Annie

I slid my phone back in to my purse after telling Harry where we were in the pub. I couldn’t believe that I’d agreed to him coming out. I’ve gone mental…and evidently British. I looked over at Kim who was laughing at me. I must have the goofy smile on my face again, the one she says I get every time he texts me.
"Harry is on his way. He and Niall just got done with dinner and are headed over."
"Cool. Are you prepared to try and bang him? Do you have a condom with you?" Kim asked. Sometimes she was bold and it shocked me. Since we'd moved to London I'd only slept with one person. Granted I met him the day we moved here and we started dating quickly. But Cameron had been the only person I'd been with whereas Kim was having fun enjoying British men and had seen a few since moving here.
"I don't have a condom with me. I don't intend on banging him."
"That's too bad. You should steal him to the loo and bang the dimples off of his face." I laughed at her use of British slang. I'd picked it up quickly being surrounded by Lizzy, Lyla and my customers at the pub and bookshop. She did it to screw with me. I quickly changed the subject, though I was having a hard time staying focused on our conversation. I was anxious waiting for Harry to show up. After about ten minutes I saw his blue beanie coming up the stairs. I waved at him when I caught his eyes, stood up and he smiled at me. His smile was one of my favorite things I’d discovered since moving here. It was bright, cheery and was the perfect cure to a gloomy day. But tonight it was different. It was hopeful, excited, and maybe a bit sexy. Okay why am I lying to myself? A lot sexy.
"Hey Sugar, Kim," he said. He quickly hugged Kim before coming over to me and hugging me. We'd only hugged a handful of times but they were memorable. He was warm and gave tight hugs. He was significantly taller than I was so he was bent over at the waist with his arms beneath mine.
"Hey," I said quietly in to his ear. "I'm glad you made it."
"Me too. You look beautiful." We heard the fake coughing of our friends. "Sorry I'm terrible. Niall this is Kim."
"Nice to meet you," Niall said shaking her hand.
"You too," she replied.
"And you remember Annie," Harry said. Niall turned to me. I stuck my hand out to shake his as he'd done with Kim.
"Are you kidding me? He got one hell of a hug. I want to see what's so good about your hugs. He was telling me all about it on the way here."
"You are entirely too embarrassing," Harry mumbled as Niall pulled me in to a hug. He squeezed me tight and just long enough that it began to feel weird. "Alright, okay, that's enough." Harry separated us and I saw Niall quickly sit down next to Kim.
"Look you two have to sit together," Niall said smiling.
"I think we are gonna make a great team tonight," Kim said. They high fived and flagged down a waitress to order a round of drinks. Harry and I sat down in the chair and he slid his arm behind me to make more room. Or at least I thought that's what it was until I felt his fingers start to twirl my hair a bit.
"Are you playing wingman for her?"
"Wingwoman. She shouldn't need this kind of help though."
"Neither should he. It's sort of obnoxious. He talks about her a lot. And ever since he got her number I catch him giggling at his phone because they’re texting."
"It's similar on my end. She's always trying to figure out the time difference between here and wherever you are."
"You do that?" Harry asked. I felt the blush creep in to my cheeks.
"Yeah, I don't want to text you when you might be sleeping and wake you up or something."
"I wouldn't care if you did."
"No he wouldn't. In fact he'd probably wake me up to tell me," Niall said.
"Shut up." It was Harry's turn to blush a bit.
"She comes home with a different story about Dimples every day she works and he comes in. She's figured out the cupcakes, muffins and cookies he likes and bakes them. No joke she hates bananas. Can't eat them because they give her migraines. Bitch has baked more banana bread in the last six months than I've eaten in my lifetime." Niall laughed again. I could tell Kim was starting to enjoy being my wingwoman tonight. "I've been begging her to make pumpkin cupcakes since Christmas and she hasn't. He asked about them the other day and BOOM Sunday she's planning on baking pumpkin cupcakes."
"Cream cheese frosting?" Niall asked. Kim nodded. "Can I come help?"
"They make a shit ton so yes. When she makes red velvet you aren't allowed. Only makes about a dozen. I could eat those in two days."
"I could eat them in two hours. Is she any good?" Kim just nodded again and laid back holding her stomach and groaning.
"I'd marry her for her baked goods if I didn't like guys so much. So instead I just pay the bulk of rent so she has a nice kitchen and I get cupcakes and cookies."
"I'm coming over on Sunday," Niall announced.
"Oh really," I said laughing that they finally felt it was okay to include Harry and I in the conversation.
"I hear you're baking on Sunday. I'm coming over. I want cupcakes. My favorite muffins are cinnamon crunch because they taste like good breakfast and not healthy breakfast. I like anything chocolate and would cut someone for cream cheese frosting." We all erupted in laughter at his statement.
