Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

10

"Guys, this is Louis. He's gonna play with us. Louis, these are my friends, Liam, Zayn, and Niall." I introduce them. I have trouble keeping my eyes off Louis. He showed up!

"Hi!" Louis greets. Waves a little awkwardly.

The guys doesn't greet him back. I turn my eyes at them instead. They're frozen in place. They just stare at Louis with wide eyes and their mouths open. What's wrong with them?
"Guys?"

"No way!" Liam gasps.

"Deja vu!" Niall stutters.

"What the fuck?" Zayn screeches.

I furrow my eyebrows. Confused. Why are they acting weird?
"Uhm, maybe this was a bad idea, Harry. I should just go." Louis says.

Finally, my friends spring into action. They hurry up to us.
"Of course not. We're not eh, used to seeing Harry with a lad by his side. I'm Niall."

Great, did he really have to point out how fucking single I am? I sigh. Wait, maybe that's not so bad after all.
They shake Louis' hand. Smile at him. Mostly stare. Louis seems to relax a little. Niall offers to be the goalie. Zayn and Liam team up. At least they got that right. As we walk out on the field I hear Niall mutter quietly.
"He fucking deleted us too. The audacity."

Liam hushes him. I'm confused. What did he mean by that? I don't have time to ponder. We start playing and Louis is really skilled. We slay! I can't take much credit though. Louis does most of the work.

We play for an hour before we have to take a breather. We take a seat on the ground and drink some water.
"So how did you guys meet?" Niall asks.

"We met on the train." I chuckle.

"You remember that?" Niall shouts excitedly.

I snort.
"I know I'm getting old and all but my memory isn't that crappy yet. We met yesterday."

"Brilliant!" Niall screeches and laughs.

I'm starting to worry about him. Is he having a stroke or something? I lean closer to Louis.
"Don't judge me for having over-enthusiastic and slightly weird friends."

"Never." He tells me quietly, leaning in as well. He's so close. If I turn my head to the side our lips would brush against each other. I know we just met but it feels so right. So natural. I've never had that with anyone. Where you just click.

We part ways after the guys invite Louis to watch the game with us on Friday. He immediately accepts. Maybe they're not so bad after all my friends.

Louis and I live a couple of buildings apart from each other and I walk him home.
"How old are you?" Louis asks.

"25." I sigh.

"That's not old! I'm 27." He grins.

I glance at him and smile. He stops in front of a building.
"This is my stop."

"Alright." I say. Linger.

"I had fun. Thanks for inviting me." He says.

"See you on Friday?" I ask hopefully.

"No. See you tomorrow on the train, and on Friday!" He smiles before he heads inside.

I just stand there, smiling like a fool for a moment before I hurry home. Today was perfect.

I leave early the next day so I won't miss the train. I'm excited to see Louis again. He finds me on the platform and greets me. I get to spend more than 23 minutes in his company this morning. He makes me laugh. So much. I probably sound hysterical. I can't help it. He's so funny.

My work day is going so slowly that I might die from frustration. I just want to get back on that train and hopefully see Louis again. He got me spellbound. There's no other way to explain it. Usually, that would have freaked me out completely but I'm fine with it.

I'm so disappointed when he's not on the train as I enter. I look around. Did he take another cart? Then someone touches my arms.
"Hey!"

I turn around. He's here.
"Hi." I greet. Why do I sound out of breath?

We sit next to each other.
"Do you have dinner plans?" He asks.

"No." I smile.

"Eating alone is boring. Wanna share a meal again?" He suggests.

"Can I cook?" I ask.

"You can cook? Hell yeah." He grins.

The pressure to impress. I try to think of what to make. Do I have the ingredients? What does my apartment look like? Is it messy?
"Harry?"

"Uhm, sorry. I spaced out." I smile apologetically.

"I just asked you about your work day." He repeats.

"Nothing much to tell. Slow day." I reply and ask about his day.

We get off the train 23 minutes later and he follows me home. I unlock the door and let him in. He kicks off his shoes and gives himself a tour.
"Nice place!" He smiles.

"Thanks. Do you want a cup of tea while I make dinner?" I offer.

"Sure." He agrees.

He keeps me company as I make a chicken stew. His focus is on me entirely. We're flirting. Laughing. Talking.

We sit down to eat. He compliments me on my cooking skills. I'm happy he likes it. He helps me clear the table when we're done eating. I put the plates in the sink and turn around. He's watching me. Takes a step closer. Invades my personal space. I like it.

He reaches out a hand and cups my cheek. Run his thumb over my cheekbone. It gives me goosebumps. He gets up on his toes and comes closer. When our mouths are inches apart his eyes flicker to meet mine to make sure it's okay to kiss me. I nod my head slightly and close the distance between us.

His lips are soft. His mouth is warm as I open up to the kiss. It feels comfortable. Our tongues collide and light a fire inside me. I wrap my arms around his neck. Pull him closer. His chest is pressed against mine. His hands are on my hips. Firm grip. I'm getting turned on. Quickly. So is he. He grinds me. I suppress a moan.

My head is spinning. We're stumbling our way over to my bedroom. We're on the bed. I'm on top of him. Feverish hands. It's going too fast. We just met! I break the kiss.
"Wait. I usually don't sleep with people on the first date."

"Technically it's our third date but I don't do that either. I think... Right now I can't remember a single person I've slept with." He rambles.

That's an odd thing to say. I'm not a prude but we're making out on my bed. Wait, is this his way of telling me he never had sex?
"You're a virgin?" I blurt out.

He laughs.
"No. I'm just caught up in the moment. My head is a blur."

"Sorry." I giggle.

He smiles and pecks my lips.
"Maybe we should slow down?"

I'm painfully hard. He's right though.
"Yeah." I smile.

I get off him. Lay next to him instead. He turns his head to the side. Burst out in a loud cackle all of a sudden.
"Why do you have a poster of a crying child in your bedroom? He asks.

Fucking Niall. I grunt.
"I forgot about that. Niall put it up as a joke."

We laugh. Make out some more before he leaves.

In the next couple of weeks, we see each other almost every day. I'm falling so hard. No parachute. It's absolutely wonderfully scary.