The One You Call | horan au

twenty-eight

Phoebe's P.O.V.

-

I wake up on Valentine's Day to soft kisses on my face, pink rose petals leading to the bathroom, and a heart on top of my oatmeal shaped with chopped strawberries.

Ashton and I walk into our office building holding hands. Stacey is on the phone when we walk by reception so we wave hello to her. She smiles and waves back before bringing her focus back to the big bouquet of red carnations on her desk.

I squeeze Ashton's hand a little tighter and think about how lucky I am to get to work in the same office as my Valentine.

I always thought it was a bit silly the way our office goes all out for every single holiday, but I'm having a pretty great day today. I go hours without thinking about our dinner with Niall and Amanda later tonight. I'm too distracted by the three different types of heart shaped cookies in the break room, the five different delivery guys I've seen bring in flowers to my coworkers, and the fact that Mr. Burgess felt spirited enough to let Ashton and I have a full lunch together.

"I wish we could eat lunch together everyday like we used to," he says through a mouth full of pizza.

"Well, we get to eat breakfast together almost every morning," I remind him with a smile. "And dinner."

"I know, but I like having these lunches with you too." He chuckles softly. "Am I asking for too much or am I spoiled?"

"You're not. Of course not. I miss having lunch with you too." I shake my head and look down at my own slice, feeling like an idiot for hinting that we're already hanging out the amount that we need to. The truth is, I wish there were more hours in the day so I can spend those with him too. I would tell him that if I weren't so afraid of sounding like an absolute cling-on. "I just can't believe you're not sick of me yet."

He laughs. "I could never get sick of you. I see you more than ever now and I still miss you all the time."

I scoot my chair closer to his and kiss him softly. I feel him smile as I pull away.

"I can't wait for tonight," he says.

"Me too." I decide that it can't be that bad as long as he's there by my side.

-

I'm putting on lip gloss in the bathroom mirror twenty minutes before we're supposed to be leave for dinner when I see Ashton's reflection appear beside mine.

He watches me swipe the wand over my bottom lip for a moment before his gaze dips down to my ass.

"You look amazing," he says.

"So do you."

He comes in closer and starts running his hands over my dress where it stretches over my hips. It fits a bit too tight but I can tell that he's into it. "I don't know if I want to go out anymore. I kind of just want to stay here and peel this dress off of you."

"What if we did that?" I challenge. I bend slightly at the waist and push my ass into his front.

"It's tempting," he says, gripping my hips and putting a stop to my game. "But we can't bail on Niall and Amanda at the very last minute."

"I know." I touch his cheek for a moment and step away from him to go decide on a perfume.

"Hey," he says, following me back to the bedroom. "I just want to say thank you."

I make a face at him. "What are you thanking me for?"

He plays with his hands for a second like he's having trouble getting out what he wants to say. "Thank you for always letting me include Amanda. I know it hasn't always been easy for you."