather go with the flow and see how things go instead of overthinking and analyzing everything. I don't want to force feelings or apply too much pressure to this. There's nothing wrong with letting this be what it's meant to be. I also wouldn't want to romanticize him or make up scenarios in my head. I don't want to become attracted solely to the idea of him. It won't be the easiest thing for me to accept but I'm gonna try my best.
The more I think about all of this, the more I kind of want to back out of this date tonight..
I know it sounds crazy but what if something happens and I'm the only one that ends up getting hurt? What if it permanently ruins Gigi's and I friendship? What if it was all for nothing? I'd rather stop now and save us both the trouble. For all I know, Harry can just be charming and paying attention to me only to play me around and see me as a casual fling, not truly caring about me. For all I know, Harry might not have the purest intentions.
There's nothing wrong with a person wanting something casual but I know what I want and it's not that. I've never been the person to be able to want that. I don't know why. My friends have had their experiences with hook ups and casual relationships and have told me about it but it's never stood out as a desire to me. I don't think I'd ever be able to keep things casual. I mean, I once built a whole fantasy life around a super cute mailman even though we've never interacted. I guess I just long for things like real romance and long-term relationships. But it's not like that I have much experience in either.
I stop myself, wanting to punch myself in the face. I'm overthinking again. I really wanted to talk to my best friends and ask them for advice. I don't have the most experience with guys and I knew they would be so helpful. I was tempted to spill everything to Beau right here, right now. But I don't. I can't. The only one I could talk to was Bella. I really hoped she was awake and feeling up for a chat. I could also talk to Niall because he basically knows everything. But that might be a bit awkward for the both of us.
Beau gets up and says he's going to get back into the pool. This small interaction snaps me out of my loud thoughts. Niall comes out from the house again. He barely hangs out for long before he's running towards the pool and jumping right in. They playfully yell at me to come in.
"In a few!" I reply. "Got to flip first." I turn over and lay on my stomach. I'm not thinking about much about the whole Harry situation as more voices come outside to join us. Sierra happily walks over and dips in her feet, slowly getting in the water. Louis comes out and takes a seat on the chair next to me where Beau was.
"How's it going?" He asks me as he lays out, loading up on sunscreen and suntan lotion.
"Can't complain," I respond with a smile.
He nods and agrees. "How many hours of sleep did you get?"
I feel like I can't even do math right now. I pause for a bit, trying to take a calculated guess. "A total of five hours."
"Same here. But last night was fun, eh?"
"Yes," I say with a chuckle.
"What was a highlight for you?"
I think for a few seconds. I can think of a lot of highlights.
"Niall wall-twerking to Pitbull." I laugh with him as we both recall the moment.
"His greatest moment ever."
"I'm really glad you guys are here with us," I candidly tell him.
"Likewise." He gives me a wide smile.
"Lou, you gonna get in or are you too busy sunbathing, you dickhead?" Niall shouts.
"Oi, watch your mouth, knob!"
"We having a pool party, lads?" Liam comes out, talking in his awful British accent.
"Yes, dude. Surfs up!" Niall tells him back in an American accent.
We all laugh and spend the rest of the time swimming and hanging out in the sun. As time went on, others began to join us outside, going in and out. Bella stayed on the lounging chairs as did Gigi. Zayn and Adam both went in the water. We refresh ourselves on last night's events, laughing hard at most and cringing at others.
"You lot brought out the competitive side in me I didn't know I had," Zayn tells us.
"Tried to warn you, bud," Adam says.
"Yeah," Gigi says with a chuckle, "we take game nights pretty seriously."
We all relaxed out in the backyard, needing a day dedicated to doing nothing. Most of us felt so tired and hungover. We've earned a day where we do absolutely nothing. I was still very nervous about my date with Harry tonight. I had no idea what to expect. I was also still mind-blown that Harry even wanted to go on a second date. He actually asked me. That's got to be a good sign, right? I don't know if it means he likes likes me but it has to mean he isn't annoyed by my company.
I let out a sigh and repeat to myself, Go with the flow.
