Call Girl

Ariana was fuming mad as she stalked out of the apartment complex toward Harry’s awaiting car. Her mother thought she could turn everything around on her. Where she got her money was no concern of hers. The only thing she should be concerned about was losing everything, because that was what was about to happen.

Ariana didn’t realize Harry got out of the vehicle until he was standing in front of her, stopping her by placing his hands on my arms.

“Ari, are you alright?” He asked in a sweet, caring voice as he grabbed three of the four bags from her grasp. Her eyes shot up to his, taking in a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” He asked again.

“I’m-I’m fine. How’s Robin?” Ari asked and Harry let out a little chuckle.

“She’s already asked me for Niall’s phone number,” Harry said with a genuine smile.

Ari couldn’t help but smile at that. Not only at her sister’s silly sense of humor, but because of her resilience as well. She was a little soldier whether she knew it or not.

“She digs him,” Ari giggled lightly.

“Apparently,” Harry laughed.

Ariana let her smile drop as the weight of the situation fell back onto her shoulders. She let out a sigh, fidgeting slightly.

“Ari, are you really okay? What happened?” Harry asked, concern written all over his face.

“Nothing. Just… she’s just. My mom is really fucked up. And she called me out on where I got all the money I have,” Ariana sighed.

“Oh,” Harry said passively as he let his vision drop from hers.

“Yeah, oh,” she grumbled.

“Well, does she know?” Harry asked, looking back up at her with anticipation in his eyes – as if he thought her mother knowing her career choice was going to get her to stop.

“She kind of has an idea,” Ariana confessed, avoiding eye contact with the one boy in the world she wanted to change herself for. But she knew, especially now, it wasn’t a possibility for her.

“Hmm,” Harry hummed.

“I’ve just… I’ve got to get Robin away from here. We’ve got to get to a hotel or something – away from her,” Ariana said, nodding her head back toward the apartment complex.

“What? No. A hotel? No, Ari,” he said, shaking his head.

“My dad’s not home. I don’t have a clue where that man is, ever. I just… I need to take her somewhere,” Ari said, shaking her head lightly, feeling worn out.

“You’re coming home with me,” Harry stated firmly.

“No, Harry. No,” Ariana said, shaking her head. It was one thing for her to spend the night with him, but she couldn’t impose on him by bring Robin with her. He didn’t need to be their savior more than he already was.

“Unless you have a good reason, I’m not taking no for an answer,” Harry told her firmly.

“We can’t—” Ari breathed, but really she didn’t have a good answer.

“You two can have my bed. I can sleep on the couch. Please. Just, let me take care of you,” Harry said, taking a step toward her. She knew he wanted to reach out to her, but the three bags weighting down his arms prevented him from doing so.

“I…I…” Ari stammered, looking down at the sidewalk.

She couldn’t do this. No matter how many times he offered, it wouldn’t hide the fact that everything about his offer was out of pity. She didn’t want anyone’s pity, nor did she need it.

“Ariana, look at me,” Harry said. Her vision reluctantly made its way up to his eyes.

“Please, come,” he told her. She set her jaw, staring up at him. She didn’t know how to say no, but she also couldn’t say yes.

“Stop being stubborn and just get in the car. We’re going to my apartment,” Harry said finally.

Ari stared at him for a second longer before she gave him a scant nod, watching his face light up at her acknowledgement.

“Come on,” he said, nodded toward the vehicle.

Harry pulled the back of his truck open and the two of them put the bags inside before walking around to get into the vehicle.

“What’s going on, Ari?” Robin asked curiously.

“Uh, we’re going to Harry’s house,” Ari told her, feeling awkward about it.

“WHAT!?” She squealed excitedly. Harry chuckled to himself in the driver seat as Ari’s cheeks flushed rapidly.

“You’ve got to stop that, Rob,” Ari said, snickering at her little sister.

“This is just crazy. This is nuts. Ari!” Robin said, smacking Ariana’s arm excitedly.

“Ow! Jeez!” Ari grumbled, holding her arm in her hand.

“Sorry,” Robin giggled.

“Just stop, alright. We get it. Harry is famous,” Ari chuckled, looking over at Harry to make sure he wasn’t truly bothered by any of this. He looked over at Ari and smiled, which made her feel a little bit more at ease.

“Yeah! And he has all sorts of connections to Niall Horan!” Robin stated happily. Harry laughed out loud.

“I’ll see what I can do, Robin,” Harry said, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

That caused Robin to squeal out, like the fourteen year old girl she was. Harry and Ariana just laughed and shook their heads as Harry pulled out of the parking lot.

