12AM

{September 2015}

I’m right outside your flat.

Maya wasn’t surprised when she read the text from Harry. She also wasn’t surprised at the time he sent it – 12 am sharp. They’d spent the last year and a half, off and on, getting together at that time of night. Not much was said between them during that time, but it didn’t matter. Not to either of them. They made a silent agreement a long time ago. 12 am was their time and nothing stood in the way of that. Not feelings, or significant others, or prior obligations. It didn’t matter.

A few seconds later she heard the buzz on her apartment’s intercom. She casually walked to the door and she let him up by pressing a button on the intercom. Before she unlocked her apartment door, she took a peek in the mirror to make sure she looked okay, which subconsciously she already knew she did. She had time to prepare. One thing she could truly appreciate about Harry was that he was a creature of habit – 12 am on the dot like always. She might’ve just been a booty call, but she knew exactly when he’d show if he did. Sure it got annoying sometimes, always having to be primped and ready for him in the middle of the night, but it was a small price to pay for their nights together.

“Harry,” she said casually as he walked in the door, closing it silently behind him.

“Maya,” he breathed her name in a low sensual tone.

Her body tingled just by the sound of his voice. She’d never been able to decipher her feelings for him over the years, but one thing she could always count on was the wanton sexual attraction she felt for him. She stood leaning against the back of her couch as she watched him unlace his boots and slip them off before he crossed the room toward her. He was wearing a jet black t-shirt and just as dark skinny jeans. His long unruly hair fell perfectly as his shoulders and his green eyes were brimming with lust as he gripped her waist in his hands.

“You look radiant,” he breathed, looking down into her eyes.

“Your hair gets longer every time I see you,” Maya commented, reaching up to gently run her fingers through the strands. In two years Harry’s hair went from an organized mess atop his head to a long mane of wavy hair falling at his shoulders.

“Mm,” he hummed as his hand slid up into her shirt.

Moments later his lips were on hers. So much for small talk, she thought. Maya kissed him back, matching his rhythm immediately. Harry was a fantastic kisser and he knew it. She’d never bore even if that’s all they did with each other. But being with Harry consisted of so much more.

Both of Harry’s hands disappeared under her shirt, caressing the soft skin on her sides. Her flesh rippled with goose bumps as he touched her, but it didn’t deter the fierceness in her kiss. She had no idea what it was about him that made her so feral when they were together. But every time she saw him, her mind swirled and her entire body lit up from the inside out. It was unexplainable and it couldn’t be helped.

“Mm,” she hummed into his mouth as their tongues tangled together.

Harry’s hands worked her shirt up and without thinking, her arms raised to the ceiling and he was pulling it off her – their lips only breaking for a moment. Maya’s fingers slipped into the back of Harry’s soft hair, tugging lightly on the strands. When Harry started growing out his hair, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but in the end, she ended up loving it. She loved how much older it made him look and she couldn’t lie, she loved when he put it up into a ponytail. There was something intriguingly sexy about it.

Without wasting another moment, Harry tugged down Maya’s trousers and she let them fall to the floor before casually stepping out of them. When she gripped onto the bottom hem of his t-shirt, her lips finally fell away from his and their lust-filled eyes met one another’s. His green eyes were dark and passionate, looking at her so fiercely. It sent a shiver up her spine. Before Maya could even finish her original thought of ridding him of his shirt, Harry already gripped it by the back of the collar and pulled it off his body, revealing all of his vast tattoos – some remarkable and others questionable. Either way, they were nothing short of a turn-on to Maya.

A sneaky smile spread across Harry’s lips and Maya couldn’t help but smile back bashfully. She knew immediately that his smile was meant to goad her, to tell her he noticed how he was affecting her. Maya bit at her lip and rolled her eyes before she focused on unbuttoning his painted-on skinny jeans. Harry let out a small chuckle, which made Maya blush further, but she never stopped smiling. She liked these little moments with him. She cherished them.

As soon as she had his trousers open, she noticed immediately that he wasn’t wearing any underwear, which surprised her.

“Oh,” she said, the word falling out of her mouth before she could stop it.

“Surprise,” Harry said in his low sexually charged voice.

