Last Girl Standing

Harry’s hands moved around Sadie’s waist, hoisting her into the air in one quick movement. He was constantly carrying her places, even though she could just walk just fine. He pretended he didn’t want her to get tired, but it was his way of discretely being able to get close to her for a moment longer.

This time, his excuse was that he didn’t want her to trip in the grass, even though she’d walked across the lawn a thousand times before. In his defense, there were a few holes in the ground and Megan had already tripped once.

With his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, Harry carried Sadie for the short walk across the lawn. The other couples walked alongside them, just as eager to see what the date was.

The only clue they had was that they were supposed to meet out on the back lawn, other than that they were left in the dark. Sadie didn’t even know which part of the lawn they were supposed to go to. Luckily, the brand new blankets and sofa lying in the middle of the field were pretty much a dead giveaway. And if that wasn’t enough, there was the camera crew surrounding them to help guide their way.

It was already dusk when they stepped outside, and by the time they finished the short walk to the center of the grass, the only lights they had were the moon and the ones from the camera crew.

“It’s good to see you all again,” Tanisha said, folding her hands in front of her. “For tonight’s date, you guys get to enjoy a movie out on the lawn. Since Liam won the challenge, he and Jenna will get the best seats in the house.” She motioned towards the sofa. “And a full food service, while the rest of you get popcorn and those fine Egyptian blankets.”

Tanisha’s tone was joking, playing with them as she usually did. She gave a quick nod, before heading back towards the mansion.

Harry let Sadie slip slowly back to the ground, but even when her feet met the grass, he still kept his arms around her, and she wasn’t about to make him pull away.

Everything about Harry still seemed so unreal to her. When she joined Love Games, she expected to find someone – they all did – but not anyone like Harry. What she thought was sure to be a quick fling brought about more feelings for her than she’d ever felt before.

Of course, she was hesitant. They were playing a game so she had to be. But every second with him made her guard drop just a little bit more. She refused to believe that everything she loved about Harry was just an act. She had to believe that he had feelings for her too, and that he wasn’t just playing the game.

Music began playing somewhere off in the distance, which led to film being projected against the empty side of the house. The picture didn’t look great, but Sadie suspected they didn’t plan these things too far in advance. It all looked very thrown together.

“I can’t see over your big head, mate!” Liam shouted at them from his place on the sofa, causing Harry to laugh. For a moment, Sadie thought he was going to stay that way just to piss Liam off, but he quickly wrapped his hands around her legs and hoisted her into the air. He took a few quick steps to the blanket on the end, while Sadie kept her head tucked into his chest.

The moment they reached the blanket, he set her slowly to the ground, as if he was carrying a sleeping child to bed.

With her head resting against the blanket, Sadie turned on her side, so she could face Harry. He didn’t hesitate in lying down next to her, with a wide grin spread across his face. It seemed like nearly every time Harry looked at Sadie he was smiling, and she loved that about him.

Sadie didn’t even have to look up to know that Love Games was screening Pitch Perfect. She recognized Anna Kendrick’s voice immediately, and her eyes lit up.

“It’s your movie, isn’t it?” Harry asked, laughing as he spoke. “That one you told me about?”

Nodding her head, Sadie let her smile grow to show just how excited she was.

“Well, we better start watching it then,” Harry said, moving himself up to his elbows.

His eyes moved away from her and towards the screen. Even though it was her favorite movie, she hated having his attention away from her even for that. The games were nearly half over and Sadie wanted to spend every second of it with him. She didn’t know what was going to happen after the games, so she wanted as much Harry time as she could get.

Harry noticed that her eyes were landing nowhere near the movie screen, so he plopped back down next to her, leaning in close so that their noses were touching.

His plan wasn’t to kiss her, but the moment his head was near hers, she pressed their lips together and he was thankful that she thought of it. It was a quick kiss, but it was all he would get when they were in front of the camera. He loved those quick kisses, though, because they reminded him that he had her all to himself.

“Get a room, you two!”

Harry shot Niall a quick glare, which the boy responded to with a laugh. It had been a long time since Sadie had seen the boys act that way towards one another. Harry always told her that they were such close friends, but in their time in the house, they never showed it. The boys were always bickering and fighting, but now, in the relaxed setting of a movie on the lawn, it seemed as though everything was back to normal.

The boys were joking with one another again, and it was hilarious. There was nothing funnier than seeing Niall and Harry make snips at one another. It was as if all the tension they felt when they were around the other girls was gone.

Out on the lawn, for those few short hours, there was no competition. They were just friends. They could laugh, joke, and not have to worry about who was fighting over whom.

It was nice to see everyone getting along, but Sadie knew it couldn’t stay that way forever.