Annie

I maybe shouldn’t have had that last drink tonight. Harry had to take my pants off for me. Though I did thoroughly enjoy that. He was worshipping my body with his lips as I ran my fingers through his hair. His large hands massaging my breasts through the lace bra as he kissed just above the matching pink lace boyshorts.
“You are a vision in pink baby,” he said sliding the panties down as I undid my bra.
“I’m glad you think so,” I said giggling as he kissed my hip in a spot where I was ticklish. Once he had my panties completely off he pulled off his boxers and reached over me for the nightstand where I’d stowed the condoms the prior weekend. He quickly opened the wrapper with his teeth as I pumped him in my hands a few times to get him ready. He slid the condom on before kissing me as he entered me slowly. It was an incredible feeling the way he filled me. Just the entry nearly made me fall apart. He started to slowly thrust in and out of me, his lips never leaving mine. He grabbed my breasts again and I had to end the kiss, biting his lip and taking in a deep breath. One deep thrust and I nearly screamed. “Holy hell. Do that again.”
“This?” he asked as he repeated the motion with a smirk on his face. My head hit the pillow as I moaned loudly.
“Fuck yes. I felt that all the way in my toes,” I said causing him to laugh at me. He bent down and kissed my neck before biting it playfully. “I don’t want to inflate your ego but you’re really good at this.” I laughed this time.
“Thanks.” We kissed again only coming up for air because we would die without breathing. I couldn’t take it anymore, wrapped my legs around his body, linking my ankles below his ass and moving upwards to meet his motions. Within a few short moments we were both coming apart, moaning each other’s names. “I take it back. That was the best birthday present.” His head fell on to my chest as I started to laugh.
“Typical male. If I could gift wrap sex you’d ask for that as a gift wouldn’t you?”
“Maybe,” he said peering up at me before licking up to my neck. “I can’t decide which I’m more drunk off of, the gin or you.”
“The gin. Definitely the gin. Though I’d like to believe it was me.”
“I think it’s you.” He kissed me, our tongues waging a war for dominance against each other. “Though you taste like vodka and lemon so that could be why it’s you.”
“And you taste like…” I kissed him again. “Fireball?” I asked making a face.
“I may have done a shot or two of Fireball with Nate.”
“He does have a weakness for Fireball.” I pulled his lips to mine. “Happy Birthday Harry. I’m glad I get to be here to spend it with you.”
“Me too. Or my wrist would get very tired because I’m sure I’d be thinking about you.” I couldn’t help but laugh loudly at him.
“You are such a perv!” I shoved his shoulder.
“Hey, it’s only because you’re beautiful. A fantasy come to life.”
“Nice save Styles,” I said pulling his body weight down on to me, hugging him tightly to my chest before kissing him again and biting his lower lip again.
“You’re not gonna let me sleep are you?” he asked.
“You aren’t ready to sleep.” I giggled because he couldn’t hide that he was far from ready for sleep. I reached down stroking him again.
“No, I’m definitely not. I am ready for more of you though.” Our kisses were hungrier this time. The alcohol having more of an effect on us the later it got as we had both done shots on the way out the door. We were a fumbling mess of sweat, sex and alcohol. We finally fell asleep in each other’s arms not long before the sun was bound to come up.
I woke up far too early to the sound of a phone ringing. I picked mine up off of the nightstand. The screen was dark but the sound hadn’t stopped. Harry was practically on top of me and I couldn’t move to reach his phone. I started to shove him, barely causing him to move when the ringing stopped and then almost immediately started again. I finally moved him enough I could reach his phone.
“Hello,” I said in to the phone, shit I still sounded asleep and sort of drunk.
“Is this Annie?” said the woman’s voice on the other end of the line.
“Yeah.” I tried to clear my throat. “This is Annie.”
“Hi, it’s Harry’s mum, Anne. Is the birthday boy awake yet?” He was snoring in my ear and far from awake. I caught a glimpse of the clock, 10:00.
“He’s in the loo. Can I have him call you back?”
“Sure, just tell him we are about an hour out. Just wanted to give you two some warning.”
