021. CINEMA // BREAK-IN

Rory was exhausted.

She couldn't remember the last time her entire body hurt so much after a weekend shift. At least she made it home just after midnight. For an extremely slow Sunday - well, now Monday - that was late. However, she had gotten used to leaving the bar at least two hours later than usual. And that was all thanks to their lack of staff showing up.

Rory hoped the owner would recognize that the dwindling numbers of employees directly correlated with the person recently promoted. She knew it was a lost cause, especially since he was too busy getting sucked off by said power-hungry blonde after hours.

With sluggish steps, Rory unlocked her front door, pushed it open and released a loud yawn as she stepped inside her apartment. The floor looked like a nice place to sleep for the night. What was the point of wasting extra steps walking to her bed when she could collapse right here and-

"Long day?"

Rory jumped at the voice, pressing her hand against her chest. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Harry, sprawled out on her couch, gave her a nonchalant shrug. "Watching the game. I got big money on this team tonight."

"I meant, what the fuck are you doing here in my apartment, Harry? How did you get in?"

"I climbed up the side of your building and got in through the balcony," he said with his attention on the television. With a glance to the side, he caught her confused expression and added, "I'm kidding, Bambi. I used your spare key. You know, hiding it under your charming 'fuck off' welcome mat is a terrible place to put it. Any criminal could easily find it - even the stupid ones."

"You broke into my apartment?"

"It's hardly considered breaking and entering when I found your spare key. It's not like I picked the lock." Harry looked over at her. "Oh, come on, Bambi. Don't tell me you're upset."

"I'm not," she told him, walking towards the couch.

It was an honest answer - there was no reason she could think of to be upset over something like that. The fact that he did something like that was flattering to her.

This was her version of a romantic gesture.

Rory collapsed on the couch beside him. "So, did you come to my place just to watch your game in peace?"

"Well, my first thought was to see you," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. When she didn't turn her head, he gently squeezed her side to get her attention. "Hey."

"What?" Her eyes finally looked away from the game to meet his glance.

"Give me a kiss."

Those damn butterflies appeared again, fluttering enthusiastically as he pressed his lips to hers. She stayed close to him as the kiss broke, her eyes meeting his glance. God, she hated how his green eyes made her want to melt.

"I've missed you, Bambi," he whispered, kissing her again.

It pained her to admit, but she missed him too. She had gotten used to him showing up at her door almost every night, even waiting until she arrived home at ten or eleven to make dinner. But she had finally been getting the busy shifts at Sal's for the past few nights. And that meant she would get home extremely late and be so exhausted that all she wanted was to head straight to bed.

"Remind me again why you have to work at that other bar when you also work for me?"

Before she could reply, her mouth was smothered by his. Pulling back slightly, Harry moved his lips to kiss along her jaw and down her neck.

"You don't give me any good shifts, and-" she quickly sank her teeth into her bottom lip to conceal a desperate moan from escaping, "And there's this asshole I owe a bunch of money to and if I don't pay up, he said he'll kill me."

"Sounds like a dick," he said, his words vibrating against her skin, "Think he means it?"

"Mmhmm," was all she could manage as her eyes closed from the pleasure he was causing, "He shot someone in front of me to teach me a lesson."

Harry moved his lips to her ear, nipping at the lobe. "How did that make you feel?"

"Scared," she admitted before adding with a grin, "And horny."

Rory swore she heard him release a deep, throaty groan at her admission. That sound, mixed with everything else he was doing, left her wondering how she would hold off for another night. No matter how often she tried to convince herself that this was real, the fear remained in her mind.

What if she gave in and he never came back?

The way Harry worked his lips on her neck - kissing, nipping, and sucking at the spot he knew drove her wild - left Rory wanting to test that theory. For science, of course.

Just as she was about to throw her rules out the window, Harry kissed her one last time and pulled away. "That was just to make up for the last few nights without you, Bambi."

"Tease," she muttered under her breath. Resting against his side, her eyes fell to the television, watching the players in college uniforms run around the court.

"You're all tense," he commented, "Hard shift at work?"

"Yeah, but-" Her eyes widened. "Shit, sorry! I probably reek of booze right now."

Harry immediately pulled her back as Rory tore herself away from his grasp. "I own a bar, Rory. I'm used to it."

