leigh

• A short story.

• First chapter coming June 20th.

• Told in Dual POV between both Harry and Frankie.

• Will have medical lingo throughout, but please remember, this is a work of fiction, so some things may be exaggerated to fit the plot.

• This story will touch on some triggering things: an incident resulting in injury, cheating (not between our main characters) and traumatic memories of said incident.

• This story will also contain some smut, so 18+ only, please!

• Please see below for faceclaims of the main characters of the story.

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• Playlist

• One

• Two

• Three

• Four

It wasn’t the first time he had caught you on a date with someone else since the two of you had broken up. This happened to be the third time. You had managed to stumble across him on a date twice, and you could curse the city that you lived in for being so small. It also didn’t help that you frequented the same places, even before you were together, so it was almost inevitable to run into one another.

“Is this how you expected your night to end, hm?” Harry spoke directly into your ear as his fingers plunged in and out of your soaked cunt. “Did you think it would be me touching you this way, or were you hoping it would’ve been him?”

You rolled your lips into your mouth to keep from making a noise in response to his interrogation. To be honest, the date had been lackluster, so you knew it wouldn’t have ended with either of you offering to take the next step.

“Not going to answer me?” Harry clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth, starting to withdraw his fingers, but you quickly reached down to wrap your hand around his wrist while holding his eyes. “You don’t get them if you’re not going to talk to me. If you’re not going to play along.”

“This isn’t some fucking game, Harry,” you snapped with a shake of your head. “This has to stop. We can’t keep doing this with each other.”

His dark chuckle caused goosebumps to break out along your skin as he leaned down to press a kiss against your bare shoulder, considering both of you were completely naked. Both sets of clothing lead a trail from the front door to Harry’s bedroom.

“I don’t think you mean what you’re saying.” He let his digits enter you completely again before curling them against the spot inside of you that he could find without hardly any effort. “If you did, you’d pick places for your dates that would cause you to avoid me. You wanted to see me tonight. Admit it, baby.”

His mouth covered your own as his thumb swirled over your clit that was slick with your arousal, and you moaned while reaching up to wrap your arms around his neck. Harry quickly captured both of your wrists in his large, free hand, and he pinned them above your head so you weren’t able to touch him.

“I hate you,” you whimpered against his lips, and that drew another laugh from him.

“No you don’t. Not in the slightest. You still love me. This slippery, little pussy still loves my fingers and my cock. I think you hate that, but you don’t hate me.”

Harry didn’t give you a chance to protest as his tongue slipped between your lips, gliding it right against yours. You arched into him, your toes curling considering you were right on the brink of your orgasm. Your walls pulsed around his fingers, a direct sign that you were about to burst, but clearly, he had other plans.

“I hate you,” you repeated through clenched teeth when Harry actually took his fingers away from you this time.

“You miss me,” he taunted, as if he were correcting you.

A yelp flooded from your lungs as he quickly turned you over on the mattress so that your face was smushed into his pillows. He maneuvered you around, and put you right in the position that he wanted while reaching out to bind your wrists again with his hand. He positioned them along your lower back and slightly tugged, causing your back to bow.

His other hand wrapped around his hard cock, and he tapped the tip against your clit a few times before rocking his length back and forth through your slit.

“You’re teasing,” you panted as you tilted your chin down just a bit to get a better look at him.

Hunger and jealousy swirled in Harry’s eyes as he stared at you. His tongue darted out to wet his lower lip. “You’ve been teasing me for months since we broke up.”

“You’ve been doing the same. It’s all we ever fucking do.”

“Sounds to me like we’re going about this all wrong then.” He notched the head of his dick against your entrance before starting to push in. “We should try to find a solution, don’t you think?”

The stretch of him was blinding, and it caused your eyes to roll into the back of your head. Your fingers curled, resulting in your nails biting into the skin of your palms as your body opened up for him - just like it always did.

“What…what do you suggest?” He already had you breathless, and he wasn’t even fully inside of you yet.

“That we stop fooling ourselves. Stop running from each other. Our breakup was mutual, so why can’t we mutually agree that it was a mistake?” Although he had been so cocky tonight, you could hear how sincere he was in this very moment. “I don’t want anyone else but you, Y/N, and it’s pretty obvious you don’t want anyone else but me. We’re meant to be. Always have been.”

You knew he was right. More often than not, your thoughts journeyed to him when you were home alone. You wondered if he was with someone, or if he was alone, too. You hoped he was taking care of himself, and not forgetting his lunch at home like he used to until you started putting a post-it note on his keys when you’d spend the night - reminding him to grab it before leaving.

He consumed your mind more than you’d like to admit, but from the words Harry had just spoken, it sounded as if you had consumed him just the same.

“That’s what you want?” Your voice was strained as he bottomed out inside of you, and you felt the hand not restraining you pull your cheeks apart so he had a better view of you swallowing up his cock.

“It’s what I’ve wanted since the first time I saw you with someone else other than me. Seeing you with those other men, Y/N, it did something to me. I know I had no right to be a jealous bastard, considering you weren’t mine anymore, but fuck if that wasn’t what I became.”

“Then why keep this up? Why did you keep going on dates knowing that the next time you’d see me out, you’d have me in your bed?” Tears started to well up in your eyes, but you wished them away.

“I guess…I figured if you were determined to try and move on, then I deserved to do the same. I kept coaxing you back into my bed because if that’s the only way you’d let me have you, only for another night, then it’s what I would take just to be close to you again.” Harry’s lips sponged along your spine before he grazed his teeth at the junction where your neck met your shoulder.

His length dragged backwards against your walls before he was angling forward again, filling you delishly. Your mouth practically watered at the sensation, and you had to remind yourself that you were in the middle of a conversation.

“Then m-maybe we should try again.”

“Don’t say that just because you pity me.” The teasing tone of Harry’s had returned. “If you’re offering for us to get back together, you need to want it, too.”

“I do!” You exclaimed as he started up hard thrusts, his headboard banging against the wall. “I want to get back together. I don’t want to see anyone else anymore but you.”

