Renleigh Kensington

There wasn't a clear memory in my mind of when was the last time, I had ever met someone's family. Perhaps if I tried enough, my ex could have stumbled across my mind but then again, that was nowhere near close to the situation that I had found myself in right now. It wasn't too bad. I got over myself pretty quickly. Nana Rose – yes, she made me address her that way – was a lot to be welcomed with right off the bat but at the same time, it prepared me for everyone else.

Because trust me, when Styles introduced me to his uncle and his wife, I didn't know who the fuck I was. He had to introduce me, literally speak for me, because a fucking celebrity stood right in front of me.

I mean, when did he want to tell me that a famous footballer was his uncle? That's right. Never. He even said that to my face when I asked later and he just laughed and shrugged then said 'I didn't find it necessary' to which I just downed another bottle of wine.

And that shit got me tipsy pretty fucking fast. Then again, it also enabled me to build a strong relationship with Nana Rose in literally half an hour. We talked about nothing but wine and cheese and that had to have been the best conversation I have had in ages. It was fun, light, very drunk and interesting. Especially when we ventured into the massive kitchen with two bottles of wine – one for her and one for me – and explored all the cheeses inside the two-door fridge. She told me they bought all of that just for her because she was obsessed with it.

And I was too.

So that's how and why we became literal best friends.

I had absolutely no idea where the fuck Harry went but his sister stayed with us. She quite literally got attached to me by the hip and I was weirdly fine with it. She sat on the kitchen island and ate her cake or breadstick when she got bored of the sweetness whilst her nan and I drank wine, ate cheese and talked about it, too.

"Oh, darling, I wish you would have come to more of these family parties," Nana Rose sighed as she sat back down after she placed the freshly washed grapes and some salami on the kitchen island. Olivia was quick to grab the fruit and chew on it.

"I wish I had someone like you at my family get togethers," I told her honestly. Whenever my family threw a party, it was forced and uncomfortable.  At least, the last few ones definitely felt like that. "Hey, wait," I stopped Olivia from eating the grape as it still had the stem stuck in it on the top. She giggled when I pulled it out and put it to the side where the rest were.

"What is going on in here?" and there he was. After literally hours of his absence, he decided to show up. But it didn't matter. I enjoyed the time I spent with his grandmother and sister. "You have your own party going on, don't you?" he laughed as he leaned on the counter top, right next to his sister. Olivia picked up a grape and pushed it towards her brother's lips who chuckled before he accepted it and began to chew on it.

"Yes, and it is only for girls so leave," his grandmother said before she sipped on her wine. "Go find your grandfather or something. I'm having talks with your wife."

"With who?" he choked on his words, or maybe the grape juice, and I had to laugh. It caused his sister and nana to do the same. "You're not even denying it?" he questioned me with his eyebrows furrowed. I shrugged my shoulders and drank from my glass. I felt lightheaded and I knew I was close to being drunk. As fuck. At a family event. With kids around.

I really was the drunk Aunt, huh?

Wait.

Aunt?

I had no fucking relation to these people. Why did I make myself feel like I did? Why did they have to welcome me and make me feel so... close to them?

The wine.

I literally blamed it on the wine because I knew this wouldn't have happened if I stayed sober.

"How much have you two had to drink?" he asked and shook his head at us. He popped another grape in his mouth in the meantime.

"None of your concern, dear," Nana Rose laughed as she sipped on her wine. "Mmm, I need to check when we're doing the big cake. I'll be right back."

"Nana, I wanna come too! I want chicken! Grilled chicken... mmm, uncle Dave makes them nice," Olivia said as she reached out with her arms. Styles laughed and lifted his sister off the counter top.

Then they left. And so, it was just him and I.

"So, wifey, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a bit," he sent me a smirk before he looked down to all the different cheeses and placed a piece on a cracker. I watched his movements carefully, the glass of wine in my hand and sometimes attached to my lips.

"I've been good. I love your nan," I spilled the truth. Had I not been drunk off of wine, I wouldn't have told him that. I never really told people anything unless I had the alcohol in my veins to encourage me.

"Figured you two would get along," he nodded and then we kind of quieted down. I poured some more wine for myself and as I closed the bottle, Styles reached for my glass and snatched it from me.