"Oh, right." Her cheeks flushed. "Well, to answer your question, yes, it was a long fucking night. My entire body aches. I miss having Big Mike around to carry all the boxes of booze I need."

"Well, you'll get to see him soon. How about I run you a warm bath?"

"What?"

"A warm bath," he repeated, "You know that long rectangle you have attached to your shower?"

"I know what it is. I'm just-" Stopping her rambling before it was too late, Rory said, "I mean, that would be nice. But aren't you worried about missing your game?"

Waving off her concern, he rose from the couch. "It's halftime," he kissed her forehead, "I'll be back soon."

Watching him walk out of the room and disappear down the narrow hallway, Rory couldn't help but smile to herself. Deep down, this was always something she wanted - but not something she ever thought she could have.

To her, coming home to someone and talking about their days was a fantasy. She never thought she could be the person someone else would want to do that with. It made her feel warm inside to think about how he picked up on her stress and offered to draw her a bath. Even if the water were ice-cold, she wouldn't care. It was the thought that counted.

"Bambi!" Harry's voice called out.

"Coming!"

Rory was giddy, getting up from the couch and making her way to the bathroom. And that feeling only expanded inside her as she watched him sit on the edge of the tub and dip his hand into the bubble-filled water to test the temperature.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked, drying off his hands, "Some tea might be nice."

"Sure, thank you."

"Get yourself ready, and I'll go make it."

The door closed, leaving her to focus solely on the tub in front of her. Rory chewed her bottom lip nervously. The water felt so daunting when she was alone. How was something that was supposed to destress her only resulting in more stress?

It's a nice gesture, she reminded herself. You don't get any of those.

All she had to do was sit in the bath until he returned, and when he would leave to watch his game, she could sneak out. How long did people soak in a tub? Ten minutes? She could find something to distract herself in the bathroom for that long while she pretended to enjoy his gesture.

Hurry up and get in before he gets back!

"Right, shit," she mumbled to herself.

Gripping the bottom hem of her tank top, she quickly pulled it off her body and tossed it to the ground. Her jeans were next - which she was far less graceful with removing, almost tripping twice in the process due to trying to remove them so fast.

Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the tub.

Babies like it, she reminded herself. So can you.

With cautious movements, she slowly stepped in and lowered herself under the water. It was relaxing; she had to admit. But the fact that she was in the water, alone, in a closed room, did little to stop her anxiety from rising.

God - could you look any more uncomfortable? Put a smile on your face! You're supposed to be fucking relaxed, idiot!

"Here we are," Harry announced, walking back into the room. His brow raised, spotting her in the tub. "You made it in already?"

With a forced smile, Rory spoke through clenched teeth. "Yup. I sure did."

"Is it alright if I sit with you?" he asked, handing her the mug of tea.

Surprised by his question, she blurted, "Why?"

"Because I want to spend some time with you."

"Okay, yeah, sure."

He was lying. They both knew it. But she appreciated his way of asking, instead of phrasing it in the "do you want me to stay" way. That would have made her feel pathetic - which he knew.

"Aren't you going to miss your game?"

"I told you it's halftime, Bambi," he reminded her. "Besides, I would be happy to miss a few minutes of the third quarter for you."

"How romantic."

Harry leaned toward her. "That's what they call me, you know. Mr. Romantic."

"Is that so? I heard it was Mr. Angry Pants."

He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Only this beautiful girl I know calls me that," he whispered, kissing her again. "I'm so fucking glad you work for me all week, Bambi."

Pressing her hand to his chest, she created distance between them. "Wait. How is this going to work?"

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't had a shift at work since we... you know..."

"Started dating?"

Her eyes widened. "Is that what we're doing?"

"Do we have to go over the definition of dates again, Bambi?"

"No, I just-" Silencing herself, she took a deep breath to calm the urges inside her that wanted to reply with a snappy remark. "Good to know." She cleared her throat. "So, yes, I was wondering how this will work since we are..."

"Dating."

"Yes. Dating."

"How do you want it to work?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because, Rory," he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "It's important to me that you are comfortable with how we handle things at work."