“Thank you, we are ready for you to get here.” I shot up in bed. We were far from ready. Both of us naked, smelling like sex and stale beer. But we had an hour to not only get ready but get to his house. “We will see you in an hour. I’m anxious to meet you.” The first wave of nausea hit me. Hangovers were a bitch.
“We are excited to meet you too. We will see you soon,” she said before we hung up. Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Harry. Wake up.” No movement. “Harry. Seriously. Wake the fuck up.” Still nothing. I started to shove him out of bed succeeding and he came crashing on to his ass on the floor beside the bed.
“What the hell baby?”
“Your mother just called.” His eyes went wide. “They will be at yours in an hour.”
“Fuck. Did you pack last night before we went to the bar?” he asked. I nodded. “Grab whatever you were gonna wear today and let’s go. We can get ready at mine. More space and my clothes are all there. I didn’t bring anything.”
“Are you even sober enough to drive?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He ran his hands through his hair a few times before scrambling around on the floor for his pants. He pulled his boxers on first and then his jeans. “Are you gonna move?”
“I don’t know if I can. I might throw up,” I said falling back on to the bed.
“Don’t be dramatic. You can hold your liquor just fine.”
“I know I can. But my mouth tastes like cinnamon. Did I have Fireball or was it just you?”
“We all did it. On the way out the door. Nate handed you a shot and you took it back to back with a shot of something else. You sort of thought you were super human at the end of the night.”
“I’m gonna kill him.” I found my panties and bra pulling them on and a t-shirt that was on the floor. “Nate!” I screamed. The door opened a few seconds later to Nate in a towel, fresh from the shower. “You fucking asshole.”
“Fireball realization Belle?”
“How is it that I realized he tasted like Fireball last night but not that I did?”
“I don’t know.” Nate was laughing by now. “And if there was any Jaeger involved in your night you can blame Cameron not me. I know not to give you that.”
“You also know not to give me Fireball you dickhead. I’m gonna be sick and I’m meeting his mother in an hour.” I ran out of the bedroom in to the bathroom and vomited in to the toilet. I rested my head on the lid and looked up to see Harry and Nate in the doorway. I flipped them both off. “Word to the wise boyfriend. Me and Fireball are a bad fucking combination. Never. Never again.”
“She swears more when she’s drunk or hungover,” Harry said through laughter.
“No, she’s just been on her best behavior. Her permanent name for me for a week straight once was Dickhead. Even emailed me starting them with Dickhead, the firm’s IT guy got a kick out of it.”
“I hate you both so much right now.” I stood up and brushed my teeth nearly throwing up again before pulling on a pair of pants, grabbing my bag and rushing out to the car with Harry. I had a stocking cap pulled low and my sunglasses on as I clung to a bottle of water and rested my head on the door. I barely made it in to the house and Harry’s first floor bathroom before I was sick again.
“Baby, are you gonna be okay?”
“I don’t know. I may have just vomited out a crucial organ.” He laughed quietly.
“At least you still have your sense of humor. Let’s get you in the shower. You’ll feel better.” He showered with me because I kept leaning against the wall telling him I just wanted to nap and because I threw up again…in the shower. Let me tell you the least sexy way to appear to your boyfriend on his birthday. Naked, wet, and bent over vomiting the contents of your stomach in his immaculately cleaned bathroom. “You’re gonna be fine, Sugar. I promise. Mom won’t even notice,” he said. I was struggling to get my eyeliner on properly.
“Yeah, won’t notice that my breath smells of vomit, my hands are shaking and I want to pass out. I should not have partied so hard for your birthday last night. I’m so sorry. I’m totally going to fuck up today.”
“No you aren’t. You are fine. In fact you look beautiful.” I’d put mousse in my hair to enhance its natural craziness and so I didn’t have to dry it. Flipping my head upside down had been a trip. I almost fell over. I laughed at myself through most of it trying to find the humor in the fact that I’d not even remotely been intelligent about the fact that I was meeting my new, younger boyfriend’s parents for the first time. I’d partied like a rockstar and I looked like a hot mess express this morning. I looked at the clock. Crap. His parents would be here in 10 minutes and I still was in my bra and panties doing my makeup.
