Harry Styles

I had been on a fair share of dates in my life yet it still felt like the first one with her. Even though we kind of already been on one whilst we were in Italy. It didn't really change the way I felt.

My palms were sweating, my stomach was in a knot and from being so nervous about the whole night, I had no idea what the fuck to talk about. I couldn't exactly rely on her, either, because she wasn't someone who spoke unless spoken to. At least she didn't do it around me if there was no reason for her to give a piece of her mind.

I was all on my own but somehow, we made it through the night.

After the parents talk, our food was with us so that kind of saved the night, too. It seemed as though we only ever fought, talked about serious topics or chatted about wine. And I was kind of cool with it because it was surely different. Not many of our conversations had no point to them which, thinking back now, was insane. When I spoke to people sometimes, it was over nothing and it could make me feel like I let them waste my time.

With her, if she wasn't around, I felt like I wasted my own time.

And although she probably just felt bad for me and that was why she came up with this idea, I was determined to make sure she would at least have me as a friend once this month was over. Obviously, with my feelings skyrocketing the way they were, I wasn't sure how that would leave me personally but having her in my life as a friend was still miles better than not at all.

I let out a chuckle as I laid in my bed after I dropped her off at home, got back to mine, took a shower then changed into my pyjama bottoms and a shirt. It was dark in my room other than the dim light that filled it up from outside. I heard Dax barking downstairs which made me sigh because when I left him in his bed, he was asleep. He must have seen a bird or some shit outside and decided to play with it. Through the window. I didn't let him outside during the night, I felt better knowing he was inside, in the warm, safe.

"Dax!" I shouted. "Shut the fuck up!"

But when he was being loud for no goddamn reason, I could have gone mad.

After I shouted, he seemed to keep it down so I could get back to daydreaming about my date. I had a date. A proper one. It made me laugh. A simple date made me feel this giggly and excited which was new. I haven't felt this good in a while. I mean, I wasn't necessarily sad on a daily basis, but this whole thing I had going on with Kensington just gave me this new sense of... life.

She was so new to me. This side of her, anyway. Before she wouldn't even give me the time of the day. I remember every single time we would cross paths at events, we would give each other dirty looks. Oh my god. We acted like proper children.

Not that we are different.

She can still be a right pain in my ass but now at least she talks to me. And also agreed to let me take her out on dates and whatnot which is honestly the best thing she had ever told me in a while.

That and the time I spent with her tonight, made me fall asleep with a huge grin on my face and a little excitement for what was to come.

Did I expect it?

Absolutely not.

The call woke me up around three am. Or half three. I had no idea. But I was awake, confused and also kind of excited. Which shouldn't have been that way because it wasn't a situation to be excited about. For her, anyway.

Apparently, there was something to do with ammonia or whatever. I couldn't understand her properly, she just asked if she could crash on my couch for the night and when those words hit my ears I just agreed right away. I didn't even question if she could have gone to her parents' or brother's place or stay with a friend. If she called me first, that was a big step for her and I wasn't about to turn her away.

I walked down to the gate in my robe and slippers, my arms crossed in front of my body. I yawned but because no one was around and it was way too cold to let go of myself and let the chills eat up my body, I didn't cover my mouth. My eyes teared up from it and my body turned goose bumpy which made me hug myself more. The wind crawled up on my legs from the bottom of my pyjamas pants and I regretted not wearing boxers.

I saw headlights pop up nearer the gate and I knew it was Kensington. Since the security man wasn't in the cubicle at this time, at least not on Sundays, I pushed my arm through the gate and pressed my card against the censor so it would open up. I stood to the side as it opened and watched as she drove in with her white F-Type. It looked stunning and I could only imagine the inside.

I opened the door quickly as the gates closed and I sat in fast. The warm felt nice on my frozen cheeks, ears and nose.

"Morning," I grinned at her.

"You are way too happy about this," she sighed. I laughed because she was right. "You already have me in your house after the first date."

"Guess I'm too good," I shrugged. As I watched her drive. It was truly a sight. Her eyes focused on the road, body relaxed into the seat, one hand on her thigh whilst the other lazily held the steering wheel in place.