Maya’s eyes met up with his again and she let out a small giggle as Harry bounced his eyebrows at her. Seconds later, he leaned in to kiss her again. His hands came down to grip the back of her legs before lifting her up onto the back of the couch. Maya giggled against his lips as she tried to find her balance, her arms gripping tightly around the back of his neck. She felt his fingers gather at the side of her panties before he quickly pulled them down, dropping them at her ankles. All she had to do was wiggle her feet and they disappeared onto the floor with the rest of their discarded clothing.

“Maya…” Harry breathed huskily against her mouth.

“Yes…” she answered breathlessly, trying to look into his eyes, but their faces were so close that all she saw was a blur of his features.

He didn’t finish what he was going to say. Or maybe he hadn’t planned on saying anything at all. She didn’t really have time to think about it, because a split second later, he pushed inside of her and a pleasurable moan gravitated from her throat to her lips. Her mind spiraled as her grip around his shoulders tightened. She felt his fingertips digging into the fleshy part of her hips as he paused for a moment once he was completely inside of her. Her breathing shuddered as she felt him pull back slowly and then push back in.

“Harry,” she whimpered quietly.

There wasn’t another moment wasted, Harry began a steady rhythm inside of her, their bodies entwined as Maya balanced atop the couch. All that could be heard was their heavy breathing and the sounds their bodies made in the act. It was agonizing pleasure that Maya never wanted to end. He felt so good and she took him greedily. Nights like this, he was hers and hers alone. She didn’t want to think about the fact that there could be other girls. She didn’t want to think about what he’d be doing when he left her that night. She only wanted to relish in his presence and the pleasure he provided her with. Her entire body purred for him. From head to toe, she felt him in every extremity – every inch of her felt alive because of him.

Never in a million years did she think her life would play out this way. She had a perfect little plan for her life. She’d finish Uni and she’d find a suitor to marry and have children with. She never thought she’d be an everlasting booty call to a man she called a friend in the daylight hours. But the moment she met Harry, she knew she’d do anything to have him. He was an enigma she was drawn to from the start.

.

.

{New Year’s Eve 2013}

Maya Mitchell met the illustrious Harry Styles at a New Year’s party at his best friend Louis’ flat on the last night of 2013. Louis’ girlfriend Eleanor was a Uni friend of Maya’s best friend, Camille. And on a whim with no other plans on the horizon, Maya and Camille ended up at the small two story flat in the south end of London, dressed to the nine’s to celebrate a brand new year.

They got on well with just about everyone they encountered at the party, but Maya saw no real candidates for a midnight kiss. It wasn’t until eleven thirty that Maya laid eyes on a tall handsome well-dressed curly-haired boy who just arrived at the party, announcing his entrance with a loud whoop.

“That’s Harry Styles,” Camille whispered in Maya’s ear.

“Oh,” Maya said, never breaking her eyes away from the enigma that was Harry.

She watched as several people – males and females – greeted Harry with wide smiles and bro-hugs, plying him with alcohol right off the bat. He did have a lot to make up for after all, since most of the guests at the party were already pretty wasted by that time.

Maya watched as girl after girl – all seemingly prettier than the next – started approaching Harry. She bit her lip, watching and hoping, for some reason, that one of them wasn’t his girlfriend. She knew she might never stand a chance with a boy like that, but somehow in the back of her mind, she knew it would make her feel a little bit better for him to be single. She watched him smile and laugh with the girls, but there was no touching, there was no indication that he was even remotely involved with any of them. He just seemed nice. Plain and simple. He seemed like a really nice person.

“You’re staring,” Camille said, nudging Maya’s shoulder.

“What? No, I’m not,” Maya replied with a scoff. She wasn’t, was she?

“He’s single, you know?” She said in an all too sing-song-y voice.

“Really?” Maya asked, her whole body perking up from the good news.

“Ha! I knew you were staring,” Camille laughed.

“Shut it,” Maya grumbled as her eyes fell back on the green-eyed beauty.

“Go talk to him,” Camille urged, nudging Maya again.

“Yeah, right,” Maya scoffed, feeling more than a little self-conscious.

