Chapter Song: If I Ever Fall In Love by Pentatonix feat. Jason Derulo
Same day
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"I've done something..." I sing out to the man who's just entered through the front door. He jumps a little, as he wasn't expecting to be met with his fiance standing just in the entryway, waiting for his arrival happily. His gaze rises from his feet, as he kicks off his shoes, and his eyes meet mine. He smiles over at me and though he looks incredibly tired, he still looks genuinely happy to see me.
"What have you done?" He asks, skipping pleasantries as he pecks me on the lips. I peek behind me to make sure Niall isn't in the general vicinity and grin over at Harry, whose hands are full with takeaway bags.
I didn't tell him much, but I did tell him to grab enough Chinese takeaway for five. I barely even gave him time on the phone to ask who this mysterious fifth person is, glazing over the topic with a declaration of my love for him.
"I set Niall up on a blind-ish date and it's happening tonight, that's why you had to get extra food," I whisper. Harry looks like I've just word-vomited over his shoes, before breaking out into quiet laughter. I know he's tired and the last thing on his mind is a "double" date, but he doesn't necessarily look upset that I've arranged this get-together.
"No way, who with?" Again, I peek over my shoulder, paranoid that the man will be standing behind me. Niall's been trying to get me to spill the beans for hours now, but I won't budge. I've even gone to the extremes of texting Ruby in a separate room to prevent wandering eyes.
"Ruby." Harry's jaw drops in a playful manner. He and I have on multiple occasions talked about how they should just get over themselves and date already. Harry was actually the first to mention their chemistry and at the time I didn't believe him, but I came to realize that Harry's always right and this topic was no exception. It's really no surprise that we're both giddy about this, the only surprise is the fact that we haven't done this sooner. "He doesn't know that it's her coming and she doesn't know that he's even going to be here. I just told her to come over for dinner."
"She's gonna kill you."
"I can live with that. Honestly, this is the best thing for everyone involved. If we just sent them off to meet on their own at a restaurant she'd have a full-on panic. We're here as buffers, well us and Edward, he's great at lightening the mood." I blubber, finally taking one of the paper bags from Harry's arms.
"Are you drunk?" Harry can't help but ask as he eyes me up and down, his tone quiet as if he's trying not to announce my soberness to the world. My demeanour is far from our normal interactions after being apart for so long, not that I'm not eager to see him on the regular. Today I'm just a little extra giddy with wine.
"Maybe just a bit." I wink, "It's gonna be great though; she'll be here any minute."
I turn on my heel to take the bag of food into the kitchen to get everything plated but am stopped but a strong grip pulling me back. Harry sets his bag of food down on the small table we have in the foyer, before taking the bag in my hand and setting it beside his. Without much of a warning, his thumb and forefinger cradle my jaw before he's leaning down and kissing me as if we haven't kissed in years. Maybe I'm still a little wine drunk from earlier, or just sleepy, but I swear I can feel and see fireworks. The real reason though? The fact that I've just missed him so damn much.
"I've missed you so much." He whispers, his hot breath tickling the skin on my neck when he wraps me up in a hug. I melt into his embrace, holding him tightly around the middle. For the first time in three days, it truly feels like I can breathe again. Who knew being apart could bring us so much closer? Probably ever romance novelist on the planet.
"I've missed you quite possibly more."
"Not a chance." I sigh happily and lean into his embrace.
"It seems odd that we've slept beside each other every night this week, but had absolutely no interactions with each other. I don't know, it just feels like even though I'd see your sleeping body in bed it felt like I wasn't really seeing you." I laugh to myself, shaking my head, "I sound crazy; maybe I am drunk."
"You're not crazy. Know why?" His nose brushes against mine, giving me Eskimo kisses so softly that if my eyes were closed I'd not realize his touch wasn't imagined.
"Why?"
"Because I've felt the same way."
The two of us spend a bit more time making out the hallway before Niall rudely interrupts us with his attempts at trying to get me to tell him whose joining us for dinner. I'm able to skirt around the questions when Harry steers the man towards the lounge as he asks whether he saw that Lewis Capaldi was going to be coming into town for a show. I swear those men and Lewis Capaldi are like women - and men and non-binary people - with BTS. They're super fans.
