Somebody Else's Arms

The moment the morning seeped into her eyes, Hailey’s brain spiraled back into consciousness. She could feel every ache in her muscles and wondered what the hell happened to her the previous night. She groaned as she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. A moment later, she felt an arm drape around her waist. Her entire body froze as she slowly looked down at the arm around her. And a second later, she felt a gentle kiss between her shoulder blades. She quietly bit her lip and hoped it was Harry in bed with her and not the random guy she flirted with at the wedding. Of course, sleeping with Jeremy wouldn’t be a bad thing, but she kind of hoped they might get to know each other a bit first.

“Good morning,” she heard a gruff voice before his head popped up over her arm.

Harry. It was Harry and she felt relief.

Her wildly beating heart slowed and then suddenly started beating faster again for a very different reason.

It was Harry. She slept with Harry again. Her stomach turned with excitement.

“Morning,” she squeaked out.

As Hailey turned onto her back to look over at Harry, she pulled the sheet up, covering her naked body. Harry smiled over at her as he propped up on his elbow, watching her.

“What was that for? Afraid I might see you naked?” He asked as he sent her an odd look and tugged at the sheet.

“N-no…” Hailey said, her voice quivering more than she would have hoped for.

She let her arms go lax to show him she wasn’t hiding from him, even though she felt a bit awkward and she could tell he noticed. Harry let out a small chuckle, smiling over at her. Seriously, what in the hell was going on?

“You’re acting like you don’t remember last night,” Harry stated, quirking his eyebrow at her.

“Uh…” Hailey stammered, trying to rack her brain for a memory, for anything.

She remembered dancing with Harry at the wedding and drinking and Jeremy and drinking more and the walk to the hotel with Harry – how they couldn’t find the hotel door, not right away anyway. Then she remembered Harry pushing her up against the wall, putting all his weight against her body in the sexiest way possible – just thinking about it again made her hormones fluctuate. And she remembered him kissing her. And then there was the bed and then… yes. She remembered.

“Did you just have a Eureka moment?” He asked, smirking widely at her.

“Uh, I guess so,” she said with a small smile as she ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

“You guess so?” Harry asked, continuing to smirk at her.

“I remember,” she said, unable to hold back a massive smile, because god, it was good. Just, really good sex.

“Mmm. Good,” he hummed, leaning in to kiss her neck. Yes, good.

Hailey’s entire body tingled with his lips on her and she wondered what the hell kind of Eureka moment he had last night to be nuzzling her like that. She loved it, but damn, it was so out of character. Like, was she still sleeping? Was she going to wake up and be incredibly disappointed with reality?

When Harry’s hand came up to pull the sheet away from her upper body, Hailey let out a breathless “oh”, causing Harry to snicker against her skin.

“Harry…” Hailey breathed, but he continued kissing up her neck as his palm grazed across her chest.

“Harry,” Hailey said again, more directly this time.

“Shh,” he hushed her as he leaned up, kissing her lips. Seriously, though. Was she dreaming?

Harry worked his body between her legs as Hailey opened her mouth to his and his tongue licked into hers, exploring the slope of her tongue.

“Mm,” Hailey moaned into his mouth as her fingers tangled into the back of his hair. If it was a dream, she was going with it. At least she’d have something to look back on when she woke up alone.

Harry pulled back a moment later and Hailey’s stomach dropped, thinking he wouldn’t go any further.

“Is this too much this early in the morning?” He breathed against her lips.

“N-no,” she stammered, her voice noticeably shaking. No. God. Please don’t stop.

“Good,” he said, smiling against her lips before he was back at it.

Oh, god. He is perfect. Why is he so perfect? Hailey’s mind couldn’t wrap around it. What changed for him? What did she do to change the way he thought about her? He had no idea what this was doing to her. He had no idea what it meant to her. They were of sound mind. They weren’t hiding behind alcohol this time. They were both thinking clearly. And it had to mean something. It just had to.

