salute [h.s]

chapter 3 - dinner dates & omnipotent offers

There was a loud banging noise from upstairs and Piper knew immediately that it was Clive, trying to let her know that he was unhappy with the volume of the music playing in her flat. She could picture him upstairs now, banging his broom handle on the floor like Mr. Heckles in FRIENDS. Piper may have turned it back down if she had been listening to obnoxious top 40s music but this was Carole King – who didn't like Carole King?

She ignored the banging and bent forward toward the mirror, pulling at the skin around her eye before pressing her eyeliner to the inner corner, dragging it smoothly along her lash line. It was her superpower – ever since she had been introduced to makeup at 16 by her roommate at MIT, she had been able to apply a flawless line along her lid. It had been her impressive talent for years since.

"I feel the earth move under my feet," she muttered as she did the other eye, singing along with the music. "I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down."

Shaking her hips, Piper straightened up, tossing her eyeliner into the terribly unorganized box of makeup on her vanity. She fluffed her hair out, giving herself a once over to see how she was doing. "Lipstick," she said to herself as she ran her hand through her makeup bin, pulling out a tube of deep red that she coveted. Red lipstick was not easy with red hair so once she had found her shade, a magical deep rouge, she had treated it like the crown jewels.

It had been a long time since Piper had put this much effort into dressing up for something. She didn't go on many dates, in part because of her job and also in part because no one seemed to be interested. She was sort of awkward which was par for the course when you start uni at fifteen, and she seemed to repel men more than she attracted them. She still didn't know what Harry seemed to see in her.

She figured if this date was going to be a one off (because Harry would eventually realize how big of a weirdo she was and never want to see her again) then she might as well make the best of it. So she was wearing a brand new LBD (from Topshop – Jenny Packham had turned out to be way above her budget) and she was going for the red lipstick.

She was searching for a lip brush when the door buzzed downstairs. Immediately Piper started to sweat before realizing she was being stupid. She mentally scolded herself (calm down, you crazy!) and slipped out of the bathroom and down the hall to the front room, reaching for the box near the door. She pressed the speaker button and called out a "Hello?" despite knowing exactly who it was.

"It's me," she heard Harry say in his deep, sexy voice, sending shivers right down her spine in a very good way.

"Come on up," she called before pressing the other button that opened the door. She heard it buzz so she skipped back to the bathroom, hoping she could get her lipstick on before Harry knocked.

She leaned in toward the mirror again, a cramp forming in her back which she dutifully ignored for the sake of beauty. She stretched her lips into a wide grin so she could paint red into the corners and then lined her lips with her perfect hand. She was humming along to Carole King, swiping red lipstick on her lips which was not the best idea but somehow worked. She smiled to her reflection in victory and then put the lipstick back into her makeup bin.

"You really shouldn't buzz people up like that."

Piper jumped about a foot in the air, spinning around with her hand pressed to her heart. Harry was leaning against the bathroom doorway, one shoulder keeping his body propped up while his arms crossed over his chest. There was a dangerous little smirk on his lips and his bright green eyes roamed over her body slowly, making her thighs tremble.

"What the hell, Harry?" Piper snapped as she stomped forward to push him firmly on the chest. He didn't move. Not even an inch. And Piper had put a lot behind it. Just like that, she was about ready to melt into a puddle at his feet, so utterly and completely turned on. She tried to get angry again but she was done for.