Burn

Sweat covered every expanse of skin on Rae’s body. Her legs pumped as fast as they could, but she was growing tired, the music blaring in her ears doing the best it could to block out the pain in her legs and the shortness of air in her lungs. Glancing down at the treadmill, she saw that she had run five miles and smiled.

Working out was something Rae tried to do whenever she could, whether it was lifting weights or working on cardio. She knew that if she wanted to be what society thought as ideal, that she had to work at it, and if she wanted to be strong, she had to go for it.

Pressing the button to slow down a million times, the tired girl slowed to a jog and then eventually a walk. Next to her, Trystan saw her slowly and followed suite, her long legs slowly to match Rae’s strides, pulling the ear buds out of her ears and grinning at Rae.

“That was a long run,” Trystan said, finally stopping her treadmill. The sound of the gym around them hit their ears as they stepped off, wobbling for a moment to get used to the unmoving ground. Grabbing clean wipes, they wiped down the surfaces. “You must be stressed, running for that long. Usually you get bored.”

Rae shrugged, not really wanting to discuss it. It had been three days since she had talked to Harry, and she had distracted herself by taking extra hours at work and by reading until she was falling asleep in bed with the lights on. The only place she couldn’t avoid the green-eyed boy was her sleep.

“I just wanted to see how long I could go.”

Trystan did not say whether she believed her or not, but Rae assumed that she didn’t. They had avoided discussing what had happened at the club that night, whether because Trystan knew Rae felt guilty, or simply because she wanted didn’t want to say ‘I told you so.’

The air outside of the gym was cool, making Rae shiver as it hit her salty skin. The ride home was short with Trystan’s manic driving, and before anything else, Rae threw herself into the shower, dying to wash the sweat off of her. She absolutely hated the feeling of being dirty.

Humming lightly she took her time, not having anything to do that day. the ringing of her phone made her pause in thought before she shrugged. If it was important, they would leave a voicemail. The phone rang again, making Rae peer at it on the counter with a scowl. “Shove off.”

When it stopped ringing, she was satisfied that she had scolded it, though it was silly. Just as she was about to beginning shaving her legs, the lovely tone of the phone began once again. “For the love of all that is mighty!”

Stepping out of the shower with soap still coating her legs, she dried her hand, curling her lip to see it was Harry calling her. sliding the phone open, she barked into the phone, “What the bloody hell do you want? I’m trying to practice personal hygiene by showering!”

“So you’re naked?” he asked, chuckling into the phone.

“I’m hanging up.”

“Wait!” He paused to see if she had. Cursing herself, she did wait. “Ha, you waited. I want to go to lunch.”

Rae rolled her eyes. “Why, is it open bar?” He was silent and she cringed. “Sorry, uncalled for.”

“I want to talk about some things, okay?” he sounded earnest, making Rae chew her lip. She was so sick of stressing out over him, but she did want to hear what he had to say. But if she was going to do that, they would do it on her terms.

“No lunch, you can come here when I’m done showering.”

“But-"

“If you want to talk, we’ll talk. But you’re not going to do it by buying me food.”

Without another word, Rae hung up the phone and set it back on the counter, stepping back into the shower. She scrubbed herself with a new fury, as if trying to wash the frustration off of her skin. It wasn’t working. Instead of trying to give herself a new layer of skin, she finished and stepped out of the shower.

Rae was not enjoying this game she had going with Harry. It made her angry to have him going back and forth with wanting to talk to her and being a raging drunk, and she was over it. If he so much as began to utter an apology, she was going to cut him off and send him out. She was done being used as a clean up service.

Changing into clothes to lounge around the house in, she text him and said she was dressed and that he could head over. Rae then knocked on Trystan’s door, informing her that Harry was coming over and that if she heard screams, to get the shovel and body bag. Trystan grinned at that.

Down stairs Rae lay on the couch watching TV, in absolutely no show of impatience. Though she was eager for what he had to say, she was working on not making herself panic over it, or make it the center of her brain. It was a lot harder than she let it on to be.

When Harry knocked on the door, Rae didn’t get up an answer it. Instead she hollered that it was open. She heard him come in and follow the sound of the television, walking in the living area dressed in jeans, a tank top and a beanie.

The moment Rae looked at Harry, she wondered if he had dressed that way on purpose, showing off his perfect arms and looking undeniably cute with his curls hidden. The urge to throw him out of the house was strong, but instead she gestured for him to sit.

For a long time, he said nothing. Agitated, she said, “Well are you going to talk or are you going to mime it out?”

“If you’re going to be a proper bitch about it I won’t even bother apologizing,” he shot back, clearly flustered. Rae sat up, looking at him really well for the firs time since he walked in. He kept rubbing his hands on his jeans and biting his lip, as if he were nervous, which confused her. “Are you ready to let me talk.”

She crossed her arms. “Spit it out.”

He seemed less than pleased at her choice of phrase, but spoke nonetheless. “There is a reason I haven’t contacted you the past few days, and even if you don’t think there is… well there is. I’m sorry about how we left things the other night, but I’m not going to apologize for what I did. Honestly? I would do it again.”

“That is the strangest not-apology I’ve ever heard.”

“I’m not done,” he said pointedly, shooting Rae a look. She held up her hands, gesturing for him to continue. “I’ve never really gotten into a fight over a bird before, but instead of lying and making an excuse, I’ll just be honest: you’re not like the other girls I’ve hooked up with, and it bothered me.”

Rae continued to watch him as he searched for words to say. “You’re very smart, and you don’t let anyone step on your toes. And unlike every other girl I met, you didn’t just talk to me because you thought I was fit, you talked to me because you thought I was strangely witty.”

“Actually you talked to me, but continue.”

