The Assistant

Harry’s eyes pierced straight through Nora as they sat backstage after the show that night. She wasn’t making eye contact, but he wanted her to feel his stare on her. He wanted her to know she got under his skin with her little remarks about possibly not coming back for the second leg of tour. He knew she knew he was focused on her, because she kept giving him timid looks from across the room. He could have easily gone up to her and talked to her, she was his girlfriend after all, but he wanted to show her what she did to him. He wanted her to know he wasn’t comfortable with her leaving. It wasn’t okay. He knew she was a big girl and could make her own decisions. It was just that he wanted her to make the right one.

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“Hey,” Harry said, catching Nora’s arm as she headed toward the hotel with her overnight bag in tow.

“Hey,” she said, her eyes wide, yet amiable.

“Can I… can I come to your room tonight?” He asked her in a low voice. She stood staring at him for a moment, her eyes flicking over his before she gave him the slightest of head nods.

“Alright,” he said, giving her a not-too-excited-even-though-he-really-was kind of smile.

She turned back toward the hotel and he grabbed onto her arm again, spinning her quickly into his arms, leaving a hardened kiss on her lips. When they broke apart, her smile spoke volumes and he smiled back with just as much enthusiasm.

“See you in a little bit, Nora,” he told her.

“Yeah. See you,” she said, smiling bashfully, her cheeks flushing pink as she turned on her heels again and headed toward the hotel.

Harry turned on his heels as well, heading back toward the bus to get his things. If she wanted nice Harry, he could be nice Harry. How hard could it be?

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“I’m sleeping in Nora’s room tonight,” Harry told Liam once they were in their hotel room together that night. Liam’s eyes narrowed at him.

“You better be treating her right, Harry. Nora’s a good girl. She’s special,” Liam told him.

“What the fuck? Of course I know that. She’s my girlfriend,” Harry scoffed angrily at him.

“I’ve seen the way you treat your girlfriends, Harry. Be real,” Liam said, pursing his lips, his eyes still narrowed.

“It’s different with Nora,” Harry growled at him.

“Caroline was saying you and Nora are already having problems,” Liam said, butting his nose in where it shouldn’t be.

“Of course she did. We’re fine. I’m going to go sleep in her room for Christ’s sake,” Harry scoffed, getting more and more heated with every word Liam spoke.

“What’s the problem?” Liam asked.

“It’s none of your business. And there is no problem,” Harry scoffed again, narrowing his eyes back at him.

“Mm-hmm. Caroline was really concerned,” he pressed on. Harry rolled his eyes at his persistence.

“Nora’s worried about her job. It has nothing to do with me. Thanks for your confidence in me by the way,” Harry scowled at his band mate.

“Like I said, I’ve seen you in a relationship, Harry,” he said, digging through his suitcase.

“On that note – I’m out,” Harry said, grabbing the card key for their room and shoving it in his back pocket as he exited, leaving Liam in him wake.

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There was a knock on Nora’s hotel room door about a half hour after her conversation with Harry and her smile beamed involuntary on her face knowing it was him. She still wasn’t sure why Harry made her feel that way because he really hadn’t earned her feelings. Frankly, before she made a decision about whether or not she would be returning for the second leg of tour, he needed to prove himself to her – prove himself worthy of being her fake boyfriend, inside and outside of their little façade.

Nora quickly composed herself before opening the door, finding Harry standing there looking quite dapper.

“Hey,” he said, smiling casually as he leaned against the door frame. His cologne was intoxicating, his entire being was doing things to her.

“Hey,” Nora said, trying to look and sound just as casual.

“Can I come in?” He asked, smirking at her.

“Oh, uh. Yeah. I didn’t think you’d come this early. I was just about to… uh, shower,” she said, feeling her cheeks flush at the thought of Harry in her hotel room as she showered.

“Oh, yeah?” He questioned, quirking his eyebrow playfully at her.

“Yeah,” she nodded, stepping out of the way so he could make his way in. He breezed past her into the room, wafting his delicious smell right at her.

“I feel… kinda dirty too,” he said as he turned to smirk at her, the door closing automatically with a thud.

“Oh,” Nora choked out, looking at him wide-eyed.

“I mean, you know… we could conserve on water,” he offered, smirking deviously at her.

“I don’t think there would be any conservation happening,” Nora said quietly, her cheeks burning with blush.

“You’re probably right. But it would be fun,” he said, cocking his eyebrow. He wasn’t wrong.

“Sure,” she said finally, darting her eyes away from his.

Nora didn’t know why she was being so coy with him, when not even six hours earlier she was letting him have it in her most intimidating tone about something seemingly more difficult to discuss than getting in a shower with him. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she never actually showered with anyone before in her life, let alone a guy – a guy she was sexual attracted to and sexually active with. She wasn’t sure what presumptions to even make about it. Grant – he was never playful or anything when it came to sex. It was in a bed, usually missionary. With Harry, so many doors opened up – wide.

Suddenly a wave of excitement crashed over her and she watched as he pulled his t-shirt over his head, giving her a sneaky smile. She followed suit and discarded her top too. They were definitely doing it.