Harry’s hand slipped down, pulling her leg up against his hip, giving him better access to her body. When his fingers slipped down her cleft, she let out a low moan against his mouth. Harry bit her lip before pulling back. She watched the way his attention moved down between them to his fingers on her and she reveled in it. She loved being able to get a good look at him without feeling incredibly awkward to be staring at him. He was so beautiful it hurt.

When Hailey felt his hardness slip against her, it sent pleasure skating through her, her mind completely losing all train of thought.

“Is this okay?” Harry breathed.

“Mm, yes… yes,” she mumbled, looking up at him again and he sent her a pleased smile seconds before she felt him slip inside of her.

“Oh,” she breathed lowly as he sank into her.

As Harry built up a slow rhythm, Hailey leaned up to kiss him quickly. She was going to get it in while she still could because no doubt afterward, they would go back to just being friends. It was inevitable. She would relish in his touch, his kiss, his everything while she had him.

Every thrust into her was like a nail in her coffin. She was completely powerless to him. He held all the cards and she knew it. She was completely hooked on him and knew she would be for the rest of her life. Especially after moments like this.

The sound of his ragged breathing above her was like music to her ears and when he let out a moan here or there, she swore she was hearing angels sing. Both other times she slept with Harry he was completely drunk, but this was so much different. This was tender attentive love-making and it almost broke Hailey’s heart to know it wouldn’t last. Her fantasy of the two of them would not last.

And it was ever-so clear as her body contracted and the pleasure shuddered through her like a ghost being exercised from her body. As Harry continued, Hailey’s body sang for him. It was like she was on a new plane of existence and the pleasure never stopped.

When Harry’s body stiffened above her and he let out a choked moan, she knew he had finished. She held him against her body as his weight settled on top of her. She felt so comforted by him, so peaceful, like he was her very own weighted blanket. She never wanted him to leave her arms and when he rolled off her body, she felt cold and empty.

“Oh, god. You’re the best, Hailey,” Harry said breathlessly as he washed his hands down his face.

“Mm,” Hailey hummed, her heartbeat bumping rapidly in her chest.

“Mm-hmm,” he hummed lightly, running his fingers through his hair.

She didn’t say anything. She just lay there trying to collect her thoughts after another phenomenal go-around with Harry.

“I’m not sure when the lads want to leave today,” Harry said, looking over at her. And just like that, their little love-bubble was popped. Poof.

“Mm,” she hummed, nodding her head.

“You okay?” Harry asked, sending her an odd look.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, looking over at him with a small smile on her lips.

“You’re acting a bit strange,” he pointed out.

“I’m just tired. I mean, you know… after that and all,” Hailey said, trying not to make everything awkward between them.

“Mmm. I completely understand,” he said, smiling suggestively as he leaned over and wrapped his arms around her again, cuddling up to her body.

She was literally freaking out internally with the way Harry was acting. But she was definitely enjoying it. No doubt about it. If he was going to pretend they were more than they really were to one another, then so was she. She leaned into it, wrapping her arms around his body and held him in her arms. It was like her own kind of Heaven.

“We should get ready though,” Harry breathed against her collarbone and suddenly she was falling out of the clouds.

“Yeah, uh. We probably should,” she agreed.

When he pulled out of her arms, she had no choice but to let him go. It felt like a piece of her soul was dying as she watched him get out of the bed. But the view she had – oh, the view was that of legend. Harry strut to the bathroom as naked as the day he was born and it was like baby angels were singing in her head. He didn’t even bother to shut the bathroom door as he started the shower start up. She couldn’t wrap her head around the way he was acting. He was acting as if they were dating and she couldn’t help but want to live with him in the fantasy he was creating.

Hailey smiled to herself as she got out of bed, tip-toeing toward the bathroom door.

“Are you going to be long in there?” She called out to him.

“No. I don’t think so,” he told her.

“Okay,” she said, biting her lip, imaging what he looked like in the shower.

“We could conserve time and water by showering together, you know,” he offered, poking his head out of the shower with a devilish smirk on his face.

“Oh, yeah?” Hailey answered, smirking back at him.

