And You Let Her Go

The next morning I walked the couple blocks to the Argo tea shop and ordered myself a black tea. I took the first sip and smiled as the hot goodness flowed down my throat.

Taking my usual seat at the window, I jotted down some ideas for my next article. A few months ago, I landed a job at Proximity magazine. It wasn’t the ideal job I wanted but I was still able to write, and hey, it paid the rent.

My boss, Sandra, gave me a new assignment yesterday: to interview the new ‘break out painter’ in Chicago. Of course, I had to research many other artists familiar to his work as well as the painter himself.

“Would you like a refill on your tea, miss?” I finished my note before looking towards the voice.

When I did, I discovered a pair of beautiful green eyes before me. He gave me a shy smile and my jaw dropped.

“Harry?” I whispered, astounded to see him.

He nodded, “Hello, Charlie.”

I was too speechless to say anything so I got out of my seat and wrapped my arms around his neck. We embraced and every feeling, emotion, and thought I had about him over the last several months came rushing back.

We let go and I motioned for him to take the chair across from me. He cautiously stood behind the chair and eventually sat down.

I was still literally too astonished to say anything, yet I had so many questions running through my mind. I kept staring at him instead.

“What are you looking at?” he smirked.

“You,” I replied honestly. “What are you doing here?” I finally asked.

“I was sure Niall told you we were coming…” he looked confused.

“Well yeah, he did. But you were supposed to see me tomorrow… What are you doing here?” I asked again. I pointed to the ground, referring to the tea shop.

“We arrived this morning, but I didn’t really have jetlag so I thought I would come here. I was actually hoping to see you since you always came here to decompress.”
Again, he surprised me, “You remembered?”

He scoffed, “Of course I do, Jenson,” he said, winking. He took a sip of my tea and instantly set it down.

“Sorry,” he muttered. His action reminded us how we left things in England—that we weren’t as comfortable with each other anymore. I prayed that would change…

I bit my lip trying to think of a different topic. Harry looked out the window, running a hand through his dark curls obviously not knowing what to say either. I took a deep breath.

“So, how’s Scarlett?” I couldn’t think of a better question to ask as I referred to the brunette I saw with Harry several months ago. After nagging Niall to tell me who she was, he finally gave in; he informed me she was Scarlett Pelham, Harry’s ex-girlfriend. I guess she wasn’t much of an ex-girlfriend though…

“Scarlett?” he raised his eyebrows.

“Uhh, yeah…” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

“I don’t know how she is. Charlie, we didn’t date… after that,” he added the last part.

Suddenly I felt my face grow hot and I put my hands under my legs, “You didn’t?”

“No… I… haven’t been with anyone since you left,” he said quietly.

“Oh,” I nodded, taking in the information.

“How about you, Char? You got anyone special?” I smiled at the nickname he used for me. It always sounded better when he said it.

I thought for a second longer about my answer. Sure, I went on a date with Cal, but he wasn’t exactly someone I saw myself with in the long run.

I shook my head, “Nope.”

He gave me a small smile and I couldn’t help but do the same.

“So how about that refill, yeah?” he asked, pointing to my empty cup.

I grinned, putting a strand of hair behind my ear, “Sure, I’d love another one.”

He grabbed my cup and stood up, “Don’t move,” he winked.

I nodded, blushing. Harry chuckled and I couldn’t help but feel like it was that first day we came here together. I wanted to move past what had happened in England and have a fresh start with him. I realized that even if he wouldn’t like me the way I did him, I still wanted him to be in my life.

He came back with two drinks in hand, giving one of them to me.

“I added some honey and lemon, just the way you like it,” he gave me a crooked smile.

I blushed, “Thank you.”

“So,” he licked his lips, “what are you up to nowadays?”

I smiled, relieved that we were starting over. I told him about my new job, how Emily was, and how I was still living out my dreams in the city (apart from the magazine). He went on to tell me how his mother asked about me all the time, and I cursed myself for not calling her more often.

Before I knew it, three hours had gone by and I was starving. As if in response to my thoughts, my stomach growled and I blushed, immediately looking at Harry hoping he didn’t hear.

He chuckled, “Hungry?”

I groaned, “Yes! Let’s go somewhere.”

We cleaned our table and walked a block to the corner bakery for a proper lunch.

We ordered and Harry insisted on paying for our meal.

“You did this before and you still do it. Just accept that I’m paying,” he smiled at me and I shook my head, about to find a seat for us.

The old lady behind the cash register smiled at us, giving Harry the change, “You kids look lovely together—young love!” she gushed.

I was about to say something before I looked at Harry and found him smirking. I swatted his arm and he walked away, chuckling.

He put our lunch down at the table and we continued our conversation from before about a family dinner he had attended.

Taking a bite of my turkey sandwich, I felt my phone vibrate from my pocket. Sandra’s name flashed across the screen and I cursed under my breath.

“What is it?” Harry asked, concerned.

“I need to go into the office,” I sighed.

“Oh,” disappointment flooded his eyes and I wished I could stay longer.

Gathering my notebook and my bag, I looked at Harry again, “My phone number still hasn’t changed… if you wanted to talk…”

His face lit up at my offer and he nodded, “I’ll be sure to do that. Bye, Char.”

I gave him my own crooked smile and walked towards the exit.