I felt like I could fall asleep on this lounge chair. The sun felt so warm and nice on my skin, like I was being hugged by a warm blanket. I was so close to drifting off until I feel two hands tightly grab my waist. My eyes open widely, a yelp escaping my mouth.
"Swimming time, Lacey!" Liam yells out as he manages to twist my body and pick me up. His arms are around my stomach as he keeps me in the air, my legs kicking outwards. I try to move my body, especially my legs, so I can escape but he has a solid grip on me.
"Liam!" I say once he starts walking off towards the pool as I dangle on him. "Stop!"
"Any last words?" He asks me with an evil laugh. He was hovering me over the edge, his hands gripping me tightly. I kept moving but he still doesn't budge. I felt slightly sick being carried like this.
"I'm going to kill you!" I say seconds before he loosens the grip of his arm and legs me go. I scream as I fall right into the water. I felt the sudden cooling sensation, quickly surfacing and hearing Liam and everyone else laughing along at this whole thing. I move my now wet hair out of my face and head towards the edge, lifting myself up so I can get Liam back.
"Round 2 already?!" Liam says, backing away once he sees me coming towards him.
"Come here!" I shout when Liam begins to run away. I am careful with my steps because I am soaking and don't want to slip and fall on the concrete. Liam runs around to the other side of the pool, looking back at me. Louis sneaks up behind him and grabs his arms, holding him in place.
"Get 'im, Lacey!"
Liam is obviously blindsided, struggling under the hold Louis has him on. "Dude, what the hell?!"
"Sorry, mate. This is the way it has to be."
"I'll never forgive you!"
I reach both of them and join Louis in keeping Liam at bay and unable to run away so we can push him in the pool.
"Any last words?" I tell him, feeling good that I'm going to get to avenge myself.
"Yeah," he says with a grin, "hold your breath!"
"What-" My confusion is cut off when Liam is quick to slip his arms out from Louis and I's hands and moves away, enough to go behind me and grab me. He pulls both of us towards the pool and we both fall in. I surface from the water, slightly coughing. I wasn't expecting him to be able to do that. I thought I had him.
"Ha!" Liam says once he pops up from the water.
I move my arms and legs to push myself up since we were in the deep end. I roll my eyes at him before swimming away.
"This isn't over!" I tell him.
I was very serious about getting my revenge. The girls and I still needed to plan the perfect revenge prank on the guys for the other day when they faked Liam disappearing into the ocean.
I see Bella getting up from the chair she was laying on and heading inside of the house. I figured this was my chance to go and talk to her. This whole Harry situation has my stomach churning. I just didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Bella!" I harshly whisper once I am able to catch up to her in the living room. I almost slipped a few times running to her because I'm still dripping with pool water, clinging onto the towel I had wrapped around me.
She turns around and smiles at me. "What's up?"
"I need help," I rush, making sure no one was earshot.
"What happened?" She looks a bit concerned.
"He asked me out again!" I whispered this but my eyes were kept wide. She looks at me for a second before pulling me and leading me up to the second floor. Before I knew it, I was in her room with the door locked.
"Explain."
"It was earlier today," I begin saying, "I walk out of the bathroom and he just asks me out!"
"Oh, my god."
"I know." I begin pacing back and forth, slightly out of breath. Our voices are still lowered just in case someone passes by and is able to hear us.
"Well, what you say?"
"I said yes, like an idiot!"
"You're not an idiot," she says with a chuckle.
"Dude, I can't go!"
"Because..?" Bella looks confused. "He's hot, so are you! You two get along. Am I missing something?"
"Uh, yeah," I sigh, stop my legs from moving and face her. "He's Gigi's brother."
"Fuck, I forgot about her."
I pace again, words spilling out of my mouth before I can stop them. "I can't go out with him again. I can't do anything with him. I can't do this."
Bella walks up to me and stops me with her hands on my shoulders. "Okay, Lace, breathe. Remove the Gigi factor for a sec." I let out a loud breath. "Are you attracted to Harry?"
"I, uh, well—"
She shakes me. I stare at her with wide eyes. "No. Don't think, just answer! Yes or no?"
"Yes," I blurt out. I think a lamppost would be attracted to Harry.
"Great. Do you think you two have chemistry?"
"I, um—"
"Yes or no?"