Harry let go of your wrists, only to now collar your throat with his palm, and he brought your body up so that his chest was snug against your back. He kissed right below your ear before bringing his lips to the shell of it. “Then let me remind you what it’s like to be fully mine.”

• • • • •

I want to confess that a memory did try to break through recently, but I also can’t really bring that up in front of Anya. I’ve decided to tuck it away for the time being. I’ll make sure to ask Dr. Wells at my next appointment. I’ve been keeping a journal, just like he asked me to, with things that I’ve been feeling, but that’s the only memory I’ve been able to document that feels like it’s tried to come through.

“Like I said, every patient is different. Don’t let it startle you that you’re not remembering anything yet. You’re only a month post injury, and I know it may be discouraging that it’s been that long, but I can assure you I’ve seen patients who remember things within weeks, and some patients don’t remember anything for months. The good news to focus on is that no part of your progress is regressing.”

Thinking about it taking months for my memories to come back causes my gut to churn, but I muster up the best smile I can and nod at Dr. Lee. “Understood. I guess I’ll be seeing you again after my next CT scan?”

“That’s right. We’ll see you then. They’ll make the CT appointment and the follow-up for you at check-out.”

Anya and I both stand, and once we finish up with the receptionist, we head back out to the car. I sigh as I buckle up my seatbelt as Anya starts it up, and then we pull out of the parking lot and head back towards the apartment.

“I’m sorry I’m not able to stay with you after your appointment,” she says after a few minutes of silence. “The event we’re planning right now is really big, so it’s all hands on deck until it’s over. I promise that I tried to get out of it.”

“That’s alright,” I assure her while reaching over to place my hand on her thigh. “I know what you do requires you to be busier than usual sometimes. I’ll be fine.”

“What do you plan to do with your afternoon?”

“Well, lunch almost had me falling asleep while waiting for Dr. Lee with how full I was, so maybe I’ll take a nap or something,” I say with a shrug. “Maybe pick out a book to read to try and stimulate my brain.”

“That doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea,” she comments while dropping one of her hands to rest on top of mine.

Once she pulls up in front of our apartment building, she puts the car in park and turns on her hazards as I open the door to get out, but first, I turn towards her to place a kiss on her lips.

“I’ll see you later.” I peck her cheek this time. “Drive safely.”

“Will do. Let me know if you have any ideas for what you want me to make for dinner. I’m swinging by the store after work to pick up a few things.”

I make our way up to the apartment and lock the door behind me before heading into the bedroom. Once I’ve changed into some lounge clothes, I get under the covers of the bed and start to scroll through my phone. As I’m aimlessly flipping through my apps, I see one that shows a camera with a lock icon on the lens. When I click on it, it prompts me to put in a four digit code and I try and think of what that code could possibly be, and what the hell it’s going to unlock.

After trying a few different code combinations, one that I regularly use for security reasons at my job seems to work, and I’m immediately met with what has to be at least twenty photos. I click on the first one, and I sit up quickly, tossing my phone towards the foot of the bed. My chest heaves as I do my best to process what I just saw. I give myself a few seconds before picking up the phone again, and I’m met with an image of a topless woman, but her hands rest across her breasts to cover them. The image only shows her torso, so her face and lower half aren’t revealed.

When I scroll to the next image, it shows the same woman, but her forearm is draped across herself instead.

Maybe these are just photos of a woman that I’ve found online that I use to get myself off if Anya’s traveling for work? I can’t imagine any other reason for me to have these types of images on my phone, but that would be out of the ordinary, if it were the case.

Unfortunately, that thought appears to be completely false when I get to the next photo, and it shows my hand cradling one of the woman’s breasts while her own covers the other. I know that it’s my hand by the cross inked into the skin on the back of it.

This has to serve as confirmation that I was cheating on Anya, right? Or did we have a break at some point, and the memory of that woman giggling, as well as these images, are just a reminder of that? Have I just forgotten to get rid of this app in the midst of Anya and I reconciling?

Suddenly, the walls of this apartment feel way too suffocating, and there’s no way that I can remain here by myself until Anya gets home from work later. I peel my lounge clothes off and change back into the clothes that I had on for my appointment as I try and think of what to do to distract myself.

My mind lands on Frankie, and to be honest, I’ve been meaning to check in on her since the last dinner we all had together. Maybe she’ll be agreeable to meeting up for a coffee to not only catch up, but it’ll also let me know whether or not she does actually feel uncomfortable around me, or if it’s something else.

I scroll through my phone, which feels like a weight at this point, and swipe through until I find Frankie’s contact. Hitting the message button, I shoot her a quick text asking if she’s free to meet up at the coffee shop just a couple of blocks from Anya and I’s place. It takes a few minutes, but eventually she responds and says she’ll meet me there in 15.

✦ • ✦ • ✦ • ✦

Standing outside of the coffee shop, I have my hands tucked into the front pocket of my hoodie as I wait for Frankie to arrive as well. My fingers are locked together to keep them from shaking, something I haven’t stopped doing since I saw all those images on my phone. I don’t want to make this afternoon with Frankie all about me, considering I also want to make sure she’s okay, but I’m eager to get this off my chest. I know if I keep it in, it’s going to eat me alive, and with the progress I have to make with my recovery, that’s the last thing I need.

I hear the sound of someone approaching, and I look up from my feet to see Frankie heading towards me. Her hands are clutching to the strap of her purse that’s slung over her shoulder, and both of them are wringing around it as she stares at me.

“Hey,” I breathe, pushing myself off the wall to extend an arm out for her.

She smiles meekly as she walks forward, and she wraps both of her arms around my torso - her cheek smushed against my chest. “Hi, Harry.”

We remain like that for a moment, and the smell of the perfume that she wore last time she came over for dinner catches my attention again. Once we pull back, I open the door to the coffee shop and gesture for her to head inside first. I stand behind her as we wait in line to order, and once we do, we step to the side where the pickup counter is. 