Robin didn’t stop having semi freak-outs over going to, being at, standing in Harry’s apartment. Ari didn’t have the heart to yell at her though, even though she was getting on her last nerve.

“Harry, I love your dog!” Robin squealed as she sat on the floor in the living room petting Hemingway on the belly.

“If you keep petting him like that, he’ll love you forever,” Harry chuckled as he stood next to Ari in the kitchen looking over at Robin.

“I wuv you, I wuv you,” Robin said to the dog. Harry chuckled.

“I’m sorry,” Ari said quietly. Harry turned his head to look at her with a slight look of confusion.

“For what?” Harry asked, knitting his eyebrows together with a curious smile on his lips.

“She’s a little over-zealous,” Ari pointed out.

“She’s enthusiastic,” he chuckled lightly.

“She’s over-bearing,” Ari countered with a chuckle.

“She’s passionate,” he retorted.

“Yeah,” Ari agreed, nodding with a small smirk on her lips.

“Hey, listen,” Harry said, moving to stand in front of Ari, rubbing his hands up her arms. Her eyes looked up into his.

“You’re both welcome here, okay. I don’t mind Robin’s excitement… or your stubborn attitude,” Harry said, smirking at her.

“Hey,” Ari protested, but smirked back nonetheless.

“I don’t mind it,” he said with a smile.

“You’re stubborn too, you know,” Ari told him, crossing her arms over her chest with a hmph.

“I never said I wasn’t,” he laughed as he uncrossed her arms and wrapped them around his waist.

“Harry…” Ari breathed out as he pulled her into his chest.

“Just one quick kiss?” He whispered in her ear.

Ariana giggled from the tingle that spread through her body from his breath on her neck and from the words themselves. Quickly, she stood on her tippy-toes to look over his shoulder at her sister. Robin had a grip on one end of a chew rope, whereas Hemingway was tugging the other end. Ari heard a giggle escape Robin’s mouth and it made her smile.

Ariana pulled back, looking into Harry’s eyes, giving him a small nod. He smiled as he lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was simple and enchanting and delicious all wrapped up into one. And when she pulled back, she looked in his eyes and saw all sorts of beauty swimming in them.

“Uh…” Ari heard Robin as she was walking toward them, but quickly turned away, going back to Hemingway.

“Robin…” Ariana said, watching her sit down on the couch.

“No. It’s okay, Ari. I’ll just hang out over here. You guys can… can have some space,” she said, avoiding looking over at them.

“No, Robin,” Ari said as she walked into the living room toward her, leaving Harry in the kitchen.

“Please,” Robin said, looking at her as Ari came to stand in front of her. Ariana furrowed her brow in confusion when she saw the sadness in her eyes.

“What’s the matter, Robin?” She asked.

“I just… this was supposed to be your night. You know, the night you did something for you, and I screwed it up,” she said sadly. Ariana sat down next to her on the couch and turned Robin to face her.

“Robin, this wasn’t your fault. Do you hear me?” Ariana told her.

“I-I know. It’s just that, you don’t get nights like this where you can be with the boy you like – where you don’t have to work,” she stammered, looking down at her lap.

“Harry and I don’t mind having you here. We were just hanging out anyway,” Ariana told her.

“Yeah, we were just going to watch a movie or something. Do you want to watch a movie with us, Robin?” Harry asked, walking into the living room.

Ariana looked up at Harry, giving him an apologetic smile, which he disregarded with his own smile.

“I can just… I can just play with Hemingway and you guys can hang out,” Robin shrugged, petting the dog’s head that was resting on her knee.

“No, seriously. We were going to watch a movie. We want you to hang out too, Robin,” Harry said, trying to assure her.

“O-okay,” she said reluctantly.

“Why don’t you guys find something to watch? I’m going to try to get ahold of my dad,” Ariana told them.

“Alright,” Harry said, grabbing the TV remote from his coffee table.

Ariana quickly crossed the room, grabbing her purse from the countertop and headed out the front door. As soon as she felt the fresh air hit her face, she was desperately digging in her purse for her cigarettes. It was a stressful night and she hadn’t had the soothing nicotine to help calm her down at all throughout it. As she took her first pull off the cigarette, she felt her body relax, if only slightly. With a release of smoke from her lungs, she pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed her father’s number. It rang and rang, but just before she was sure it was going to go to voicemail, he picked up.

“Dad!” Ari gasped out.

“Ariana?” He asked, sounding concerned.

