Resolution

11. Stay

"I threw my hands in the air, said, 'show me something.' He said, 'if you dare, come a little closer.'"

Song: Stay

Artist: Rihanna

I tried to control the hurt that was slowly forcing it's way through my body, making my pulse pound, my breathing ragged, and my stomach twist into a painful knot. He hadn't just said what I thought he'd said, had he? The way I was reacting to his words told me that I had very much subdued the feelings I'd begun developing for him, my attempts to remain unattached backfiring tremendously.

It appeared as if I did indeed care very much that we were nothing more than friends with benefits, but I couldn't let him know that, especially now that he had admitted he'd just hooked up with someone else.

Along with the hurt, I felt a flash of anger run through me. Why the hell did he think it was okay to call me to hook up right after he'd just slept with someone else? The thought made me sick.

Because. I just hooked up with someone earlier.

I had yet to respond to him because I was afraid my voice would crack, betraying how much his words had actually cut me.

"Oh," was all I managed to say. Pull it together, Halle. Don't let him know you're upset.

"Are you mad?" he asked from beside me. I could feel him staring at me as I drove toward his house. There was no way I was taking him back to mine after what he'd just admitted; I couldn't.

"No," I lied. He stared at me some more before responding.

"Okay," he said. I caught a hint of skepticism in his tone, which irritated me. I was actually mad, but the fact that he thought I was annoyed me; it's like he thought I wasn't capable of being just friends with benefits or whatever he wanted to call us.

"You can do whatever you want," I told him, my tone slightly harsher than I had intended, my true emotions leaking through.

"Yeah..." he muttered, finally tearing his gaze away from me. I took a breath of relief. It was so hard to keep my cool composure under his studious watch.

We had reached his house now, so I pulled into the drive way and put my car into park but left it running, making it clear I wasn't coming inside with him. He unbuckled his seatbelt and started to open the door before stopping when he noticed I didn't move.

"Aren't you coming inside?" he asked, closing his door again and leaning across the seat toward me.

"No."

"Why not?" he asked, once again sliding his hand up the inside of my leg, inching closer and closer to where I wanted him yet didn't want him all at the same time. The thought of him touching me usually would drive me insane with need for him, but now I just felt... flat. A bit disgusted actually, because not so long ago his hands had been busy attending to someone else.

It occurred to me I didn't know exactly what he meant by 'hooked up,' the vague expression not telling me much, but I knew Harry well enough to know it probably wasn't the more innocent definition.

His hand reached the seam of my sweats I was wearing, his palm putting pressure on my center as he let his lips fall to my neck, their soft actions raising goose bumps on my skin before I twisted away from him. When I turned my face to look him in the eye, his alcohol tinged breath fanned across my face as I took in his confused expression.

"I'm tired," I lied. If he wasn't so drunk he probably would have easily seen through my lies, but I could see in his glazed expression that he wasn't at his sharpest. His eyes searched mine intently and I fought the urge to look away.