"Did you do this?" she asked me sarcastically as she referred to the whole situation. I didn't even know what was going on with her building but it was funny nevertheless.

"I had to bring you back to mine and there was no other way to achieve it, so I had to use my initiative," I explained and she chuckled under her breath. "So, what exactly happened then?"

"Ammonia leaked on one of the floors or something and they told us we couldn't spend the night."

"Oh, right," I nodded. We got up to my house pretty fast and so before I asked my next question, we got out of the car. "Was I your first option then?"

"As sad as it is to admit, yes," she nodded as she walked over to the trunk and got her bag out as well as a dress bag. I assumed that had her work clothes. Because she worked on weekends whereas I spent that time in bed, lounging around and doing whatnot.

"How come?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around myself again. I would have asked if she needed help with her bag but honestly, it didn't seem too big or heavy so I thought she would manage.

"Parents are on holiday, brother is probably out getting pissed and I have no keys to their places," she explained.

"Friends?"

"Oh, come on," she laughed as she followed me into the house. "The closest thing I have to a friend is probably my assistant. But I don't treat employees as friends so..."

"You don't have friends?"

"Nope."

"What?" I asked, kind of weirded out. Then I heard Dax's feet against the carpet and before I could have even warned Kensington about it, he began to bark and even jumped on her. He was on his two back legs whilst the other two were on her arms. "Dax. Down, boy!" I said sternly.

Dax whined a little and then walked over to me and pushed his head against my side. A fond smile tugged on my lips as I instantly felt my heart grow and boost from love I had for my dog, my fingers scratched his head before he sat down in front of us.

"You have a dog," Kensington said quietly which made me look at her gradually. For a second, I forgot about her.

"Right," I nodded as I realised, she had no idea probably. "Is it, um, too late to ask if you're allergic?"

And then she sneezed.

"Is that answer fulfilling?" she asked.

"Shit, you are... um, he can-, I can ask my neighbour if I could take him over for the night?" I stumbled on my words as I tried to come up with a solution.

Then I heard her laughing and it confused me.

"What?" I asked as I felt my smile grow. "Kensington. What?" I asked again and chuckled a little bit.

"Nothing it's just..." she laughed louder and I didn't know if this was because of the time of the day or if she just felt like laughing. "You were ready to get rid of your dog because you thought I was allergic?"

"I wouldn't have gotten rid of him, just taken him over to my neighbour's. He usually spends time there when I'm at work or away for a longer period of time, anyway," I told her. "Wait. What do you mean I thought you were allergic?"

"Oh right... well, I'm not actually allergic."

"You're not? Are you sure?" I questioned. "You literally just sneezed."

"Yes, I am sure," she smirked. "I was messing with you. And you fell for it like you did at the restaurant."

"At the restaurant?" I asked in confusion. As far as I knew, she didn't trick me hours earlier.

"Not today... well, yesterday. But when I ran into you at Joe's," she explained.

"Oh!" I said as I realised. The memory made me chuckle. I did fall for her crumbles dig. "Well, I guess it's two-nil to you."

"I guess so," she grinned. "So, then, show me to your couch. I have to get back to this email because-,"

"Nah, a-a," I smirked and shook my head. I took the dress bag and her other bag out of her hands and walked past her, up the stairs.

"What are you doing?" she asked me, her voice a little louder than before but she didn't shout. "Styles! I swear to fucking god if you drop my bag that has my macbook in it I will cut your dick off in your sleep!"

"Oh, so you want this dick, is that it?" I teased her as I turned around for a short second.

"No, I don't fucking want your dingly-dong, fuck off."

"Dingly-dong?" I laughed out loudly as I let my head fall back and I did what she didn't want me to do. I dropped her fucking bags on the floor as I pushed my hands against my stomach.

"Harry motherfucking Styles! What did I tell you just then?!" she screamed at me and picked up the bag then opened it right away. "I don't have a case on it, you twat!"

"You called my dick 'dingly-dong'! How was I meant to react?"

"You are so fucking lucky there's nothing wrong with it," she told me as she ignored me and kept her eyes on the computer. She turned it on and then sat down on my bed, her fingers instantly pressing down on the letters to form words and sentences for the email.

