Written

Chapter 12

{Please keep sharing this story because it's already such a big part of my heart. I would love for it to be a part of yours. I am now on Twitter, @safesecrets1D ! Thanks for the love.}

HARRY

I shouldn't be this anxious. I am pacing around my hotel room, and it is after 9:30. Their dinner should be over by now, right? Who takes more than two and half hours to have dinner? Then again, if it went well there would have been papers to sign. And I am fairly certain it went well.
I saw the resolve, the determination in Hayley's eyes when I told her that she was predictable. She is a ball of fire, she will have wanted to prove me wrong. That was my goal in saying that to her. I've never been the kind of person to push people, but something about her made me want to just shove her out of her comfort zone and block her way back in.
I have never met anyone with so much untapped potential. She is smart and witty; her words are her greatest weapon but she often refrains from using them. I am intrigued by Hayley Reid, and I know that that's the reason I am so anxious. I want to be close to her.

Across the room, my phone buzzes on the table. My blood is electricity in my veins as I jump across the hotel bed to retrieve it. Two simple words in a text message from Paul make my whole night.

*She's in.*

She's in. She's in. I toss my phone down onto the bed and run my hands over my hair. Collapsing onto the bed, I fight the urge to laugh. She's in.

After spending some time wallowing in my own personal victory, I wonder what to do now. Do I call her? Where is she? What if she thinks I'm interested in her in a way other than platonic friends?
Am I? Am I allowed to be? I can't sort my thoughts out over Hayley Reid. I only know that she is one of those people who blaze into your life and it's never the same after they've done their number on it.
She radiates a certain beauty, but I know better than most how dangerous beauty can be.

HAYLEY

After leaving the restaurant, I realize that I have nowhere to go. My mind had been too preoccupied to bother booking a hotel. Normally I would fly into a frenzy at this point over not having any place to stay, but tonight I don't mind. Tonight I feel free, I feel like I'm flying.

It is dark, but the city streets are alight with activity. The fact that it is Sunday seems to mean nothing to the people who are out on the town. Music is pouring out of bars on every corner, and there are so many neon lights that it may as well be daytime.
This is not my scene or my type of music, but I can't help but get caught up in the atmosphere. I lean against a brick wall and call my brother and my mother to let them know the news, then I spend the better part of an hour just watching people on the streets.
Eventually I start to feel a little chilly again. I make my way back to where my car is parked. Instinctively I am on high alert, being a woman in a big city on her own. But no one stops me, no one approaches me, nobody even looks too long.
When I reach my car I climb in and lock the doors anyway. I briefly wonder if I should call Harry, or at least text him.
Should I? I work for him now. Sort of. And we are friends. Aren't we? Do I want to be more? It doesn't matter, I can't. He's Harry Styles for God's sake.
Questions float around my mind and I decide against contacting him. I find the nearest Best Western motel and plug it into my GPS. I pay for one night before retreating to my room and locking the door behind me.
It is eleven now, and I am exhausted. Maybe it's from the drive, or from sitting in the sun with Harry, or from the stress of making a life altering decision. I throw my hair up and put on one of Ryan's old shirts before climbing into bed. I fall asleep almost instantly.

I am woken by a loud rattling sound that I attempt to ignore. It keeps sounding though, and I can't sleep through it any longer. I wipe my eyes and turn on the bedside lamp, realizing that the sound is my phone buzzing against the glass-plated countertop. I stumble from the bed and into the small motel room living area.