Harry

Nate and I went in to the lounge and sat down. I put on some music because I had a sense he was going to need to talk and television might be distracting. He was typing away on his phone and I saw his eyebrows scrunch together. It must be something serious. I’ll sit here patiently waiting for him to acknowledge that we are in the room together or maybe Annie will come in here and save me.
“Sorry, my assistant. The firm has a few big cases going on right now and me deciding to leave for an undetermined amount of time is causing some problems.”
“How do you manage to just sneak away like that?” I asked.
“Partner in the firm, well and my Dad wanted me back badly enough to help now that my oldest brother has moved up north, his wife’s mother is sick and they needed to move closer to her home. My youngest brother just started at the firm this fall. We recently went digital so we can all access files on iPads. So theoretically I can work from here unless I’m needed in the office. So I told my Dad I was coming to fight for Kim and he offered to pack my bag for me.”
“Seriously?” I asked shocked. If they had been so intent on him moving home I didn’t imagine they’d want him falling in love with a woman in London and potentially moving back.
“Yeah, Dad’s a hopeless romantic. Mum loves Kim. Was pissed at me that I didn’t convince her to come home for Christmas. They know that I’d rather live in London than Cambridge. My friends are all here. I’m fine taking the train to Cambridge every day but I thought moving home would be good. Separate myself from my band so that I didn’t get jealous watching them succeed and move on without me.”
“I get that. If I was in your situation I’d have to remove myself completely from my band.”
“You’ll never be in my situation though mate. You’re band is the most successful band around. A bit irritating,” he said laughing. “Only joking. It was only irritating listening to Belle ramble on and on about how wonderful your hair looked every day.”
“I didn’t ramble about his hair every day. Sometimes he wore a hat and I didn’t get to admire the curls,” Annie said as she set a tray down on the table and handed each of us a cup of tea. She sat in the oversized chair with me, maneuvering herself in to the space between me and the arm, her legs draping over mine. Without a moment’s hesitation she began to run her fingers through my hair which I’d left in the wacky curls she loved instead of putting on a hat or trying to pull it in to a tiny ponytail.
“So why do you call her Belle?” I asked.
“Annabelle is what everyone tends to call her. When she came out of the loo having dyed her hair dark brown one day I decided to shorten it to Belle. She’s like a twisted version of that Disney Princess. Love of books. And there are times I’m sure I catch her talking to inanimate objects.”
“I was talking to Siri. She’s there to be my assistant. She responds. The espresso machine, however, does not.”
“Well the nickname worked well for her when she was with Cameron. He was her bearded Beast. Though I imagine she likes the castle she’s living in these days a lot better,” he said laughing. Annie flipped him off.
“Not living here,” she said.
“When is the last time you were home?”
“Wednesday. I stopped to get clothes. Last time I slept at home was Sunday. Kim has had the place to herself. I’m sure she’s enjoying it.”
“Wouldn’t know. I haven’t talked to her. I’m too nervous.”
“Do you know what you’re gonna say to her?” I asked.
“Not completely. I just know that I want her to understand how deeply I feel for her. That I know I fucked up before. But that I’m serious about it. I want to look for a house here in London and I want her input. I want her to move in with me when she feels ready. I want a life together. I want her to know that from the get go. I don’t want her to have any sort of doubt to the way I feel. I want her to know that when I say I’m ready for forever with her that I’m 100% jumping in head first ready for this. I may or may not have wandered in to a jewelry store before I came to the shop.”
“Please tell me you did not buy an engagement ring,” Annie said nearly jumping off my lap. “You can’t go from nothing to THAT!”
“I know. I just looked. I wanted to see if I had an adverse reaction to looking at diamonds. I didn’t. In fact I found a few that I thought would suit her well some day. Not today but some day.”
“Okay, you about gave me a heart attack Natey. Okay. I need to start on this one’s birthday cake. You guys are welcome to come hang out with me.”
“What are you making?” Nate asked.
“Chocolate with chocolate frosting.”