"Can you please not do work in my bed? Or in my house at all?" I asked her and she ignored me since she was too into her typing. She completely zoned out and it made me groan. This is why she never got any sleep and if it was up to her, I wasn't going to, either.

"What did you say?" she asked as she looked up at me. Her eyes were wide and that was actually the first time I noticed she had glasses on. How the fuck did I miss it when I got in the car? She looked so normal with it on, it fit her so much with her hair up in a messy bun.

"Put your laptop away and get in bed. I'm gonna go give Dax some water because I noticed he drank it all and let him out for a bit."

"Oh, no, I'm fine. I told you I'll crash on your couch."

"I know you're not going to sleep so you will stay with me for the night. Literally. My bed will be big enough for us both," I told her. It was a queen-sized bed and if my dog and I could sleep in there together plus my sister sometimes, then I knew for a fact that her and I would be just fine.

"Sleeping in the same bed after one date?"

"Two dates, actually."

"Oh?"

"Italy was one, this is two. Or if we are counting the wine tour, then this was the third one. Oh, and we also kissed so I guess sleeping in the same bed won't do us any harm," she grunted and I knew it was because I mentioned the kiss. She hated talking about it.

"Can you not?"

"No."

"I should've just slept in my office," she mumbled.

"We will have to talk about the kiss once, you know."

"There's nothing to talk about," she closed her laptop off. "We kissed. That's it. What else is there to it?"

"I mean... do you want to do it again?" I asked as I felt proper caught off guard. Maybe that was why I wanted to talk about it all the time. Because it was bugging me constantly.

"You sound like you're five."

"That doesn't answer my question, though."

"For fuck's sake, Styles... I don't know. In the moment, it felt right and it was nice. I told you, you are a good kisser but I'm also too busy for a relationship. I have no idea why I even suggested this month deal thing..."

"You're curious. You want to know what it's like to be cared for, to be loved, to be appreciated again. You said your last relationship was when you were in university and it's been so long since then. We are human, we crave attention and love. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Maybe. I don't know. This is such a taboo topic for me."

"Considering that you have no friends, I'm not even surprised," I told her honestly. "You have no one to talk to about these kinds of things. So, if you think giving me this month to prove myself is actually pointless for you then make use of it. Take up on the opportunity that you have someone other than your assistant or your family to talk to. Talk to me. Literally about anything," I told her as I sat down next to her. She smelled fresh like she just got out of the shower. Her legs were covered by a pair of black leggings and she wore a baggy hoodie, a pair of Nike Airforce on her feet that looked brand-new. "You have my number, text me or call me or FaceTime me or something. Message me on Instagram or email me if that's better. You can be all professional in it if it'll make it easier. I told you earlier that bottling up your emotions and thoughts will eat you alive. And now I understand why."

"I'm sure you don't want to listen to me being annoying," she said quietly. "I say the most random things therefore I often don't make sense. I sometimes don't reply for days, or even weeks. I can't talk about my emotions because I get worked up and I begin to cry and I absolutely despise crying. It's a sign of weakness and even though many people told me before it's not, for me it is. And I hate being weak."

"This is why I'm telling you that you can email me if it's better."

"I guess..."

"Kensington, I'm serious about this," I stared at her but she didn't look at me. This just proved her point about not being able to speak about emotions. "I'm here for you, okay? Whenever and for whatever. Just like now. You called, I picked up and you're here."

"I suppose..."

"Hey," I pushed at her shoulder and she slowly looked at me. I opened my arms and she raised her eyebrows in confusion. I chuckled and said, "Come here," then pulled her to my chest before she even reacted. Her forehead touched my neck as her arms were crammed against my chest, mine tightly around her body. Her head felt warm against my skin and I couldn't stop my smile from growing. "Can you try and get some sleep tonight? I know you're at work tomorrow because you're a crazy woman and work on weekends. It's already almost four so I'm guessing you'll be up soon, anyway."

"I think my alarm is set for five. So, there won't be much point in going to bed," she told me as she inhaled deeply. With that, her whole body moved and so did mine.

"How about this – you go in later."

"No way," she laughed but still didn't pull away. That was kind of nice.

