The Best Man {h.s.}

6

I wake up to the sun hitting my face as I pull the covers over my head. I wish I wasn't awake, but I feel so much better than I did the previous morning. As I reach for my phone, I look over to the clock on my nightstand and see that it's only 8:30.

Huh. I guess we could've met at 9.

My nerves get a sudden burst of energy and start taking over my entire body. I quick hide under the covers again and try to fight them off. There's no reason why I should be nervous, but I can't help it. Even though I don't want anything more to happen, thinking about that crooked smile makes me melt.

To be honest, I never really had much luck with guys. I'd meet a few here and there but in the end it never seemed to work out. They were either too clingy, too self absorbed or too cookie cutter to ever fully pique my interest. And, of course, the first time I meet someone who actually seems like he could be a lot of fun, I refuse to let it go any further.

What the hell is wrong with me?

My subconscious directs me to a few months ago when Ben was telling me about him and Harry in college.

"During our junior year, my roommate and I set up this bet to see how many girls we could bring back to our house in a month." Ben says followed with a chuckle. "He won, of course, but I wasn't far behind." He winks at me and we both start laughing. I never had a sibling that I could really talk about stuff with, and even though he's a guy and I don't really care about the girls he slept with, it's nice to finally feel like I have a sibling and not an extra parent.

"But that's just him. He brushes past a girl and the next thing you know, she's making the walk of shame out of his place in last night's outfit." He laughs again and shakes his head. It's weird thinking about Ben in college. Seeing him with Chloe, you can see in his eyes how much he adores her. All it takes is for her to look at him and he turns to Jell-O. It's difficult to picture a time when he saw a girl as just a number and not this shining beacon of light that he needs to survive.

Before my mind trails off any further, I jump out of bed and head to the shower. My shower is followed by trying to make my hair look somewhat decent. It's naturally curly and frizzy and I can't stand it, so I do whatever I can to straighten it. After that is done I apply a small amount of makeup and head to the closet. I end up choosing a plain, white shirt with distressed cutoff shorts and white Converse. When the clock reaches 10am, I head out the door and make my way to the café.

The walk is peaceful. Sundays are always my favorite days in the city. Things slow down and everything is much more quiet and relaxed. Tomorrow it will be back to chaos. Horns constantly honking, businessmen rushing by on their phones hitting everyone in their path with their briefcase, parents walking their hundred kids to the park and tourists stopping to take pictures of buildings every ten feet. City life is like living in another world, but this world is my home and I love it.

When Annie's comes into view, I take a deep breath to calm myself. I give myself a pep talk in my head, telling myself that this meeting is just to discuss the party and nothing more. It doesn't completely stop my nerves, but at this point I take what I can get.

I open the door and take a look around. Annie's is an adorable little café. The walls are covered in chalkboard paint and they're filled with little doodles and the specials for the day. Each table has a different lamp over it and little rose gold decorations cover any empty shelf space. There are only about 10 tables in the place, so it doesn't take long to see him sitting at a corner table, stirring his coffee. He doesn't see me yet, so as I walk toward the table I take in his innocence. He looks so vulnerable sitting there in his black t-shirt, unaware that anyone is watching him. I keep walking, though I sort of wish I would've stopped to admire him some more. As soon as I reach the table, he snaps out of his thoughts and looks up at me.

"Good morning, beautiful," he smiles and sips his coffee.

"Hi." I quickly say as roll my eyes and sit, but I can't help the small smirk that appears on my face.

"How did you sleep?" He asks and before I have a chance to answer, a waitress shows up at he table.

I look up at her to tell her what I want to drink but she's not looking at me. Her eyes are fixed on Harry and her cheeks are flushed. When I look over at him, he flashes her a smile and looks back down at his menu. I giggle to myself, thinking nobody hears me, until she shakes her head and looks over at me.

"Sorry. Uh, what can I get you to drink?" She seems incredibly nervous.

"Tea, please." I shoot her a smile and disappears quickly. I glance down at the menu, but I've been here a hundred times so I already know what I want. When I put the menu down, I look up at Harry who is already looking at me.

"Do you have plans today?" He asks.

"Well, I do have a hot date with Netflix at some point, but that's not until later." I smirk and he smiles back. My mind somehow forgets that I'm supposed to be avoiding him instead of hanging out with him.

"Good. You're hanging out with me today." He says, so sure that I'm going to say yes.

"I am, am I?" I ask as I lift my eyebrow.

He smirks and nods his head like a little kid.

The waitress goes to hand me my tea and almost spills it on me from her hands shaking. I quickly grab it out of her hands and place it in front of me, giving her a reassuring smile. She takes our order as fast as she can and disappears once again.

"So, what are we doing today exactly?" I ask as I prepare my tea.

"Hmm.." His eyes narrow as he thinks of something. "I want you to take me to your favorite place in the city." I look at him questionably.

"Why do you want to go to my favorite place?"

"Well, apart from the fun girl at the bar that takes her shirt off for random strangers," he looks at me and smirks while my face turns bright red, "I don't know you that well. So I think your favorite place is the best way to start."

Taking a second to come out of my embarrassment, I sip my tea and look out the window. I want so much to say no, to tell him that I refuse to let him get to me and that our meetings can only be to discuss Chloe's wedding, but I don't. I can't.

What is it about him? Oh yeah, everything.

"Okay, fine." I say almost in defeat. Harry smiles and his eyes soften, almost as if he is relieved that I didn't turn him down.

The nervous girl brings our food and when she rushes away again, I can't help but giggle.

"What's so funny?" He asks as if he doesn't know.

"I think you have an admirer," I say as I nod my head over to our waitress who is standing in the corner with the other waitresses and still staring at Harry. She's a cute little thing, pretty petite with super blonde hair thrown messily in a bun on the top of her head. I'd say she was probably in college and working here for the summer.

Harry looks, then shrugs and starts eating. A part of me is surprised that he just blew it off like it was nothing, but he probably gets that reaction more times than I'd like to think about.

We finish eating and he refuses to let me pay. As we are walking out, he opens the door and places his hand on my lower back to lead me out first. I let out a quick smirk once I'm in front of him, hoping that he won't see.

"So, where are we going?" He asks as I start walking. It doesn't hit me until now that not a single thing has been discussed bout Chloe and Ben's party.