宁波约炮

“Well, if you had a girlfriend, I could talk to her about this instead.”

“Or you could tell the other person in those dreams and you guys could, I don’t know, actually do something about it.”

“I’m not going to go up to him at his father’s funeral and talk to him about it.”

“Shit, (Y/N), I’m not saying that you should do that either. But you could stop talking to me about it.” Harrison sighs as you step into your bathroom and begin to brush your teeth. “From what I’ve heard, you guys got pretty close to it last night.” Your head whips around to him, eyebrows raised. “You’re not the only one who tells me everything.” You swing your hand around, encouraging Harrison to speak more. “That’s all he really said.”

You spit your excess toothpaste into the sink and rinse your mouth, “Are you serious, Haz? That’s all you got?”

“I dunno, he seemed into it too? Sorry, I’m not really into seeing if you guys wanna fuck or not.”

You roll your eyes this time, brushing your hair out quickly. There’s another knock on your door and Harrison goes to open it. You step out to see who it is too, and it’s Nikki. She’s dressed in a black dress as well, doing her best to be the hostess.

“We’ll be leaving in ten minutes. Tom’s said that he’d like to ride with the both of you, so I’ve arranged for a vehicle.” The matriarch offers a small smile.

“Thank you, Nikki.” You and Harrison say in unison. Harrison reaches out and presses a kiss to her cheek. Harrison glances back at you, “Are you ready to head down now?” You nod and the pair of you follow Nikki downstairs.

It’s quiet in the Holland household and understandably so. However, it is a strict difference from the climate you’re used to. After all, there are regularly five boys running around, ruling the halls. Usually there’s lots of joyful shouts, but today you’re met with solemn faces. Harry seems to have sobered up, but he and Tom are still on opposite ends of the room. Eventually they’ll move past that, you think.

“Are you driving, love?” Tom asks, instinctively moving closer to you and Harrison. The three of you are like magnets: able to be pulled away but always fall back together. Tom’s eyes are clear this morning, and you wonder just how much of last night he remembers. His hand is reaching out to you, offering a set of car keys. You take them, hands grazing each other. Tom turns to his family to speak to them one last time. Harrison nudges you with his elbow, and when you make eye contact, he winks at you. You roll your eyes again, walking away from the lot.

--- 

The service is beautiful. Red and white roses are everywhere. The family portrait stands tall, and you know it’s meant to be a symbol too. The Holland family rises over all obstacles. Even with this loss, they will continue to rise. They are still the family in charge. Power is everything in the world you live in. If there is even the faintest hint of weakness, another will strike and end that family.

That’s why Tom is standing so tall today. He leads his family into the funeral service, the burial service. It’s another sign: the next has already risen. He is capable and willing to take place as the don. There is still strength in the family.

It’s so exhausting that the three of you nearly collapse into the car afterwards.

“I loved and adored Dom but wow,” you shake your head, running a hand through your hair, “That was a lot.” Harrison snickers and Tom has a small smile. He digs into his pocket and fishes out a cigarette. He lights it as you pull out of the parking lot. Harrison sighs and leans his head on the backseat. Tom settles into the passenger seat. “We’re heading home now, right?”

“… What about we go to PJ’s?” Tom suggests. PJ’s is the bar the three of you frequent whenever you’re together. There isn’t anything special to it, which is why it is so special to the three of you. It’s quiet, secluded.

“Your mother would hate that.” You points out.

“My mother hates a lot of things.” Tom shoots it back quick, breathing out his cigarette smoke. “Besides, she’s not in charge, is she?”

“How long are you going to use that to get you what you want?”

“Until I get everything I want.” Tom looks over to you, flicking his cigarette ash out of the car. You’re thrown off by what he is saying, suddenly speechless. You can feel his gaze and it makes your skin heat up once more.

Harrison clears his throat, “Still here, guys. Please just –“

The conversation stops as the sound of glass breaking explodes into the car. A curse word flies from your mouth, and you hear Harrison’s gun click as he jumps to cock it. You tighten your grip on the wheel, glancing in your rearview to assess the damage. You step harder on the gas pedal.

“Where the fuck did that come from?” Tom asks, cigarette hanging loosely out of his mouth. He’s got his own gun in his hands, and a piece of brown hair falls in front of his face. Harrison makes eye contact with you briefly before he turns to face the back window. It’s cracked but still intact.

“Can’t see a fucking thing.” He mutters before knocking the glass out.

“You okay, Haz?”

“Not a scratch, doll.” You can’t help but let a small smile fall onto your face. Tom clears his throat once, which causes Harrison to snicker. There’s another whiz of a bullet and this one hits the windshield. “Holland, you better get down.”

“Like hell. I’m going to help the both of you.”

“Tom.” Your voice is tight as you whip the car around a corner. There are headlights tailing you now. “That wasn’t a request. Get your ass down now. You may be the boss now, but it’s our job to protect you.” Harrison raises his hand out of the window, aiming lower to hit the other vehicle’s tires. He fires twice. Tom sets his jaw before ducking, his head near your lap. “How’re we looking, Haz?”

