I Thought You'd Care
Chapter 26: Shots
Chapter 26: Shots
(Nell’s outfit for this chapter: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=77181354)
Harry’s POV
I tried not to stare at Nell and Niall when they walked back from her room. They had been in there just a bit too long, and I had been counting the minutes that ticked by. Eight. Eight minutes was past just a friendly help unpack. Eight minutes meant something had happened. And I was determined to find out what, exactly, ‘something’ was.
Eleanor, Danielle, and Perrie had been invited over, and I was making chicken for us. It was all we had in the fridge, presumably because Niall ate everything else, so I turned on a pan, set up some rice, and watched everyone play FIFA in the living room. I noticed that Nell wasn’t cuddled up with Niall, though, so that was nice. She was squeezed between Liam and Louis, while Niall sat in an armchair, staring at her whenever he thought she was looking away. Then, when she glanced at him, he’d look away, and she’d stare at him. It was like they were determined not to make eye contact. I silently cursed him for being so likeable, then took it back because he was, of course, just so likeable, and headed back to the kitchen, where I started grilling some of the food.
About ten minutes later, just as I finished everything up, I heard the doorbell ring, and Zayn rushed over to open it. It was the girlfriends, so all the guys but Niall stood up and went to greet them. I looked over in that direction, to see too much PDA going on, so I glanced back at the couches, where Niall was whispering something in Nell’s ear. She laughed and playfully whispered back. I wanted to be him more than anything right now.
I finally managed to get everyone to sit down, and I served dinner. The couples were all off in their own little worlds, though, and soon enough, they abandoned dinner and started getting a bit touchy-feely, so Niall, Nell, and I rolled our eyes, made a few sarcastic comments, and moved to the kitchen counter, sitting on the stools, so our back was to the make-out sessions. After a few more minutes, we heard them move to their bedrooms, so I cleared their places and we went back to the dining table.
“Does that always happen?” Nell asked, laughing a bit. Niall and I were on one side of the table, and she was on the other. I accidentally kicked her foot, and she kicked me back. We started playing footsie a bit, but not so much that Niall would notice.
“Pretty much,” Niall responded, his face buried in food, unaware as to what our feet were doing under the table. It was weird how I was getting such a rush from just our feet colliding. For the first time, I thought about how much I liked it. How I liked that she could do this to me. Before, all I’d been able to think was that I was the one who was supposed to make girls feel like that, and how she was emasculating me, but now I just let go of all that and enjoyed the sensation of crossing legs with her.
Niall finally finished eating, and we decided to watch a movie. We all sat on one couch, Nell between the two of us, and Niall ended up falling asleep after only about twenty minutes. It was still only 9:40, and I wasn’t sure how he had managed to pass out so soon.
I wasn’t about to complain, though. He had left Nell and I alone, and we were inching closer together. Our legs were just about to touch when her phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her pocket. I caught a glimpse of the message before she angled it away from me. It had read, “Is Harry…”
That piqued my curiosity. I wanted to know what that message had said, and I wanted to know what her response would be. I slowly leaned towards her, not enough to be noticeable, but enough to see what she was texting.
From: Hannah
Is Harry a good kisser?
To: Hannah, Taylor
Yeah. Really damn good actually
From: Taylor
Better than Niall?
To: Hannah, Taylor
No, but I feel like if it had been in a better setting, like not in the car, then he would be soo good.
From: Hannah
Oh my god you so like him
From: Taylor
Why don’t you try in a better setting? ;)
To: Hannah, Taylor
I can’t.
From: Taylor
Why nottt? For real. He likes you.
To: Hannah, Taylor
Because I like Niall and I’m so confused and ugh :/ I don’t know if I want to get mixed up with guys again.
From: Hannah
Girl, just do whatever you want and when you finally make a decision, roll with it
From: Taylor
Yeah, Nell. Just go with it. These guys are nice. They’re going to be good to you, I promise. Don’t let Jake ruin everything.
To: Hannah, Taylor
I’m pretty sure he can see what I’m texting. I gotta go. I’ll text you if anything…ya know…happens ;) haha. Byee
From: Hannah
Bye girly! I love how happy you seem cuz of these guys…I hope it lasts!
From: Taylor
Yeah. You’ve been so…smiley. I like it. See ya!
I watched as the conversation went along. As she typed her last text, I bit back a laugh. I liked to think that I’d been pretty subtle. I wondered if she really had meant it. I doubted that she’d let me see all that if she knew I’d been watching.
As far as the earlier texts, they made me happy. I got the butterflies again. I wanted to try kissing her in a better setting, too. I was envious of Niall, who’d had the most fucking romantic buildup for a kiss I’d ever heard of, and I wanted something like that. I also wanted to have sex with her, like he had, but I tried to push that out of my mind. I didn’t like to be the person that the media said I was.