“Can we lick the bowls?” I asked.
“Maybe, but you have to share with me.”
“We can join you in the kitchen then,” I said. We moved back in there and she got to work. Nate seemed a lot more at ease than I would be in that situation. “How are you not more nervous? I’d be out of my mind if I were you.”
“I’m nervous. But there’s really nothing I have control over. If I tell her how I feel and she tells me she doesn’t feel the same way worrying about it now won’t do anything but make me sick. And I’m hoping that if Belle and I are right that she’ll not be super pissed at me for realizing this now when she meets someone else.”
“She told us that he friend zoned her last night,” I said. Annie seemed shocked that I admitted that fact to Nate. “I talked to Niall this morning. He said that it wasn’t that he friend zoned her. But he didn’t want to cause an unnecessary complication for you and Kim. If for some reason she doesn’t respond how you hope he left the door open enough that if she wanted casual dating they could spend time together, but if she does go for your plan then they can be friends.”
“He sounds like a cool guy. I’ll have to buy him a pint this weekend no matter how this turns out. Is he coming out with us tonight?” Annie nodded. “Well I hope he doesn’t think I’m an absolute twat for trying to swoop in and take Kim.”
“No, he’ll think you are an absolute twat because you are an absolute twat.”
“Alright Belle, come ‘ere,” Nate said in response to Annie as she laughed. Watching them was like watching a brother and sister. I was glad I was getting to meet people in her life that were important. Nate seemed like a good guy. Once Annie had the cake baked and somewhere to cool we all took off for her flat. She was determined that we were coming back here tonight so that Kim and Nate would have their own space tonight. I didn’t want to worry about driving if we’d been drinking too much. So we agreed that my car would stay at her place and we could get it in the morning if we actually made it home.
We beat Kim to the flat and settled in to the couch and put on the TV. Nate and I had talked football a good portion of the afternoon. We agreed that if all went perfectly we were taking the girls to a match soon. I knew Annie would love it but Kim claimed to hate football, so it could be interesting to see how much she was willing to do for love. I was glad Nate was so confident going in to this because I thought Kim would respond positively to the confidence. It was about 5:30 when the door to the flat opened.
“Are you actually here? In our flat? Holy hell did Harry’s house burn down?” Kim yelled from the first floor.
“No, I told you we were staying here tonight so we could go out to O’Brien’s and not drive. So we came over early so we could grab you and head to the pub. Niall and Gemma are meeting us at 6:00. So hurry up,” Annie yelled back. Annie had changed once we got here throwing on dark skinnies and a white tee. She had a black leather jacket and oversized grey scarf laying on the couch next to her. She’d drapped her legs across my lap while we laid there. She’d been wearing her glasses all day, told me that her eyes were strained from working on the bookshop website all day. We heard footsteps come up the stairs. I watched Nate visibly take a deep breath and sit up straight. He still had his suit on and had refused the offer to change at both my house and the girls’ flat.
“Today was the longest day ever. All I want is a really stiff…” She stopped mid sentence when she walked in to the living room.
“You wanted a really stiff what, Petal?” he asked. She looked like she forgot what she’d been saying.
“Drink.” She shook her head a bit. “A really…stiff…drink. What are you doing here?” The confusion was evident on Kim’s face and made me a bit nervous. I felt like a terrible friend. Here I was cheering for Nate when it’s possible Niall had feelings for her but stepped away so that she didn’t have to be confused making this decision.
“Came to see you. I missed you, Petal.”
“And did you know he was coming?” Kim asked Annie and I.
“Yeah, he called me Monday,” Annie admitted. “Just hear him out. And then if you want to be mad at me be mad at me.” She glanced over to Nate. “Natey, do you want me and Harry to leave you alone?”
“It’s okay, Belle. You both know everything I’m going to say. Petal, why don’t you sit down.” She moved to sit next to him, facing him slightly with her arms crossed. Her body language made me even more nervous for him. “So Saturday Mum set me up on this date with a very nice girl that works in her department at the university.”
