Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 37

Arriving home with almost more than I could carrying one trip, I once again fought to get the door open. Expecting the boys to be either in the kitchen, or the living room, I called out with a smile, "Hi honey, I'm home!!"

Probably not the best thing to say, with Louis in the house, given his knack for teasing, but I was still feeling quite giddy in the aftermath of my morning with Harry. As I waited for laughter, scoffing, or really any form of life though, nothing came...

I'd seen the boys' cars parked in the garage, including Harry's, so I knew they were here.

"Guys?!?"

Entering the kitchen, I called out again, still receiving nothing but silence in response. Hmm... I put the cold food in the fridge, and set out to search for them.

Hearing voices as I passed the laundry room, I smiled. Ahh... They were in the gym. Well, Harry's version of a gym. Basically, it was an extra bedroom that he'd put a treadmill, some weights, and a bunch of other "guy" stuff in. He called it a gym, but I just called it his red room of pain.

Coming closer, their voices got louder, and although I couldn't quite make out every word, I heard Liam say my name.

"But what if Riley doesn't want to be surprised? Aren't you worried she'll get upset?"

Surprise? What surprise?

Then Harry spoke up with conviction, "I don't think she'll get upset. Lee knows I love her, so I think she'll be okay, even if it's not exactly what she wanted... Besides, she deserves it. I just want to make her birthday special. I want to make her happy."

As I came around, entering the room, Louis was putting his two cents in. "Man... You must really... Hey Riley!!!"

My eyes moved from one man to the next as they sputtered, trying to cover up what they'd just been talking about. I put my hands on my hips. "And just what are the three of you plotting in here?"

"Nothing!" Harry was way too quick to respond. "We were just...working out."

With sweat glistening on their skin, I figured they'd finished shortly before I'd come home. They looked good. Like, REALLY good. Chests bare, muscles straining... I took a deep breath, trying to calm down before I started fanning myself. Boy, would the girls on Instagram love to see this...

Realizing I had been staring a few seconds too long, and was starting to get raised eyebrows and strange looks, I shook my head. "Yeah..." I pinched my nose for good effect, "You guys smell like it..."

Louis laughed at my apparent disgust. "Well, come here love! It's been a while! Come give me a hug!"

I laughed back at him and backed up a step. "Uh... No thanks. I'll get one after you've showered. I'm just gonna go...make dinner."

Harry moved closer to grab a dry towel off the shelving he'd had installed by the door. I watched his every step. That man was up to something...

Taking my attention, Liam smiled over at me. "Yeah, Harry told us you were making chicken tacos? That sounds great! Do you need any help?"

Ahh, Liam... Ever the sweetheart...

"No, I'm good! And they're chicken taquitos, not tacos. Plus, I grabbed some beer at the store, and if you guys are really good, I'll even make cookies for desert..."

I laughed as they all moaned in unison over the promise of beer, dinner, and homemade cookies.

"Riley, what do you say to moving out of this dump and moving in with me instead?" Louis' eyebrows bounced as he spoke, making me laugh. "Um, wouldn't Eleanor have something to say about that?"

With a smile, he shook his head. "Nope! She loves cookies!"

As I laughed along with him and Liam, I forgot to keep my eyes on my sweaty roommate, and my laughter turned into a shriek as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, yelling at Louis over the top of my head. "No! You don't get to come in here and steal her away from me! Riley's mine!!"

"Gah!! Harry, get off me!! You're all hot and sweaty!!" I squirmed inside the confines of his arms, attempting to free myself as they all laughed.

I could feel the heat radiating off him, going straight through my clothes, and warming my body. By scent alone, I could already taste the salt of his skin. Oh, God...

And then he kissed me...

Over and over again, feathering kisses all over the sides of my face, even pressing his lips to my ears, making me squeal like a child as I lifted my shoulders in an attempt to block him.

"I love you more than he does. And I take care of you when it's stormy. And I watch Disney movies with you, even if we've already seen them a thousand times. And I..."

"Harry!!" Finally letting me go, I spun around to look at him. "Did you really think I'd just leave, and move in with Louis?!? Really?!? Louis?!?"

He laughed, sticking his tongue out at Louis, while he grumbled about us both being losers. "Well, no... Not really. But, thank you for everything, anyway."

This time when he pulled me in for a hug, I didn't fight him. Resting my hands on the slick skin of his back, I tried to keep my hormones in check, to keep myself from tracing his spine with my fingers. But, God, he smelled good when he'd been working out... Like heat, and big strong men, and warm body wash with matching cologne...

Pulling away, I quickly excused myself to go start dinner, and let them get cleaned up. With a shiver running down my spine, I checked the sides of my mouth as I headed down the hall. Had I been drooling? Surely, I had to have been drooling...

No woman on earth could go through all that and not have it turn her into a puddle of raging hormones... What did the girls always call it? Oh, yeah... Feels...

Yep, that pretty much summed it up...