Annie

“So what made you decide that this was what you wanted to do for our first date?” I asked as I grabbed Harry’s hand and laced our fingers together. I couldn’t imagine something more romantic than walking along the Thames with everything covered in a blanket of white. I mean, it was freezing cold, but it was visually romantic. I watched as Harry’s cheeks became pink with cold. If he could get cuter he just did. His curls were sticking out from underneath his stocking cap and he had put on a pair of sunglasses as we got out of the car because the sun decided to peak out for a bit.
“Well I wanted to do something creative and special, something we’d both enjoy. Discovering that you fancy yourself an amateur photographer made me think that we should do this some time because I have taken my camera along with me when I travel since all of the madness in my life started. Then when you told me how Frankie walked Lizzy around his hometown to show her what he loved about it I decided that it was our perfect first date. One that if I play my cards right some day in a pub some girl will retell with such detail and care that her eyes sparkle the way yours did when you told me about Frankie and Lizzy’s.”
“You are pretty incredible. Though I must admit if I tell Frankie you planned our first date to be our own little version of he and Lizzy’s he’s gonna get a big head.” I laughed a little bit. “You should know that it’s perfect though. And that in all my time in London I’ve only ever gone to take pictures alone.”
“I’m anxious to meet this Frankie character. Anyone who willing puts up with Lizzy and Lyla constantly has to be a bit crazy.” I laughed.
“He’s nuts. Like my big brother here, minus that I think he’s hot.”
“You know you aren’t supposed to say things like that to me,” he said pretending to be hurt.
“What? That someone is hot?” He nodded. “Well he is. I mean he’s not my type but he’s incredibly attractive. And you can tell me that Lizzy drives you crazy but she’s gorgeous. I’m not blind.” He laughed a bit nervously.
“Lizzy is beautiful. But so are you.”
“Thanks. And if it will make you feel better you are my type. I like curly headed British boys with green eyes and dimples the size of the Grand Canyon. That’s my type.” He stopped and pulled me in to him. His free hand grazing my cheek as he pulled me in for a kiss. “So where to next?” We had arrived at the car and he helped me in. He quickly ran around to the driver’s side before answering my question.
“We are headed to another super secret location,” he said.
“Okay, weirdo.” He pulled out of the parking spot and on to the street.
“So are you free tomorrow night?” he asked.
“We haven’t finished the date yet. How do I know I’m gonna want to say yes to a second date?” He laughed at me kissing my hand which was linked with his even as he drove through the city.
“I wasn’t going to ask you on a second date. But I’m pretty confident if I was that you’d say yes already.”
“You caught me. So if you aren’t asking me on a date what are you asking?”
“Well,” he sounded a bit nervous. “Since my birthday is this weekend I thought for you it might be less intimidating to meet part of my family before Saturday since my Mum and step-dad are coming to town for it. My sister is free tomorrow. I thought we could do dinner or maybe just drinks. I just want you to be comfortable on Saturday.”
“You really want me to come along for your birthday?” I wasn’t sure he’d been honest, which was my own fault. Harry was always honest.
“Of course I do. You were the one that flinched when Patrick called me your boyfriend, not me.”
“Of course I flinched! We hadn’t even been on a date yet.”
“I’d seen you naked,” he said with his cocky grin appearing on his face. “I quite liked that.”
“There were boobs in your face, of course you liked it.”
“Mmhmm. I did. Human. And you’ve got great boobs.”
“Why are we talking about my boobs?”
“You started it. But in all seriousness, of course I want you there on Saturday. You agreeing to drinks was amazing. This date is like the best birthday present you could’ve given me.”
“You’re kinda cute.”
“So are you,” he said. He pulled up to a curb and parked.
“Savile Row? Really? Did you know I loved fashion?”
“Well yes but it’s known for men’s suits, so not quite your fashion.” He was laughing.
“I know but I’m not gonna lie, a man in a well tailored suit to me is better than a naked man. ZZ Top said it best, every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man.”
“Well, the real reason I brought you here is because of one of the bands we have a mutual love for.” It took me a second and then it dawned on me.
“The last performance. How did I forget that Apple Records was on Savile Row?” I asked.
“Not sure but I’m a bit disappointed for a girl who claims to have written term papers on The Beatles.”
