California Sunshine

“Harry.”

No response.

“Harry! Where are we going?” Ana repeated for about the fifth time. They had left the restaurant and entered one of the long hotel hallways. Ana briefly thought about how she had always loved the smell of hotels. There was just a freshness about them that always brought back nostalgia from the past. Mostly it brought her back to times of travel with her family. Times of vacation and escape from worries of the real world.

Times of peace.

But she could hardly think about all that now as her curiosity of where they were going got the best of her. He now led her to a residential hallway with tons of rooms down it. Where was this leading to?

Harry looked over his shoulder at her, “Oh don’t you fret, you’ll find out soon enough.” He said with a smile despite Ana’s obvious frustration. He had been giving elusive answers like that the whole time. Ana was just so dang curious that she kept asking about it.

She was also noticing that he was no longer holding her hand, having dropped it after they had made it out of the restaurant. She wondered briefly if she did something wrong, but at the same time got mad at herself for being upset about it in the first place.

He isn’t going to fall in love with you in a day, get over yourself. She reasoned in her head.

“Are we at least going to be back in time for that steak?” Ana questioned, and then added “Cuz I was actually starting to look forward to that.”

Harry laughed in response, “Well that is the plan, but who knows!” Another evasive answer, Ana noted. Her hungry stomach made a noise in response.

“Great,” she replied while holding her rumbling tummy.

They had reached the end of the wing they were in and were faced with a dead end with a door marked ‘Employees Only.’ Just when Ana thought that Harry had made a wrong turn along the way and was about to turn back around, she sees him walk confidently up to the Employees Only door, and turn the handle to go in.

“What are you doing? We’re not allowed in there.” Ana said, freezing in her tracks.

“What am I doing you ask? I, Miss Anabelle, am going on an adventure. You can come with if you’d like--- or you can stay here and wait until I come back" He shrugged, "Your call.”

Ana still didn’t move, “Won’t we get into trouble?”

“Maybe. But that’s only if we get caught. Besides isn’t that part of the fun?” Harry said, smirk never leaving his face.

He then held out his hand to her again. Ana took it hesitantly as he led her through the door. She expected him to drop it again as soon as they were through the doorway but instead he did something that surprised her. He slowly interlocked his fingers with hers.

What surprised Ana more was the feelings that were tingling through her that she hadn’t felt in a long time;

Butterflies.

She looked up at Harry as the thought crossed her mind. He was looking back at her with a sheepish smile. Could he have felt them too?

She was so distracted by the hand hold that she didn’t even notice that they had stopped walking. She finally broke eye contact with Harry to see a service elevator in front of them. The elevator “ping”-ed at that very moment. Apparently, they were going up.

Excitement coursed through Ana as she waited with her hand in Harry’s to see where their elevator ride would take them. She felt as though she was about to burst with anticipation as the ride seemed to take painfully slow. How far up were they going?

Finally, the elevator ping-ed one more time as Harry said joyously, “We are here!” Ana was nervous and excited about what was going to be on the other side, but at the same time she felt nothing but safe with Harry next to her.

The doors opened and Ana inhaled a sharp gasp as she took in the sight before her. The first thing she noticed was the brisk night air that suddenly surrounded her. They were outside, and they were on a roof.

All around them were rows and rows of flowers of all types and colors. From Sunflowers to tulips, and anything in between, all arranged into a very eye-catching array. There were poles with golden lights strung from them that lined the small paths that were formed. There were also lights strung around the railings of the roof that helped accentuate the design. Matched with the dark night sky in the background and the silence of being the only people up there, it was a marvelous place indeed.

“So what do you think?” Harry asked after a few seconds.

“This is genuinely incredible, Harry.” She replied but also had a million different questions firing around her head at once. “But I am so confused. What is this place? And how do you know about it?”

