(No Control - 45. Up All Night, first part)

I wake up the next morning before Jess, and tempted though I am to poke her with my morning glory, I get up and make us a cup of tea, and bring it back to bed. I switch the TV on as she stirs, and leave the music channel on that she loves. It's playing the current Top 40.

I check my phone and see I have a text from Niall.

Worn your dick out yet? I fell over on TV today. Most embarrassing moment of my life.

I remember he was caddying for Rory McIlroy at the Masters tournament, and I chuckle. I must remember to look this up later on.

Jess gives me a sleepy smile and reaches over to lay her arm across me.

"Hi," I whisper, and she gives a soft murmur in reply. "What do you want to do today?" I ask her.

"How dressy is this place tonight?" she asks, and her voice has that just-woken-up sound to it. It's sexy as hell.

"Dressy-ish," I reply.

"I might need to get a new outfit," she says, with a smile that says she doesn't really need a new outfit, she just wants to go shopping.

"OK," I smile back. "Why don't we go out for breakfast and then hit the shops in West Hollywood?"

"Hollywood," she repeats. "I like the sound of that."

"Great," I smile, happily. "There's a cup of tea there for you. I'm gonna jump in the shower."

I'm ready about half an hour before she is and I wait downstairs in the kitchen. I'm all prepared with a sarcastic comment as I hear her coming down the stairs, but when I look up as she enters the kitchen my words die in my throat as the sight of her literally takes my breath away. She smiles obliviously as I fluster inside, and comes over to the counter to pick up her bag. She rifles through it and I can't stop myself walking up behind her, brushing her hair over her shoulder and kissing her neck softly.

"Mmm, Harry," she whispers, and I feel a tingle flush through my body.

I kiss her shoulder and I'm just about to press my growing erection against her back, when her phone beeps, and I can see the message preview on the screen.

From: Sarah: Work emails

"Work emails? What does that mean?" I ask, my lips still brushing her skin.

On it xxx, she types back.

"It means, go and have a look at your work emails because there's something juicy kicking off that you'll be sorry you missed," she says to me.

How does she get all that from just two words? Girls are weird.

"How do you know?" I wonder out loud, but she doesn't answer as she scrolls through her phone.

"Fuck," she says suddenly.

"What's up?"

She's silent for another moment as she reads the screen, and then she says, "A company I wouldn't insure because their accounts were shit have gone into Administration, but some numpty high up in Customer Relations knew the owner so I was overruled and now they owe us shed loads of money. Dickheads. I told them they weren't financially stable."

I nod, pretending that I understand this jargon.

She opens another email and I sneak a peek over her shoulder.

Hi honey. This is what happens when we get overruled. Seem to remember us saying these weren't creditworthy?! More chance of me whisking you off on a swanky date than recovering this money. I'll get my lucky pants on. Col xx

OK, who the fuck is this guy? Who the hell does he think he is, talking about taking my girlfriend on a date, and wearing fucking lucky pants?

What the actual fuck?

"Who's Col?" I ask, struggling to keep my voice steady.

"One of the senior underwriters," she says casually.

What the fuck is a senior underwriter?

"Why is he asking you on a date?" I ask, trying not to sound accusatory.

"He asks everyone on dates," she says breezily. "He's just a flirt, he says stuff like that all the time."

I frown, battling with this jealous monster that is rising in my chest and threatening to ruin everything with some harsh words.

"What do you say to him?" I ask, as she turns to look at me.

"I give it back," she says, frowning back at me. "It's just banter."

I can't pull my face into a normal expression. I know my jealousy is plain to see on my face and I hate that it shows.

"Are you jealous?" she grins, and I feel embarrassed that she can be so flippant with my feelings.

"No," I say abruptly, and turn away from her to pick up my keys. Instead of the Range Rover keys I pick up the Mercedes ones instead. It's a beautiful day and this is a beautiful car.

OK seriously, who is this guy? An ex-boyfriend? Potential boyfriend? Has she kissed him before?

"Have you ever been on a date with him?" I ask, without turning round.

"No," she says, and I can tell she's smiling. "Why?"

Be cool.

Be fucking cool.

"Just wondering," I reply, adopting her breezy tone, and begin to walk to the door.

So he's asking her out, then? Is she going to say yes?

"Would you go on a date with him?" I blurt.

"No," she replies.

Good answer.

"Why not?" I ask.

