His Secret Bodyguard

Part 70

"Tell me what you're thinking." I said. For once, he looked away from me. "What, like right now?" He asked. I nodded. "I mean. Ok. Well, I was thinking about what you said. But then I was thinking that I still wanted to kiss you, but that you'd probably hit me. And so that's where I was." He explained. "I would absolutely hit you." I confirmed, and he laughed..

"Figured as much." He commented. "Jeff will probably be back soon, right?" I asked. He shrugged. I glanced over my shoulder. It was still raining. I sighed, getting off the bed. I slid a pair of my old tennis shoes on. "Where are you going? I thought you were going to sleep." He said. I shrugged, walking out of the room. A second later I heard him getting off the bed and I went out the front door. I was hungry, and enjoy walking in the rain.

Harry caught up to me on the stairs and handed me a black hoodie. I was confused at first, but then remembered it was raining. "Thanks." I murmured, putting it on, and pulling the hood up. I looked down, realizing it wasn't any of my sweatshirts. It was one of his, and said "Full Stop Management" on it, which is Jeffrey and his father's company. I'd seen Harry wear it a dozen times, and hoped it wouldn't be an issue if we ran into any cameras.

He opened the door for me, and followed me out. The guys with the cameras weren't standing around out there anymore. I glanced over at Harry, who was walking next to me. He was wearing a grey hoodie, and had the hood up on that..

"So, where are we going?" He asked. I shrugged. "I'm sure we'll figure something out. I really just wanted to walk." I replied. He laughed. "In the rain?" He questioned. "Yes. I love walking in the rain.. It's refreshing, and there's less people." I said. We were walking down the middle of the street now. "Shit." He muttered. I glanced in his direction. "Do you have your phone?" He asked. "No, it's raining." I replied..

"Great.. Jeff's gonna freak out." He commented. I rolled my eyes. "He needs to stop being so obsessive. He'll see that you're obviously with me, which is probably safer than anywhere else you could be." I said. We were probably a mile down the road, when my eyes caught on a store sign. I nudged Harry and he followed me into the small convenience store. "I don't have any money on me." He said quietly as we walked down one of the aisles.

"I always do." I replied. What I really wanted was some wine, but I knew I probably shouldn't do that with Harry. We all saw what happened last time..

I grabbed a bottle of water, and he followed me up one of the other aisles. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to eat, and couldn't help but be distracted by what Harry was doing. He kept looking around, and over his shoulder, all paranoid-seeming.

"Could you stop that?" I asked quietly, turning to face him. "What?" He questioned. "You're acting all anxious and paranoid. Why can't you just act like a normal person for five minutes?" I asked. "Was I not just doing that?" He asked, genuinely seeming confused. "No, you weren't." I stated, grabbing a few snacks. "If you want something, get it." I commented, walking over to the checkout counter, setting my items down. She looked at me.

I told her, in French, that I was waiting for my friend. She started scanning the items, and Harry set down a bag of crisps, which she also scanned. I pulled my card out, which I almost always have in the side of my bra. 'Cause you never know when you're going to want to buy something..

She took it, and started putting the stuff in a bag. It was a reusable bag, and she handed it to Harry.. After she gave me my card back, we left and kept walking down the street. "I keep forgetting you speak French." He said. I nodded, remembering learning English. Andrew had taught me the language before he left to go to college. I'm not sure who taught him..

After a little while of walking, the rain turned into a slight mist, and I turned down another road. "Do you know where you're going?" He asked. I shrugged. "I've run over here a few times, but never really paid much attention." I answered. "What if we get lost?" He questioned. "Then we get lost." I replied. I motioned towards the bag and he handed me my water.

We kept walking, occasionally stopping to look in the stores. We'd eaten our food while we walked, and talked a little bit more.. It was getting dark out, probably around 7:00PM. "Should we be heading back?" He asked. I looked over at him. "No. The night's only just beginning. Of course, you can go back if you want." I commented, and he shook his head. I started crossing the street and walking down an alley between two of the buildings. He was following really close, and ran into me when I stopped. He quietly apologized, then looked at what I was looking at. There was a ton of graffiti on the walls, filling it with color and unique designs from different artists. I ran my hand along one of them as I slowly kept walking.

It was hard to see all of it, due to the sun having gone down. Only parts of it were illuminated by faded yellow lamps outside the backs of the shops.. "This is sketchy." He said quietly. "It's beautiful." I replied, not bothering to look at him as I continued looking at the different designs.. He was acting all paranoid again. "Harry, again with that. Just act like a normal person. Stop looking all suspicious and weird." I commented, turning to face him. "I don't understand what I'm doing that makes you think I look suspicious." He stated.

"Seriously? Every five seconds you look over your shoulder, and you're stance is all stiff and uptight. Just relax, Harry. No one is following us or whatever you're so freaked out about." I explained.. "It's dark, and we're standing in a dodgy alleyway filled with street art. We could easily be stabbed or something." He replied, speaking in a hushed tone. I sent him an annoyed look. "By who? Harry, no one is around." I said. He looked over his shoulder again. I groaned, reaching up and pulling his jaw back to face me. "Stop acting weird." I stated, letting my hand fall away.

"Ok, well I'm sorry if I don't enjoy walking around exploring dangerous areas of the city at night. I was
mugged by a bunch of guys with a knife a little while back, so excuse me if I'm paranoid." He commented. I rolled my eyes. "Whatever; act however you want. Those are the people who get mugged though. If you look all innocent and approachable, that's who they target. They aren't going to come up to someone who looks like they'd put up a good fight." I explained to him, continuing to walk down the alley. He followed me....

We walked a little while longer, the streets filled with dense fog from this evening's brief rainstorm. I sighed, leaning against one of the buildings. Harry stopped, looking at me. "What're you doing? Is it your heart again?" He asked. I glanced over at him. "You're so dramatic. Come here." I said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him over so he was leaning against the wall beside me. "What're we doing?" He questioned. "Looking at it." I said, annoyed that he was so talkative all the time..

"Looking... At what?" He asked, glancing in my direction. I sighed. "This. Just, stop talking, and look. It's beautiful.. The silence, the air around us.. Just, stop being so tense and look." I explained.

This was one of my favorite things to do. It's so quiet in the evenings, and nights like tonight are especially  calming. The fog made the dim street lamps blur in the mist, the air filled with the fresh dewy scent that comes after it rains.. It was like living in a dream, except it's real life, and I actually was able to enjoy it and take it all in..

We stayed there for a few more minutes. I felt him looking at me.. I glanced down at my watch. It was 8:00PM now. I looked back up at the street, feeling a cool breeze hit my legs.. I didn't want to go anywhere else, but pulled myself off the wall, and kept walking. Harry followed me.

He was quiet for a few minutes. "You're really not worried at all? This is a really sketchy part of town." He commented, still speaking fairly quiet. "Are you still being paranoid? Harry, no I'm not worried. Besides, neither of us have anything of value on us. It'd be a waste of anyone's time." I replied..

"Ok, well I think we should start heading back." He said. I looked over at him. "Are you tired or something? Is this boring to you?" I asked. "No. No, it's not boring. I just think Jeff is probably waiting for us." He said. I rolled my eyes. "Who cares? He can wait. Why does your life have to depend on what he's doing?" I questioned, stepping up onto a curb as a car drove by us.. "I'm sorry if I think about other people, and not just myself. Our actions don't just affect us, Brynn." He commented.

I didn't respond, really not wanting to argue with him about this again. He knows I don't care about other people, and I'm not going to explain that to him over and over.. After a few minutes, a car came up next us and stopped....