“What the hell do I wear?”
“Didn’t you grab something and bring it with you?” he asked.
“Yeah, it was for tonight. I don’t think it’s totally appropriate to wear a sequin mini skirt at a casual lunch with your Mum.”
“Sorry, didn’t realize that was what you grabbed. I’ll look through your bag. You finish your makeup.” He kissed my forehead and walked out of the bathroom leaving me sitting on the counter with my makeup surrounding me. I finished my makeup and walked in to the bedroom to find a pair of black leggings and a grey dress laying on the bed. It basically looked like a super oversized short sleeved t-shirt. There was no Harry to be found. He picked out what looked like I’d put on my pajamas! I had no time as I needed to get downstairs because his family would be here any minute. I pulled the clothing on and grabbed an infinity scarf out of my bag. It was white, grey and aqua. I needed color to this outfit. I threw on my cross and Giving Key necklaces that I wore every day in an effort to make it look like I tried to be presentable. I found my thick, cozy socks that I’d packed, scrunched them down and took off down the stairs. As I made it to the kitchen I slid on the socks right in to Harry’s back. He reached behind his back to grab me. “You okay Sugar?” he asked.
“Yeah, slippery socks and clean kitchen floor. Sorry Dimples.” I peaked around him to see Gemma waving at me and then what I knew to be his Mum and stepdad, Robin, based on pictures he’d shown me of his family. “Hi,” I squeaked out.
“Mum, Robin, this is my girlfriend Annie Catalano. Annie, my mum, Anne and stepdad, Robin.”
“It’s really nice to meet you both,” I said regaining my composure and reaching to shake their hands. “Harry and Gemma have both told me a lot about you.”
“They’ve both told me a lot about you too,” his Mum said before pulling me in to a hug. My eyes must’ve nearly bugged out of my head because Gemma looked as if she was going to fall on her face laughing any minute. Anne was a tight hugger. I had barely regained my balance from her hug when Robin pulled me in to one. I should’ve known based on their son and daughter that this family was a bunch of huggers, which was cool but I’m positive the alcohol is still seeping out of my pores.
“Harry, why don’t you take them in to sit down? I will be right over with snacks and drinks.”
“We brought a bottle of wine. Harry said that we were doing homemade pizzas and you had a bunch of Italian snacks.” I had planned on fancy homemade pizza with antipasto and we’d even found time to sneak to Whole Foods. Harry had thought it would be something fun to have for food with his family.
“Fantastic. I will get the food and you guys can take the glasses. I’ll open the wine.”
“Need help?” Gemma asked. I nodded as everyone went to sit on couches at the other side of the great room. Thankfully Harry had music on so the conversation from the kitchen couldn’t be easily heard. “You look like shit.”
“I’ve thrown up three times this morning. Why didn’t anyone stop Nate from giving me Fireball last night?” Gemma started laughing. “I don’t want to overshare but your brother had to shower with me because I could barely stand. Totally puked…in the shower. Good thing he’s not squeamish when it comes to drunk girls.” Gemma started to laugh louder. “Shh. Don’t laugh so loudly. Your mother cannot know how hungover I am. That’s like the worst first impression of all time.”
“You’ll be fine. You’re playing it off well. I can just see that your eyes are a little bloodshot. She probably didn’t notice.”
“Shit. I think I have visine upstairs.”
“No, your eyeliner will smear. That will be obvious.” Gemma grabbed wine glasses while I opened the bottle. One whiff of the wine and I felt and heard my stomach churn before I heard Gemma start laughing again. “You’re in for trouble with the wine. Or it could make you feel better.”
“I doubt that but your brother obviously told your mother my favorite wine because that’s what she brought so I can’t pretend I don’t want any.” I groaned and laid my head down on the cool marble counter top. “I want to die.”
“You’ll be good. You’ve got bread on this thing. Soak up the alcohol.” Gemma rubbed my back. “Do you need to throw up again?”
“I don’t know. I feel like I do but I can’t want to throw up in front of your mother.”
“She was young once too.”
