TEN

"We are doing this." - Niall said when he sat on the driver's side.

"Yes, we are." - I replied with an eye roll as he turned the car on.

My first date ever with a man.
And not any man, but charming, endearing, smiley, Harry.

I wasn't really sure what I was feeling, I mean I was excited, yes, but also I was nervous as hell.
Even more because I didn't know what to expect from Niall.

This could go terribly wrong.
And I wasn't sure I was ready to loose this guy before we even got to our first date.

I was shaking the whole ride to the diner. And, even if I was not a religious person, I ended up praying the Gods above for this date to turn up alright.

It was easy to find a parking spot outside the diner, and soon enough we were both entering the place and finding that we were the firsts to arrive.
So, in a second, we found a booth to sit and wait for Harry.

While I was tapping on my leg and nervously looking around in anticipation of Harry's arrival, I also got to take a look around the place Harry chosen for tonight.
It was an interesting imitation of american diners from the fifties.

It made me smile.
Harry just kept choosing alternative places for us to meet. First the arcade, now a diner.
He was not basic or cliche, he didn't go for the obvious.

It was refreshing.

Niall huffed and dropped the menu on the table with a thud, making me snap out of my thoughts.

"Let's start by saying that this guy is rude for showing up late to the date he organized."

"Shut up." - I said, now tapping my fingers on the table and glancing at my phone every two seconds.

Niall rolled his eyes at my nervous tics, in annoyance.

"Stop that." - He said.

I flicked my middle finger at him.

"I'm nervous. And you shouldn't be here."

"But I am."

"You better behave."

"And that means?"

"That means no embarrassing me. Not being mean to Harry or making him feel uncomfortable. He doesn't even know you're going to be here, so don't ruin our date more than you're already ruining it."

"I won't make any promises."

"If you get too annoying, I will fucking kick you out of here. You're not ruining this." - I said firmly.

"I'm sure Harry won't like you kicking your friend."

"Fuck off."

Right in that second, Harry appeared through the door, his eyes wandering around until they found mine.
With a growing smile on my face, I made a sign to him from my seat, he smiled back at me and walked to us.

I was happy to see him again. He looked way better than with his teacher smock.
He had this cozy, lovely blue coat around his frame that made me want to hug him to never let go.

And with a feeling of relief, I noticed my previous nervous state vanish.
His peaceful scent calming my worries in a millisecond.

"Hey." - Harry stood up at the side of our table, smiling at me.

I tapped on the seat by my side for him to sit.
When he did, I smiled even wider at him.

"Hey." - I said.

"You must be Harry." - Niall interrupted.

"Yes." - Harry frowned, now looking at Niall. - "Sorry, your name is?"

"Niall. Louis' best friend."

"Not for long." - I said, giving him an scolding look.

"Oh, okay." - Harry mumbled, extending his hand to shake Niall's. - "Nice to meet you, Niall. Are you... Joining us?"

"Yes." - Niall faked a big smile. - "For a moment I thought you weren't coming and that you had stood up my friend."

"What? No, I wouldn't do that." - Harry laughed. - "Just traffic. Sorry, Lou." - He turned to me with a pout.

"It's okay." - I smiled, shrugging. Then, I leaned to Harry and whispered into his ear. - "Just ignore him."

Taking advantage of our nearness, and feeling a little confident, I softly kissed his cheek.

"I want to talk to you Harry." - Niall said, again interrupting our little moment.

"Yes?" - Harry turned to him.

"What's your zodiac sign?"

"Uhm, aquarius?"

"God, no." - Niall sighed. - "I should have seen that coming if you chose a diner for a first date."

"What does that mean?" - Harry asked.

"Ignore him, H." - I reminded him, whispering.

"You know, Capricorn and Aquarius aren't a good match."

"You are Capricorn?" - Harry asked at me with a smile.

"Yeah. Though I don't understand shit about all that astrology thingy."

"Me neither." - Harry shrugged, laughing. - "Guess we'll just flow with it, yeah?"

"Yeah." - I nodded.

Then, I felt Harry's hand over my knee, slightly squeezing in a comforting way, though not a second later he let go and returned it to his own lap.

"So." - I cleared my throat. - "Should we order?"

🌈

After we ordered chocolate milkshakes, and different plates of American food to taste - and for me to also share with Harry - the uncomfortable conversation with Niall continued.

He wasn't giving up on trying to ruin this for me.
And with each comment he made, I was closer to kick his ass out of here.

"Harry, what is your favorite color?" - Niall asked as he sipped on his milkshake.

"All of them."

"So, you're indecisive. Afraid of commitment or something?"

"What?" - Harry frowned. - "I just love all colors."

"So, polyamorous?"

Harry just laughed.

"Funny."

"Right." - Niall mumbled. - "Favorite band?"

"You know I'm not your date, right? What's the point on getting to know me? I'm here for Louis."

"And I'm his best friend trying to make sure you are both in the same page. So. Favorite band?"

I took a deep breath, trying hard not to kill Niall right there.

"The Beatles."

"Ugh. Wrong choice. Told you, mate." - Niall said to me. - "You're not compatible."