“Get in here,” he said, latching onto her arm as he pulled her toward the shower.

“Harry!” Hailey yelped loudly.

“C’mon,” he laughed as he pulled her inside.

Hailey slipped slightly while getting in, but Harry caught her, their naked body’s sloshing together under the warm spray of the water.

“You okay?” He asked, smirking down at her as his grip on her loosened only slightly.

“I’m… I’m good,” she told him, looking up into his eyes like he was the second coming of Christ or something.

“C’mon. We don’t have a lot of time. It’s already almost noon. I’m surprised Niall isn’t blowing up my phone already,” Harry said, turning Hailey toward the shower spray.

“Alright,” she grumbled as she let the shower stream cascade down her body.

It was warm and inviting and she enjoyed the calm that spread through her as she closed her eyes under the spray. When she opened them again, she caught Harry staring at her with a smug little smile on his face.

“What?” She asked with a curious smirk.

“Nothing,” he said, smirking back. Hailey eyed him, wondering what he was thinking.

“What?” She asked again, more demanding.

“I just… I feel like my eyes have been opened for the first time,” he said, smiling down at her.

What? Hailey’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“What does that mean?” She asked, feeling her heart constrict in her chest. Anxiety swelled within her. Did he just…? What did he mean?

“I don’t know. I just… never mind,” he said, looking bashful as he waved it off.

“No. Harry…” Hailey squeaked out. She needed to know what he meant.

“It’s nothing. Just get showered. We should get going,” he told her, completely blowing it off.

“But…” Hailey stammered, staring at him dumbfounded.

“I’m gonna get out and get dressed,” he told her.

He didn’t even get his hair wet. He literally wasn’t finished showering, but he couldn’t get away from her fast enough it seemed. And that feeling of rejection was almost crippling.

“Uh, okay,” Hailey said quietly, watching as he stepped out of the shower.

Hailey’s eyes pooled with tears, but she quickly cleared her throat and continued showering, realizing the whole morning was a fluke. It seemed to be back to normal between them – just friends.

When Hailey got out of the shower, Harry was already dressed, talking to someone on his phone. She dressed quickly and did what she needed to do to get ready for their eight hour drive back to Los Angeles.

“You ready? They lads are going to meet us in the lobby,” Harry told her as she pulled her suitcase off the bed onto the floor.

“Ready,” she said with a nod, pulling the suitcase behind her.

Hailey and Harry didn’t speak as they left the hotel room or in the elevator on their way down. When the elevator doors opened, they were met with an almost overly crowded lobby. And even so, none of the people seemed to be any of Harry’s friends. Why was he in such a rush if they weren’t even ready to go?

“Where are they?” Hailey asked him curiously.

“I don’t know,” Harry said, checking his phone.

“Hmm,” she hummed skeptically, standing awkwardly next Harry.

After a few minutes of waiting, Harry opted to go up to the guys’ rooms to push them along. Therefore, Hailey was left standing in the lobby with both of their bags. She felt a bit awkward and cursed Harry under her breath for leaving her all alone.

“Hey there, beautiful lady,” she heard and her head snapped in the direction of the voice.

Jeremy.

“Left all alone?” He asked with a wide smile.

“Hi,” Hailey said, beaming a smile at him. She forgot how incredibly handsome he was and it was almost enough to take her breath away.

“Are you checking out?” He asked curiously.

“Yeah. Uh, we’ve got a long drive ahead of us,” she told him.

“Oh. You drove?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I came up with Harry and the rest of the groomsmen,” she told him.

“I’d have thought you all flew like the rest of us,” he said, smirking at her.

“Nah. We’re not that classy, apparently,” she laughed, her cheeks heating up significantly. She felt like a bumbling idiot in his presence.

“Hmm. Sounds like fun,” he chuckled.

“Not really,” she giggled, shaking her head.

“Well, maybe during the drive you can text me to keep yourself from getting too bored. You do still have my number, right?” He asked, quirking his eyebrow as he sent her a suggestive look.

“I do,” she said, smiling back at him bashfully, remembering the slip of paper with his number on it was in the clutch she used the previous night.

