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atlafan · 4 years

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Office Neighbors - Part Four

a/n: alright, the angst in this is...ANGSTY, so please be careful lmao, I think the smut and fluff makes up for it though, but you tell me. enjoy! (reblogs and feedback are helpful!) (not proofread, I’m sorry)

warnings: fluff, angst, smut

words: 17K

masterpost

You were in a large t-shirt, underwear, and a pair of socks, getting your things packed for the conference. Harry would be picking you up around eight to hit the road for New York so you wanted to make sure you weren’t scrambling in the morning. You had your A/C cranked as you were running around so you wouldn’t be sweaty before bed.

The buzzer for your door goes off, and a shock goes through your system. You look out the window towards the street and you see Harry’s car lit up by the street light. You rush over to your door to buzz him in. You don’t even have time to consider putting something cuter on by the time he’s coming in through your door.

“Harry, what are y-“

He drops a small bag he brought with him, and pushes you up against the wall crashing his lips to yours. His hands drag down your hips and to your thighs to hoist you up. You instantly wrap your legs around his waist and tug at his hair.

“Wh-what’s happening?” You breathe.

“I didn’t want it to happen at the hotel.”

“What?” He gives you an almost pained look. “Oh!” You look down at yourself. “I looked so much cuter for you the other day, though.”

“I can’t tell you how cute I think you look right now. Can I please take you to your bedroom?”

“Yes.” You kiss on his neck while he walks you down the hall to your bedroom. “I want you so bad, Harry.”

“I know, I want you too, I was being silly the other night.” He gets you onto your bed and kicks his shoes off before settling on top of you. “I want this…with you.”

“Me too.” You arch up to kiss him.

“You’re okay with all this? Me being here right now?”

“Yes, Harry.” You reach for the hem of your shirt and lift it off, revealing your breasts to him.

“Do you have condoms?” He says as he licks over one of nipples.

“Y-yeah, in my bathroom.”

He hums his response as he kisses down your stomach. Everything felt hazy. When he looks up at you to speak, a buzzing sound comes out of his mouth.

“Huh?”

Your eyes flutter open to the sound of your alarm, and you nearly start crying from anger.

“Oh, for the love God!” You groan as you kick your blankets back.

It had been a couple of days since you were intimate with Harry. He called you the next morning to see how you were, ever the gentleman. He had a chance to see Andy before the conference, so he took it, not that you blamed him, but you were sort of hoping he’d come by and rail you.

You take a very quick shower, and make sure your things are together before he comes to pick you up. You had been up late getting everything packed, and clearly the stress from that had gone into your dream, and dream Harry came to relieve you of that stress. You just wish the real Harry would. Not that the other night wasn’t amazing, because it was, you were just sort of hoping to fully have sex with him. You understood him and you didn’t at the same time. What was the difference between having his dick in your mouth or having it in your vagina? You knew have sex was serious, and he probably had to be careful about who he got into relationships with because of his son, but he’s known you almost a year…doesn’t he trust you?

You’re taken from your thoughts when you hear your buzzer. You perk up a bit, and grab your backpack, and rolling luggage, and head out the door. Harry’s waiting outside his car with his trunk open. He looked really handsome. He was wearing a pair of light blue shorts, a white t-shirt, and a pair of sunglasses.

“Morning!” He says. “Got coffee and a breakfast sandwich for you in the car, I stopped off at Dunks.”

“Thanks, you’re the best.” You kiss him on the cheek and he puts your luggage in the trunk. You keep your backpack with you in case there’s anything you may need.

“So, it’ll be roughly four and half hours. We can stop anytime you want, don’t be afraid to speak up.”

“Do you…drive through the city often?”

“Not really, why?”

“Well…it’s just…do you mind if I do the first half of the drive? I’d like to gets us through Boston.”

“We don’t need to go that way. We’re going to take 93 to 293 and go through Manchester, and then eventually we’ll switch to 95, no need to go through Boston at all, love.”

“Oh…alright then.” You get the passenger seat and buckle up. He gets in the driver’s side, and pulls onto the street.

“That’s not to say you can’t drive, we can take turns. Or I can drive there and you can drive back, it doesn’t matter to me.”

“I just…sometimes I get road rage and I can be sort of a back seat driver, especially when it comes to driving in the city, but if we’re not going through Boston we shouldn’t have a problem.”

“Don’t forget, I do go to London quite a bit, people drive like wankers out there just the same, so I know what I’m doing.” He smirks at you.

“Mhm.” You nudge him.

“Did you sleep well? I feel like I never sleep well before big outings like this, no idea why.”

“Yeah, um, I slept alright.” Your face flushes a little as you remember your very vivid dream. “Slept like a rock, really.” You clear your throat. “What did you do with Andy?”

“I took him up to the cabin for some alone time. Went kayaking, made a little fire, it was fun.”

“Oh, that’s great!”

“Yeah, he says hello by the way.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

“He asked a lot of questions about you, he’s so nosey.” Harry chuckles.

“Probably just wants to make sure you’re not going out with a crazy person.” You laugh and open up your breakfast sandwich. You take a bite, and then have a sip of coffee. “Thanks again for breakfast, so nice of you.”

“Oh, don’t even worry about it. I have a little cooler in the back seat as well with other snacks if you get hungry.”

“Gee, thanks, Daddy, did you pack capri-suns? Those are my favorite.” You grin at him as you tease him.

“Make fun all you want, but when you get hungry or thirsty, you’re gonna be happy I prepared.” He side eyes you. “I have a tough time taking my dad hat off sometimes, alright?”

“No, no, it’s nice that you think ahead. I appreciate it.” You put your hand on his shoulder and give it a squeeze. “You just make it very easy to tease you sometimes.”

“Glad I can be a source of entertainment for you.”

“Hey, someone has to be on this long ass ride.”

“Long ass ride.” He chuckles.

“Yeah, it’s mad long.” You say as you look out the window.

“Mad long kid.” He says in a horrible Boston accent and you slowly turn to face him.

“Was that supposed to be me?” You laugh. “I don’t think you want to play the accent game, pal.”

“I think it’s cute when you let it out a little. I think you said ‘wicked’ in one of the classes I observed and I had to try not to laugh, or like any time you say ‘pissed’.”

“Everyone uses those words! It’s not like I’m sitting there going, ‘that’s wicked pissah, guy’, give me some credit.”

“See, again, I just think it’s cute.” He smiles. “Say more super-Boston words, what’s another good one?”

“Umm, god, I don’t know.” You giggle. “Is dungaree one?”

“What in the fuck is a dungaree?” He laughs.

“It’s another way to say blue jeans.” You laugh. “My parents and grandparents used to say it all the time. I don’t know if it’s a Boston thing though. Umm, spuckie is like a sub sandwich…sort of an East Boston thing though, so not everyone says it.”

“I notice you dropping your R’s a lot towards the end of the day. You don’t really have much of an accent otherwise.”

“I sort of trained myself not to have one because it’s fucking annoying. You sound like a moron. I think it just comes out more when I’m tired.” You shrug. “Do you mind if I connect my phone to the Bluetooth? Listening to NPR the entire time doesn’t sound like fun…”

“Not into morning radio, huh? Sure, you can just use my phone since I have the GPS going.” He grabs it out of the cup holder and unlocks it for you.

“Thanks.” You go into Spotify and slightly snoop at his Daily Mixes. You didn’t listen to a lot of the same stuff, but you did some similarities.

“Anything but top-40 is fine with me.”

“Don’t like pop?”

“No, I do, I just hate listening to the same shit that’s always on the radio.”

“Fair enough.”

“Put on…put on music you would have listened to in college or something.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to expose myself like that!” You giggle. “I listened to a lot of degrading RnB.”

“Ha!” He shakes his head. “Please, find a playlist and put it on, I’m dying to know.”

“Alright.” You find a playlist with RnB songs from the later 2000’s and figure that will suffice. Rude Boy by Rihanna plays first, a great start. “Ugh, love this song.” You say and put his phone down.

“This is what you’d party to?”

“Sometimes.” You shrug. “It’s just a good song in general. I like Rihanna…do you?”

“She’s not bad.” He shrugs. “I probably wouldn’t let Andy listen to her.”

“Oh, but that’s half the fun! Being a kid and listening to really inappropriate music in your room, pretending like you know what they’re talking about. Used to do it all the time with Eminem.”

“Same here, actually.” He chuckles. You sing softly to yourself and he smiles. “Don’t be afraid to belt it out, I sing in the car all the time.”