“I did! I swear I did. Totally aced the class because of that term paper. I told the prof it was hard to do only because we had to have three sources and there’s no way to add my brain to a bibliography.” He laughed at me again. “I mean I wrote an entire book on The Beatles in the 5th or 6th grade. My mother still has it. Bright pink cover and all. It was for a music class. And reading it now I can’t help but laugh, my writing was horrendous.” We got out of the car and started down the street towards 3 Savile Row. We approached the building and from the start of the second floor to the roof I knew what it was. “I love why you picked this but can I be honest about something?” I asked.
“You hate it. Me too,” he said laughing and smiling at me. We were both on the opposite side of the street staring at the hideous monstrosity on the ground floor.
“Top reasons why 3 Savile Row sucks now,” I started. “It ruins the appearance of the architecture and appearance of this street.”
“It ruins the integrity of the fashion this street became famous for,” he added.
“And it’s a fucking Abercrombie Kids,” I said no longer resisting the belly laughs I had been holding back. “One of the greatest, if not the single greatest moment in music history took place right in front of us. Business men came out of their offices, customers out of the tailors, there were people on rooftops, people walking down the street stopped and looked up to see the most famous band in the world play live for the very last time. And now it’s occupied by a company that promotes a skewed sense of beauty to an impressionable demographic that shouldn’t be taught that the thinner you are the better you are. That curves are something to hate. That you are only as great as your thigh gap is wide and that you don’t need to be intelligent, just pretty. That they killed the steps that so many people sat upon to say to themselves, maybe Paul McCartney sat here once, to install a giant black storefront and pump cologne in through the air vents.”
“I knew it was a risk bringing you here. I’ve learned enough about you to know that you’d rant and go off about this. But it’s one of the things I like most about you. You’re passionate. You fight for what you believe in and you aren’t afraid to argue with anyone until you are blue in the face. But I also know that you love the history of this building enough that what I’m about to do will touch you in a way that it would very few people in the world.”
I turned to look at him and watched as his iPhone appeared from his pocket. I watched him click away a bit before he slid one of the earbuds attached to the phone in to my left ear and the other in to his right. Playing through them was The Beatles, live on the rooftop of Apple Records Headquarters at 3 Savile Row. I stood on my tip toes and pressed my lips against his as the opening of “Get Back” filled my ears. He knew me in this way I didn’t think was possible. The kiss ended and he wrapped his arms around me, hugging my body to his and quietly singing along with Lennon and McCartney. I pulled my camera off of my shoulder without moving out of his grasp and held it out at arm’s length snapping a picture of the two of us standing together. He started to sway to the music.
“Who knew you were such a romantic?” I smiled up at him.
“Bringing you to the archetype of what you hate about corporate society is romantic?” I laughed at him.
“Well no. That’s something that’s seriously stupid. You’ve heard me rant before, this could’ve gone bad. But you brought me to a place where something so incredible took place. Something that even though it happened 15 years before I was born changed my world. You wanted us to be in the presence of such greatness. Wanting to play the concert to me while standing on the sidewalk, so we could try to imagine what it would’ve been like if you and I were standing here on that day in 1969. It’s romantic.”
“You would’ve been one of the posh girls standing on the street who sweet talked someone to get on to their rooftop.”
“You would’ve been who I sweet talked.” He bent down to my lips again.
“Well I hope I passed the audition.” And gone in an instant was our sweet moment. I slugged Harry in the arm.
“You’re funny. Quoting Lennon to me. Now do you want to go in to Abercrombie and unfold all of the clothes on the tables?” I asked giving him a devilish grin.
“No, that’s just mean.”
“Telling children that they should starve themselves at 10 to have the waistline of an 8 year old is mean. I’m just being funny.”
“Oh my passionate and fiery little one. Love, you make me laugh. Alright on to our next stop,” he said as he grabbed my hand and we walked back to the car. We stopped at a small restaurant not far from Savile Row and grabbed a quick lunch and then climbed back in to the car. He parked near Hyde Park.
“I love Hyde Park. One of the first places I came,” I said.
“Where was the very first overly touristy place you went when you moved here?” he asked as we got out of the car and joined hands on the sidewalk.
“Trafalgar Square.”
“Why there?” he asked.
“There’s this picture on my desk of my Mom in Trafalgar square when I was 15. She came to visit some friends that were living in Cambridge and every day road the train in to London. She climbed up to get her picture taken sitting at the lion’s feet.”