“So, how are you?” Frankie initiates the conversation first, which slightly surprises me, but somehow puts me more at ease. “I was a little surprised to receive your text.” Blowing the air out of my cheeks, I run my fingers through my hair, and I watch as Frankie looks at me with concern. “Harry, you’re shaking.”

She reaches out to take my hand, as if it’s instinct, and she gives it a squeeze.

“I…I have some questions that I need to get answered, and some things that I need to talk about with someone, but I don’t want to talk about it with Anya until I get it all figured out.”

“And you couldn’t talk to Peyton about this either?” She asks.

“I could’ve, but I’m not going to lie, I also wanted an excuse to check in with you and make sure you’re okay in all of this as well.” I realize she hasn’t dropped my hand, so I repeat the action she gave me earlier, and I give hers a squeeze. “I know you have your mom and Peyton, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have someone else there for you, too.”

Frankie’s eyes slightly glaze over, but the sound of my name being called breaks us out of the moment. I walk over to the counter and grab both of our drinks, considering I paid for hers as well, and I pass it over to her. Once we prepare them the way we’d like, I look around at the tables that are vacant before I decide that I don’t really want to be confined inside right now.

“Do you want to walk to the park down the street? I haven’t been getting out much lately because I’m scared to do too much by myself.” I rub the back of my next anxiously, and Frankie’s expression softens.

“Of course. I’d like that a lot.”

We step outside of the coffee shop and start down the sidewalk in the direction of the closest park. The weather is a little warmer today than it has been, and the sun is shining down, so it actually makes for a nice day out. When we’re on the path that leads deeper into the park, we pick a spot that’s not entirely in the sun, but not exactly shaded either, and we lower ourselves onto the ground below us.

Frankie has her legs pulled up to her chest, where mine are criss-crossed, and I watch as she runs her palm back and forth over the grass while tilting her head back. Her eyes are closed as the sun reflects on her skin. As if she remembers she’s not alone, she blinks slowly and then looks over at me, a small blush rising to her cheeks.

“Sorry,” she giggles. “I actually haven’t been doing much outside my place either. Unless I’m going to therapy, or heading to my mom’s, I’ve been staying in.”

“Peyton said you’ve been going over to your mom’s often.” I watch her body slightly stiffen at that. “Are you sure you’re really doing okay, Frankie? Is something going on between you and Peyton? You can talk to me. I hope you know that.”

“I do know that, Harry, I do.” Her voice sounds strained, and she looks down before pulling a blade of grass from out of the ground, and she starts to wrap it around her finger - as if she’s distracting herself. “But Peyton is also your friend. I don’t want to get in the middle of your friendship.”

“If it comes to your wellbeing, I can very much separate my friendship with you from my friendship with him.”

Frankie’s throat bobs as she swallows, and then she looks back into my eyes. The tears that had disappeared in the coffee shop present themselves again. “It’s just been really hard since the accident. He tries to talk to me about it, but at the end of the day, it’s hard for him to understand. Sure, he and Anya were also there, but they came out after you were already…” She trails over for a moment as she shakes her head. “They didn’t hear the sounds I did, or the sights I saw. He can’t even understand how traumatizing it was for me.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper while reaching out to rub her back, and she leans into my touch. “You don’t know how fucking bad I wish I could remember so I could be with you in all of this. I don’t want you to feel so alone, but I have to ask, you’re not uncomfortable being around me after everything, are you? Because if you are, I’ll stop pushing. The last thing I want to do is be a trigger for you, which means I keep delaying your progress by having us see each other.”

“Harry, no.” Her eyes widen as she reaches out for me, her hands cupping the side of my neck, and I feel that same tingle I felt in the hospital. The day that I woke up, and she touched my arm. “I could never want to separate myself from you like that. You’re one of my best friends. I couldn’t imagine not having you around. God, just thinking about that, what could’ve happened if things had been worse, I can’t…”

A gasp floods from her lungs, and I’m quick to pull her into me. Her arms fly around me this time, way less coordinated than when she hugged me just a few minutes ago outside of the coffee shop. I can feel her hands clutching to the back of my hoodie as she sobs into the side of my neck. My heart aches in my chest, and I have to wonder how many times she’s found herself like this since that night, or if this is pent up emotion that she’s been too afraid to let out.

“It’s okay, Frankie.” I press a kiss to the top of her head while cradling the back of it in my palm. My other hand rubs soothing circles into her back. “I’m right here. I’m not going to go anywhere. We’re going to be okay.”

 “I was so scared. I’ve been so scared. This is all just so unfair.” Her cries are muffled as she keeps her face buried. “Why did this have to happen to you? You’re one of the best people I know. You don’t deserve this.”

“This is just temporary. We have to remain optimistic, remember? My memories are going to come back, and then everything will go back to the way it was.” Frankie’s chest continues to jump, but I can tell she’s slowly calming down. “That’s it. Just breathe for me, Frankie girl.”

Her body freezes for a moment, and it’s then I realize what I’ve said as well. Pulling back, she stares up at me with tear-stained cheeks. “W-What did you call me?”

“I don’t know where that…” I clear my throat before I continue. “I called you Frankie girl. Did I give you that nickname?”

“Uh, yeah,” she stammers while sitting up again and moving to where she had originally planted herself. She wipes underneath her eyes with her sweater-covered hands. “It’s pretty recent, though. You just said it one day, and it kind of stuck.”

Frankie reaches for her coffee, and she takes several long sips. Once again, she’s distracting herself during our conversation, which leads me to believe there’s something more happening than she’s telling me, but I’m grateful for the fact she did open up to me just now, even if it was only a little bit.

“Anyway,” she waves her hand in the air, as if to brush her concerns away, “what is it that you needed to talk about? I feel like we’ve talked about me enough.”

Now I’m the one looking for something to stall as I have a few sips of my coffee. “Do you know if Anya and I split up for any period of time?”

