lovely lady may • sirius black

Chapter 3

I stand in front of the fireplace impatiently as I wait for Sirius to arrive. I'm due to meet my friends in only half an hour, so he'd better hurry up. When he finally stumbles out into the living room, surprised is probably the best way to describe expression.

"You made it," I remark, "and you look very normal, good job."

"And you..." he looks me up and down, "you look great, Tavie. I've never seen you dressed like this before."

"Well this," I gesture to my black halter top and flared corduroys with a smirk, "isn't exactly school appropriate."

He shrugs awkwardly, "Well, yeah... I knew that..."

"Come on," I pick up my wallet and keys to the penthouse in preparation to leave, "we've gotta go meet my friends now, they're only a few blocks away so we'll walk to them and we're all gonna catch cabs to the venue together."

"Where are your parents?" He asks as I practically drag him into the elevator.

"They're up in the Hamptons for the next few days."

"Do they know I'm here? Or where you're going?"

"Of course," I scoff, "and they aren't worried. They couldn't care less about me having boys over, and they're confident you and I are formidable enough that we could hold our own if something went wrong."

"Do you have guys over... often?" he asks awkwardly.

"No," I shake my head, "I have very refined tastes."

"I would imagine so," he looks around in awe as we step out the door to my building.

"So," I nudge him gently to break his almost trance-like state, "what do you think?"

"It's incredible," he murmurs, "I know why you love it so much here."

"I'm glad you like what you see, now let's get going, we're gonna be late."

"Are you always this pushy at home?" he jokes.

I roll my eyes, "I am when I have somewhere I need to be."

"So, do your friends know about me?" he has a cocky grin plastered on his face, as if he just knows he's hot shit.

"They know you're a friend of mine from school, and that your name isn't Stanley. I know you really wanted to go by that pseudonym, but there's no way I could actually call you Stanley in front of them without laughing."

"They're probably going to think I'm weird now..." he frowns in disappointment.

"I promise they don't think you're weird," I chuckle, "I already told you, they think you're this mysteriously alluring English boy."

"They'd better, or I'm blaming you."

"They'll only think you're weird if you act weird, so don't act weird. The fact that I told them your real name has nothing to do with it."

"I wanted to be Stanley."

For the first time, probably ever, I see Sirius Black lacking confidence, so I decide to give him a small boost, "Well, I like you better as Sirius, and they will too, I promise."

He blushes a little, "Okay."

I spot my friends standing on the sidewalk, waiting for us. Lucy, who's my best friend out of the whole group, waves once she notices us. "Damn girl," she smiles, "you're lookin' good. This your friend from school?"

"Yeah," I nod, and Sirius introduces himself to the girls, who all eye him hungrily, and their dates inspect him with envy.

"He's a catch," Lucy murmurs in my ear while he's distracted with the others, "you said your parents are out of town for the next few days?"