“That’s awesome.”
“It was. And now on her desk she has a picture of me doing the same thing.”
“That’s sweet. So Hyde Park was second?”
“It was. It’s so full of life. I mean I sat at home for an entire day years ago watching Live 8 and every time they showed Hyde Park I started to get excited. But everything here is just so beautiful. From the carousel to the statues to the different people you see enjoying life around here. In summer I could spend an entire day laying in the grass just sitting in silence and watching people or reading a book. So why did you pick Hyde Park for today?”
“Your tattoo. You love Peter Pan. And so I thought we could walk around, look at the statues, take some pictures of everything here under the blanket of fluffy white.”
“I like that. You are very observant, Harry.”
“I try. But really I just wished I could steal your picture of the boats on the lake to put in my room. Thought the only thing cooler than doing that was to have you take pictures of it frozen over.” The walk was only a bit warmer thanks to the hot cocoa we’d purchased from the café we passed on our way out of lunch. We didn’t last very long outside because we wanted somewhere warm. “Anymore stops?” I asked.
“A few,” he said smiling. I tried to guess where he was going in the car. I just kept shouting out places. Each one getting shot down. “You could stop guessing because I doubt you’ll get it right.”
“Emirates Stadium!” I shouted.
“Fuck no. We aren’t going anywhere near Arsenal today. Where did that come from?” he asked laughing.
“Well since I’ve been here I’ve yet to make it to a footie match. Begged Cam and Nate to take me but they both told me to piss off.”
“Because you asked to go to an Arsenal match?” I nodded.
“Cameron told me he’d only go if I agreed to wear a Tottenham sweater and I refused flat out. No thank you. One of my friends from school back home would teleport himself to England and then whoop my ass.”
“Who is Nate a fan of?” Harry asked.
“Man U. He knew that deep down they were who I liked but I sort of just liked that being an Arsenal fan tortured my boyfriend. I like being a bitch sometimes. But I promise, I will not cheer for Arsenal or Man City in your presence. The Arsenal thing was just for the college friend, and well I watched Fever Pitch once. The US adaptation is one of my all time favorite movies and the character in the original loves Arsenal. But to be honest, I’m not blind and I’m a 29 year old female. The first time I watched ‘soccer’ was because Posh Spice’s husband was the hottie midfielder for Man U.” Harry started to laugh at me. “What?”
“David’s a nice guy.”
“Fuck. I forget that it’s not just in my head that all of you famous British people know each other. Can you introduce me to David Beckham?” I was batting my eyelashes and my voice was dripping in sarcasm.
“You are such a wanker.”
“Seriously though, once I moved here it was Man U. Lizzy and Nate’s parents grew up in Manchester. Nate’s Dad moved to Cambridge when he went to school. Met his Mum there and they stayed in Cambridge because she got a job at the University and he studied law and politics. He opened his own practice there and they never left. Lizzy’s Dad moved to London but has a country house up north. Their dads are brothers and both diehard Man U fans. Lizzy’s dad, Maxwell, loves me. So I love Man U for Maxwell. The whole Salisbury family are Man U fans. Frankie has just sort of adopted it, he’s from some super tiny village in Ireland. Like less than 1,600 people in the two villages that were super close together. They were the only pub and for a while I think the only restaurant or something. So being that I was an adopted Salisbury I cheer for Man U. Cameron hated it.”
“I imagine so. If you are legitimately an Arsenal fan we will have problems.”
“Okay,” I said laughing. “So if we aren’t going to Emirates Stadium, where are you taking me?” We were sitting at a stoplight waiting for the light to change. A few more minutes and we pulled up outside Westminster Abbey. “We are on quite the touristy date. You’re taking me to a church?”
“Yes, I am. You’ll see why,” he said. We headed inside, hands linked just as before. We made our way through and I felt my skin cover in goosebumps. I’d only been to Westminster Abbey once, I came when I knew I could hear the choir perform and sat listening to the music. I didn’t have time to look around much that day and left quickly. I’d gone alone, as I’d done to many of the other places I wanted to see because Kim worked so much and Cameron had grown up in London so he wasn’t interested in playing tourist with me.
We were offered the audio tours and Harry instead opted for a pamphlet. There were quite a bit of people around for a Monday. Several who I saw react to the man holding my hand. He’d picked a place to go where I couldn’t take pictures, which was a bummer, but it also meant that no one else could take pictures.