“Harry, I don’t know if I’m the one you should be-”

“Please, Frankie, I need to know. I had a memory try and to come through the day Anya and I got back from the appointment with my neuropsychiatrist. It never fully formed, but I could hear myself speaking to someone, and whoever was responding to me wasn’t Anya.” I contemplate whether or not to confess the next bit, but I know I can’t leave anything out if I want answers. “Today, I found an app on my phone, and….

“Fuck, you’re probably going to look at me differently after I say this, but the app was locked. I managed to unlock it, and it’s full of pictures of a woman. A woman who isn’t Anya. So, now I’ve convinced myself that either I was cheating on her, or there was a time where we separated, and I saw someone else, but eventually we got back together.”

Silence surrounds us for a bit, and I’m not sure if it’s Frankie trying to process what I’ve told her, or if it’s her trying to figure out how to tell me the truth. She turns to face me, so I do the same to her, and she rests her hand on my knee.

“I can almost guarantee that you were never cheating on Anya. I know the type of person that you are, and there’s no way you could betray her, or anyone, like that.” Frankie’s thumb runs along the material of my jeans. “If you guys did end up having some sort of break, Peyton and I didn’t know about it. I’m afraid the only person that you can get that answer from is Anya. Like we all said, we’ve been rather busy lately, so we haven’t seen each other like we once did. There could be a possibility that maybe you and Anya did separate for a bit, but it could’ve been in the time where Peyton and I didn’t have any plans with you guys, so we didn’t know the difference.”

“You don’t think Anya would’ve reached out to you if that happened? I find it hard to believe that I wouldn’t have to try to confide in Peyton, or even you, if that were the case.” I groan as another ‘brain pain’ occurs, and I press my palm against the aching spot. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Frankie moves a little closer, and she keeps her one hand on my knee, but the other comes around to rest on my upper back.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” I sigh as the sensation starts to ease. “I get these little pains every now and then, but apparently they’re normal after a brain injury. They don’t happen as often as they did when I first got home, though, so that’s a bit of a relief. Some of the only progress I’ve managed to make.”

“Weren’t you the one telling me that we have to be optimistic not even five minutes ago?” I hear the playful tone in Frankie’s voice, and I open my eyes to see her smirking at me. “Where’s that optimism now, H?”

I can’t help but let out a little laugh at that, and she returns it. “No, you’re right. I should just be grateful that there haven’t been any setbacks. That was always a possibility, and so far, it hasn’t happened.”

“It’s not going to.” Frankie tightens the holds she has on me for just a moment before her touch completely fades away. “You’ve got this, just like you said. One step at a time.” She runs her palms over her thighs before sitting properly again. “But the thing with Anya, you’re just going to have to ask her, and be prepared for what she says. I know you’re thinking the worst, but don’t let that consume you before you’ve sought out the truth.”

Nodding, I take another sip of coffee. “Yeah, I know you’re right. I’m just a little scared of what the answer is going to be.”

“And that’s completely understandable.”

We spend the next half hour or so talking about less heavy things, and when I see the time, I know I should get home before Anya, or else she’ll worry. I walk Frankie back to where she parallel parked her car on the street near the coffee shop, and we give each other a comforting hug.

“If you need anything, anything at all, let me know,” I tell her.

“Same goes for you. I know you probably haven’t really wanted to drive after everything, but if you need to get away for a day or something, just tell me. I’m still on leave.”

Once we pull apart, I open Frankie’s car door for her, and when I see she’s securely inside, I shut the door. I stand on the sidewalk to make sure she joins traffic safely, and then I start on my trek back to the apartment.

As nice as this afternoon with Frankie was, it was also heavy, and I know we’re both going to be feeling the weight of that for the rest of the day, but hopefully it eases some of the trauma. I know I need to take her advice and ask Anya about what was going on with us, but I don’t think that I’m there yet. It might be selfish, but I can’t allow a bombshell to be dropped on my brain right now, not after everything it’s been through.

Maybe I’ll wait to get some answers from Dr. Wells before I approach the subject with Anya, so I’ll have more insight, but in the meantime, I’ll just have to continue on as normally as possible unless more memories start to reveal themselves.

✦ • ✦ • ✦ • ✦

My eyes don’t open until the light ‘ding’ indicates that we’re at my destined floor, and I step out to quickly make my way down the hall. Once I get to the door, I rap my knuckles against it before taking a small step back. I switch the twelve-pack to my other hand right as the door opens.

Harry leans against the door frame with pursed lips, t-shirt expanding over his torso with sweatpants hanging on his hips, and I can tell he’s trying to cover up a smile as he crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re late.”

“I am,” I sigh while slouching my shoulders slightly. “I suck. Forgive me?”

His eyes drag down to the beer I chose tonight, and he lets out an exaggerated huff of breath before moving back into his apartment. “You picked a good beer tonight, so you’re forgiven.” He gestures his hand for me to come inside.

“Thank you.” I smirk as I pass by him, and I immediately head into the kitchen to put the beers away in his fridge. “I’m really sorry. A complicated case came across my desk not too long before I had to leave, and I got wrapped up in it.”

Grabbing two bottles from the box, I turn around, but I run directly into Harry’s chest with a soft ‘oof’, and then a slight yelp since I didn’t realize he was right behind me.

“Sorry.” He licks over his bottom lip as he takes the bottles from me, and he turns around to pop the caps off before handing mine back to me. “I was just going to say, don’t apologize for staying late at work. I know you love what you do.”

“Well, thanks.” We tap the necks of beers together, and then we each take a long sip. “I would’ve texted you, but by the time I actually thought about doing that, I was already at the store to get the twelve-pack.”

“Figured it would be more fun to just beg for my forgiveness instead?” Harry nudges his shoulder against mine.

“You wish.” I roll my eyes playfully as he moves towards the oven, and he pulls out a pizza box. “You didn’t have me beg in the slightest.”

“Oh yeah?” Harry pulls a couple of plates down from his cabinet before looking over his shoulder at me. His gaze runs over my body, and then he meets my eyes again. “Maybe I should’ve.”

My cheeks heat up once he turns back around, and I take another large pull of my beer. 

