Chiot - H.S. (on hold)

.8 trade mistakes

***

I reached my arm over to feel the cold side of the bed. I guess I should have known that that had qualified as a one night stand; I suppose I'd hoped it wouldn't have an expiration date. Yes, it was just a hookup. But it had never felt more personal than it did with him. 

"I didn't mean to wake ya, love."

I rolled over and tried to pick my head up off my pillow. "You're fine," I replied, rubbing my eyes. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long," he said, sitting down at the edge of the bed, near my feet. 

"Are you.. Leaving?" I was scared to ask but I did anyway. Truth be told, I didn't want him to leave. I wanted to stay and talk for a long time. 

He looked at me and smiled playfully. "I thought maybe you'd need a ride to work."

"Sh*t!" I exclaimed, practically jumping out from under the covers. I had forgotten about work. Come to think of it, I hadn't actually returned to work after lunch with Harry the previous day. 

I'm screwed. 

"Everything alright?" Harry asked. 

"Not really," I exclaimed as I ran to my closet. 

"What's wrong?" He sounded genuinely concerned. 

"I basically blew off work for the second half of yesterday," I told him as I pulled a shirt over my head. 

***

"You sure you don't want me to come in and explain?" Harry was genuinely trying to help, but something about a guy in Harry's position saying that made me a bit angry. 

"I'm sure. You can drop me off up there." I tried not to show any of the emotions I was feeling, and God I was feeling a whole lot. 

He looked down at his hands on the steering wheel, as if he was thinking about what he was going to say as our parting words. "Look," he started. "I know this all happened really fast and I know you might think I'm an asshole for asking but.." 

I waited a moment after he trailed off. "Harry, I really like you. I mean, I really like.. Spending time with you? Just having you around? But I don't really 'date', ya know?" I looked up at him only after I finished talking. I had a habit of being fascinated with my fingers when it came time to have serious and personal conversations. 

His slight smile made its welcomed return. It wasn't just a smile, it was his smile. It made me feel like his arms were wrapped around me, warming me up and bringing me home without even trying. "I was just going to ask if you were free again tonight," he laughed. 

Sh*t. 

***

"Fancy seeing you here."

"Mornin', Conner." I flashed a halfhearted smile to him. "How much trouble am I in?"

His expression dropped a bit. He was always terrible at hiding his emotions. 

***