Golden

25

I blinked my heavy eyelids and gazed up at Harry's oversized face that was mounted in a gigantic frame and hung up on the corporate conference room wall. He was laying down and leaning back, dressed in oversized white trousers with gold buttons and a bright pink shirt with matching suspenders that was opened at the top, exposing the wings of the swallow tattoos on his chest. His head was tilted to the side and his hair was messy and he was smiling ruefully, like he knew a secret that no one else in the entire world did. It was a perfectly captured moment and I liked this photo of him more than I wanted to admit.
His green eyes stared back at me, watching as I slowly entered the empty room and took a seat in the middle of the expansive table. I sighed, trying to shake my nerves as I studied his framed image in hopes that it would bring me some comfort.
"Lucy, hi, thanks for waiting."
I perked up as Simon sauntered into the room abruptly. He scanned me up and down as he strolled in grinning, seemingly thankful that I looked significantly healthier since the last meeting we had in this office when I was at rock bottom. Truthfully, I still wasn't sure if I had made it out of the deep depths of despair; but I was just much better at hiding it now.
"Hi," I replied politely as I readjusted myself in my seat, peering down the empty conference table and wondering why I was the only one asked to be here today.
I had racked my brain all morning for a reason why the label would only request me for this top secret and unexpected meeting, immediately thinking I was in trouble for something. I called Finn right away, nearly spiraling into a tizzy as he desperately tried to settle my nerves and reassure me that it was all going to be fine. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't fully hide the concern in his voice over the phone.
"Thanks for coming in on such short notice," Simon told me as he took a seat across from me and folded his hands on top of the table. "We're just waiting for one more and then we can get down to business."
One more? Who–
"Hi, sorry I'm late. Traffic was an absolute nightmare this morning."
Harry burst through the threshold and suddenly appeared directly underneath his enormous printed photo on the wall. I blinked, seeing double.
He ran his fingers through his unkempt yet still somehow stylish hair and smiled warmly at me as he closed the door behind him. He was wearing rose colored, velvet trousers and a simple white t-shirt with Vans sneakers, looking effortlessly cool as he shrugged his black jacket off his shoulders. It was too hot for coats, but Harry always put fashion over comfort. The rings on his knuckles caught the light overhead, shining brightly before he walked around the table and plopped himself down into a seat right next to me.
"Good morning," he greeted us cheerfully, nudging me with his elbow, his touch like an electric shock to my system. I knew that he had already sensed my palpable nervousness from the moment he saw me and tried to diffuse it carefully. "How are you today, Lucy?"
Surprised. Suspicious. Confused.
Secretly excited.
"Fine." I smiled back at him, keeping it strictly professional, even though my heart was racing as his eyes glimmered playfully while his chair glided even closer to me. "You?"
"Wonderful now." He winked, his dimples showing as his wandering eyes purposefully scanned my body up and down. "New dress?"
I melted on the inside, but kept my composure as I glanced down at my hands folded neatly on my lap. I had seen this green sundress in the window of a vintage shop last week in Manhattan and impulsively bought it, knowing that the summer was quickly dwindling and I had limited time to wear it. I was thankful that today was a warmer day, so I could properly show it off; though I was caught off guard that Harry noticed it was new and even more surprised that he commented on it.
I wished I had the nerve to tell him that when I first saw it, the thing that attracted me most to it was the color that reminded me of his eyes.
"It is new," I confirmed, running my hands through my own messy curls as I forced myself to keep eye contact with him. "Thanks."
"I love it," Harry practically purred, his gaze dipping down my figure once more, slower this time, taking every inch of my body into his sight. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you," I repeated again, silently cursing my crimson cheeks for giving away how warm he made me feel.
"What an exciting day. The two best songwriters on this label are finally in one room together," Simon announced proudly and I was thankful for his interruption. He extended his hands out, as if showcasing us in his view. I bet he saw dollar signs looking back at him. "What a pair. Am I right?"
"That's what I always say." Harry threw his arm around my shoulder lightly. My whole body lit on fire as his fingertips grazed my bare shoulder. I kept grinning, stiffening under his gentle touch, reminding myself to keep breathing.
"So, I'll get right to it. We were thinking of ways to boost sales this quarter and someone had a very interesting idea that I personally think is beyond brilliant," Simon continued, silencing his phone that hadn't stopped vibrating since he walked into the room.
"What idea?" I looked over at Harry, who I had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew. He was too at ease to be left completely in the dark. I was apparently the only one out of the loop in this room.
Simon was nearly jumping out of his skin with titillation as he explained, "A duet."
"A duet?" I repeated dumbfounded, staring back at him vacantly across the table.
Fuck.
Simon beamed, apparently taking my incredulousness as a positive sign. "A duet!" He reiterated excitedly. "I can't believe we didn't think of this sooner. But the second I heard the idea, I knew you would be absolutely thrilled."
Thrilled isn't exactly the word I'd use...
