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Summertime & Butterflies

Twenty-Nine

“Oh, gosh!” Gemma exclaimed, pressing her hands together enthusiastically. “That is perfect!”

Olivia stepped out of the dressing room, facing the full-length mirror. The lighting in the room was enough to make even the nastiest troll look like a runway model, and Olivia was certain the mirror had magical powers, as it made her look more slender than the Ikea clearance model hung on her bathroom door at home. She ran her hands down her hips, feeling the slimming ruching against her curves.

“Wow…” she commented, turning slightly to admire how the bodycon Versace hugged her bottom. The sequined embellishment across the front of the dress helped draw attention to her breasts and also hide her stomach. The under layer of the dress fell to her mid-thighs, but the sheer outer layer hung to her knees, embodying the more-is-more glamour while still with an element of sex appeal. Gemma was right – it was perfect. But…

“Jesus…” she breathed, peering at the price tag hanging by her wrist. “I… I can’t buy this…” she lamented, realising the Little Black Dress she was falling in love would pay her mortgage for at least two months, and then some.

Gemma stepped over, nudging Olivia’s hand from the price tag. “Don’t!” she told her. “Harry told you to buy whatever you wanted, right? And this dress was made for you! I think you have to buy it.”

Yeah, but an hour ago you thought I was after your brother just for his money, Olivia thought, keeping her words to herself. While she was happy she and Gemma were getting on now, it would take more than a few minutes and a department store for Olivia to completely warm to Harry’s sister. She still wasn’t certain that Gemma wasn’t silently judging Olivia for falling in love with a few thousand dollar dress.

But Lord, did she feel like Kate Middleton.

“Maybe…” Olivia pondered, turning again. She sighed after a few more turns, letting her arms fall to her side. “I need to get out of this, otherwise I never will,” she told Gemma, allowing herself one more look in the mirror before stepping back into the dressing room to put on her boring, non-Versace clothes.

“Then don’t!” Gemma called out. “I’m making you buy it,” she added determinedly. Olivia rolled her eyes as she carefully peeled off the dress before returning it to the hanger and looking at it thoughtfully. She knew exactly what Harry would say about the dress, but she had to text him.

She dug through her purse for her phone, the text message notification chiming as soon as she clasped her hand around the phone. She looked at the screen, her eyes rolling as the message scrolled across the screen. Two simple words from Harry – “buy it.”

“You texted your brother, eh?” Olivia called out, pulling her original dress back on. It was a bit of an overstep on Gemma’s part, but Olivia realised she didn’t care – it was reassuring to have Harry’s approval before buying the dress she’d already decided she was bringing home with her.

“I had to!” Gemma told her, shrugging sheepishly as Olivia emerged from the fitting room. “You wouldn’t have bought it otherwise,” she pointed out accurately.

Olivia matched Gemma’s shrug. “Well… thanks…” she commented, still surprised by Gemma’s change in opinion. She handed the dress to the attendant. “I’ll take it, I guess…” she told her, feeling a wave of exhilaration rush over her. She was about to own a real Versace piece that wasn’t hand-sewn by a bunch of Chinese and sold via the internet for ten dollars, plus shipping.

~*~*~*~

“Did my brother really say he would marry you?” Gemma asked, the question coming out of left field as the two girls walked down Brompton Road, saddled down with a grandiose amount of shopping bags. After Gemma convinced Olivia to purchase the dress, she decided they also needed new shoes, accessories and a ton of Spanx – Olivia’s words, not Gemma’s. Olivia nearly fell over when the purchases were rung up, but she couldn’t deny how excited she was to wear her new dress. She wondered if it was appropriate attire for grocery shopping, but dejectedly decided it would not be.

Olivia glanced sideways at Gemma. “Well… I mean, yeah…” she answered cautiously. “But it was kind of off-handedly. He didn’t propose or anything,” she added with an awkward chuckle.

“Would you say yes if he did?”

Olivia knitted her brows together curiously. “Do you know something I don’t?” she asked hesitantly, her stomach toppling at the thought of a surprise proposal sooner rather than later. She would say yes, of course, but she hoped she wouldn’t have to, not yet.

