Don't Stand So Close (completed)

Chapter 5*

*don't get too excited about the * next to the chapter - there's no hanky panky just yet.

Next weekend couldn't have come faster. I was so ready to see Harry again my bones were aching. When Starla and I pull up to Harry's house, there's a car in the driveway that I'm not familiar with. When we enter the room we see Harry and two other men drinking beers and shooting the shit in the indoor porch. He's playing some classic rock over the blue tooth speaker and Starla rolls her eyes, "Dad's author friends. I didn't know they'd be here. Sorry, Anna." I frown, not knowing why it's a big deal that they're here.

When Harry sees Starla come into the living room he pops up from his seat and smiles widely at his daughter and brings her in for a hug. She laughs and then waves at the other two guys who are also both standing up to greet us. Harry and I make eye contact and his face changes from a sweetness to something different. A little darker but he's smiling at me and then I see his smirk. He introduces the guys to me and reminds them of Starla's name. The guys seems nice enough and then they all go back to drinking their beers and chatting. It's a touch too cold out today to swim, now that it's later in the afternoon, but tomorrow the weather should be warm enough for a dip. I make my way to the bookshelf and check out some books. Harry has so many books, all different genres. I run my fingers over a few sections and then Starla is running up to me, holding her phone out. She's showing me a series of texts from this Chemistry major named Paul. Paul is clearly flirting with her through text and she squeals.

"Okay, don't hate me, but he wants to meet up with me tonight at The Mont for a drink. Is it okay if I go tonight and then I promise we'll do Saturday and Sunday as planned." She's squeezing my hand and begging me with her eyes. I won't say no to her. She's liked Paul for over a year and he's a really great guy so I shrug, "It's fine. Go. We didn't have anything planned for today anyway. Just as long as you're mine tomorrow I won't complain. Especially not when I've got all this to keep me occupied..." I gesture toward the bookshelf.

"Oh god! Thank you, thank you! I'm sorry, but thank you!" She kisses my cheek before calming herself and going to tell her dad. I continue looking through the books but I can hear their conversation and it's obvious Harry is disappointed that his daughter is going out tonight.

"What about Anna? This was supposed to be her birthday celebration weekend, right?" I stand up and turn around to watch now. Everyone is focused on the two.

Starla pouts, "I know it sounds like I'm abandoning her but we don't have plans for tonight - the celebration starts tomorrow, right? And dad! I really like him. He's so nice and so smart. I really want to have a chance to get to know him better. Please? Anna said it's fine."

I see Harry peer over to me and the two men follow his gaze to me as well. I shrug and smile, "I'm okay with it. I can keep occupied here with all these books." I say breathing out a laugh in hopes of lightening the mood a bit.

"Fine. But please come home before midnight. And call if you need a ride, do not drive if you've had more than two drinks. Understood?"

After Starla is gone Harry has offered me a beer and I'm sitting with him on the loveseat chair while the other two guys are sitting across from us in the indoor porch. The one named Brad is talking about how he's trying to finish up his current book. He's a published author and so is the other guy. Well, and Harry too. Harry is giving him tips on focusing and finishing while I'm just sipping the IPA that Harry handed me listening in. I don't know a lot about writing books, but I sure know about reading them.

Eventually the subject changes to Harry's lecture at the university and how it went really well.

"Anna, here, signed up to take the lecture. She was like, basically teaching the class for me!" He laughed and the guys laugh along. I feel a wave of embarrassment wash over me with his compliment. I look over to Harry with a questioning look and shake my head, "No, that's not true. I just enjoy participating in a good conversation about literary works. I love learning about the theory of literature and all the symbolism that make up the books we read."