Please say it's because of me.

"Because I don't want to," she says.

Damn.

"And he's not serious anyway," she continues. "It's just banter." (She emphasises this last part.)

I grunt like some sort of caveman, and try not to walk outside in a huff. I head over to the Merc and realise Jess has gone to the Range Rover.

"We'll take this one today," I call over to her, and she appears round the back and raises her eyebrows in appreciation.

"Nice," she says.

Take that, Col. I bet he doesn't have a vintage convertible Mercedes on his drive.

"What are we singing along to today?" I ask as I switch the radio on once we've set off.

"Depends what comes on," she says, with a smile in her voice.

Nothing of note plays as we cruise down Benedict Canyon Drive towards Beverly Hills, and as we pull up at the traffic lights at the junction with Sunset Boulevard, a car pulls up alongside us and a female voice squeals, "It's Harry Styles!"

I instinctively turn my head to look, and there is a car full of girls waving manically. I smile and wave, and they scream.

"I love you, Harry!" a blonde girl shouts. "You're like, so amazing!"

"Thanks," I smile. "What's your name?"

"Bria," she replies, and she's grinning.

"Nice to meet you, Bria," I say.

"Oh my God, you too," she beams. "You guys make a hot couple."

"We're not a couple," Jess says immediately. "We're just friends."

Ouch, friendzoned again.

"Oh OK," Bria smiles, and I keep the smile on my face until the lights change and I can drive away.

I pull at my lip as we turn left and move along Sunset Boulevard.

I know neither of us could publicly admit we're... well, whatever we are... but she's just so quick to set everyone straight all the time. Why is she so bothered? Is she ashamed of me or something?

"I love that you make an effort to talk to your fans," Jess says, interrupting my thoughts. "I bet that just made her day."

What if she's seeing someone back home?

No, don't be stupid, of course she isn't. That's just ridiculous.

I wish I knew why she was so indifferent towards me.

"So where are we going tonight?" she asks.

I don't feel like making idle chit chat, and I can't bring myself to look at her, but I need to get over myself. Man up.

"I thought we could go to this place called Craig's," I say after a moment. "I've been a few times and it's really nice."

"Sounds good," she says enthusiastically.

I could just come out with it and ask her. Or I could ask her to be my girlfriend, like I planned.

Fuck, I don't know what to do. How do I get out of the friend zone?

The more I'm stressing over it, the more annoyed I'm becoming.

"You're quiet," she says after a minute.

"Sorry," I mutter.

I'm not in the mood for this.

We drive along in silence. It's stop-start pretty much all the way once we're out of the residential area.

I look over at Jess a couple of times and she's grinning down at her phone.

"What are you smiling at?" I ask.

"Just Sarah," she replies. "Apparently Niall fell over at some golf event yesterday and it's all over Twitter?"

"Yeah he texted me about it last night," I remember.

We stop again at traffic lights and I hear clicking. I look up and see a pap hanging out the back of a jeep taking pictures. Fucking tosser. I am not in the mood for this either. Although I'm sure Jess will happily set him straight.

Out of the corner of my eye I see her drop her head forward so her hair covers her face, and I stare resolutely forward, my mouth set in a hard line.

"They're on to us today," Jess muses as we drive off again.

"Yeah," I say flatly.

Fuck, I shouldn't be taking this out on her. I'm being a dick.

"Are you alright?" She touches my hand gently, and I hook my little finger around hers and smile at her.

"Yeah, sorry, I was miles away."

"Anywhere nice?" she jokes, but she looks uncertain.

"Hmmm," I mutter as I see a parking space, and concentrate on pulling over. I put the roof up and then notice Jess is biting her lip, a gesture I know means she is nervous.

But damn, she looks hot. I can't help smiling lazily at her.

"You look sexy when you do that," I flirt, and to my surprise she blushes and bites her lip again.

Fuck.

"Are you doing that on purpose?" I ask, leaning towards her.

"No!" she laughs. "You're making me nervous, that's all."

I'm making her nervous? She sends the butterflies in my stomach crazy several times an hour, but she reckons I'm making her nervous?!

I inwardly chuckle at the irony as I lock the car and we walk into Dialog Cafe. Once we're sat down I pull out my phone and search Youtube for the video of Niall.

"Look at this," I chuckle, and I turn the screen so Jess can see it and we watch it four times in a row, our laughter increasing each time.

