Fool's Gold

Today was the day. Today, I got to go to LA to be with Enola. I got to meet her closest friends and see her home, see the studio where she spent most of her time. I was thrilled by the idea. I got to see my girl and learn all of the things that she hadn't told me yet. I couldn't wait to see her big, beautiful eyes and the smile that was just for me. I couldn't wait to have her arms wrapped around my neck and her lips on mine. I wasn't thinking about sex. I just wanted to hold her. I wanted to feel her close after being so far apart. I was getting more and more anxious the closer I got to being with her.
I slid into Enola's car quickly and with ease after speaking to Dale for a moment about where he would be if we needed him. Enola smiled at me, her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses. I beamed back at her, so happy to be by her side again.
"Hey Bear." She spoke just above a whisper to me as she leaned over the center console. I kissed her lips gently, beaming back at her. "I missed you." She stated pulling back.
"I missed you too, Noli." I replied just as softly. She returned to sitting straight up in her seat. She shifted the car into gear then pulled away from the hotel Dale was staying in. "Where are we going first?" I inquired as she merged into the traffic gracefully.
Enola appeared bit nervous when she replied, "Um, we have to go to my house first. I left some stuff undone. I'll only take a few minutes then we can go to my studio and settle in."
I knew it was probably a strange question but I asked anyway, "We're not staying in your house?"
"I didn't think you would want to. I thought that you might be uncomfortable there." She answered, turning a light shade of pink.
I shrugged, "I just thought that we'd be there." Enola nodded slowly but didn't say a word. "If you'd rather be at your studio, then that's fine too." I felt bad for making the situation awkward for her.
"Harry, I don't care. Where ever you want to go. I want you to be comfortable." Enola stated with tenderness.
I thought for a moment, "One night in your house?" Awaiting her response, nerves took over me. I didn't want her to be mad at me. I didn't want her to think my request to stay in the home she shared with her husband was coming from a vengeful, spiteful, jealous place. I just wanted to see where she lived. I wanted to see what she saw when she woke up, when she washed her hair, when she was relaxing in the middle of the day. I just wanted to know her more.
Enola nodded, "One night." I felt a sense of victory as she said the words. "We'll stay at the house for one night." The car got silent again. Why was this so freaking awkward? "I spoke to Niall this morning." Enola said casually, keeping her eyes on the road. I hummed in response. "He said that you got into an argument with a friend." She kept her tone even and cordial.
"Yep." I knew that she wanted to talk about it but she also didn’t want to push. She hated when we argued and that was always a sure way to start an argument.
Enola gave me a curious glance, "He didn't tell me who it was with or what it was about. All he told me was that it was heated and "fuck yous" were exchanged." She was asking for details without actaully asking. She didn't want to force me into talking about it but she wanted to know as well.
"I fought with Julian and there were a couple of fuck yous." I stated calmly. Enola gave me a curious glance. I sighed, "He asked me if I ever thought you and I were more work than it's worth. I didn't like it so I told him to piss off." Enola frowned and rested her hand on my thigh to comfort me. I laid my head back on the seat and gripped her fingers.
"Harry, they just worry." Enola murmured. I gazed at her with concerned eyes. Her glasses hid her eyes but I could tell by the shape her mouth was making she was upset by my admission. "They have every reason to worry." She added with a whisper.
I shook my head, "They can worry and not be jerks. I love you. If I didn't, I wouldn't be dealing with this secret life for the last few months."
"Harry, you really don't have to hide anything, baby." Enola stated with a sigh.
"Yes, I do. If I said anything about being in a relationship, the media would be all over it. They would find out who you are and then Charles would lose his fucking mind. I'd rather that didn't happen." I grumbled. Enola removed her hand from my thigh and placed it on my face. She stroked my unshaven cheek with her thumb soothingly. I leaned into her touch. I'd missed it so much. "It's hard but I would do anything for you. I can wait. The day I can, I am going to shout it from the rooftops that I love you." She broke into a smile and shook her head at me.
"I love you, Bear." She muttered as she turned her attention back to the road. I leaned into my seat more with a sigh. I looked over at how hard Enola was concentrating on driving. I smirked and placed my hand on her bare thigh. I loved the skirt she had on. It was one of my favorites. I bit my lip as I nudged her other thigh with my knuckles. Enola relaxed her legs slightly and let my hand slip between her thighs. I stroked the warm, soft, tender flesh lovingly with my thumb. There was nothing cheeky going on. I just knew it was a gesture that calmed her. It felt as though she needed some comfort.


