These Four Walls

After my birthday dinner last night with Harry, I was floating on cloud nine. Despite the underlying phone calls from my boss in the back of my head, the night could not have gone any better. We went to a place called Kozlak's Royal Oak Restaurant, right off Hodgson road. I was a little uneasy about the whole five star scenario and I offered to split the bill, but Harry just got sassy and cranky, so I let it slide. We were wined and dined, as far as two minors in the states were concerned, anyways.

When Harry swore he couldn’t eat another bite without his jeans busting open, and when I regretted taking another bite of chicken, we headed back to my place to snuggle up on the couch and watch some movies. A couple rom-coms and a mystery that neither of us were particularly fond of. It usually didn’t take much to impress us, though. Harry and I were pros at watching movies by now.

Somewhere in the middle, Harry got a bit handsy and decided the couch was as good a place as any. I couldn’t remember the last time I had to bite down on his shoulder to keep from screaming. He always managed to show me why I missed him so much when he wasn’t with me. I wouldn’t say that distance was worth it, but nights like last night were more than that.

“Babe, where do you keep the rubbing alcohol?” I heard Harry hollering from the kitchen. “I spilled mustard on my shirt.”

I rolled my eyes playfully, shutting the magazine on my lap and tossing it near the foot of my bed. I went across the hall into the bathroom, digging through the medicine cabinet for a short few seconds before retrieving the bottle. When I found him in the kitchen, he was scavenging through my salts and seasonings cabinet.

“It’s not edible, Harry. You’re not gonna find it in there.”

A grin broke out on his face when he noticed the bottle in my hand before he slammed the cabinet shut. He stood next to me while I grabbed a paper towel and got it damp before swiping at the large yellow stain near the top of his shirt.

“You’re always making sure I’m squeaky clean. What would I do without you?” He smiled cheekily, his dimples dipping into him.

“You’d probably have to start being more careful and responsible,” I said, examining the stain further when it proved to be a difficult one. “You do know that when you eat, you actually have to chew, right? Because I’ve noticed you like to scarf everything down whole.”

“Trust me, I try,” he smirked. “Food is just too good to me.”

“That’s not what this mustard is telling me.”

I swiped at it a couple more times before deciding it wasn’t going to be perfect--although I would have liked it to be-- and threw away the crumpled paper towel. Harry pinched his shirt with two finger and shook it back and forth to dry faster.

“You could’ve saved three minutes of our day by changing your shirt.” I kinked an eyebrow, leaning on the counter next to him while he took a seat on the barstool. “Or skipping the hotdog.”

“I’m offended. This is one of my favorites.” His face twisted up like he couldn’t believe I had even suggested that.

I crossed one leg over the other, pushing my weight onto my elbow. I couldn’t help but smile as he continued to fan down the dark, wet spot where the stain had been. “You say that about all of your shirts.”

“Because it’s true!” He defended. It didn’t matter what clothes he was wearing, on what day, or in what weather, it was always his favorite. I thought it was even more ridiculous that he hardly ever wore the same thing twice. “Besides, I only have one other shirt that hasn’t been worn yet and I’m wearing it for the plane ride, tomorrow.”

My face fell and my heart sank. “You leave tomorrow?”

“You didn’t know that?” He asked, slowly. His eyes grew a blinding shade of green as guilt set in. “Shit, baby, I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you.”

We’ve had to say goodbye to each other more times than I could count, yet every time it happened, it still hurt just the same. It was hard to remember the last time I woke up in bed with him and wasn’t worried about the next time he had to fly home. Going back to our own realities was one of the worst parts about it. It was like when we got the chance to spend some time together, we dropped everything and then in the blink of an eye, it was all back to the way it was.

But we couldn’t drop everything forever.

I smiled tightly, pushing myself off the counter before stepping towards him to sit comfortingly on his lap. “I don’t blame you. It must have slipped your mind after these past couple of nights.”

I linked my arm around his shoulders while he wrapped one around my waist and placed his other hand on my thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“The things you do to me.”

I smirked, playing with a curl below his ear. “Two years and it’s still working.”

Two years.

It was weird saying it out loud because the days went by so fast. I met him right out of highschool, and since then it has been on play. Not once has there been a pause in our relationship. Not even the long distance has slowed us down and I prayed it would stay that way.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave. We have a gig the next day and with the tour coming up, management has us on lockdown.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want you to be sad,” he stated, squishing me closer to him to plant a light kiss on my cheek. “I’ll be back again before you know it.”

“I know that, too.” I smiled. “I just like when you’re around, that’s all.”

“Oh yeah?” He asked before giving my neck a delicate peck. “What do you like about it?”

“You just- you always know what to say to make me smile or laugh. When I’m tired you let me lay my head on your lap, you don’t care that I sleep in your shirts, and you always change the oil in my car for free.”