"Oh nooo Niall!" Jess mimicks, making me laugh harder, and we struggle to compose ourselves as our food arrives.

"So tell me more about Craig's," she says. "When you say dressy-ish, what do you mean?"

I shrug. "Smart casual. You could dress up or dress down. It's not strict."

"So should I wear a dress?" she asks, and I imagine being able to stare at her legs all evening, and slipping it off her at the end of the night.

"Yeah, a dress would be good," I nod, and she nods too. "I'll get security to take us and pick us up so we can both have a drink," I tell her. "But it'll just be us in the restaurant."

She smiles down at her plate, and I wonder what's made her happy, but before I can ask she starts pondering what type of dress she should wear, so we discuss that for a bit. I'm trying to push her towards high heels, but purely for my own selfish reasons. She looked amazing the night I took her to C London, in that little black dress and four inch heels. Her legs just seemed to go on forever.

After we finish breakfast we head into the nearest shop, and I browse the mens section while Jess flips through a rack of dresses. She heads into the changing room and I hover outside, glancing around nervously for paps, but there seemingly none to be seen.

"Harry," she calls softly, and I look up to see her poking her head around the curtain. When our eyes meet she steps out shyly and I literally feel my jaw drop as I take in the sight of her. She's wearing a peachy coloured lace dress with almost no sleeves, that falls to the middle of her thighs. My eyes rake up and down her legs, and then flick up to her face. She's wearing a shy expression and is looking at me expectantly. She looks so fucking innocent, but so sexy at the same time.

"What do you think?" she asks.

"Yes," I try to say, but no sound comes out. I clear my throat. "Yes," I say again. "Hell, yes. You look sensational. Get it."

She rolls her eyes. "I can't get this one. It's the first one I've tried on."

I'm confused. "So? It's incredible. God - it's..." I swallow. "You should definitely get it."

She literally takes my breath away. Sometimes I don't know how to handle it.

She blushes and bites her lip and it's all I can do to stop myself walking over there and pulling her against me and kissing her. I'll just have to fantasise about it instead.

"Let me try the other ones on first," she says, and disappears behind the curtain, and I am left out here, my heart pounding and my mouth dry, wondering what the hell she has done to me to make me feel this way.

She calls my name again a couple of minutes later and appears in a black and white number that hugs her body perfectly, showing off her slim figure and accentuating her dainty frame.

"That's... that's just fucking..." I stammer, lost for words again.

"Do you like it?" she asks.

"Jess, you're beautiful," I tell her, sincerely. "You would look good in anything."

She blushes again and we grin at each other stupidly before she disappears behind the curtain again. When she reappears for the third time I am prepared, but my heart still skips a bit as she strikes a delicate pose in a soft pink dress that brings out the colour in her cheeks but doesn't show enough leg.

"Which one?" she asks.

"The first one," I say immediately.

"Why?" she wants to know.

Because it left me speechless. Because it made my heart pound. Because it made me realise just how incredible you are, and that you are way out of my league, with your beauty and brains and sense of humour.

Out loud I say, "You took my breath away."

She laughs nervously and turns around to inspect her reflection, and I take the opportunity to check out her backside. Of course she catches me staring and raises one eyebrow at me in the mirror and it's my turn to blush and look away.

She closes the curtain again and emerges a couple of minutes later empty handed.

I'm confused. Where are the dresses?

"Didn't you like them?" I ask as she leads me towards the exit.

She creases her brow at me. "Yeah, why?"

"Well... aren't you getting one?"

I'm starting to feel stupid. Have I missed something?

"I'm not committing in the first shop we've been in," she says, as if I should already know this. "It's only quarter past eleven. We've got all day."

All day? I can perv on her in little dresses all day? This is awesome.

I beam at her and start to reach for her hand, forgetting where I am for a second, but she moves away, pointing to a shoe shop so I mask the gesture by reaching up and running my hand through my hair instead.

Nice save.

We're only in the shoe shop five minutes when a couple of girls walk in and ask for a picture, and Jess stays away from me, browsing the shelves, and then slips out the door separately and waits for me around the corner.

I make my excuses and leave quickly, jogging to catch up with her once I am out of sight of my fans.

"Sorry about that," I apologise, but she just smiles and my heart skips a beat.

We spend a couple of hours looking in the shops, and Jess tries on countless other dresses. She looks breathtaking in every single one, but I can't forget the feeling I got when I saw her in that first dress.

