Friends, Lovers, or Nothing

We finally made it to a little hole in the wall pizza restaurant that was open really late. Perfect for an after concert bite. As we stepped in the aroma of fresh baked pizza was strong and immediately made my stomach growl Harry tried not to laugh until his stomach did the same. I couldn't help but laugh too as we made our way to the cashier to order.

“What kind do you want?” Harry asked as he looked at me while I was surveying the menu.

“Uhmm…” I trailed off still trying to decide. “Honestly, any of these would be great. They all sound delicious right about now.”

“What do you recommend?” He asked the man working the cash register.

“Can’t go wrong with the basic cheese but the veggie pizza with white sauce is a crowd pleaser here.” He smiled.

“Okay then, we’ll go with the veggie.” Harry smiled and took out his wallet. “Oh, and two drinks.”

“I’ll go find us a seat.” I smiled as I released his hand that I had been holding and began to look around the crowded restaurant. I recognized a lot of these people from the concert. I noticed a table for two in the back corner and immediately made my way over there and snagged it. As I sat down I heard a loud sigh come from beside me. I looked up only to see Jared.

“I was going to take that table.” He practically whined.

“You snooze you lose.” I said bluntly and took out my phone to make sure I didn’t have any missed calls.

“Where’s loverboy?” He said in a snarky tone.

“Right here.” Harry smirked as he pushed past Jared with our pizza and drinks. “Feel free to leave now.” He sat down and handed me an iced tea. I thanked him and took a sip while Jared just stood there a bit dumbfounded.

“Uhh… This is your date?” Jared finally asked. "I thought it was a joke when I heard it at the concert."

“Yeah. Now, can you go? We’d like to actually enjoy said date.” I looked up at him. “And that song, by the way, total shit.” I looked at the pizza and finally Jared left the table. “That was awkward.”

“A bit.” Harry chuckled, taking a bite of the pizza. “This pizza is amazing!”

I took a bite of my slice as well and just nodded my head in agreement. We practically inhaled the entire pizza. We just laughed at how fast we had eaten it but it was so good we didn’t really care. “So, how long did you guys say you’d be in the area?” I asked as I finished up my iced tea.

“Well, we decided to extend our visit here. We were really just here for some press stuff, then we’d be going back to London next week but I’m really starting to like it here.” He smiled at me. “The other lads, I’m not sure if they’re staying the whole time, but I know I am.”

“Hmmm…” I responded as a smile crept across my face. “I guess that means we’ll need to go out again, doesn’t it?”

“I guess it does.”

I blushed and looked at the walls filled with all kinds of music memorabilia. The owner of the restaurant came into the dining room and apologized that it was officially closing time. We made our way out the door and no sooner had we left the restaurant was Harry’s hand holding onto mine. There were a few paps outside who snapped photos. “Who’s the girl, Harry? Is this your new girlfriend? Wait, wasn’t she out with Liam two nights ago?” He just tightened his grip and lead me to the car that was waiting.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” He apologized. “I always hope they won’t be out but they always are.”

“It’s not your fault. Not like you called them up.” I smiled as I squeezed his hand reassuringly to which he gave me that million dollar smile all the girls go crazy for.

“Are you ready for me to take you back to your place?” He asked as we started driving.

I thought to myself for a moment, do I really want to go home? No. But I don’t want him to think I want to do anything crazy like sex on the first date. Definitely not my style. “Uhh, yeah I guess you could take me home.” I shrugged.

“You’re not ready to go home? That’s fine. Beach?”

I just looked into his eyes with a smile and nodded my head. I wasn’t ready for this night to end, but I wasn’t ready for it to go much further either. We arrived at a completely empty beach. It was beautiful with the way the moonlight hit the waves just right. It looked like the sea was glowing. We got out of the car and began to walk towards the sand. I quickly took off my shoes and ran towards the water, throwing my bag and shoes down. “Hurry up, Harry!” I called as I set foot in the water.

I could hear him chuckling and turned to see him taking his boots off and trying to pull his pant legs up. I just laughed and spun in circles with my feet in the water. Not too soon after, Harry finally made his way to where I was. “You know, this water is freezing!” He said trying not to be too loud. I just laughed and acted like I was going to splash him to which he responded with engulfing me in a bear hug. “I will tickle you if you splash me.” He whispered in my ear and I could feel my face begin to heat up.

“I swear, I won’t.” I batted my lashes at him. “Unless… I want you to tickle me.” I winked and ran away from him.

We ran around the beach for a while before deciding to take a seat in the sand and watch the waves crash against the shore. I placed my head on Harry’s shoulder and just took in the moment. He was one of the best guys I had ever met. He was nothing like what I expected from all of the tabloids and gossip. I don’t think I ever truly believed he was like that, but it was nice to know for a fact they weren’t right about him. I glanced up at him and caught him staring at me which caused him to turn a bit red and look away. I just smiled and looked back to the waves.

“Would you maybe want to go to lunch with the rest of the lads and me tomorrow?” Harry finally broke the silence. I looked at him a little unsure of what to say. “I’m serious. I think they’d like to hang out with you again. I know Liam would. He wouldn’t shut up all day about how you were best friends now.”

“If you want me to go, I will.” I smiled and cuddled up closer to him to take some of his body heat. The wind was picking up again and I was starting to get chilly. I checked my phone again and showed Harry the time, it was almost four in the morning. “Maybe we should head home.” I suggested.

“Just a few more minutes.” He said softly as he put his arm around my shoulder and looked off into the distance where the sea and sky met.

After another few minutes he decided he was ready to leave and helped me up off the ground. We slowly made our way to the car, neither of us wanting to really leave but both so tired we knew we needed to head out. The car ride back to my apartment was rather quiet, but the good kind. Every so often we’d accidentally bump hands and the sounds of John Mayer played softly in the background. When we finally arrived back at my complex, Harry walked me to the door and we stood there for a moment. Both honestly a bit nervous. “I’m really glad you agreed to come out with me tonight.” He finally spoke.

“I am too.” I tried to hide the grin that was trying to spread across my face, I didn’t want to look insane.

He slowly placed his right hand on my cheek and pulled me in for a slow, gentle kiss. My hands found their way around his neck as the kiss got a little more intense. When he pulled away I began to blush like crazy. I touched my now warm cheeks and looks away, grabbing my keys out of my bag. “Thank you for tonight. It was… It was one of the best nights I’ve had in a really long time.” I admitted as I unlocked my door. “I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch. Just let me know what the plan is.”

Harry agreed, and said one final goodnight before heading back to the car. I couldn’t help but sneakily watch him out the window as he walked away. As he opened the car door, he turned to face my apartment again, and he had this giant grin plastered across his face. It was just so cute, and it was a sight I didn’t want to soon forget.