"Yes," I breathe out after a second.
"Great. Do you believe you two have a connection that you would like to further explore?"
"I mean—"
"Ah, ah." She narrows her eyes and points a finger at me. I break a smile and playfully roll my eyes at her and nod, letting out a flat 'yes.' She squeals, clapping her hands together. I continue smiling yet thinking about a particular worry I had in mind.
"Last question. Remember, yes or no." I nod. "Do you want to be happy?"
My answer came immediately came to mind but I take a second before saying it anyway. "Yes."
She removes her hands off me and shrugs lightly. "Well, there you go."
I sigh again, still wrapped up in endless confusing thoughts.
"Bonus question."
"What?"
"You know Gigi better than I do. Do you think she'll come around to you and Harry if you guys, you know, go for it?"
I purse my lips and look down at the floor. This question kind of stumped me. I mean, I've thought about it enough that I should've come to a conclusion already. But it was still hard for me to tell. I don't even know what exactly Harry and I would end up being.
"Honestly, I have no idea."
"I think she will," Bella reassures me with a small shrug.
"Really?" My voice was hopeful.
"Duh!" She nods and laughs. "If you two end up marrying each other, that means you and her will be sisters-in-law. Why wouldn't that be cool for her?"
I nervously laugh. That's a big word to think about.
Marriage.
With Harry.
Wow.
"Holy shit, Bells," I say, eyes wide, cheeks flushed, "we're barely going on a second date."
"Alright, alright." She laughs. "But I'm telling you this now. If you do, I better be a bridesmaid."
"Bella!" I laugh again.
She's about to walk away from me before I call out to her again. I really wanted her opinion on something. I think she'd know what to say. No bullshit, no sugar-coating. Just the truth.
"What's up?"
"Do you think," I pause, finding the right words, "Harry might not want to be more than friends?"
"What do you mean, like in a relationship?"
I nod my head. He said yesterday he's never been in one, who's to say that he wants one right now?
"Yeah. Do you think he only wants.. one thing from me?"
"Which is?" She comes closer to me with her arms crossed. I look down, unsure if I can say the words.
"Well, like, um, like physical stuff.. like super causal, friends-with-benefits stuff.."
I look down with an embarrassed look on my face. I feel like I can die right now and be fine with it.
"Oh, Lacey," she chuckles softly and places her over my arms again to make me look back up at her. "You think all he wants is sex from you?"
I am so self-conscious right now and I hate it. Why do I have to be so ashamed about these kinds of things? I wish I could be more outspoken about a completely normal human thing.
"Well, at the end of the day, he is a man," she begins saying, "and even though women want sex just as much as they do, they are typically more forward about it than us."
I nod. My friends, especially Beau and the girls, would never hold back when talking about this topic. I would join in at times but only to say a comment or two and that's pretty much it. I truly had no idea how to approach those kinds of things. My personal experiences with boys were pretty limited. The ones I did have were blocked out from my memory because of how embarrassing and cringe-worthy they were. Not to mention, I lost my virginity to one of my best friends but that's a memory I don't want to think about right now.
"Has he made you feel like that could be possibly all he wants?"
I purse my lips, recounting all the times we've been fairly intimate. It's all kisses and lingering touches. He's never actually said anything explicitly sexual to me. If he has, I never caught on or it was purely flirtatious. I think I've only been aware of when he's flirting a few times but he's so charming and just oozes seduction that it just comes natural to him.
"I guess not," I sigh out.
"Don't sweat it then," she suggests, "it'll only mess with your head and fuck up this thing between you guys before it has a chance to blossom into something."
"Blossom?" I chuckle.
"Oh, shut up," she laughs.
-
Lunch was simple. Technically, it was a late lunch. Liam and Adam made fish tacos for everyone. We each served ourselves and decided where and when to eat. We didn't all sit at the table. It was more casual than usual. Liam and Adam were hanging out in the kitchen as they ate and talked with Beau, Niall, Gigi, Harry, and I. All four of us got a seat in front of the island. I didn't try sitting next to Harry on purpose. I was the last one to come down to eat because I was taking a shower. He just happened to be sitting next to the only empty chair. We sent each other cheeky glances once I sat down with my plate of food.