“Really? Because you haven’t done it once since I’ve known you.”

“Good point.” He turns the music up and sings along with the chorus and you start laughing. “Come on, Y/N!”

You start singing with him, and that continues on a lot throughout most of the car ride. Around the halfway point, you stop at a rest area to use the bathroom and freshen up. You both grab a slice of pizza for an early lunch, and then head back to the car.

“Do you want me to drive, Har?”

“No, I’m fine…unless I’m making you car sick…”

“No! I just didn’t know if you needed a break.”

“I’m really all set, but thanks.” He pecks your lips quickly and then you both get into the car. “What do you feel like listening to now?”

“You pick.” You smile.

“No I want you to…I like knowing what you’re into…” He blushes.

“Do you like rock music at all? My mom used to listen to all those 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s bands. Might be night to take a break from the profanity.” You chuckle.

“Rock works for me.”

“Eddie Money?”

“Crank it.”

You both giggle and you put on some music. You feel like the two of you have been putting on a concert, and it’s been so much fun.

You arrive at the hotel for the conference, and head right into the garage to park it. Harry gets a ticket that he’ll be able to get validated inside. He helps you with your things, and then you both head inside to check in.

“Harry Styles.” He says to the woman at the desk. You go to the person to her.

“Ah, Dr. Styles, great to have you for the CMT conference. Did you take a ticket for the garage?”

“Yes, here it is, thanks.” She takes it and stamps it.

“Right, and you’ll be here three days, correct?”

“Yes.”

She types on her keyboard and makes some rapid clicks.

“Alright, you’ll be on the twenty-fifth floor, here are two room keys, Wi-Fi is included, and there’s complimentary breakfast every morning.”

“Wonderful, thank you so much.” He looks at you and steps back to wait until you’re given everything. “What floor are you on?” He asks as you both head to the elevator.

“The twentieth, you?”

“Twenty-fifth…I think they gave me a suite or something.”

“Oo, fancy.” You smile. “I asked for a room with two beds so I wouldn’t be shoved into a closet sized room.”

“Smart.”

You both head into the elevator, and Harry follows you out once you’re on your floor. You raise an eyebrow at him.

“I just wanna get you in your room in case there are any creeps watching through their peep holes.”

“Harry…I’ve been to a hotel alone before.”

“I’m sure you have…it’s just for my own peace of mind, humor me?”

“Alright.” You shrug. You key in and he comes in with you. “Still tight, but definitely more floor space with two beds.” You hoist your luggage on top of one of the beds and sit down on the other. “I think I’m gonna relax, get settled for a bit, but do you wanna get dinner later? We could just go to the hotel bar.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Wouldn’t mind a quick nap, honestly.” He yawns. “See you soon.” He leans forward and kisses your forehead before heading out.

You end up falling asleep for a bit, and then you put on a bit of a nicer outfit for dinner. Harry tells you he’ll meet you outside your room for dinner. He looked a lot nicer too.

“Hey.” You smile and hug him.

“Hey.” He kisses the top of your head, and holds your hand on your way to the elevator.

“Are you happy you get your presentation over with tomorrow?”

“Oh, definitely. Then I’ll be able to enjoy the rest of it.” You both find a spot at the bar and order a couple of drinks while you look over the menu. “Did you want to split something? I’m not starving.”

“Me neither, yeah, that sounds good.” You furrow your brows at the menu and gasp. “Har! They have vegan Buffalo wings, can we please get that?!”

“Yeah, that sounds like it’ll really hit the spot.”

“And curly fries, gotta have curly fries.”

“Agreed.” He smiles.

You both order the food and clink your cocktail glasses once they come to you. The Buffalo wings really did hit the spot because you both scarfed the down.

“I wonder if we’ll run into anyone we know here. I’ve been to this conference once before, but it was a couple of years ago.”

“We all sort of go to different ones, like, our faculty. Plus, not a lot of people go to ones in the summer because they don’t want to think about work, but I like it. I feel like it keeps me fresh for the school year, you know?”

“Mhm.” You smile and just listen to him talk for a little bit. Harry was so incredibly intelligent, and you always liked listening his thoughts on things.

After a couple of drinks you both decide to call it a night since Harry would need to be up early in the morning to prepare for his presentation. He walks you to your room, just as he did earlier.

“Well…goodnight.” He says.

“Did you want to come in?” You nod towards your door.

“I do…but…I probably shouldn’t. I need to get to sleep…”

“Okay.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s really okay, I don’t wanna be the reason you’re tired tomorrow.” You wink at him and peck his cheek. “See you for breakfast?”

“Definitely.” He smiles and waits for you to go inside before walking back to the elevator.

You wake up feeling refreshed the next morning. You take a quick shower, and put on a pair of grey slacks paired with a pink blouse and navy blazer. You liked looking nicer at these types of things. You put your hair up into your buns, just so you still looked a little fun, and head down to breakfast with your laptop bag slung over your shoulder. Your jaw nearly drops when you see Harry down at the breakfast restaurant. He was wearing a suit…you had never seen him in one before. It was brown, and he was wearing a purple button up underneath it.

“Y/N!” He snaps you out of your trance as he waves you over.

“Hey.”

“Morning.” He smiles and kisses you quickly. “You look nice.”

“Thanks…so do you, I mean…you look…so handsome.”

“Oh, stop.” He swats a hand at you. “It’s just dress pants and a matching jacket.”

“No…it’s more than that. I mean, look at all the other people. Blue or black slacks, white button ups. You’re very fashion forward.”

“You’re just now realizing? Well, how nice of you to come out from under your rock.” He winks at you, and you put your bag down so you can go up to the buffet with him.

“Yours it at ten, right?”

“Yup. Which session are you going to first?”

“There’s a working session about advising that I wanna go to, just to get some tips since I’m advising this year.”

“That’s a great idea.”

“What about you?”

“I’m not going to anything this morning, just so I can focus. I’m gonna practice my presentation again.”

“I’m excited to see all of your data. I hope more schools will see they should be offering wellness courses.”

Your first session was extremely eye opening for you. You head to bathroom quick, and then go to where Harry’s lecture will be. You weren’t sure where to sit. You knew he hated when people sat in the back of his class, so you knew not to sit all the way in the back. You decide on the fourth row. Not too far back, but not right up front either. You didn’t want to make him nervous. Seats were filling in here and there, which you were happy to see. Harry loved an audience.

“Y/N, is that you?”

“Dr. Pierce!” You gasp and stand up to hug your old friend.

“Please, you know you can just call me Arthur.” He chuckles.

“Old habits, would you like to sit with me?”

“Not saving it for anyone else?”

“No, the person I would be is going to be presenting.”

“Ah!” He says, sitting down next to you. “You know Dr. Styles?”

“I do, we’re colleagues actually. Office neighbors, in fact.”

“Good for you, he’s very bright. I’ve read a lot of his work, it’s refreshing.” He looks you up and down. “You look wonderful, your new institution is treating you well?”

“Very well! Thank you.” You smile. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

“You’re just saying that.” He runs a hand through his hair. “This kids today are turning my hair white.” He laughs. “That’s why I wanted to check this out. Maybe if I can find a way to make them less stressed, I’ll be less stressed.”

“You’ve definitely come to the right place, Harry is the king of no stress.”

Harry could see the audience filing in from behind a curtain. He smiles when he sees you, and then squints when he sees you speaking with the man next to you. It was clear you knew each other and it wasn’t some stranger sparking up a conversation. He could tell because you nudged him after he made you laugh, something you would only do with a friend. He sighs and pushes his glasses up his nose. He can hear himself being introduced, and then he walks out. The room claps and he nods his head once he’s at the lectern. He was given a lapel mic to wear so everyone could hear him, and a remote to turn his slides. This was he could easily walk around the stage.

“Good morning everyone, I hope you enjoyed your first sessions…or an extremely long breakfast, whichever.” He shrugs and the crowd laughs. “I’m Dr. Harry Styles, and I’m so happy you’ve decided to spend your time with me this morning.”

You smile as he says this. You remember him saying this to his wellness class when you observed it. He said it to them everyone morning.

