Running With Lions

Lavin sat under a peach awning that was overgrown with English Ivy. She had returned to London after the three days it took her to recover from Gen's birthday party.

The white table she sat at was small and circular, the paint job on it had made it look as if it were a hundred years old. The cafe she was located sat only a block away from her and Gen's shared flat at Kensington Court on High Street.

Lavin enjoyed this cafe very much for it was the only cafe in Kensington that served a warm frothy latte that tasted of cinnamon and butterscotch.

She was dressed in a blue button-up long-sleeved shirt tucked into her favorite pair of skinny jeans. Her blond hair in a relaxed pony tail and her eyes were covered by a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers that her mother bought during the 80's.

She watched as people passed by on the street, totally unaware that a princess was sitting in plain sight. She relished the anonymity.

Business men and women walked by with purpose holding onto their leather briefcases with cell phones clutched to their ears; some of them talking into those headsets that Lavin thought made people look as though they were having conversations with themselves.

Tired-faced mothers passed by with their ruddy-faced kids in their arms or in strollers. Lavin waved back to a small boy who waved enthusiastically at her as he and his mother passed.

The boy had red hair.

Her phone buzzed, rattling against the metal of the table.

The screen flashed Harry's name and a picture of her and him at a New Year's Eve party a few years ago.

Ironic, she thought before answering.

"Hullo."

"'Morning, Lav," he greeted.

"Don't you mean "'afternoon, Lav'"?"

"Depends where you are."

"Harry, we're in the same city."

"So you're back?"

Harry, Will, Kate, and (thankfully) Caroline flew back to London the day after Gen's party.

"Yeah."

"Did you enjoy the party?" he asked.

"I did, but I would have enjoyed it a little more if my friend Harry had come." Lavin grinned mischievously.

She heard him sigh greatly, unsure of what he was going to say.

"So you're gonna be like that, are you?" Harry said. Lavin could hear the smile in his voice.

"Mhm."

"Why don't we make up for lost time? Come riding with me today."

"Just you and me?" Lavin said, pointed a finger towards herself despite Harry not being able to see it.

"Yep."

Lavin blinked; it had been months since Harry and her had done something together. Alone. Without brothers or a girlfriend tagging along.

"What time?"

"Ehm-" She could imagine Harry fumbling around for a watch and glancing around for a wall clock. "Say...four o'clock."

_____

Lavin had exchanged her blue jeans for a hardy pair of white trousers; her blue oxford for a navy blue polo. Quickly grabbing her riding boots from her closet she slipped on a pair of flip flops.

"Gen!" Lavin called down the entrance hall as she grabbed her car keys off her dresser. Gen's bedroom was on the opposite end of the flat.

"Yeah?"

Lavin had reached Gen's doorway when Gen managed to pull herself away from the textbook she was reading.

"What?" Gen asked and then noticed the riding boots dangling from Lavin's hand. "Riding?"

Lavin nodded.

"With who?"

"Harry."

"Oh, erm, that's good." Gen stuck a pencil into the mop of brown hair she had twisted into a bun at the top of her head. She glanced down at the glossy pages and then looked back at Lavin. "Just you and him?"

Lavin nodded.

Gen bobbed her head very slowly. "Interesting."

"I know," Lavin said, "Don't wait up for me. I've no clue when I'll be back."

"Okay."

"Bye, love."

"Ciao."

_____

"I can't believe you didn't let me drive," Harry said, sitting in the passenger seat of Lavin's grandmother's restored 1967 Mercedes. The white paint reflecting the sun like a beautiful porcelain dish.

He ran a hand through his hair; his frustration was growing on the drive to Windsor Castle; where his family kept their riding horses.

Although the drive was an easy forty minutes, this was the most uncomfortable ride to the castle he had ever endured due to his long legs being stymied in the cramped front seat.

Harry glanced at Lavin to see if she was just as uncomfortable but it seemed as if this car had been made just for her.

Lavin scoffed. "So we can drive around in your pompous Rolls-Royce? Or would you have forced me onto that motorbike of yours?"

Harry glared at her, pretending to be offended. "You know the Rolls-Royce belongs to William. I would not be caught dead in that thing. And like you can even talk!"

"How do you mean?" she asked, throwing him a sideways glance.

"Look at what you're wearing!" he said.

"What I'm wearing? Our outfits nearly match; if you're insulting me for what I'm wearing you might as well be insulting yourself!"

Harry huffed, a grim smile playing on his lips. "I am not wearing those pompous driving gloves."

He watched as Lavin took one hand off the steering wheel as she admired her glove, flipping her hand over and back a few times.