I decided that, at some point, I would make a move on her. I wasn’t sure when, though, or if I’d even be able to follow through with my plan. As she put her phone away, I asked nonchalantly, “Who was that?”
“Hannah and Taylor. You know, the ones you were flirting with.” She playfully slapped my arm and grinned at me. The motion brought us closer together, so that our legs were touching.
“I am a flirt,” I joked. “Which is why I have to tell you that you look really nice.”
She smiled at me. “Thanks. So do you, hotshot.”
I felt my old confidence surging through me, so I went for it. “And it’s also why I have to tell you that I really like you.”
I expected her to be her shy old self, and look at the ground, but she surprised me. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “Well, I like you too, Harry.”
She turned away and we watched the movie for ten more minutes, before I got bored and asked if she wanted something to drink.
“Yeah, that would be great.” She replied, smiling up at me.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Surprise me.”
I went to the kitchen, and was just about to grab a couple of beers, when I got an idea. I grabbed three shotglasses and a bottle of whiskey. I breezed by her and whispered “Come with me,” heading over to my room. She raised her eyebrows but followed. We entered my room and I shut the door and turned the light on. I sat down on the floor and motioned for her to do the same. I put between us, pouring some of the liquid into each. “Before we do anything,” I said, realizing that this seemed very sketchy, “I just want to say that I brought you in here for completely nonsexual reasons.”
She laughed. “Okay, Harry, thanks. Now would you care to explain why we are sitting on your bedroom floor with shots in front of us?”
“We’re going to play a drinking game.” I answered. “It’s called two truths and a lie. Basically, each of us says two truths and a lie, and if the other person guesses right, then whoever said them takes a shot. If they guess wrong, they take a shot. It’s pretty simple.”
“Alright. Do you want to go first?” I grinned at how game she was for this.
“Yeah,” I answered. “Okay…my first girlfriend was named Emilie, I used to be in a band called Blue Eskimo, and I used to want to be a lawyer.”
“Second one.” She said without hesitation. I smirked and took a shot.
“It was White Eskimo,” I said.
“Okay, my turn then. Let’s see. I hate winter, I can play ukulele, and I’m afraid of falling.”
“Third one,” I said. She seemed so fearless.
She laughed. “Take another one, hotshot. I actually love winter.” I groaned and took another shot.
“My favorite football team is Arsenal, my favorite color is orange, and I would date Zayn if I was a girl.” I mused.
“I think the first one,” she said.
“God damn,” I took another shot. “How are you so good at this?”
“Harry, I’m going into psychology for a reason. I can tell when you’re lying. You flare your nostrils a bit.”
I cursed myself and told myself to stop doing that.
“I haven’t celebrated my birthday in five years, I have over four hundred contacts in my phone, and I love biking.”
I pondered that one for a moment. She was likeable, so I could understand the contacts thing, and she had mentioned that she liked biking earlier, so I went for the first one. It seemed so implausible that I couldn’t believe it to be true. “Number one.” I said confidently.
“You’re awful at this game, Harry. That’s true. And I only have three hundred fifty contacts. A lot of kids at school didn’t like me, but then again, a lot of kids did. At least three hundred fifty.”
I poured myself three more shots and downed one. At this point, I was starting to feel the alcohol a bit. “Alright,” I said. “My favorite animals are turtles, my favorite song is Paradise by Coldplay, and I talk in my sleep.”
“That’s not your favorite song.”
“Damn it!” I yelled. “I didn’t even flair my nostrils.”
She laughed. “Harry, you have at least a dozen other tells besides that. I don’t plan on telling you what they are, though.” I playfully punched her arm.
“I have never kissed one of my customers, I couldn’t read until I was eight, and my favorite color is blue.”
“The second one,” I said, instantly.
She shook her head. “Nope. It was the first one.”
I took a shot and raised my eyebrows, willing her to go on with the story.
She sighed. “Alright, hotshot. Well, it was some creepy forty-something who assumed that my politeness was flirting. He just went straight for it. It was awful. Actually, it was part of the reason that I used to hate kissing.”
“Until I changed your mind.”
“Yeah, Harry, until you changed my mind. It’s your turn.”
I groaned and lay down on the floor, my arms sprawled around. “I’m not playing this game with you anymore.” I grabbed a pack of gum that was next to my shoes and popped a piece in my mouth. My breath probably didn’t smell the greatest after all those shots, which were starting to make my head pound.
“Why not?” She teased.
“Because you’re so damn good at it. Let’s play truth or dare.” Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes. I prayed silently.