“I say this to my students every time we meet because even though, much like you, they’ve paid to be there, they still have to make the choice to get up and come to class.” He changes his slide. “I teach a class called Communication, Media, and Wellness, it’s just one of the few I teach, and I only offer it at eight in the morning.” He hears some people make comments and he grins. “My attendance rate is one-hundred percent throughout the semester, wanna know how I do it?” He changes the slide, and shows a picture of his classroom with students, desks in a circle, heads down on the desks. “We take the first ten to fifteen minutes to meditate, and then we do the same with the last five minutes. I give them time to settle in and clear their minds. Some fall asleep, some work on their breathing, and some just listen to me speak.” He changes his slide. “We talk about a lot of things in this class. We talk about what we see on the news, social media, and everything in between. We talk about how those things make us feel. We talk about tactics to help ease our anxiety, and if I’m noticing a particular energy, we break out the yoga mats and do some stretching.” He changes the slide again. “Students today are anxious about everything. They’ve grown up during some really tough times, never truly feeling safe. I’m here to help them learn how to cope.”

Harry goes over some data he’s collected over the last few years. He sends surveys to his previous students every semester until they graduate, and then twice again after they graduate. Everyone that’s taken his class thus far has graduated, and those that haven’t graduated yet all had high GPA’s. He shows comparisons of their GPA before the class (it’s only offered to sophomores and up right now), and their GPA after taking the class. There were only improvements.

“These students are able to take what they’ve learned with me and apply it in other classrooms and in their lives outside the classroom. The biggest thing I explain to them is to not be on their phones before bed, to not even watch TV really. It’s too stimulating, and sometimes it causes anxiety and then you can’t fall asleep.” He changes the slide and the crowd laughs. It was a picture of students presenting Harry with a sign that says ‘NO SCREEN BEFORE BED’. “This group made me this because I must have said it a hundred times that semester. I keep it hung up in my office.” He changes the slide to show students in their place of work after graduation. “Many of the results I got from my graduated students are that they’ve taken things with them. I have students have fallen in love with reading before bed, or they listen to a podcast, or use some type of app that tells them a story at night to help them fall asleep. They they’re able to wake up refreshed and ready for the day. Many of them even wake up and mediate to help them really become alert.” He changes the slide again to a picture of him giving a yoga lesson outside on the quad. “I know this may seem silly, but it really does help these students. Offering a class for credit on this allows them to already build it into their schedule, rather than offering classes at the gym that they really have no obligation or incentive to go to. This is a CM course, but it also counts towards our school’s general education requirement. We call it a Wellness Connection, so any student can take this course. I’ve had such a mix of students take this course, and they’ve all come out better for it. Offering something like this in today’s age is extremely important for our students who are facing so many hardships. I hope you’ll consider implementing some of this into your classrooms.” He looks out to everyone and smiles. “Thank you.”

Everyone claps, and someone else comes out and tell everyone that there’s about fifteen minutes for questions. Harry gets a few and is able to answer them best he can. Once it’s all done he takes a deep breath and sits on the stage. He knew some people would want to come up to him afterwards.

“Will I see you later?” Arthur says to you as you both stand up.

“I’m not sure…I doubt we’ll be at all of the same sessions.”

“Maybe at the bar later then?”

“Maybe.” You smile. “If not…it was really good to see you.”

“You too.” He hugs you again. Harry sees this and furrows his brows.

You grab your things and walk over to him.

“Excuse me, Dr. Styles, I have a question.” You grin.

“And what might that be?” He says, taking his suit jacket off and rolling his sleeve ups.

“How are you so incredible?”

“Y/N.”

“I mean it! I was floored. What incredible data, and it’s all true! It’s all things we notice in our classrooms. I really need to implement that no screen thing into my own life, to be fair I tend to read on my phone, but-“ You realize how fast you’re talking when he raises his eyebrows at you. “Sorry…just a little excited.”

“I’m glad you got a lot out of it.” He smiles. “Who, uh, who was that guy you were sitting with?” He asks as you both walk out of the room.

“What guy? Oh! That was Dr. Pierce, he teaches at my previous institution. It was a nice surprise to see him. He spoke really highly of you too. He said he’s read a lot of your work, which is incredible because I’ve never once heard him say he likes anyone’s work but his own.” You laugh.

“Was he one of your professors?”

“Not necessarily…he was, um, a colleague…” You blush slightly. “I’m headed to the session on…what?”

“Was he the professor you-“

“Harry, now really isn’t the time, okay?” You say quietly. “It was before you and I even knew each other, it doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter when you were sitting with him.” He frowns.

“He’s just a friend.”

“A friend that you-“

“Not the time.” You snap. “You’re not my boyfriend, check yourself.” You huff and walk away from him so you’re not late for your next session.

His mouth falls open, silence coming from him when he tries to call after you. He shakes his head and heads to his next session.

You were so pissed you skipped lunch and went for a walk outside instead. You were barely able to concentrate during your session, and you didn’t answer any of Harry’s texts. Were you acting childish? Maybe, but you hated when men got like this. What the fuck did it matter if that was the professor you slept with? It was so long ago, and the two of you were friends. You didn’t want to sleep with anyone but Harry, couldn’t he see that?

By the end of the say you had calmed down, and you finally answer his text. He had asked you to come up to his room before dinner so you could talk. You knock on his door and he lets you in. He had changed into a pair of jeans a t-shirt, you were in still in your nice clothes.

“Harry, I-“

“Let’s get something straight.” He cuts you off, and you’re a little shocked by his tone. “You were right earlier, I’m not your boyfriend. In fact, I think it would be too soon for a label like that considering it’s only been about a month since we started all this.” He steps closer to you as you had backed away when he started talking. “But what I am is the person that you’re seeing, right? I’m the one who had their head between your legs just a few nights ago, so I don’t wanna hear it. It’s a stupid fucking word that people use to put some type of seriousness on their relationship, and I’ve never really understood it. You’re either with a person or you’re not, plain and simple.” He looks at you. “You acted like a fucking teenager earlier, you realize that right?”

“I was upset.”

“So you ignored me? You said something purposefully hurtful and then walked away? Is this how you handle things? You don’t like when someone says something to you that you don’t like so you shut down?”

“I didn’t shut down! We’re at a fucking conference and you were starting something with me that I told you wasn’t the time to start. We each had a session to get to! Unlike you, I paid to come here, Harry.”

“You still acted like-“

“Do you know much you disrespected me back there? Do you even care? There I was, amazed by you, and all you could care about was the fact that I used to sleep with someone, and I was polite to them. He asked me when he’d see me again and I totally brushed him off because I came here with you and I wanna spend my time with you!”

“You don’t even think it’s a little weird that a guy that much older than you wanted to sleep with you?”

“That’s society! Older men like younger girls, what can I say? Is it sickening at times? Sure! But at the time, when I was twenty-three, I wanted it. I was attracted to him, we got along really well, and I made a move, okay? Me, I made the first move.”

“He should have told you no.”

“But he didn’t! I rode that dick for an entire semester, and then summer happened, and he went across the country to go on sabbatical. It was a brief stint, okay?”

“You’re being vulgar.” He shakes his head.

“That shouldn’t be new to you. You’ve been out with Janette and I enough times to know how I talk. You’re making a big deal out of nothing, and for what? Are you jealous? Is that it? He’s fucked me and you haven’t?”

“I’m not jealous of that.”

“Oh.”

“I’m not jealous of anything, I just didn’t like watching you flirt with him from backstage.”

“I wasn’t…” Your eyes start to water. “I wasn’t flirting with him…I was just being nice…cordial.” You blink a few tears away. “I…need to go, I’ve lost my appetite.” You brush by him as you walk towards the door.

“Y/N.” He sighs. “Don’t go, we can work this out.”

“You basically just said having sex with me wasn’t anything special, so…yeah, I’m leaving.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You said you weren’t jealous of it!”

“Because I’m not! It would be a stupid thing to be jealous over. I may not have fucked you with my prick, but I got in there, I made you orgasm – twice! My main problem-“

“Well, I hope you enjoyed getting in there because it’s not happening again.” You were livid now. “Here I was, putting you on a pedestal for so long, but you’re just like every other guy. You’re an asshole!” You huff and turn towards the door again. “And if I’m acting like a teenager, then that makes you the tallest fucking baby I’ve ever seen in my life!” You leave and slam his door shut.

“You said what to her?!”

“Don’t yell at me! I called for help, Paige, not-“

“No, no, I will yell at you. Where do you even get off getting upset that she was talking to an old colleague?”

“I told you, they used to hook up, and he’s like fifteen years older than her, it’s gross, and I see it as him taking advantage of a young girl.”

“Harry…” Paige sighs. “It doesn’t matter how you see it, it’s how she sees it. She clearly didn’t think anything was wrong with it at the time, you can’t get mad at her for it. It was before you even knew each other. Ugh, this is just like when you punched Ryan Green at that party when you saw him talking to me.”

