Moon Tower

5.

I meant to keep an eye on Harry tonight, I really did. But between helping my mom in the kitchen and having her make me take family members' things and put them in the laundry room, I eventually lost track of him. From the few glances I did manage to snag of him, he seemed to be doing okay. He stuck by Niall's side for the most part, introducing himself to people and making conversation whenever Niall stopped to chat. So far he'd met my brothers, my dad, and a couple cousins. I was a little worried about the first three, but from my limited view of the backyard from the kitchen, things seemed to be going well.

Harry looked good, like really good. He was in these light brown pants that looked like they rested high on his waist. Tucked into his pants was a white undershirt with a pale yellow and white button-up layered over it. When he came downstairs after cleaning up from this afternoon, I was already dressed for the night and helping my mom in the kitchen. But when I saw him, I froze a little, just taking it all in, taking him all in.

We stood like that for what was probably an awkward amount of time for the people around us. My mom, either too distracted with dinner to notice or saving me from embarrassment, kept her pace around the kitchen, taking out serving platters and putting the empanadas she bought earlier today on the counter. Niall, however, had no issue embarrassing either one of us. He made a coughing noise as I watched Harry look me up and down and meet my eyes again. Hearing Niall, Harry cleared his throat and walked further into the kitchen to stand next to Niall and me in the kitchen.

"You look lovely."

"Thank you," I said, suddenly grateful that I remembered to shave my legs this afternoon in the shower.

I looked down at my own attire for the evening. I was wearing an olive green sundress that had cutouts along my midsection. I normally wore jeans to these get-togethers my mom put on, but it was a particularly hot night, so I opted for one of the few dresses I owned. I also might have wanted to look nice in present company, but the feminist in me squashed those thoughts.

I turned to my mom, ready to beg her to let me out of the kitchen and off of coat-and-purse-taking duty. My mom must've sensed my anxiousness at leaving Harry to fend for himself, and told me I was free to go, but if I could first find Tía Amalia and send her into the kitchen, that would be great. I did as I was asked, then wended my way towards where I last saw Niall and Harry, saying my hellos to a few family members as I passed. My mom wasn't kidding when she said it would be a small turnout this weekend; at least, small in our books. It was mostly just the immediate family, minus my sister Sara who was in Oregon. The twins hadn't arrived yet, the last text I got from them said they were hanging out with friends and that they wouldn't be home until later; I was excited to see how they would react to Harry and Niall being here. Aside from the Price kids, there were a few cousins of varying ages, my Tía Amalia, and my Uncle Hector, both on my mom's side.

I finally found Harry and Niall talking to my dad, Austin, and Tico, and as I approached I didn't see any visible signs that the conversation wasn't going well, so I took that as a good sign. My dad finally saw me and perked up, pointing in my direction.

"There she is! How are you, Ace? I was just catching up with Niall and Harry here." He said all this while pulling me in for a hug, which earned a few chuckles from my brothers.

"Where'd she go? I swear, Luz was just here. Austin, do you see where Luz went?"

"Oh there she is! Thought we'd lost you there, Luz." Austin said while ruffling my hair.

"Very funny," I said, my voice flat. I stopped getting upset over my brothers' height jokes a long time ago. They were made with love, and even I could admit that the height difference between my dad and I was quite comical, my dad standing at a staggering six-three and me a measly five-two. Plus, depending on the company we were in, I was usually able to finesse a sneaky kick to their shins and make a safe getaway.