“No, no!” Gemma quickly assured Olivia. “I’m just asking. He’s never talked about marriage before so… it’s kind of cool,” she added with a smile. “But would you?” she pressed on. “Say yes, I mean.”

“I mean… we haven’t even gone… I… we’re so new…” Olivia corrected before trailing off. She tried not to let it show how much it bothered her that their relationship was still so private. She knew Harry was just trying to protect her from the fans and the media, but she still felt a sense of imprisonment. What a terrible word, she thought guiltily. “I do love him though,” she quickly added. “It would just be… you know… fast…”

“I know,” Gemma agreed, laughing. “I was just wondering!”

Olivia felt there was more to Gemma’s questions but she didn’t want to press—and maybe hear something she didn’t want to hear. She was about to bring out an arbitrary topic, like the weather, when she stopped suddenly in front of a store window. “Look!” she yelped, tapping her finger against the window. An ebonized walking stick with a silver ball handle was tucked in the corner of the window display of a second hand store. A small silver tag was adorned to the staff, the cursive reading out Gucci: Made in Italy.

“Harry would shit,” Olivia breathed, her breath leaving a fogged mark on the window. “I mean, he’s practically a fucking spokesmodel for Gucci. I think he loves the brand more than he loves me, you and your mom combined,” she added, one hundred percent serious. “And he needs a cane because he’s a freakin’ cripple now!” she squealed, sounding too excited at her boyfriend’s physical predicament.

“It’s perfect for him,” Gemma agreed with a grin. “Let’s go in!”

Olivia held out her hand. “Wait,” she said, stopping Gemma. “We can’t go into this little store, parading our Harrods bags around! They’ll never buy our haggling!”

“We’re going to haggle?”

“Do you know how to haggle?” Olivia asked Gemma pleadingly, glancing between the girl and the cane. She hoped Gemma was an expert in low-balling at second hand stores. She, for one, was not. The thought of asking to pay less for something made her feel like a mooch, even if it was donated, and she wouldn’t even try. She thought back to the time she was in a second hand store and found a sweater with the original store tags on it. The second hand tag was higher than the original store tag, but she unquestioningly paid the second hand stores over price, feeling like she would be a brat if she pointed out the faux pas.

“I once paid five pounds for an old candle holder at a flea market, when it was only listed for four because I felt bad making them give me change!” Gemma exclaimed. “I don’t know how to haggle! Just go buy it, what does it matter what it costs?”

Olivia sighed loudly. “Because I want to buy it!” she told Gemma, jamming her index finger against her chest. “I can’t buy something for Harry with his own card. That sounds like something… Taylor would do,” she added, making a face.

Gemma snickered. “Okay, well… Let’s just go see,” she suggested, nodding towards the store entrance. “Maybe it’s cheap!” she added, her tone sounding overly reassuring as she held open the door, gesturing for Olivia to enter.

Olivia rolled her eyes – it would not be cheap – but obliged, stepping into the store. The air was stale and musty, and Olivia didn’t think they’d ever heard of dusting, or air conditioning. Beads of sweat immediately appeared on her forehead, but maybe it was just the prospect of maxing out her credit card to buy a stick.

Gemma darted over to the window display and grabbed the cane. Before she could find the price tag, Olivia snatched it from her hands. The staff was smooth and glossy, with just a small bit of wear on the bottom. The silver ball handle was a bit large for Olivia’s hand to fit comfortably around it, but she knew it would be perfect for Harry’s hands.

After examining the Italian craftsmanship, Olivia knew she had to look at the tag. She winced as she turned the over small orange tag.

“Five hundred pounds,” she groaned. “That’s like…” She trailed off, doing quick math in her head. “… Eight hundred and fifty bucks… Fuck me…” she said with a frown, feeling disappointed. The cane was perfect for Harry, and he’d given so much to her. She wanted to badly to give something back to him, but the simple fact was he made a lot more than she did. She knew it wasn’t all about money – she could find something to show him how much he meant to her without going into debt – but the cane was so perfect for him.

Gemma smiled sympathetically. “What are you going to do?” she asked her, taking the cane from Olivia’s hands and peering at it.

