Still the One

When I finally make it home, Harry’s in the kitchen with his usual, cheesy Kiss the Chef apron. He leans against the stove, not taking his eyes off of the boiling pot in front of him. ‘I figured that I needed to go to the store today, so we have been fully stocked. Whatever you want, it’s in there.’

‘Even those strawberry crepes from that tiny place in France?’ I tease kicking out of my heels before making my way towards the kitchen.

‘Well not everything, smartass. You get what I’m saying.’

‘You definitely outdone yourself.’ I chime, opening every last cabinet to see our favorite food and snacks. ‘What are you making over there? It smells amazing.’

‘It is some beef dish. I may have improvised for a while so go ahead and cross your fingers that it turns out okay.’ He briefly turns to kiss my forehead before directing his attention back to his latest dish.

‘You don’t need it,’ I insist, wrapping my arms around his torso, ‘How was your day? Did you make it to the studio?’

‘Not today, I just couldn’t get around to it. I ended up playing around with the guitar for a bit. I’ll lock myself there for hours tomorrow to make up for it though. How was your day?’

I smile at just how boring our lives were at the moment. I could definitely get used to seeing Harry in the kitchen carefully focusing on a new recipe. He awkwardly bends his arm until his hand is able to go up and down my back. ‘Did the whole thing at school leave you speechless?’ I wasn’t looking but I knew there was a smile on his face.

‘No, I’m just really happy right now. I got my first manuscript at work. It’s this dystopian novel. I only have about a quarter of it, but I love it already.’

‘That’s exciting,’ He muses as he sidesteps towards the stove, making sure to take me with him. As he pulls open the door, the smell of fresh bread fills my nostrils. ‘Are you going to let me have a peek at it tonight?’

‘We’ve been sworn to secrecy when it comes to unpublished works but yes, yes I will.’ I laugh, keeping my head on his back. Somehow his back was more comfortable than any pillow I could have. ‘I have to meet with the author sometime this week. My boss wrote down that he may be need a little extra push. He has a deadline to meet so I’m nervous about it already.’

‘Well it’s a good thing that he got paired with the ultimate motivator that is Libby White. If anyone can get him there, it’s you.’

I open my mouth to respond when the gate’s buzzer goes off. Harry and I exchange confused looks before he sets aside his wooden spoon. ‘Are you expecting someone?’ I question trailing closely behind.

‘No, you?’

‘Not me.’ I squint towards the monitor trying to get a better look at the car, ‘Is that my dad’s car?’

‘Looks like it. I see your mom and Tanner too.’

‘Wait, was that tonight?’ I question, using a hand to cover my mouth. ‘Shit, I completely forgot.’

‘It’s alright.’ Harry soothes, pressing the button to open the gate, ‘I made plenty so there’s enough to go around. I just hope that it tastes alright. I’ll set the table.’

‘Hi guys.’ I smile going from open arms to open arms, ‘Come on in. Dinner’s almost finished.’

‘I cannot get over how beautiful this entryway is.’ My mom gushes, glancing around. ‘I bet it has the most incredible view of the sunrise.’ She seemed healthy. She looked healthy. Tanner said she’s been faithfully taking her medication, never missing a day. Of course, there are still bad days but there’s been plenty more good than bad.

‘It does. You have to see it one day,’ Harry chimes in, wiping his wet hands on the apron. ‘How are you?’ He pulls her into his arms, giving her a light squeeze.

They didn’t start off of the best foot, even with all of Harry’s trying. Over the last couple of months, Harry’s taken it extremely slow with her but now they’re practically inseparable. He’s added her to his list of Scrabble buddies. Of course, he lets her win. She knows it too, but she doesn’t mind. I actually think that it makes her like him even more.

‘Great, how are you? Have you actually gotten taller since the last I’ve seen you? I swear you grow more and more by the day.’ She gushes, looking up at Harry as he towered over her. ‘Just like Tanner over there.’

‘I actually think you’re getting smaller like that daughter of yours, so we look bigger.’ He speaks with a warm smile extending his hand out to my dad, ‘Sir, great to see you again.’

‘Likewise, Harry my boy.’ I loved how close they both were. When Harry and I first started dating and again the second time we started dating, I anxiously hid my family away from him. I didn’t want those two parts of my life merging. Now, I loved how Harry fished with my dad and played Scrabble with my mom. Harry always got along with Tanner, they’d spend hours playing FIFA. ‘What smells so good?’

‘We’ll see if it tastes as good as it smells.’ Harry leads the way to the kitchen before giving everyone their own helping of food. He finally slides in next to me, bringing his lips to the bottle of in front of him. ‘You first.’ Harry whispers, just loud enough for me to hear while placing his green eyes on my mom. He nodded attentively as she told a story about her trip to the farmer’s market.