“Well to be honest, I stumbled upon it a couple of days ago when I went exploring the hotel by myself. I’ve been itching to come back up here again too, with another person preferably.” And as far as what it is, I am still not sure. I can only guess that it is just a display garden meant as a nice view for the guests in the floors above.” He pointed to the windows that overlooked this balcony behind them. “I’m honestly surprised that I stumbled on it at all, but I think it was a pretty good find.”

“Yeah I’d say so!” Ana replied, mouth still hanging open.

“Come on, let’s go check out the view below!” Harry said while tugging on Ana’s hand that was still intertwined with his. And they quickly walked over to the railing to peer over it. They weren’t as high as a skyscraper, but they were high enough for the cars and people below look significantly smaller. Maybe 20 or 30 floors up.

They both took a couple moments to let the sights around them all sink in. Ana was still highly aware that their hands were still intertwined with one another.

“I’m seriously speechless, Harry. Thank you so much for taking me up here.” Ana eventually got out.

“It’s my pleasure, Ana. I just wanted you to have your adventure.” Harry responded smoothly. He was looking at her intently, making her feel very self-conscious. So naturally, she broke their eye contact out of pure fear and changed the subject to a topic that struck a chord in Ana’s thoughts.

“So you said you were exploring the hotel a few days prior. Does this mean you are staying here?” She eventually asked.

Harry hesitated at that, “I---well, yes. The other lads and I currently reside here. Nothing like living out of a suitcase for ya!” He said in an chipper voice.

Ana laughed at his enthusiasm and continued her questioning, “Soooo, when were you going to mention that you are staying in the nicest hotel in Los Angeles? And quite frankly, the nicest hotel I’ve ever seen in my life?”

“Well, I was going to bring it up eventually that we are staying here, but you got so nervous when you saw that I was bringing you to a hotel, that I didn’t want to freak you out even more. By the way, I hope you know that nothing like that was ever my intention for tonight. I just thought it was a nice place to go.” He added as an afterthought.

“Well it certainly is very nice… A little over the top and grandeur, but nice all the same.” Ana smiled while looking back at him.

“Yeah I reckon you’re right, that restaurant is not your typical first date I suppose. Normally I wouldn’t have gone to such high measures, but I’ll admit, I felt I needed to impress you.” Harry said.

Ana looked at him incredulously at that. “Me? Why would you need to impress me?” She asked in disbelief. “You are the famous one here.”

“Oh come off it!” Harry teased. “I have asked you out a couple times now, just to be rejected or blown off each time. So when you finally agreed to it, I felt so pressured to make sure it all went perfect. I may have just taken it just a little too far is all.”

Still not fully believing him, Ana pressed on; “But why me? From what I hear, you could have virtually any girl. Why am I the one you want to impress?”

Harry looked at her for a moment as if contemplating his response, he eventually spoke again though, speaking slow and calculated. “I can’t really describe it I guess. You are obviously a gorgeous girl,” (Ana’s heart panged at being called ‘gorgeous’) “But there was more to it than that. Ever since I first ran into you, y'know when you almost got trampled." He said while sticking his tongue out. "I just could not stop thinking about you. And then, by some lucky miracle I ran into you again at that pub and I had a chance to redeem myself to you. Something clicked in me then. It was something about the way we connected, the way we laughed. You just seemed like someone I’d like to get to know.” He paused for a moment before rambling on again. “Ahh ---that was probably too much again wasn’t it? I just have a tendency to be very honest. I probably sound like a proper wanke---”

Harry’s babbling was ended when Anna reached her head up to his and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

He immediate stopped talking and smiled at Ana in return. “Well thank you, that was unexpected.”

“Oh it was my pleasure!” Ana said in a mock English accent. “But to be fair, I like a bit of honesty. Actually I like A LOT of it,” Harry smiled at that and took her hand and placed a kiss on the top of it.