Olivia wrung her free hands together, contemplating the purchase. “I don’t know…” she fretted, watching Gemma examine the cane. “Fuck, I want to… maybe I just should…” she said, thinking about the large tax refund she scored and responsibly put it on her credit line. “But shit, that’s a lot of money… But then again, I’ve spent more than that at Costco…” she added, refraining from explaining it was one time and it was mostly on winter tires. “My mother would just lose her fucking mind at such a… a frivolous purchase… But Harry would lose his mind too, and shit, he’s just done so much for me and…”

Gemma stood patiently as Olivia weighed the pros and cons of purchasing the gift. Finally, as Olivia stopped to take a breath, Gemma spoke up.

“What about half?”

“Half?” Olivia wrinkled her nose at Gemma’s suggestion. “What, you mean, you pay for half?” When Gemma nodded, Olivia immediately shook her head before she could continue.

“No, no…. I can’t have you do that,” Olivia argued. Having Gemma pay for half the gift was almost as bad as using Harry’s card to pay for the entire thing. Worse, maybe.

“He’s my brother,” Gemma pointed out. “And I know he’d love this, but I can’t afford the whole thing either… Come on,” she urged, her eyes twinkling. “I’ll let you take all the credit…” she added in a convincing, sing-song voice.

Olivia smiled before pursing her lips. She would love to say it wasn’t about the credit; it was about finding a unique gift that Harry would love, but considering Olivia was already rehearsing her speech after winning Best Girlfriend In The World and Probably Entire Galaxy, it was also about credit.

“Okay,” she finally agreed. “Let’s spoil that boy.”

~*~*~*~

“Pretty good haul…” Gemma commented after she parked her car in Harry’s driveway, peering into the backseat as Olivia looped her bags over her arms. She glanced towards the house, letting out a laugh. “Thanks, bro!”

Olivia laughed, a feeling of buyer’s remorse washing over her, but reminding herself that Harry told her to, and wanted her to. She couldn’t lie – she felt exactly like royalty in the Versace mini dress. She didn’t think she would be able to wear it back home – something about the sticky bathroom floors at her local pub didn’t exactly scream Versace – but she knew she would try to wear it as often as she could.

“Well…” Olivia began, bending her head into the car. “Thanks for helping me with the cane. I’m so excited to give it to him! And… thanks for the day?” she said, her voice uprising. “I don’t think I’ll tell Harry he was right, though…” she added thoughtfully before letting out a chuckle.

Gemma echoed Olivia’s laugh. “Don’t ever tell him that!” she agreed. “I’m glad we got ourselves sorted out, though,” Gemma told Olivia, a sheepish grin tickling on her lips again.

“Me too,” Olivia answered. She knew it would still take a while for she and Gemma to be close – close relationships didn’t just happen overnight – but she was happy they were on the right track to closeness. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she added with a smile before closing the door behind her.

The house was dark when she stepped inside, save for the dull glow from the bulb above the stove. Not used to the London house and its light switch locations, Olivia fumbled through her purse for her phone, opening up the flashlight. As she climbed the stairs, a shine from the master bedroom cascaded down the hall.

Harry, stretched out in bed, looked up from his phone and grinned at Olivia as she entered the bedroom. “Well, well… I see no blood. Must have been a good, clean kill. Where’d you hide the body?” he greeted teasingly.

Olivia rolled her eyes, dropping her bags on the floor and momentarily forgetting about his gift as she crawled across the bed to greet Harry. “I can’t tell you,” she said solemnly after pressing a kiss to his lips. He raised his arm, letting her tuck against his body before wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“What happened?” he asked with a sigh, his fingers tangling through Olivia’s hair.

“I can’t tell you,” Olivia repeated, “because you’ll just say ‘I told you so’ and I really don’t want to hear that…”

Harry lifted Olivia’s chin, looking into her eyes. “Wait… was I right?” he asked, sounding more surprised than cocky. “You actually had fun? And neither of you killed each other? I’m quite a bit surprised, love,” he added, a teasing tone to his voice as he dropped a kiss against her forehead. “Didn’t think either of you stubborn girls would want to bury the hatchet… Now… tell me I was right!”