I carefully eye him as I bring the fork to my mouth. He holds back his laughter as he studies my face. ‘It’s amazing.’ I smile going back in for another bite, ‘Really, stop selling yourself short.’

His hand is suddenly on my thigh as he uses the other to eat. He soundlessly draws slow and careful circles against my skin. Harry politely answers each and every one of my family’s questions and makes plans with Tanner to go see an Arsenal match. He didn’t even have to fake it. He genuinely cared. His voice lightly bounces off the cabinets as he sings washing the dishes. He hands them off to me to dry. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you.’ He repeats before I could even blink, turning off the water and putting the food up. ‘So damn much. I think that went pretty well considering their daughter forgot which night she invited them.’

‘Rub it in.’ I give him a slight shove before following him up the stairs, ‘Where’s Bandit?’

‘He hid in the guest room when he heard all the voices.’ Harry points to a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness.

Harry stretches his long body across the bed and reaches for the remote control as I turn on the water for a shower. He flips through the channels, huffing every few seconds, not satisfied with any of them. I stand in front of the TV until his eyes meet mine. An amused smile rests on his face as I clumsily pull my sweater over my head. He sits up, his teeth-filled smile soon turns into a smirk. ‘Are you joining me or what?’

Before I could make my escape to the shower, I’m thrown over his shoulder and set on the counter. I open my mouth to speak but he cuts me off with his lips. We challenge each other, throwing clothes left and right as he stumbles into the shower. The steam being the only thing between us.

Harry’s Point of View

Libby quietly uses his fingers to trace some of my tattoos, all of her favorites. She lazily stares at the TV, blinking too many times. Clearly, trying to keep herself up. She curls up against me, her breathing already slow and steady. Just like that – she was out. I carefully slip out from under her just to double check the security system. Bandit strolls through the house, his tail swaying with each careful step. ‘Oh, I see, you come out when we’re not around.’ He gives me one of his halfhearted purrs while brushing against my legs. ‘Goodnight to you too.’

I charge my phone, sitting on the side of the bed to set my alarm for my studio appointment in the morning. I spot a new email from my lawyer, George while scrolling through my inbox. George tells me that Libby personally would have to be a part of the lawsuit since the story is about her. I was beyond proud of her progress with that prick Jacobs, but I wasn’t sure about pushing her into something else right now. I would be opening her up to even more scrutiny from complete strangers who only have bits and pieces of the truth. I look over at her, sound asleep without a care in the world. She deserves her a little bit more peace. At least for a couple of days. I send an email back saying to hold off until he hears more from me. I carefully lay in the bed beside her, making sure not to interrupt her sleep. With one movement, I pull her even close to me. In her sleep, she rolls onto me and uses my chest as her own personal pillow. Which I didn’t mind too much, especially because I used her head as my pillow.

Libby’s Point of View

I leave Harry’s arms the next morning to get to work. I pull the manuscript out and get Victor’s number off of it. I nervously twirl in my chair as the phone rings and rings. Right before the voicemail, a groggy voice answers the phone. He sloppily feeds me an address that I jot down before agreeing to meet for lunch. ‘Hey, Libby, how’s it going?’ Thomas hovers in the doorway, rocking back and forth on the heel of his shiny loafers. ‘Any progress made with Victor Raines yet?’

‘I’m just about to head out to meet him to get an idea of where his head’s at and let you know this afternoon.’

‘Sounds good. Feel free to reach out to me or any of your coworkers if you need any assistance. The first work can be an adjustment. There’s no shame in asking for a helping hand, we take pride in assisting each other.’ Thomas explains, his eyes alternate between his phone and me. ‘I’ll be out for a while for some meetings, so we’ll touch base later.’

‘Great.’ I nod, grabbing the address and my purse before heading towards the elevator.

Instead of a restaurant, I come to a stop in front of a small brick house just outside the city. A rusted pick-up truck sits in the gravel driveway. I pull along the curb and hesitantly walk towards the front door. The wooden steps squeak as my heels meet the material. A set of fingers pull down the white blinds before the door unlocks. After a few moments of waiting, I let myself in the house. The tip of my heel brushes against a pile of empty and crushed beer cans. A man sits in a brown recliner, with his legs propped up. His peppered hair was messy on his head and he scratched his thick gray beard. ‘You must be from Smithson. I’m Victor, and I’m sorry that you wasted your time coming out here. I didn’t submit my work and I hate that it was shared. If there was any way that it could be taken back, please make that happen.’

‘Wait, if you didn’t submit your manuscript to us. Then who did?’

‘My ex-wife. She thought it was what I needed to get my feet back on the ground. Clearly, she was wrong, there’s a first time for everything. So,’ He starts, opening up another can of beer, ‘Just go ahead and let yourself out.’