(DISCONTINUED)

○ 5.3 :: Naked and Afraid ○

Extra long chapter for 18k whoop whoop

((I say that as if I ever plan the length lmao it's always an accident))

*

"Kat?" Harry asked later on when we were in my bed, limbs tangled and hair tied in messy buns and hearts beating in sync. Neither of us had a stitch of clothing on, because Harry had insisted on returning the favour I'd granted at the dinnertable during our date, and that lead to an... issue in Harry's boxers that had to be resolved. We hadn't been able to keep our hands off each other before, and now that our relationship was official it would most likely get worse.

"Yes?"

"What's on Thursday?"

I knew he was referring to the dinner Theresa had demanded I attend in four days time. The same dinner that was filling my stomach with both anticipation and dread. "Thanksgiving."

Harry seemed confused, which wasn't entirely unwarranted since we were thousands of miles away from where Thanksgiving was traditionally celebrated. "As in..." He hesitated, probably fearing sounding like an idiot. "American Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "My dad loved it while he lived in America, so he demands we have a Thanksgiving dinner every year. It's more of an excuse to eat a shìt ton of food, but we indulge him."

"Oh." His fingers danced along my skin, up my arm and down my side and up my back. "Are you going to go?"

"Yeah."

"For your dad?"

"For my dad," I confirmed. We fell into another comfortable silence, nothing but our steady breathing and the music quietly playing next door filling the air. Harry seemed lost in his own thoughts just as I was in mine, mulling over how Thursday's dinner would play out. Would Theresa be civil because Dad was there? Would Dad sense there was something up? Should I tell him about Theresa laying her hands on me on more than one occasion? Would he believe me? Would Theresa convince him otherwise? What if I ruined the whole night? All I wanted was to have a nice dinner with my family and friends, the last thing I needed was Theresa's barely disguised, snide remarks and deprecating looks - and judging by the sudden increase in her apparent hate for me, that was all I was going to get. And without Frida beside me this year, I would have to brave it alone.

I didn't want to face it alone.

"Come with me," I blurted, catching the words too late to stop Harry from completely freezing up. My heart sped up a little more when he turned his startled gaze to me.

"W-what?"

"Come with me to this dinner," I clarified slowly, unsure whether his shocked reaction was more of the good kind or the bad kind. Fùck had I scared him off?

"Come with you to this dinner... with your family," he dragged out, obviously not a hundred percent keen on the idea.

"Please," I begged. "The only people you have to impress are Dad and Edna - both of which already like you - and you can completely ignore Theresa's existence. The rest of the people there will be Dad's mates or work friends, and they're all super nice, I promise."

"I don't know, Kat," Harry stammered, sitting up a little. "What if they hate me?"

"They won't hate you," I promised.

"I have long hair and tattoos, they're going to hate me," he insisted.

"My dad has tattoos, and so do most of his friends!" I protested, straightening up completely. "Plus, it would be good for you to meet him before we go to the States."