Olivia shook her head, reaching her arm across Harry’s stomach and tickling his side softly. “I would never tell you something like that!” she teased him, hearing his heart slowly thud in his chest. “But… we’ve started to figure our shit out, so… that’s the first step.”

“I’m glad…” Harry murmured, his hand lazily massaging in her hair. Olivia waited for him to ask what had happened to make the girls realise they didn’t have to be mortal enemies, but rather, he let out a big yawn, relaxing his body against Olivia.

“Don’t you want to know how it happened?” Olivia pressed after a few quiet pauses.

Harry looked down at Olivia curiously. “Do I?” he wondered, nudging her to face him.

Olivia snickered slightly. “We, uh… we ran into Taylor…” she told Harry, carefully watching his face for a reaction. Her name hadn’t been on either of their lips since the accident, and Olivia had intended on keeping it that way. He had apologised for what happened and Olivia had accepted his words. There was no reason for her name to be brought up… until now.

“God…” Harry muttered, his eyes closing briefly. “Gem hates her.”

“I’m not super smitten either,” Olivia reminded Harry with a roll of her eyes. “She’s a fucking idiot. She didn’t even remember who I was. So I had to remind her that I’m the girl whose boyfriend she kissed…” She bit her lip slightly, wondering why Harry hadn’t told Gemma about Taylor. If he wasn’t at fault, why wouldn’t he explain the reason behind his and Olivia’s nearly-detrimental argument?

Harry let out a quiet chuckle. “She probably won’t forget you now, love…” he said, rolling his body on top of Olivia’s. He kissed her between her eyes, seeming to want to table any discussions about Taylor. “I missed you today,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around the back of her head, creating a pillow. “Even all day girl-on-girl action is no match for you,” he added playfully.

“Always one with the words…” Olivia teased back before letting out a quiet sigh. She didn’t want to discuss the Bad Blooded wannabe-homewrecker, but the more she wasn’t discussed, the more Olivia realised she needed to be discussed. But as she lay with Harry, him pressing sweet kisses across her face, she knew it wasn’t the time. A nagging thought in the back of her mind asked her if it would ever be the time.

Pushing the thoughts of Taylor from her mind, Olivia wriggled her body under Harry. “I got you something today…” she told him mischievously, running her hands along his bare arms.

“Oh yeah?” Harry asked, his interest piqued. “Is it the dress? Because honey, that’s as much for me as it is for you. I can’t wait to see you in it…” he whispered against her forehead. “Actually… I can’t wait to get you out of it…” he corrected, wiggling his eyebrows before kissing Olivia’s hairline.

Olivia grinned, squirming again. “No, this is really for you,” she promised. “Get up!”

“I am up,” Harry teased, pressing his hips against Olivia’s and gyrating once or twice before obeying her words and rolling off of her. He propped his head up on his elbow, watching Olivia as she knelt in front of the shopping bags.

“Turn this way a bit, love,” Harry directed from the bed. “I can’t see up your dress.”

Olivia rolled her eyes at Harry, straightening up and hiding the cane behind her back as she stepped in front of Harry. “Shut up,” she instructed, brushing a lock of Harry’s hair from his forehead before bending and finding his lips with hers. He snaked an arm around her waist, but his touch was more to find out what Olivia was hiding, not to pull her closer.

She pulled away from him, scowling facetiously at Harry. “Patience, child,” she told him teasingly. She sat on the bed beside Harry, presenting him with the cane. “It’s from me and Gemma,” she told him, giving Harry’s sister the credit she deserved, despite her earlier thoughts. She couldn’t have bought it for Harry without Gemma’s help. It was only fair.

Harry’s eyes widened and his face broke into a wide grin as Olivia showed him the cane. She immediately forgot about the extravagant charge on her credit card when she saw his surprised smile. She loved those dimples, and she loved being the reason behind them.

“Do you love it?” Olivia asked, smiling smugly. He did, she knew.

