Just can't lie, was the best time of my life

“Brighton?”

“Yeah Brighton.” Lara paused to gauge Ben’s reaction.

“So you have friends there?” He asked.

“An old school friend.”

“You’ve never mentioned her before.”

“I haven’t heard from her in ages but she managed to track me down.”

“Oh.”

Lara had come up with what she thought was a fool proof story to convince Ben into letting go away for a few days. If he believed that she was going to be visit a friend for a few days then maybe she could escape to LA with Harry.

“But what about school… and work?” He suddenly asked.

“I’ll miss one day of school and I already sounded James out about taking a couple of days off. He was fine about it. I mean it’s only three days… I won’t be gone that long.” “Hmm…”

He seemed to be thoughtful as if he were trying to think of another reason for her not to go.

“Ben I’m not asking you… I’m just letting you know…”

“I was just thinking if I should come with you.”

“No!” Lara said a little too forcefully before taking a deep breath. “I want to do this on my own. And anyway… how am I going to explain you to my friend’s family?”

Ben chuckled at her last comment before falling silent again.

“Claire’s probably going to stay for the weekend then.” He said. “She hasn’t stayed in a while… she says you make her nervous.”

“She makes me nervous.” Lara giggled. She couldn’t imagine having that effect on her.

Claire always seemed to be so composed, even when she was glaring at her.
Ben changed the subject, but Lara’s heart could not stop beating hard. She was one step closer to going to LA.

X

“I’m going to book it before you change your mind.” Harry told her once he heard the news.The thought of Harry paying her way didn’t sit well with her, but it was yet another worry in her life that she pushed away and ignored. Harry must have seen the pensive look on her face because she felt his hand on her shoulder.

“The money is nothing.” He said softly.

"Maybe to you.” She replied, “But when you don’t have any it means something.”

He looked at her as though he didn’t understand. How could he? She thought. He had seen his bank account balloon since the age of sixteen. How could he understand the concept of worrying about when your next pay cheque was going to come, juggling work with study and not having family to back you up?

They didn’t organise anything further than Lara would be arriving a day after Harry. He would send someone to pick her up and take her to the house where Harry was staying. He assured her that this was not a publicity trip, that nobody had been tipped off and that they would probably be left alone.

“Half the time I go there nobody knows where I am. Nobody has to know everything I do, do they?”

X

Lara sat in the black car that Harry had sent to pick her up, staring out the window at the passing view of Los Angeles. She never thought she’d return here after the quick visit she had paid the year before, courtesy of Modest! Management, but here she was. The car whisked her to the Hollywood Hills, and she couldn’t help but stare wide eyed as the mansion loomed into sight. She knew they were going to stay at someone’s house, but she hadn’t really thought about what kind of house.

As the driver unloaded her suitcase from the car, Lara stood awkwardly to the side. She was relieved when she saw the large front door open and Harry bound down the steps and into her arms.

“You’re here.” He smiled into her hair, as he hugged her close. “I can’t believe you’re here.” Harry nodded to the driver and let him know he’d be taking the luggage up the house.

Once they were alone, he slung his arm around her shoulder and gestured up at the imposing ‘house’.

“So what do you think?” He asked.

“You told me we were staying at a friend’s house. This isn’t a house… this is a mansion.”

Harry laughed.

“So who is the friend?” She asked as they began the walk up to the front door.

“Just some Hollywood agent…” He replied vaguely.

“Well that explains it all.” Lara said. “He won’t be here, so you won’t get to meet him… but he lets me stay here whenever I’m in town on the down low.”

“Lucky you.” Lara murmured too busy looking around at the high ceilings, lavish furnishings and the spaciousness of the room. It took her a few seconds to realise that Harry was watching her, clearly amused at her wide eyed awe of her surroundings.

Harry led her up a sprawling staircase and through the halls to the largest bedroom Lara had ever seen.

“This is our room.” He said as she noticed Harry’s clothes and personal items scattered around.

They had shared rooms before, whether it was at his house or when they had been forced to share to keep up appearances when they were a pretend couple. But now it seemed different. It almost felt like they were a real couple and the mere thought left a funny feeling at the pit of her stomach and her heart to beat that little faster.

