This Love

Chapter 39

HARRY STYLES

Seven Years Ago

"So...just friends then?"

I forced myself to tear my gaze away from Scarlett when I was watching her laugh with my sister outside around the fire pit in the backyard, giving my mum my attention. "Yeah, we're friends."

She gave me that skeptical smile she did when she knew I was being less than truthful. "Is that your idea or hers?"

Defeated, my shoulders dropped slightly as I continued mixing the piping hot chocolate I made for Scarlett. "Hers."

She laughed at me in sympathy as she rubbed my back, both of us glancing over to see her through the cracked-open glass back door. "How long have you been friends?"

"Since that last weekend before school started after you and Gem dropped me off," I confirm. "I met her at a party and she just...she was so forward with me and she certainly wasn't treating me like a friend, but it's been two months of us not acting like friends and she still calls me that."

Anne watched her light a cigarette to puff on, adjusting the flannel blanket in her lap as she nodded at whatever Gemma was saying to her from across the fire. "She seems to be incredibly independent. I like that she also seems not to care what people think about her. I wasn't aware they made shorts that short."

I hung my head to laugh, but she wasn't judging her at all; she was genuinely amused that Scarlett didn't dress to impress her, which only further proved that she only considered us to be friends with sexual benefits. If that wasn't the case, maybe she would have worn something more modest.

"She's independent, funny, smart, nice...for the most part, and she's beyond confident. It's like she's not afraid of anything except for being vulnerable enough to admit that we're more than friends."

"Maybe she was hurt before," my mum suggested. "Did you ask her?"

"No, she's never had a boyfriend, but Seth told me that she just has commitment issues, I guess," I mumbled and removed the spoon from Scarlett's mug. "I like her so much."

That look of sympathy came right back as she ruffled my hair. "Just give her time, love. She wouldn't be here if she didn't care about you."

I felt instantly better as I considered the same thing, meeting her gaze through the glass as Anne kissed my cheek and told me to take the mug to Scarlett before it got too cold. Her smile softened as she looked away from me and handed her cigarette to Seth, and I practically tripped over my own feet just trying to get to her.

***

"If you're not careful, I think Uncle Bill might steal your girl," Anne laughs.

I laugh into my cocktail glass, standing by to watch Scarlett slow dance with my 65-year-old uncle. He's making her laugh a lot, and I'm more than happy to see it. "He could do it, too. She likes older men."

Anne hums a laugh of her own as she links her arm through mine, resting her head on my shoulder. "She looks incredibly beautiful, don't you think?"

I nod and look her over in her strapless chiffon lavender dress. "She always does."

"How are things going between you two?"

My smile grows as I think of the memory I had on my mind before she came to interrupt me. "Well, she's my girlfriend now, so that's progress."

"See? I told you that you just needed to give her time, didn't I?"

"Yeah," I chuckle in exasperation. "Seven years."