“Holy… fuck…” Harry finally managed to say. “This is… Jesus Christ, love!” He exclaimed, beaming at Olivia as he carefully caressed the staff. “How did you fucking find something like this? This is incredible! This… this cost you a fortune, didn’t it?” he asked, a small frown creeping onto his face. Olivia noticed his grip loosen on the staff, as though he was trying to decide if he ought to return it to save his poor girlfriend some money.

Olivia covered his hand with hers, leaning forward. “Shhh…” she instructed softly, fluttering a soft kiss against his cheek. “Enjoy it. Don’t worry about it.”

“But honey, I…”

Olivia kissed against Harry’s lips, silencing him. “I said shhh,” she reminded him. “You do so much for me, and I wanted to do something for you. Plus, I knew giving you this would make me Girlfriend of the Year for, like… the rest of time, so…” She trailed off, shrugging coyly.

Harry let the cane drop from his hands onto the bed before he wrapped his arms around Olivia’s waist, tugging her with him as he fell back against the headboard. “There was never a question about that,” he murmured, a soft kiss finding its way to her lips. “But… thank you, sweetheart,” he added, running his fingers through Olivia’s locks. “I can’t wait to show it off tomorrow. And you,” he told her, kissing her forehead.

Olivia smiled at his words, though the surprise on her face was apparent. “Really?”

Harry matched her surprised look. “Well… of course…” he told her, sounding stunned. “I mean, I… why wouldn’t I want to show you off?” he asked, his question punctuated by a short laugh.

Though taken aback by his words, Olivia attempted to tread lightly. “Well, I just mean… you haven’t before, so…” She managed a slight shrug against his body. “I mean, I get it, I get it,” she quickly reassured him. She didn’t. “I just didn’t think you’d want the press to be talking about your relationship tomorrow, rather than the movie.”

“I don’t,” Harry answered simply. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I have the best, prettiest, biggest pain in the ass girlfriend out there, and I don’t want her to feel like she’s locked away in some tower of mine anymore. I never wanted her to feel that way…” he confessed quietly, his gaze dropping from Olivia’s for just a moment. “Plus, just try and keep her name off my lips…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Impossible.”

Olivia let out a quiet snicker. She felt immensely guilty that she didn’t entirely believe Harry. His words, she believed he meant them. His actions, they would speak for themselves. Notoriously private, Olivia couldn’t picture Harry bringing her up during one of the red carpet interviews. He enjoyed their relationship being just for them. Olivia did too, to a point, and while she had a feeling that once her name and status was known, she would yearn for the private days, she wanted the opportunity to have an educated opinion.

“I mean it,” Harry continued, appearing to pick up on Olivia’s scepticism. “You know if my mom wasn’t so excited, and if Robin hadn’t…” He cleared his throat. “You know you’d be there, right beside me on my arm, through the whole thing, right? You know that?”

Until then, she hadn’t. She’d never batted an eye when Harry asked Anne to be his date. It was expected, and Olivia would have been flabbergasted if he hadn’t asked his mother, especially after his accident and his step-father’s passing. Anne needed something good, and Olivia would never want to be the person to take that from her. But hearing Harry say he wished his girlfriend, who no one knew about, was planning on walking beside him through the red carpet, rather than his mother, who everyone knew and adored, shocked her.

But she couldn’t say that to Harry. Instead, she tightened her grip on his, resting her head against his chest. “I know,” she said, hoping she sounded reassuring. “Don’t worry… I know…”

Notes

Comments

@Kammy.
Oh I know. It hurt me too. When this idea first came to me, I was like "fuck... Noooooo!" But... I felt it was realistic (and stupid and dumb and dumb and stupid!) too. Sigh.

harambejtrump harambejtrump
4/26/18

this hurts, I'm broken...you have ruined me... (I still love you, but omg does this kill me)
You know I love this story, Olivia is my girl...but my heart hurts now

On that note....the realistic way they ended, wow...I could see this happening in his life easily, poor H...

Kammy. Kammy.
4/26/18

@Prinny1321
Thank you!!

harambejtrump harambejtrump
4/25/18

I'm sad that they didn't get back together but I love how realistic it was <3 I loved this though

Prinny1321 Prinny1321
4/25/18

@morrison_hotel
❤❤❤

harambejtrump harambejtrump
4/25/18