Harry jumped out of the SUV and quickly marched towards the entrance of the hotel, raising his hand and smiling politely at the fans who stood at least five rows deep behind metal barriers.
"Hiya, son", Paul greeted him, opening the door for him and ushering him through into the cool, marble lobby.
"They here?", Harry checked, and Paul nodded, gesturing through the open plan foyer to the bar, which was cool, and dimly lit. Harry quickly strode through, where he found Alex sitting at the bar, nursing a pint.
Harry clapped him on the back, making him start, and the two men grinned at one another, while Harry hoisted himself up onto a bar stool beside him, and ordered a pint of his own.
"How you doing?", Harry asked, still grinning stupidly, his dimples deep. He couldn’t quite believe that he had persuaded the two siblings to fly to the other side of the world for him, and he felt his heart skip a beat when he thought of coming face to face with Eilidh. He was excited to work with Alex too. He wasn’t sure if it was Al’s easy going nature or the fact that he was a friend that had nothing to do with One Direction, but Harry felt comfortable and relaxed around him. He realised with a start that it was a similar feeling to what he felt with Eilidh, and as he sipped his pint he eyed Alex sideways, noticing for the first time his large expressive brown eyes that were so like his sisters.
"I’m fucked,mate", Alex replied, smiling easily back at Harry, suspecting that his buoyant mood had nothing to do with him.
"Your sis here,yeah?", Harry asked, confirming Alex’s suspicions. His eyes darted round the bar for some sight of her, finding none.Alex’s eyes twinkled, and Harry grinned even wider when he realised how obvious he was being. "Sorry", he offered, still smiling, and Alex shook his head affably.
"S’alright", he grinned. "She’s at the pool. Go get her tiger".
Harry left Alex with Tom and Lou once he had gulped down his pint, and ran up to his room, changing into bright yellow swim shorts before hurrying down to the pool.
It was just gone 5pm, but he knew from being in Sydney for almost three weeks that they still had at least another hour of heat and sunlight left.
Harry shaded his eyes with his hand as he searched for Eilidh, finally having to wander along the rows of sun loungers, which lay mostly empty, until he came to locate her, chuckling softly when he did.
Eilidh was curled on her side, fast asleep, her ipod beside her, and her ear buds nestled in her tiny, shell-like ears. Her hair seemed endless, and tumbled wildly around her shoulders in a wavy halo. Her bikini was fringed and bottle green and her skin already tan, her tattoos standing out bright against it. Her lashes sat flush on her cheeks, and her face was make-up free and fresh, a light dusting of freckles adorned her tiny nose, and her lips were twisted in a rosebud pout.
Harry gently sat on the lounger and tentatively swept some of her hair out of her eyes, making her wake with a jump.
They both grinned delightedly at each other, both initually tongue-tied at the presence of the other.
"Hello", Harry said finally, waving at her goofily.
"Hiya, mister", Eilidh replied warmly, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. She self-consciously arranged her towel to cover her midriff, and gazed up at him, still grinning shyly. He stared back at her for too long, and they both erupted into nervous laughter.
"How you feeling?", Harry inquired. He gently bumped her hip, shifting her over to sit side by side with her on the lounger. Eilidh felt the burn of his thigh on hers, and shivered, her whole body erupting in goosebumps. She closed her eyes momentarily, silently cursing how attracted to him she was. It was distracting.