"You're literally the boss, you can do as you please."

"Exactly," she hummed and I felt vibrations with that, too. "That's why I'm going in so early."

"Well, not today."

"Oh, especially today," she fought. "I don't want to be here for longer than I have to."

"You could've gone to work right after they told you about the incident..."

"Oh, shit. You're right," she said as she realised. "I probably should have... ow, this is not comfy for my legs."

"Here," I moved one of my arms and picked up her legs then placed them over my thighs so they dangled off. "Better?"

"Yes, but why are we in this position?"

"Because you looked like you needed a hug."

"Did I?"

"You did," I hummed. "Alright. Enough of this now. Gonna go give my dog a bit of water, let him out as I said and then by the time I'm back, you'll need to be tucked in bed."

"You are annoyingly bossy."

"Oh," I laughed out as I pushed her back on the bed. "That's rich coming from you."

"Shut up," she scrunched her nose up and I found myself wanting to kiss her. She was so adorable. Glasses, messy hair and wide, glassy eyes and all.

It took me forever to leave her on her own. At least it felt like it. In reality, it was probably a minute or two that I spent staring at her before she raised her eyebrows at me and I cleared my throat as I hurried out of the room.

It began to rain outside so I decided against letting Dax out. Plus, he was asleep when I went downstairs. After I changed his water, I went back upstairs with my heart running wild in my chest. I didn't even fully realise what was going to happen tonight.

We will be sleeping in one bed tonight.

It seemed official when I got back up and she was actually in bed. That shocked me because she literally just... listened to me. Her laptop was nowhere to be seen although she was on her phone.

"Look at you being a good girl," I grinned as I placed the water bottle on my side of the bed on the table. I lifted up the quilt and got back in it after I chucked my robe on the floor.

"Shut the fuck up," she chuckled and I didn't even hide my smile as I covered myself up and tucked my hands under my chin. "Alright. You settled?"

"Yes, mummy," I mumbled and she sighed heavily before she turned off the lights on her side.

It was really quiet after that. I had my eyes closed so I had no idea what she was doing. I personally wasn't sleeping just yet. I couldn't possibly drift off with her right next to me. It was raining heavily and the sound of that was kind of calming.

"Is your name Harry or Harrison?" she asked me suddenly.

"That's a bit random, isn't it?"

"Can you never answer basic questions?"

"I guess you're rubbing off on me," I teased and she sighed like she gave up. "It's just Harry."

"Hmm."

"Why?"

"I was just wondering."

"So, I'm on your mind then, huh?"

"You know... I might choke you with a pillow the minute you drift off to sleep," she replied and I had a feeling she wasn't joking around.

"Please do," I told her jokingly. "I'm not sure how much longer I can stand you."

"Fuck you. You wanted this whole thing," she fired at me.

"That doesn't mean you don't do my head-in sometimes."

"If I wanted to get my feelings hurt, I could have just called my parents."

"Aw, did I hurt your feelings?"

"No, but I'm about to hurt yours if you won't go to sleep and leave me be," when she said that, I had to physically push myself up onto my elbows, my hair fell on my forehead as I looked at her with an offended facial expression.

"Ex-fucking-cuse me, but you were the one who asked me what my name was therefore you were the one who didn't leave me alone!"

"Okay. Cool your balls before they explode."

"You talk a lot about my dick and balls for someone who's not interested in playing with them."

"You just seem like someone who doesn't give them enough attention. The least I can do is talk about them to let them know they do exist and do matter."

I just looked at her after that because I couldn't believe she said that. It was so not her. For me, anyway. I was used to business Kensington. Not chill Kensington.

But I liked her. Very much.

We both burst out laughing after she said that. It must have been because of the early hours. Although, eventually, it seemed like we both quieted down and drifted into sleep. That was nice.

I haven't fallen asleep with someone next to me in a while and I sure as hell haven't woken up to anyone in a long time.

And it seemed like Kensington wanted to keep the latter going for me.

Because when I woke up, I was alone in bed.

• • •

a.n.
u might hate me for the next update but i swear everything will work itself out ok thanks

also i've missed dax. he deserves more screen time smh

anygays don't forget to vote and comment pals xoxo