The next morning they were greeted with a big basket of fresh fruit and bagels and a pitcher of cold fresh orange juice. Harry had led her outside into the outside area and she couldn’t help but gasp at the view of Hollywood that stretched out before them. They sat down on the comfortable beach lounges next to the infinity pool, as Harry poured the orange juice. He looked completely different to the London Harry she was used to, in a pair of board shorts and a short sleeve shirt that he had left completely unbuttoned, his hair pulled up into a little ponytail.

The whole scene was so far removed from what she was used to back in London that Lara found herself staring in wonder, as she tentatively chewed on a ripe strawberry.

“What do you want to do today?” Harry asked with his mouth full.

“I think I could sit here forever.” She said, gesturing to their peaceful surroundings.

“I didn’t bring you to look at a view, I brought you here to explore this crazy city with me.”

An hour later they were standing next to a little Ford Capri.

“What do you think?” He asked, proudly running his hand over the silver paint.

“I like it.” Lara had shrugged. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” Harry said with a laugh.

“I guess I don’t know much about cars though.” Lara replied embarrassed.

The next couple of days followed a pattern of breakfast by the pool, followed by long drives where Harry showed her his favourite places in California. Wearing a baseball cap low over his face they managed to get in out and out of random diners along the way where they would stop for lunch. Her favourite spot was Santa Monica where Harry had impulsively took off his clothes and jumped into the seawater. Lara stood on the edge in her pink bikini too scared of the crashing waves to venture too far.

One night Harry took her to one of his favourite bars, where for some reason nobody looked at him twice. When they returned home they had continued to celebrate by the pool. Harry had found a blanket and an unopened bottle of wine and had cozied up together, staring out at the twinkling lights of Los Angeles, exchanging kisses as they laughed and talked.

The next day when he had to disappear for a couple of hours of work related meetings, Lara swam in the pool and lay in the sun. She purposefully left her phone back in London to make sure her little holiday was not interrupted by Ben, and the feeling was extraordinarily liberating. She found herself relaxing and enjoying her time away so much that she tried not to think about the return to her regular life.

The final day was spent the same way, until Harry decided to take her to lunch at one of his favourite Hollywood restaurants. These past couple of days had felt odd, constantly being in public with Harry and she felt the funny ping in her stomach as she stared at him from across the table.

“What?” He asked with a grin on his face. “Is there something on my face?”

Lara smiled and shook her head, her gaze not wavering.

“Thank you.” She said.

“For what?”

“For bringing me here.”

“You haven’t even tasted the food yet.” He said jokingly even though she could tell from the look on his face that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

“You know what I mean.”

“Isn’t New York your favourite city though… maybe I should have taken you there.” He said fiddling with his cutlery.

“It doesn’t matter. What you’ve done means more than you’ll ever know.”

“It’s nothing.” He said, but it was clear he was embarrassed, his eyes not meeting hers.

They were interrupted by the waiter and before long they were digging into their food. Once lunch was finished, Harry excused himself to go to the bathroom. On his way back she saw him stopped by the restaurant manager who spoke to him quietly. When he returned to his table, Harry looked slightly nervous.

“There are a few paps out the front, so we might have to leave from the back. The valet will bring the car over, but we’re going to have to do this quickly.”

Lara’s heart began to beat faster at the prospect of them being caught together. The thought of photos being splashed across the tabloids unnerved her, but it didn’t compare to the fear of Ben. The thought of Ben finding out about Harry scared her to the very core; she was not sure how we would retaliate.

She quickly stood up and they were ushered to the back door of the establishment when they were informed that there was a small throng of photographers waiting there too.

“Fuck.” Harry said lowly.

“Do you want me to stay behind?” Lara suddenly asked.

“No, we’re doing to this together. And anyway, you need to be at the airport in a few hours.” Harry said firmly. “Here, put these on.”

He handed her his sunglasses and pulled out a beanie from his back pocket. She had made fun of him for wearing it that morning, considering the weather was quite warm, but he had taken it anyway. Lara quickly donned the ‘disguise’ and looked up at Harry for approval.

“Perfect.” He said. “And it won’t hurt to cover your face as you walk out. And don’t say a word.”

“I wasn’t planning to.” Lara said.

“Okay, let me lead the way… and just follow me to the car.” He said somewhat nervously.

Lara nodded as the door opened and the sound of chaos hit her.

Notes

So what was this what you expected? (I know Angelica guessed that Harry and Lara would still be sneaking around!)

This isn't exactly my most favourite chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway :)