Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 55

After the shower with Harry, that was more dirty than clean to be honest, the two of us separated to our own bedrooms to get dressed.

As I was just pulling out a cute dress I'd had hiding in the back of my closet, my phone chirped from where it laid on my nightstand. I didn't think anything of it, assuming it was one of the boys, until it went off again...and again... Dress in hand, I walked over to see what was going on.

My eyes widened as I pulled up Twitter. No...

Harry had been the first, tweeting 'Multitasking in the shower is a good way to start the day.'

Gemma had been the second, tagging Harry with a simple 'EW...'

And then Louis had chimed in. 'Called it!!'

Oh, God... My heart raced as I pulled up Harry's original tweet, frantically checking to see what the fans were saying, how they were reacting.

Thankfully, most of his followers were either asking for a follow, retweeting what he'd said, making a joke about him eating another sandwich in the shower, or professing their undying love.

I took a deep breath. We needed to talk about this...now. Before my crazy roommate posted another mysterious comment on twitter... Yes, I loved Harry. Really, truly loved him. But, I wasn't ready for... well, whatever we were now... to be public knowledge. Not so fast. Not so soon.

There were a lot of girls out there that could be hurt by the knowledge that Harry and I spent the night together, and subsequently shared a shower this morning... I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to say anything to anyone before I knew that this was serious, was real, was more than just a build-up of physical need, attraction, and close proximity. We needed to take things slow right now, figure out what it all meant for us, for our friendship, for our future. And I'd really rather not have the whole world involved in that...

Quickly throwing on my clothes, I headed for Harry's bedroom. It was time we talked about this. I checked the clock on my phone as I knocked on his door. I was supposed to be at work in fifteen minutes. Yeah, that definitely wasn't happening...

"Come in!"

Gripping the door handle, I realized my hand was shaking. Why was I so nervous to have this conversation with him? It was Harry! I could talk to him about anything!

With another deep breath, I swallowed my nerves, and turned the knob.

(Harry's POV)

Riley came into my room looking absolutely adorable in a little spring dress that showed off her hourglass figure, while making her look as sweet as fresh strawberries in summer. And I wanted to rip it off of her...

Jesus, I really needed to get control of myself around her... But I couldn't seem to help myself. Every look, every touch, every taste, only left me wanting more. I let my eyes trail up and down her body once more before settling on her face, and the soft smile she wore.

"Harry... I... I think we need to talk... To discuss..." She gestured between the two of us, "...this."

My enjoyment of the moment came to a screeching halt with her words. I wasn't stupid. I'd spent enough time around women to know that the three worst things they could say is, "Fine," "Whatever," and "We need to talk." My mind raced. What did I do to screw things up already?!? We'd only just begun, and she was ending it now?!?

Swallowing my panic, I patted the bed next to me. "Sure. Let's talk." I smiled at her, hoping to keep the conversation light, airy, away from whatever negative thoughts that had worked their way into her mind.

Tentatively sitting down, keeping her hands in her lap, she took a deep breath. "I saw your tweet, Harry."

Oh... But...

"Okay? Did I...?"

"I don't think we should be saying anything to anyone just yet... Especially the world. I just... Until we figure this out, can we just keep it between us?"

She went on to logically explain her position, but all I could hear was that she wanted to hide it, to hide us... She wanted us to go on pretending to be just friends in front of everyone else...

I didn't want to be just friends anymore! I didn't want to hide my feelings for her! I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! I finally found someone that I could honestly say I loved with my whole heart, a woman who could make me laugh, be my confidant, and make me week in the knees, and she wanted to keep things quiet...

"Until when?"

She stopped in mid sentence. "What?"

"Well, you said give it some time. Just how long do you want this...pretending to go on for?"

Shaking her head, she looked down at her lap.

"I don't know... I just..."

I interrupted her again. "No, I get it. I'll just learn to keep my mouth shut."

Her fearful brown eyes met mine, and I nearly melted...again. Straightening my spine, I willed myself not to beg, not to spill everything that was going through my head.

"Are you mad?"

Hell, yes, I was mad!! I wanted to kiss those damn words right out of her mouth!! I wanted to show her that this wasn't just some game we were playing with each other!!

"No, I'm not mad. I just hate lying..."

She flinched at my words, and the hypocrisy of the whole situation ate at me. Here I was, admonishing her for wanting to lie to the world about us for a little while, and I was lying to her...keeping the truth, my love, my fear from her...

With another soft smile, and a nearly whispered apology, she said goodbye and left for work. I sat there stewing in my frustration and anger for what felt like hours after she left. I was mad at her for caring what everybody else thought, for wanting to hide how, I hoped, we both felt about each other. I was mad at myself for making her feel guilty, for not opening my mouth and saying what I needed to say. And, I was mad at the situation, for once again my "celebrity" was getting in the way of me having a "normal" life...