“Okay,” she answered, and I sat up, grinning.
(Nell’s outfit for this chapter: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=77181354)
Harry’s POV
I tried not to stare at Nell and Niall when they walked back from her room. They had been in there just a bit too long, and I had been counting the minutes that ticked by. Eight. Eight minutes was past just a friendly help unpack. Eight minutes meant something had happened. And I was determined to find out what, exactly, ‘something’ was.
Eleanor, Danielle, and Perrie had been invited over, and I was making chicken for us. It was all we had in the fridge, presumably because Niall ate everything else, so I turned on a pan, set up some rice, and watched everyone play FIFA in the living room. I noticed that Nell wasn’t cuddled up with Niall, though, so that was nice. She was squeezed between Liam and Louis, while Niall sat in an armchair, staring at her whenever he thought she was looking away. Then, when she glanced at him, he’d look away, and she’d stare at him. It was like they were determined not to make eye contact. I silently cursed him for being so likeable, then took it back because he was, of course, just so likeable, and headed back to the kitchen, where I started grilling some of the food.
About ten minutes later, just as I finished everything up, I heard the doorbell ring, and Zayn rushed over to open it. It was the girlfriends, so all the guys but Niall stood up and went to greet them. I looked over in that direction, to see too much PDA going on, so I glanced back at the couches, where Niall was whispering something in Nell’s ear. She laughed and playfully whispered back. I wanted to be him more than anything right now.
I finally managed to get everyone to sit down, and I served dinner. The couples were all off in their own little worlds, though, and soon enough, they abandoned dinner and started getting a bit touchy-feely, so Niall, Nell, and I rolled our eyes, made a few sarcastic comments, and moved to the kitchen counter, sitting on the stools, so our back was to the make-out sessions. After a few more minutes, we heard them move to their bedrooms, so I cleared their places and we went back to the dining table.
“Does that always happen?” Nell asked, laughing a bit. Niall and I were on one side of the table, and she was on the other. I accidentally kicked her foot, and she kicked me back. We started playing footsie a bit, but not so much that Niall would notice.
“Pretty much,” Niall responded, his face buried in food, unaware as to what our feet were doing under the table. It was weird how I was getting such a rush from just our feet colliding. For the first time, I thought about how much I liked it. How I liked that she could do this to me. Before, all I’d been able to think was that I was the one who was supposed to make girls feel like that, and how she was emasculating me, but now I just let go of all that and enjoyed the sensation of crossing legs with her.
Niall finally finished eating, and we decided to watch a movie. We all sat on one couch, Nell between the two of us, and Niall ended up falling asleep after only about twenty minutes. It was still only 9:40, and I wasn’t sure how he had managed to pass out so soon.
I wasn’t about to complain, though. He had left Nell and I alone, and we were inching closer together. Our legs were just about to touch when her phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her pocket. I caught a glimpse of the message before she angled it away from me. It had read, “Is Harry…”
That piqued my curiosity. I wanted to know what that message had said, and I wanted to know what her response would be. I slowly leaned towards her, not enough to be noticeable, but enough to see what she was texting.
From: Hannah
Is Harry a good kisser?
To: Hannah, Taylor
Yeah. Really damn good actually
From: Taylor
Better than Niall?
To: Hannah, Taylor
No, but I feel like if it had been in a better setting, like not in the car, then he would be soo good.
From: Hannah
Oh my god you so like him
From: Taylor
Why don’t you try in a better setting? ;)
To: Hannah, Taylor
I can’t.
From: Taylor
Why nottt? For real. He likes you.
To: Hannah, Taylor
Because I like Niall and I’m so confused and ugh :/ I don’t know if I want to get mixed up with guys again.
From: Hannah
Girl, just do whatever you want and when you finally make a decision, roll with it
From: Taylor
Yeah, Nell. Just go with it. These guys are nice. They’re going to be good to you, I promise. Don’t let Jake ruin everything.
To: Hannah, Taylor
I’m pretty sure he can see what I’m texting. I gotta go. I’ll text you if anything…ya know…happens ;) haha. Byee
From: Hannah
Bye girly! I love how happy you seem cuz of these guys…I hope it lasts!
From: Taylor
Yeah. You’ve been so…smiley. I like it. See ya!
I watched as the conversation went along. As she typed her last text, I bit back a laugh. I liked to think that I’d been pretty subtle. I wondered if she really had meant it. I doubted that she’d let me see all that if she knew I’d been watching.
As far as the earlier texts, they made me happy. I got the butterflies again. I wanted to try kissing her in a better setting, too. I was envious of Niall, who’d had the most fucking romantic buildup for a kiss I’d ever heard of, and I wanted something like that. I also wanted to have sex with her, like he had, but I tried to push that out of my mind. I didn’t like to be the person that the media said I was.
