Always Here

The familiar beeping of my alarm clock woke me up the next morning. I shook off the feeling of sleep much quicker than usual; Harry was coming home today and I was excited to get him from the airport. It was always tough to not have him here, not only did I hate being alone in the house, but his presence always cheered me up a lot. It would be great to finally have him home and things back to normal.

After getting out of the shower, I threw on some old jean shorts and a sweatshirt, absentmindedly pulling my hair into a towel turban. In the kitchen, I chopped up some fruit for a smoothie and fixed up a yogurt and granola bowl. Normally, I wouldn’t be so put together at 8 a.m., but today I was filled with more energy and hope than usual—in a few hours, Norbert wouldn’t feel so big and lonely anymore.

I grabbed my keys and headed out the door, my sights set on Betty’s Diner to pick up some pastries for Harry once he landed. I hopped into my car and drove the few blocks to our favorite breakfast place. After getting him a cheese Danish and myself an apple tart, I started the drive to LAX.

* * *

“Move the fuck over!” I shouted through the windshield at the dumbass that had decided to park himself in front of the airport pickup. After finally maneuvering myself into a nice place to wait for Harry, I unwrapped my pastry and started to eat. I guess I’d gotten a little too into eating it because I hadn’t noticed any human presence until someone tapped on the window.

“Excuse me ma’am, I’m afraid you’re eating is disgusting the common public, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

I shrieked and laughed, hopping out of the car and diving into Harry’s arms. “You’re here!”

He laughed and I felt his chest go up and down under me. “Yeah, yeah I’m here.”

He smelled great, like always. Something about his scent made me so happy, like having him near me would just calm me down no matter what. I stepped back and got a look at him. “You look tanner. Have you been tanning? You definitely look tan.”

He laughed, “Yeah we spent some time over by the lake, England was having a heat spell.”

“Well it’s not going to be any cooler here. I almost started melting yesterday.” I said with a happy giggle.

He laughed, “Yeah, I heard. Oh! Shit sorry,” Harry turned and faced a girl standing on the curb who I hadn’t noticed, “Belle, this is my friend Zoe. We met in England and sat next to each other on the plane. She lives in L.A. and I told her we could give her a ride. That’s cool right?”

I turned to look at her; she was undeniably gorgeous--long blonde hair, thin, tan legs, and pretty blue eyes. She looked genetically engineered to be a Victoria’s Secret model and I was suddenly overcome with a wave of self-consciousness.

“Yeah of course!” I said, a little too quickly, “You can put your bag in the trunk.” I smiled at her, wanting to be friendly even though I was slightly peeved that it wouldn’t be just Harry and me.

I hopped back into the drivers seat and looked in the mirror to see behind me. Harry and Zoe were standing by the trunk, he had gone out to help her with her bags. She appeared to be laughing rather hard as he made a pained expression like he was having a hard time picking up her suitcase. He started to laugh too, and pulled her close to him. Just as he was leaning down to her face, I whipped around, suddenly not in the mood to be here anymore.

I nervously tapped on the wheel, waiting for them to get in the car so we could leave. A few moments later, Zoe and Harry climbed into the backseat together—both still giggling slightly. I felt extremely uncomfortable. Why would Harry leave me all alone in the front? This totally makes me feel like an underpaid limo driver. I started to drive away and Harry finally piped up.

“So how’s it been going?” He leaned over so he was resting on the back of the headrest. “Any new adventures I should know about?” He smiled cheekily and I sighed, knowing my dissatisfaction towards him wouldn’t last.

“Everything’s good, you know how it is. I got promoted at work last week. I am now a ‘contributing writer’ to the Fashion+Beauty Management Co.” I said, making air quotes around my new title—it sounds like something they made up. I work for a publishing company, specifically their fairly unpopular fashion column. Don’t get me wrong, I love fashion and beauty just like the next girl, but working for a local paper isn’t exactly what I envisioned when I thought about my future as a writer. It’s a baby step though, and I should be grateful. That’s what I keep reminding myself. Baby steps.

“What! Bells that’s amazing! You and Zoe should talk, she worked for Elle UK back in London, and you guys have a lot in common.” He said sounding more excited, even though the comment made me feel even more insignificant than I already did.

I smiled lightly and kept my eyes on the road, “Definitely.”

I stayed silent for the rest of the ride, Zoe and Harry were laughing about some inside joke they made up on the plane or back in London or something. I don’t know, I wasn’t really listening.

“So where should I drop you, Zoe?” I asked, interrupting their giggle fest.