“Not a clue. Can’t see shit in the dark like this with their lights on us.”

“Take out their lights.” You and Tom say in unison.

“Good idea.” Harrison nods before shooting out the opposing headlights. After he does it, he sighs, “This is not exactly how I wanted to spend my Friday night.”

You can feel Tom’s breath on your leg. It gives you goosebumps, makes you remember the dream you woke up from, and it doesn’t help to slow down the adrenaline that’s pumping through your veins. “I feel the same way.” You hum, pressing your foot harder to the gas. “We gotta get rid of them.”

“You’re going to have to help me with that, sweetheart.” Harrison states. Another gunshot flies threw the car, hitting the headrest of Tom’s seat. “Motherfucker – I’m already tired of this.” Harrison fires again, “I say we start ordering in from now on.”

You hum in agreement, “Hold on, boys.” You crank the car hard to the left. Harrison flies, hitting against the car door. You can’t help but grin, “Sorry.”

Harrison groans, doing his best to sit back up. “I’m really tired of this now. Maybe we should get some more security detail.”

“Maybe we could finish it.” Tom speaks up. In an instant, he sits up, confidently aiming his gun at the opposing vehicle. He shoots twice, and the other vehicle swerves into a ditch. Your ears begin to ring from the closeness of the gun. You let out a breath of relief.

“You always have to be a show off, don’t you, Tom?” Harrison huffs, sitting back in his seat with his arms crossed. You can’t help but snort when Tom only shrugs, winking at you before settling back into his seat.

“I miss the days when you were a less popular show-off.” You grin, turning another corner. You giggle as Tom playfully nudges you away.

The rest of the car ride is quick. You want your boys safe, and the safest place is the Holland household. Tom is on the phone with some of his men, getting them to go to the location of the down car and find some answers. He hangs up as you pull into the driveway. Nikki is standing at the top of her stairs with her arms crossed.

“We may be in for it.” Harrison mutters, clearing his throat as the car rolls to a stop. It is when you’re out of the car that you can really assess the damage. There are various bullet holes along the car. The back windshield is absolutely trashed. The front has one solid bullet hole and another knick from where a bullet went through Tom’s headrest. “Is this what our lives are now?”

“We’ll have to wait and see.” You say before following Tom up the steps.

“I was worried sick.” Nikki says when Tom walks up to her.

“Mum, we’re fine. The car got the worst of it.”

“I know, but it could’ve been worse. Look at the car – you’re lucky the three of you weren’t seriously hurt.”

“No, we’re lucky your favorite was the one driving.” Tom corrects, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek. “We’ve got men looking into it too.” He goes into the house, not taking a glance back.

Nikki smiles at you and Harrison, and Harrison follows Tom into the house. You pause on the steps with Nikki and she gives you a hug, “Thank you for taking such good care of both of them. I don’t know where we’d be without you.”

You laugh softly, “It used to be easier to take care of them. They’re getting a little too unruly now.” Nikki shares in your laughter and leads the two of you inside. Harrison is gone, but Tom’s standing on the stairs. Nikki glances at her son, and he smiles at his mother.

“Goodnight, mum.”

“Goodnight, Tom. Goodnight, (Y/N).”

“Goodnight, Nikki.” You smile as she retires for the night. You roll your shoulders, pulling your hair from its ponytail as you walk up the stairs. “Long day.”

“Very long.” Tom agrees, beginning to walk up the stairs when you join him. His arm brushes your own as you walk down the hallway. He pauses in front of his room, and his fingers reach out and grip on your own. “I’ve wanted to talk to you all day.”

“Yeah, I’ve wanted to talk to you too.” And you're not sure what makes you say it. Maybe it’s a fear of losing Tom, of something going wrong in the end. “I'm sorry about last night. I.. I had too much to drink and we were emotional –“

“Oh.” Tom shrugs, looks down for a moment. Then he gives you a million-dollar smile, “I wasn’t upset that we kissed.”

You’re caught speechless again, “O-oh?”

“Of course not. But,” He pulls you close, wrapping his arms around you, “I haven’t been able to get you out of my head all day. I couldn’t stop thinking about how good you felt.. And we should be able to feel good, right? We’re in a delicate position. We can only afford to be close to people we trust...” His voice trails off. Tom’s hand reaches up to brush a piece of your hair out of your face, then it runs down the side of your face, resting on your neck. You wonder if he can feel your thunderous heartbeat.

“So no feelings attached?” You feign confidence, wondering if he can see right through your façade. He doesn’t show if he can.

“No feelings.”

And everything inside of you tells you no. Because you already have the feelings. You want it all with him. But your body is screaming at your head to just shut up and feel great. And besides, who would have heard the story of Icarus if he had not flown too close to the Sun? Your wings have been pristine for too long. Maybe it’s time they melt a little bit, reshape themselves into something new.