"Hey!" I shouted at him, offended that he took my drink. He looked at it from all angles as he lifted it in the air and placed it in front of the light so he could have a better look at it. When he found a spot where the glass wasn't stained with lipstick – it took him a while – he brought it to his lips and drank from it. "I can't believe you just drank my wine!"

"Would you let me have the bottle?" he arched his eyebrow. I huffed. No. "Exactly."

"You know... I still can't believe I didn't know your fucking uncle was David Beckham."

"Why should you have known?" he shrugged. "It's not like something important about me, is it?"

"I mean, no. It's just mad... especially when I think about how my father used to use his aftershave or whatever the hell he released. And now I'm in his house and I met him? And his wife and kids? And his nephew is... you?"

"Maybe you could get him to sign something for you dad," he laughed at me and I rolled my eyes. I took my glass of wine back as I sat down next to him. Like, right next to him.

Our knees brushed and everything.

"Thank you," I mumbled as I lifted it and took a sip. He looked at me as I did. Stared at me. His mouth fell agape, his tongue darted out and turned his lips shiny. As he exhaled, his hot breath fanned my fingers that held the glass, our eyes locked as I downed whatever was left of my drink. Harry giggled when I put it down and I looked at him confused. "What?"

He inhaled through his nose at the same time as his hand lifted in the air and exhaled when his thumb wiped at my skin. "Wine stain," he mumbled as he did it to the other side of my top lip as well.

"Happens when you chug something, doesn't it?"

"Do you chug milk?"

"Have done in the past," I admitted again. I knew he would grimace at me because no one liked milk, did they?

"Ew. Do you really just drink it?" he asked. "Like, when you get thirsty you just decide to go for milk?"

"Well, what else would I do with it?" I tilted my head to the side a little as I looked at him. He had a little stubble going on. Around his mouth, his chin was covered and his cheek from that angle slightly, too. His eyes looked darker or maybe they always looked like this, I had no idea. This was the first time I saw them from up close. His nose was really pointy. But also looked really defined.

"You drink milk. Willingly," he said slowly. My grin grew and I giggled as I shook my head and looked down. "Hey."

"What?" I looked back at him as he lifted my head with his finger under my chin. Just one finger. His index one. It felt warm. It kind of burned my skin.

"You have to tell me the truth," he spoke softly. And he didn't remove his finger. Instead, he closed his hand as he placed his thumb just under my bottom lip. I kept myself up with my elbow on the kitchen island and the other on my thigh. Our knees were still between each other's and they touched. This was so strange.

"About what?" I asked him, just as gently. Definitely strange.

But we all know who was to blame for this – the wine.

"Whether you want to k-,"

"Renleigh! Romie's cake is coconut flavoured!" Olivia screamed as she ran in the kitchen. And I swear I had never moved quicker in my life. I almost fell off the chair as I felt my cheeks go hot. They were on fucking fire. "Come, come, come!" she ran over to me and thankfully, by this time, I was away from her brother.

I heard him chuckle as the little girl gripped my hand and pulled me after her which made me look back. He smirked and sent me a wink. He winked at me. What the fuck.

"Liv, I have to clean this mess up, darling," I told her as I suddenly felt my balance go. Yep. That's the wine, again. "The cheese will go bad if I just leave it. You go and have another slice for me, yeah? I'll be there when I'm done here."

"Hurry because others might eat it! I want you to have a slice too!" she told me with a smile. I nodded at her and then she left again.

I huffed and leaned back against the wall. I felt a little dizzy, like the whole kitchen was going around in circles. Or better yet – I felt like Zac Efron in that scene in High School Musical 3 when he sang Scream and everything was turning upside down. That made me giggle. I love those movies so fucking much. It had been a while since I saw them but I never had time to do anything anymore.

"Are you alright?" Styles asked me which completely dragged me out of my own little world.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine," I giggled. Fucking giggled. Who the hell did I think I was? "You?"

"I'm alright."

"Nice," I nodded with a coy smile on my lips. I was so gone. And I haven't even met his mother yet. And I almost dropped the plate that had all these different and expensive cheeses on it. I couldn't believe myself. I literally got pissed off of wine with someone's grandmother. "I'm a mess, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Styles laughed. "A hot mess."

"Hah," I scoffed. "That was a smooth compliment, mate."

"Was it?" he asked me. A little too close to my liking. Just as I shut the fridge door, he kind of pushed me into it. With my back. So, our fronts pressed against each other's. He had the glass back in his hand, now filled as he put it to his lips and sipped on it. "Want some?" he asked but didn't wait for me to answer. He didn't need to.