"You two were made for each other," I said gesturing at Kim and Niall.
"Do you only bake?" Niall asked.
"No, I love to cook too."
"Oh my god. Meatballs. Why aren't you making me meatballs this weekend?" Kim asked.
"Because you insisted that we go out all weekend. Plus since you're taking the Monday after the Super Bowl off with me so we can stay up late and watch football I figured I'd make them next weekend."
"Fantastic," Kim said. "You're such the perfect little housewife. Except when Dimples distracts you and you leave work late and I almost miss dinner."
"You were not at risk of missing dinner."
"I was dying of starvation."
"Oh jeez," I said laughing and moving towards Harry. He squeezed my shoulder and pulled me a bit closer to him. Kim turned to Niall high-fiving him. "Okay Niall. You are welcome to come on Sunday while I bake. Maybe you could bring Dimples here and Kim can school him on the ways of John Cusack."
"What about John Cusack?" Kim asked immediately perking back up from her groaning about food position.
"Harry here has never seen Say Anything."
"Dimples, I'm disappointed."
"I'm 19. The movie came out before I was born. Don't I get a pass?"
"No!" Kim and I both yelled.
"I'm 29. The Godfather came out before I was born. Seen it," I said.
"Well that's just not reasonable. Everyone on the planet has seen that film."
"Everyone on the planet should see Say Anything. Does this mean he hasn't seen High Fidelity either?" Kim asked. I nodded. "Top Five John Cusack movies. Go."
"High Fidelity. Say Anything. The Sure Thing. Serendipity. Gross Pointe Blank. Wait no...I can't leave Eight Men Out off the list."
"What the hell?" Niall asked.
"High Fidelity. Top Five. You'll learn,” Kim retorted.
"You gonna give me a lesson on Sunday too?" Niall asked.
"Oh honey I could give you a lesson or two right now." Niall raised his eyebrows at her and took a drink of his beer.
"I think those two might hook up," I said leaning in to Harry. "That could be funny. Then maybe she'd whine to someone else about being starving."
"Did you have a nice dinner?" I nodded.
"Yeah we went to an Italian restaurant just down the block. We decided to stay within walking distance tonight. Did you guys have a nice dinner?"
"Yeah we did. Admittedly I was anxious to see you though. We were having a great talk today and we ended it abruptly."
"We've had this talk a million times. We were discussing which Coldplay record is the best. I will always say X&Y."
"Even though you like more songs on Viva La Vida?"
"Yes even though. X&Y is such a great album and it has ‘Fix You’. Can't do it. It wins. Always will. Someday you’ll understand. You’ll get it and know why fix you is my favorite song." At least I hoped someday he’d understand me enough to get why ‘Fix You’ was my favorite song. For him to get there I’d need to let my guard down more than I was just doing tonight.
"You're cute." There was the smile again and my stomach being awarded the gold medal. "You are. And you have quite the adorable little dimple yourself." I felt him poke the small dimple on my right cheek.
"Are you two flirting yet?" Kim asked.
"Attempting to," Harry said shooting her an evil glare. "Why don't you two order something to eat."
"Great idea!" Niall said.
"I could eat," Kim replied. They busied themselves with a menu ordering something to snack on while Harry and I got back to our conversation. We all talked late in to the evening.
"Wow. It's almost 1:00," I said. "I didn't realize it had gotten so late."
"That is not late," Niall said.
"It is when you woke up at 6:00 this morning to go to the gym before work. You ready to go home?" Kim asked as she looked over at Harry and I. We had gotten a bit cozy in our chair, turning to face each other. I had my hand rested on his thigh while his hand was still on my shoulder. I had one leg tucked under the other and at some point my leg moved and bent over his knee. Our free hands would occasionally brush against the other when we weren't drinking.
"Yeah," I said hesitantly. I loved how freely Harry and I were talking but I also knew Kim was probably tired of being my wingwoman for the night. Though she and Niall were equally close on their respective seat and flirting a little more blatantly.
"Can I walk you home?" Harry asked. "I parked by your flat where I dropped you off today."
"Yeah of course you can walk me home."
"Can I walk you home?" Niall asked.
"Yeah, did you want to see the new sheets I bought too?"
"Yeah, let's go." They were practically out the door before Harry and I had even stood up to put our coats on. The rain from earlier today had turned in to snow as it got later and it was now snowing pretty heavily. We walked a few steps behind our friends as Niall was trying to grab her bum and whisper in her neck so he could kiss it. I felt Harry hesitantly reach for my hand and as soon as he had it interlocking our fingers. I looked up at him and smiled. I was done for. He was cute, sweet and towering over me smiling at me with this look in his eyes that made me swoon a bit.

Notes

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