GREEN (RL Harry Styles fanfic)

32. Baby Blues

"Sure, I'll have another beer. Thanks." Des nodded at me and went to grab another round for the three of us.

Harry and I had spent the last hour or so in a tiny Cheshire pub called The George and Dragon visiting with his dad. I honestly didn't know much about the man. Harry had told me his dad had left when he was seven and that Robin had been a great father figure. I always sensed it wasn't a time he liked to talk about. Harry would rub the back of his neck and fidget with his hands if the topic came up.  He seemed to still have a good relationship with his dad. I think the divorce was harder on Harry than he led on, but I imagined it helped to build the close relationship he had with Anne. 

"You know you're the first girl of Harry's he's brought to meet me," Des said as he slid back into his seat and glided a new pint across the table to Harry and I.

"Oh, really?," I was a bit surprised. I knew Harry had introduced a few previous girlfriends to his mum, but I suppose it made sense.

After the breakfast blowout yesterday Harry had filled me in slightly on the exes his mother mentioned. Having not been one of his fans, I knew very little about his past. Despite my love of Google, I didn't think that was the right way to learn about my boyfriend. I completely understood his mother's hesitance with me after hearing about his relationship with Caroline. She had been the older woman that had tainted Anne's view of me. Harry had dated her when he was just seventeen and Caroline was thirty-two. The thought of it irked me a bit. Even when I had first seen Harry on Saturday Night Live I refused to let my crush bloom after realizing he was barely eighteen. Now that he was in his twenties, our age difference was less of an issue.

Harry also told me of the last girl he had brought home to Cheshire. He was surprised I wasn't aware of their high profile relationship, but when he clued me in I was very aware of her. Although they had dated nearly two years ago, she was now capitalizing on the heartbreak with a widely successful album. It seemed to be her M.O. to detail her love life in songs, which is partly why I had never been a fan. I had bobbed along to some of her newest singles though, and now I felt guilty knowing Harry may have been the inspiration. Without any prompting from me, Harry shared that it was the only time he ever thought he was in love. She had fallen for him quickly and had said she loved him first. It was their trip to Holmes Chapel that had changed his perception of her. Just as Anne had said, the pop star didn't seem interested in getting to know Harry's family. She scoffed at getting Chinese take away and disliked the same quaint pub we were sat in today. Harry enjoyed the simple things in his time off, and she preferred extravagant yachts and throwing elaborate themed parties. Ultimately, Harry felt he was more for show than for love and the two parted ways. Looking back he said it wasn't love at all.

I took it as a complement that I was the first girlfriend Harry had introduced to his father. I got the feeling that it wasn't about approval from Des, like it had been with his mom and sister. I think Harry just wanted to show me every part of his life.

"Yep. But if you ask me, I think he thought I'd scare them away." Des chuckled and took a sip of his beer.

"If I thought that, I might have introduced you to some of them after the first date," Harry joked as he threw his arm over his dad's shoulder.

"So what else do you have planned before your break is over H?"

"Not much, just as I like it." Harry shrugged his shoulders and I caught myself smiling an inordinate amount for such a simple gesticulation. He just looked so adorable when he shrugged. "We're heading back to mine after the weekend and then I've got a thing for Grimmy and a phone call to the states for KISS FM, but that's it until show day."

"Oh, you'll get to see the boys perform in Cardiff then Liv?," Des asked.

"No! I've got a work meeting in New York so I'll have to wait until July. I'm so bummed." I really was bummed that I wouldn't be there, but there was nothing I could do. I had a model casting scheduled to find suitable models for fashion week. I had absolutely no experience casting males, so I had enlisted the help of my female model friends that I had worked with on previous campaigns. A few had referred some guy models they knew, and some volunteered to sit at the casting and help me make my decision.