baby [h.s.]

twenty

            "I can't believe this," Harry said, running his hand through his hair. We were in the car.

Harry had already talked to Perkins, and was aware of the situation. And he wasn't thrilled.

The car was parked in the parking lot of the restaurant we were about to enter for lunch. Whilst Harry rambled, I counted the money I was given in the envelope. And it was five thousand pounds.

"And where the hell did you get that money?" Harry said, shoving a hand towards me to motion the envelope.

"Perkins," I said before slipping it into my purse. "Come on, Harry, let's go get lunch,"

He sighed and turned off the car.

It wasn't until after we were seated that he began talking about it again.

"Why the hell would he think this is a good idea?" he said with a scoff.

"You needed a partner," I said. My voice was quieter than his. "Who would you rather have as a partner, someone random from the company or me?"

He scowled.

I triumphantly nodded my head. "That's what I thought,"

Before he could say anything else, the waiter came to take our orders.

When he was gone, I looked at Harry. He was looking down at his hands that were laid on the table. And I felt guilty. The last thing I wanted was to cause a rift between us.

I reached over and placed my hand atop his.

"Please don't be upset with me," I whispered. "I know this isn't your ideal situation,"

He remained silent for a few moments.

"I could never be upset with you," he said, his tone quiet. It was then that I tightened my grip on his hand. "I just do a lot of dangerous shit, baby, and you shouldn't be involved in that,"

"I'm not a child," I said. I was careful to keep my tone soft. "I'll be okay. We'll be okay."

He sighed. "I know,"

We didn't say much as we ate. We split the bill and walked back to the car.

Before we pulled out of the parking lot, though, he flipped on the radio. Our ride home was filled with subtle tunes that added warmth to our cold silences. It was nice.

"Can I come to yours?" he asked once we were in the elevator.

"Of course," I said, turning my head to face him.

The elevator doors slid open to reveal the empty hall. He followed me out, and I fumbled with my keys as we walked towards my flat.

"We should watch movies," he said, once we were inside. I nodded.

"I need to change out of this dress though," I said. "Grab my laptop, it's on the kitchen counter. We can watch in my bed."

While he did that, I walked to my room and into the closet. I put on the first thing comfortable-looking thing I saw, which was a t-shirt that fell to the middle of my thigh.

By the time I returned to my room, Harry was laying in my bed with my laptop open. He had pulled his hair out of his face to form a small ponytail at the back of his head, and he looked focused on whatever he was looking at on the screen.