Secrets / Black & White / Playing for Keeps

Harry and Lara met the next morning in the foyer. She was wearing one of the pre-organised outfits as prepared by Janie; skinny jeans, ballet flats and a little jacket, her hair in a loose braid.

“Good morning, you look nice.” Harry said.

He was freshly showered, his hair slightly damp, clad in his ripped jeans, band T-shirt and scuffed Chelsea boots. They emerged from the hotel foyer, with no paparazzi in sight.
Harry had graciously given up the main bedroom to her last night, but half an hour later he had invited himself in. She had been playing Harry’s game but now she felt she had to draw the line; she had refused to share the bed, smugly thinking that Harry could play by her rules now. But he had then promptly disappeared for the night.

“Where did you sleep last night?” Lara asked casually.

“I found someone who’d let me sleep in their bed.” He said pointedly.

She was dying to ask who, but pride held her back. At that moment she didn’t care anyway. She was about to walk through New York City for the first time today; the problem was that it had to be done with Harry for a photo opportunity. She figured thought that it would be easy to ignore the paparazzi, especially when she was exploring the bustling city.

New York was an assault on her senses.

She had lived in London all her life and so was accustomed to a big city, but the romance of being in her most favourite city in the world completely overwhelmed her. She could not help but walk the streets with a wide eyed look on her face. She had already bumped into five people because she was so busy looking at the sights and Harry had felt compelled to grab her arm and steer her through the crowd of people.

“You never been here before?” He asked unnecessarily.

“Just because you’ve been here twenty times, doesn’t mean everyone else has.” She shot back. She then stopped suddenly causing Harry to bump into her.

“Hey look!” She cried. “The subway.”

They took a few more steps.

“Look!” She pointed. “A bagel store!”

“You want a bagel?” Harry asked uncertainly.

“Nope.”

“Look!” She pointed again.

“What is it now?” Harry asked an amused look on his face.

“Nothing.” She muttered, having second thoughts.

“You know what you remind me of?” Harry said suddenly. “One of those annoying tourists who go around taking pictures of the dumbest things.”

“I forgot my camera!” Lara cried panicked.

“Thank God for that.”

They walked half a block before they were surrounded by paparazzi, as they had been advised. Harry eyed them lazily before turning to Lara.

“Look if we’re tourists, then we should look the part, don’t you think?”

The glint in his eye unnerved her.

“Yeah, but what about the brief?” She asked.

“Fuck the brief.” He said, as he pulled her into a nearby souvenir store. He headed for the hat section, and it didn’t take him long to find a bright pink ‘I Love NY’ baseball cap. He perched it on her head and stood back to take a look. Lara found a goofy looking beach hat and placed it on his head. Harry glanced in a mirror and laughed; it looked ridiculous but he didn’t take it off. Instead he grabbed a scarf with the words New York emblazoned on it and wound it around her neck. She found a pair of oversized sunglasses and handed them to him.

“We’ll take them all.” Harry told the shop assistant who looked at him puzzled.

As Harry paid for the merchandise, the cashier looked from him to the throng of photographers who had gathered outside.

“Who are you?” He asked curiously.

“I’m just a tourist, sir.” Harry replied.

The couple walked out of the store dressed in their New York gear and proceeded to walk down the street.

“Look!” Harry shouted. He pointed at a red fire hydrant. “It’s just like the movies!”

Lara punched him in the shoulder.

“Now you’re just making fun of me.” She accused.

“No I’m not. I’m just being a tourist. Are you going to join me or what?”

Lara shrugged and they linked arms. They continued to walk along, oblivious to the odd stares from bystanders and the following photographers who clicked at every given moment.

They pointed at the sights in an exaggerated fashion, and posed for photos with pretend cameras. As they approached their hotel, the crush of photographers at the front was considerable. Harry solved the problem by grabbing her hand.

They escaped the mayhem by sprinting into the foyer and up to a bank of elevators. Pressing the button repeatedly, they both fell into the open elevator, and laughed when they caught sight of their reflections in the mirror. Harry’s sunglasses were long gone and his hat had almost fallen off.

Harry looked at Lara with a smile as he saw her attempt to straighten her crooked scarf. He stopped her by pushing her back onto the wall of the elevator. It was more force than she expected, and Lara looked up at him curiously as he moved closer. Holding her arms firmly he leaned forward to kiss her. For a moment they paused and looked at each other, before he moved in for a deeper kiss. The elevator stopped suddenly and the doors opened.

“I thought we were just friends.” She murmured.

“Friends kiss, don’t they?” He said dismissively, as he let go of her.

“Like that?”

He didn’t answer as he made his way into the hotel room.

“Why did you kiss me?” She asked.

“Because I felt like it.” He said flatly, grabbing his duffel bag. He sank to the floor and began to go through it, ignoring the questioning look on her face.

“Harry.” She said.

“What?” He stopped and looked up at her, holding his iPod. “It was just a kiss.”

She tried to hide her disappointment and failed. His face softened.

“Did you like it?”

“Yes.”

“You haven’t kissed anyone before?”

“No.”

He let out a long exhale.

“I told you I’ve never had a boyfriend before.” She reminded him.

“I know- but I just didn’t think…” He motioned for her to sit next to him. Her heart skipped a beat as he touched her cheek softly, and then smoothed her hair.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t…” She said, although she had doubts.

“But I can. I mean, I don’t want to. But I…” He trailed off. “There’s a lot about me that you don’t know Lara.”

She waited for him to continue but he fell silent. Without thinking she leaned forward and kissed him. He responded by shifting closer to her, and allowing the kiss to grow deeper. All of a sudden he pulled back mid kiss.

“We’re just friends though, right?” He asked.

“Yes.” She said, not caring about anything at that moment but the feeling of his soft lips pressing against her. He relaxed into her embrace again, and gently pushed her back onto the carpet. She could feel the weight of his body and the sensation of his tongue exploring her mouth. She let out a small moan, as the kiss grew more urgent, her fingers tangled in his curls.

The sound of a knock on the door made them both jump apart so quickly, it would have been funny under any other circumstances.

“Ow.” Harry said rubbing his head.

They both looked at each other in panic as another knock sounded.

“Who is it?” Harry asked, his voice sounding husky.

“Julian.”

Harry rose to his feet and looked down to check himself before proceeding to the door. He gave Lara a grim backward glance as he opened it. He didn’t greet Julian, instead turning to run his fingers through his hair in a bid to tame the curls.

“You alright?” Julian asked.

“Yeah.” Harry said lightly. “What’s up?”

“Were you by any chance walking around New York wearing scarves and glasses?”

Harry looked at Lara, who had stood awkwardly by the TV, hoping her expression didn’t give away what had happened between her and Harry just a minute earlier.

“Yes, that sounds like something we’d do.” Harry replied.

“You’ve got to be kidding right?” Julian said, looking visibly annoyed. He looked over at Lara who was still standing in the same awkward position “Why are you standing over there?”

Lara shrugged her shoulders and tried to assume a more natural standing position.

“You know what? I could go on and on, but I’m not. I give up on the both of you. If you want to walk down Fifth Ave naked, then go for it. You seem to think you know better than me.”
Julian turned to leave.

“Harry, rehearsal’s tonight at five.” He said over his shoulder. Once the door was shut, Harry looked at Lara.

“What we did doesn’t mean anything… we’re just friends right?” He asked.

Lara nodded obediently.

She was willing to play by Harry’s rules, she thought. For now.

Notes

Ooh first proper kiss :)

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