Only We Know

Chapter Twenty-Four - Strike!

The waiter sets the food down in front of Harry and I and we begin to eat, barely talking as we do. Forty minutes later, we are both done and I couldn't possibly eat anything else. Harry asks If I would like to share dessert and, although the thought is appealing, I shake my head no and he smirks at me, motioning the waiter over so we can pay. I reach for my bag and pull out some money, but when I look up he is glaring at me.

"What?" I ask

"You're not paying, Kaelea" He says seriously and I melt at him using my full name

"Why not?"

"Because I invited you out, and If I let you pay, my father would be quite disgusted with me"

"Alright" I say, putting the money back in my wallet. 

After Harry pays, we leave the restaurant and get back into the car. Harry starts to make his way to the bowling alley, still looking a little annoyed that I tried to pay.

"When I beat you, you can't cry" I say, trying to brighten the mood a little

"You mean, when I beat you" He corrects, his expression softening

"We will just see about that"

"Do you want to bet on it?" He asks

"Sure, what are the stakes?"

"Are you sure, Lea? Remember last time we had a bet, I won" He chuckles and I hit his arm "It's the truth!"

"You cheated!"

"I did not! I won fair and square!"

"Sure you did" I roll my eyes "What are the stakes?"

"If I win, you have to come to the library with me on Tuesday and study for a few hours with no breaks" He says "But if you win, we can go to my place and 'study' ".

"Why did you just say it like that?"

"Because we both know you are going to look at the textbook and then run to my bed and go to sleep" He chuckles

"Two hours straight?" I groan

"If you are really good at bowling, you wouldn't need to worry about that" He challenges

"Fine, you're on" I say

We arrive at the bowling alley ten minutes later and Harry parks. I hop out and walk quickly to the doors. Harry doesn't even struggle to keep up with the pace.

"Eager?" He smiles and I take his hand to pull him inside.

We go to the counter and be pays for a lane. We get our shoes and race over to our lane before quickly doing our shoes up and picking out a ball each.

"Ladies first" He smiles and I courtesy at him

I take the ball and throw it at the pins, trying to get it right in the middle. The ball quickly rolls down the alley and hits all of the pins but one. I stomp my foot and turn around to see Harry smirking. I stick my tongue out at him and try again, rolling the ball and hitting the last pin. I cheer and walk over to the sitting area. I watch as Harry grabs his ball and walks on to the platform, looking more like a model than a random guy bowling. I watch as he positions himself and throws the ball down the lane, hitting all of the pins. My mouth hangs open and he kisses my cheek as he sits down next to me.

"Go ahead" He smirks and I shove him a little.

The game continues and Harry always gets a strike or a spare. I, on the other hand, can't even seem to get anything other than spares or lower and I can already see there is no way for me to win this game. On my last turn, I talk up to the lane and pray for one strike. I take a deep breath and swing my arm so the ball starts to roll. I close my eyes and when I hear it hit the pins, I open them to see not one left standing. I shriek and jump up and down, cheering for myself. Harry walks up behind me and I turn around. I pull myself against him and squeeze him. I feel him chuckle as he hugs me back.

"Good job" He says and I smile

I let go of him and walk back to our seats. I watch him throw the ball and get another strike. I try to look annoyed, but I can't stop smiling at my accomplishment. I look over at the scoreboard, confirming to myself that Harry has won. I sigh and start to undo my shoes. Harry sits down next to me and does the same thing.

"So, you're going to win, huh?" He says in a cocky tone

"I got a strike, so I am the real winner here" I smile

"I got, like, ten strikes"

"In my heart, I won" I joke and slip my feet back in to my own shoes "Do we really have to study for two whole hours straight?"

"Don't make that face at me" He says and I continue to pout "Fine, one and a half"

"Okay!" I smile and carry my shoes back to the counter.

He shakes his head and stands up, grabbing his shoes from the chair beside him and returning them. I can't stop smiling as we return to the car. Once we're in, Harry starts it and begins to make his way back to my house. I stare out the window again and smile.

"You're so happy" He says and I turn to look at him

"I got a strike!" I giggle

"I thought you would be seething if you didn't win"

"I got a strike!" I repeat "I did win"

"You have a very optimistic way to look at losing" 

"Would you like it better if I pouted?" I ask

"No, I like you happy" He says, taking my hand

I grin and he turns on the radio. I turn it up a little and look back out the window, trying to get my little fill of the city. I start to hum along to the song, but stop when I realize what Im doing.

"Don't stop, I liked it" Harry says quietly and I blush

"You liked my terrible humming?"

"It wasn't that bad"

"Well thank-you, Mr. Styles" I laugh and he rolls his eyes

It takes us twenty more minutes to get out of the city and back to my house. When we get there, he turns off the car and pulls me on to his lap. I look down at him and he grins before pressing his mouth to mine. I smile and kiss him back, moving my hands up his chest and to his hair. After a moment, he moves his lips to my neck and I giggle.

"Harry" I moan a little and pull away to see him smirking.

He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me closer, reconnecting his lips to my neck and sucking again. I groan and tug on his hair. I can feel him smile as he does it and only stops a few minutes later to bring my mouth back to his. I kiss him passionately and pull our bodies closer. After a few more minutes, he pushes away and climbs out of the car, carrying my with him before setting my down on the ground and kissing my forehead. 

"I had a really good time tonight" He says as we get to the door

"Me too" I smile and turn "Thank-you. Ill text you"

"Okay" He says and starts to walk back to the car, but stops and turns "And Lea?"

"Yes"

"Cover your neck when you're inside. I may have left a little mark" He grins and I groan.

When I get inside, I sneak up to my room and quickly get in bed, where everyone else already is. I text Harry goodnight and roll over, quickly drifting to sleep and dreaming of Harry touching me.