“Because he was the guy that dated you before me! He shouldn’t have been talking to you in the first place, he knew we were going out.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s about trust, and not jumping to conclusions. I don’t think I had ever been so mad at you.”

“Yeah…but…you forgave me…”

“And nine months later we got Andy, I know, I know.” She sighs. “You said some real hurtful shit to her. What happened to deep breaths before speaking?”

“I couldn’t help it…”

“You and your green eyed monster.”

“I have to apologize…I feel terrible. I put up a front, and it was like I had no control over anything I was saying. What if she doesn’t want to date me anymore?”

“Then it looks like you’ll have a really awkward drive home in a couple of days.”

“Not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be, that’s the reality you’re facing. Now, from what you told me she said…it sounds like you both have some sorry’s to say. I agree she shouldn’t have ignored you all day, but maybe she just needed to cool off.”

“True…fuck, I really hope I didn’t fuck this.”

“You won’t know until you go down there and talk to her. Bring a peace offering, she’s got a sweet tooth, right?”

Harry taps on your door with one hand, and a boxed Oreo cheesecake in the other. You were in your pj’s already, just a large t-shirt and shorts. You sigh when you see him through the peep hole. You open the door, but only enough for the chain to stay latched.

“Hi.” You say softly.

“Can I come in?” He says just as softly. “I know it doesn’t make up for anything, but I brought cheesecake…”

“What kind?”

“Oreo.”

You close the door and at first he feels defeated, but he hears you slide the latch and you open the door all the way, letting him in.

“Thanks.” He hands the box and the plastic fork to you. He sits down on one of the beds, and you sit across from him, taking a bite.

“Is this from downstairs?”

“No, I went one of the restaurants close by and got it.”

“Oh…thank you…it’s delicious…”

“Good.” You take another bite and set it aside. “You’ve been crying?” Your eyes were red and puffy.

“Balled my eyes out, actually.”

“I’m sorry, I feel terrible.”

“So do I.”

“It was my fault…I did disrespect you, and I lied…I was jealous. I know I have no control over anyone you’ve slept with previously, I just didn’t think I’d be in the same room as them with you acting all buddy-buddy. Why should a guy like that have the privilege of knowing you?”

“Why should you?” You scoff.

“Touché.” He smirks. “Suppose I don’t really deserve that privilege right now.”

“I didn’t know you could say such hurtful things to someone…is that how you are when you’re angry?”

“Not when I’m angry, but…I’ve sort of always had this problem with jealousy. I’ve tried everything to work on it. Believe it or not, I’m way better than I used to be. One time I punched one of Paige’s ex-boyfriend’s right in the face because he was talking to her at a party.”

“Yeah? And how’d she handle that?”

“Um…” His face flushes. “Well…she has her own issues so…uh…well…we got Andy out of it, let’s just leave it at that.”

“Aggression isn’t exactly a turn on for me. I don’t like macho guys who need to assert their dominance like that.” You look down. “I’m sorry I ignored you all day, I’m sure that didn’t feel good, and you probably didn’t like seeing how bratty I can be.” You sigh. “And I cried more so because…I don’t want this to be over, and…-“

“I don’t want it to be over either…it’s barely started.”

“Were you really just trying to look out for me?”

“It was a mix of that and being jealous. I mean…I can’t wrap my head around a forty-one year old guy being able to rock your shit.”

“Harry.” You chuckle. “He was in his late thirties at the time, give him some credit. Besides, who said I was getting my shit rocked? Maybe I was rocking his.” You smirk.

“Y/N.” Harry sighs and lets his head fall back.

“You need to know something, you’re, like, all I think about.”

“Really?” He looks at you again.

“Yeah…I don’t want anyone else, I don’t even know who else I could want, honestly.”

“I really am sorry for how I acted earlier.”

“Me too.” You bite your bottom lip. “But…I don’t wanna be spoken to like that again. I’m not your kid, Har.”

“I know that.” He says defensively.

“You, like, had your dad voice on.”

“I was just speaking sternly so you’d take me seriously.”

“I felt like I was getting a lecture from my father, I don’t need that from you. I think if something goes wrong we need to try to find a way to properly talk about it. It’s not just on you, it’s on me too, obviously. It’s something we can both work on.”

“Okay.”

“Do you wanna get cozy and split the rest of this with me?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” He perks up.

Harry kicks his shoes off and gets on the bed with you. You had some random movie on the TV, and you cutely feed him bites of the cheesecake off your fork.

“Just so you know, sweets can’t buy my affection.”

“It was a peace offering.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah…Paige gave me the idea.”

“What?” Your eyes grow wide. “Harry, you told her we had a fight?!”

“I had no one else to call for help!” He pouts. “Please don’t be mad.”

“I don’t want her knowing anything bad about me…I her want her to trust me with Andy.”

“She does.” He shrugs.

“She does?”

“Yeah…because I trust you.”

“Oh…well, I don’t want you running to her every time we have a disagreement.”

“Well, I was thinking this could be the only one we have.” You laugh at that and so does he. “Sorry, she’s still, like, my best friend, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to call my sister about this.”

“And notice…I’m not all jealous because you’re best friends with your ex.”

“It’s a little different, I’ve got a kid with her.”

“Most people I know who are divorced with kids aren’t as nice to each other.”

“We’re not divorced, we never got married, didn’t I tell you that? Maybe that’s why we don’t hate each other, nothing on paper that legally needed to be divided up.”

“Oh yeah…you did mention that once I think.” You set the box aside since there were only crumbs left, and look up at him. “I think I prefer when we disagree as colleagues better. I feel exhausted.”

“Same here.” He chuckles. “It’s also been a really long day. I should let you get to sleep.”

“Can’t sleep now, I just had all that sugar!” You laugh and crawl into his lap. You sigh as he starts to rub your back. “Can we just stay like this for a little while?”

“I’d like that.”

You nuzzle into his chest, and he rests his chin on the top of your head. You hear him take his glasses off and you look up at him again. You both slowly lean in, lips ghosting over each other, and then you’re kissing softly and slowly.

“Mm, you taste like Oreos.” He smiles against you and then bites down on your bottom lip, sucking it gently. You groan into him and he holds you closer.

“Please.” You breathe. “Can we-“

“I’d like to wait until we get home if that’s alright…we have another day of sessions, and then we’re heading back…we’ll get back late…and I might too tired to even get back to my place, so…”

“So then you’d have to come up to mine, just to be on the safe side.”

“Exactly.” He grins. You groan and then give him a lip smacking kiss.

“Okay, get out of my room.”

He laughs at you and you get off of him. He kisses you again before leaving. He was going to be the death of you.

Things were much better the next day. You both even went to some similar sessions. Luckily, Dr. Pierce was nowhere to be found, so you didn’t run into him. You both decide to skip the awards ceremony since it was mostly for board members anyways so you could hit the road.

“Alright, I’m driving.” You say. “You good with that?”

“Go for it.” He hands you the keys and you get into the driver’s seat.

You didn’t lie when you said you had road rage. Harry nearly had a heart attack every two seconds watching you weave in and out of lanes as you got out of the city.

“Get out of the left lane you fucking asshole!” You yell. “Look at this guy, can you believe it?” You look at Harry. “Let’s go!” You yell before he can say anything.

“Babe! Babe, relax, there’s no rush.” He says, putting his hand on your thigh.

“Wh-what?” Your features soften.

“I know you’re eager to get back, but let’s get there in one piece, yeah?”

“I…” You look at him quickly and then back to the road. “Yeah.” You swallow. Had he not realized that was the first time he called you babe? “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He chuckles. “Didn’t realize how badly you wanted to fuck me.” He smirks.

“Shut up.” You roll your eyes as he gives your thigh a squeeze. “You just called me babe…”

“I know.” He nods. “Is that alright?”

“Yes.”

He leans over the console to kiss your cheek and then he sits back. He was really glad nothing got too fucked up between you. He liked you so much, he wanted to keep seeing where this was going.

It was dark by the time you pulled up to your apartment. You had stopped off at the same rest area and had a quick bite. You were sort of shocked that Harry let you drive the whole way, maybe he was saving his energy. You turn the car off and swallow.

“So…you’re coming up?”

“You want me to?”

“Yes.”

He nods and you both get out of the car. He opens the trunk to grab yours and his bags and then he locks the car. He follows you up to your apartment.

“If I could just have a second to go, um, freshen up…feel free to use the hall bath if you need it.” You were blushing, perhaps a little flustered at the prospect of what was to come. He simply nods at you before going to use the other bathroom.

