"I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt...It's just...Can I help you with that?"
***
I had come into the diner to pick up lunch when I heard the bickering.
The weather in Malibu wasn't cold, but the fog hadn't quite burned off either, leaving a slight chill in the air. On my walk back from the beach, I slipped my sweatshirt on, keeping my shorts off so my bikini bottoms could dry. I silently prayed that the top of my swimsuit dried enough that it wouldn't leave any embarrassing marks behind.
I was meant to swing by earlier, but the swells were too good and I was too stubborn to give them up, despite getting pummeled over and over again by the waves that were nothing less than unforgiving. I hadn't mastered surfing yet, but that didn't mean I would stop trying.
I didn't normally come to this diner, but Niall mentioned that this place had good food, and when we were working out what we were going to do last week. I told him it was close enough to the beach I frequented when I was in Malibu that I could grab us lunch when I was done being wiped out one too many times and then pop over to his house so we could catch up.
The diner was cute. It didn't have that 1950s feel that many diners often had, more like a step up from the shacks on the beach fronts back home. I had called ahead of time to place our orders, seeing as I was already running late and I didn't want to keep Niall waiting any longer than he had to, our time together as limited as it was.
When I sat down at a table to wait for my order to be called—burgers and fries for the both of us, a coke for me and a chocolate shake for him—I saw them. They were sitting at a table a little ways away from mine. One of the guys, sporting a full beard and hair down to his shoulders, a little shorter than my own, seemed to be arguing with his friend sitting across from him. Not thinking much of it, I went back to scrolling on my phone and answering some texts I had gotten while I was out on the water.
My order was finally called. As I was picking it up and thanking the girl who gave it to me, a gracious smile on my face, I heard what the two men were bickering about.
"How could you have left it at your house?" The guy with long hair said. "You've literally been wearing it every day for the past three weeks."
I watched, curious, as the man's friend ran a hand through his dark hair. "I know but I was in a rush to meet you, and I forgot it! Now could you please help me figure out how to wrap this around my wrist?" My curiosity peaked when I heard a British accent come from the bearded man's friend. I looked over to see what they were bickering about and smiled to myself a little.
I could finally see the dude's friend's side profile, widening my eyes a bit as I did so, but then I saw what was in his hands. He was holding a roll of white athletic tape, and when I looked at their table, I noticed the crumpled up bits of tape that made their previously failed attempts very evident.
From my time spent in LA, I knew that most celebrities found this city (aside from certain pockets) the one place they could go without being disturbed; it was the one place where the people who live here were so used to seeing famous people walking around that they knew not to bother them. But it was clear from the bearded man and his very famous friend that they were struggling, and I was more than qualified to help. So as I was walking towards the exit, I made the executive decision to stop at their table.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt...I just...Can I help you with that?"
The two friends looked up at me, surprise eclipsing their faces. "It's just, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I would've felt bad if I didn't say anything knowing that I could help. I'm a physical therapist? Well, technically I'm still in school for physical therapy, but I'm almost done. But I can most certainly wrap a wrist. I also spent some time as an athletic trainer? You don't have to say yes, I just thought I would offer because it looks like you really need it?"
I wasn't sure if it was nerves from talking to a stranger in general or if it was because I was talking to a famous stranger, but almost every sentence that should've been a clear and confident statement came out like a question. Dumbass, how are they gonna take you seriously now?
The two just stared at me, blinking at me a couple times before the bearded guy spoke up. "Oh thank God. Yes. Please help this idiot, we have no idea what we're doing." His friend shot him a look that read, shut up, before turning back to me.
"If you don't mind," was all he said. A man of few words, I noted. Make it quick, Luz, and be on your way.
"Oh, it's not a problem at all," I said, giving both men a warm smile.
He smiled a bit, and I spotted a dimple indenting his cheek. "You can sit down," he said while pulling out a chair."
"Oh thanks," I said as I began to sit down, but stopped as I noticed something. "You don't have any ACE bandage?"
The bearded man quirked an eyebrow and looked over to his friend as if to say, Yeah, stupid, how could you not have that? His friend shot him another look, but all he said was, "I didn't know I needed it. No one mentioned it to me."
"I mean, it's not a huge deal, I guess. If you're not particularly attached to the hair on your arm and wrist, that is." The dude with the beard covered his mouth with his hand, stifling a laugh.