"Now, we understand that you both have certain ways of writing and we don't want to interrupt your creative process," Simon told us seriously, leaning on the table. "So we've booked you a small cabin in upstate so you both can really focus on this project without any added distractions." He waved his hand in the air, as if casually explaining something as mundane as the weather to us. "You know how hectic city life can get; all the noise and the blah, blah, blah. We wanted to make sure you two could just solely focus on each other for a while and the music, of course."
"A cabin?" I asked weakly. "As in...the middle of nowhere cabin?"
"You'll love it," Simon assured me enthusiastically. "It's on 40 acres in the woods with more privacy than you could ever dream of. And the whole estate is private property, so the chances of paparazzi popping up or your location getting leaked is minimal since only a select few executives at our label will be the only ones who know where you are." He beamed. "It's perfect. Just you two in isolation for as long as you need to write your little hearts out."
"It does sound perfect," Harry agreed immediately, which surprised me.
Was he truly into this idea?
Or was he just fucking with me?
"I always like writing getaways," Harry went on, swiveling in his seat to face me. His eyes danced with anticipation. "Don't you?"
"I've...never done one," I confirmed flatly, trying to wrap my brain around this new information. "So...I...I don't know."
"Usually I'm at the beach with a group of writers and producers in a big house, so just the two of us alone in the woods will be a new experience for both of us." Harry leaned in and his eyes once again flashed with devilish exhilaration. "How exciting."
He meant it. He was excited. I felt it in my bones.
"When...when is all this happening?" I asked Simon, averting my gaze away from Harry. "Is there a timeframe?"
"As soon as you're able," Simon suggested. "I know you both have some shows lined up this week, but both of your schedules are cleared after that as far as I know."
We would leave in a week? One week? That soon?
"Uh" was all that came out of my mouth.
"Ah, how lovely." Harry grinned. "A perfect ending to summer and a glorious start to fall. Right, Lucy?"
I found myself nodding, though my head was spinning.
"I'll send more information to you both this afternoon," Simon concluded, looking overjoyed at how seemingly easy we had agreed to his plan. "This is going to be great for you both of you. I can feel it."
Simon stood up, shook each of our hands and exited quickly before either of us could refuse and change our minds. A thick silence hung heavily in the air between me and Harry the moment Simon closed the door. Before I could get a word out, Harry was suddenly right in front of my face.
"You haven't been at your apartment in over two weeks." His voice had an obvious edge in it now. It took me by surprise.
"I came here from my apartment," I disputed, though I knew what he really meant.
"You haven't been spending any nights at your apartment," he clarified suspiciously, seeing right through my diversion. His bright and bubbly demeanor had disappeared and his eyes were now dark and accusatory as he stared back at me, waiting for an explanation that I wasn't going to give him.
"You've been stopping by?" I asked him breezily, as if this was news to me. "I didn't know."
I had known. Each time I retreated back to my apartment in the morning and opened my front door, there would be small, subtle things out of place that always managed to catch my eye. It was nothing over the top or ostentatious, but just barely detectable changes only I would notice that gave me pause.
But I definitely noticed.
On Monday, I glanced down at my running shoes by the door and saw that they had been shifted to the left slightly from where I had always left them. The next day, the books on the shelves in my living room were rearranged in a different order. Yesterday morning, the pillows on my bed had been switched around. And today, the jewelry box that held the necklace Harry had given me was left opened on my nightstand.
I knew what Harry was doing.
And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it.
I secretly looked forward to searching for hints of Harry throughout my empty apartment. Sometimes his cologne still lingered in the air when I walked into my bedroom. I breathed him in and it made me miss him more than I ever thought possible.
"Are you going back to your place now?" Harry questioned suddenly, rising from his seat just as I stood up myself.
I tilted my head at him uncertainly. "Yeah, why?"
"I'll take you," he offered quickly, pushing in his chair. "I've got nothing else to do anyway."
"You don't–" I began, but I realized instantly that resisting was useless. Harry narrowed his eyes at me before I could finish protesting.
"Let's go." His voice was rough. He wasn't taking no for an answer.
I closed my mouth and silently followed Harry out of the room, casting my gaze to the floor to avoid everyone's eyes in the office space clocking us towards the exit. Though no one dared to say anything out loud, I could feel their stares on me and Harry, most likely formulating their own wild theories and opinions about what exactly we were doing together. I wondered how many of these people I waked by read the countless magazine articles about us that were still being printed and how many actually believed them.
"Lucy?"
I lifted my head up at the sound of my name. Harry raised an eyebrow as he held the elevator open, waiting patiently for me. "Did you hear a word I just said?"
I shook my head as the doors closed, sealing us away from the prying eyes of everyone else to my relief. "Sorry. I was thinking." I cleared my throat and peered over at him. "What were you saying?"
Harry grinned, laughing under his breath at the lack of proper attention I was giving him. "I asked if you were busy today."
As the elevator descended, my stomach flipped inside of me. "Not really..."