It's as I'm plating the last dish in the kitchen that I hear the sound of knocking at our front door. I spin around so fast that I nearly fall over, but it's worth it to see Niall's eyes widen from the lounge. I snicker to myself as I watch Harry practically hold the man in place and be patient as I go answer the door.
Ruby's standing on the other side of the door, quietly swaying from foot to foot as she holds a bottle of wine in her hands. Her eyes are roaming the halls until she hears the door open, her eyes meeting mine as a shy smile comes to her lips. She's not nearly as shy as she was when I first hired her, but she still has her moments. Ruby's dressed casual, just in a pair of ripped boyfriend style jeans and a white, long-sleeve t-shirt. Her flat mules have her standing slightly above me, at our normal height difference really. I thought I was pretty tall until I met her.
"Hey," I practically whisper, pulling her in through the threshold, "thanks for coming, Rubs." She looks confused by the volume of my voice, looking further into the flat, even though you can't really see anything from here, as I shut the door.
"Why are we whispering?" She curiously asks, kicking her shoes off towards the pile of various different sized trainers.
"Don't hate me, but I didn't just invite you over to have dinner with Harry, Edward, and I." Ruby's curiosity is peaked, I can tell, but she doesn't say anything. "There may or may not be a lovely, single gentleman around the corner who is under the impression that this is a blind-ish date."
"Annabelle!" She hisses, eyes widening until they're the size of saucers. "Why would you do that?"
"Because I knew you'd be apprehensive about it, though you shouldn't. You and he are quite literally perfect for each other, trust me."
"Why wouldn't you tell me?" Tell you? "I would've dressed up more, put on some makeup even." She mumbles, straightening her tee out and wiping her free hand on her denim.
"Oh, so you're not angry?" Here I thought we we're going to have to have a bit of a spat before calming ourselves down and getting on with our night. Ruby can be quite scary when she's angry, doesn't happen often but when it does it's quite the show. I'm pleasantly surprised that she's not totally livid though.
"I'm a tad angry, more so because you didn't tell me. I can't say that I'm totally opposed to the idea of getting back in the dating pool. It has been...a while."
"That's great!" I breathe a sigh of relief. "He's perfect, you guys already get on great and I really think this would be good for both of you."
"Already?" My eyes widen at my slip, but rather than answering her I just grab her free hand and drag her into the kitchen.
"Ruby, you remember Niall, don't you?"
***
Dinner had been rather pleasant.
The food was delicious and the conversation was never dull. After both Ruby and Niall got over the shock of whom they were being set up with, things ran pretty smoothly. The look on their faces when they realized what I'd done was priceless and completely worth it now that they were giggling like two schoolgirls with each other. I knew Niall was funny, but I didn't think he was as funny as Ruby gives him credit for. Harry and I just sat back and watched the show, the two of us sipping on our glasses of wine and sharing knowing looks.
"Well, I think that went well," I whisper, glancing over my shoulder to the two deep in conversation on our couch.
Harry and I have retreated to the sink, him washing the dishes as I dry. We both wanted to give Niall and Ruby some privacy to chat without our listening ears, what better way to do that than to do the dishes. Plus, I'd do practically anything just to have some alone time with Harry right about now, even just for a few minutes.
"Went well? That went better than well. Why haven't we done this sooner?" Harry mumbles back, containing the loud laughter that I know he wants to release. We're both a little wine drunk now, so we're equally as giddy. And boy is Harry a sight when he's drunk.
"Just a couple of matchmakers here," I murmur, leaning against Harry as my eyes begin to feel heavy.
In reality, if either of us should be leaning on the other for support right now it should be Harry. He's the one whose been working since god knows when. I'm only tired because I wore myself out playing football with a seven-year-old and had a bit too much adult juice.
"You sleepy, baby?" His voice drawls, his head turning to place a kiss to the side of my own.
"'Course I'm sleepy. You see how much wine I had?"
Harry turns from his position at the sink beside me, with a dangerous look in his eye, one that has me immediately perking up. I bite my lip as he takes a set closer to me, so we're practically moulded together. There's a gleam in his eyes and I'd do anything to know what's going on in that head of his.