I decided that, at some point, I would make a move on her. I wasn’t sure when, though, or if I’d even be able to follow through with my plan. As she put her phone away, I asked nonchalantly, “Who was that?”
“Hannah and Taylor. You know, the ones you were flirting with.” She playfully slapped my arm and grinned at me. The motion brought us closer together, so that our legs were touching.
“I am a flirt,” I joked. “Which is why I have to tell you that you look really nice.”
She smiled at me. “Thanks. So do you, hotshot.”
I felt my old confidence surging through me, so I went for it. “And it’s also why I have to tell you that I really like you.”
I expected her to be her shy old self, and look at the ground, but she surprised me. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “Well, I like you too, Harry.”
She turned away and we watched the movie for ten more minutes, before I got bored and asked if she wanted something to drink.
“Yeah, that would be great.” She replied, smiling up at me.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Surprise me.”
I went to the kitchen, and was just about to grab a couple of beers, when I got an idea. I grabbed three shotglasses and a bottle of whiskey. I breezed by her and whispered “Come with me,” heading over to my room. She raised her eyebrows but followed. We entered my room and I shut the door and turned the light on. I sat down on the floor and motioned for her to do the same. I put between us, pouring some of the liquid into each. “Before we do anything,” I said, realizing that this seemed very sketchy, “I just want to say that I brought you in here for completely nonsexual reasons.”
She laughed. “Okay, Harry, thanks. Now would you care to explain why we are sitting on your bedroom floor with shots in front of us?”
“We’re going to play a drinking game.” I answered. “It’s called two truths and a lie. Basically, each of us says two truths and a lie, and if the other person guesses right, then whoever said them takes a shot. If they guess wrong, they take a shot. It’s pretty simple.”
“Alright. Do you want to go first?” I grinned at how game she was for this.
“Yeah,” I answered. “Okay…my first girlfriend was named Emilie, I used to be in a band called Blue Eskimo, and I used to want to be a lawyer.”
“Second one.” She said without hesitation. I smirked and took a shot.
“It was White Eskimo,” I said.
“Okay, my turn then. Let’s see. I hate winter, I can play ukulele, and I’m afraid of falling.”
“Third one,” I said. She seemed so fearless.
She laughed. “Take another one, hotshot. I actually love winter.” I groaned and took another shot.
“My favorite football team is Arsenal, my favorite color is orange, and I would date Zayn if I was a girl.” I mused.
“I think the first one,” she said.
“God damn,” I took another shot. “How are you so good at this?”
“Harry, I’m going into psychology for a reason. I can tell when you’re lying. You flare your nostrils a bit.”
I cursed myself and told myself to stop doing that.
“I haven’t celebrated my birthday in five years, I have over four hundred contacts in my phone, and I love biking.”
I pondered that one for a moment. She was likeable, so I could understand the contacts thing, and she had mentioned that she liked biking earlier, so I went for the first one. It seemed so implausible that I couldn’t believe it to be true. “Number one.” I said confidently.
“You’re awful at this game, Harry. That’s true. And I only have three hundred fifty contacts. A lot of kids at school didn’t like me, but then again, a lot of kids did. At least three hundred fifty.”
I poured myself three more shots and downed one. At this point, I was starting to feel the alcohol a bit. “Alright,” I said. “My favorite animals are turtles, my favorite song is Paradise by Coldplay, and I talk in my sleep.”
“That’s not your favorite song.”
“Damn it!” I yelled. “I didn’t even flair my nostrils.”
She laughed. “Harry, you have at least a dozen other tells besides that. I don’t plan on telling you what they are, though.” I playfully punched her arm.
“I have never kissed one of my customers, I couldn’t read until I was eight, and my favorite color is blue.”
“The second one,” I said, instantly.
She shook her head. “Nope. It was the first one.”
I took a shot and raised my eyebrows, willing her to go on with the story.
She sighed. “Alright, hotshot. Well, it was some creepy forty-something who assumed that my politeness was flirting. He just went straight for it. It was awful. Actually, it was part of the reason that I used to hate kissing.”
“Until I changed your mind.”
“Yeah, Harry, until you changed my mind. It’s your turn.”
I groaned and lay down on the floor, my arms sprawled around. “I’m not playing this game with you anymore.” I grabbed a pack of gum that was next to my shoes and popped a piece in my mouth. My breath probably didn’t smell the greatest after all those shots, which were starting to make my head pound.
“Why not?” She teased.
“Because you’re so damn good at it. Let’s play truth or dare.” Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes. I prayed silently.
“Okay,” she answered, and I sat up, grinning.
8/19/13