My schedule was entirely clear. I had a true day off for the first time in weeks.
"You're so vague," Harry noted lowly again, almost in disbelief at my obvious aversion tactics. "Why don't you just tell me if you have plans or not?"
I quickly glanced at him as we dropped another level, my stomach dropping as well. "I'm...free, I guess."
"You guess?" Harry repeated teasingly, shaking his head once more at my elusive responses. "How entirely noncommittal..."
I smirked, rolling my eyes. Sighing with defeat, I admitted, "Okay. I am free."
"Finally! An actual answer." The elevator dinged and the doors opened to an empty, private parking lot. I saw Harry's black Range Rover in the distance and we slowly began walking towards it. My hands were shaking as I swung my bag over my shoulder, forcing the overwhelming déjà vu sensation to the back of my mind.
"Want to spend the day together then?" Harry asked me abruptly as we fell into step effortlessly with each other. "Since you're free and I'm free and it's just barely after 9 o'clock on a beautiful, sunny morning and we have the whole day ahead of us with unlimited possibilities?"
My heart jumped. I didn't reply right away. I began rifling through my mental catalog of excuses. I had to say no.
Right?
"I mean, we're going to be spending a lot of time together starting next week, so we might as well get used to each other, right?" Harry reasoned as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "Starting next week, it's going to be much more than just the usual, few random nights here and there of me moseying into your apartment and spending the night."
I still couldn't formulate an answer. I kept my eyes straight ahead and glued on his car. I swallowed hard, thinking of how I was going to be spending every second of every minute of every day with Harry next week.
What a dream.
What a nightmare.
"I get you all to myself each morning and each afternoon and each night..." Harry winked at me suggestively as he nudged my side with his elbow.
I shivered. I loved the sound of that more than I would ever admit.
"You might get sick of me," I jibbed evenly, trying to diffuse the rapidly building tension between us. It felt like a ticking time bomb, just waiting for the right amount of pressure to cause an explosion.
Harry opened the passenger car door for me, scoffing at my tame reply as I hopped into the familiar passenger seat. "That's impossible. I could spend the rest of my days with you and it still wouldn't feel like enough."
My heart physically hurt. I wanted desperately to believe him. I had believed him at one point. But not anymore.
"Well we'll test it next week," I said evenly, looking straight ahead through the windshield.
I wasn't going to add to the pressure, even if I wanted to.
And God, I wanted to.
I wanted that explosion more than anything.
Harry closed my door with an exaggerated eye roll, walked around the car and slid into the driver's seat next to me. He readjusted the mirror, making sure no one had followed us, which was second nature to him now. Once all was clear, he averted his at attention back to me. "So...what about today?"
My brain couldn't come up with a single believable lie I could tell Harry that he wouldn't immediately see right through or easily dispute. And now I was out of time.
Harry revved the engine, causing a flood of memories to infiltrate my mind from all the other times I had been in cars with him. From his red Ferrari racing through the midnight streets to his white Mercedes gliding down the California coast to this very black Range Rover that drove us back to my apartment just a few weeks ago for an unforgettable night – I had once dared to dream that I would be his permanent passenger.
But how things have changed...
...and yet how some things had stayed the same.
The feelings I had for Harry hadn't faltered, even if I tried to bury them. He left an everlasting mark on me that I couldn't (or maybe I secretly didn't want to) erase.
Harry was waiting patiently for my answer with his hands firmly around the steering wheel.
I wanted those hands to be wrapped around me. I wanted those hands to explore every inch of my body. I wanted those hands in my hair, on my neck, on my chest, on my thighs...
"And..." Harry's voice trailed off playfully, bringing me back to reality. "It would be an absolute shame not to show off that ravishing dress you're wearing."
I perked up, allowing myself to look over at him as his gaze dipped again and scanned my figure. I noticed he licked his lips as he examined the hem of my dress, detecting how especially short it was when I was sitting down.
"Wouldn't it?" He teased lightly, his green eyes undressing me and making me blush. I could tell he wanted to run his fingers down the top of my leg. I knew him better than he thought. Though he was mischievously grinning at me, trying to give off a carefree, jovial exterior, I sensed his internalized, heavy restlessness.
"It would be a shame to waste this dress," I found myself agreeing as I watched Harry's hands move off the steering wheel and rest near the shifter, so close to my knees.
"So..." Harry leaned in expectantly. I breathed in his cologne, reminded of how I had smelled hints of it this morning in my bedroom. "What do you say?"
He was so handsome, it was nearly impossible to keep my hands to myself. Everything about him, inside and out, was so overpowering and alluring. It was like he knew every possible way to completely unravel me.
"Okay," I breathed softly, just barely audible.
"Okay?" Harry repeated, thinking he had misheard me. He looked as equally surprised as I was.
I nodded, buckling myself in before I could change my mind or second guess myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an irrepressible smile dance across Harry's lips.
"Okay," Harry said again readily, still grinning as he put the car in drive. "Let's get out of here."