Chapter 1
It takes me a little while to notice, but someone is watching me.
A long, curly someone with these eyes that I can see through the dim light of the club.
A cliché, meeting in a club. But my life has been full of clichés lately and anyway, clichés are good sometimes. Like now, with him watching me and me watching him from across the dance floor, which is full of sweaty, writhing bodies. And I've never been one for dancing, so I drink and I watch and Zayn is outside smoking and chatting up some pretty brunette, so I'm alone but that's okay.
I don't feel alone, not with those eyes watching me. He starts weaving his way through the crowd, that body moving like nothing I've ever seen, like a tiger on the prowl, and everything about him makes sweat break out on my brow, but maybe that's just because everyone is crowding around and the pulsing beat of the music makes me nervous. He's wearing tight black jeans on his legs that go forever, and I start imagining those legs wrapped around me.
Suddenly a voice interrupts my thought.
"Hey," it says.
"Hey," I reply.
My head goes fuzzy as he stands in front of me, and I don't know why I'm thinking this way because I haven't had much to drink and anyways, this isn't how I usually am. But I guess Zayn is getting his wish, because he brought me out to hook me up because I haven't been the same since… well…
So I look into the eyes of the man standing in front of me and wow, he definitely is a man. Though his dimples surprise me and his eyes are so innocent that I'm not sure how I thought they had looked seductive before. He's tall. So tall that I have to look up a bit, but that's okay because tall guys turn me on.
He gives me a smile.
"Hi," he says, "I'm Harry."
That voice gives me shivers. It's deep and gravelly and lord, I'm not surprised.
"Louis," I reply, and I try to look cool and toss my fringe, putting my hands in my back pockets and leaning back on my heels. I'm bracing myself for whatever he's about to say, when suddenly he says it. And I'm not ready.
"Look, I know this is straightforward-"
Oh boy.
"But I was just wondering…"
Here it goes.
"If you could buy my friend a drink."
Oh god. He nods behind him, and I follow the nod to see a pretty, petite brunette who looks just as uncomfortable as I feel standing where Harry just was, her arms wrapped around herself and her wide brown eyes searching the crowd frantically. She doesn't want to be here. And I don't blame her.
I stutter at Harry, because my stupid self was imagining stupid him wanting to by me a drink. But instead he wants stupid me to buy pretty, sweet girl a drink and god; I'm going to look like a dick no matter what I do.
"It's just that I saw you watching her earlier, and I thought that was kind of nice. She just got out of a bad break up, see-"
"And you brought her to a bar?" I ask, because I'm wondering why exactly friends seem to think that bars are the best medicines for ending relationships. No thank you, I'd rather be at home watching Love Actually. Harry blushes deeply, like he knows it's a stupid idea.
"I didn't know what else to do."
"She looks so uncomfortable."
He looks at her with me, and I think he starts to see it too.
"Yeah, I guess she does."
But I sigh anyways, and nod, because god knows I've been there.
"What's her name?" I ask as I turn to the bartender and order a water.
"Eleanor - just water?"
"She won't want alcohol. Look at what you bought her-"
We both look back to Eleanor and the pink alcoholic drink that's sitting on the table next to her, untouched.
"She hasn't drank any of it."
Harry watches me, his hands in his pockets, and a small smile on your face.
"You're smart. A real ladies' man, huh?"
"Uh…" I thank the bartender as he slides me the glass of water, and look into Harry's eyes. He's so close, because there isn't much room at the bar, and I can smell his cologne. "Sure, you could say that."