Rory took a moment to collect her thoughts, wanting to take this chance to speak as eloquently as she could. But that flew right out the window when she opened her mouth and blurted out, "I like privacy, and I hate people being noisy. I know what people think about me there, so the last thing I need is to confirm their suspicions that I'm actually fucking the boss. I mean, we're not fucking, but that won't matter if they see us kissing or, shit, you even being nice to me."

Just when she should have shut her mouth, she added, "I don't want you to think I'm, like, ashamed of you or something. I just don't want people at work thinking I'm getting special treatment because I got down on my knees in your office. Do I like you? Obviously, yeah, but-"

Rory fell silent. Pulling back, she whispered a fearful, "Oh, god," and averted her eyes from his gaze. "I need to do something."

"What?"

"Drown myself."

Not sure if she was joking and not wanting to leave it up to chance, Harry reached forward and grabbed hold of her arms, pulling her back towards him. "What's wrong?"

"I just told you I liked you!"

"So?"

"So?" she repeated in disbelief. "What kind of idiot says it first?"

"Rory."

She forced a laugh. "I was just kidding!"

"Rory."

"I don't like-like you - that would be crazy!"

"Rory."

"Liking the guy that wants to kill me. Now that's a good one!"

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he yelled, "Rory!"

"Yes?" she squeaked.

"I like you too."

Chewing on her bottom lip, she gave him a slight nod. "Okay."

"Okay?" he repeated.

She nodded again. "Okay." Clearing her throat, she asked, "So, we're dating, and we like each other?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Harry tucked two fingers under her chin. "I mean it, Rory."

"I know."

"Do you believe me?"

She held his gaze, noticing something in the way he looked at her. She didn't know how to describe it; it wasn't something she had ever seen before. But it made her feel safe and warm inside. It made her feel like she could trust him.

"I do," she replied honestly.

"Good. Now, turn around."

"Why?"

"I'll wash your hair."

Rory convinced herself this all had to be a dream. An extremely hot, good-looking, and somewhat tolerable guy was waiting in her apartment when she got home, knew she was stressed, made her tea, drew her a bath, stayed with her because of her fears when his game was on, and to top it all off, washed her hair. Plus, there was the whole admitting out loud that they liked each other and confirmation that they were dating.

Dating.

Rory and Harry were dating.

It was just too good to be true.

"Are you alright?"

Rory met his glance in the reflection. "I'm perfect, thank you," she said, adjusting the fluffy white towel that hung around her frame. "Go watch your game."

"You sure? I could help you change too if you needed."

She caught his cheeky grin and rolled her eyes, swatting his arm with the back of her hand. "Go, Harry!"

"Fine, alright," he said with a dramatic sigh. "But don't take too long."

"I won't."

After a short kiss, Harry disappeared, leaving Rory to blush madly in peace.

She never wanted to wake up if this was a dream, which she convinced herself it was.

Rory hurried around her room, brushing her hair and getting changed as fast as possible - this time, without tripping over herself. She wasn't a clumsy person by any means, but hurrying to put clothes on so she could return to the hot guy in her living room meant anything was possible, like suddenly becoming a clumsy, ditzy mess.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and not wanting to seem too eager, Rory forced herself to walk at a normal speed to the living room and joined him on the couch. Harry put his arm over her shoulder and pulled her against his side as they watched the game.

"How much money did you bet on this?"

"Ten."

"Ten bucks? That's not so-"

"Thousand."

Rory choked. "Excuse me?"

"Ten thousand."

"Holy shit," she whispered. "That's a lot of fucking money."

"I know. And if I win, the first thing I'm buying is a new table for you."

"I don't need a new-"

"Rory, that piece of shit you have right now is broken, and I'm not eating in front of the television with you every night for dinner. Alright?"

Rory nodded in agreement, but her mind was only focused on a particular part of his sentence. With you every night. She knew what he said in the bathroom. His admission for liking her repeated in sync with the new phrase that swarmed her mind. She trusted him, yet she still couldn't believe any of it was real.

Her doubts were squashed the following day when a delivery man arrived to set up her gift—a new dining table.

It wasn't the piece of well-built furniture that caused the butterflies to swarm every inch of her entire body. It was the note that came with it.

For dinner tonight and every other night that you'll have me. x Harry

aw. (w)hory is officially dating. love that for them.