Maya wasn’t ugly, but in her opinion she wasn’t the most beautiful thing either. She had dark hair and blue eyes. And well, she was scrawny, but not in the way that made a person beautiful. In her instance, it made her look like someone who hadn’t quite fully developed. She was an ugly duckling waiting for her moment to become a swan.

She didn’t hold a candle to most of the girls at the party – especially the ones that seemed to be holding Harry’s attention. The black dress she was wearing was short, but modest and her dark hair was falling at her shoulders in curly waves, courtesy of Camille. Her makeup wasn’t anything impressive, but it was enough to make her feel a bit better about herself for the time being. She knew she wasn’t anything extraordinary, but she had enough self-worth to get her by. And she might just lose it all if she got a blow-off by the curly-haired creature in painted-on black skinny jeans. She didn’t want or need that.

“You’ll never know if you don’t try,” Camille edge her.

“Know what?” Maya asked, giving her a pointed look.

“If he’s interested,” Camille replied. Maya snorted out a small laugh, finding humor in Camille’s words.

“He’s really nice. I’ve met him on a few occasions,” Camille informed her.

“Brilliant,” Maya said a bit sarcastically.

“You’re a catch, Maya,” Camille said, knocking her shoulder into Maya’s.

“Has my mother paid you to say that?” Maya joked.

“Be real, Maya. It’s not like you’re proposing marriage. Just go talk to him. Who better to kiss at midnight, yeah?” Camille smiled mischievously at her. Maya bit at her bottom lip as she found herself looking at Harry again.

“I’m going to grab another drink. Would you like one?” Camille asked standing up.

“Please,” Maya replied, knowing if she even had a chance at convincing herself to talk to Harry she was going to need a little more liquid courage.

“I’ll be right back,” Camille told her.

“I’m going to go to the loo. I’ll find you,” Maya informed her as she stood up too.

The two friends went their separate ways, Camille heading toward the kitchen and Maya to the bathroom.

Several minutes later, after waiting in an unimaginably long queue for the toilet, Maya made her way back toward the living room where most of the people at the party were. Secretly she noted that Harry was no longer in sight and it made her cringe a little at how desperate she seemed. On her way to find Camille, Maya stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted Camille standing by the keg in the kitchen talking animatedly with none other than Harry Styles. Her insides tightened – perhaps with jealousy, maybe anxiety. She couldn’t be sure. All she knew was she didn’t have the courage to take another step toward them. She slid up against the adjacent wall, where she had a view of the two of them, just far enough away from them where she was sure they couldn’t see her. She couldn’t hear their words, but she could see Camille smiling and touching Harry’s arm. Jealousy shot through her. She took a deep breath and leaned her head against the wall. She wanted nothing more than to just leave the party, feeling like the definition of a wallflower – or better yet a loser.

Maya took a deep breath before pushing herself away from the wall. Where was she going to go? Camille was the only person she truly knew at the party and she was, well, occupied.

“Maya!” Camille called out to her and Maya froze in her tracks. Shit. She could pretend she didn’t hear her and keep going. But she already stopped. She’d look like a lunatic if she kept going.

She bit her lip and slowly turned to find her best friend waving her over. Her blood tingled in her veins as she noticed Harry watching her, waiting. She made her way over to the pair of them, sending Camille a pointed look.

“Harry, this is the girl I was telling you about. Maya, this is Harry,” Camille said, introducing the two of them.

“Maya,” Harry said, his voice much much deeper than she imagined.

“Hi,” Maya squeaked, sounding like a complete fool as Harry stuck out his hand to shake hers.

She obliged immediately as her cheeks heated up. As soon as their skin touched she felt the electricity between them. Or maybe it was just her imagination? A freak occurrence? Didn’t that stuff only happen in films?

“Nice to meet you, Maya,” Harry said, smiling slyly at her.

“You as well,” Maya replied, taking back her hand.

Maya stood there feeling so out of place as Harry and Camille finished their conversation. She had nothing to add because she wasn’t really following what they were talking about. All she could do was steal glances at the extraordinary boy in front of her.

“Styles, you git – why are you hiding away in here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Louis, the party’s host, shouted at his best friend.

“Oi! I’m not hiding anywhere, Tommo,” Harry replied rather loudly.