“You came here to tell me about a date?” Kim asked. She was surprised, almost angry. She wasn’t in a position to hear what he was actually saying because she immediately went in to a jealous fit.
“Please let me finish speaking before you interrupt. I know how you are, you hear one part of what I’m saying and don’t wait to hear it all before you make a decision. Some of it may not make sense at first so you have to give me time to explain everything. Okay?” He paused waiting for her agreement, she nodded her head. “The date was miserable. The girl was beautiful and very sweet. She was smart. The whole package. Any bloke would’ve been a lucky shit to be on a date with her. But I hated the whole damn night. Because she wasn’t you. I wanted her to be you. I wanted your blue eyes instead of her brown. I wanted your pale skin instead of her tan. I wanted your laugh instead of her attempt to laugh ‘cutely’. I wanted your southern accent that occasionally slips out a y’all when you least expect it, not her talk about what she’s doing at the uni. I wanted your desire to try almost everything on the menu with me instead of her soup and salad. But most of all I just wanted you. I wanted it to be you on the other side of the table to share the tales of my day with. I wanted it to be you telling me I shouldn’t order the ice cream dessert because when I mixed it with my Scotch that I’d had I was bound to get sick. I wanted it to be you with me last week when a realtor showed me houses because I want you to live in that house some day.”
I couldn’t believe he was this willing to spill his guts to Kim. I had to give him credit he seemed sincere. I caught Annie wipe a tear from her eye. She was a bit of a romantic, this girl who had consumed my thoughts. I loved that little moments and small gestures made her happier than almost anything.
“I feel like an absolute knob for how I ended things with us. I was scared. I had never in my life felt anything for someone close to what I’ve always felt for you. I remember the night I met you. Walking in to O’Brien’s with Lizzy to find you and Belle sitting at the bar. Your accent filling the room. Your smile that night was something like I’d never seen. You were this girl starting a new life, in a new place and so excited about it. I fell for you that very moment. But I was terrified. I’d had my heart broken once and had sworn off love so that I would never have to experience that kind of pain again. But I realized when I left for Cambridge, when I told you that you should move on and find happiness with someone else that I experienced that heartbreak again. Only exponentially worse and by my own doing this time. It was my fault that I was lost and lonely back home. I was the stupid arse that left the best woman I’d ever met, my chance at happiness sitting in her flat with a tear stained face. And I promise to never do that again. I might be an idiot sometimes but I don’t want to be anymore with you. I love you Kim. I want to spend the rest of my life convincing you that I love you and trying to become worthy enough to be the man in your life.”
Kim sat silent. Her eyes darting around the room. From Nate to Annie to me to the floor to the window. She looked nervous. I was fearful that because he told Annie and I to stay in the room that Kim would feel awkward telling Nate how she felt. And the longer she stayed silent the more you could see the confidence draining from Nate’s face.
“Do you have nothing to say, Petal?”
“No. I just need to get my thoughts together.” She sat silently rubbing her hands over her face before she sat up. She took a deep breath and then punched Nate in the bicep and started laughing. “You are an absolute dickhead. You put me through all of this just to come to me tonight and tell me you love me. How did you think this was gonna turn out me crying and telling you we should go and get married tonight?”
“Well not exactly but I also didn’t exactly imagine you’d become physically abusive. You normally only do that if you’re in a really good mood. Wait…are you? Did I do good?”
“You did good,” Kim said leaning forward and kissing him. “How could I say no to that? You just told me everything I’ve been wanting to hear since that first night. What changed?”
“I don’t know. I just missed you. I missed kissing you goodnight. I missed waking up to you in the morning. I missed the texts you’d send me in the middle of the day to say you were hungry or that the intern wore the same clothes as she had the prior night. I missed the small moments of my life with you. And I realized that is what I wanted. My life to be with you. No one else.”
“I want that too.” Nate hugged her to him and I finally saw a tear escape Kim’s eyes. Annie however had grabbed tissue and clung to me as she cried watching her friends.
