Redacted [h.s]

01

HARRY

Light R&B music fills my ears as soon as I walk into the bar. For a brief moment, my eyes scan over the room, looking for someone in particular. There are a lot of couples here, along with a few people with their friends. But I don't care about them or any other details of this place. I'm here for one reason and one reason only.

There she is.

When I find who I'm looking for, I walk past the hostess and make my way to the bar.

Knowing what she looks like from the photos I've seen, I keep my eyes on her as I walk over. Her posture is perfect, straight, as if she owns the place. Not in a stuck-up kind of way but more so in an extremely confident way. She scrolls on her phone for a moment before picking it up from the bar and quickly taps away. She's waiting for someone that isn't going to show up. I made sure of it.

Frustration is present on her face and she slams the phone down and replaces it with a nearly empty wine glass. Red. A nude/blush lipstick stains the glass as she sets it back down, finally finishing it. Her fingers impatiently drum against the bar's surface while she waits for the bartender to return.

By the time I'm behind her, a light peachy scent fills my nose, ready to take the available seat next to her, a heavy sigh leaves her body. Running my hand through my hair, I take a step forward, closing the space between my body and the empty seat next to her.

Her body, the straightness of it, stiffens as if sensing that someone is behind her but she never turns around. Anticipating. The back of her neck, which isn't covered by loose wavy hair, is teasing me to touch it and to touch the light strands at the base. But I don't. I'm sure if I did, I wouldn't have any hands to touch another thing. Plus, it would be creepy.

The metal of my rings hit the marble bar top as I rest my palms flat on the surface. The sound of the rings and my sudden presence cause her to look at my hands before looking up at me with narrowed eyes, obviously annoyed. Still, I give her a forced small smile when we make eye contact.

You have to be nice, Harry.

"Hello." I greet her nicely.

"Hmm." Her response is curt as she turns her attention back to her phone with a roll of her eyes.

Ohh, someone's a little spicy.

"Long night?"

For a second she looks up again, then back at her phone. "Something like that."

"Is anyone sitting here?"

"Nope."

"So you don't mind if I sit then."

"Nope."

Without looking at me again, she continues to type on her phone and I slide into the seat next to her. She doesn't pay me any mind, ignoring my very presence despite the fact that I know she knows I'm staring at her. She clicks the button on the side of her phone, causing her screen to go black before placing it on the bar. From beside me, she inhales deeply and then exhales.

"I'm sorry," her tone is more friendly this time around. "Didn't mean to be rude. I was supposed to be meeting someone but it appears that I've been stood up," she waves the bartender down.

"You've been stood up? Now, who would do that?" I question curiously while rotating slightly toward her.

"Some guy, Luke, that I met through a friend," she rolls her eyes.

"Luke? That's a shit name, innit?" She chuckles at my comment.

"I did it as a favor for my friends. I recently got out of a relationship and they told me to get back out there. It'll be fun, they said. They can fuck off and so can Luke."