Almost in one swift motion, his arms are around my middle and his lips are on mine. I barely have time to blink before we're aggressively making out in the comfort of our own kitchen. There's wandering hands, quiet moans, and tongues caressing, fighting for dominance. Apparently, I'm not the only one frustrated with the fact that we haven't seen each other in days.
It barely registers that my feet are no longer touching the ground until my bum has hit the countertop. Instantaneously, my legs wrap around Harry's middle, pulling him dangerously close to where I need him the most, our lips never parting. I'm grabbing at his t-shirt, the clean one that he put on once he got home, trying my best to lift it so I can have access to his warm torso. My fingertips ghost his perfectly toned abs and I thank the heavens above for giving me Harry. How he manages to maintain such a figure whilst working gruelling hours, eating nasty hospital food, and nibbling on my creations is beyond me. And how he hasn't given up on my yet is beyond me too.
We're completely lost in each other, too high on hormones and alcohol to even consider the fact that there could be others watching. We're practically animalistic and I finally understand the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder. It must also make the lust grow stronger.
"I've fücking missed you." Harry moans into my neck, the vibrations causing a squeal to leave my lips as his hands caress and squeeze every inch of my body. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this man has more than two hands.
My head falls backwards when he starts showing attention to that special spot beneath my ear that has me going crazy. THere's a loud smacking sound of my head making contact with the cabinet, but it barely registers, along with the pain. What little pain does seep into my head brings with it the realization of what we're doing and who is still in our home.
"Oh god," I moan, Harry's hands fumbling with one of the clasps of my denim overalls, "wait, wait, wait. Stop." He's pumping the brakes within milliseconds of hearing my voice, hands retracting and finding their homes on my hips.
"What? What's wrong?" Groaning to myself, I peel my eyes open and lean back against the cabinets, this time my head aware of the surface.
"It's not even eight o'clock yet, Edward's definitely not asleep and could come out here any second. I don't really want to scar him with the image of your hand somewhere it shouldn't be. And in case you haven't forgotten, we have guests." Just then, my eyes shift towards the lounge, which has a pretty decent view of the spot we're stood in right now. We really were blinded by love, or really tipsy, because there's no way in hęll I'd normally do what we just did if I thought for a second we'd be caught. Not really one for voyeurism myself. "Well, we did have guests," I say when I spot the lounge vacant.
Harry turns around, but not before helping me off the counter. We both head towards the lounge to, in fact, find the room completely empty. We may have been completely distracted with each other, but I know for a fact I didn't hear the front door open and shut, it has a bit of a squeak in the hinges.
"Where'd they go?"
"Maybe they left?" Harry suggests, shutting off the soundbar that was playing light music as I go check the front entryway. I can clearly see Ruby and Niall's shoes sitting alongside ours so unless they left barefoot, they're still here somewhere.
"Shoes are still here; couldn't have gotten far without them."
I'm about to start panicking that they've taken it upon themselves to help themselves to our bed when I hear a movement from outside on the terrace. Harry hears it too, looking briefly to me, before making his way over to one of the curtains that's shut to keep the neighbours from peeking in - not that they can see much from a building or two away. We both huddle beside the window, Harry moving the curtain ever so slightly so we can take a peek out on the balcony.
"Oh my god!" We both hiss, Harry releasing the curtain as we both back away from the window. Immediately, I'm rubbing my eyes to rid them of the image that I just witnessed wondering if I'll ever be able to forget it.
"I guess that answers the question of whether they like each other." He hums out, chuckling as he joins me on the couch.
I'm too busy trying to mentally erase the picture of Ruby's practically nude body rocking on top of Niall's lap with his pants around his ankles to even react to Harry's words.
I guess this day didn't turn out how any of us planned.
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Niall, Niall, Niall, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, tsk, tsk, tsk - poor things can't keep it in their pants lol. Anywho, personally, I think Ruby and Niall are made for each other... you know what they say about opposites attracting.
Make sure to let me know what you're thinking so far!
Question of the Week: have you ever been in a relationship before? I haven't...
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19.11.2020