“You two are so fucking adorable,” Annie said through her tears. “Now can we go out. I need a drink after spending a week avoiding you because I was afraid I was gonna spill that Nate was coming to town.”
“We will go change,” Kim said standing up and pulling Nate off of the couch.
“Don’t fool around too much. We have people we are meeting. Remember,” Annie said laughing. As soon as they were out of the room she pulled me down on to her on the couch. “Watching them makes me want to kiss you.”
“Really?” I said laughing.
“How did I luck out that you waited around for me to be comfortable with this?”
“You’ve got a great ass. I wasn’t going anywhere.” She laughed again and pulled me in to a kiss. My body was covering hers as the kisses deepened.
“And we were the ones who weren’t supposed to get too carried away fooling around. Stop making out,” Nate yelled making Annie laugh.
“Sorry. But you two were so cute it made me want to kiss him. I’ll stop,” Annie said kissing me once and pushing me off of her. She pulled her jacket on as I did mine. We were quickly out of the flat and on to the street level. The girls linked arms and walked a few feet in front of Nate and I. Gossiping about whatever it is girls gossip about when one of them just went through a grand romantic gesture. Annie occasionally glanced over her shoulder to wink at me. She’d worn heels out tonight. It changed her whole demeanor. And the distance between us when I went to kiss her. I liked it.
“Well I guess, congratulations mate,” I said to Nate making him laugh.
“Yeah, thanks. I know it was probably awkward for you because of Niall but thank you for understanding. You’re a good man. And you make Belle pretty happy. We are probably gonna be around each other a lot. Good to know that we can be friends and you aren’t pissed about me messing up things for your mate.”
“Eh, he’ll be fine. Niall is a good guy. He’ll meet someone new and maybe someone who changes his life the way those two have ours.” I heard the girls giggle in front of us. “So are you just gonna go back to Cambridge this weekend?”
“Well I’m at least staying through the Super Bowl. Dad knew I wanted to look at houses here so I’m thinking of staying through the week, going to make a few appointments.”
“Where are you looking? Camden?”
“Hell no. I lived here during my youth. I’m thinking either Hampstead by my cousin or Primrose Hill. Somewhere a little less crazy.”
“Both are favorite areas of mine. I think the house that backs up to mine went on the market last week.”
“I’ll have to look at it. I know the girls like being close. I know that the only hesitation Kim will have about moving in with me is about leaving Annie alone. And now that my old flat is rented out she doesn’t have anywhere she can move.”
“When did they rent it out?” Annie had just told me about it last week.
“I talked to Lizzy last night. She said the girl moved in yesterday. Starts at the pub tonight I believe. Young girl. Looking for a place to live and fell in to a job at the same time. Frankie has a weird way of picking employees. He hired Annie solely because of how she drank Corona. He’s absolutely mental but probably my best friend. Lizzy and I were always close growing up. Frankie is one of my favorite people.”
“They are great. I like Lizzy a lot. Though she gives me shit a lot.”
“She’s good at that,” Nate said laughing. We finally arrived at the pub. “Thanks for everything man.”
“No problem. Now we just need to get the girls to agree to a weekend in Manchester and a match. It’d be fun.”
“Yes we do. Annie’s been dying to go and Kim will go because I promise her food, drinks and hotel sex.” I laughed at him and slapped his shoulder. We walked in to find Lizzy sitting at the bar with Frankie. Cameron was behind the bar and it was pretty busy for a Friday after work.
“So?” Lizzy asked.
“She punched me but didn’t kick me out. So I think I’m doing good,” Nate said. Lizzy squealed and hugged Kim.
“Yay! My cousin finally has a good woman in his life. Kim, you’ve made me happier than you could imagine. Plus it means we get him back in London.”
“Liz,” Nate said interrupting her. “I told her I wanted to be serious but didn’t tell her that I intended to look at houses this week. You’re just ruining all of my surprises.”
“Seriously?” Kim asked.