You rush into your own bathroom with your things. You weren’t sure what you should do. Should you bother with a fresh pair of underwear? It was only going to come off…was Harry the type to even care about that sort of thing? Something tells you probably not. So, you just freshen up your deodorant, and put on a little perfume before going back out. He was bent over one of his bags putting his glasses away. You come up to him and slide your hand up his back. He stands up straight and looks down at you.

“You want this?” He asks softly.

“I want you, Harry…”

You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him down to you. Your lips find his and his hands find your hips. He nibbles on your bottom lip, getting a soft moan from you. One of your hands slides up to his hair as he starts walking you back into your room. You both get on the bed and he hovers over you.

“I had a dream sort of like this the other night.” You smile up at him and he smiles back.

“Yeah?”

“Mhm, but I’m already liking this better.”

“Why’s that?” He asks as he takes his shirt off.

“Because this is real and not something I can wake up from.” You run your hands up and down his torso and it sends a shiver up his spine.

He tugs at the hem of your shirt and you sit up so he can take it off. He immediately unhooks your bra to let your breasts free and attaches his hands to them. As he leans back down to kiss you, your hands work to undo his jeans, and you toe them down his legs so he can kick them off. He kisses down your chest, licking over both of your nipples, sucking on one, before kissing his way down your stomach. He undoes your shorts and tugs them down your legs, leaving you in your underwear. It wasn’t your sexiest pair, but he didn’t seem to really care as he started kissing you over them. Your hips buck up. No one had ever really done that to you before. You watch as he watches the wet spot become more damp and he presses his thumb into it. He looks up at you when he hears you gasp.

“I know, you want these to come off, right?”

“Please, Harry.”

He nods and hooks his fingers into your underwear to drag them down your legs. Once you’re fully naked before him he licks his lips like you’re a buffet ready to be devoured.

“There’s something I’d like to do…if you felt comfortable with it.” He says and your eyes light up. You were sort of hoping he was a little freaky.

“What?” You bite your bottom lip in anticipation.

“I’d like to eat you out from behind, can I do that?”

Okay, not as freaky as you thought, but definitely not something guys offered to do often.

“Sure.” You shrug, and roll over onto your stomach. You get up on your knees and elbows and look back at him.

He comes closer to you, holding you close as he kisses on the back of your neck. He works his way down your back, biting you occasionally to get you a little riled up. He bites into your left ass cheek and you grunt. You feel him spread you apart, and you buck forward when you feel his tongue slide between you folds.

“Stay still for me.” He says as he grips your hips, diving back in for more.

You grip at your blankets as you feel his tongue sliding up and down your slit. He adjusts you a little so he can briefly suck on your clit. You moan out when he does so, not wanting him to stop, but he does. His tongue enters you, going in and out, only briefly. You feel his fingers start to rub on your clit as his tongue slides back on your slit, back further, and up to your other hole. Your eyes widen when you feel his tongue there, he doesn’t enter you this way, but he was certainly getting a good lick. You couldn’t find it in you to care because his fingers were sliding into your cunt.

“Oh, fuck.” You groan as he pumps them in and out of you.

You couldn’t remember ever feeling so stimulated before, everything he was doing felt incredible. His tongue stays lapping around your other whole while his fingers fuck you from behind, his thumb rubbing circles into your clit.

“Oh my god, Harry.” You moan. He grunts against you, not letting up for a second.

Your body starts to feel warm all over, and you feel your stomach start to tighten. Your breathing is getting heavier, and you could feel sweat forming on your forehead. He was getting in so deep with just his fingers, and what he was doing with his tongue was sending you.

“H-Harry, I’m gonnaaaa-“ You couldn’t finish your sentence. Your eyes roll into the back of your head as you come around his fingers.

He retracts them and brings his tongue back around your folds to lick you clean. He sucks his fingers into his mouth as you slowly turn around to face him. You were shocked.

“Good?” He smirks.

You grin and tackle him down onto the bed, pinning him down and crashing your mouth to his. You sponge kisses to his jaw and neck and down his chest. He groans when you start grinding over his still covered cock.

“I think these should come off now, don’t you?” You say, already tugging at the band of his boxers.

“Yeah.” He lifts his hips to help you as you tug them the rest of the way down. Just as you’re inching your way down his body he grips your hips and pulls you back up.

“What are you doing?”

“M’not done with you yet.” Yup, he was definitely resting up in the car earlier. You get the gist and raise yourself over his mouth, and lower yourself so his tongue can be on you again.

“Fuck.” You breathe as he sucks on your clit.

You reach behind you to pump his hard dick, and he bucks up into your hand. You use your other hand to tug at his hair. He was moaning against you from the way you were jerking him off and it just added to the sensation on your core. His tongue slips inside you and you essentially start riding it.

“Fuck! Oh my god.” You groan. No one had fucked you like this in a very long time, and he hadn’t even put his dick into yet.

You have to use both hands to grip at your headboard when he starts sucking on your clit again, and slips two of his fingers inside you from behind. You were a mess above him, crying out and whining about how good it felt. You release onto his tongue and he sucks on you until you’ve ridden it out completely. You slowly get off of him and sink down onto the bed. You look at each other for a moment.

“You’re wild.” You chuckle.

“I told you…I can get a little excited.” He leans forward and kisses your forehead. “Do you have any condoms handy? Mine are all packed away…”

“You packed some?” You look up at him with wide eyes.

“Well…I just wanted to be prepared in case anything happened…and then I went fucked it so-“

“Hey.” You cup his jaw. “It’s all good now, okay?” He leans into your touch and kisses your palm.

“Okay.”

“I keep them in the bathroom, just give me one second.” You get up and wobble slightly. Your legs felt like jelly after all that. You rummage through your cabinet below the sink and grab a few…just in case.

“How come you keep ‘em in there?” He asks as you come back out.

“I…don’t need them as often and I keep other things in my night tables.” You shrug and get back on the bed.

He cups your cheeks and brings you back down to him to kiss you. You hand him one of the condoms and toss the others on the night table. You lay on your back and lick your lips as he rolls it on.

“Is this the only form of birth control you use?” He asks as he shuffles to hover over you.

“Yeah…I got off the pill last year.”

“Oh, how come?”

“I just didn’t like the way it made me feel.” You clear your throat. It was the truth, but you also got off it so that if you met someone and got serious you would have an easier time getting pregnant when the time came, but you certainly weren’t going to say that to him. “Is it okay that we use condoms?”

“Yeah, I don’t care, I just don’t know if we had a backup is all.”

He slots his lips over yours and opens your legs up. He runs his fingers over your slit to make sure you’re still wet. He looks down to line himself up with you, and you push his hair away so he can see better.

“You sure?” He asks.

“Yes, Harry.”

He smiles at you and slowly start to push in. Your mouth falls open at the feeling. He was thick, obviously, but holy shit. Not only is he really good at eating out, but his dick felt amazing. How any woman could have ever let him go was beyond you. He grunts once he’s all the way inside you. He gives you a second and then he starts to thrust in and out of you. He props himself up with one arm, and uses the other to hook under one of your legs to drive in a little deeper.

“Oh! That feels good.” You moan as your head rolls back. Your nails dig into his biceps.

“Yeah? Like feeling me this deep? You feel so good, Y/N.” He says into your ear and it makes your eyes roll into the back of your head.

“God, keep talking.” You tug at his hair.

“Could barely concentrate during my presentation the other day.” He says between kissing on your neck and shoulder. “You looked so beautiful.”

“Your confidence up there was so sexy, I was about ready to find a closet or something to blow you in afterwards.”

“Jesus.”

“Would you have liked that? If I just tugged in you somewhere discrete and made you feel good?”

“Yes.” He grunts. He sits up and puts both of your legs over his shoulders and fucks into your hard and fast.

You look up at him wide eyed and reach to scratch at his stomach before your hand lands on your clit. You rub circles into yourself as you both continue making eye contact. With each thrust you could tell he was looking for your g-spot, watching your features to see what feels good. When he hits it you gasp.

“Ha! Right there?”

“Yes, keep doing that, I’m close.” You whine and rub yourself faster.

“Should make you wait, you already had two, greedy.”

“Don’t be mean.” You pout. “Please, Har?”

He grins at you and continues to hit the spot over and over. He could feel you tightening and squeezing around him. You definitely were close.

“Oh! Oh my god! Harry, Harry!” Your back arches and squeeze around him especially hard. When you become too sensitive you pull your hand away from yourself. You thought he wouldn’t be much longer but there he was…rocking in and out of you.