“Dad, we need to talk,” she said as she let her body slide down the brick encased building so she was squatting on her feet.

“It’s been a long day, Ariana. Do you think it can wait ‘til morning?” He asked with a sigh.

“It can’t wait,” Ari growled, feeling the anger boiling up inside of her again.

“What is it?” He asked with a huff.

“It’s mom, Dad,” she told him. She heard a large breathy sigh from his side of the line.

“What now?” He asked, sounding bored with her complaints about her mother.

“She’s lost it, Dad. She’s fucking lost it,” Ari went on, ignoring her father’s indifference.

“What? Give me something here, Ariana,” he said impatiently. She nearly growled at his terrible attitude.

“She fucking hit Robin. Smacked her across the face, bruised her cheek pretty bad,” Ari spat out.

“What? What happened?” Her father’s attention rose slightly.

“She-she thought that Robin stole her pills, Dad. It all comes back to the pills. They’re making her into a monster,” Arian explained to him.

“Where are you now?” He asked.

“We’re safe. We’re… at a friend’s house. But Dad, I’m not letting Robin go back there. You need to take her,” Arian told him and he sighed again.

“SHE’S YOUR GOD DAMN DAUGHTER! Stop acting like this is some burden placed on your shoulder! She’s your daughter!” Arian screamed in the phone at him.

“Calm down, Ariana,” her father’s stern voice resonated through the receiver.

She choked up, biting at her thumbnail, waiting for him to speak.

“She can stay here, Ariana, but I don’t know for how long. I-I’m going to trial in less than a month,” he reminded her.

“We’ve got to do something about mom,” Ariana told him. He sighed again.

“I’ll… I’ll give your grandparents a call. Maybe… maybe they’ll be able to take her,” her father offered.

“Dad, they live in San Diego,” Ariana choked out.

“Yeah. What do you want me to do, Ariana? If I could be what she needs, I would be! But I’ve screwed things up and now I have to fix them,” he shot at her.

“Yeah, you do need to fix them,” she shot back.

“I can’t promise that she won’t have to go back to your mom’s,” her father told her.

“Absolutely not! I will call Child Protective Services before that happens!” Ariana yelled boldly.

“Ariana…” Her father sighed.

“I’m not fucking joking, Dad. If mom doesn’t get help, she’s never getting Robin back,” Ariana threatened.

“I’ll talk to your grandparents tomorrow,” he said, ignoring her threat.

“Let me know,” she told him.

He said he would and then he hung up. Ariana sucked down the rest of the cigarette and lit up another.

“Hey,” she heard Harry’s soft voice, startling her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Harry standing there with Hemingway on a leash.

“Oh, shit,” she said, standing up straight, feeling her heart begin to race.

“Are you okay?” He asked, watching her.

“I… my dad – he’s about as useless and irresponsible as my mother,” Ariana scoffed, throwing her phone back into her purse.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said, looking about as disappointed as she felt.

“No, no. I’m sorry for dragging you into all of this. This is just ridiculous. I’m sorry that you even met me,” Ariana chuckled darkly as she scuffed her foot against the dirt on the sidewalk.

“Ariana, don’t say that,” Harry said quietly.

“I just… I’m sorry,” she said, bowing her head as she let the cigarette burn in her hand.

“You don’t need to apologize to me,” he told her.

“I feel like I need to apologize to everyone,” she admitted.

“What have you done wrong? You are so brave and commendable, Ariana. You take care of Robin like she’s your own. She’s so lucky to have you and she knows it, okay. So you don’t need to apologize to anyone. You do what you do to survive, right?” He told her, giving her a knowing look.

She couldn’t help but stare at him. I do what I do to survive. Was this philosophy going to be enough for him when she continued working her calls? Was he going to be okay with that mentality? Ariana shook her head lightly, pushing aside those thoughts for another day, another conversation.

“We should probably go inside,” she told him.

“I hope you’re ready for a long night,” Harry said, smirking at her.

“Why’s that?” Ari asked, looking at him curiously.

“Robin chose to watch Harry Potter,” Harry chuckled.

“Uh…” Ari stammered.

“It’s like a three hour movie,” Harry pointed out.

“Oh, yeah. Uh, wow. She’s ambitious,” Ariana chuckled.

“It’s a good movie and everything, but it’s like ten o’clock already,” Harry chuckled.

“She won’t last through the first hour. I guarantee it,” Ari laughed.

“She kept saying ‘you’re a wizard, Harry,’ over and over,” Harry laughed.

“She’s mental,” Ari laughed.