He smiled a bit at her joke. “I’ve never really done this before, so I’m sorry if I do this wrong… but I guess what I’m trying to do is ask you out, like on a real date, as a real… relationship.”

Rae was astounded at the fact that the word ‘relationship’ was in Harry’s vocabulary. She was quiet for a moment, mulling over what he had said. “No.”

He raised his eyebrows. “No?”

“You have a drinking problem, Harry and honestly? It scares me.” She looked at him intensely. “I do like you, in ways that maybe you don’t understand. But how can you expect me to date who you are right here,” she gestured to him. “and who you are when you’re drunk.”

Harry looked at the ground, nodding his head and biting his lip. He seemed to be mulling it over, having no idea how badly Rae wanted to crawl across the couch and kiss him. It was what she had wanted to do for a long time. “And what if I were to work on it? What if, we were to work on it?”
It wasn’t the response she had expected. “I thought you said you didn’t need help.”

“Well, maybe I lied a little.” His green eyes found hers from across the couch. Something about them was beginning her, and she felt herself giving in. A small voice reminded her how hard it must have been for him to admit that he liked a girl, and then how much harder it had to be to say he would change himself for her. “What do you say?”

Rae smiled a little bit. “I suppose I can’t really turn that down. Just… know I’m not trying to change who you are, okay? I just don’t think that drinking yourself into a rage is a part of you.”

Standing, Rae made her way towards the kitchen, needed a glass of water. Her throat felt dry at the excitement she was trying to suppress, and she knew that she needed water if she was going to keep her voice steady and calm.

“Wait, come here,” he said quickly, standing and following her.

Rae turned around to ask why when he caught her face in his large hands, smiling at her and stealing her breath away. Her heart fluttered as he lowered his lips to hers, pressing them gently together and making her respond immediately by standing on her tiptoes.

The kiss totally blew Rae away, Harry moving his mouth gently against hers in a way that only he could do, in a way that contrasted his strong, rough personality. His hands hovered on her skin lightly, sending spark across the expanse of her jaw.

When they pulled apart, she blinked for a minute, seeing stars before she gave him a goofy grin. He returned it, saying quietly, “I’ve certainly never kissed a girl like that before.”

“Huh,” Rae laughed, bringing her arms up around his neck and pulling him back in. “Well let’s not make it the last, yeah?”

*

Rae’s green eyes stared at the checkered board with concentration. All the different shapes and meanings ran through her head as she tried to categorize what each one of them meant, but she simply could not remember what Harry had informed her about each significant piece.

The wind was still breezing outside as it had that morning when Rae had been at the gym, though it was now late afternoon. The pair sat outside on the patio near the pool, both eyes glued to the game Harry was attempting to teach her.

“I don’t remember what any of these damned things do,” she gestured, to the chess game, slouching in defeat. “I just know that the horse is a knight, and my knowledge ends there.”

“For someone who is smart, you’re not that good at remembering instructions, are you?” Harry chuckled, shaking his head at her. He had been spending the last hour explaining over and over what each piece did, but it just wasn’t sticking with Rae. It was probably due to the fact that she still felt the tingle of his kiss on her lips.

“For someone who is dumb, you sure know how to play a smart game,” she shot back, leaning backwards and laying out on the ground in defeat. She waved her finger in the air. “I loose, you win.”

“Alright, strip.”

Rae snorted. “I wasn’t aware we were playing strip chess?”

“Yeah well, we are. Let’s see that brazier.”

“How do you even know that word?”

“Read a couple of tags while taking them off girls.”

Rae rolled her head to get a good look at him. He was giving her a cheesy grin and gave her a thumbs up, making her giggle and kick him. He caught her leg though, anticipating her movement and using it to drag her across the hard top, making her yelp.

Harry rolled her into his lap, grinning down at her as she lay awkwardly across him. Rae glared at him, pulling a chess piece from out underneath her, having went right over the bloody game board and taking a queen up the ass practically.

“Thank you, I’ve always wanted to have a chest piece stuck where the sun doesn’t shine.”

“I have a cure for that,” he insisted, grinning. “Want to see?”

“Unless your cure is Channing Tatum gift wrapped and ready for me, no.”

Rolling his eyes, Harry shifted and pulled Rae into his chest, startling her as he stood up from the ground, easily baring her small weight. Without warning, he turned and face the pool, making her eyes go wide as her arms went around his neck in a death lock. “Harry-"

“Swimming!” he yelled like a little kid, jumped into the pool without warning.

Rae didn’t have time to scream before she was under water, kicking to the surface and gasping for air, opening her eyes and looking around the pool as Harry surfaced, giving her a wicked grin. She scowled at him as he swam over to where she was clinging to the edge, prepping to get out.

“Friendly reminder you’re in a white shirt before you get out.”

Rae looked down and saw that he was right. That smart, calculating bastard. Sinking back into the water, she turned towards him, admiring the way water droplets clung to his long lashes. He looked like a mermaid from a story of old. “You’re a smart little twat, aren’t you?”

“You’re smart too…” he gestured with his hands in front of his chest, giving himself boobs. “You know, smart.”

At Rae’s scoff, he laughed loudly and pulled her towards him in the water, wrapping his arms around her. Because she couldn’t stand, she wrapped her legs around his waist, burying her face in the crook of his neck that still wasn’t submerge. “I didn’t want to go swimming.”

When she lifted her face, inches away from his, he smiled, pressing his lips to hers and muttering against them. “Too bad.”

Rae bit at his lip slightly before pulling away, making Harry glare. It was clear that he wanted more than her nibble but she pushed away from him, swimming towards the steps in the pool. “Come on, Styles. You for your wish- I’m wet.”

Harry couldn’t help but grin at her sick humor. “You have hardly seen anything.”