Chapter fourteen

I woke up and realized that it was Friday. The Fragrance launch was finally here. I rolled over and looked at Harry, sound asleep on the pillow next to me, his mouth open as his even breaths came and went. His hair was everywhere, but I loved the way it looked, it was just so him. I pulled up his arm and scooted closer to him as I pressed myself up against his naked chest before letting his arm fall around me. I kissed his open lips, keeping my face close to his and revelling in the feeling of his light stubble grazing the soft skin of my face. He must have felt me in his arms because he began to stir, the corner of his lips pulling into a smile as he nuzzled me. I breathed a laugh as his stubble tickled my face. His arm that had previously been limp around me was now holding me close as his hand travelled down to the small of my back.

“Some one’s in a good mood,” he said in his husky morning voice, which was the most beautiful sound to wake up to every morning.

“I am,” I smiled. “Care to know why?” I asked him, pressing my lips to his jaw.

“Of course,” he smiled.

“Because today is the day that I get to show the whole world that I’m yours,” I told him, my hand reaching behind his neck, my favourite part of him. My fingers twirled in his hair as I watched his emerald eyes take in every inch of my face, a crooked smile playing on his lips.

“I could stay here like this forever with you,” he said, tracing my features with his thumb. “You’re so beautiful.” He murmured so quietly that it was barely audible, almost as if he were talking to himself, leaving me questioning whether I’d heard him correctly. I pressed my lips to his, both of our lips unmoving yet the contact was inexplicably intimate.

“I guess we should get up...” I said unwillingly, and I felt his grip on me tighten.

“Let’s just stay like this a little while longer.” He smiled at me, and I couldn’t say no to that face. I didn’t feel the desire to say no, as every fibre in my being wanted exactly the same thing.

--

Around an hour later Harry and I made our way down to the kitchen, still in our pyjamas. We then joined up with the rest of the group in the living room. I could feel how atrocious I looked so I wasn’t surprised by the looks Eleanor and Danielle were giving me. What did surprise me however was that Lou Teasdale was there, slaving over Danielle’s curls, Eleanor waiting to have her hair done next.

“Wow,” I said. “You guys are really getting a head start.” I looked to the clock which read nine thirty.

“Oh good, you’re up!” Lou said. “I’ll get straight to work on your hair after I’m done Eleanor’s.” She smiled at me.

“Okay,” I smiled back, sitting down on the couch next to Harry.

“Lou always does our hair before the lads,” El explained. “They can just wake up and go.”

“Oh, like Harry does every morning?” Lou teased. I tousled his wild locks with my hand and Louis laughed loudly, slinging his arm around Eleanor’s shoulder.

“Ha ha,” Harry smiled. “Good thing you’re a stylist and not a comedian, Lou.”

“Well, I think your hair is sexy, babe.” I told him and he smiled down at me, kissing me quickly.

“And that’s why I love her,” he said to the group. “Because she’s the only one to stick up for me.” Harry teased them.

“We all think your hair is sexy,” Zayn laughed.

“Look at you, Harry,” Dani said in mock astonishment. “Throwing around the ‘L’ word after such a short time.” I looked to Harry, slightly confused. We’d known each other for forever, I didn’t see how that was such a short time.

“It’s hardly been a short time...” I said, questioningly looking around at the faces of everyone in the group.

“I must say,” Harry said to the lads. “I’m impressed with you boys, I didn’t think you could do it!”

“Do what?” Dani asked Harry, whiling shooting a look at Liam.

“I asked the lads not to tell you about our history together,” Harry said motioning to the two of us.

“What history?” El asked.

“Just that Sarah and I grew up together in Holmes Chapel and we were dating when I auditioned for the X-Factor.” Harry said. I watched as they took this in. I couldn’t help but notice though that Harry had left out one crucial part of the story: our baby. I looked up at him, trying to figure out why he hadn’t mentioned it. Was it because he didn’t want to upset me? Was he ashamed? Or was he worried about how they would think of us after we told them? I also wondered if he’d even told the lads about it. I looked up and caught Lou staring at me out of the corner of my eye. We made eye contact and from the look she gave me, I could tell that she knew if no one else.

“Wow,” Eleanor said. “I guess I can kind of see that though, you two are too close to have just met each other.” She looked at Louis in astonishment. “I must say though, Louis, I’m shocked that you managed to keep quiet!” He laughed and rubbed her shoulder. “He’s the absolute worst at keeping secrets.” She told me, laughing. I smiled back, but it felt a little forced. I wanted to know why Harry had not mentioned the baby. For some reason, now felt like the perfect time to tell everyone, since it had come up.