Enola pulled up to a large white house. My jaw dropped when I saw the way it was laid out. I thought my home was excessive but the home we pulled up to was the definition of the word. I couldn't believe that Enola lived in that house. Just from the outside, it looked like she didn't fit there. Her personality wasn't extravagant. She belonged in a place like the apartment we'd barricaded ourselves in while in Ireland.
"Come on, baby. Let's go in." Enola smiled weakly, seeing my awe. She was shy about her house. I quickly closed my mouth and nodded. I followed her actions to get out of the car. I grabbed my bag from the backseat then trailed Enola into the house. I surveyed the main hall the way I had the outside of the house. Everything was neatly set up by the door. The coat rack organized and the small table by the door was laid out in a very specific way. Enola didn't do this. I saw her suitcase and the way she left the hotel room at night. She wasn't a messy person but her order came differently. Things weren't lined up exactly or sorted in an extremely precise manner. Charles wanted things the way they were. It was his idea.
"Harry?" Enola giggled. My eyes shot up to her bright face. "Are you hungry?" She inquired.
I shook my head, "No. I can wait until dinner. Thank you."
She lifted her eyebrow, "Tired?" I shook my head once again. "Well, I have to finish some cleaning and stuff." She seemed a little nervous.
I nodded, "Okay. Want me to help?"
Enola shook her head, "No. No. You can just relax. You can take a shower if you want."
"That sounds fabulous." I responded without thinking. Enola grinned and took my hand. I picked up my bag and tracked after her up the stairs at the end of the hall. She led me to a big door on the third floor of the house. As she opened the door I was in awe once again. The bedroom looked like every five star hotel suite I'd ever been in. Enola took the bag from my hand and threw it on the bed. She then dragged me into the bathroom with a smile.



I glanced around Enola's bedroom as I finished buttoning my shirt. It was an interesting room. Pictures covered almost every surface of the room. The dressers and night stands were adorned with dozens of them. I walked over to the dressers, my fingers running over the dark wood of the bed frame.I examined each photo one by one. I recognized Charles in a lot of them, Enola too. An elderly couple, three boys at different ages. Enola's mother. Enola's grandfather. But most of the pictures were of Charles and Enola. I picked up one of the photos to take a closer look. Enola was dressed in a black, skin tight, thigh length dress; her hair was done in a fancy up-do. Charles was dressed in a perfectly fitted tux. Charles looked happy. The smile on his face spread to his eyes. As I examined Enola's face in the photograph, I could see that she was miserable. This was probably one of the outfits that Charles had made her wear to make him look better. I hated those stories that she told me. He would make her dress in a way that made her uncomfortable because he looked better for having a young, gorgeous wife. He dressed her up like a doll to show off. I set the picture down; staring at it was making me angry. I decided to pick up another: Charles and Enola in a tropical place. Enola was wearing a swimsuit and another long, flowing kimono. Charles looked a lot like a beast standing next to her. His broad shoulders, cropped haircut, beard and mass amounts of chest hair made Enola appear fragile. In this picture she appeared miserable as well. Her smile was fake once again. Probably because Charles was a jerk just minutes before the photo was taken. I returned the photo to the dresser. I went through a few more pictures to see that my girl hated everything about her marriage. I was relieved thinking about how she could walk away now.
I turned back to the bed. I made my way over, studying the objects on either nightstand. I could tell which side of the bed belonged to Enola. Her side of the bed was the left. Books were stacked on the stand; every genre represented. I chuckled and shook my head. My Noli. Always on a quest for more knowledge. I looked to Charles side of the bed. A few papers on his side, a phone charger, and a photograph of him and Enola on their wedding day. Enola's dress was gorgeous but not her. It was too frilly and loud. The long train, beaded bodice and bouffant bottom were too much for her. And once again she didn't seem happy at all. I shook my head and set the photograph back on the table. I couldn't look at photos anymore. I decided to find Enola, where ever she was in the big house.