I gave him a warning look and decided to change the direction of the conversation.

"So." - I said, taking a bite of my food and turning to Harry. - "H, what do you like to do when you're not working at the daycare?"

A tiny smile started forming on Harry's lips, hiding it away as he looked down at our shared plate.

"Texting you."

"What?" - I laughed.

"I don't do much. I work, I go outside and enjoy nature, I sometimes read. But texting you is definitely my favorite activity at the moment." - He smirked at me.

"Oh my God, this is torture." - Niall commented, but we both ignored him this time.

"What do you like to do when you're not working?" - Harry asked me.

"Spend time with Freddie I think, I don't do much either. Apart from texting you that is."

"Idiot." - Niall mumbled.

"Can you please shut your mouth?" - I replied.

"How is Freddie?" - Harry interrupted now, looking at me with another kind smile.

Oh, bless him.

"He's fine I think, he hasn't had another episode yet. His mother still doesn't want to know anything related to therapy though, but I'll keep trying. I now understand Freddie needs it."

"Yeah." - Harry sighed.

"Harry, how many boyfriends did you have?" - Niall asked him.

"Uhm..." - Harry froze. - "I don't see why would you care about that."

"Because of Louis, of course."

"Can you please stop?" - I groaned, running my fingers on my hair, exasperated.

"Nope." - He smiled fakely at me.

I gave him another warning look and Harry noticed it, so he squeezed my knee one more time in order to relax again.

"Really. Stop it." - I spit out.

Harry softly moved his hand up to find mine and then, he intertwined our fingers together, turning his body entirely to me and leaving Niall out of our conversation for a little while.

With a gentle smile, he rubbed his finger over my knuckles.

"So, Louis. You told me you worked at a law firm but you weren't a lawyer. What exactly is that you do?"

"I'm a paralegal." - I sighed in relief, finally feeling like this was between him and I.

"Really?" - He smiled, though he seemed confused.

"You have no idea what that is, don't you?" - I snorted.

"No actually, no." - He continued to smile, shaking his head.

"Ugh. This is like the worst date ever." - Niall commented, interrupting us yet again.

"Maybe because you keep interrupting us." - I answered.

"Maybe because you suck at dating." - Niall replied.

"I actually think he's lovely." - Harry said.

Niall raised an eyebrow at him.

"That Louis is lovely?" - Niall laughed. - "I mean, he's my best friend. He's a lot of things. Lovely isn't one of them."

"Niall, what the fuck, man?" - I asked him, raising my voice. - "You're being an asshole. Stop ruining this for me."

"I'm just looking after you."

"By ruining my date! Oh, what a great friend you are!" - I exclaimed sarcastically.

"Uhm, Lou?" - Harry murmured, leaning closer to me and whispering in my ear. - "Calm down, love. We can always leave and finish this date somewhere else." - He leaned back and gave me an encouraging smile. - "If you want to."

The look on Harry's eyes was so pure and genuine that it almost made my stomach take a twist.

"No, he's the one leaving." - I said, looking at Niall. - "I'm done with you."

"What?"

"Bye, Niall."

"I'm your ride."

"I'll take a cab, I don't care. Go home and leave me and Harry alone." - I stood my ground.

Niall huffed in response but eventually gathered his things, getting out of the booth and walking out of the diner without looking back.

"I'm sorry, but I thought he was never going to leave." - Harry sighed, containing a laugh.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't know what's fucking wrong with him. He's not usually like that. I swear."

"He just doesn't like me it seems."

"And I can't understand why."

"I guess it can happen, yeah? I can't ask for everyone to like me." - He shrugged, smiling. - "As long as you do, I'm okay."

"Oh, I do. Believe me. I just hate that he made things so... Awkward."

"I like it awkward." - He said with a beautiful smile on his face.

"Oh, I see what you did there."

"It could be our phrase." - He said leaning towards me.

"I think I'd like that." - I gave him a smile and a little kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah?" - He smiled, lifting a hand up to my cheek and softly stroking over my cheekbone. - "Kinda like The fault in our stars."

"What's that?"

"A book." - Harry laughed.

"Right. Sorry, I don't read much. Only law books and... Yeah, that's pretty much it."

"I'll read to you sometime then. Maybe that could be our second date?" - He smirked.

"Yeah, okay."

"I kinda love that you're so open to dating like this. Knowing it's your first time after your marriage."

"I am ready to move on." - I shrugged. - "I am ready to change all the wrongs I did and you know... Enjoy the rest of my life. I won't turn down opportunities anymore."

"God, I got myself a pretty wise one, didn't I?" - He grinned, his hand still caressing my cheek as he leaned closer.

I could feel his breathing hitting on my lips, his nose gently trailing the edge of my jaw, his hand holding me still.

And this time, I dove into the experience of it, fully submitting to inhale on his intoxicating perfume, his soft touches and the growing tension before that one moment.

Harry made the final, deciding move to angle closer, the gap between our lips closing with a kiss that didn't quite line up but radiated warmth and safeness.

It was a kiss that made me understand I was finally doing something right.
Because nothing that feels so good could ever be wrong.

But just to make sure, I gave it a second try.
And a third.