Primrose Thrills (Harry Styles mature)

Chapter 9

I zipped up my weekend bag and put my coat on. Harry would be outside any moment and I'd told my parents that we'd be with them by 8pm, as soon as I could get away from work.

"So what are you up to this weekend?" Harry had asked over the phone on Tuesday evening as I sat on the sofa with my feet curled up beneath my body.
"I'm going back home to see my parents Friday evening."
"What time?"
"Why, do you want to come?" I'd joked.
"I'd actually quite like to," he'd replied somewhat gingerly, as if nervous to hear my response.
"You want to meet my parents?"  I'd sounded much more surprised than I had intended to, and he'd laughed on the other end.
"Only if you want me to, that is."

I had of course, said yes. I wasn't sure on the standard protocol for meeting parents, as I'd never had somebody for them to actually meet, but after almost four months of being with Harry, I wanted them to meet him. And I wanted to let Harry into that part of my life; the part that had shaped and developed me into the person I was today. I wanted to let him in that little bit deeper and have him that little bit closer to me.

My mum was pleasantly surprised when I'd asked her if it was okay if Harry came with me. In fact, she sounded just as excited as I felt, which was both comforting and unnerving. I wanted Harry to feel welcome, not smothered by my own mother, who I was certain would be wooed by his natural charisma and good looks. Harry had laughed it off when I'd warned him, though I was perhaps most nervous about him meeting my dad. My dad had that over-protective streak that most dads had over their daughters. Dad's prerogative. He was adamant that the majority of males were only after one thing, which I often wanted to quip that he could only think that now because that was how he behaved when he was a young man. Even though Harry enjoyed sex, perhaps even more so than most males his age, there was so much more to him than that. I wanted my parents to see all the good qualities in Harry that I did. I didn't doubt Harry's ability to impress and charm, but that didn't stop a restless sea of nerves from running through me, right to my restless foot that tapped repeatedly on the floor.

A horn beeped twice outside and I switched the lights off and locked the door behind me. The evening air was icy and a white mist poured from my mouth as I shivered and blew out a shaky breath, and I gazed up into the velvety black sky in awe of the twinkling stars that lay scattered amidst the vast expanse of nothingness. Space and the universe was one of those things that I found both simultaneously fascinating and frightening; a continuum of time and space that had no foreseeable end. I often wondered how long forever was and what would happen once my life was over. I knew that time would still go on, but I knew that our world wouldn't be here forever. The demise of Earth was inevitable.

I tottered over to the car parked on my side of the road, rubbing my hands together as the cold air chilled me to my bones. I wasn't a car geek and had little knowledge and interest in cars, but the metallic dark grey Audi R8 was unmistakable. It was sleek, sophisticated, and had Harry written all over it, as well as inside of it, sitting casually at the wheel with his eyes lowered to his phone.

"Since when did you have an Audi?" I laughed as I stepped into the car.
He looked up at me and grinned.
"I've had it for a few months."
"Mid-life crisis?"
He laughed. "Something like that."

The seats were made from soft black leather and as I sank back into the passenger seat, the feel of it beneath my palms and the distinct smell of it in the warm air instantly had me reminiscing back to last weekend. I inhaled deeply and shut my eyes; letting myself travel back to that particular moment in time, which pushed a strange sense of warmth through me; one that sped up the beat of my heart and tingled beneath my skin. Six months ago, I would barely have paid attention to the smell. But now, the scent of leather that filled my lungs and drifted through my veins was so sexually enticing.