Enola stood in front of the washer and dryer in her laundry room. I smiled as I watched her fold Charles' clothes with meticulousness. I loved seeing the way her skin stretched over her muscles as she moved. My eyes wandered her back side. She was wearing just her tank top and her floral skirt. I smirked as I saw the sweat start to bead on her back and the back of her neck. I couldn't control myself all of a sudden. I moved forward, wrapping my arms around her waist. I kissed her neck and shoulders lightly.
"Harry, what are you doing, baby?" She chuckled as my lips grazed over her ear. I slid my hands from around her waist to her hips then down her amazing thighs. I finally decided to pay attention to her neck and her back. I slowly let my tongue clean the sweat from the back of Enola's neck. My tongue slid down the center of her neck, following the path of her spine. Enola let out a throaty moan, "Harry."
"I missed you Enola." I murmured to her. Enola tried to wiggle away from me. I shook my head and held her tighter, "Let me love on you, Noli." My hands began to trace every inch of her body that I could. "I'm not asking for you to stop what you're doing. I just missed this. I missed being close, feeling you." I chuckled hearing her soft, pleading whine. Enola tried to go about folding the laundry set out in front of her. I let my mouth follow every curve of her neck and shoulders while my hands traced her body slowly. I gripped her bum playfully causing her to squeal and jolt a bit.
"Harry." Enola giggled loudly. I tried to control my emotions when she leaned against me; her body, mainly her bum, pressed into me in ALL of the right places. I moved my hands from her bum to her thighs. I gripped her flesh a little tighter than before. Enola hummed, "You're making it really hard for me to concentrate on this, baby." I laughed and rested my forehead on her shoulder.
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I breathed slowly to calm my own frazzled body. Enola turned to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She kissed me gently. "I love you." I murmured to her with a nervous smile.
Enola smiled shyly, "I love you." I rested my forehead on hers and gazed into her ocean blue eyes. I wasn't waiting for her to finish laundry. All of a sudden I had a fire burning inside of me. I meshed my lips to hers passionately. Enola smiled into my kiss and held me tighter. She melted against me. Enola slid one hand down my neck to my chest. She gripped the first button of my shirt. She broke our kiss laughing. She backed away from me, smirking. "I promise I am almost done. Then we can do whatever you would like." I nodded slowly and let her go back to folding clothes. I still stood behind her with my arms around her waist, holding her close. This was what I really wanted, my girl in my arms.
I smiled a little when I let my mind start to wander away from the hormones pumping through my veins. Would this still be us in ten years? Would we be standing with me wrapped around her because I missed her so much? Would we be hiding out in OUR laundry room, trying to escape the prying eyes of our little ones that roamed the house? I bit my lip at the thought. I was getting WAY ahead of myself but I couldn't help but picture Enola as a mother. I squeezed her gently and buried my face in her neck. I was embarrassed to be thinking it while she was standing in the room with me. Still, I let the images pass through my mind. Enola holding a newborn with her eyes and my dimples. My smile grew as I thought of a little girl with Enola's big blues eyes and excited smile. Little bodies crawling into the bed where Enola and I lay sleeping. Tiny voices waking me up excitedly when they realize I'm home from a tour. I knew that I was getting ahead of myself. She wasn't even divorced yet and I was thinking of a time when we had our own family. I shook away the thoughts. I had to slow down. Even if she was divorced that would be moving extremely fast. She would probably want to have some time after she left Charles to just be with me, the way it should've been from the start. She wouldn't want to jump right into something like that right away. Would she? I decided not to think of it anymore. I was going to enjoy the time that I had with her now.
"Harry, what are you thinkin' 'bout?" Enola asked softly. She sounded intrigued but almost concerned as well.
"How much I love you." I murmured, kissing her cheek lightly. It wasn't a lie. There was a lot of love in the senarios I had made up in the last few minutes but she didn't need to know details.