“’Atta girl,” he said, bobbing his eyebrows at her as he popped the button on his jeans and pushed them down his legs.

“Come on,” Nora said with a smile, quickly discarding her bra on the floor as she dashed to the bathroom.

Harry met her in there moments after she started up the shower as she was dropping her yoga pants to the floor. He jumped in the shower only seconds after her.

“It’s so hot!” Nora yelped, jumping back into Harry.

“Then turn it colder,” he said, chuckling as he bravely thrust his arm through the scolding water and turned it down.

“Thanks,” Nora said breathlessly.

“Mm-hmm,” he said, looking down into her eyes.

Their bare bodies were already so close to one another in the small space and she felt her cheeks flush again through the hot steam the shower created. Harry took the liberty of grabbing her by the hips and pulling her toward him, pressing their lips together in an amorous kiss.

“Ever had shower sex?” He asked, cocking his eyebrow at her.

“Uh-uh,” she said, shaking her head.

“Never?” He smirked.

“Never,” she said and swallowed hard from the disbelief on his face that pretty much told her he in fact had his fair share of shower sex. And that left her wondering with who and how many times. Unexpected jealousy bubbled up inside of her.

“Oh. Well, I’m thinking we might have to rectify the situation,” he said, smiling against her lips, kissing her again.

This Harry felt more to her like the boyfriend-type. It seemed that her words really had an impact on him and she was silently pleased with herself for putting her foot down, hoping this personality of his stuck around.

“Are you up for it, Nora?” He asked her.

“Yeah,” she agreed, nodding at him just before she felt his hands wrap around her behind.

“Jump up,” he told her. She furrowed her brow slightly, but did as he asked.

He lifted her up against him and she wrapped her legs around his waist to hold on. It was so entirely exciting to Nora. She wasn’t sure how shower sex was going to go down until she was pulled up into his arms and his hardness was pressing against her.

“Hold on tight, Nora,” he advised as he slipped a hand down beneath them and guided himself inside of her.

Nora moaned out, unable to hold herself back as he stretched and filled her. The initial sensation alone was one of her favorite parts about sex.

“Are we good?” He asked and Nora opened her eyes to find his. He had a smirk on his lips and a gleam in his eyes.

“Perfect,” she breathed out a shaky breath.

“Good,” he said, pressing his lips to hers again as he began a slow rhythm inside of her.

It was different and fantastic and brought on all new sensations shooting through her body. Harry pressed her back against the cold tiled wall as his rhythm sped up. Nora still kept her arms firmly around his neck, but as the pleasure started to build inside of her, she loosened her grasp and relaxed against the wall for support.

Harry was grunting and gripping tightly to her hips as he moved her up and down the wall, up and down him. It was sexy, in the rawest form of the word. He was sexy. Nora was so attracted to him and lately she had been blurring the lines involuntarily between her physical attraction and how she felt about him as a person – the physical attraction over-shining it all to make her think things that weren’t true. But this Harry… she could get used to this Harry.

“Nora…” He grunted, burying his face in her chest as he continued moving in and out of her, his breathing ragged and fatigued.

Nora buried her fingers into his long curls, pulling it loosely as he moaned against her skin.

“I’m gonna… Nor, I…” He groaned.

“Go,” she breathed.

“Are you?” He asked looking up at her.

“Just go,” she assured him. He hesitated slightly, but pumped a little harder, finding his end with a drawn out, exasperated groan.

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Nora was lying naked in the dark with Harry in her hotel bed, feeling okay with where they were, yet she was still questioning so much. She was mostly trying to reassess her feelings for him. And that only brought on an inquisition in her head. There was so much she wanted to talk to him about and ask him about, but she didn’t know if half the shit was any of her business, so she was hesitant. But there was one question that was almost eating away at her with nagging jealousy.

“Harry?” Nora breathed through the dimness.

“Hmm?” He answered back, lethargy heavy in his tone.

“Did you really fool around with that Danielle girl?” She asked softly, thinking about Camryn’s dancer that Harry hung out with a while back.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut tightly as his heart immediately started beating faster, so fast and hard that it was all he could hear and feel.

“Nora,” Harry sighed, turning his head to look at her.

“What?” She asked quietly. She felt her cheeks flush, but she was certain he couldn’t see it.

He paused for a long moment and she was almost sure he wasn’t going to answer, that he was just going to ignore her. But he let out a large sigh and she knew he wasn’t rejecting her question.

“Do you really want to know?” He asked a few moments later, through a clenched jaw.

“Yes,” she squeaked out, unsure if she really truly did. He sighed again, running his finger through his damp hair.

Memories of the night Harry spent with Dani raced through his head making him feel guilty. Why did he feel guilty? His stomach turned with the thought of actually having to confess his shit to Nora. He didn’t want to. He didn’t want her to know. Why did she want to know?

“She uh… we uh… we snogged a bit,” he confessed, not meeting her gaze through the darkness.