“Yeah, Hampstead and Primrose Hill. Unless there’s an area you’d rather look. Think you can sneak a day or two out of the office this week to accompany me. Someday it’s gonna be your house too so you need to love it.”
“I can sneak away, of course,” Kim said kissing Nate quickly. The doors opened and Gemma and Niall could be heard arguing.
“You drive like an absolute maniac. I don’t know why I didn’t just take the tube here. Risking life and limb for a night out isn’t worth it,” Gemma said.
“I’m not that bad,” Niall said.
“Yes you are,” I added before hugging my sister. “I’m glad you arrived safely didn’t realize he was picking you up.”
“Neither did I. But he called about the time I was gonna catch the tube and then showed up fifteen fucking minutes late. So sorry we are late,” she said laughing.
“It’s okay. We just got here. Kim was a bit late leaving work. Kim, Nate, this is my older sister Gemma. Gem, this is Annie’s flatmate Kim and her boyfriend Nate.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Gemma said. Niall caught what I said and smiled.
“Good,” he mouthed out to me. He seemed happy for Kim. He’d find his happiness someday. Often times it came in unexpected places at unexpected times.
“Nate this is Niall,” I said introducing them so Kim didn’t have to.
“Nice to meet you mate. I owe you a pint,” Nate said laughing.
“No worries man. She’s happy. All that matters in the world is making women happy, right?” Niall said.
“Right.”
“Okay, we have a new waitress that started tonight. We put her in the larger sectioned off area figuring you idiots would take it over,” Cam said. “Be kind to the new girl. Niki seems like a nice girl.”
“Always nice. I was the new girl once,” Annie said smiling. We all followed her over there and sat down. Annie sat between Kim and Gemma. Lizzy was talking to her cousin and getting to know Niall a bit. I just watched how happy Annie looked. She shined amongst her friends like this. And I loved seeing how much she had clicked with my sister. They were chatting like old friends. A few minutes later a small brunette walked up to the table. Her smile was bright, this must be the new girl.
“Hey, I’m Niki. What can I get you guys to drink?” Everyone ordered before Niall who was debating several different options with me.
“I’ll take a Guinness and a shot of Jameson.”
“Alright, I’ll be right back.” She turned and walked out as I saw Annie’s face light up. She turned to Lizzy.
“Tell me her story.”
“What do you mean her story?” Niall asked.
“We all have a story. Every one of us wayward souls that ends up here has a story. Kim and I were seeking comfort on our first night in a strange place. I was trying to live a life that I knew was going against my nature, picking up and moving with no plans and no idea what I was going to do but seeking adventure. Kim was following a dream job but even then admittedly terrified she was in over her head. Cam had just been fired from his job at a bank down the way and stumbled in here for a pint still carrying the contents of his desk in his rubbish bin. Hell it was some terrible theme bar when Patty wandered in with Frankie and they bought it. They were down and out thinking that moving to London meant giving up a pub that had been in their family for three generations. They found this and it reminded them of home, minus the country music. Everyone has a story. Every single one of us has a reason we found our way in to O’Brien’s. In a way it’s sort of saved us all.” Lizzy smiled at Annie. This pub had brought them together. I liked the way Annie looked at this place. Not as a local pub but as a family.
“She had been working as a live in cook for a couple in Notting Hill while putting herself through culinary school. The wife accused her of stealing something. It turns out it was the teenage daughter who hated that her boyfriend hit on Niki. Of course the woman didn’t believe Niki even as her daughter taunted her about getting her fired. She was scrambling for a place to live and a job. Walked in with her suitcase and backpack to look at the place. She apologized and said that she was having to move to a hotel because she’d just been kicked out that day. So we discounted the rent for her if she worked for us instead of taking her talents elsewhere. She’s gonna waitress for us some nights and help out in the kitchen. We want her to revamp the menu. Make us have a bit more flair,” Lizzy said.
“As long as my cheese toasties are still readily available I’m good,” Annie said laughing.
“Your cheese toasties will never go away. You know that,” Lizzy replied. Niki came back to the group carrying a tray of drinks like a pro. She handed everyone their orders.