“Don’t be afraid to use it,” he said, bouncing his eyebrows at her.

“Oh. Uh, okay,” she giggled awkwardly.

A split second later, Jeremy’s eyes looked past her and his smile faded straight off his face.

“I’ll see you again, I hope,” he said, leaning in to give her a quick hug.

“Yeah. That would be nice,” she told him honestly. She definitely would love to see him again.

“Bye, Hailey,” he said, sending her one last smile and a gentle squeeze of her arm.

“Bye, Jeremy,” she said, giving him a wave as he walked off.

“What did he want?” She heard moments later as Harry walked up with a scowl on his face.

“Oh! Uh, he was… he was just saying goodbye,” Hailey stammered, feeling as if she was flirting with another dude behind her boyfriend’s back or something. Which, Harry wasn’t her boyfriend, so the feeling was ridiculous.

“Mm-hmm,” Harry hummed ominously as he stared off in the direction Jeremy went.

“Did you… did you find the guys?” Hailey asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Yeah. They’re waiting for us by the car,” Harry told her.

“Oh. Okay,” she said, grabbing onto her luggage handle.

“C’mon,” Harry said, throwing his arm around her shoulder as they walked out of the resort together.

It felt weird to her, like Harry was staking claim on her – which he had no right to do if he wasn’t actually staking claim on her. But she liked the feel of his arm around her, so she went with it.

Just before Hailey shoved her luggage in the back of Niall’s SUV, she quickly dug inside for her clutch purse from the night before. It wasn’t the clutch she wanted it. It was what was inside – the slip of paper with Jeremy’s phone number on it. And as Harry and Niall were fussing over how to fit all the bags in the same way they fit the first time, Hailey entered Jeremy’s number into her phone.

Just as she finished, Harry was coaxing her into the back of the vehicle with him. She almost felt bad that she was putting another man’s phone number in her contacts, but it was a foolish feeling and she had every right to be talking to whomever she wanted. She had no clue what in the hell Harry was looking for or what he wanted from her. And she wasn’t going to put her life on hold while he figured it out.

Once they were on the road Hailey opened up a new text message to Jeremy.

Hailey: We’ve just started our journey. Wish me luck. – Hailey

She made sure to put her name at the end of the text so he would know who it was. And when her phone vibrated in her hand with his reply, she couldn’t help but smile to herself.

Jeremy: Good luck, pretty lady.

Hailey bit at her lip as she re-read his message over and over. Pretty lady. And when another text from him came in, her heart nearly skipped a beat.

Jeremy: In all honesty, I didn’t think you’d actually text me.

Hailey: Why wouldn’t I?

Jeremy: Well, you’re just so beautiful. You must have guys knocking down your door to spend time with you.

Hailey couldn’t help but blush from his charm. His flirting was certainly doing a number on her.

Hailey: Not as many as you’d think.

Jeremy: I don’t believe it. But either way, less that I’ll have to fight off, I guess.

Hailey: Oh yeah?

Jeremy: That’s right, pretty lady.

She honestly couldn’t believe such a beautiful man was interested in a girl like her. She couldn’t help but think that he was way out of her league. But he was making it pretty clear how he felt about her. And she was completely blushing as she re-read his words. She didn’t know how to respond, so she just sat there, staring at her phone. Lucky for her, the phone buzzed in her hand with another text. But it wasn’t from Jeremy.

Harry: Hey.

Hailey looked up to see Harry smiling over at her. She couldn’t help but smile back.

“Dork,” she giggled.

“What?” He snickered.

“I’m right next to you,” she laughed.

“You’re texting like mad. I wanted to be included,” he told her, looking a little vulnerable. She loved seeing that side of him.

“Oh. Well, I can put my phone away,” she said, dropping it into the cup holder next to her. He sent her a cheesy smile and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“But you have to put yours away too,” she told him.

“Deal,” he agreed, placing his in the cup holder on his side of the vehicle.