Why did she need to know? Harry didn’t want to upset her. But he knew he would. It was inevitable. Her eyes were on him, he was sure of that. She was staring at him, waiting for more. He ran his fingers through his hair again feeling the immense pressure.

In what little light there was in the room, Nora watched everything he did. She watched as his hands came up and ran through his dark waves of hair. She saw and felt how uncomfortable he was and it made her stomach clench tightly.

“And she, uh…” He continued, shaking his head. Nora cringed. There was more?

“She gave me a blow job,” he said quietly.

Nora realized she was holding her breath and she slowly let it out through her nose, trying to act casual. Why should she care? She wasn’t supposed to care. It was all fake between them. It was supposed to all be fake.

Harry heard her let out a small breath, but she wasn’t saying anything. Was she really going to leave it at that? She was just going to leave him hanging? He wanted to know how she felt. He wanted to know if she was upset so he could try to make it right again. But she wasn’t speaking or letting him in at all.

Harry really didn’t want to fight. They were good with each other. Everything was good. He wanted it to stay good. Why did she make him tell her that? There was so much tension between them, he could barely handle it.

“Nora,” Harry sighed, looking over at her again as the silence hung over them.

“What?” She asked quietly.

“Say something,” he sighed.

“What do you want me to say?” She asked him, her voice shakier than it should have been.

“Are you upset?” He asked. His stomach lurched as he waited for her to speak.

“Why would I be upset?” She asked dryly.

Hurt. That was what she felt. And she understood she wasn’t supposed to feel like that. But she did and it killed her.

“I don’t know. You’re just… you’re not saying anything,” he stammered, looking at her like she was a wounded animal or something.

“Would you like a pat on the back?” She asked straight-faced and sarcastic, causing him to sigh again.

Harry cringed, knowing they were about to fight. The night wouldn’t end without a fight. And he just didn’t have it in him. He didn’t want to. He was done fighting.

“You are upset,” he said, sounding disheartened as he sat up on his elbows.

“No, Harry. I’m not upset. Why would I be upset? I don’t have any reason to be upset,” she told him, trying like hell to sound more pleasant than she felt.

Harry knew she was lying. She was upset. She even sounded hurt. And he felt it deep within him. Fuck.

“Nora,” he sighed out her name again.

“What, Harry?” She snapped, annoyed that he wasn’t saying anything but her name.

“Don’t be angry with me,” he said, sitting up further in bed, looking down at her.

“I’m not angry. What do I have to be angry about? You’re not really my boyfriend and even if you were, it was before we even… hooked up,” she explained, sitting up too so he wouldn’t have the upper hand.

“If I was your boyfriend?” He asked, his eyes and his voice softening further.

Nora’s face flushed hot with his words. She felt like throwing up from the tightly woven ball of nerves in the pit of her stomach. If he was her boyfriend.

Harry wondered if that was what she wanted. She wanted him to be her real boyfriend? Was she… did she… did she actually have real feelings for him? The way his body reacted to the thought of her actually wanting him, even needing him, scared the shit out of him. The riot of sensations deep within the pit of his stomach was almost unbearable. He was pleased. She wanted him and he wanted her.

“You’re not,” she said and shook her head, eyeing the sheets below them to avoid his stare.

“Nora,” he sighed again, obviously having nothing more to say on the subject.

“I’m tired, Harry. I just want to go to bed,” she said, lying back down, her back to him.

He was silent for a few moments, not moving a muscle in the bed. Nora was hyper-aware of that fact.

Harry just stared at her in disbelief trying to think of something, anything to say to take the disappointment out of her voice. He wanted to see her smile. He wanted to hear that giggle – he loved hearing her laugh. He felt sick to his stomach. What was happening?

Sure Nora was beautiful. Harry was attracted to her ever since he laid eyes on her. No, actually he was attracted to the thought of her since the lads told him she was hot. And it only escalated when he saw her face and her body. And now he was slowly realizing his attraction to her extended way passed just her physical features. He was attracted to her – body and soul.

“Why does it feel like everything just changed between us?” He asked softly.

His words were like chains and padlocks wrapped painfully around the tightly woven ball of nerves in the pit of her stomach, making sure they’d never untangle. She felt tears prickling her eyes and she wanted to hide away from him. She wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

“Nothing’s changed. Go to sleep,” she snapped at him, trying to bring out the annoyed girl she used to be with him.

Nora heard him sigh again and retreat back against the mattress, not saying another word.

Harry could tell she was overly annoyed and that she just wanted to go to sleep, so he didn’t push the subject. But as he lay there with so much on his mind, he knew he probably should have pushed it. She was so confusing to him. He wished she would just say what she meant instead of making him try to guess all the time. Did she want a relationship or not? Was she going to quit the tour at the end of the week or not? What could he do to persuade her to stay? He kind of had an idea, but he didn’t know if it would work or if it was what she truly wanted in the end.

Sleep didn’t come easy and he found himself facing her in the dark, watching her sleeping, trying to mentally will her to just tell him what she wanted. But he knew it wasn’t that easy.

Notes