oxford comma // h.s o.u

24. the one with the sex talk

Thursday, 2nd of April, 2015

For an Australian, 27 degrees would feel like winter was on its way, but for someone from England like me, it was heavenly—the sun was shining bright, the weather was warm, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. There were only a few days left in Australia, and so everyone had opted for making the most of the warm weather on their day off before we returned to the dreary weather back home.

Never in my entire life had I seen something so expensive, so the very second Harry announced that there was a 26 million dollar yacht rented for us to enjoy on the Sydney Harbour, I nearly wet myself in excitement. I was bummed when Harry said he wouldn't be joining us until later in the afternoon because he was catching up with a friend for his birthday, but he said something about a yacht in Miami that still held an all time high in his yacht experiences and the memory alone was enough to hold him over until he joined me later on.

As Harry set off on his adventure for the day, I wandered to Liam and Sophia's hotel suite, where I found Sophia deciding between two different bikinis—it didn't matter which one she wore, because I knew she would rock it regardless, and that was something I was extremely jealous of. Liam wasn't there with us because he wanted to get a quick workout in before we resorted to a day on the yacht, but Sophia rolled her eyes as she informed Liam's favourite bikini was none of the above—he would rather her be naked. But that was when she mentioned how she had to remind Liam that we were going to be in public and she didn't want to risk showing everyone her entire naked body. Sophia had referred to us seeing her in quite a private predicament, but my mind had wandered to something further—I thought about who would be watching us on the yacht from afar.

I tried so hard to not show my anxious feelings about that, but Sophia saw right through my hardened expression and sudden interest in picking at my nails. "Suzy, we're going to be in the harbour and people could see us, sure, but we're going to look like tiny ants to people if anyone's watching," she explained, sitting down the white bikini that was in her hands and pursed her lips. "I get the anxiety, but it's supposed to be a fun and relaxing day with friends. Just, I don't know, try and not let anything else get the better of you, yeah? I know it's so much easier said than done, but the quicker you learn to ignore it, the quicker you'll feel at ease."

"Guess you're right," I said with a sigh, flopping down onto her bed. "Still trying to wrap my head around everything, but I did watch the show with you guys last night instead of hiding backstage, so I guess that's some kind of progress."

"And nothing can beat the stupid grin on Harry's face the second he realised you were watching, either," Sophia replied, forcing my cheeks to flush pink. I knew the exact moment she was referring to, because his stupid grin sure matched mine.

"Only heard our names being called out a few times, I think." I rubbed the material of the bikini between my pointer finger and my thumb as I spoke, leaving Sophia to peer down at me curiously as I did so. "I know there will probably be photos of me online dancing like a proper idiot, but I'm trying my absolute hardest not to look."

Sophia walked over to her suitcase, sifting through it for something as she continued. "Atta girl!" she said with a laugh. "It's best not to search up your name, no matter how anxiety inducing the thought alone can be. Trust me, the longer Harry is in your life, the more you'll get used to it. Took me a bit with Liam, and it does still freak me out a lot at times, but it's something I've really just had to get used to."

"Mmm," I hummed, crossing one leg over the other as I relaxed back onto my hands. "Yeah, it's just getting there in the first place, y'know? But I quite like having Harry in my life, so it's really just all a risk I'm willing to take."