“So are you gonna tell me why you picked a church for our first date?”
“Yup,” he said still not giving it away and leading me through the church until we arrived at the South Transept. I hadn’t made it here the time I’d visited. I stopped moving and felt him move behind me and wrap his arms around my shoulders. He stood there with me, totally quiet. Allowing me this moment in silence. Letting me experience this how I wanted to. I bent my head down and kissed the soft skin on the back of his hand. “This was why I picked here.”
“Thank you,” I said, my voice cracked from the emotion of this moment. Something that spoke to who he was. That he wanted to give me a day in London to feel totally and completely connected to my surroundings and the things in life that inspire me. Below my feet were some of the most brilliant minds to have existed. In the middle of this already perfect first date, Harry brought me to Poet’s Corner. “How did you know I’d never been here?” I was whispering. So afraid that if I spoke any louder he would be able to hear the emotion in my voice which may cause him to look and see my eyes that were filling with tears. This moment was more beautiful and special than I imagined it would be before I moved to London.
“I didn’t know you hadn’t been here,” he whispered back. “I’m giving you a first today, huh?”
“You are.” I still felt afraid to talk. His cheek rubbed against mine, he was bending over to rest his head on my shoulder. His skin was so smooth, just the smallest trace of stubble on his chin.
“You’re so quiet.”
“Sorry. I just feel like I should be. This place deserves quiet,” I replied. I must’ve been the only one to think that because the voices of the other people in the area with us echoed loudly. Conversations could be heard about everything from Chaucer and Dickens to what a couple was having for dinner. But there we stood in silence. “We can go whenever you want.”
“This moment isn’t about me. This is about you. If you wanted to stand here until next week I would.”
“Thank you,” I said finally reaching up to brush away the tear that snuck out.
“Are you crying?” He squeezed me tighter.
“Yeah, I’m a sap. This is incredible. I just. I can’t even put in to words how amazing this is. I only came here once and it had to be short because I was supposed to meet up with friends and I’d gotten delayed. Stayed long enough to hear the choir. I didn’t get to see Poet’s Corner.”
“Did Kim come with you?” I shook my head. “Cameron?”
“No, he didn’t want to do these things with me. He grew up in London so it was significantly less exciting to see them all and taking your American girlfriend everywhere wasn’t fun I guess.”
“I would have to disagree with that. Seeing all of this with you is like seeing it for the first time.” I turned to face him, his arms still around me. I hugged him and rested my head against his chest. I took a deep breath, trying to get the tears to go away. He smelled amazing today. He’d been chewing gum since we left lunch and I could smell the mint each time he breathed. His cologne and body wash still clung to his skin. Unlike all weekend he smelled like he normally did and not like my lavender body wash. His cologne, which was a mix of citrus and herbal scents. One more deep breath and I pulled back from him.
“Thank you for this.”
“You’re welcome. You ready to go?” I nodded and we walked hand-in-hand out of the church. We got in the car and he started to drive away. I snapped a picture of him driving. “What are you doing over there Sugar?”
“I want to remember this. Couldn’t take pictures of you inside. So now is as good of a time as any. Are we going anywhere else?”
“I was thinking we could head home. Rest for a while before we head out for dinner. Unless you had anywhere you wanted to go.”
“Nope. I like how you planned this. I just want to be with you.”
“Well then we will head home.”
“Want to stop at the shop on the way? I can get us some tea before we head to yours,” I asked as we were getting closer to Hampstead.
“Sure,” he said. He drove to the shop, pulled up in front and stopped the car.
“If you want to stay in the car you can,” I said turning to face him.
“Did you want to run in to talk to Lizzy and Lyla on your own?” he asked.
“Well I don’t have to. I just need to tell Lizzy about Nate calling. I’m still so shocked. Not sure if maybe she’s talked to him or something. They’ve always been close and I am not sure if maybe he’d talk to her first.”
“Sure you don’t want to talk about me?” He raised his eyebrows at me and I laughed. Of course he thought I needed a moment with the girls to tell them about him.
“No, you being there won’t prevent either of them from asking about you. Actually I’ll make you a bet. In less than two minutes one of them asks if we’ve shagged. Even if you’re standing inside.”
“What do I get for it if they take longer than two minutes?”