The first three hours of the trip were spent talking and goofing off with Harry in the back seat. Hailey enjoyed the playful side of him completely. He was a fun guy, always trying to make her laugh and she loved that about him. After a quick bathroom/food/gas break, they were back on the road. And after a long, eventful night, Hailey was quite tired. So, she and Harry both hunkered down in the back seat and took a nap. He held her against his chest and Hailey felt so special to be near him. And if felt like there was so much more going on between them than there actually was. The intimacy level just felt higher than ever.

Hailey woke up as the sun was setting. Harry was already awake, looking out the window over the mountains.

“It’s beautiful,” Hailey breathed softly.

“It really is,” he said, smiling down at her as he tightened his grip around her shoulder.

She truly enjoyed being in his arms. It was everything she’d ever hoped for since the day she met him and she just hoped and prayed that things were finally going to work out between them.

After the sun set, they stopped again for another bathroom break. They only had two hours left of their journey, but Hailey was more than ready to be home after six hours sitting in a car with a hangover.

“Come here,” Harry murmured, pulling Hailey against his body once they were settled back into their seats.

“Harry,” Hailey giggled lightly, pulling back a bit.

“What? Just come here,” he said, smirking at her as he playfully grabbed onto her shirt, tugging her toward him again.

“What are you doing?” She spoke in a hushed tone, looking in front of them to see if any of the guys were paying attention to the two of them in the back seat. Which they weren’t.

Louis and Niall were talking in the front seat. And both Liam and Josh were dead to the world with their headphones blaring in their ears.

“What are you afraid of? One of them seeing you touching me?” Harry snickered, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“No…” She said uneasily, looking down at him.

“Because let’s face it, Hailey. You’ve been touching me all day,” he said, smirking suggestive at her.

“Shut up,” she said, smiling bashfully as she swatted at his chest.

“Don’t hit. Be nice,” he scolded her as her pulled her closer.

“Harry…” She whined as she was nearly pulled down on top of him.

“Kiss me,” he breathed against her lips.

“What? No,” she said, trying to pull away from him. She felt so awkward being on top of him with the other guys in the car.

“Just shut it and kiss me,” he said in a hushed tone.

“Harry,” she protested again.

“Kiss me, Hailey,” he said more sternly.

With a deep breath, she threw caution to the wind and crashed her lips into his, satisfying both of them. Their tongues met almost instantly and Hailey almost couldn’t take it. What was happening between them?

“Harry,” Hailey breathed against his lips with an unavoidable smile.

“Shh-shh-shh,” he hushed her, leaning up to kiss her again.

A moment later, he pushed himself up and spun her into the crevice between him and the seat. It definitely was a tight fit and their legs, especially Harry’s long ones, didn’t have much room in the cramped back seat, but they made it work.

“Lay down,” he breathed against her lips.

Hailey let out a scoff, because how was that physically possible? She literally couldn’t move an inch with the way Harry had her sandwiched against the seat.

“Here,” he said as he sat up a bit and gave her enough room to comfortably move.

She was a bit reluctant to actually lay down because she didn’t really know what Harry’s intentions were. She wasn’t about to fuck him in the backseat with four of his best friends there to witness it. Hell no.

“Harry…” Hailey said, hesitating once again.

“Will you just shut it and enjoy this?” He said, smirking widely at her.

“Ohmygod,” she huffed, rolling her eyes as she laid down on her back in the seat.

Harry grabbed his big blanket and pulled it over himself as he came down on top of her, connecting their lips once again. Hailey honestly couldn’t believe they were making out with four other people in the vehicle with them. She felt like a teenager. But she honestly loved it. She loved every second.

After a while of being felt up in the back seat, Hailey was practically panting for him and she knew she needed to be the voice of reason. They had to stop because they couldn’t go any further. She wouldn’t. The two of them sat back up in the seat and Hailey did all she could do to regain her composure. Her hair was a mess and her hormones were out of control.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Harry whispered to her and she looked over to see his massive hard-on protruding through the fabric of his sweatpants.

Hailey let out a loud laugh before clamping her hand over her mouth. She noticed Liam look back at her and she mouthed “sorry” to him, but couldn’t help but giggle more.

