Guarded Masterwork

Chapter Six

Harry made sure to arrive fifteen minutes early. He was not going to screw up and show late again. His outward appearance was calm and collected, however, internally, Harry was a bloody wreck. His nerves were only visible in the slight shake of his hands that he'd use to comb his wet hair back.

Dressed in an olive green button down, he played down for the little outing, not wanting to scare the girl away with his eccentric style yet. Ten whole minutes were spent on which shirt to wear, and six more were deciding which pants to accompany it, and he doesn't even want to think about how long it took to decide his footwear.

Harry's watch read seven minutes until one, and he could barely contain his nervousness. He felt as if he was in a zero gravity room, his stomach flopping around and about in his abdominal cavity.

The roles had switched as Sofia entered the quaint little coffee shop. Her eyes roamed the area, in case Harry was the first to arrive, which he was.

And there he sat, the early afternoon sun glistening on his features. It made the girl insecure about her own highlight, seeing his natural one, but coming closer, she could see it was just his sweat. He kept fidgeting with his hands, shifting his body forwards and back in an attempt to get in a comfortable enough position on the wooden chair.

Dark tattoos were seen on his soft skin, making his arms look like a satin-finished work of art, and Sofia had to catch herself before the drool escaped from the corner of her mouth, for the man before her could be considered a masterpiece all on his own.

Sofia was stealthy. Harry had not been able to detect her from her silent walk. She was wearing white sneakers with light jeans that hugged her curves, in ways he could only imagine to do, and a white blouse. She decided not to dress too fancy, but she feared her outfit might've been too casual in the presence of the man before her who made the simple color green into a lively shade as it almost changed to match his eyes.

That is, until he complimented her.

"You look beautiful." Harry stood from his seat, afraid if he hugged her too much, she'd notice he was sweating, so he leaned in for a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thank you, so do you." She hadn't meant to verbally agree that he looked beautiful, but she couldn't deny that that was what she had been thinking.

"Beautiful?" Harry asked with a chuckle, and Sofia knew she couldn't back down.

"Of course. I mean, look at you," she gestured, sitting down, "beautiful."

"I'm hardly beautiful."

"Is that some fragile masculinity I sense?"

"Not even close, just self consciousness, you're talking to a man that plays dollies with his son. I just considered myself slightly pretty. An emphasis on the slightly."

A proud smile formed on Sofia's lips, she absolutely loathe macho men, and Harry just proved his worth. So far, it was a great start.

She giggled, "We are going to continue this when I get back, but first, what do you want to drink?" Sofia slid out from the side of her seat, as Harry started rising, himself.

"Oh no, I've got it-"

"Sit down." Authority echoed in Sofia's voice. She felt bad enough for her past actions, the least she could do was pay for his beverage. That, and she was too proud of a woman to let a man pay for all dates, and Harry already paid for their first attempt at a date.

"Bu-"

"Nope, this is my treat, so what do you want?" She cut off with the sweetest voice she possibly could, but Harry wasn't happy about it. Begrudgingly, he responded with his order, making Sofia smile and almost skip to the line, leaving Harry with his pouty confusion.