He comes closer to you, burying his face in your neck, slow, precise thrusts. You dig your nails into his ass and he groans. Alright, he liked feeling your nails, this was something you knew for sure now.

“Can I get on top?” You nearly beg.

“Yeah.” He breathes.

He pulls out of you carefully and gets on his back. You swing a leg over him and sink down with ease. You raise and lower on him until you get a groove going. His hands slide up to your breasts and he kneads them. You were surprised he was letting you just ride him and that he wasn’t thrusting up into you, but you appreciated having the control. His hands move your hips and ass, squeezing at different locations. You smirk down at him.

“Can’t decide where I wanna touch you most.” He admits.

“Wanna feel you all over.”

His hands move up to your back and he pulls you down to him so your chests are flush together. He bends his legs at the knee and digs his feet into your bed so he could thrust into you, moving you up and down on him. You kiss on his neck and move to his mouth as you grind on him. You both were moving in sync, and you were getting the best friction against your clit. You weren’t sure if you’d be able to come again, having never had four in one go, but you both were up to the challenge. He moves you faster and faster on him. You have to detach your lips to breathe when you start panting.

“Shit!” You cry out when you feel your release. You rest your head on his chest, and gives you a moment to regain yourself before pulling out. “You…you didn’t come yet.”

“I know, we’re not done.” Your eyes widen at him. “Don’t tell me you’re tired, babe.” He smirks.

“Nope.” You shake your head and grin. “Gimme all you got.”

He flips you onto your stomach, and has you lay flat as he slides in, almost his full weight on top of you. You almost sigh with relief because this was something you had been craving for what felt like ages. Just feeling him full on you, almost crushing you, but in the best possible way. He rocks in and out of you slowly and kisses on your neck and shoulders. It was needy at first, but now things just felt sensual. You feel a little bad he can’t really feel how soaked you are around him.

He slides an arm under your chest to grip one of your breasts, and his other hand snakes just under your pelvis. You gasp when you feel his fingers on your clit. You were overly sensitive now. He was just pressing down, not moving, and applying pressure. His hips move in circles and your mouth falls open. He was really stretching you out now. Your hips move with him, and he starts moaning softly.

“Love feeling you like this.” He says into your ear.

“Me too.” You whimper. Now his fingers rub circles into your clit with same motion as both of your hips, big and slow. “Harry.”

“Shh, I know you’ve got one more in you. This time we’re gonna do it together, how does that sound?”

“Sounds good.” You groan.

Between his breath in your ear, his fingers on your clit, his other fingers tweaking your nipple, and his cock working wonders inside you, you had no idea how you hadn’t melted into a puddle on your bed and evaporated into thin air.

“H-Harry, I-“ You squeeze around him and he bites hard on your shoulder.

This sends you over the edge you cry out loudly. You practically scream his name, which helps him meet his own end. It was so hot, you could feel his come through the condom. He kisses down your back as he pulls out, and you wince.

“Sorry.” He mumbles as he gets off your bed. “M’just gonna take care of this in the bathroom.”

“Be my guest.” You breathe. You push yourself up and waddle to the hall bath. Your shit hadn’t be rocked quite like that in a long time, if ever.

When you come back into your room he was grabbing a fresh pair of boxers from his bag and sliding them up his legs. His glasses were back on his face, and he was rummaging for his toothbrush.

“You have toothpaste I can use?” He asks, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

“Mhm.” You nearly squeak. Your voice was hoarse. “Just let me do my thing and then it’s all yours.” You sounded like you had gravel in your throat it made him beam at you.

Harry goes into the bathroom after you, and you throw a large t-shirt on and get into bed. You were nervous, a guy hadn’t stayed over with you in this apartment yet. And you had been living there a year! He comes out and slides into bed with you.

“It’s alright I’m staying?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You’re as stiff as a board.” He chuckles. “Here I was thinking I loosened you up.”

“Harry.” You breathe. “Please, I’m exhausted.” He laughs at that and leans over to turn your light off. He pulls you to lay on his chest.

“You don’t do this often, do you?”

“No…I get nervous sleeping next to people.”

“Why?”

“Because, like, what if I roll over too much and wake you up, or snore, or talk in my sleep, or what if I…don’t look cute when I wake up.”

“Y/N.” Harry laughs. “You’re talking about things that all people do, it’s okay.”

“I also really like to get wrapped up in my blankets…like a burrito.” You mumble the last part.

“Well, you know I like holding onto something, so why don’t I be your burrito tonight?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, let me wrap you up, we’ll get all snug.”

You smile and peck his lips before turning over. He spoons you nice and tight to him, his limbs slung over yours, blankets cozy around the both of you. You sigh happily.

“This is nice.” You whisper.

“I agree.” He whispers back.

“You…have a lot of stamina.”

“Surprised?”

“A little.” You chuckle. “Good surprise though.”

“Did you like everything I did?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Even the stuff at the beginning.”

“I was very surprised by that, but it felt good with everything else you were doing.”

“Good, so you weren’t freaked out?”

“Nope.” You adjust closer to him. “I’m pretty open to trying things. I would have told you if I didn’t like something.”

“Everything just felt right with you.” He nuzzles his face into the back of your head.

“I feel the same way.”

Everything would be different now, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. You had never connected physically like that with someone before. You were falling for him, hard, to say the least.

You wake up just as you did the night you went camping with Harry. His body pressed close to yours, and his breath on the back of your neck. You could hear light snores coming from him. The clock on your bed side table reads 9:30. You sigh and adjust against him, hoping to maybe fall back asleep. His arm pulls you closer to him, and you turn onto your back to look up at him. He blinks a few times before looking down at you. He smiles and opens his mouth to speak, and as if on cue, his phone starts buzzing.

“It’s Andy.” There’s a slight sigh. “Do you mind if I take it?”

“No, go ahead.” You giggle. That kid sure had impeccable timing.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Dad!”

“Hi, buddy, why you calling so early?” He knuckles at one of his eyes and sits up.

“Says the guy that gets up before sunrise every day.” Andy scoffs. “How was New York, did your presentation go well?”

“It was good, yeah, a lot of people showed up, I was surprised. Got asked some good questions.”

“Did Y/N come?”

“She sure did.” Your jaw drops and you smack Harry’s chest. He chuckles softly.

“So, is she your girlfriend yet, or what?”

Harry’s face loses all color and he clears his throat.

“Uhhh, I don’t know yet, um, could I call you later, Andy?”

“Why, are you busy?”

“A little.”

“Doing what?”

“I’m just tired, we got back late last night, and then…I didn’t fall asleep until later. Not really awake enough for a full conversation.”

“Fine.” He sighs. “Call me later, love you.”

“Love you too.” Harry puts his phone down and looks at you. “Sorry, he doesn’t understand how this stuff works…”

“What stuff?”

“Like…dating timeframes. You know how kids are, they think you go out on one date and that makes someone your boyfriend or girlfriend.”

“Labels really scare you, huh?” You sit up and look at him, covering your upper half with the blanket.

“No, that’s not it, I just don’t want you to feel rushed or pressured.” Your features soften at that.

He was right, it had only been a month, it was probably a little soon to rush into the boyfriend/girlfriend label. You shuffle over to sit in his lap, and you lay your head on his shoulder. He holds you close and rubs your back. You start laughing.

“What?”

“I can’t believe you said that to him.”

“Oh, he didn’t pick up on the innuendo, s’fine.” He kisses the top of your head. “Sleep alright?”

“Mhm, did you?”

“Yeah, like you a lot better than my body pillow.” You both laugh at his dumb joke. “What are you doing today?”

“Hmm.” You look up at him. “Laundry for sure, grocery shopping…I’ve got some reading to catch up on, you?”

“Bout the same. Could we have a shower and some breakfast? Then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“That sounds great.” You kiss his cheek. “But no hanky panky in there, I’m throbbing and not in a good way.”

“Sorry.” His cheeks grow red.

“No! It’s okay, I just...you had me all over the place, and your dick is really big. Not complaining at all, it was just a lot all at once.”

“I…may have been a little excited.”

“No skin off my nose, I’d rather have it like that anyways.” You kiss his nose and get off of him. You extend your hand out and lead him to the bathroom to start your shower.

“You bitch! You can’t just say he spent the night and not give me details!” Janette says over FaceTime later that evening. “I’ve missed everything!”

“When you get back we can go out for drinks. I don’t think he’d like it very much if I spilled the beans. I’m not sure what we’re telling people…if we’re telling people.”

