Heat - Harry Styles

two

"Cheers," he said as we clinked our wine bottles together.

"Cheers," I mumbled before gulping down the gold liquid. I licked my lips, tasting the sweet Pinot Grigio on my tongue.

We were sitting again on the battery, our backs against the trunk of one of the old live oaks that lined the paths of the park. I hummed in contentment as I leaned my head against the wood. It was a beautiful night, even by Charleston standards. The sky was utterly devoid of clouds, meaning that Harry and I could see the stars clear as day. Lightning bugs would occasionally flicker faintly in the distance, dancing along the bushes of the giant battery houses. Once in a while cars would sputter past us, but it was quiet for the most part. Time seemed to move slower than a Sunday afternoon as I sat here in my favorite park, sipping wine with a stranger.

I took another swig of wine before speaking, "My parents would lose their minds if they knew I was out here getting drunk with a mysterious British man."

"Your parents sound like they need to calm down," he joked. "Every time you talk about them it seems to be in the context of them being upset about something you did or may do". He brought his bottle of red wine up to his lips once again, letting the liquid stain his already tinted lips.

I shrugged. It wasn't that my parents and I were always fighting but they did have certain standards that they expected me to live up to. We didn't often agree, but I still respected their opinion, no matter how old-fashioned or outdated I thought it to be. Your parents are your parents.

"They're really not too bad, especially my dad. It's really more of my mom who is so uptight. She just expects me to never make any mistakes. Sometimes I just think it's because I'm the oldest child. Like maybe she wants me to set an example for the rest of the kids."

He nodded his head and we both took a long drink. "How many siblings do you have?" he asked.

"Three. One brother and two sisters."

"Wow," he whistled and raised his eyebrows. "Four kids? Christ, no wonder your mother is so uptight." We both laughed. "Tell me about them."

"You first," I prodded. "Tell me about Gemma."

"Hmm," he hummed and closed his eyes, smiling slightly. "Gem and I are like best friends. We're very close. She's so good to me... probably too good to me. Definitely better than I deserve. We weren't always so close, and to be honest when we were younger I think she was desperately annoyed with me. I'm sure I wasn't easy to be around," he laughed. "But yeah, she's very kind and absolutely hilarious but is definitely always on my case. Won't let you get away with anything, that one."

"She seemed like a sweetheart," I offered. As I took another big swig. I held out the bottle and took a look at it. I was almost halfway done with it already. I needed to slow down.

"Your turn."

"Where to start?" I thought, already smiling at the thought of my crazy siblings. "My brother's name is Brooks. He'll be a senior in high school this fall. He's like my dad's shadow. I mean, they do everything together and he hangs on every word dad says. He's the golden child for sure," I rolled my eyes. "He committed to play football at the University of Georgia his sophomore year."

"Wow," Harry hummed.

"Yeah," I scrunch my nose, "Brooks has that whole cliche quarterback thing going on. It's honestly annoying."

"Your sisters?"

"They're wide open, bless their hearts."

"Wide open?" He questioned.