“It’s cool. It’s what she wanted. How could I say no?” He shrugged with a smile.

“She’s got a way with people,” Ariana smirked.

“She’s not the only one,” Harry said as his smile evened out and his eyes bore into hers.

“Uh… we should probably get back up there. I want to take some pictures of Robin’s face… you know, just in case I need them,” Ariana said, backing away slightly.

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” Harry said, clearing his throat as he took a step back as well.

“I’m just going to… uh, finish up,” she said, drawing attention to the cigarette burning between her fingers.

“Yeah, sure. I’ve gotta take Hemingway out,” he said, moving the leash in his hand.

Ariana nodded and watched as Harry began crossing the parking lot with Hemingway in tow, much like he had the night he found out about her career choice, the night she watched him from her car.

When Harry walked back over, Ariana finished with her cigarette and was quickly spritzing herself with her vanilla body mist.

“Hey, things aren’t like… weird between us, is it?” Harry asked, looking at her curiously.

“What? Why would things be weird?” She asked, furrowing her brow.

“You just seem like... like you’re pulling away from me,” Harry explained.

“Oh. No. In all honesty, I just feel a little uncomfortable smoking around you,” she told him truthfully.

“How come?” He asked, looking confused.

“I don’t know. Maybe because I think you might be judging me every time I do,” she said with a shrug, trying to act indifferent. Harry chuckled.

“Why would I judge you?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging again, avoiding his eyes.

“I won’t judge you, if you won’t judge me,” he said for like the hundredth time. Ariana looked up and smirked at him.

“Is that why you pulled away when I tried to kiss you?” He smirked. She nodded.

“Well, to be perfectly honest – right now I just want to kiss you so badly that I will temporarily disregard the smoking,” he smirked, moving in closer to her.

“Temporarily?” She asked, smirking against his lips.

“Temporarily,” he said before his lips met hers.

When they two of them got back up to the apartment, Robin had already started the movie and was curled up on the couch in her pajamas with a blanket and pillow.

“Thanks for waiting,” Ariana giggled, smacking Robin’s leg playfully.

“You were taking forever,” she sighed dramatically.

After Ariana took pictures of Robin’s face, Harry dimmed the lights in the apartment for their cinematic viewing pleasure.

“I’m gonna get ready for bed,” Ariana said, grabbing the bag she put some of her stuff in and brought it into Harry’s bedroom.

Digging around in it, she realized she hadn’t really brought anything that could be construed as pajamas. She had a few sundresses and some jeans and tank tops, but no other bottoms of any kind.

“Uh, Harry…” Ariana said from his bedroom doorway. He quickly looked up at her and she bit her lip for a second. She felt awkward asking him for something to sleep in, especially since he was already doing so much for her.

“What’s the matter?” Harry asked as he walked toward her.

“Uh… I kind of don’t have pajamas,” she said, biting her lip nervously.

“Oh. Well, I have a whole closet full of clothes,” Harry said as the two of them walked into his bedroom. He pulled open his closet door and turned on the light for her.

It was a massive walk-in closet that was probably just about the size of hers and Robin’s bedroom at their mother’s apartment. Looking around the space, she realized that this boy owned a lot of clothes.

“Just pick whatever you want to wear. I don’t mind,” Harry told her.

“Oh, wow. Free reign?” Ariana chuckled.

“Have at it,” he said with a smirk.

“Hmm, let’s see. Should I wear a t-shirt? Or how about a t-shirt? Ooh, what about this t-shirt?” Ariana giggled, looking through his wall of pretty much every colored t-shirt imaginable – in colored coded order of course.

“Shut it,” he chuckled.

“Did you do this? You enjoy the rainbow?” Ariana smirked at him.

“My maid did that actually,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Your maid, huh? I’ve had lots and lots of practice role playing as a dirty maid,” Ariana told him playfully.

“Oh, yeah?” He said awkwardly, squirming where he stood.

“Does it bother you?” She asked as her smile faded.

“Does what?” He asked, looking up at her.

“Me talking about that?” She asked feeling awkward.

“I don’t know. Sure, I guess. A little,” he blushed, digging his hands further into his pockets.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, turning toward his wall of shirts again, pulling down a plain black fitted t-shirt.

“Uh, pajama bottoms or shorts are over her,” he said, pulling open some drawers in the center-island dresser that sat in the middle of the room.

“Okay,” she said, walking over to it, looking inside.

Ariana opened the top drawer, finding his boxer briefs and pulled a pair out.

“Would you mind?” She asked.