"Now you're insulting my family? Hell, where does it end?" she joked. "They were a gift from my Aunt Evelyn."

Harry laughed quietly and grabbed the iPod from the centre console. He began scrolling through the artists.

Adele; The Beatles (Classic, he mused); Britney Spears (Good god, Lavin); Iron & Wine; John Mayer; Lady Gaga (Lunatic); Mumford & Sons...

"We'll be there before you pick a song," Lavin stated plainly.

Harry shook his head. "This thing-" He gestured to the iPod. "has all rubbish on it."

"Oh, when did you get a job as a music critic?"

Harry scrolled quickly through the artists finally settling on Kid Cudi, although Lavin's collection was dismal. He clicked on Soundtrack 2 My Life; a favorite of his at the moment.

"Mhm, good choice," Lavin commented, bouncing her head to the beat while he turned up the volume.

_____

The stables were pristine as were the horses. Lavin sat on a bale of hay to slip into her riding boots. She left her flip flops on the ground and went to Harry who was petting the head of a brown horse that stood a good foot above him.

It nuzzled his cheek.

"Good ole Quimby," he said as he unlocked the horse's gate.

Lavin passed by a chestnut-colored horse, a black horse and a gray horse before she reached a tall Palomino-colored horse. She smiled, outstretching her hand to stroke the flat part above its nose.

"Hullo, Mysty. How've you been?"

Mysty was the older sister of her house Mystro that was stabled at the Palace in Denmark; and even though Mysty didn't see much of Lavin they always rode well together.

Once the two horses were saddled, Lavin and Harry led them out of the barn.

"To the end of the park and back?" Harry suggested.

"Sure," Lavin agreed as she mounted Mysty; Harry climbed easily onto Quimby.

They spent a quarter of an hour warming their horses up; letting them go from a walk to a simple trot to a fast-paced canter.

"I think they're good now. Lets go," Harry said, leading his horse off the track. Lavin and Mysty followed behind them.

"I want to see if old Mysty still has it in her, join me," Lavin said as Mysty trotted passed Harry and Quimby.

Lavin quickly brought Mysty to a gallop, the scenery passing quickly in front of hers. Harry and Quimby caught up with them and were keeping pace.

With one quick glance over at him she could see his giant smile, teeth and all. Besides fighting for his country and saving lives, Lavin knew how he felt atop a horse. He loved it more than riding his motorbike through the streets of London and possibly more than going out with friends.

_____

The sun was setting by the time they were halfway back to the stable. The sky was a cool pink and vivid orange behind Lavin and Harry while a pale blue cloudless sky hung before them.

"What's on your mind, Harry?" she asked. Harry hadn't said much of anything for about ten minutes.

"A lot," Harry said.

"That's a first."

Harry pursed his lips. "I'm serious, Lav. I need your opinion on something."

Lavin tilted her head. "Of course, anything."

He stuck his finger into his pants pocket and fished out a tiny velvet box and he passed it to her. "Take a look."

Lavin knew what would be in the box but yet she was wishing, hoping, praying -- practically begging God -- that it was just a pair of earring.

The lid cracked as she lifted it.

What was inside was definitely not a pair of earrings. Lavin felt her ears grow hot; and a sense of terrible doom as her heart plummeted into her stomach. She stared at it, a beautiful engagement ring, a giant ruby that reflected the sun behind her.

"What do you think?" Harry asked. Lavin realized that he sounded nervous.

Lavin didn't know how to respond graciously like she should have since she'd had a lot of practice with feigning happiness for someone else's sake. Instead she answered him with a joke.

"Well, I think you should have at least asked me out on one date before you proposed."

She looked over at Harry. His head was tilted downward and his eyes were moving from her face to the ring. A shadow of a smile passed over his features before he held out his hand for the box.

Lavin closed it and passed it to him.

"I'm thinking about proposing to Caroline."

Lavin wanted to scream. She wanted to bolt back to the stable and drive back to her and Gen's flat so she could drink the entire bottle of wine that was sitting unopened and unaccompanied in the fridge.

How could he loved such a wretched woman!?

"Thinking? It seems you've done more than think about it. You already bought a ring." she said, keeping her voice even.

Harry shrugged the ring back into his pocket. "I don't plan on doing it for a while. Definitely after Will gets married. And besides, I saved the receipt. Just in case."

Lavin finally sucked in a breath of air. Will hadn't even proposed to Kate yet; and who knew when the bloody coward would finally ask her. Her chest felt lighter now.

Anything could happen until then. She reassured herself as the horses carried them to the stable.

"You best keep that receipt in a safe," she muttered under her breath as she dismounted.