“Sure, but what will she think of me? I’m 10 years older than your brother. I’m supposed to be the responsible one.” I stood up took a deep breath and grabbed the tray I’d put together the day before and stuck in the fridge and we carried everything to the living room. Harry was in the oversized chair and pulled me down next to him after I put the tray on the coffee table. I leaned my head on his shoulder and felt him kiss the crown of my head.
“You okay?”
“I’m dying,” I whispered. “Wine. Seriously?” He laughed quietly.
“You’re doing fine.”
“So Annie, what made you decide to move to London?” Anne asked. And here came the Mother’s Inquisition. I’d done this before, but I’d never been this terrified parents usually loved me. I was smart, funny and a very genuine person. I cared about Harry and I wanted her to see that, but I couldn’t decide now if the desire to vomit came from the shots last night or my nerves at his mother asking questions about me.
“My flatmate got a job working at The Roundhouse so I just decided to come and figure it all out once I got here. A few years ago I lost one of my best friends unexpectedly. He was this brave soul who would jump at adventure. I sort of decided I needed to be a bit more like him. So I sold the contents of my apartment. Cashed out my 401k from my job and absolutely every penny I had and moved here. Best decision I’ve ever made. London is amazing.”
“I’m sorry about your friend but that’s a great story,” Anne said.
“Thanks. Jason would be proud of me.” I rubbed the inside of my wrist over Jason’s tattoo, took a deep breath and let the fear out. Unfortunately the nausea didn’t go with it. “He’d also have kicked my butt months ago for not saying yes to drinks with your son. He was a hopeless romantic.”
“I’m sure he’d love seeing you happy,” Robin said.
“He would.” I smiled thinking of Jason. He inspired so much of my life even in his absence. I loved sharing stories about him. Harry squeezed my shoulder sensing that though I had an overwhelming sense of pride when it came to Jason that I also got a bit sad. I smiled at him before resting my head back on his shoulder.
“So what did your family think?” Robin asked.
“My Dad thought I was nuts. Told me he’d see me when I came home. He hates planes. I doubt I’ll ever be able to get him here, but I’m trying. My stepmom was excited but sad. We are really close so leaving was hard. Mom cried for like a week. She’s planning a trip though. She has visited England once and loved it. I think she was mostly jealous that she wasn’t picking up and moving with me.”
“So your parents are divorced?” Anne asked.
“Yes, split when I was a young kid. Lived with my mom until high school and then with dad through high school and college. I’ve got an older brother who is married with a little one. Gigi is my favorite person in the world. She’s the spitting image of me as a child which is awesome. I FaceTime her a lot, which isn’t the same as her snuggles but it helps me not miss her as much.”
We sat talking a bit more before we started on making pizza. I’d had everything put together so that we could easily make lunch. Everyone sat around the island as the pizzas baked. Harry wasn’t shy about putting his arms around me while we sat talking. We all ate and the conversation flowed a bit easier. I had managed to not touch my wine but go through four large glasses of water.
“Did you not like the wine?” Anne asked once we were done with lunch. “I thought I got the kind Harry said you liked.”
“You did. I…umm…”
“She’s got a hangover Mum. Took me out for my birthday last night at the pub she works at. Her flatmate’s boyfriend is in town too and she hadn’t seen him since around Christmas. We all may or may not have had too much fun.”
“Oh honey, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have made you carry the wine around. I know that it’s the worst thing when I have a hangover.”
“It’s okay. It really is my favorite wine. I just wish I felt better. Though the pizza helped and maybe the cake will help too.”
“Cake?” Anne asked.
“Yeah, I baked a chocolate cake for Harry yesterday. I let him pick the flavor. I did order some cupcakes to have at the house tonight for when his friends are all over. I would normally bake them but I’ve had absolutely no time this week to bake that many. So Niall said he’d pick them up for me. I should check to make sure he’s still doing that.” I grabbed my phone off of the counter. Before I went to text Niall I saw I had a message from Niki.