There is was again, the butterflies. Ana couldn’t believe she was feeling like this again. She was definitely scared of getting hurt again, but she couldn’t deny the obvious attraction she had to Harry. Maybe it was the fact that she was on a rooftop on a gorgeous night in Los Angeles, with beautiful scenery all around her. Or the fact that she was here, seeing all those things with a handsome guy. A handsome English guy to be specific. (Let’s be honest, that certainly doesn’t hurt)

Whatever it was, Ana could feel herself wanting more. And she didn’t exactly think it was a bad thing either.

Harry had now taken a step away from Ana and faced her. He stood up straight and put his left arm behind his back while reaching his right hand out, palm up.

“May I have this dance, m’lady?” He said in a voice that sounded overly grandeur.

Ana laughed at his corniness. She went along with the charade and curtsied with her dress, “Why, of course you may, good sir!” She said while sticking her tongue out at him.

He chuckled while taking her hand and leading her to the middle of the garden. He then turned to face her and placed her hand that wasn’t connected to his on his shoulder. He then set his free hand on her hip, pulling her close to him as they started to sway slowly together.

“So, where is the music?” Ana teased.

“Oh but we don’t need music for THIS.” Harry replied as he swiftly took her by the hand and spun her around.

Ana laughed out of surprise as he pulled them back together, “I suppose not, but I AM still waiting for your serenade. Oh boy-bander you. Sing one of your songs!”

“Hmm,” Harry paused, “Well if you insist.--- I NEVER WANNA HEAR YOU SAY, I WANT IT THAT WAYYY!” He sang out.

Ana playfully jabbed him in the ribs, “Unless you have switched boy-bands to the Backstreet Boys, that is NOT your song.”

“Silly me, I seem to have forgotten what decade we were in. Is this not the early 2000’s?”

“Ha ha” Ana said with a smirk. Their conversation faded as they continued to sway in silence.
Ana couldn’t believe how quickly she was drawn to him. All she knew is that she didn’t want this dance, or this night to end.

She looked up at him after a couple of seconds and noticed that his expression had turned to one of more seriousness, all traces of humor were gone. Ana bit her lip, having a feeling of what was going to happen next.

Harry’s eyes then shifted to her lips, watching the lip tucked between her teeth. Then he slowly inched his head closer down to hers and stopped right before their lips touched. Ana could feel his breath on her lips. She could smell the mint from the gum he was chewing earlier.

The anticipation was killing her.

Harry paused for a second before asking, “Could I please kiss you?” Ana felt another pang somewhere in her chest. Never before had she ever had a guy ASK permission. But holy cow did she like it.

She liked it A LOT.

“Yes,” Was all she was able to breathe out before he pressed his lips firmly to hers. Ana felt a warmth tingle through her. Ana was sad when it ended for it only lasted a couple seconds. She knew that there was a spark between them though when she looked at him once they pulled away. His eyes still closed, he looked just as frazzled as she felt. Once he opened his eyes, they both started to giggle. It was the kind of giddiness that you get when you start to fall for someone. A feeling like no other.

“Can we uh--- can we do that one more time?” Ana asked, still feeling a little dizzy. Harry laughed and responded by waggling his eyebrows at her as he leaned his face back in towards her.
However, he was stopped (much to Ana’s disappointment) by a deep male voice that called out to them.

“Hey this deck is hotel staff only, I’m afraid I need you kids to leave.” They both turned their heads on the spot to see a maintenance man standing in the doorway that they came from. He was staring at them tiredly, as if this wasn’t the first time he has had to do this.

“Sorry sir, we were just leaving.” Harry said before turning back to Ana and was surprised to see the devilish grin on her face.

“Race ya back to the restaurant!” She exclaimed excitedly as she playfully jabbed him in the stomach before she broke away from him and ran towards the exit past the maintenance guy. “Sorry for the inconvenience!” She said to him as she ran past.

Harry grinned and started to take off after her. “Oh you are going to regret that little lady, I’m coming for you!” As he chased her back the way they came and towards the hotel again.