“You’re supposed to be my wingman,” Louis said, throwing his arm around his friend.

“I think you’ve got that backwards, mate,” Harry said, looking at him oddly. Louis was the one with a girlfriend after all.

“I can be your wingman. Camille, you look radiant tonight,” Louis said eyeing her. Maya felt uncomfortable – like perhaps she was invisible.

“Oh, bless you, Tommo,” Camille said quite theatrically.

“Am I doing a proper job of wingman yet?” Louis asked Harry jokingly.

“I may need to teach you the definition of ‘wingman’ later,” Harry smirked at his best mate.

“Louis, this is my best friend in the whole world, Maya,” Camille said, introducing her to the host.

“Oi! Nice to me you, love,” Louis said rather animatedly as it looked like he’d just realized there was another person in their presence.

“You as well,” Maya said once again.

“I was just telling Harry how Maya is single,” Camille said with quite thick implication in her tone.

“What?” Maya asked, gaping at her best friend. Camille giggled and bounced her eyebrows at her.

“Ohh, I see. I see,” Louis said, catching on. Harry let out a laugh, clapping his hand on Louis’ shoulder.

“Louis, someone let the cat out of your bedroom!” Eleanor shouted from the kitchen doorway. The attention of the foursome was immediately on Eleanor.

“Bloody hell,” Louis grumbled, heading toward his girlfriend.

“I’m going to go help him find the beast, but we’ll talk again, yeah?” Harry said to the girls.

“Of course,” Camille said and the two of them watched him walk off.

“Well?” Camille asked Maya, giving her a proud look.

“He couldn’t get away from me fast enough,” Maya pointed out. Camille let out a scoff as her smile dropped immediately.

“What?” Maya asked.

“You’re such a killjoy,” Camille told her.

“Another trait of my shining personality,” Maya said sarcastically.

“Yeah, we need to work on that. Here. I got you another drink,” Camille said, handing her another cup. Maya sniffed it and gave her friend a questioning look.

“Harry made it,” Camille smiled.

“Brilliant,” Maya said colorlessly and took a sip. She coughed immediately from the strong concoction.

“Bloody hell. What did he put in here? Strychnine?” Maya asked as the two girls made their way out of the kitchen.

“It’s a bit strong, innit?” Camille smiled at her.

“Strong is an understatement,” Maya mumbled.

“Oh my god,” Camille gasped, stopping in her tracks.

“What?” Maya asked, trying to find what Camille was looking at.

“Jeremy Pevensy,” Camille said, staring at the cute boy in the distance.

Camille had a thing for Jeremy – and he had a thing for her – for quite some time. Though neither of them ever made a move to be anything more than occasional snogging partners. Maya knew as soon as she heard Camille say his name that she would lose her best friend for the time being – it was almost midnight on New Year’s Eve after all. She would spend the New Year alone with no one to kiss, she was sure of it.

“You don’t mind if I go say ‘hello’, do you?” Camille asked her.

“Go,” Maya told her.

“Are you sure?” Camille asked.

“I’m sure. Go,” Maya said, giving her a nudge.

“You’re the best!” Camille said excitedly, giving Maya a quick kiss on the cheek before making her way over to Jeremy. Maya was alone, standing in a crowded room. Best New Year’s ever, right?

Maya stood against the same wall she did before, watching people talking and laughing and having a much better time than she was. It was a little less than ten minutes before the New Year and she felt like a fool. She stood sipping on the poison in her glass hoping she didn’t look like the biggest idiot in the room.

“Do you like your drink?” She heard a familiar deep voice and quickly turned to see Harry standing next to her. She smiled immediately, feeling a blush come on.

“It’s… it’s interesting,” Maya told him.

“Interesting, huh? I put a lot of hard work into making that drink especially for you,” he told her.

“You didn’t even know who I was when you made it,” Maya pointed out. Harry smiled slyly at her.

“You got me,” he said with a light laugh.

Maya took another sip of the strong drink and tried her best to not make a disgusted face as it hit her taste buds. She did have to admit that it was doing its job. She felt a bit like she was floating. Or maybe that was because she was in Harry’s presence?

“So, Maya, who are you?” Harry asked, causing Maya to look at him oddly. Who asked something like that?