“Hmmm, let me think about it.” I leaned forward and kissed him. It was slow but hot. Which was truly the only way to describe it. His hand was on my neck but large enough that his thumb was on my cheek. His hands were rough and strong. “If you win you can pretty much have whatever you want. If I win I just want an endless number of those kisses.”
“I can comply with that. If I win you have to stay with me tonight, potentially tomorrow night.”
“That sounds terrible. Absolutely terrible.”
“Alright.” A quick kiss and I climbed out of the car and headed in to the shop with Harry on my heels. The door chimed as I opened it. I saw Lyla at the register with her laptop, likely working on homework. Lizzy was in one of the chairs going through paperwork and in the chair next to her were Cate and Maddy reading books and snuggled up together.
“Hey Annie,” Lizzy said. Her eyes got wide as Harry snuck in the door behind me. “And Harry. How is the first date going?”
“Really well,” I said smiling at him. I felt his hand on the small of my back. “He somehow snuck my camera out of the flat and has taken me on a photo excursion today. Said he wanted to show me his favorite parts of London.”
“That’s pretty sweet,” Lizzy said.
“And of course he brings you here,” Lyla added while laughing. “This is obviously his favorite part of London because you’re almost always here.”
“Hey! She’s the one that wanted to stop not me,” Harry defended. I walked over to Cate and Maddy and kissed the tops of their heads.
“Hi Harry,” Cate said.
“Hello Cate, Maddy. How are you two today?” He followed me over to their chair. Maddy stood up on the seat and I saw her mother roll her eyes. Her little arms lifted above her head and Harry picked her up, swinging her in a circle before resting her on his hip. Her blonde curls were pulled partially in to a ponytail on the top of her head with a small pink bow. I sank in to the chair pulling Cate on to my lap hugging her. She got her Dad’s looks. Unlike her blonde hair and grey eyed sister that was a carbon copy of her mother, Cate had dark brown hair that fell to the middle of her back and was perfectly straight. Against her porcelain skin her green eyes jumped out at you.
“Good,” Maddy replied. “We helped Mummy and colored.”
“We got to spend the day here,” Cate said for her younger sister. “Daycare was closed so we came here instead.”
“That’s fun,” I said hugging her. “Did you find where I hid the cookies I brought in last week.” She nodded.
“You made cookies?” Harry asked.
“They were yummy,” Maddy said.
“I made Andes Mint cookies last week. I hadn’t made them in a long time. They were really good. But they don’t make that many so after Lizzy and I killed them off in a morning we hid some for the girls.”
“I’m unimportant obviously.”
“You got cupcakes. Fair trade,” I said smiling.
“Girls, why don’t you go upstairs and find some books,” Lizzy said. “Mummy needs to talk to Annie and Harry for a bit.” Both girls took off running upstairs and Harry came over to sit on the arm of the chair I was in. I rested my arms on his lap and my head on my arms. “So why are you here when you’re on a date?”
“Needed to talk to you.”
“Was it to tell us that you shagged him?” Lyla asked.
“You lose, it took longer than two minutes,” Harry said laughing.
“I didn’t expect the girls to be here.”
“Oh, I was gonna ask when you walked in but didn’t want to scar my nieces for life,” Lyla said. “You placed a bet on it?”
“We did,” I said laughing. “I lost.”
“What do you have to do?” Lizzy asked.
“I have to stay at his house tonight and tomorrow.”
“You look so disappointed by that,” Lyla said. “So you’re obviously shagging.”
“I hate you both,” I said laughing. “But no, I’m not disappointed. It takes less time to get to work from his place since he lives over here. But I did come here with a purpose.”
“What’s that?” Lizzy asked.
“You talked to Nate lately?”
“Little bit Saturday morning. Wanted to see if I needed to have a room ready for him for next weekend and he was telling me about a date that Aunt Penelope set him up on for that night. Haven’t talked to him since. Why?”
“He called me this morning. Apologized for puking all over the bar last time he was down.”
“He apologized to Frankie too,” Lizzy said.
“He also told me that he felt like…what were his words?”
“I believe he called himself a fucking twat, a pathetic heartbroken bag of shit and a piece of shit,” Harry said.
“What did he do?” Lyla asked.
“Fell in love with Kim,” I said. Harry was rubbing his hand in circles my back and I got more comfortable with my head buried in his lap.