“Welcome to the family Niki. I’m Annie. I work here Wednesday nights and most weekends,” Annie said as she moved from behind the table to hug the girl.
“Lizzy was telling me about you. She said that we would get along really well. Told me that you had ideas on how to decorate the flat upstairs.”
“Oh my god, do I ever. I keep trying to let Patty give me free reign to paint his place but he tells me no. So I’m assuming you have nothing in there yet?”
“Lizzy said that the furniture in there is mine to use. She was kind enough to give me a set of bedding to get through the first few days there.”
“Well tomorrow is this one’s birthday,” she said pointing at me. “So I have plans with the family and him. How about I pick you up for lunch on Sunday and we go shopping for some stuff?”
“Seriously?” Niki asked.
“Of course. O’Brien’s is a family. We can go out and get whatever you need on Sunday. I’m sure he’ll be sleeping off a hangover anyway. Does Frankie have you working tomorrow night?”
“I work the lunch shift to try and figure out some of the kitchen stuff. But I don’t have to work at night,” Niki said.
“Well then. You’ll have to come out with us tomorrow. We are doing dinner and drinks at Spaniard’s Inn and then having people to his house.”
“We are?” I asked Annie.
“We are,” she said smiling. “Your sister and I may or may not have planned to have some people over. Why do you think your Mum decided to stay at a hotel?” I laughed.
“Didn’t even realize you knew Mum was staying at a hotel.”
“Okay so introductions. I’m Annie, that’s my flatmate Kim and her boyfriend Nate, who is also Lizzy’s cousin. Then we have Gemma, she is my boyfriend’s sister. This is the boyfriend, Harry. And this is his best mate, Niall,” Annie said almost shoving Niall forward to shaking Niki’s hand. I laughed. She must have decided the ‘least expect it moment’ for Niall was tonight. I could see the wheels turning in her head.
“Wait…you just called him boyfriend,” Kim said.
“Shit, I guess I did. Oh well,” Annie said laughing. She turned to kiss me. “Hi boyfriend.”
“Hi girlfriend.”
“Stop making out!” Gemma yelled. A few minutes of chatting with Niki before she left and Annie resumed her spot between my sister and Kim.
“What ideas are you coming up with Sugar?”
“Nothing Dimples,” she said batting her eyelashes. Lizzy decided to take Niall on a small tour of the pub since it was the first time he’d been here. Nate and I both sat down with the girls. “Okay so she’s adorable.”
“Yeah she is. And she’s in culinary school. I want to have her cook for me,” Kim said making us all laugh. “Wait a minute. I get what he’s saying about ideas you’re coming up with. Niki and Niall?” Annie nodded excitedly.
“She’s so cute and I think they’d be cute together. Plus she is going to school to be a chef. He could be her crash test dummy.” Everyone laughed.
“They do look cute together from your moment of shoving them together. That’s why you invited her tomorrow?” Kim asked. Annie nodded.
“Things didn’t work between you and Niall because you want different things. Mainly you wanted Natey. Maybe Niall could want Niki. And I see the scrunchy forehead you’re giving yourself Dimples. I won’t over involve myself but I may nudge them along a little bit.”
“She’s a meddler,” Nate said. Annie flipped him off as she took a drink of her beer and laughed.
“I can be. But hey my meddling worked out well today.”
“It did,” Kim said smiling at Nate. “But you’re totally right. They do seem like they’d be cute together.”
“Who’d be cute together?” Niall asked as he walked up from behind me.
“You and Niki,” Annie said.
“You are trying to hook me up with someone. Why am I not surprised?” he said laughing. “She is really cute. Seems nice. But don’t start dreaming about my future children yet Annabelle. I’ve not even two whole sentences to her.”
“Yes you did,” Annie declared. “You ordered your drink and said thank you when she gave it to you. Two. Whole. Sentences.” She stuck her tongue out at Niall.
“You’re gonna be the death of me aren’t you?”