"Mmmhey!" I gave him a stern look and then laughed when I saw he had his tongue out as he focused. He tilted the glass a little too much and the beverage almost spilled down my chin. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and then put my hands on his chest to push him away from me.

"No," he mumbled as he put his free hand around my wrist. I watched as he drank some wine, his Adam's apple bobbed and his lips looked a deep red colour. "Ran into mum again, said I need to tone the perfume down. Again."

"Did you tell her to fuck off?"

"She's still my mother..."

"Ah," I sighed. "Well. I still like it if you're fishing for a compliment," I smirked at him as I placed my arms around his neck, my wrists crossed behind his head.

"Maybe I was," he nodded. "Can't really get it out of you in any other way."

"You can get a lot out of me when I'm pissed," this time, I was the one who winked at the other. His lips fell apart and his eyes still looked playful as ever.

"Renleigh Kensington. Are you flirting with me right now?" he grinned and I bit into my bottom lip as I twirled his hair around my index finger.

Suddenly, I felt like I was back at university, at a party, about to get it on with my nightly one-night stand. Which only happened in my first year because that was when I met my ex. After him, I stopped sleeping around because he kind of lured me into a relationship and I fell for him. Hard. So hard that I'm surprised I didn't crack my skull open.

Or maybe I did and I only just realised now. Because I was about to fucking make out with my competition. With the man who I wanted to put under the rug so I could stay on top of the industry.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I am not," I told him and he licked his lips. His eyes looked down to mine then back in my eyes. His lashes were so long. He didn't even deserve them. I really hated it when boys had long lashes. Because I didn't.

"You are confusing me," he said in a really deep voice. Like, so deep that I kind of wanted his hands to undo my jeans and crawl between my legs. And his lips were so plump and red that I wanted to kiss them.

So... I did.

My lips were on his as I flattened my hands out on the sides of his neck and eventually, his found their way onto my waist. He gripped me tightly and pushed his chest to mine fully. His mouth was warm against mine, the breath he held in was soon released as he exhaled through his nose. I felt his stubble under my lips and I wanted them elsewhere. Near my lips down south, maybe.

A quiet moan pressed itself into our kiss from my part as he hungrily swiped his burning tongue along my lips. His teeth clashed into mine as he deepened the kiss and I couldn't help but chuckle. As I opened my eyes, I saw his red cheeks and shy grin, his dark green eyes and long lashes.

My god, was he handsome as hell.

"Sorry 'bout that," he mumbled, his index finger gently pushed my hair to the side that got caught up in the fight between our lips. His eyes followed the movement of his finger before he looked back right in my eyes. "You're really pretty."

"Shut up," I whispered and locked my lips on his again. This time, it was a bit softer. But it was a tongue kiss. Like, full on saliva swapping.

His hands were on my cheeks and I kind of melted into his touch. His fingers felt nice on my skin, his warmth gave me a sense of security and something else I couldn't really put my finger on. Maybe because I was too distracted by his wonderful lips. Soft, plump, warm. They tasted like wine, too.

Probably the nicest set of lips I've had tasted in a while.

Styles pulled back from the kiss, our lips no longer in contact as they separated with a soft smacking sound. I licked my own right away, the tingly feeling in them – and in my stomach, perhaps all throughout my body – was a little too much to handle but nothing I wouldn't have wanted to feel again. I wanted it. A lot.

He leaned his forehead against mine and stroked the apples of my cheeks with his thumbs. His hands were still on my face and they held it like it could've broken into pieces if he did so more firmly.

"You definitely confuse me," he said with his kiss swollen lips. Damn. That was a pretty sight. All close and flushed. Liked it more than usual. Thanks wine.

"Hmm... good," I smirked at him and slipped out of his touch. Just then did I realise how hot I felt. My everything was burning. Lips, skin, stomach.

My heart burned a little, too. But in a good way yet still bad. Like, it burned because I liked his touch a lot but also because I was no longer feeling it, if that makes any sense.

I had no idea what I was thinking. Or why I left him in the kitchen after that. I just knew I had to. Especially when I felt the cool wind soothe my burning cheeks. It felt amazing.

But not as amazing as that kiss did.

• • •

a.n.

so the weather