“No fucking way,” Lizzy said. “That’s fantastic!”
“Except that she spent the weekend with his mate, Niall,” I said gesturing to Harry.
“Does she like Niall?” Lyla asked.
“I don’t know. I mean they hooked up. I think she likes him but doesn’t want anything serious. I think she’s gun shy because she had really deep feelings for Nate and he resisted attachment.”
“So what did he say?” Lizzy asked.
“That the entire time on his date he was thinking about Kim and wanting to be with her instead. That he had appointments to look at a few houses in Cambridge last week and each time wondered if she’d like it and if their kids would be happy growing up there.”
“Holy. Shit,” Lizzy and Lyla both said.
“I know, right? I can’t believe it. I don’t even know what to think. He spent so long telling her he never wanted to get married or be serious. And she cared about him enough she was willing to take whatever he would give her. I think Niall is a lot of fun. He had her laughing. And she was almost enjoying cuddling him but he tried to cuddle her in her sleep and that didn’t fly.” Everyone in the room laughed. It was common knowledge that Kim was not a cuddler. “But today when he called, Nate said that things felt different when he was down around Christmas. She let him hold her while she slept.”
“I need to call him,” Lizzy said. The shock was plainly painted across her face. None of us saw this coming. He’d evidently not been exclusive with a girl since before he was in law school. He was willing to be somewhat exclusive with Kim because she didn’t want him to be sleeping around while they were together. All of this was a shock coming from the Nate we all knew. “So is your date over?”
“Not yet,” Harry said. “I’ve got plans for dinner for her tonight. Possibly drinks after. Haven’t decided.”
“Well we will all be at the pub if you decide on drinks. Frankie and Patrick reopened for lunch today and Lyla is still staying with us so she’s gonna watch the girls. You should come out.”
“Maybe,” I said. “If he has something planned I don’t want to disturb it.”
“We will try to stop at the pub,” Harry said. A few more minutes of talking with the girls and we were back in the car and headed to his house. I was amazed seeing it as we pulled in to the drive. A large stone wall surrounded the property with a gate. Harry rolled down his window and entered the code for it to open. He grabbed my bag out of the back and I brought in my purse and camera. “Welcome to my house.”
“It looks really nice from the outside. Do I get a tour?” I asked. He nodded. The first floor was spectacular. The kitchen was mind blowing. A large gas stove sat underneath a stainless steel hood. The counters were white marble with a large island in the center. He said that he’s redone the main level, opening it up, tearing down a wall between the kitchen and lounge, because it gave him the ability to entertain in the space. There was a small room off of the area that he used as a gym and a half bath next to that. We headed up the stairs that were in the great room and he showed me around the second floor. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Each of the rooms was large but cozy, two used as bedrooms and one used as an office space with his guitars around the room and a TV mounted on the wall.
One more flight of stairs where half way up there was an exit to a rooftop deck and then the master bedroom and bathroom. His bedroom was gorgeous. A large, king sized bed with black leather headboard and grey bedding. The walls were painted a charcoal grey with white trim. It was masculine but comforting and inviting. All I wanted to do was go lay in his bed because it looked so comfortable. The bathroom was to die for. There was a large shower with a glass wall on one side. A giant double sink and mirror along the wall opposite the door. And finally, an oversized soaking tub that made me instantly want to take a bath. That was something I never imagined missing when I moved here. Our flat didn’t have a bathtub and all I’d craved for the last six months was a long, hot, relaxing bath.
“I’m totally abusing you for your tub,” I said.
“Really?” he asked. I felt his hands sneak down to my waist pulling my back in to his chest.
“Yeah, it’s funny. I hated baths when I had a bathtub. All I’ve wanted since I moved here was a long, hot bath. You may be making that dream come true.” His chin was rested on the top of my head.
“Not gonna turn a beautiful woman in my bath down. We could do that tonight. Skip dinner and the pub. Order in.”
“That’s really tempting. I’ve spent much of the day freezing cold and a bath would be the perfect end.”
“I even happen to have a bottle of wine and some bath stuff my Mum seems to think I need. Makes good bubbles.”
“I love a good bubble bath. Are you gonna join me?”