“Oh, you can just drop me at the Urth Caffe, I’m meeting a friend.” She said sweetly, her voice dripping with kindness and sincerity. I was further pushed toward disliking her—why did she have to be pretty and nice.

“I love Urth! Have you tried their vegan oatmeal cookies? They’re seriously so good.” I asked, trying my best to be friendly.

“Ooh, no I haven’t! Maybe I’ll get one today, I’ve been craving oatmeal lately.” She replied with a smile, showing her perfect teeth and gums. I had yet to find a physical flaw on her.

We pulled up to the café, Harry hopped out to fetch her luggage and say goodbye to her, “Are you sure you don’t want us to drop you at home to put your bags down? You might look funny walking around downtown L.A. with two large suitcases.” He said as she took her two Louis Vuittons and headed towards the sidewalk.

“No, Harry, I really am fine. See you soon?” She asked him.

“Definitely,” he said, smiling, “Dinner this week?”

“Absolutely.” He pulled her in for a kiss again and I instinctively turned away. For some reason I didn’t want to ogle at my best friend and his new girl.

She walked off and he climbed into the front seat this time, looking like a little kid on the last day of school.

“Thanks for driving her, Bells. She was going to have to take a cab from the airport, which would have cost a fortune. Wanna do something? Lets stop by Norbert and then go get something to eat. I want to tell you about my trip.”

I couldn’t be annoyed at him anymore, although I don’t know why I ever was in the first place. “Of course Thumper. I’m so glad your back! And with a new girl?” I said, trying to sound casual and excited.

“Yeah, we met on my first day in London, when I was visiting the boys. She’s really cool—and totally reminds me of you. I think you guys would get along great.”

I smiled slightly, partially out of politeness and also because he indirectly called me cool.

“I’m always down for a new friend.” I said nonchalantly.

He laughed, “Yeah, yeah I know.”

We chatted for the rest of the ride home and I pulled into the underground parking garage underneath our apartment complex. Norbert is one of a collection of ‘urban’, ‘innovative’, and ‘modern-meets-retro’ lofts located in the heart of downtown L.A. That’s how the online ad described it at least. We only are allowed one parking spot, so Harry and I share his beloved 1962 convertible Mercedes. The first time I drove it I nearly shit my pants from excitement—it’s such a cool car. Harry loves it so much we’ve nicknamed it The Baby.

After the grueling four flights of stairs, we got to Norbert and settled in. Harry took a shower and left his suitcases in his room while I made some grilled cheeses. I flipped through channels on TV, eventually settling on some weird show on the Animal Planet.

Harry came down about 15 minutes later, dressed in nothing but a towel that sat low on his hips. I looked up from my grilled cheese to find his pouring a glass of water from the sink. I noticed that his V-line looked much more prominent than it had 3 weeks ago. I know he had always been handsome, something he achieved in high school that has continued on into college—the girls always loved him. Not that I hadn’t noticed his looks before, but there was something about the way the sunlight was hitting him through the paneled windows in the kitchen and how his hair was slicked back from the shower and how his chiseled physique still had small water droplets across his chest, causing his nipples to harden, made him look more attractive than I’d ever seen him. It was probably the tan. He did look tanner.

“Where did all the Cocoa Puffs go?” he asked and I whipped my head back over to the TV, feeling my cheeks flush pink.

“I ate them, you dummy. You’ve been gone three weeks did you seriously expect me to save them for you this whole time?”

“Um, yeah actually I did.” He scoffed, “I would expect that from my best friend,” He started walking over towards the couch, his eyes twinkled with mischief and I already knew what was coming.

“Harry, no! Please I’m eati—” But he was already tickling me. I screamed with part laughter part agony as he attacked my abdomen with his hands.

“This is your punishment! You asked for this!” he yelled, laughing with me.

“No… please,” I panted, my breath short, “I’m going to puke on you.”

He backed off, knowing I was joking but probably not wanting to take any chances. He flopped down next to me on the couch, his arm over my shoulders. I was all too aware of the fact that he was only wearing a towel. Not that it was unusual for him to prance around the house in nothing but—if not less than—his briefs, but for some reason the clear outline underneath the thin fabric that covered him made me feel extremely nervous. I whipped my eyes up back to the screen and instinctively leaned against his chest. I felt his heart beating fast after our tickle fight and I was instantly calm again. Everything felt normal now, Harry and I sitting in Norbert, watching shitty television, tickle fights, grilled cheese. All was right in the world again.

Notes

second chapter!! let me know what ya think xx.