“Shut it. You’re terrible,” Harry laughed, shoving her shoulder as he covered himself with the blanket.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Hailey laughed, trying to really rein herself in.

“You did this, you know,” he grumbled playfully.

“It was all you, buddy,” she laughed.

“Maybe you shouldn’t pressure me into snogging in the backseat,” Harry joked, quirking his eyebrow at her.

“Oh, shut up,” she said, shoving at him and he let out a laugh.

“What are ya laughing about back there?” Niall asked as he looked at them through the rear view mirror.

“Flirtin’,” Louis said just loud enough for them to hear.

“Harry’s having issues,” Hailey told them with a laugh.

“Ha-ha,” Harry said evenly, leaning over to poke Hailey in the side. She let out a yelp and covered her mouth quickly because she knew Liam and Josh were trying to sleep.

“Stop it,” Hailey said, swatting his hand away when he tried to do it again.

“It’s just so easy,” Harry said, gripping onto her knee, causing her to jump again.

“Stop it, Harry,” Hailey warned him in a hushed voice.

“I don’t wanna,” he told her as he tried again. She blocked his hand quickly and laughed at him.

“Who keeps touching who now?” She scoffed at him.

“Ha,” Harry laughed as he finally retreated to his side of the car.

“That’s what I thought,” Hailey grumbled under her breath.

“Just wait,” Harry said prophetically.

“What?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Just wait,” he said again, looking out the window instead of at her.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked with a wide smile.

“Mm, nothing,” he said, still not looking at her.

“Mm-hmm,” Hailey hummed, feeling the anticipation of whatever Harry was planning to do to her. She bit her lip and squeezed her thighs together to try to stifle the pleasurable feelings that were skating through her.

When Harry eyed her momentarily, Hailey let out another laugh.

“What?” She pressed.

“Nothing,” he said again and she knew he was just toying with her.

“Whatever, mate,” Hailey scoffed, mimicking him on purpose.

Harry sent her another look and she noticed his lips were turned up into a mischievous smirk.

“Stop it,” she scolded him, but couldn’t help but smile.

“You stop it,” he countered playfully.

They didn’t touch each other again for the last twenty minutes of the ride to their apartment complex. When they finally arrived, Hailey felt nothing but relief. She was so happy to be getting out of that cramped vehicle. She couldn’t wait to sleep in her own bed.

“See you lads later,” Harry said as he stood next to the passenger window talking to the guys.

“Thanks, guys!” Hailey called to them and she heard what she could only believe was some sort of goodbye, but it just sounded like one collective grunt.

Hailey headed to the door before Harry, who was still talking with the guys. She was completely beat and she just wanted to go to bed.

“Hey, wait for me,” she heard Harry call out to her. She turned to see him jogging toward her with his bag in one hand and his pillow and blanket under his other arm.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she chuckled as she propped the door open with her foot.

“Hey, I was thinking. Maybe… uh, do you want to hang out?” He asked, looking at her hopefully.

“Um. Uh, sure,” she said, smiling bashfully at him. She was exhausted, but could she really pass up a chance to bro-out with Harry? Yeah, no.

“I just… it might get a little lonely in our flats without each other tonight,” he said, smiling mischievously at her.

“Oh,” she said, realizing what he was proposing. He wanted to sleepover or have her sleepover with him. This was new.

“Yeah, sure. I mean, yeah,” she stammered, feeling completely flustered.

“Brilliant,” he said, smiling as he walked toward the elevator.

“My place or yours?” He asked as they stepped inside the lift.

“Uh… I mean… Jagger and Bowie…” She stammered, thinking Harry needed to take care of his puppies.

“Oh, they’re still with my sister until tomorrow. Why don’t we just hang out at your house?” He offered.

“Sure,” she said, smiling at him.

The two of them walked to her door and she unlocked it, letting him inside.

“Welcome home,” Harry said as he flipped on the light.

“Yes. Welcome home,” she said, smiling at him.

Notes