Message with Niki:
Thanks so much for letting me crash your little party last night. You guys seem like a ton of fun. What are the plans for tonight?
We are doing dinner at 7:00 at Spaniard’s Inn and then a party at Harry’s after. He’s close to the pub.
Okay, I know where Spaniard’s Inn is. I’ll just grab a taxi.
Nonsense. Niall said he’d come pick you up at the pub at 6:00 and you guys would meet us at Harry’s house.
He did?
He did! He asked for your number a bit ago. Expect a text from him soon.
Okay. Well then I will see you shortly 6:00. What am I supposed to wear?
Whatever. Have fun. I was going to wear sequins but I’m feeling a bit hungover. Likely wearing a t-shirt-ish dress and leggings with boots. Comfort today incase I puke again.
Okay. Well I’ll let you go. I know Harry’s family is there. See you tonight.

I smiled to myself at my brilliance. I was going to make Niall fall in love with that girl if it was the last thing I did. She seemed so good for him and it wasn’t just the food. As the night when on and I got to know her she just seemed like she would mesh well with him. Laid back. Fun. Loved laughing. And she made him laugh which was awesome. I was going to work my magic without letting Harry figure it out. Though I knew he would.

Message with Niall Horan
Hey are you still picking up the cupcakes for Harry’s party for me or do I need to run out and get them?
I told you I would. I did already. The bakery closes at 2:00 and I wanted to make sure we had them and weren’t screwed for tonight. They are safely secured in the back of my car.
You’re my hero. I owe you big time. No way would I have been able to do that today. I’ve puked three times and I’m playing the sweet girlfriend.
Ouch! Maybe you’ll be taking it easy tonight.
I definitely will. Hey do you want to do me another favor?
Anything for you Annabelle.
Pick Niki up at 6:00. She doesn’t know where Harry’s house is and doesn’t have a car. :)
You’re trying to play matchmaker aren’t you.
Maaaayyyybe. You love me.
Love is a strong word. You’re like this little munchkin that won’t leave me alone. But she’s cute so I’ll pick her up.
Good I told her you wanted to and asked for her number and that you’d text her so here.
[Contact Information for Niki Jameson sent by Annie Catalano]
How did I not realize her last name was Jameson?
Too busy ordering shots of her. ;)
Pervert.
Whatever. It’s cake and presents time. See you around 6:00.

“Sorry. Cupcakes have been picked up. Niall is gonna pick Niki up at 6:00 and meet us here before dinner.”
“You’re trying to hook them up, aren’t you?” Gemma asked.
“Yeah, they are cute. She seems sweet and she’s in culinary school. What could be more perfect for Niall?” I asked laughing.
“That’s sweet of you,” Anne said. “Wow, the cake looks beautiful.” I had frosted it with chocolate frosting and shaved some chocolate on to it as well.
“Thank you. Harry says the frosting is good. He may have licked the bowl yesterday.” I moved between his legs so I was closer to the counter. I put a candle in the cake and lit it. The sounds of Happy Birthday filled the room before he leaned over my shoulder and blew the candle out and then kissed my neck.
“I don’t need to wish for anything. I got my birthday wish a week early.” I turned to kiss him before cutting the cake and digging out the ice cream I’d found.
“This is amazing,” Robin said.
“It is wonderful,” Anne added. “You and Harry will have to come up to visit and we can bake together. Harry is pretty good because he worked in a bakery when he was younger. We are quite the baking family.”
“I’ve heard that from him. I would love to bake with you. I’m always up for learning new things.”
“You did great baby. Thank you,” Harry said smiling at me. I was sitting in my own stool again.
“You’re welcome. So do we want to do presents now?” I asked. I was so anxious to give him his gift.
“Of course,” Anne said. Everyone went to where their gifts for Harry were and met back in the living room half of the room. I snuggled in close to Harry again and watched as he opened gifts from his family. They were smaller than one would expect from his family because of how much he had. But he could have anything he wanted. They got him things that were sentimental and special, which made me feel more excited about my gift. I plopped the white bag down in his lap and got anxious as he pulled out the almost oversized black card that I’d made myself. It was a black and white picture I’d taken of London at night when I first moved here. The skyline looked incredible. It was one of my favorite pictures I’d ever taken. In fact it was the first picture of the skyline I’d taken to send Mom.
The inside of the card had another picture with lyrics opposite the photo. It was one of us we took ourselves on our photo day. We both looked unbelievably happy and far closer than I’d ever imagined being with someone so soon. I picked the lyrics carefully with my own words .

