Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 130

Aside from the slight bump in the road we'd experienced at the beginning, dinner was perfect. Bree was on her best behavior the whole time, and I was elated to see her and Harry share a few good laughs.

We talked about everything under the sun, from telling stories of Bree and I as young girls, to giggling over some of the more comical moments of our week, to just chatting about music and movies.

It was perfect.

Harry paid the check, just as he said he would, though I argued with him to see just how much it was, trying to convince him that Bree and I should at least pay for the tip. But, he effectively silenced me with a kiss to the tip of my nose, and the whispered promise that I could find a way to pay him back later...

Mmhmm... Later...

Unfortunately getting back out to the car was, if possible, even more difficult than it had been to get into the restaurant. Apparently the word had spread that Harry'd been spotted, so in addition to the paparazzi still hanging by the door, a hoard of fans had come to join in the chaos.

Harry was gracious, as always, signing autographs and taking pictures. For the most part, Bree and I stood to the side waiting patiently. At least when I wasn't being asked to join in, or take the photo myself. But after almost twenty minutes of waiting, one particularly zealous fan seemed to rub Bree the wrong way when she asked me to take a picture of Harry kissing her cheek. It upset her even more when Harry and I both had okayed the interaction...

"Are you kidding me?!?"

"Bree..." I shook my head at her, trying to tell her to shut up without having to say the words right there, in front of a crowd of cameras.

Turning back to the girl waiting patiently next to Harry, I got her camera ready. "Okay. Are you guys ready? On three."

But, apparently Bree was sick of waiting, not to mention sick of watching me share the man I loved with the rest if the world... "Riley, what the hell?!? You're just going to let her do this? You're going to let him?!?"

The young girl, probably just shy of fifteen, gave Bree a heated look as she stepped away from Harry. "I don't know what your problem is, but can you just shut the fuck up for five seconds?!?"

"Excuse me?!?"

I closed my eyes, rounds of expletives flowing through my mind. This was not going to end well...

Taking a deep breath, I stepped between the two women. Well, the woman and the girl... "Bree, it's fine. Please, can we just take the picture now?"

"Yes, thank you, Riley." The girl gave me a smile before tucking herself back into Harry's side. His wide eyes met mine as I moved to pull the camera back up to my face.

"Okay, One... Two..."

"Un-fucking-believable..."

"Three."

I snapped the picture as quickly as I could, praying that I'd gotten it right. God help me if I had to try to do it again...

The young girl squealed out a thank you, jumping up to give Harry a hug, and then rushing to me to see how it turned out. The giant hug I received two seconds later told me I'd done well. "Thank you so much, Riley!! I don't know what HER problem is, but you are awesome!!"

Laughing, I hugged her back. "Anytime, sweetie! I'm glad it turned out!!"

Hearing a scoff from the side as I pulled away, I prayed that Bree would stop, that she'd just let it go. It was over now. Done.

Unfortunately, my prayers went unanswered...

"Yeah, you're so awesome to take a picture of your damn boyfriend kissing some stupid little girl!!"

"Bree!! Stop!!"

"Shows how much you know!!" The girl turned to Bree, "They're not dating you idiot, they're just friends!"

"The fuck they are!!!"

"Bree!" I stepped between them again, taking her arm to turn her away. "Come on. We're going to the car."

Leaving Harry behind to try to calm the crowd, and finish up with his fans, I drug her around the corner to where we'd parked, trying desperately to keep her quiet. "Bree, you can't do stuff like that! You can't talk to his fans like that! These girls love him. They love all the boys, and the boys love them too. You have to respect that."

"But what about respecting you, Riley?!?" She shook her head. "I mean, she handed you her camera like you were the damn help, so you could take a picture of YOUR boyfriend kissing her cheek! She disrespected you right to your damn face! And so did he! And then you just let her say that the two of you are only friends?!? How can you possibly be okay with that?!?"

I shook my head. I should have talked to her before we left for dinner. I should have warned her...

"Bree, they don't know."

"What?"

"The fans. They don't know about Harry and I. They don't know we're together. They really do think we're just friends..."

Her eyes widened, even as she scowled at me. "What the hell?!? Why?!?"

"Because... Because I don't want anyone to get hurt... Myself included, okay? Can you just trust me on this? Please?"

Before she could answer, Harry came around the corner, the both of us turning at the sound of his boots on the sidewalk. "Everybody okay?" His eyes darted between the two of us as he got closer, his brows raised in question.

"Yeah, we're okay. Are the girls okay?"

Harry stepped in beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and kissing the top of my head. "Yeah, I think so. I got on the subject of Niall, and everyone seemed to calm down after that." He chuckled, smiling down at me.

"I swear to God, you two have one weird ass fucked-up relationship..." Bree shook her head, tugging on the handle of the car door. "Can we just go home now, Casanova?"

"Uh... Sure..." Helping me into the passenger seat, and shutting the door behind me, Harry climbed in and started the car. "Um... I think maybe we should all have a talk when we get back home..."