I hadn’t noticed our foreheads were touching until I felt his eyelashes sweep mine when he looked up at me. My fingernails lightly traced the back of his neck as I held tighter to him.

“I don’t know. Somehow everything’s better and brighter when you’re around. There’s something about you, Harry.”

A sparkle lit up in his eye and a second passed before his grip on my waist pushed me into him and I sunk down, positioning my lips on top of his as he rolled them with mine. Two years later and he still managed to take my breath away with every kiss. I brought my hand up to his cheek, holding his face close to mine, relishing in the scent of him.

Before he could lean in to start up another long roll of steamy lip-locking, I scooted off of his thighs, only long enough to turn and wrap a leg over him before plopping back down and feeling his bulge as I straddled him. The friction between us grew heavier and more intense as I teasingly grinded my hips into his, earning a deep growl from Harry.

I found it convenient that I chose to put on a skirt today, when Harry found himself running his hand up my leg, stopping at my entrance before pulling my underwear to the side. He pressed his thumb to my clit, moving in treturous circles as I let out a surprised breath into our next kiss. I continued to grind on him, even when I could feel him unzipping his trousers with his unoccupied hand.

After he was free of his waistband, he suddenly ripped his finger from me to grip my hips with both of his hands, before quickly hoisting me onto the counter. My mind felt hazy and I could already feel my mouth growing swollen when I bit my lip. Harry only tore away from me long enough to pull his boxers down to his legs before stepping back into me, tearing my underwear off me and pushing up my skirt. My legs instantly wrapped around his waist when he positioned himself, my ankles locking together behind his back.

With lust in his eyes and after giving my neck some more attention, he pulled at my wrists, guiding them to wrap around his neck so our faces were centimeters apart, before sinking into me with that slow and familiar stretch that made us hold our breaths. I clenched my nails into his shoulder, my elbow wrapping tighter around the back of his neck. Harry sighed, pushing his hips deeper before picking up the pace and grinding us into a rhythm.

I loved the look on his face when he was determined to get us both to come undone. His brows furrowed together and his lips parted as he tried to keep his breathing steady. The muscles in his stomach and chest clenched back and forth with the movement of his hips. His constant pumping and the view of him alone was enough for me to feel the bubble up in my stomach and at the ends of my toes.

“You’re close,” he whispered out of breath. There was no denying the smirk that curved on his lips. He knew my body like the back of his hand.

He slowed down, pushing me back on my elbows and placing his palms down on either side of me, before finally, after those few seconds of torture, sending me flying over the edge. My toes curled and my body shook with pleasure as we exchanged hot, open mouthed kisses.

I whimpered when he finished inside of me, a moment of weakness at how tender and sensitive I currently felt.. Thankfully, I had been on the pill since eleventh grade.

He pushed our bodies together and stilled, our breathing synchronized as we came to a complete stop. He perked his head up after a moment and brushed my hair back.

“That’s why I like you here,” I said smugly, rubbing my hands up his chest, making sure to dodge the mustard stain.

“Mhm,” he grunted, slamming into me without warning.

I hissed from pleasure, my sensitivity coursing through my waist like a thousand bullets. Even though sweat was glistening on his forehead and he had already emptied himself, he was consistent.

“I want you to come again.”

The next eight pumps were aggressive, eager to finish me off. I was coming undone as soon as his thumb rubbed at that familiar bundle of nerves that seemed to get me everytime. I slapped at his arms before clinging to them for dear life as to not send myself over the back of the counter. After my squealing and whimpering wore down, I unhooked my legs.

As I watched Harry pull out of me and glide his jeans up his thighs, I noticed the giant smile on his face.

“Quit smiling.” I tried to sound demanding, but because of my shortness of breath, it only came as a whisper.

“That never gets old,” he voiced while he adjusted my skirt and helped set my feet on the ground. “We must get better with age.”

I felt the heat flood to my cheeks. I didn’t want him to notice so I kept my head down while I put my underwear on. “I hate when you talk about our sex life.”

“How come? It’s absolutely flawless,” he bragged, walking to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water. “We’ve come a long way, Ava. I don’t finish before you anymore, and you’re not afraid to slap me around a bit. I love it.”

“Is this what you sound like when you’re telling your friends about us?”

He sent me a look like I was crazy--eyebrows squished together, wide eyes, and a quick shake of his head. “Fuck no, Jesus! I would never tell them anything. They don’t deserve to know. Especially, Niall.”

Although I didn’t appreciate his foul language, it was extremely reassuring to know that our relationship was mostly private. The personal stuff, like our sex life, was something too important to me that wasn’t meant to be shared with the world. It was between Harry and me.