“No, no. Go ahead,” he told her.

“Alright,” she said, pulling the straps of her dress down.

“I’ll just…” He said, pointing toward the door.

“Don’t you need to change for bed too?” She asked curiously.

“Well, yeah. But I can… I can wait until you’re done,” he said bashfully.

“Harry, it’s fine. I mean, you’ve already… you know, seen me,” she said with a shrug.

“Yeah, I guess,” he breathed out.

“Just… it’s okay,” she said, pushing her dress down until it fell to her feet.

His eyes danced across her newly exposed skin, over her white lace bra and matching panties.

“It’s okay,” she said, smiling over at him.

Ariana watched him swallow hard and nod his head before he grabbed a fresh t-shirt from his rack and then walked over to where she stood to grab some shorts.

“Are you nervous?” Ariana asked, smiling slightly as she watched as he took off his shirt, leaving him in only his jeans.

“What? No-no,” he said, his voice slightly stuttering.

Her smile went wide and he looked up at her cautiously before his smile widened as well.

“Shut it,” he hissed out through his up turned lips.

“I didn’t say anything,” she giggled.

“Mm-hmm,” he said, eyeing her out of the corner of his eye.

With the way he was looking at her, she couldn’t help it, her inner hooker came out to play. She closed the gap between the two of them in a few steps, letting her finger trail across the top of his heavily tattooed chest.

“Ari…” He breathed.

“Harry,” she said, smiling up at him.

Her finger continued to trail over his skin and she looked up at him when a soft hum vibrated across his lips. A hum to tell her that he was enjoying this as much she was. Pulling herself up on her tip-toes, she left a light kiss on his lips. And with that one kiss, it was like a magnetic attraction. Their lips met again and again, their kisses growing more hungered with each one. Ariana’s arms wrapped around him while her fingers tangled in the back of his hair. Oh, God. Her body was screaming for him. But in the back of her mind she knew they couldn’t. Not with Robin in the other room. If it was any other time, she would have happily fucked him right in his remarkable closet. But her life didn’t play out the way she wanted it to on most days. And well, this day was no different.

“Mmm, we probably should… cool it,” Ari breathed, breaking her lips away from his as she tickled the back of his neck with her fingers.

“You’re probably right,” he agreed as his chest heaved slightly with his labored breathing.

“You are fantastic though,” she said, smirking up at him.

“You don’t have to say stuff like that,” he told her evenly.

“Even when I mean it?” She asked, quirking her eyebrow.

“Well, if you mean it…” He said, letting a playful smirk find his lips.

“I mean it,” she nodded before leaving one last kiss on his lips.

She couldn’t help but smile as she turned toward the pile of Harry’s clothes she needed to get herself into. She could see Harry from the corner of her eye as he pushed down his jeans to replace them with his shorts and she saw a grin on his face and it made her whole body warm.

Ariana dressed quickly before ambling out of the closet to retrieve her toothbrush from her bag. Harry followed her into the bathroom and the two of them stood silently brushing their teeth together, catching glimpses of each other through the mirror. When they finished they walked back out to the living room to watch Harry Potter with Robin.

“Harry didn’t even make it to Hogwarts before she passed out,” Harry chuckled, looking down at Robin sprawled out on the couch, peacefully sleeping.

“She must have been tired,” Ariana smirked, tucking the blanket around her.

“Do you still want to watch?” Harry asked.

“I’m kind of tired,” she told him.

“Me too. I can carry her to the bed if you want me to,” he offered.

“No. It’s okay. I mean, I don’t want to wake her,” Ariana said and he nodded, staring into her eyes.

“Come on,” Ari nodded toward the bedroom with a small smirk. He smirked back before picking up the television remote and turning it off.

Harry followed her into the bedroom and watched as she crawled up into his bed. It was smaller than a hotel bed – maybe just a full size. She could really feel the smaller size when Harry laid down next to her in it. But she liked it.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Harry breathed through the stillness once they settled in.

“I’m glad I’m here too,” she admitted honestly.

It had been a long time since she was able to open up to someone, and with Harry, it seemed like it just came naturally. She didn’t know how or why, but she felt comfort in his presence.

She reached over and placed her hand on his cheek, which earn a small smile from him.

“Goodnight, Harry,” she breathed.

“Goodnight, Ariana,” he replied, looking into her eyes.

She lightly pushed forward, leaving a gentle kiss on his lips before she settled back on her side of the bed. As much as she would have liked to continue kissing him, she knew she needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a trying day and she wasn’t looking forward to it.

Notes