No Strings Attached

Chapter Three

“You’re hot for him,” Zayn said, and Louis instantly knew he had made a mistake of telling his best friend about his current predicament.

“No, I am not,” Louis protested, although he wasn’t sure if he was convincing anyone.

It had been three days since his encounter with Harry at the grocery store. In that time, he couldn’t shake the Cheshire boy from his mind. It was like he was on edge every time he went in public. He never actively went looking for the boy, although he found himself inexplicably disheartened when he worked a full shift without seeing a tall, curly-haired figure. He figured that he had a streak of luck when it came to seeing Harry; he hoped that maybe it would happen again.

“You fucking are,” Zayn said, taking full advantage of Rosie’s naptime to express how he really felt. “I don’t blame you, mate.”           

“Wha – you don’t?” 

“Nah,” Zayn said dismissively from his seat at the kitchen table, sipping his cuppa. “He’s famous, after all. Or at least, semi-famous. I dunno, what do you call someone that’s been eliminated from X Factor? Anyway, I know that if I were gay – ” 

“I’m not gay,” Louis interrupted wearily.           

“As I was saying,” Zayn pressed on, “I know that if I were gay or bisexual or whatever it is that you consider yourself, I would find him to be a very attractive young man. The only problem with this whole situation is that you’re setting your standards very high.”           

Louis narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”           

“I know I told you to start some sort of casual relationship with someone, but I didn’t think you would set your eyes on Harry Styles,” he said matter-of-factly. “He’s kind of unattainable, isn’t he, being somewhat famous and all? And frankly, he doesn’t really strike me as the ‘casual’ type.”           

“Are you kidding?” Louis found himself saying. “In all those magazines and websites and stuff, he’s always walking around with some new girl. He doesn’t strike me as a commitment type, either.” He winced as he said the words; Zayn didn’t need to know that he read anything to do with One Direction, specifically Harry.           

But he mercifully chose to ignore the topic. “Then maybe that’s your problem,” Zayn offered. “You said it yourself: girls. You just aren’t his type, what with your cock and all.”           

Louis felt his cheeks flush. Over the past three days, he had this clandestine feeling that maybe Harry was interested in him. Why else would he have stared at him the way he did? After all, Louis knew exactly why he was staring at Harry at the grocery store. But he didn’t dare tell Zayn his assumptions.           

“I just need to get him out of my mind,” he conceded after taking a sip from his tea.        

“Or take a very cold shower,” he said with a wink.           

Louis groaned miserably. “This is ridiculous. I shouldn’t even be thinking about these things, not when I have Rosie to think about.”           

“Okay, no offense, mate, but what does Rosie have to do with your lusty Harry thoughts?”           

Louis grimaced. “Nothing at all when you put it like that. But Rosie should always be my first priority, rather than trying to find a one-night stand.”           

Zayn laughed. “Like I’ve said before, a little casual sex never hurt anyone. If anything, it could end up helping you. You know, get it out of your system or something like that. Then you can go back to being the perfect daddy. Just do yourself a favor by getting laid soon. And I don’t mean with Harry because, let’s face it, he’s a little out of your reach. I’m sure there’s someone at work that would fancy a nice, quick shag.”