“It’s been about a month, right? You could tell people you’re seeing someone.”

“Other than my brother you’re the first person I’ve told.”

“Please, just tell me this…did you go to sleep happy?”

“Very.” You smirk and she squeals.

“God, I’ve missed you.”

“I miss you too.”

A few days pass, and you end up going to Boston for your birthday. You and Harry have spoken, of course, but you haven’t been able to see each other. He was really bummed because he wanted to take you out to dinner.

“Can I take you out for a night on the town when you get back?”

“I’d like that.”

Harry was one of the sweetest guys you had ever dated, and you felt really lucky. Your parents and brother and Julian were all taking you out for dinner at one of your favorite Chinese food places in the city.

“How was New York, honey?” Your mom asks.

“It was great! I learned a lot. I’m really glad I went, there were so many good sessions.”

“And you went with one of your colleagues?” Your dad asks.

“Mhm.” You say, sipping your drink. You and Phil make eyes at each other and you swallow hard. “We’re…well, we’re sort of seeing each other.”

“Oh?” Your mom gasps and then she smiles. “Where the hell is he then? You didn’t invite him o your birthday dinner?”

“Mum…it’s a bit soon for him to meet the family, it’s only been a little over a month since we’ve started going out.”

“How long have you known him?” Your dad asks.

“Almost a year. He’s my office neighbor, so we’ve been friends a while.”

“Well, I’m just tickled pink! It’s been ages since you’ve had a boyfriend.” Your mom beams.

“He’s not my boyfriend, not officially, anyways. We’re just dating, seeing how it goes.”

“What’s the problem? He should want to snatch you up.” Your dad says.

“He needs to be really selective with who he gets serious…he sort of has a kid…” You mumble.

“A kid?!” They both say.

“How old is this man?” Your mom asks.

“Only thirty-two, Phil’s age.”

“How old is the kid? Must be young.” Your dad says.

“He’s eleven, actually…they had him young. I’ve met his mom, she’s really nice. She has a serious boyfriend who has a daughter. Harry’s son’s name is Andy, and he’s very sweet.”

“So, you’ve met him?” Your mom asks.

“Oh, sure. Harry has to bring him to work sometimes. I’ve gone hiking with them too.”

“Yeah, Y/N went camping overnight with them.” Phil says with a grin. “Think that was when he finally had the balls to ask her out. Shared a tent and everything.”

“I’m never telling you anything ever again.” You groan.

“I think next time we come up for a visit we should meet this man. I mean, you really want to get involved with someone with a kid in middle school? What if things get really serious, and then you find out he doesn’t wanna deal with having a baby again? I know it’s your choice, but you’ve always said you wanted a baby, I don’t want you wasting your time with someone who won’t give that to you.” Your mom says.

“Wow, a lecture on my birthday, what a gift.”

“We just want to make-“ Your dad starts but you cut him off.

“Look, I get I’m the baby of this family, but I’m not stupid, I know what I’m doing. It’s taken me a year to open my eyes and heart up to him, and I can’t believe the time I already wasted not being with him. He’s…he’s amazing, and kind, and exactly what I want in a guy. If things get more serious then I’m sure the topic of babies will come up, and we’ll talk about it then. I’ll let you meet him when I think it’s time, not when you do.” You huff. “Now, can we please enjoy this lo mein? It’s delicious.”

Phil invites you to spend the night at his place after dinner, which you’re thankful for. You didn’t want to be lectured anymore. Just as you’re crawling into bed you get a FaceTime request from Harry.

“Hey!” You say a little too excitedly.

“Hey, birthday girl. Have I said happy birthday enough times to you today? How about one more: happy birthday, Y/N.” You bite your bottom lip as you smile.

“Thank you, Harry. You’re so sweet.”

“I can’t wait to see you, I think you’ll like what I have planned.”

“I can’t wait too.”

“Andy made you a card, I saw him today and he gave it to me to give to you.”

“Aw, he’s so cute. He’ll be home with you pretty soon, huh?”

“Yeah, couple more weeks.”

“Listen, um…I sort of told my parents about us tonight…I hope that’s alright.”

“You did?” He perks up.

“Yeah, they wanna meet you soon, is that weird?”

“I don’t know, is it weird that my mum and sister are dying to video chat with you?”

“You told them about me?” You swoon.

“Course I did…a little while ago, when I was still keeping how I felt to myself…think it was after Andy’s birthday party.” He rubs the back of his neck.

“You’re so cute, Harry.” You smile. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Noah asked me to lunch…for some reason. Should be interesting. What about you?”

“Phil’s cooking for me all day to try out some new recipes.”

“Lucky duck.” You giggle at that.

“I’m tired so I’m gonna go to sleep, but I’m really happy you called. It’s nice to see your face.”

“It’s nice to see yours too. See you in a couple days.”

“Goodnight.”

Harry met Noah at a casual seafood place for lunch. They sat outside, and both ordered a beer with their lunches.

“So…not that I don’t like hanging out, but usually we do it with the kids around. What’s this all about?”

“Getting right to it, huh?” Noah chuckles. “Well…I guess, how do you feel about me, H?”

“How do I feel about you?” Harry laughs. “Well, if I were a prick I’d say you annoy me because you’re the guy fucking the mother of my kid, but I’m not so I won’t say that.” He smirks as Noah’s face falls. “Jesus, relax, mate, I’m teasing. I like you, obviously. You’re good to Andy, and to Paige.”

“You scared me for a second there.” He clears his throat. “We all have a nice thing going, this blended family thing.”

“Yeah, I’d say it’s all working out as well as it can.”

“Paige and I have been together for three years now, and we live together, and Rachel loves her to pieces, Andy too.” Harry hums his response and takes a sip of his beer. “We’ve chatted a bit, I know what she wants, so…I’m planning to propose next week.” Harry nearly chokes on his drink just as the waitress comes over with his food. “Sorry…”

“No, uh, no, uh, you just caught me by surprise.” He clears his throat. “Why are you telling me this? You want my blessing or something?”

“Sort of…look, after my wife, well…” He tears up slightly. “I never thought I’d fall in love again, and I love Paige so much. She’s been a great mother figure to Rach, not that I would let her forget her actual mother. If I’m going to be Andy’s step-dad, I wanna make sure his actual dad is okay with it.”

“Y-yeah, I’m okay with it.” Suddenly the food he was starving for made him feel sick. “Um, thanks for letting me know.”

“Of course!”

“Have you talked with her father?”

“God no.” He scoffs. “Would rather ask for forgiveness instead of permission with him. Besides, I think your blessing would mean more to her than his. I know how much she cares about you still, H.”

“Right.”

Harry does his best to make it through his lunch, but he gets most of it wrapped up, assuring Noah he just wasn’t that hungry. When he gets home, and puts his food in the fridge, he grips the counter and starts crying. He wasn’t sure what suddenly came over him, but there he was, alone in his kitchen, sobbing. It wasn’t that he wanted to be with Paige in that way, it just felt like a kick to the gut. He knew she would say yes to Noah, but she had said no to him. She didn’t love him enough to stay. She loved Noah more than him. Harry had you now, sure, but what if you’d never love him, or if you did, would you love him enough to stick it out?

You were very excited for your night out with Harry. You weren’t sure where he was taking you for dinner, but you wanted to look nice, so you go with a black dress that flows around your thighs. Your hair is down and wavy, and your make up is just on point tonight.

Harry: I’m here

You’re a little surprised that he didn’t ring your buzzer like he’s been doing, but you shrug it off. You’re even more surprised that he’s sitting in his car. Since you started dating he’s been waiting for you outside. You open the car door and get in.

“Hi.” You say brightly and kiss his cheek.

“Hey.” He gives you a soft smile.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?”

“No reason…”

He pulls onto the street and heads towards the local movie theater that wasn’t really used for normal movies. It was a place for live bands, dinner and a show, sometimes they’d show old black and white films and someone would come to play the piano live, that sort of thing.

“We’re going to the Flying Elephant?” You ask excitedly.

“Yeah, I thought it would be fun to eat and listen to some music.” He mutters.

He was off, you could tell he was trying to seem happy and excited, but something was definitely wrong. What could have happened in the last twenty-four hours? Your eyes widen you remember he had lunch with Noah yesterday, did they get into an argument?

Harry parks the car, and this time he opens the door for you like he usually would. He gives you a peck on the lips and smiles.

“You look really nice.” He says.

“Thank you.” You smile.