“Who am I? Who are you?” She countered, giving him a sideways smile.

“I’m Harry. I think we’ve established that,” he smirked.

“Right,” she said quietly, taking another sip of the drink.

“Where are you from? Do you go to school? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Are your parents nice?” Harry said, asking question after question, making her head spin. Maya let out a boisterous laugh. Was he serious?

“What?” He smiled at her.

“You don’t waste any time, do you?” She asked, eyeing him with a questioning look.

“I figured I’d quite like to get to know the girl I’m going to kiss at midnight,” Harry said, letting his smile fade from his lips to show he was serious.

Maya’s heart sped up immediately as she was sure the color drained from her face along with her smile. What did he just say? She could do nothing but stare at him.

“Well?” He said finally.

“Uh…” She stammered but nothing came out.

“Three minutes, Maya,” Harry said, looking up at the clock.

“I uh… I go to school…” She managed to say, answering one of his many questions, silently implying that she wanted him to kiss her at midnight.

“Where did you grow up?” He asked.

“Um… I was born in Manchester, but moved to London when I was five,” she answered, looking down at her half empty cup.

“I’m from Cheshire, and recently moved to London. Do you have siblings?” He went on.

“N-no,” she stammered.

“Hmm. An only child?” He asked and she nodded.

“I have an older sister named Gemma. She’s literally my best friend and most definitely smarter than me by way more than I’d like to admit,” Harry smiled fondly.

“I’ve always wanted a sister,” Maya told him.

“Maybe you can meet mine someday,” Harry smiled at her.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Was he already talking about meeting his family? What was this? What did Camille tell him about her?

“Are you close with your Mum and Dad?” He asked.

“Yes. Are you?” She countered.

“Most definitely,” Harry smiled at her. She felt a little more comfortable with him after their Q&A and she wondered if that was his master plan.

“Bonus question: Do you have any hidden talents?” Harry smirked wildly at her. Maya looked at him quizzically.

“Humor me,” he said with a smile. Maya bit her lip, thinking hard of some way to answer his last question.

“Um… I… I can touch my tongue to my nose…” She said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Now this I’ve got to see,” Harry said, turning to fully look at her. Maya smiled and blushed even more, if that were possible.

“Let’s have it,” Harry said, urging her to do it.

Maya took a deep breath, looking at him straight in the eye before jutting out her tongue and touching it to the tip of her nose.

“Wait, wait! I need to see that a bit closer. Do it again,” Harry told her.

“I did it, I swear. The tip of my nose it wet,” she said as she placed a finger on her nose.

“Again, please,” he said moving in closer to watch.

“Fine,” she said and did it again.

“I think I’ve made a proper choice,” Harry said, smiling widely. Maya looked at him questioningly before she was startled from her thoughts by Louis.

“Less than a minute!” Louis shout to the crowd, causing their attention to snap away from each other.

Maya’s heart sped up once again, remembering what Harry said about kissing her at midnight. She still wasn’t sure if he was serious, but it became obvious to her that he just might do it after what he said a moment before.

“Do you have any hidden talents of your own?” Maya countered and watched as a sly smile turned up his lips.

“I’m a fantastic snog,” Harry said right before the crowd started counting down.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6,” they chanted.

Maya’s insides were jelly. This was the best possible outcome of the night, right? She’d been utterly infatuated with him since she laid eyes on him nearly a half hour before. Oh, how quickly the night changes.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” The crowd continued.

Maya’s nerves were shot. It was now or never. Harry was already leaning in and he smelt so good.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The crowd shouted.

“Happy New Year, Maya,” Harry whispered as his hand gripped gently on the back of her neck.

His lips were soft and warm and everything Maya hoped they would be. She felt the fire ignite inside of her as they kissed, their tongues tangling together rhythmically. He hadn’t been lying – snogging was definitely a talent of his.

When they finally broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers, holding her there gently, his hand still on the back of her neck. Their breathing was heightened and her body tingled even more so than before. She silently questioned if maybe his true hidden talent had something to do with him being a wizard or something. She’d never felt so alive after kissing someone before.

“You weren’t lying,” she breathed lowly, causing Harry to laugh out loud.

Notes