"We are hitting up Paradise on Thursday," Beau says, "Danny invited us to a private event."
"Ooh," Gigi says, "sounds fun."
"I love Danny, he's such a boss," Niall says.
"Thursday?" Adam asks. "That's seems like a random day for a private event."
"Everyday is a Saturday in the summer," Beau says.
"So, we're not doing anything tonight?" Liam asks, munching on his taco. All of us shrug and look at each other.
"I'm pretty tired from all the sun I got today," I say, biting back a smile, not knowing what Harry had planned for this date but I assumed we're sneaking out again.
I felt better after Bella and I's conversation earlier. There was no reason for me to worry about Harry and I or put pressure on it. We were friends and that was fine. Who knows if this second date would even lead to anything?
"Me too," Niall says, "I reckon all this sun has shocked my system since it's so used to cold and rain."
"Same here," Harry breaks his silence, "it's a whole new world."
I laugh and take another bite of this delicious taco. I look around and notice I forgot to get a drink and my mouth was feeling dry. I was honestly not feeling like getting up to do it so I just look over at the one closest to the fridge. I finish chewing and gently interrupt the conversation going on.
"Adam?"
"Yeah?" He looks at me.
"Can you please get me a glass of water?" I ask sweetly. "With ice?"
"Sure." He smiles back. I thank him as he turns around and gets a cup to fill with water and ice. Harry turns his head to me and makes eye contact. He smiles a bit as he shakes his head. I innocently tilt my head at him, everyone else oblivious to this.
"What?" I quietly ask. He continues shaking his head before turning back around and continues eating. Adam gives me an ice cold glass and I thank him again.
"We can have a movie night," Gigi suggests. "I am pretty tired so we should start it in, like, an hour."
"I'm down with that," Liam agrees.
"Good luck settling on a movie," Adam chuckles.
"My idea, therefore my pick."
"That's so unfair!" Liam whines.
"If her pick is any Marvel flick," Niall says, "then it's totally fair."
"Or anything with Timothée Chalamet!" Beau adds.
"She has the worst taste in movies," Liam groans out.
"I do not!" Gigi scoffs.
"The last time it was your turn to pick a movie, we watched that Nutcracker shit. Whack as fuck."
"That movie is beautiful!"
"Whack as fuck," Liam repeats with an eye roll.
"How about," I say, wanting to keep the peace between everyone, "we all write a movie suggestion on a piece of paper and choose that way?"
"This isn't charades," Gigi immediately rejects the idea.
"Thank god it isn't because you suck at that too!" Liam tells her.
"We can vote," I make another suggestion. The air was getting too tense too quickly. "You and Liam each choose a movie and we vote on one."
"What is this, an election?" Gigi says with a certain tone that I couldn't keep listening to any longer.
"Alright then," I say, becoming annoyed with Gigi. "You guys figure it out."
Gigi was being short with me and I didn't want to snap at her for something like this. I couldn't tell if she was serious or not but I didn't want to take any chances. Also, my body was still recovering from last night so I just physically couldn't be here any longer.
"See?" Liam says as I rinse my plate. "You've made the sweetest girl in the world leave because of you."
"I was only joking!" Gigi says back. "Sort of."
They continue arguing as I quickly finish with my dishes and walk out. I end up in the living room, joining Bella, Sierra, and Louis. I wave at them and sit down on the couch and let out a giant sigh.
"Alright, Lacey?" Louis asks me, stopping his conversation with the girls. I simply nod my head but I can feel another headache coming in.
"You sure?" Bella asks.
"Yeah, we sort of heard literally everything," Sierra says with a comforting smile.
"It's fine," I say, not wanting to be so hung up on that anymore. It's best if I just let it go.
"Gigi's being Gigi, huh?" Bella says. "You want me to talk to her for you?"
I shake my head at her and stand up, not feeling like being around people any more. "No, it's fine, really. I'm gonna go check in with my mom."