We stop for a frappé, and she stares out of the window deep in thought.

"What are you thinking?" I ask, nudging her knee with mine (once I've glanced around to make sure no one can see us.)

She rolls her eyes. "Which dress to get," she says. "Sorry."

"The first one," I tell her.

"What was so great about that?" she asks, smiling. "I mean, I really liked it too, but why that one?"

I shrug, nonchalantly. "I dunno, it just suited you."

My heart is pounding now. I don't want her to push this conversation because I don't want to get flustered. I'm scared of what might come out of my mouth.

"OK," she smiles. "If you like it, I'll get it."

"Really?"

"Definitely. It's for your benefit anyway."

Oh, fucking yes. This can only be a good thing.

I clear my throat and grin out of the window, and she nudges my knee this time, but I refuse to look at her because I feel suddenly shy.

We head back to the first shop and buy the fuck-me dress, and while we're there she spots some shoes that match it perfectly, and she buys them as well. They're high, so I am in support of this. I want to offer to pay for her outfit, but I know she won't let me, so I stay quiet.

We're walking back to the car and she suddenly darts inside a souvenir shop. I follow her inside and catch her staring longingly at a One Direction lilo, but she quickly looks away when she sees me, and I bite the inside of my cheek, smirking.

We stop at a drive thru to pick up a late lunch, and we eat it in the car park before driving back home.

I make us some cocktails (I follow a recipe this time, to avoid a repeat of the night we met) and we sit by the pool and drink them.

"I hope I didn't bore you today," she says, looking down at her nails.

"What do you mean? Of course not," I reply.

You could never bore me.

"Just with dragging you round the shops. You must have been so fed up."

"Are you kidding? I got to watch you trying on tiny dresses. I had a great time."

Ah, fuck, why did I say that? That wasn't cool.

But she is grinning nervously and biting at the skin around her nails, so I grin back and pull her hand away from her mouth. I lean forward and kiss her, and I'm just about to suggest we take this inside when she sits up and announces she needs to get ready.

I guess my semi-on will have to wait, then.

I get a text from Louis, telling me he and Liam are on the plane on their way to LA, and they weren't papped at the airport, so hopefully Jess won't know they've even left the UK. I can't wait to see her face tomorrow when they turn up. I just hope I don't let the cat out of the bag tonight when I'm drunk.

I'm a little nervous to see how she'll react to Louis. I guess I'll finally see whether she really is a Louis girl or not.

I make a few arrangements for Friday, and then head upstairs just as Jess is coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel with her hair wet. I resist the urge to pull her towel off and throw her on the bed and instead flip through my wardrobe looking for something to wear.

By the time I'm out of the shower, she is standing in front of the mirror wearing the fuck-me dress, putting some makeup on. She looks perfect.

"You look beautiful," I say, and it comes out all husky and shy.

"Thanks," she says, and I can't resist walking over to her and kissing her.

Fuck, little Harry is waking up.

"Shall we just skip dinner and get straight into bed?" I whisper.

I'm serious.

She pulls away and pretends to be offended.

"Is that usually how you treat a girl on a date?" she huffs, and I smile at her.

"I've never had a date this hot before," I say, honestly.

Take that, Miss Offended.

"Oooh, point goes to you for that line, Styles," she shoots back. "If only I was the type of girl who gets sucked in."

"Aren't you?" I ask. Damn, just me then. "Hmmm," I muse. "Must try harder."

She doesn't answer but reaches up and wipes my lips with her finger - what the... am I drooling or something?

Then I realise her lip stuff is now on my lips, but before I have time to be relieved she starts brushing her finger along my bottom lip and I shiver as my dick hardens again.

"Stop that," I murmur - only because she's made it clear we're not having sex before we go out so I'll be stuck with this boner until it goes away.

I pull away from her and she gives me a flirty smile, and I turn away grinning and pull on my jeans and a shirt. I catch her checking me out, and I smile to myself.

"Ready?" I ask, as I hear a knock at the door - that will be security - and she nods.

"Come on then," I smile, and I let her walk down the stairs in front of me so I can check out her arse in that dress.

She is gonna get it when we get back.

I can't wait.

---***---

I've split this chapter too, and added in some stuff that wasn't in No Control :) Hope you liked it, don't forget to hit that star button and vote if you did!! xx