“Potentially,” Annie said. The night went on and more people arrived. People Annie and Kim had grown to be friends with during their time here. Annie had told me to invite more than Niall and my sister but I hadn’t wanted to. Tomorrow night would be filled with my friends. I wanted to get to know her friends tonight. Annie was a bit tipsy as it neared midnight. “You’re cute.”
“You’re cute too,” I said. She leaned in to my chest, my arm around her as I pressed my lips in to her hair. She looked down at her watch. “It’s midnight. Happy Birthday Harry.” She kissed me, trying to deepen the kiss a bit past what I was expecting with the crowd we were still in.
“Thank you. So do I get my present yet?”
“It’s at your house. But I have a present I can give you when we get home.” She raised her eyebrows at me before signaling that I look down. She pulled the top of her jeans out a bit revealing the infamous pink knickers I’d heard about. I laughed and pulled her in to a kiss. “I really did buy these thinking of you. I was trying to imagine what you’d find sexy on me if you ever saw me in lingerie. I felt like you’d like pink.”
“Right now it’s my absolute favorite color.” I captured her lips with mine.
“Do they make out all the time?” Niki asked laughing. She’d gotten cut about an hour earlier and rather than going upstairs to her flat she’d joined our group.
“Yes,” everyone at the table answered.
“How long have you been dating?” Niki asked. Annie started to laugh.
“A week. The blizzard last weekend, he and Niall got trapped at my flat. We’ve been friends about six months and attracted to each other but hadn’t taken things past friends. Well a lot can happen when you’re snowed in and he likes to snuggle.”
“TMI,” Gemma yelled covering her ears making everyone laugh.
“So are all of you couples?” Niki asked. Niall and Gemma looked at each other and then pretended to puke.
“He’s like my little brother. I just got out of a relationship not long ago so currently single.”
“I’m single,” Niall said. Annie started poking me until I leaned in.
“Look he’s smiling at her. He likes her. I’m awesome.”
“You are awesome baby. Are we gonna go home soon? I want a better view of those pink knickers.”
“We can’t leave everyone here.”
“I know but you teased a glimpse of them. I want to see them all.”
“There’s an office,” she said slightly louder than she probably thought because she got hit in the back of the head by Frankie who was sitting next to her at this point.”
“You are not screwing in my office,” Frankie said. “You both have homes. You are not heathens. Absolutely not.”
“You’re mean Francis.”
“You’re gonna get fired if you whine like that.”
“No she’s not,” Lizzy said. “You’d fall apart without her.”
“Would not. I’ve got Niki now.”
“Hey I am not here to replace her and I am not sure that after one shift I’m ready to hold this place together. I may need her in the future. Like I can only imagine what this place is like during football matches.”
“Nuts,” Annie said. “So much fun and so nuts. And Sunday it’s gonna see some helmets, pads and field goals. We are doing a giant Super Bowl party.”
“Yeah, we are closed this Sunday,” Frankie said. “You’ll have to come down and hang out after she takes you shopping. Big potluck of Annie and Kim’s favorite American treats and staying awake until the early morning to watch the Super Bowl. Annie just is not allowing Broncos apparel. Whatever that means.”
“Can I wear my Packers sweater that you got me for Christmas?” I asked Annie. She nodded excitedly. “Good. It’s my favorite sweater.”
“I like when you wear it. Not gonna lie. I may have put it on the other morning when you were still asleep. It looked like a dress on me but smelled heavenly.”
“You smell heavenly.”
“Okay, someone call them a cab. I’m not watching them make out anymore,” Frankie said laughing.
“I’m right with you,” Kim said. “Are you two staying at our place tonight?”
“I thought you two might want some alone time,” Annie said.
“We have doors. Just walk home. Nate and I were getting ready to leave too.” We all stood up and said our goodbyes. Gemma and Niall promised to take a cab since Frankie said he could leave his car behind the pub where his car usually parked.
“I’m so glad you found your way here,” Annie said hugging Niki tightly as we went to leave. “You’re gonna fit right in.”
