I felt Harry stir a little in his sleep which woke me up from my position against his chest. He looked so peaceful in his sleep with his head turned towards me and mop of curls nearly plastered to the sheets. I just now realized there were no pillows and felt a fire reach my cheeks, thinking about how the night had ended. Whoops… There wasn’t a clock in sight and I had absolutely no idea where my purse and phone were. A small meow sounded from the cracked open door and Tessa snuck in. As quietly as I could I patted the edge of the bed, beckoning her to jump up. She lithely made the jump and made herself at home between my legs. It took her a moment to get comfy by kneading the material and flipping her tiny body over with a purr of contentment. I wanted to join in. I felt more than heard Harry wake up and shake with a light laugh. He’d noticed Tessa at our feet. He wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me in for a slow kiss. Morning breath aside, this day was starting out perfectly.
Hours later I stretched out in an empty room and slipped into the athletic pants and v-neck left out on the corner of the bed. I headed straight into the bathroom to find some toothpaste or something. The last thing I wanted was to ruin this perfect day with my cotton mouth. Luckily, there was a tube in the first drawer and I generously applied it to a finger to scrub and gargle. I had to make do without a brush. My hair was disheveled but I looked happy. My makeup had hardly been smudged so I quickly ran a finger along the lower rim and splashed water on my face to wake me up entirely. My stomach let me know it was time to head downstairs so I walked down to the kitchen. Harry was humming as he fixed up what looked like eggs on a skillet. He didn’t hear me as I walked in and his hips swayed to the beat in a loosely hanging pair of athletic pants similar to my own. I took a moment to admire his backside. What? Given the circumstances I had every reason to. When he flexed his arms to move the skillet his back muscles constricted and released… it was a very pleasing effect. Before the drooling occurred, I came up behind him with a hand on his back. “What’cha making?” He grinned and moved both arms to fit around my waist. “It’s uh, a sort of hybrid omelet, I suppose. I added fajita mixings and peppers with a bit of chicken. I hope that’s okay?” I laughed, “As long as you didn’t mix any rat poisoning in we’re probably good. It smells heavenly.” I plopped down on a stool at the kitchen’s bar.
After breakfast I told Harry if I wasn’t planning on going to class I at least had to visit the University’s newspaper office to pick up this week’s writing. He understood. After a moment in the car he asked somewhat nervously, “Would it be alright if I took a look too?” I was surprised but said he could if we kept a low-profile. I was pretty sure he didn’t want a crowd of fans to prevent us from leaving. Once in the office Harry walked around quietly while I amassed a pile of entries to take home. We decided to meet up later in the day since I had reading to do and Harry needed to check in with Simon and the boys about how much of the week would be free from work.
I sent Zak a text after my shower saying :”Where are you? A lot has gone down.. miss you. :(” It felt weird not to keep him in the loop and my delayed realization that he had made himself scarce unnerved me. I knew if something was wrong he’d have told me. I turned my attention back to the papers and got my portion of the editing done by 6 o’clock, hoping Emmy had taken her half back home as well. A knock sounded at the door at half past six. I raced to answer it and nearly tripped over my portfolio. Harry was standing in black denim and a grey HIPSTA PLEASE. tee with his black Jack Wills hoodie pulled over his head. “I was thinking we could pick up some Chinese? I’ve got the weekend off as well as Monday through Friday.” He smiled. I ushered him in and asked for a moment to change. I located a salmon colored hoodie, white v-neck and dark denim capris with Converse. “Ready!” I shouted and took his hand on the way out. I knew a take-out place two blocks to the right so we walked hand in hand. I ordered the lo mein noodles, Harry asked for general tso’s chicken and we got fried rice to share. I took the bag as he paid for the food. We heard a flash of lightning and the showers fell hard. “I knew it was only a matter of time..” Harry muttered and I finished teasingly, “April showers bring May flowers, don’t you know?” He grabbed my hand and we raced back to the flat.
We were still laughing over how silly we looked after the meal. We were surrounded with empty white boxes and sat on towels to soak up the rainwater. I started to clean up our mess when I heard another knock at the door. I raised an eyebrow at Harry but he shook his head. “I wasn’t expecting anyone..” I trailed off as I opened the door to someone I knew well.
Zak stood with his emergency black luggage bag clad in a raincoat, blue v-neck, white chinos and Sperry boat shoes. He dropped it immediately and ran into me for the tightest hug this world has ever seen. I’d never been so excited to see him. “ZAK! Is this why you’ve been so quiet?! Oh my God.. I cannot even believe this.”
He answered, “Um, duh! It was too hard to keep my mouth shut about it so I just avoided you. It took weeks to get affordable tickets but now I know why you love it here! Aside from you lacking me, of course. Oh, and this God-awful pouring rain…”
This was the Zak I’d missed. Always keeping me on my toes and an equal master at the art of sarcasm. For the first time he noticed 1)that I was soaking wet and 2) that I was not alone. Harry stood awkwardly in the background with his hands in his pockets. To be honest, I’d forgotten about him too. “Oh! Zak! I want you to meet Harry.” I motioned, “Zak, Harry. Harry, Zak.” They smiled and shook hands. As brief as this introduction was, my two leading men were meeting and I couldn’t be happier.
