untitled |h.s|

twenty

Ariella

"You look happy," I say as I swing the door open to reveal Harry standing in the hall. He leans against the door frame as his eyes shamelessly scan over me. I can't say much on the matter, though, because I find myself doing the same thing.

Dressed in black slacks and a half-buttoned black silk shirt, he looks as attractive as ever. He texted me about two hours ago asking if I packed anything nice because he'd apparently secured reservations at some fancy restaurant for tonight. I was thankful I did manage to pack more than one dress this time, but my mind has been stuck on the fact that this is definitely out of "best-friend's-little-sister" territory.

I spent the last two hours since receiving that message on the phone with Lylah, desperately looking for a reality check because I needed to stop my heart from practically beating out of my chest. I cannot get my hopes up, regardless of how much I like hanging out with him. Lylah unfortunately wasn't much help though, because the only conclusion we managed to reach?

Fancy restaurants are not casual friend hangouts.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Harry responds in a low voice, the vibrations of it instantly sending a shiver down my spine. I pull the door open wider, inviting Harry in as I spin around to slip my shoes on before we leave.

"How was your day with Niall?" I ask as I finish pulling the strappy heels on, "The bastard keeps sending me dry texts."

Harry lets out a light laugh, "yeah, he's been hanging out with Emily the past few days. Think they're together again."

Emily? Isn't that the girl Harry practically exploded on at the club?

Seeing my blank expression, Harry suddenly backtracks, "Wait, do you not know about Emily?"

"Should I?" I ask while slowly shaking my head.

The two of us make our way out of the hotel room and start down the hall as Harry lets out a long breath before beginning his explanation, "Sorry, I assumed she would've come up at some point. Emily is Niall's used-to-be ex-girlfriend, she actually used to work at the store with me and met Niall when he met me there after my shift one day," he starts and I can't help but be slightly hurt by my brother's complete lack of mentioning her before. "They weren't together for that long, I think they were only official for a couple of weeks before she cheated on him."

"I'm sorry, what?" I interrupt in shock, "She cheated on him? And he's seeing her again?"

"Well, I guess she more so cheated with Niall- he was the side piece," he chuckles to himself, "up until then she was really nice though, I actually didn't mind her hanging around the apartment all the time, unlike some of the other girls he's been with. But, he seems happy now, I can't deny that. He technically hasn't confirmed anything, he just told me he had plans with her tonight," he finishes with a shrug.

"I mean, I guess he was the one she wanted right? If she was willing to cheat on someone else with him?" I comment after taking everything in.

Harry hums in agreement as we step out of the elevator before he turns to me, "That reminds me, actually, I'm kinda homeless for the night..." He trails off and I already know where this is going. That doesn't stop me from putting him through the torture of making him ask, though, "Any chance you're looking for a guest tonight?"

He flashes me a timid smile and I can't stop the teasing grin that takes over my own face, "I don't know, if you're lucky maybe I'll feel generous by the end of the night," I taunt, though I think we both know my answer is an obvious yes. My next few words are what actually surprise me, but Harry remains rather unphased, "I guess it'll depend on how well this date goes."