Ever since Harry and I found out about Anya and Peyton’s affair, we’ve been trying to hang out almost every week with each other. It didn’t happen right away, it took a few weeks, but we figured that we used to have dinner every Friday night as couples, so why not just change that into us just hanging out instead? We weren’t the ones who did anything wrong, and we’ve been a part of each other's lives for so long - we didn’t want to lose each other in the chaos of everything.

We’ve leaned on each other so much these last couple of months. As much as what they did to us sucked, it was nice knowing neither of us had to go through it alone. Even if we weren’t hanging out right after it happened, Harry and I were texting each other every day to check in with one another. From the beginning, we made it very obvious we were there whenever the other needed to talk.

“What type of pizza this week?” I ask, pushing onto my tiptoes to try and see what he chose for us.

Every week we try something new from the pizza place that we deemed as ‘ours’, and we trade off when it comes to what we’re responsible to bring - one of us gets the pizza, one of us gets the beer.

“Don’t panic,” Harry starts, and I immediately groan, “but they had a pickle pizza on special, and-”

“Panic?” I exclaim before crossing over to the counter he was currently standing at, and I prop myself up on the empty space next to it. “I fucking love pickles, and I love pizza. Gimme.”

Shaking his head, Harry grabs one of the plates and throws two slices on it before handing it over to me. He does the same for himself, and he turns his body so he’s facing me, but leaning a hip against the counter, and we each pick up one of the slices.

“Cheers,” he says while lifting his up, and I do the same.

We each take a bite, and we let the flavor register for a moment before my eyebrows raise. “Oh my god.” I cover my mouth with my other hand while shaking my head. “This is fucking delicious.”

“I am pleasantly surprised,” he comments before taking a sip of his beer.

After working our way through three slices each, Harry puts the leftovers in the fridge and grabs us each another beer. 

“Any shots tonight?” He asks while wiggling his eyebrows.

“You know we always have to do a couple.” I shrug while meeting him over by the bar cart in the corner of the kitchen. 

“Poison of choice?”

“Tequila. What kind of question is that?” I scoff sarcastically considering Harry was already pouring the shots.

We each set our beers down so it’s easier for us to clink our shot glasses together before tapping the bottom of them on the counter, and then throwing the burning liquid back. Once I have my down, I make a small choking sound while slamming my fist against my chest. 

“First one is always the hardest.” I shake my head while grabbing my beer to wash the taste away. 

Harry chuckles as we make our way into his living room, and I sigh heavily as we drop onto his large couch. He turns something on the TV, but bumps down the volume so it just serves as background noise as he turns his body to face me a bit. There’s still a decent amount of distance between us - enough to where one of us could stretch out if we wanted to.

“So,” he takes a pull of his beer before continuing to speak, “any luck on finding a place?”

I’ve been living at my mom’s since my split with Peyton, and I’ve yet to narrow down the perfect place to move into. I’m trying to find somewhere that’s not too far from her house, but also not too far from work, but I’ve had no success so far.

“Not yet.” I scrape my thumbnail over the corner of the label on my bottle that’s peeling. “I looked at a couple more places this week, but one of them was smaller than what I’m looking for, and the other had the thinnest walls I’ve ever come across. Someone was making something in their blender in the apartment next door, and you would’ve thought they were standing with the realtor and I in the living room.”

“Well, hey, don’t get too discouraged. You’ll find the perfect place eventually.” Harry drapes his arm along the back of the couch, almost where his fingertips could brush my shoulder, but he doesn’t reach out to do so. “I know it’s probably irritating to hear me say that, considering I got to keep my place when everything blew up, but it’ll happen when it’s meant to happen.”

“I know.” I nod as I send him a small smile. “It’s just been a hard transition. I adore my mom, so it’s nothing to do with having to live with her, but Peyton’s place literally came together because of me. Although he paid for most everything, which he did give me back what I paid for, I picked almost every piece of furniture out - every piece of art. It’s weird losing something you’ve put together like that.”

“I’m glad to hear that he gave you back everything that was rightfully yours. I would’ve reached out to him if he hadn’t.” His jaw ticks, and his hand holding his beer tightens for just a moment before I see his shoulders relax. “When’s the last time you heard from him?”

As I think, I take another sip from my bottle. “About a month ago? He found a few of my clothes buried in one of the dresser drawers. I didn’t see him when I went to go and pick them up though. He left them in a Trader Joe’s bag outside of the door.”

“Fucking coward,” Harry mumbles while shaking his head. “Acting as if you were the one who cheated.”

“It’s whatever,” I comment. “It’s probably for the best that we didn’t actually see each other. I feel like I'm finally getting to the point where I’m properly healing. Having to be face to face with him would more than likely just set me back.”

Harry hums while tilting his head from side to side. “I guess you’re right there. I think I’m finally at that stage, too. It’s been fucking rough, almost going on three months since everything, but I feel like I can talk about it now without just getting absolutely depressed after.”

“Same here. I had a whole conversation about it with my co-worker over lunch yesterday, and when I went back to my office, I was fine. I expected to shut my door and cry for at least an hour about it, but that didn’t happen.”

“Sounds to me like we’re both moving on.” He smirks over at me before standing. “Be right back.”

My stomach flutters, the same sensation I’ve gotten the past couple times Harry and I have hung out, and I try my best to will it away. I’ve always thought Harry was handsome, sure, but when we were both in relationships, I never saw him as anything more than Peyton and I’s friend, and Anya’s boyfriend. Now that we’re both single, and I see just how attentive he is to someone, considering how well he’s taken care of me during this whole thing, strange feelings have started to spark here and there.

I could never go there, though. I’m sure that I’m just lonely, and he’s the one person I’ve had the most contact with, other than my mom, over the last two and a half months. My body and my mind are drawn to the comfort he brings me, I’m sure that’s all it is.

Harry comes walking back into the living room with his beer still in one hand, and two shot glasses in the other. “Figured we each deserved a shot after dealing with that topic of conversation so well.”

“That’s a very good point,” I laugh as I push myself up just a little, so that I’m sitting up straighter, and I take one of the shots from him.

