No Control (Book 1)

15. Why Don't We Go There?

"Is one of those for me?" he asked, indicating to the two mugs that were waiting patiently on the counter and pulling his boxers shorts up.

"Well it was, but it's probably a bit strong now," I laughed. "And I'm wearing half of it." I poured the cups down the sink and flicked the kettle on again.

"Yeah you're very jumpy," he remarked, smiling.

"Well you shouldn't keep sneaking up on me!" I pouted. I made two fresh cups of tea and we sat down at the breakfast bar to drink them.

"So, you're heading up to see your family today?" I said.

"Yeah, I'm driving up there later," he nodded.

"Yourself?" I asked. "Or does someone drive you?"

"No, I'll drive myself today," Harry said. "I like driving."

"Cool. Well I'll get my stuff and be out of your hair," I said, a little awkwardly.

"You don't have to rush off, I'm not kicking you out," Harry said, running a hand through his hair.

"It's OK, I should be getting back home anyway," I said, not wanting him to feel like he had to invite me to stay if he didn't want to.

"You already said you had no plans today," he reminded me. "You told me that last night."

I laughed. "Wow, you really were listening, weren't you."

"Of course," he frowned. "I had a great time last night."

"Me too," I smiled shyly.

We finished our tea and I stood up. "Do you mind if I take a shower?"

"Not at all," he answered. "There are towels in the airing cupboard in the en suite. Help yourself to anything you need."

"Thanks," I replied. I went back into the bedroom and walked through to the en suite. I closed the door behind me and found a towel, then slipped Harry's shirt off my shoulders and stepped into the shower. There were a couple of masculine shower gels in there, so I switched the water on and enjoyed a lazy five minutes replaying that morning's events in my head. The warm water soothed my pounding head, and by the time I shut the water off I was feeling almost human again.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself. I'd managed to keep my hair mostly dry. I dried myself off and went in search of my clothes. They were carelessly dropped in various places on Harry's bedroom floor, and I blushed as I remembered them coming off last night. I slipped back into them as quickly as I could, then went back into the kitchen where Harry was munching on a slice of toast. He gestured to a plate on the breakfast bar and I saw a fresh cup of tea and 2 slices of toast on a plate for me. I was taken aback. "Wow, um, thanks," I said.

"No worries. I'm gonna jump in the shower myself," he said.

"I'll call a cab and get out of your way," I said, looking around for my bag.

"Don't be silly, I'll drive you home," Harry said.

"I can't ask you to do that," I said, even more taken aback.

"You're not asking. I'm offering," Harry argued. "And if you're looking for your bag it's over there." He pointed to the counter by the door.

"OK, well, um, thanks," I said.

"It's fine. I won't be long," Harry said, and disappeared into his bedroom. I sat down at the breakfast bar and took a bite of the toast. My stomach growled appreciatively and I devoured both pieces pretty quickly. I'd finished half my cup of tea by the time I heard Harry moving about in the bedroom. I stood up and retrieved my bag, checking my phone and house keys were in there, which they were. I pulled out my foundation and quickly applied some to my face, along with a swipe of mascara and a dash of lip gloss. I was just switching my phone on when Harry came out of the bedroom rubbing his head with a towel. He was wearing the black skinny jeans from last night and a plain white tshirt. He looked absolutely drop dead gorgeous. He smiled at me as he came nearer. "How was the toast?" he asked.

"Great, thanks," I said. "Listen, I'm just gonna call a cab, it's not fair for you to have to drive me home."

"Why?" he asked. "You live by Belsize Park don't you? I'm practically passing that way on my way out of London anyway."

My phone sang its little start-up tone and I looked down at it, thinking. "OK, well thanks," I said, gratefully. "I'm ready whenever."

"OK cool, I'll get my bag and then we'll head off it that's OK?" he said.

I nodded and he turned and disappeared back into his bedroom, emerging with a holdall in one hand and a rucksack slung over his back. He walked over to the window and peered outside. "There's a photographer out there," he grumbled.

"Oh no, really?" I was distracted by a Twitter notification pinging up. Strange, as the only person I had notifications on for was Harry, but he hadn't just tweeted as he'd been talking to me the whole time.

"Yeah, only one, though," he said. "He won't cause any problems."

I shoved my phone in my pocket and stood up clutching my bag. "Ready?" he said.

"Yep," I replied, and we headed out through the hall and to the front door. Harry slipped his sunglasses on and said, "Just ignore the pap, don't look at him if you can help it, and don't speak to him; he might shout some questions or something."

"Um, OK," I said nervously. Harry opened the door and I kept my head down as I followed him to the car. I jumped into the passenger seat and shut the door quickly, keeping my eyes firmly fixed at my Louboutins. Harry jumped in beside me. "He wasn't even paying attention when we came out," he chuckled. "He was changing a lens on his camera. He was frantically trying to get it back on just then when he saw us."

I laughed and sneaked a peek at Harry. He was grinning at me. He backed out of the driveway and past the photographer who shouted, "Harry! Harry! Who's your girlfriend?" I kept my face turned away the whole time so the only shot he would get would be the back of my head. Harry drove off and turned to me again, grinning. "Smooth," he said. "Have you done this before?"

"NO!" I laughed, lightly swatting his thigh.

He laughed too, then said, "I don't have a clue where I'm supposed to be going. Put your postcode in the sat nav." He pointed to the dashboard. I tapped my postcode in, and it calculated the route; ETA 10 minutes.