HARRY STYLES
"Look, just give her this," I raised a candle up, "smells great, Lucy loves great-smelling things."
Zayn turned to me with a skeptical look on his face. "What are you in such a hurry for? I thought you said you were free today."
"I was free today, but now it's getting closer to tonight."
He glanced around the store as he thought about it. "Okay, so what's happening tonight on a random Monday in September?"
"It's day one of Camden being done with her period."
"Should have known," he chuckled and turned his attention back to a jewelry stand. "How's that going, by the way? Because the last time I checked, a fuck buddy doesn't see their fuck buddy unless they're having sex, and the last time I checked, you and Camden were seeing each other for the entire week that she's been on her period. Oh, and also basically every single day since you met months ago now."
I paused to think of some sort of explanation, but I really couldn't. I guess it was just strange to be reminded that we'd been keeping up this arrangement for that long, but everything was going fine with it. "To be fair, she gave me head on day two of her period, so..."
"Okay and what about days one, three, four, and five? What'd you do then?"
"I don't know, we just...we talk and get high. I mean, it is called friends with benefits, is it not?"
He gave me an unimpressed look. "You guys are fucking dating, just admit it."
"We're not," I insisted, with no hesitation.
"Okay, so have you fucked anyone else since that weird 'last time' thing with Jamie when she came back for her earrings?"
My jaw clenched as I swallowed. "No."
"Has she?"
As far as I knew she wasn't sleeping with anyone else, but of course, there was always a chance she just wasn't telling me about it because why would she? We don't owe each other any kind of explanation. "I don't know."
He picked out a pair of gold hoop earrings and turned to me. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't have any feelings for her whatsoever and that this is all just about sex for you, nothing else."
I did look him in the eyes, I just couldn't quite work out the last bit now that he was asking me the question out loud. This wasn't exactly the conversation I expected to have when I agreed to meet him at the shopping center to help find a birthday gift for Lucy.
"It's just about sex for both of us," I concluded, "that's the agreement."
"Yeah, I know what the agreement was, but–"
"Why does it even matter?" I snapped. "I mean, why are you suddenly bringing this up right now?"
"Because of the same reason that you're impatiently dying to see her," he calmly explained. "You're completely obsessed with this girl, and the longer you guys keep this 'no strings' thing going, the worse it's going to hurt you when she decides it's done, or she decides she wants someone else to fuck."
"How about you just don't worry about it? Doesn't have anything to do with you anyway."
"Why would it be so terrible to just admit that you have feelings for her?" He shamelessly called out for everyone in the shop to hear as I started heading toward the exit. "It's not a bad thing, Harry!"
"Fucking hell," I muttered in embarrassment as I made long strides down the sidewalk to get back to my car, anxiously raking my fingers through my hair. I sat there in the driver's seat for a moment and let the thoughts linger with me long enough for Camden to text me. She sent me a faceless picture of herself laying on her bed, wearing what was apparently new lingerie.