We take them swiftly, just as we did before, and then deposit the glasses on the coffee table. Leaning against the back of the couch again, I can feel the tingling of the alcohol in my cheeks. Harry sits back down while running a hand over one of his toned thighs, and then he’s looking back over at me.

“Not to continue to harp on the conversation, but when was the last time you heard from Anya?” I figure it’s only fair to know since he asked me about Peyton.

“Truthfully? Not since she came to get the last of her stuff, and that was a week after we found out about the two of them. I’m guessing she and Peyton are probably shacked up in his place together, getting to finally indulge without any sense of regret.”

Scoffing, I roll my eyes while almost polishing off my beer. “If you ask me, I don’t think either of them really felt guilty. With the way they acted when I caught them, to how they spoke when they were sitting right in front of us, I have this theory that they were just happy they didn’t have to sneak around anymore.”

“Either way,” Harry slides his eyes over to me, “fuck ‘em. We’re better off without them.”

“I can’t argue with you there,” I giggle.

I turn my attention to the TV for a moment, but I still feel Harry’s stare on me, so I look back over to him. 

“What?” I furrow my brows as he licks over his lips and then lifts his beer to them.

“Nothing.”

With how busy work was today, I only had time to eat about half the lunch I packed, which means I’m feeling a little more tipsy than usual, but I still have a sound mind. That’s why when I ask my next question, I’m very much aware of what I’m saying.

“Have you been with anyone? Since Anya?”

Harry slowly pulls his bottle away from his mouth, and I watch his throat work down the sip he just took. The tip of his tongue peeks out to rest in the corner of his lips as we hold each other’s eyes before he shakes his head.

“Nope. I’ve been tempted, but I wouldn’t even know where to start. Considering you and I made the pact to delete our social media accounts, I’m not too big on signing up for any dating apps either, and the idea of going to a bar to pick someone up just…is so unlike me.” He runs his fingers through the front of his hair. “What about you? Anyone after Peyton?”

“Same answer as you,” I blow a raspberry with my lips, “and pretty much for all the same reasons.” Tapping my fingertips against the arm of the couch, an idea passes through my head, and I let out a loud laugh.

“What are you laughing about?” Harry asks with a chuckle, and I shake my head in an attempt not to answer him. “No, you can’t do that. You can’t laugh like that and then hold back. Tell me, Frankie.”

“I was thinking,” I shrug with a coy grin so that he knows I’m very unserious about what I’m about to say, “it’s only fair we fuck now, you know?”

His lips curl into a smirk, and he gulps down the rest of the beer before resting the empty bottle on the top of his knee. “Oh, yeah?”

“Mhmm. If they can dip a toe in each other's pool while still being with us, why can’t we be free to explore while actually being single?”

It goes quiet for a moment, and then Harry leans forward to place his beer bottle on the coffee table next to the discarded shot glasses. He looks over at me as he pops his chin up. “C’mere.”

I feel my mouth run dry as I freeze, and we both sit there, just staring at each other for what feels like minutes, but is probably only a few seconds. Reaching over, Harry continues to hold my eyes while taking my beer from me, putting it on the table as well, and then he slips his fingers, ever so slightly, into the waistband of my pants. 

“C’mere, Frankie.” He gives my pants a small tug, but not enough to actually have me move. It’s just enough to emphasize exactly what he wants from me.

Slowly, I begin to move toward his side of the couch, which causes him to move right along with me so that he’s sitting in the position he once was, but now I’m curled into his side. The tips of his fingers slide back and forth against the skin of my hip, to the skin right below my navel, and my body breaks out in goosebumps.

“D’you want me to touch you? Is that it?” He doesn’t let his eyes stray from mine, and I watch as his pupils dilate. “Because I’ll do whatever you want. You just have to tell me.”

“I-I…” I stammer before I clear my throat and try again. “I don’t want to make you do anything just because I’m lonely and neglected, Harry.”

“Frankie,” Harry moves his face just a bit so that the tip of his nose brushes against my own, and I catch the faintest scent of tequila and beer on his lips, “I want to touch you, but not if you don’t want me to. Not if you were really just joking around.”

My heart pounds against my chest before I reach down to wrap my fingers around his wrist. I move his hand from my hip until it’s right in line with my belly button, and then I flip it, so the pad of his thumb is pressed against the button of my pants - tips of his fingers grazing the inside of the zipper.

“You can touch me. I want you to.”

My words and movements cause something inside of him to snap, and without him speaking another word, his mouth covers mine as he pops open the button of my pants. Our kiss is hungry, his other hand coming up to cup my cheek and tilt my head back slightly so he can kiss me at a deeper angle. His tongue runs over the seam over my lips, which pulls a moan from me as I open up immediately.

I can feel his fingers trembling as he starts to pull down my zipper, and I’m quick to place my hand over his again. “Harry,” I whisper as I pull back. “We don’t have to. If you feel like you need to because-”

“I can assure you, this is not the first time I’ve thought about touching you like this.” 

“When was the first time?” I ask before swallowing harshly.

“Two weeks ago.”

“But two weeks ago, I was-”

“On your period and in a fetal position on this couch? I know, but when you were taking your nap, and I was running my fingers through your hair, I realized that I liked taking care of you. It made me wonder what it would be like to care about you in other ways as well.” He nudges his nose against my jawline to have me tilting my head to the left, and he starts to kiss over the side of my neck.

“You probably just miss taking care of someone - not necessarily me, “ I gasp when his teeth scrape right below my ear.

“No.” Harry’s quick to snap his head up to look down into my eyes, and I see an emotion there that I’ve never seen before. “Not that I want to talk about her right now at this very moment, but Anya didn’t like coddling. She never did, so trust me when I say I wasn’t trying to put you in a previous position that she held. Please, just let me keep kissing you, and touching you, and know that it’s all I’ve thought about over the last two weeks.”