"Come on, Bear. What were you thinking?" Enola's amusement was plainly evident.
I sighed, "When everything is said and done with Charles, what do you want to do?" Enola looked at me with a lifted eyebrow. "Where do you want to move to? Who are you going to live with? Are we just going to be us as we are now?"
"I thought you wanted me to go to London?" Enola seemed a bit wary of the questions.
I nodded, "I'd like you to, but if that's not where you want to go then you wouldn't have to." I didn't want to make her decisions for her. She'd had enough of that from Charles.
"No. I like London. I think I'd do well there. They have quite a few really nice galleries. I have a couple of friends there." Enola kissed my cheek, "You'll be there. I'll probably come to London as soon as I can." I didn't know how to respond. "As far as who I'll live with, I'm not sure. Maybe I'll get a place near a gallery or by the river. I think that would be nice. Not sure though. Maybe when it gets closer to moving I'll look into it."
"What about..." I began. I cleared my throat out of nervousness, "What about living with me? You could move in with me." Enola appeared stunned by the offer.
"I could. I just wouldn't want to impose or anything." Enola spoke with more nervousness than what I felt.
I stared at her blankly, "Why would that be imposing? I love you. It's one of my jobs to take care of you." Enola shrugged and let the topic go. It was quite for a long moment before I asked another question. "What about us? Where would we stand?"
"Us. The way we are. In love and on cloud nine." Enola answered with a huge smile.
"So...would you want to just keep dating, like you're my girlfriend?" I was trying not to get to eager with her. I didn't want to scare her with the intense emotions that I felt.
"Are you asking me if I'd get married again?" Enola smiled a little. I could tell she was nervous but didn't want to throw it out. I nodded shyly. Enola shrugged, "I'd like to think that I would. Not to just anyone though. I'd like it to be you but I also think that the way we are now isn't real. WE need to make us work in a different way. I'm not ruling it out though. When you think that you are ready, then I wouldn't hate if you asked me. But it is also completely up to you." A glimmer of hope. "Not right away though. I think that is too much." She went back to folding laundry as I stayed silent behind her. Suddenly, some of the words she had spoken hit me.
"What do you mean we're not real?" I asked quickly. Enola looked back at me with concerned eyes. "I love you. You know that I do. And I know that you love me." I was a bit annoyed with her. All that we'd been going through and she was going to say something mean about us?
Enola sighed softly, "I'm not saying that I don't love you. I mean...we don't do things the way normal couples would. WE can't go out together. We can't live together. I can't just call you whenever I want. Unfortunately, there are restrictions on us."
"Not for much longer though. You're leaving that asshat." I stated quietly.
"Exactly. But until I am free of him, in all ways, we can't do any of that. I wanted to do things the way everyone else does them. Dates in public places, you coming over in the middle of the night just because you can, calls at random times just because I'm thinking about you. Vacations to see you where I don't have to worry about anyone but you. What you're doing." Enola explained. She stroked my cheek with her thumb gently once again, "I am not telling you the love we share isn't real, I'm saying the lifestyle we have isn't." I frowned a little and let my eyes fall to the ground. Enola placed her hand on my face and made me stare into her eyes. "I know this is hard for you, baby. But please believe me when I say that I am trying. I am trying so hard to be with you." I pressed my lips to hers again. I kissed her hard and with as much fever as I could. I wanted her to feel how much I loved her, how much I wanted her. The last few months had been rough and I didn't want her to doubt me either. I held her tight against my body. I backed out of the kiss slowly then buried my face in her neck. I wasn't going to cry. This visit wasn't going to have any crying. We were going to be happy and have fun.

Notes

Is Harry getting ahead of himself? Should he be thinking about these things? Does this mean something more for them as a pair?

Peace&Love