“Thanks. I’m really glad I found my way here too. I will text you tomorrow for details on his birthday.”
“Okay. Have a goodnight,” Annie said. She hugged everyone else and we made our way out on to the street with Kim and Nate behind us. We weren’t far out the door when Annie decided to try and jump on my back. “Give me a piggy back ride. My feet hurt. Stupid heels.” I bent down and she jumped on. “This is the life. Who needs a pedicab. I have a Harrycab.”
“You’re drunk Belle,” Nate said.
“Maaaybe. But not too drunk. Someone is gonna get some birthday sex when we get home.”
“I’m regretting telling you to stay at our place,” Kim said laughing.
“Whatever. You guys get makeup sex. Way better.” Annie was laughing again. I loved the sound of it in my ear. Like music. She kissed my neck. “Tonight was fun. Was it a good start to your birthday?”
“A great start. But the best part was being with you.” I tilted my head to kiss her. We finally made it back to the flat. She let me put her down but proceeded to walk up the stairs barefoot. We said our goodnights to Kim and Nate before Annie shut the door. I saw her pick music on her iPhone and it started to come through a docking station on her desk. I stood watching her as she tried to be sexy and take her scarf off slowly. I wanted to laugh because she was giggling at herself. As she went to take her skinnies off she fell over and landed on the bed laughing loudly at this point. I walked towards her and peeled the jeans off.
“Thank you. I needed the assist there.”
“No problem. I was anxious to see the pink knickers. Glad to see they have a matching bra.” I pulled my shirt over my head without even trying to unbutton it and quickly discarded my jeans. I laid down next to her in my boxers kissing up from her navel to her lips. “You are the best birthday gift I could’ve gotten.”

Notes

KIM AND NATE!! AHHH!!! I can't tell you how long I've wanted to write that scene. And if you didn't figure it out the title for this chapter is 100% for them and not Annie and Harry. Their relationship is great and is something I'm excited to see develop further. Nate is serious about Kim and about their future today. And they are a-freaking-dorable. And if Annie has anything to say about it Niall won't be alone for long.

So we also met Niki as well. A new member of the family. A lost soul who found her way in to O'Brien's by chance but may find herself a new group of people to help her through life the way every one else does for each other in this little corner of London.

But it's also been big for Annie and Harry. He got to look further in to her world. Seeing her with Nate and their friendship. Something that obviously means a lot to Annie. Spending time with the people she loves most. And it's his birthday. Happy Birthday Harry! Congratulations on finally getting to see those pink knickers. ;)

I'm so excited about what is to come that honestly I'm posting this and starting on the next chapter. I can't wait for Harry's birthday. Meeting the parents. Dinner and a night with his friends. What do you think is coming up next for our characters? I want to hear from you! What do you think Annie got Harry for his birthday? What will Anne's reaction be to Annie? Will she get along with his friends? Will he and Kim still be able to be friends? What about Niki, where will she fall in to place in their universe? What lies ahead for Kim and Nate?

As you probably saw on your way to this chapter...I added the characters to the story. The people I imagine when I see them in my head as I write. Who have you been picturing all along? I was hesitant to do it because I was afraid it might ruin it for some people but it gives the ability to post pictures galore on Tumblr. Which if you haven't checked out that page you should! I post instagram shots from our friends in London Calling and am more than willing to take requests for texts, instagram shots, and even requests for the one-shot series Always In My Head that ties in to this series. If you haven't checked it out do it! There's a bit about the first time Kim and Nate met in one of them. So far they are all set prior to the beginning of London Calling but I'm willing to do scenes from other POVs with that as well. What do you want to know about? Moments that have been mentioned about life before London Calling that you want detail on or a scene from London Calling from someone else's POV (it doesn't even have to be Annie or Harry). Just pop on over there or to tumblr and let me know what you want.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please let me know what you thought and thank you SO MUCH for being patient as it took a while to do this. I had to get through work and sadly putting my dog to sleep this week which delayed this. Thank you for taking the time to read this. It means the world. xx