I’m out of arguments as to why we shouldn’t do this, considering I’ve been feeling the same pull towards him, so I grab him by the back of his neck and clash my lips against his once again as he lowers me down onto the couch. This time, our mouths part immediately so our tongues tangle together, and Harry finishes pulling down my zipper. As he lifts his body up to pull my pants down my legs, his lips detach from mine, and I can’t help the small whimper that escapes me.

The smirk on his lips is playful as he gets my pants off completely, and then he tosses them to the side. My pulse heightens as he pulls off one of my socks, dropping it with my pants, and when he goes to remove the other, he brings my foot up towards his face. Once that sock is discarded as well, he presses a kiss to the side of my foot, and then my ankle. His eyes are on mine the entire time, until he slowly starts to trail his lips up the inside of my leg.

My breath hitches in the back of my throat, and my eyes slip shut when I feel his mouth ghost over my clit through my underwear. The next time he comes in contact with it, he applies a little more pressure until the pad of his tongue is pressing against me through the material - soaking it even more.

“Harry,” I gasp while dropping one of my hands to thread through the back of his hair. 

He hums in response before lifting up to pull his t-shirt over his head. It meets my clothes on the floor, and his sweatpants follow closely behind as I push onto my elbows. I throw off the sweater I had been wearing and that leaves me laying underneath him in just my bra and thong - him only in his briefs. Since I’m still sitting up, I take the opportunity to run my hand over his abs, and then I palm his heavy erection through his underwear.

“Frankie.” His fingers tangle in my hair, and he cradles the back of my head in his hand as he drops his chin down to kiss me once again.

I can feel his other hand slowly tracing up my spine until it reaches the clasp of my bra. With a single pinch, he manages to get the clasp undone, causing the garment to start sliding down my shoulders until the straps are in the creases of my arms. Harry keeps our lips connected, but two of his fingers hook to space between the cups of my bra, and he tugs it off my body. 

He moves us around to where my back is flush to the couch cushions again, and he drapes one of my legs over the back of it while hooking the other up against his hip. My hands find his waist as he starts to grind himself against me - our underwear being the only thing separating us now.

“I need you,” I pant as my nails slightly dig into his pecs. “Please.”

Something sparks in Harry’s eyes upon me saying that, and his warmth leaves me as he pushes off the couch. “I’m going to grab a condom. I’ll be right back.”

As he goes to walk past me, I snag his wrist and lick over my bottom lip. “I’m on the pill. I’m clean. I got checked a couple of weeks after everything, but if you’d rather wear one, I understand.”

There’s a pause as he stares down at me, and I’m worried I’ve said the wrong thing until he speaks. “I’m clean, too. Had a complete physical last month. Are you sure about this?”

“I am, but again, only if you are. We don’t have to…I just…”

He doesn’t give me a chance to gather my words and finish my sentence as he pushes his briefs down. My eyes bounce all over his toned body, not knowing where to look with how absolutely stunning he is.

“Fuck,” I whisper before letting out a small laugh when I see just how big he is. 

“Your turn. Let me see you,” he says as he wraps a hand around his hard length, and he starts to stroke himself.

My hands shake just a bit as I reach down and pull my thong off. Once I discard it with the rest of our clothes, I run my palm down my stomach until I come in contact with my wet cunt. My fingers swirl around my entrance, and then I bring them up to massage small circles against my clit. My one leg remains hooked over the couch where Harry placed it, and I drop the other so I’m completely spread open for him.

“I’ve tried doing this so many times over the last couple of months, and I haven’t been able to make it feel this good,” I tell him honestly before sinking my middle finger into myself, and then I drag my other hand down to keep giving my clit attention, “but right now when I’m looking at you while doing this? I feel the best I have in a long time.”

“Fuck, Frankie.” Harry’s hand speeds up, and when a drop of arousal starts to seep out of the tip, he drags his thumb over it and uses it to slick up his shaft. “I’m the same. I’ve been too in my head, but I’m the hardest I’ve been in months after getting my hands on you.”

“You…” I break off in a moan before continuing. “You guys were having issues too?”

“Yeah, we were, but now I obviously know why.”

We don’t continue to speak as we keep on pleasuring ourselves, but once I sink a second finger inside my pussy, I let out a whine that clearly sends Harry over the edge.

His body is back on me before I can thoroughly process it, and I gasp when he pulls my hands away. 

“Don’t worry,” He presses a kiss above my brow bone until he’s pulling back to make eye contact with me, “I’m going to give you what you want.”

My eyes remain locked with his when I feel him nudging against my entrance before dragging his tip through my arousal. He does this a few times, bumping against my clit as he does, and then he’s positioned right back where he was. I suck in a deep breath as he starts to push in, and I reach out to grip his biceps.

“That’s it.” He nods at me with his bottom lip tucked between his teeth. “Just relax for me, Frankie girl. I’ve got you.”

My body gives into his command, and I feel my muscles beginning to loosen as he works his hips back and forth to warm me up to his size. Once I open up for him enough, he allows himself to enter me even more until the bottom of my thighs rest against the tops of his.

“Holy….” I’m at a loss for words with how good I feel at this very moment. 

“God, you feel so good,” Harry groans while nipping at my lips. “Feel how tight you are around me? I could barely fit.” 

I shudder with pleasure as my walls pulse around him, and that causes him to moan. “I…I feel so full,” I whine. “Oh my god. Please move, Harry.”

He tilts his hips back to draw out of me just slightly before pushing forward so that he’s completely inside again. The groomed hair at the base of his cock rubs against my clit in the most delicious way, resulting in my toes curling while my nails dig into the muscles of his arms. My eyes slip shut from how overwhelming everything feels as he cups one of my breasts in his hand while running his thumb over my hard nipple.

“Is there anything I need to do differently? Do you need me to-”

“No, you’re perfect.” I gasp as he hits a spot inside of me that has my hips bucking up against his. “So perfect.”

He must take my words as a sign for him to really let go. Harry’s one hand remains on my breast, but the other journeys from my leg to right beside my head so he can grip onto the armrest. He pounds into me with a force I’ve never felt before, and I can already feel the heat starting to simmer in my lower abdomen. 

