Dour et Doux

Chapter 4

Your breath caught in your throat and you gazed up at him. His jaw was clenched and his face intense, but yet there was a softness around his eyes. You had no doubt in your mind that there wasn't much that could stop you from waiting readily for his return. You said nothing and just held his gaze as he stepped around the couch and sat at the armrest and gestured to you. You curled up next to him and kissed the small patch of hair on his chest. You placed your hand on the giant butterfly on his chest and rested your head in the crook of his arm. You traced the lines of his tattoos and he rubbed your back gently. As the two of you sat in silence, you slowly realized how sore you were. Granted, it had been awhile since you'd done much of anything, but he was easily larger than anyone you'd ever been with and the last session was much more dominant and rough than you were used to. After a few moments, Harry sighed heavily and nudged you gently. "I have to pack now since I let everyone have the weekend off. Mind helping me?" You grinned up at him and kissed his jaw. "Of course not." He stood and helped you to your feet. You stood up and wobbled unsteadily, realizing just how weak you still were. He crooked his brow at you and you tried to recover. He smirked and scooped you up and cradled you in his arms. "Told you I was going to give a fucking to remember me by." You wrapped your arms around his neck, blushed, and stared up at him wide-eyed. "I have a feeling I won't ever be forgetting this one." He carried you across the penthouse and growled in your ear. "Believe me after two weeks without you, you'll completely forget this ever happened." You bit your lip and swore your eyes were going to pop out of your head. How could it get better than what just happened? He stepped through his door and into his closet. He carried you over to a small plush bench in the corner by a three-way mirror and set you down. You beamed up at him and thanked him. Harry leaned down and kissed you gently, "Anything for you pretty girl." He paced back over to a dresser and slipped on a pair of shorts. He turned and tugged a large bag from the top shelf and unzipped it. You watched him quietly as he searched through his closet so meticulously. You smirked as he held each top up to himself in the mirror before turning to you and crooking his brow. You gave silent nods or shakes of opinion. Harry unconsciously began to hum and sing quietly as he packed his bag carefully. He picked up several tees, silk button-ups, and boxers and began placing them in another bag. You watched curiously as a wide smirk crossed his face. He closed up both bags and took them out of the room. You took a deep breath and stood slightly shakily. You were much more centered now and walked gently out of the closet. Harry turned to face you and smiled widely at your awkward gait. He crossed the room and picked up your long ago discarded clothes and tucked them away in a drawer. You wanted to ask, but decided against it. Instead, you chose to ask for some clothes to wear home. He nodded and sang softly as he dug through his closet. He returned with a pair of jogging pants and oversized sweater. You put them on graciously and breathed in his smell. He watched you carefully and sighed softly. "It's time for me to head to the airport." You tried to keep your face from falling, but failed miserably. He wrapped his arms around you and kissed your forehead. "I'll be back before you know it and that second bag is just for you. I expect you to wear my clothes to sleep every night. Think you can handle that." You nodded and frowned at the loud knock on the door. The next several moments were a bit of a blur as somehow the two of you were met by security, not Brandon unfortunately because it would've been nice to see a friendly face. You were then taken through several back doors and hallways to the car parked in the back. The ride was quiet and tense, you could tell that these were men sent directly by management by Harry's disdain for them. You were taken to your home and Harry held your hand the entire way. As they pulled up to your door, Harry kissed you deeply and promised to return as soon as possible. You stepped out of the car and as the door closed you heard, "Be prepared to defend her, they're pissed."

Your head whipped around in time to see the car peel out. You fought the tears that threatened to spill down your cheeks and trudged slowly to your front door. You started to unlock it, but noticed the door was cracked slightly. You face turned a ghostly shade of white as you stared at the crack. Your heart was racing uncontrollably and for whatever reason, your adrenaline took you into the house instead of screaming down the street. You stepped in and saw that everything seem to be untouched. You walked slowly through the house and froze when you heard some shuffling sounds from your bedroom. You called out "Who's there?" You realized immediately that this was a terrible plan and you must be dafter than you thought. Then, you heard a familiar squeak and stormed into your room furiously. "What the fuck Charlie?" Your best friend spun around clumsily and grinned at you dopily. "Where have youuuu been?" You ignored her drunken stupor and crossed the room to settle her. "You scared the shit out of me, why are you here?" Her face struggled to find balance as she stared at you and she slurred out some nonsensical garbage about missing you. You rolled your eyes and figured she'd lost her keys at the club again and wandered to your house since she knew where your spare was. You really didn't have the patience to deal with her today, but knew that there wasn't really anyone else to pawn her off to. You grumbled internally at how shitty of a weekend this was turning out to be and guided her to your bathroom. You fixed her some Advil and water and managed to convince her shower off and try to sober up. While she showered, you gathered up her spare clothes she kept at your house for emergencies and tossed them on the counter for her. She was singing a terribly off-key version of Carolina and you remembered how badly you wanted to curl in ball and process all that had happened in the past 24 hours. You also really wanted to blame her for this whole mess. She was the one that dragged you to that restaurant that night, but you couldn't think about that right now. You went to the kitchen to fix yourself a cup of tea and then settled in front of the tv. You didn't have the energy to find something to watch and knew that Charlie would just crash on your bed after her shower. You drank your tea and wrapped yourself in a blanket. You were completely mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted from this morning and fell into a fitful sleep.