CONNOR WASN'T LATE. He was actually pretty early that I hadn't even had the time to put my makeup on. Teagan, my beautiful Irish roommate, worked on distracting him in our little space of a living room until I finished getting ready.

Knowing we'd be going to a fancy dinner, I'd decided on a dress. Its black material thin and tight around my curves, the end of its hem reaching below mid-thigh, the neck opening showing a bit of cleavage with the ends of the thin straps tied around the back of my neck. The back of the dress was bare, only complimentary stripes across it to give a chic look.

I'd paired it off with striped heels that go up to my ankle, and straightened my hair right after I've got from the shower. I kept my makeup minimal, only looking like I've put on eyeliner and contour. Once I was done putting my knuckle rings on, my phone dinged from the loveseat, finding later it was a text from Harry.

are you still home?

yeah but connor's outside

we're leaving right now

I rest on the loveseat with my back straight as I open the camera on my phone and take a mirror selfie before I send it to Harry, trying to collect my purse and stuff my essentials in there.

what do you think?
[image attached]

are you fucking serious?

..?

that's too open, fiorella.

thanks a lot, asshole.

i'm serious. change.

I frown and roll my eyes at his behavior with a huff as I lock the phone and shove it back into my purse.

Connor Bentley is sat on our old ratchet sofa, looking effortlessly confident in his element. When he senses my presence, he stands up with a quirky smile adorning his thin lips, giving me a proper view of the navy Gucci suit he was wearing with the pink dress shirt and a black tie. He manages to pull off these colors in the weirdest way, but I still can't find him as attractive as all the other women at work for some reason.

"Hi, Connor," I grin at him, taking small steps towards him.

"Hey. You look great," Connor smiles, his cheekbones tinted light pink as he eyes my figure and I chuckle when he starts shifting from one foot to another.

"Thank you, you look dashing yourself. Where's Teagan?" I raised my eyebrows at his dilating blue eyes as he flips his fringe to the side with his head.

"Thanks. She, uh, went to her room, I think? I guess I bored her," He grimaced and I laughed, going for the door.

"Don't sweat it, she's quite easily tempered," I open the door of the apartment, ready to go already. "Let's go?"

"After you," he shot me one of his million dollar smiles and let me step outside first until he closed the door behind us. Same happened with the car door, same gentlemanly shit.

"So, where are we going?" I asked, feeling the calm and quiet of the Audi suffocating.

"I was thinking about Italian restaurant near Madison Square. I hope you like Italian?"

"Italian? Connor, I'm an international eater; I eat absolutely everything...except bugs and weird shit like that."

Connor laughed, grimacing when I'd cursed.

"I'm serious. French people eat frogs and snails, like, no, thanks! Chinese eat cockroaches or something. Ew, no."

He laughed again. "Oh, man, that accent!"

I grinned amusedly at him, shaking my head as I watch him take a careful turn, keeping his speed limit under control. "So, Connor, what's your deal?"

"My deal?" He raised an eyebrow, never getting his eyes off the road.

"Yeah, your story? I'll ask. How did you end up at Yendor's Co.?"

He laughed nervously. "I thought the get-to-know-each-other conversation is when we're there at the restaurant."

"We're here now, aren't we?"

"I guess so. Um, I've always had a thing for literature, my parents both work in that field so I guess it was meant to be for me. I mean, I like working there. Jeffery is a serious professional and I always appreciate that." Connor rants, having me nod distractedly before he looks at me. "Whar about you?"

"Me?" I blurt and shake my head, nibbling on my bottom lip. "I'm, as you know, from the UK. I guess you could say it was hard moving and adapting to this life, but I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. And here I am."

"Here you are," Connor grins widely at me and nods once as if in approval. "See, that's why I'd known you're strong, I can see the-"

Camila Cabello's ringtone that I've set on my phone interrupts him and I hold my index up to tell him to hold on. Digging out my phone, I see that it's Harry. I decline his call and open up his texts, seeing he's left a couple since the one I ignored.

did you change?

fiorella

i swear to God.

take a chill pill, will ya?

oh thank god

you didn't change, did you?

wow you're psychic

where is the prick taking you?

stop being a dick.

take care, alright?

if he touches you, you know who to call.

911?

ha ha.

since when do you wear that dress without tights anyway?

since we're in the middle of august and it's fucking boiling.

my turn, since when do you get to tell me what to wear?

she's flirting with the waiter
[image attached]

I right up cackle when the picture loads on my screen, making my good old date jump in surprise. Harry's snapped a photo of his date (whose whole chest was practically jumping out of her cupped dress) and she was twirling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger as she looks at the flustered-looking waiter in the creepiest way. I'm not even sure I could call that seductive.

"Who's making you busy?" Connor tries to joke and I smile at him, shaking my head.

"Sorry. It's just Harry,"

"Oh...Harry," Connor hums in a pause before I know what's about to come before he even begins his sentence. "So, what's Harry's story?"

I shrug knowingly. "You'd have to ask him, I'm not Harry."

"No, I," he chuckled. "I meant what's the story of you two?"

I turn to a curious Connor and sigh out of exasperation. "We're friends, Connor. No, I haven't kissed or slept with him before. Yes, he's just a friend."

I think I am quite aware that I come off too stern when explaining the unique friendship I have with Harry, but I'm always given shit about how we 'should date,' or 'look good together.' People see a male and a female (or of same sex) and they're automatically labeled a couple.

Harry and I are friends and only that and we plan on staying that way. Hell, we even agreed that I'll be his best woman at his wedding (even though I don't see a ring happening on Harry's finger) and him my man of honor.

By now, some people who personally interact with me know that there's absolutely no way that friendship is going further than just that. I only needed to clear things up for Connor Bentley since he seems to be suggesting something.

"I'm sorry, Fiorella. I didn't mean anything," he apologizes, looking scared of me. I almost frown but I offer a small smile.

"That's okay, nothing to apologize for," I say and Connor nods in huge relief that I almost laugh and tell him that he's a good boy. Harry would live to see the day.

Half an hour later, I'm praying to God this date to be over. I've been texting Harry the whole time while Connor's been blabbering about how he has great vision for the company in the near future. It was boring enough, I felt I was on a work dinner. He hasn't once asked me about anything. He kept talking about himself, the company and himself.

who the hell orders sprite at this fancy arse restaurant?

fuck i told him i'd like wine instead and he was like "what how why aw no"

he almost gave me a lecture about why he doesn't prefer drinking on first dates

ohmygod imagine connor bentley drunk (!!!)

it's your fault you decided to go out with that potato

i bailed on sandra, she fancies the waiter

or was it sandy? idfk

oh wow you're a gentleman

i'm so boooored

he's still eating his main and i was done with dessert 49 hours ago

why did the potato go to france?

because he wanted to be a french fry !!!!

hahahahaha

fiorella?

are you there?

oh please it's your loss, my jokes are fabuloustastic.

please stop

they're awful

i hate them

you remind me of one of santa's reindeers

oh? which one?

wait.. is it another joke?

rude-olph.

i fucking knew it.

••

note:
fiorella's texts are in italic and harry's are in bold so don't confuse yourselves! x