Tying You To Me

Chapter Four: 2018

February 2018

Quinn was at her desk polishing off the last of her grilled chicken salad when her phone rang. Looking down, she saw Harry's contact photo – a silly selfie he'd snapped when he'd visited last month – fill the screen. She shoved a forkful of lettuce in her mouth as she accepted the call and popped her earbuds in her ears.

"Is now still a good time?" Harry asked.

"Yep. I've got like 15 minutes before my next meeting."

"OK, so here's what I think we should do..."

It had been about four months since Quinn and Harry met up in his hotel room and in the time since, they'd fallen into a comfortable companionship. They talked and texted on the daily, often had twice weekly video calls, and, while they were both beholden to non-traditional work schedules, had managed to meet up in person at least once a month, with Harry making the trek to the city to visit Quinn. She hadn't told him yet, but she planned to return the favor and had blocked off a week in her planner for later that summer, hoping to visit him in London when the final leg of his tour was over.

Her roommates, Marcus, and a few other close friends all knew she and Harry had hit it off and had been seeing each other regularly, but other than that, she hadn't dared to tell anyone else. They hadn't yet defined their relationship, and while she was treating the burgeoning romance as if they were exclusive, she didn't want to be overly presumptuous if Harry wasn't quite ready to take that step.

"...so if I end up staying a few days that will give us time to catch up and maybe I can meet some of your friends too?"

"Oh?" Quinn was caught off guard.

"Yeah, I mean if they're around, I'd love to say hi. I feel like I know Marcus, Maria, and Lisa really well at this point from the stories you've told me. Fallon too. Would be nice to put some faces to the names."

"I think they can make themselves available if I ask nicely," Quinn said, knowing perfectly well that they would clear their schedules for a chance to meet Harry.

"Great, so timing then. What week is best for you?"

"Literally any time after this Saturday night." Quinn paused. "Actually make that Sunday night. I'm going to need the morning and afternoon to recover."

"Getting wild this week?" Harry asked, cocking his brow.

"God, I wish. It's just been stressful and kind of shitty. One of our new interns can't handle the most basic tasks and when I called him on it he reported me to his supervisor for 'creating a hostile work environment.'"

"Seriously?"

"Yes, but fortunately his boss is Marcus, which means I'm in the clear. But the little punk is still being a class four asshole which makes the workday decidedly less enjoyable. I've also stayed late at the office every night this week so my body is just ready for a break."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, looking concerned. "You need to be better about taking it easy. You'll make yourself sick if you're not careful."

"You sound like such a mom, Harry." You also sound like a boyfriend, Quinn thought to herself.

"I'm just looking out for you. Promise you'll leave at a reasonable hour tonight?"

"I'll try."

"Good. And you'll eat something?"

"Yeah, we've got plenty of candy in the apartment. We hit up a pre-Valentine's sale last week."

"You're the picture of health."