Dark

Chapter 41.

“Hey, Bo.”

I turned on my heels to find Dan stood behind me. He received my smile as I glanced back to my locker. His body leant against the metal door of the next compartment to my left as I rummaged, placing things in my bag to go home.

“Everything alright?” I asked.

“Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you.”

I watched as he pushed back some light brown hair from his forehead, freeing his blue vision of obstruction. His height dwarfed mine; everyone seemed to be taller than me. Dan cleared his throat as I patiently waited, glancing down at the time on my phone screen. Harry would be out the front to pick me up.

“Look, I know your boyfriend and I don’t exactly see eye-to-eye…But you and I can still be friends here, right? I know he won’t let you see me outside of work, but..”

I shook my head, frowning. My action ceased Dan’s words, concern on his face.

“I..”

“Harry can be overbearing sometimes, but he doesn’t control me. I’m my own person. Nobody is telling me what to do. I just don’t want to upset him, it will cause more trouble and I don’t desire to see any more arguments between you two.”

Dan seemed to consider my words before giving me a small smile, nodding. He looked a little disappointed.

“That’s fine with me, as long as we get to hang out at work.”

“Course.” I grinned.

He lingered a few seconds before opening his arms.

“Do I get a hug?”

I paused, shutting my locker before shyly nodding and moving closer for Dan to wrap his arms around me. A laugh was squeezed from me, his hold playfully tightening.

“I have to go, Harry will be waiting.”

Dan drew in a deep breath, almost as if he was inhaling the scent of my shampoo. His arms released me rather reluctantly, my body stepping back from his presence. Dark blue eyes held my contact, glancing down to my lips before he smiled.

“See you soon, Bo.”

“Have a good evening.”

My body “gracefully” turned, bumping into the doorframe. I heard Dan chuckle from behind me before I made my way out onto the shop floor. My DMs scuffled along the grey tiles as I searched for my phone which I had dropped into my bag. My eyes scanned for Poppy to say goodbye but she must have been busy with a customer, her blonde locks nowhere in sight. I resumed my walk, wandering over to the heavy entrance door, I frowned, turning my gaze to the far corner of the shop. A man stood, back to me, head bowed. I had no idea why he had caught my attention. We had customers in and out of the music store all the time. Perhaps it was the swirls of dark ink swarming on the skin of his arm that captivated my flickering focus. But I had no time to place the familiar designs in my mind, my body colliding with something hard.

“I’m sorry.” I gushed.

My clumsy action was left unforgiven, instead a raspy laugh drew my vision higher to be met with a pair of bright, emerald eyes.

“Hello, Beautiful.”

The left indent in his cheek became prominent as he grinned at me, his amusement shining through. Harry recognised my surprise, I hadn’t expected to see him on the shop’s premises, usually he would sit and wait in the Range Rover. Steve was still a little wary of the tall male who had given him a bloody nose.

“You’re normally on time.” Harry glanced at his watch confirming my delay of only a few minutes.

I took hold of his wrist, curls poking out from under his beanie as he peered at me. His protective nature was as strong as ever. It could be overwhelming at times, but I couldn’t deny the warm feeling it gave me to know Harry cared for me. Or the fact that he looked incredibly hot when his features hardened, jaw tensing, eyebrows furrowed. All I wanted to do was kiss at his face, make him forget whatever had led the darkness to infiltrate his stunning eyes. It was a technique that had proven to be quite successful in encouraging Harry to find some sort of equilibrium.