I felt like shit so I wanted to turn to the only person I can think of that would make me feel better. My mom and I have only texted a few times since last night, for obvious reasons. I go up to the room and grab my phone from the nightstand where it was left charging. I go out into the balcony, leaving the door ajar. I lean on the railing, feeling the breeze on my shoulders as I await for my mom to pick up. This fresh air felt good. I mindlessly look over the pool and the whole view, taking in how truly beautiful it all was. I let out a small groan when I'm sent to voicemail. I send her a quick text message.
Me: Hey mom, it's your daughter, remember her?
Lol, I just wanted to say goodnight. Believe it or not, I'm going to sleep soon because I'm suuuuper tired. Night ❤️
I continue staring at the breathtaking view. I hate how down I feel at the moment when I should just be happy and peaceful just standing here. But instead, I'm getting worked over my own best friend. I didn't question how tense it was between Gigi and I, especially since last night she practically kicked me out of this room and embarrassed me in front of everyone. And I gave a lap dance to her own brother. I cringe, feeling bad I even did that. I think I apologized to her for doing that. I don't regret it but at the same time I thought that maybe I would have been better off passing on the dare and taking the crazy amounts of shots.
The only way to fix the situation is to switch rooms and have a chat with Gigi to clear the air about last night. I wanted to know how she was feeling. She doesn't seem like herself right now. I should also apologize again for last night because it must have been weird for her to know what I did.
"Psst," I hear a voice whisper and it made me nearly jump out of my skin.
"Oh, my god," I murmur after I turn to the door, holding onto my rapidly beating heart, like I was preventing it from coming out.
"Sorry," Harry sheepishly says but his amused smile tells me he's not that sorry. He opens the door wide enough for him to come in and he closes it back. I'm beginning to calm down when I notice a certain look in his eyes.
"What's up?" I nervously blabber out, realizing it's just the two of us in this relatively small space.
He holds back a big grin as he steps closer. I stay in my place, my back right against the railing as I watch him lock eyes with me. I take a big gulp as both his arms move to go around me. He doesn't touch me, his hands stay on the railing on each side of me, like he was holding me in place.
He's taller when he's this close to me. I tilt my neck up just to look at him. My nose is directly in front of his mouth. It looked so warm and inviting. I glance down at his dimples when they pop up. Both of us haven't spoken in what feels like an hour. We just stare at each other, trying not to break out into wide grins. He leans in closer and I'm almost certain he's going to kiss me.
"Midnight. Driveway. Dress warm."
My knees almost buckle at the sound of his voice. His face was so close to me that I could feel his breath on my cheek. I slowly blink up at him, my heart beating faster and faster with each second I spend looking into his pale green eyes.
"Okay," I breathe out.
As soon as I give him an answer, he smiles down at me. He looked like he was about to actually kiss me this time but it's like he realizes he's about to do and stops. He pulls his arms back to his sides and I look at him as he walks off, taking backwards steps. He sends me a cheeky wink before reaching the door and leaving.
I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding and let my body loosen against the railing. He was going to be the death of me if he doesn't stop with these intimate moments and awfully good charm.
I almost have a breakdown about how the hell we were both going to sneak away tonight when we're all supposed to watch a movie together. But I needed to stop worrying. I wasn't alone in this. Bella and Niall could help us out if we needed a cover. I just needed to think this through and be smart. Although, focusing on how to leave was going to be hard because now I have to come up with an outfit for tonight and prepare myself to be alone with Harry again.
I take my time going back inside, not knowing if Harry was still here. I peek in and see the room is empty. I decide to get ready now before I didn't have much of a chance to later. I was going to leave everything ready so I can just come up here and go. I couldn't really settle on a outfit. He said to dress warm but I didn't bring a lot of warm clothes when I packed for the beach.
After a good 15 minutes, I pick something warm and cute. I fold and set aside a pair of black oversized jeans that fit me big but not too big that they look ridiculous. I added a black skinny belt with it so it could cinch on my waist. I pair it with a plain black crop top that went down to my mid-riff, which is about where the jeans went up to. It wasn't the warmest but I figured I can just bring my favorite white fuzzy cardigan.