The guy's friend just looked at me with a perplexed expression on his face, clearly not understanding me. "What I'm trying to say is that taking the tape off at the end of the day is going to hurt like a bitch if there's nothing between it and your skin."
His eyes widened at my words, and I wasn't sure if it was because of what I said or because I had said "bitch" but I hoped for the former. "Look, I have some ACE bandage in my car. I can wrap it outside, or I can grab it and come back?"
He thought about it for a moment, then looked at me again. "No, I can go out to your car."
"Awesome! Look, it was nice meeting you, but I gotta go. You guys have fun." The dude with the beard got up from the table. He quickly shook my hand, then patted his friend on the back before walking to the exit.
"I'll see you later, man." He leaned down and whispered something in his friend's ear that I couldn't hear, and left without another word or look back at us.
His friend sat there for a moment, like he couldn't believe the bearded man just up and left him with a stranger, and honestly I couldn't either. If my friend, or any of my siblings did that to me I would be pissed. He seemed to recover quickly, looking at me as he began to get up from the table as well.
"Mitch, the little shit, left me with the bill," he said as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet, pulled out a couple bills, then put it back. He looked at me again, a small smile spreading. "Lead the way."
I looked at him for a moment, taking him all in now that he was standing up. He was dressed casually, jeans, a tshirt, a pair of black Vans, and curly brown hair pushed back by a pair of black sunglasses. Even so, I felt underdressed. And that's when I remembered I wasn't wearing any shorts. Dear God. I quickly shook my head and began walking towards the door. It's fine, you walk around in just bathing suit bottoms all the time, and you're close enough to the beach for it to make sense. Don't start freaking out now.
We started the walk to my car. I got to the diner early enough to beat any sort of lunch crowd, so my car was parked close by thankfully. As we were walking, he spoke up. "I'm Harry, by the way."
Oh, I knew exactly who he was. My sisters worshiped the ground One Direction walked on, which eventually led to a deep love for Harry's, Harry Styles that is, solo work. I won't lie, I enjoyed his, and One Direction's, music too, just not the way my younger siblings did, which was very passionately and very loudly.
I looked up and over to where Harry walked beside me, lifting my hand to cover my eyes from the sun. "It's nice to meet you, Harry."
He looked at me for a second, waiting for something. "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"
"Oh right, I'm Luz. Sorry." Dumbass, how slow can you be?
"That's quite alright. Luz. Is that short for—Wait, are you not wearing any shorts?" He stopped whatever he was going to say, seeming to finally realize I wasn't wearing anything but a sweatshirt and a beat up pair of flip flops.
I felt my face heat up in an overwhelming sense of embarrassment. Avoiding eye contact, I managed a reply. "Yeah, I came straight from the beach, and I didn't want my bottoms to get my shorts all wet, so I opted for the pantsless look." I laughed in an attempt to diffuse any embarrassment (mostly for myself though). "In my defense, I didn't think I would be talking to anyone before I had a chance to change, let alone help a stranger wrap up their wrist, so..."
Harry chuckled a little at that, saying that explained the sand on my feet and ankles and my wet hair. I took his response as a win, relieved he didn't think I always walked around Malibu with no pants on. But then I also thought about all the times I wiped out this morning and how my hair must look. It shouldn't have been a big deal, but it was. I mean, I could only play it cool to an extent. First the no-pants thing and now knotted hair. I couldn't seem to catch a break today. I smiled at him and try to not-so-subtly run my hands through my hair.
I spotted my car, a mini SUV. Nothing too fancy, but big enough to cart my siblings around in and to strap a board to the roof. "Here we are," I said as I stopped in front of the trunk.
"Do you mind holding this while I unlock the car and get the bandage?" I asked him, but I didn't really wait, I kind of just handed him the cardboard cup holder tray with my and Niall's drinks, quickly unlocking the car and grabbing my shorts so I could shimmy into them. I also spotted one of my hair ties—thank God—and quickly put my hair up in a tiny bun, already feeling some pieces fall out. Stupid short hair. That's when I remembered. Niall. Shit. He won't be upset if I'm a little more than a little late, right? As soon as I'm done here I'll shoot him a text, no biggie.
I rummaged around the backseat a bit before I found what I was looking for and popped back around to the trunk where I left Harry.
