Love, On Read (MxM)

Chapter 21: You Will Never be Lost on Me

A/N: Late update, apologies, I've been participating in NaNoWriMo and working on Our Hearts Collided at the same time 😅 Anyways, enjoy!

Song: Overpass Graffiti by Ed Sheeran (the song Haruto plays/sings) :)

Ollie's POV

It had been nearly midnight by the time Haruto and I cleaned up the shop and made everything set up for tomorrow morning. I'd probably regret chugging the entire latte this late at night, but I wasn't just going to let a perfect coffee go to waste.

The cafe's keys jingled as Haruto locked the doors behind us. He had put his wet clothes and shows in one of the cafe's reusable bags, still wearing his almost dry dress pants and house slippers he took from the shop. "I'll drive you; my car's right around the corner. I'm sure there are no buses that run this late, and the streets can be quite scary at this time."

"Thanks," I told him, even though I wanted to argue that he already did so much for me today, not to mention he must've been exhausted, and I was confident I could walk to my apartment just fine on my own. "You don't have to, you know."

He gave me a droll look. "But I want to. Besides, what kind of person would let someone walk home this late at night all alone?"

I knew quite a few, actually, but I didn't say anything. "Yeah, but I could just Uber home or take a Lyft."

"That's almost just as bad. A ride from a total stranger?"

"Alright, alright." I held my hands up in surrender. "I see your point."

He smiled. "Come on; I'll let you blast your music too."

He knew how to pull me in. Nothing beats listening to music on car rides. "Fine, let's go before it decides to rain again."

"I don't mind getting caught in the rain with you, Ollie," I barely caught him saying. He turned on his heel to head toward the employee parking before I could say anything. I trailed behind Haruto as we made it to his car. It was parked halfway under the awnings in the alleyway between two shops.

"Here." He handed the aux cord before adjusting the AC and volume.

"You play something. Last time I played my songs."

"I don't mind your music, Ollie."

Pursing my lips, I turned down the car radio. "What, embarrassed by your music taste? I want to know what you listen to."

He grinned. "Okay, if you insist."

He took his phone from the console, hooking it up to the aux cord before opening it up before scrolling on his Spotify. I was tempted to glance and see which of his many playlists he would pick, but I decided against it. It took him quite a while, tilting his head to think of which one to play, and I only wished I could've understood what was going on in his head.

He tapped his finger against the steering wheel nervously before finally picking one and playing it. He reversed the car from the alleyway as the sound of a drum or snare played through his car radio.

To my surprise, it wasn't a kpop song, nor one of those songs that played in the cafe. I didn't recognize it at first until I heard the artist sing. "Is this Ed Sheeran?"

"You recognize it?"

"Not the song." I frowned, quite liking the song but unfamiliar with the title or lyrics. "Is this new?"

"Off his new album, yes."

As the song went on, I could hear Haruto's humming sound like words. During the chorus, I could hear him singing the lyrics quietly, "you will never be lost on me."