“Alright, Dani,” Lou said. “You’re all done and you look gorgeous if I do say so myself.” She smiled and moved over to start work on Eleanor’s hair.

“Thanks Lou, you’re a genius!” Danielle said, looking at her reflection in the hand-held mirror that Lou had given to her. Niall and Liam began talking about the Fragrance, although I wasn’t listening to the specifics. I looked over to Zayn and noticed that he was on the phone, which I hadn’t even heard go off. I listened for a moment and concluded that he was talking to Perrie. I watched as he said goodbye to her and set his phone down.

“It’s official guys!” He said excitedly. “Perrie is coming to the launch, we’re meeting her there!”

“That’s great!” Dani exclaimed.

“Aw, I can’t wait to see her again!” Eleanor smiled. The lads all added how excited they were to see her again, and I could tell that if that had been the moment to tell them about the baby, the moment had now passed.

--

Eleanor and Danielle had gone upstairs after getting their hair done, making last minute alterations to their choice of accessories, with Louis acting as their judge. Zayn had gone up to get himself ready, but really he was just too excited to talk to any of us. Niall and Liam had gone off to another room and were currently having a video conference with management about any last minute changes for the launch. That left Harry sitting in the living room, watching Lou straighten my hair, which was quite the job, considering how thick it is. We made light and easy conversation, mainly consisting of her teasing Harry but he just laughed as it was obvious how endeared he was to her.

“Hey, Harry,” Niall came in after a while. “Management wants a quick word.” He told him.

“Alrighty,” Harry said, springing up from the couch lightly. Even management couldn’t bring his mood down today. “I’ll be right back, love,” he told me as he walked over towards Niall.

“Looking good there, Sarah,” Niall said winking at me. Harry put a hand on his arm.

“Easy there big guy, move it along,” Harry joked and Niall gave his typical laugh: loud. After they were gone, Lou and I were quiet for a moment, as she silently worked on my hair.

“So,” she said after a while. “The lads were good at keeping Harry’s secret quiet, weren’t they?” She asked.

“Yeah, they did.” I replied. We were quiet for a couple more minutes before I couldn’t hold my question in any longer. “Do they know?” I asked her.

“Know what?” Lou responded, pretending to not know what I was referring to.

“What happened while we were dating? Why Harry loves toddlers so much?” I hinted. Lou laughed lightly at the last part.

“That,” she sighed. “You know, Sarah, he tells them almost everything, but there are some things that people keep to themselves.”

“So that’s a no...” I said.

“Yes, that’s a no,” she laughed. “He told me about it, but he wouldn’t let himself break down like that in front of the lads.” She told me, and that broke my heart a little bit. I wanted to ask her more, but then Harry came in, smiling like a child on Christmas.

“We should start getting ready, are you two almost finished?” He asked.

“All done!” Lou smiled, as I felt her pin some of my hair back in a flower pin.

“Excellent work, Lou,” Harry smiled. “You look gorgeous, babe.” He kissed me and reached for my hand as I stood up.

“See for yourself,” Lou smiled, holding the hand-held mirror up for me.

“Lovely, thanks, Lou,” I smiled. She gave me a quick side hug.

“Anytime,” she winked at me.

“Alright then!” Harry said. “Let’s go get dressed; the limo will be here in an hour and a half.”

--

My makeup was done, jewellery on, all that was left was my dress. I walked over to the closet picking up my shoes and sliding me feet into them. I then reached for my dress, laying the plastic down on the bed to unzip it. I then stepped into it, and realized that I couldn’t reach the zipper. I looked over to Harry, who was just putting his black blazer on.

“Harry,” I said, holding my dress up as I walked over to him. “Darling, do you think you could zip me up?” I asked him.

“Sure thing, babe,” he said. I turned around and held my hair up so that it wouldn’t get caught. He zipped it up slowly, and when he finally reached the top, his fingers trailed across the back of my neck and I felt his lips trail soft kisses at the base of my neck. I leaned into him and his arms encircled me. “You look absolutely radiant.” He told me and I smiled brightly.

“I’d hate to look plain next to my handsome boyfriend,” I smiled.

“That’s impossible,” he said, taking my hand in his as we began walking out the door. We walked down the staircase to see everyone waiting for us.

“There you guys are,” Niall said. “The limo’s just pulled up, it’s time to go!” He said, swiftly walking out the door.

“You ready, sweetheart?” Harry asked me.

“Of course,” I said simply, and we made our way into the limo.

Notes

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