“That’s an invitation I like the sounds of. Let me go get the wine.” He hurried out of the room and downstairs. He had candles around the room which when lit made it smell like a mixture of eucalyptus and peppermint. I turned the water on and the lights down. After a bit of snooping I found the bubble bath he’d been talking about, also eucalyptus and peppermint. It smelled heavenly. I was going to have to ask his mother where she got this, though that might be awkward. Yes, I’ve been in your son’s bathroom, in his bathtub with him and loved the bubble bath. Where can I find it? On second thought I’ll use Google. “It smells amazing in here,” he said as he entered the room.
“I found the bubble bath and lit the candles. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Absolutely not. It’s perfect.” He poured the two glasses of wine and set them on the ledge by the window. He quickly kicked off his boots and undressed. He was beautiful and observant. He caught me staring. “Are you gonna stare at me all night or get in the bath?” he asked as he slid in to the water.
“I was distracted.” I hesitantly pulled off my sweater and tank tops before my jeans. I was left in my bra and panties in the middle of his bathroom with his eyes glued to my body. It was a strange feeling. We’d been physically intimate with each other but this seemed like so much more. I knew I liked him more than just a one night, or one weekend, stand. I knew that he was someone that I saw a future with. Hell he wanted someone to love our story the way I loved Lizzy’s. He saw a future too. My stomach filled with butterflies and my body tingled with nervous energy. I reached behind my back unhooking the black bra I was wearing. Good thing I’d put on the fancy lingerie this morning. I pulled the panties off before climbing in the tub facing him. “Oh my god, this is just what I needed.”
“You look like you’re in heaven,” he said.
“I am.” I took a drink of the wine. “Moscato D’Asti. My absolute favorite.”
“I noticed the collection of bottles in your fridge. Bought the one I saw you had two of so that you had some wine here.” I felt his hands start to massage my feet and legs.
“I’m never getting out of this bathtub. Hopefully you find pruney fingers sexy.”
“I find anything on you sexy. I’ll take pruney fingers.”
“Today was wonderful. You did a great job. I think someday someone is gonna tell that story like it’s the start to a fairytale,” I said as I started to relax and was in to my second glass of wine. Thankfully he’d brought the bottle up here.
“Really? A fairytale huh?”
“Yeah. The white knight in skinny jeans swoops in to take the foreign princess on a magical date and ends it with a bubble bath, good wine, Chinese takeaway and perhaps a romp between the sheets.”
“We’re having Chinese?” he asked.
“Uh-huh,” I said barely knowing how to speak as his hands continued to massage away a day on my feet in the city.
“And a romp between the sheets.”
“That was a given. You earned that before the second stop,” I said laughing. We enjoyed the bath until the water turned cold. Once we were dried off we both slipped on cozy pajamas and headed down to the first floor to order dinner. We watched some TV and talked about anything and everything while we ate. Once we were done we headed back up to his room and climbed in bed. “Oh. My. God. This mattress. Can I just take your bed home with me?”
“No, but you can sleep in it any time you want,” he said kissing me and pulling me in to his body. His hands made their way underneath the shirt I was wearing tracing shapes in to the bare skin. “Today was perfect.”
“Mmhmm.”
“You look relaxed.”
“I am.”
“I’m glad,” he said before kissing my lips again and moving down my neck. It really was going to be the perfect end to a great day.

Notes

PHEW! That chapter is finally done and published!! I don't think I've invested so much time to a chapter in ages. But I'm really happy with it and I hope you are.

Harry planned quite the sweet first date for Annie. Something so personal that gave them an opportunity to not only be together but experience some pretty wonderful things together. What do you think of their date? Is it what you imagined? They finally made it to a first date. Next up...meeting the older sister. Will Annie and Gemma get along?

And what lies ahead for Kim? Will Niall try to win her over or is Nate's plea to Annie real and will she be happy with him now that he finally seems to have the desire to commit.

One can only hope the next chapter doesn't take quite so long to post. I am so grateful that you stuck it out with me. I rewrote and reworked and tweaked this chapter so much because I felt that Annie and Harry deserved something incredible. As always comment, message, like, rate, recommend, tell me if you love it, hate it or whatever you're feeling.

The song seemed to perfect not to pick. I love Ed. I love this song. And I truly think that exploring a future together will be amazing for Annie and Harry. Also I'm considering doing a companion one-shot series for this. Explore some of Annie and Harry's moments together before that first night out. Would you be interested in reading that? Please let me know!

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