"Oh here I'll trade you," I said, quickly giving him the ACE bandage and taking the drinks and quickly putting them in the car. "Sorry, I'm not usually this out of it." I looked up at him, only to find an amused look had spread across his face. Well, I'm glad he finds my chaos amusing.
"Alright, which wrist are we wrapping up?" I asked.
"Um, the right one."
"You sure? You don't sound sure."
Harry raised his eyebrows before laughing. "Yes, I'm sure."
I asked for the ACE bandage back, then gingerly took his right hand in mine and began wrapping his wrist. It's quiet for a moment, both of us focused on my work. But soon his gaze became a little too much and the silence a little too loud.
"How did you hurt your wrist, if you don't mind me asking?" I was still looking down as I spoke, but when he didn't respond, I looked up. When I caught him staring, he blushed, bringing his left hand up to scratch the back of his neck. Cute. He's very very cute.
"I, uh, I was messing around in the studio and sprained it. It's not a huge deal, but the doctor told me to wear a brace for a few weeks until I'm feeling better."
I nodded, understanding. "They were right. Though I will say, if you forgot the brace, you probably don't need it anymore, but you should get the green light from your doctor."
"What makes you say that?"
I paused what I was doing to take the tape from him. "Well, if it was hurting that bad, you wouldn't have forgotten to put your brace on in the first place, right? I would just tape it up for work so that you don't strain the muscles that are trying to heal while playing the guitar, or whatever it is international pop sensations do."
Harry perked up when I said the last bit. "Ah, so you're familiar with my work."
"I've been known to turn on the radio from time to time," I joked. Harry laughed, his eyes crinkling. 10 points to Luz for making Harry Styles laugh, on multiple occasions.
"Real talk, though? My sisters are big fans. They're gonna lose their shit when I tell them about this."
He smiled, and good Lord, what a beautiful smile it was. "Well, I'm glad to know they're fans."
"Fans? Dude, they love you. Like to the point where I think they love you more than me sometimes." I tried not to think about the fact that I just called him dude, or the fact that I may or may not have embarrassed some of my family members by revealing this information. The twins are going to kill me.
I quickly finished up, explaining what I did so that he could do it himself in the future. Harry held up his wrist, carefully examining my work. He opened his mouth to say something when my phone buzzed.
I asked him to give me a second as I pulled my phone out of my pocket, reading the text that came in. Perhaps it was rude to do so because I was talking to someone, but I was glad I did because it was a text from Niall asking where the fuck I was. I gave Harry a sheepish look, then looked back down at my phone again. I wanted to keep talking to Harry. He was nice and laughed at my jokes and blushed when I caught him staring. Plus he was hot, and I couldn't remember the last time I talked to a hot guy that didn't royally piss me off. But I couldn't keep my friend waiting, and honestly the food I picked up was probably getting cold. So I internally sighed and turned towards Harry again.
"Look, it was really nice meeting you, but I gotta run. If your wrist starts bothering you at all, take some Advil and ice it." As I said this, I watched as a few different emotions flitted across Harry's face, but I was too busy shaking his hand, not unlike his bearded friend, Mitch I thought, did to me, and quickly turned back to my car. And before I could think too much about it, I grabbed a pen and a stray business card that made its way into one of the cup holders. I walked back to Harry, my head down as I wrote down my phone number.
"I know you said you have a doctor, but in case something's bothering you and you can't get a hold of them, here's this. It has the number of the office where I work, but if you can't reach me there, I put my cell number on the back." Harry just continued to stare, a little amused and a lot dumbfounded, so I took his left hand and put the card in it. And before I could make anything more awkward or embarrassing for myself, I gave him a quiet goodbye, walked to the driver's side, and slid in.
I could see the aftermath of my awkwardness as I looked through the rearview mirror, watching as Harry stood there, a what the fuck look on his face. But then he smiled to himself and tucked my card into his back pocket before walking away.
Resting my head on the steering wheel, I let out a huge sigh. My phone buzzed again, and I was reminded that Niall was still waiting for me and probably very hungry. I started the car and gave myself five more seconds of deep breathing to wash away the embarrassment, letting the music blasting from my speakers shift my focus. Peeling out of the parking lot, I put my years of driving in California to work and hastily made my way to Niall's house. It wasn't until I was halfway there that I realized that I didn't ask for an autograph for the 1D lovers waiting for me back home. Great, now the twins really are gonna be pissed. God help me.