I couldn't dwell on it any longer because I heard Liam calling out that the movie was going to start soon. I rush to get all the makeup I would use in one bag in the bathroom. Looking at my reflection, I feel pretty nice without makeup on. I have a glow to my face, which I could only thank the sun and all the relaxation I'm getting for it. I can also see some freckles on my nose and some underneath my eyes. My cheeks were a bit red and I had some spots but I felt good enough to only want minimal makeup.
I leave everything ready for me so I can spend less than 15 minutes getting ready. I hoped I didn't overestimate myself. I hear the door open and a voice following.
"Lace?" It was Bella.
"Yeah?" I say, walking out of the bathroom.
"So?" Her eyebrows perk up at me. "What's the plan?"
"We're meeting up at midnight," I say with a low voice, "out front."
She squeals a bit and quietly claps her hands together. "Wait, how are you going to sneak out? Gigi has a whole ass movie marathon planned."
"I'm going to hang with you guys for one movie. After, I'm just going to say that I'm tired and I'm going to sleep but really—"
"You're coming up here, getting ready, then going out with Mr. Dimples," she finishes for me with a sly grin.
"That's about it." I shyly smile.
"But how are you gonna get out?"
"I'm just going to have to be really, really quiet."
"At least you can't see the front door from the den."
"And knowing Liam, he's going to want to blast the sound system to make it 'sound like a real movie theater.'"
Bella and I giggle together and give each other a high five. Liam shouts for everybody to get downstairs now.
"Niall and I will cover for you guys if we need to," she says, "I'll prep him on your plan and see if he knows what Harry will do."
"I have no idea what I would do without you."
"Neither do I." She smiles smugly.
I exhale deeply, too anxious to wait about two more hours for this date.
"I just wish I knew what Harry has planned. He's very mysterious with these things."
Well, I've only been on one date with him but he was very secretive with that as well. But it turned out perfectly so I can only imagine what he has for tonight is on the same level. Even if it wasn't, I wouldn't care. Just hanging out wirh
"I'll try to find out," Bella tells me, "although, Niall doesn't know how to get information out of people. I'll have to teach him my ways."
-
The movie was going to start in about 5 minutes. I'm in the kitchen with Adam, Sierra, Zayn, and Louis. Liam was telling everyone to hurry up but he wasn't patient enough for the popcorn to finish popping.
"Have we got any chocolates?" Zayn asks, looking around the pantry.
"Yeah, we bought stuff to make s'mores," Sierra says, "check the top of that shelf."
"Ah, got it, thanks."
"We're making s'mores?" I ask her.
"Gigi wants to do a bonfire soon."
I nod in response and serve myself a drink.
"I'm going to press play," we hear Liam shout from the living room, "I swear to God!"
"Liam, relax, bud," Louis says with a chuckle, "you want anything from the kitchen?"
We don't hear anything from him until a few seconds later. We almost burst out into laughter at how dramatic Liam was being. As if us taking an extra minute to grab food would affect the movie in any way, like we were in an actual movie theater.
"Chips," Liam says back with a normal-speaking voice.
"Coming right up!" Louis tells him in response.
"What are we watching?" I ask as I walk into the living room. I choose a free spot at the end of the couch.
Liam is taking up a lot of the couch as he lays down on it. Maggie, Sierra, Beau and Bella have made a cute bed area on the floor in front of the television. Gigi comes in and joins them while everyone else gets situated on the couch. The only people I didn't see were Niall and Harry.
"Guardians of the Galaxy!" Liam shouts excitedly.
"After we're watching A Star is Born," Gigi says, sending a glare to Liam.
"Hey, it's not my fault you also suck at rock, paper, scissors."
Niall walks in with a grin, not containing his excitement for this movie. "Marvel for the win!"
"Hell yeah, man!" Liam tells him and they high five each other.
"Everyone settled?" Louis asks around as he stands up to turn off the lights.
"Zoey's in the loo," Zayn tells him.
"Where's Harry?" Liam asks.
"He doesn't feel like watching movies," Gigi says.
"I'm here!" Zoey says, rushing over towards us and settles in.
Louis turns off the lights once Liam presses play on the movie. Sounds of us munching on popcorn and chips are heard as the movie begins. I glance at the time on my phone. 9:35. This movie is about 2 hours long. When it ends, I would need to practically jump out of my seat and upstairs to get ready.