Honey you are a rock
Upon which I stand
And I come here to talk
I hope you understand

That green eyes
Yeah, the spotlight shines upon you
And how could
Anybody deny you?

I came here with a load
And it feels so much lighter now I met you
And honey you should know
That I could never go on without you

Green eyes

Honey you are the sea
Upon which I float
And I came here to talk
I think you should know

That green eyes
You’re the one that I wanted to find
And anyone who
Tried to deny you must be out of their mind

Because I came here with a load
And it feels so much lighter since I met you
Honey, you should know
That I could never go on without you

Green eyes, green eyes
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh

I couldn’t figure out how to put what I felt in to words. Good thing Chris Martin already did it for me. Green Eyes is steadily climbing in to a top spot for me. Maybe it’s because of this pair of green eyes that make me feel like I’m the only person in the room. Happy Birthday Green Eyes.

“That card is perfect. You are perfect.” He kissed me a bit more passionately than I’d expect with his mother watching us.
“Open your present.” He pulled out the first item and took the tissue paper off. It was a Pentax 35mm camera. Much like the camera my parents had when I was a kid. It still worked and I’d loaded it with a roll of film.
“This is amazing.”
“There’s more.” He dug further in to the bag and pulled out the vintage Rolleiflex Twin-lens camera I’d been eyeing since I started at the bookshop and discovered the antique store. It was beautiful and still in working condition.
“This is amazing. You shouldn’t have gotten these.”
“I want to see the world through your viewfinder,” I said smiling at him. He pressed his lips to mine.
“These are incredible. Do they both work?” I nodded. “I’m so excited to use these.”
“I thought you might be. I have an old Polaroid camera that I brought with so we could take some fun shots of everyone tonight. That bulletin board in the kitchen needs some smiling faces to brighten up your day.”
“You are wonderful.”
“I just wanted to do something special for you. Those cameras will be a lot of fun for you when you travel. Maybe take some pictures to have developed. Something a little less digital.”
“I love them.” We sat chatting with his family. I was significantly less nervous now and less queasy since I’d honestly told Anne that I couldn’t drink the wine. Not having it in my hand meant not smelling it so I was feeling a lot better. It was about 6:20 when I heard a knock on Harry’s door. I stood up leaving him to talk to his family and opened the door to find a smiling Niki and Niall behind her with two giant boxes of cupcakes.
“We’re here!” Niki said excitedly.
“Let me in before I drop these damn cupcakes,” Niall said.

Notes

Well that was an interesting way to meet the parents!
What did you think of the new chapter? I apologize that it's a little bit shorter than most of the chapters but my hope is that this afternoon and evening I can finish Harry's birthday with his chapter. So potentially two updates today if I stay focused!

What was your favorite part about this chapter? What do you think about Niall and Niki? What would you have done in Annie's situation. And finally the birthday present revealed! What did you think of it?

As always feedback is welcome! Comments are appreciated. I love hearing from you and what you think of this story. So comment, vote, subscribe, message or even better head over to Tumblr and follow me. I post a lot more there and I'm willing to add more things. I do instagram posts from the characters and I'm considering adding TFLN as a way to gain insight to not only Annie and Harry but every character. I've got a couple plans for Always In My Head too that don't completely involve Annie and Harry. A bit from our characters and what is currently happening in this story. Would you like more of that? Let me know! I'm willing to take suggestions for the little extras to keep everyone excited as I work on chapters for this as well.

Hope you're warm wherever you are. It's 15 degrees here with a windchill of -7 which is like a heatwave in comparison to the last few days.

Have an awesome day! xx