“Thanks,” I muttered, tucking hair behind my ear.

He swallowed a gulp of water. “For what?”

“Keeping our private life private.”

I took a seat on one of the stools, while Harry propped his shoulders on the counter we previously christened. He instinctively tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “For all the shit the media’s put us through, it’s honestly the least I can do.”

I smiled into our kiss after he brought my face to his by wrapping his hand behind my neck. When my eyes fluttered open, I grabbed his hand in mine, playing with his fingers.

“Don’t leave,” I sighed. “Just stay forever and ever and ever.”

He laughed but I could see his features falter. “I want to,” his green eyes looked into my brown ones. “But I can’t.”

I pouted playfully, hoping to brighten his mood and thankfully, I got a smile out of him.

“You know I’m proud of you, right?” I laced our fingers together, gliding my thumb over his in a circular motion because I knew how much he enjoyed it. “Because I know how stressed out you’ve been and how hard you’ve been working lately. I’m just so incredibly proud of you. I can’t thank you enough for always fitting me into your schedule.”

A side smile crept onto his cheeks, dimples and all. “I wouldn’t call it fitting you into my schedule. You’re my girlfriend, baby.”

I rolled my eyes. “Still.”

“If it means anything, I’m proud of you, too. As much as you hate your job, you still love what you do. And I know everything isn’t fine with your family right now, with your grandma and everything, but I see how much you love them and want to be there for them, it’s inspiring. You’re so driven, Ava, it makes me want to work that much harder.”

In that moment, my stomach fluttered with butterflies and heat raced to my cheeks. In my eyes, Harry was the one deserving of all the praise. I didn’t do anything spectacular, despite how amazing he made it sound.

“Stop it,” I forced a smile.

Harry shook his head. “Why do you always do that?”

“Do what?”

“You never give yourself any credit,” he answered, holding onto my hand tighter. “I think I’m allowed to praise you. Stop pretending like you’re not my entire world, because you are.”

I nodded, but I couldn’t help the way I felt. I felt guilty for making him worry about it, because it shouldn’t have mattered how I saw myself. “Okay.”

He sighed. “Okay.”

***

“I need you to come in, tomorrow. I let some employees go, so you’ll have to finish their incomplete orders. I understand this must be very inconvenient for you, but I assure you, you will be getting paid double on your next paycheck.” Charlotte instructed me through the phone. I apologized for not picking up her calls the other day, but now I was wishing I hadn’t answered this one either.

I was sitting on the living room floor with my phone squished between my ear and shoulder, attempting to paint my toenails as Harry messed around with his camera on the lounger behind me. I scolded him twice already for sneaking up behind me to snap pictures of me in my pajamas.

“Is there any way I can keep my day off? I have somewhere really impor--”

“No, I’m sorry, Ava. I think you should bless your lucky stars that I didn’t drop you from the department. You were next on my list.”

This Charlotte sounded like the total opposite of the Charlotte I was used to. For a boss, I liked to think she was one of the better ones, I mean, she let us call her by her first name. Right now, there was no denying the harshness to her voice.

Instead of digging my hole deeper, I decided to agree. “Right, okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Goodnight, Ms. Larsen,” she told me before hanging up.

After letting it sink in, I screamed out a frustrated grunt as I slammed my phone onto the carpet. I could feel the strange look coming from Harry burning into the back of my skull.

“Bad news?” He asked.

“My boss, she just--” I blew out some heated air from my lungs. “She just ruined everything. I can’t see you off tomorrow. I have to go into work.”

He pushed himself off the recliner and plummeted down next to me, but I chose not to acknowledge him, instead I concentrated on getting the light shade of blue polish onto my toes. Within a second of him sitting down, his head smashed close to mine before he held the camera out in front of us and with the click of a button, a giant flash lit up the entire room.

“Harry, what are you doing?” I nudged his shoulder.

He laughed, snapping another picture of me. “Exactly what you should be doing. Making the most of our last night together.”

He leaned in closer, clicking the camera yet another time.

“Well, cut it out. You’re being annoying,” I grumbled, holding my hand out to block my face.

“You’re just so cute when you’re upset in your little pj’s.” Harry laughed, standing up to hover above me with the camera. “I think you’re even prettier without makeup.”

He snapped a few more pictures and at this point I knew it was just his way of making me feel better. There were other ways he could do it, but he was right, we had to make the best of every moment we had together, because tomorrow night, I’d be alone in my bed wondering where the time went.

I quickly twisted the nail polish closed before throwing it to the side and pushing myself upright. Harry was too busy clicking away on the camera to notice the way I was looking at him, but when I crept closer to him with a sly smile, he backed away slowly.

“Now baby, don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

“You better run, Styles.” I told him, one step behind him as I chased him down the hall.