Tugging my nipple between the tips of his fingers, Harry leans down to mouth over the side of my neck. He licks at my skin before closing his lips down around it, and something about that turns me on so much that I clench down around his length.

“You’ve gotta be careful squeezing me like that,” he warns, planting a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “You’ll have me come faster, and I’m definitely not finished with you yet.”

I’ve always known Harry to be a vocal person, but I can’t say that I would’ve pegged him as someone who could say such filthy things during sex. His personality is so soft and polite that I’d assume that would bleed into when he was intimate with someone, not that I’ve thought about it quite often, but knowing this is how he’s choosing to talk to me has me teetering right at the edge of my orgasm.

“I can’t help it.” I shake my head while dragging my nails down his chest. “It’s too good. I’m already about to come.”

His hand falls from my breast, and he starts to rub his fingertips against my aching clit. “Give it to me, Frankie. Let me feel you come for me.”

With only a few more swipes of his fingers, I plummet straight into my orgasm. I can feel myself pulsing around his shaft, and he doesn’t let up on my clit until he knows he’s worked me through it completely. 

Just as I’m getting my bearings again, Harry pulls out of me, which causes me to slightly startle from how empty I feel suddenly. He grabs my hips and quickly flips me over onto my stomach where I push myself up onto my knees. I brace my hands against the armrest, and one of his falls right beside mine to hold himself steady.

“I told you I wasn’t ready to be finished with you.” He grazes his teeth along the top of my shoulder as he pushes back inside, and somehow, he feels even deeper from this angle. 

My back arches as he sets up a brutal pace from the start, and I’m grateful I have something to hold onto, or else he’d have me falling off the couch with how hard his hips are snapping against my ass. His hand leaves the armrest so that he can hold onto my waist, using that to control the speed at which my body collides into his.

“You’re dripping all over me, baby.” I can hear how breathless Harry is becoming when he speaks. “Making it so easy to fuck you like this. You’re going to come one more time before this is over, got it?”

“Yes,” I moan while nodding my head and I take the risk of moving one of my hands to make contact with my slick clit. Biting down on my bottom lip, I rub in short, quick circles as Harry drapes his body over mine. “I won’t be much longer. My thighs are already shaking again.”

He chuckles against the nape of my neck before pressing a kiss to the hinge of my jaw. “I like hearing you say that. I like knowing I’m doing a good job at taking care of you.”

“You are.” I’m borderline babbling now as my brain grows foggy since I’m approaching another orgasm. “You’re taking such good care of me, Harry.”

“If you knew how much I thought about having you like this these last couple of weeks…” He trails off, and I want to ask him to elaborate on that, but he continues to speak. “It’s better than I could’ve imagined.”

When he bites at the area where my neck meets my shoulder, it’s apparent that I can’t hold off any longer, and I give into euphoria once again. “I-I’m coming.”

Harry groans against my skin as my body trembles beneath him, and once I’m through my high, I can’t help but slump a little lower on the couch underneath us. I whimper when Harry pulls out of me again, but then I make out the sound of skin rubbing against slick skin. My eyes flutter open and I look over my shoulder to see him stroking himself over my back.

Licking over my bottom lip, I flip myself over between his legs and I pull against the back of his thighs to have him move up my body even more. I tilt my chin up and part my lips, and I watch as Harry’s jaw drops - as if he’s in a state of awe.

“Fuck me,” he moans as he rests the tip of his cock against my bottom lip, and he starts to finish inside of my mouth. “Oh, fuck. Frankie.”

He pumps himself a few more times before he collapses onto my body. He snakes his arms around my torso and I wrap my arms around his neck while running my fingers through the back of his hair.

“We really just did that, didn’t we?” Harry pants out after a minute of silence.

I giggle while tightening my hold on him just slightly. “Yeah, we did.”

✦ • ✦ • ✦ • ✦

It’s a few weeks after Harry and I started hooking up that I find myself breathless in his bed once again. Our chests heave, and I look over at him as he sends me a toothy grin. I close my eyes for just a few seconds before pushing myself up. I drape my legs over the side of the bed and reach down to grab my bra, fastening it in the front before pulling it around so I can put it on properly. As I’m pulling the straps over my shoulders, I feel Harry moving in the bed behind me, and I glance over to him again. He moves closer to me and presses a kiss to my shoulder blade.

“You know, you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to,” he whispers against my skin. “You could stay.”

Since we started this whole thing, I usually leave his place within a half hour of us finishing up. Up until today, he hasn’t said anything about me staying the night, but I can't deny that it causes butterflies to stir up in my stomach.

“Are you sure?” I ask while my eyes trace over his face. “I don’t want to impose.”

Harry shakes his head. “You won’t be imposing. Not in the slightest. I want you to stay, Frankie, but only if you feel comfortable.”

Dragging my bottom lip between my teeth, I give a small nod before unhooking my bra and discarding it on the floor again. Once I’m back under the covers, Harry hooks his foot around one of my ankles to pull me closer so I’m against his chest, and he sponges his lips to my hairline.

“I’ve also had something that I wanted to ask you. I actually wanted to ask you this after the first time we slept together, but I was a little too nervous.” His fingertips continue to run up and down my back. “I’d really like to take you out on a date. I love what we’re doing, but I also want to treat you in other ways, not just this.”

I process his words for a moment before I rest my chin against one of his pecs so I can look up at him. “So, by going on a date, are you meaning…”

“That I want to continue to go on dates with you after too? Yes. I know it may feel a little sudden, but my feelings for you have completely overwhelmed me in the best way. I think we could really have something wonderful here, if we allow ourselves to give into it.”

“I think you’re right,” I whisper, and I push myself up to land a kiss on his mouth. “I’d love to go on a date with you, Harry.”

Harry’s cheeks round out as he smiles at me, and he leans forward to press a kiss to the tip of my nose. “Then it’s settled, Frankie girl, next week when you come over, we’re going out to dinner.”

✦ • ✦ • ✦ • ✦