He leads you inside and one of the workers scans the tickets he got for the show. You follow him up to the small balcony where your table was. You had never been to an event at the Flying Elephant, but you had mentioned a couple of times that you would like to, so you thought this was very thoughtful.

“What kind of music is it tonight?”

“Jazz I think, but, like, the fun kind, big band style.”

“Oh, fun!”

A waiter comes over with your favorite bottle of white, two glasses, and a basket of bread. He says he’ll be back soon to take your order. Harry had clearly planned a lot of this out, so what was his problem?

“Got your favorite.” He smiles as you clink your glasses. “Happy birthday.”

“I see that, thank you, Harry.” You each take a sip, and then look at the menu. “Oh! They have a tofu marsala, that sounds nice.”

“I’ve had that here before, it’s really good.”

The waiter comes back and you both end up ordering the same thing. You take another sip of your wine and look around at the other people filling in. Harry’s quiet more than usual, so you decide to speak up.

“How was your lunch with Noah yesterday?”

“Huh? Oh…um, it was good.” He shrugs. “Nothing really to report.”

“So, did he just wanna hang out or something?”

“Yeah.”

“Harry…” You reach across the table and take his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Are you sure everything’s okay? We didn’t need to come tonight if something’s going on…”

“No! No, everything’s fine…I’m just in a funk I guess, I’m sorry. It has nothing to do with you, but I don’t really wanna talk about it.”

“Alright.” You sigh.

“I’m glad we’re here tonight, together.”

“Are you nervous about classes starting soon?”

“No.” He chuckles. “That’s, like, the least of my worries right now. Really, it’s fine, I’m just in my head about something stupid.”

“Well…if you feel like talking about it I’m here for you.” You smile softly.

“Thanks.” He gives you’re a hand a squeeze.

Luckily when your food comes out the music starts, and the tension breaks a bit. The band sounded incredible, and you both were having a wonderful time. A couple of the performers told jokes between sets, which had everyone in the audience hollering. Harry had the waiter bring a cupcake over to your table with a little candle in it for dessert. Birthdays weren’t really a bid deal to you, but it meant so much that he put so much effort in. You blow your candle out and split the cupcake with him.

“That was so much fun, thank you so much.”

“I’m glad you had a good time, babe.” He puts his hand on your thigh as he drives you back home.

You relax a little at the pet name. You desperately wanted to know what was bothering him, but you didn’t want to push him since he said he didn’t want to talk about it. He pulls up to your building and turns the car off with a sigh.

“If you don’t feel like coming up you don’t have to…”

“No, I want to. I wanna spend time with you.” He smiles and gets out of the car, and opens your door for you.

“Can I get you anything?” You ask as you get into your place.

“Just a glass of water would be great.” He says, sitting down on the couch. You fill a glass for the both of you and him his when you come to sit with him. “Thanks.” He says as he takes a sip.

“The band sounded great, I’d like to do that again sometime.”

“Definitely. They show film festivals there sometimes too. I usually give my classes extra credit if they go.”

“Fun! I love a good film festival, what do they show?”

“All of the shorts nominated for Oscars usually. All of the animated ones too, it’s great. Although, usually they’re all really somber for whatever reason.”

“People probably figure sadness will get them the nom.” You roll your eyes. “I think it takes more skill to make someone laugh, but that’s just me.”

“A lot of the comedies I’ve seen have had some of the darkest or saddest moments.”

“That’s what I’m saying! Comedies can be really gut-wrenching.” You sip your water and set it down on the coffee table. He does the same, but twiddles his thumbs.

“Har, you’re killing me.”

“Why?”

“Because something’s wrong and you’re making me nervous.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with you…”

“I know, but you’re here with me now, and you’re not all the way here. Just talk to me, please?”

“I…it’s stupid.”

“It’s not if it’s making you feel bad.” You put your hand on his shoulder. “Whatever it is you can tell me.”

“At lunch yesterday Noah told me that he’s going to propose to Paige. He invited me out to get basically get my blessing or some shit.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Apparently they’ve spoken about it, so she’s going to say yes, which is good, they make a great couple.”

“So…what’s the problem?”

He looks at you, eyes glossy.

“I don’t know.” He whispers and shakes his head.

“Are you…sad that things are going to be so official between them?”

“Maybe…I mean, I don’t want her in that way, you have to know that, Y/N. I’m not sad because I’m in love with her or anything, those feelings have long since left, but…it just sucks, like, it’s just a reminder that I wasn’t worth sticking it out for or something. It brings back to such a shitty time in my life, you know?”

“Oh, Harry.” You rub at his back. “I’m so sorry…”

“it didn’t work for a reason, we were both really young, and she…she told me she wasn’t in love with me anymore, for whatever reason, I mean Andy was a total accident, I don’t know if she and I would have lasted with or without him. It’s not like we were a perfect match. I think we were always better as friends, but I was stubborn about it. When we hooked up those few times after things ended, that was me going to her, not her coming to me. I was so lost, you know? Look at me, it’s been over ten years, and it feel likes it happened yesterday all over again.” He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“I get it, this is a big change that’s going to happen.” You chew your bottom lip. “I had a high school sweetheart, the kind that I thought I was going to be with forever and marry and have kids with. But when it came time for us to go to college we ended it to give ourselves some freedom. Well, about a month into school I go on Facebook and see he’s in a relationship with this girl that he had started talking to over the summer while we were still together. It crushed me. Now he’s married to her or whatever. It sucks when you thought you were someone’s number one, and it turns out you weren’t…but I also believe that things happen for a reason. I wasn’t meant to be with him, and maybe you weren’t meant to be with Paige. I think we all go through things on journeys that lead us to the person we’re supposed to be with.” He looks at you and blinks. “Sorry, I hate when I’m feeling like shit and someone tries to use their own story to relate because we all know that doesn’t do anyone any good, and I know I could never really know the feelings involved with having a kid with someone, but-“

He cups your cheeks and brings you close to him. He slots his mouth over yours and your eyes flutter closed. He gently sucks on your bottom lip and you groan into him. He lets go of you and smooths some hair away from your face.

“Thank you.” He smiles. “What you said did make me feel better.”

“Your feelings are valid, Harry, don’t discount them. I know it’s sort of awkward to talk to me about, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re going this alone.”

“The more I talk about it, I just feel silly. I’m happy for them, truthfully. He just sort of sprung it on me, but it all makes sense now looking back on it, like, why he’d wanna meet up alone.”

“Pretty respectful of him, not everyone would check in with the ex.”

“I know, it was really kind of him to consider my feelings. I’m sorry it put me in such a funk, I hope I didn’t ruin our evening.”

“You didn’t, it was really nice. Clearly you put a lot of effort in.” You cup his cheek and rub your thumb over his cheekbone. You peck at his lip and smile. “I think I’m too full to do anything, but if you wanna stay and cuddle…”

“I’d like that.” He smiles. “Sure you don’t mind?”

“No, I want you here. We can get cozy, watch a little TV, and pass out.”

“That sounds amazing.”

A couple of days later.

Andy stood there inside with Rachel watching through the glass door as Noah got down on one knee and proposed to Paige. He grimaced as he heard her squeal and nod her head yes as he slipped the ring on her finger.

“Can you believe it?! Now we’ll really be brother and sister.” Rachel beams at Andy before running outside to congratulate the two.

Paige looks around and frowns when she sees Andy walk away from the glass and further into the house.

“I’m gonna go talk to him, one second.” She says to Noah and Rachel. She goes upstairs and taps on his door before entering. “Hey.”

“Hi.” He was sitting on his bed hugging a pillow to his chest. Harry used to do the same thing. She sighs at the sight, and sits on the edge of the bed.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on? You’re not happy for me?”

“I just don’t understand how all of this works.”

“How what works, honey?”

“Being in love. You didn’t wanna marry Dad, but you wanna marry Noah? What’s wrong with Dad?”

“Oh, Andy, nothing’s wrong with Dad. I love Dad, but…we were so young when we had you and-“

“You say that like you were sixteen, you were twenty-two mom, almost twenty-three, it’s not that young.”

“When you get to be that age maybe you’ll see that it is actually a really young age to have a baby.”

“Whatever.”

“Andy.” She sighs. “I don’t really know how to explain it, I just didn’t see a future with your Dad. I didn’t wanna be the wife of a college professor. At the time, Dad put his studies over everything and I just couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I became resentful, and I fell out of love with him. I wanted something else. Noah and I have a much better connection. Dad and I are good friends, which is great and helpful when it comes to you, but I haven’t seen him as anything more in a long time. Did you think we were going to get together?”

“No, I knew you and Noah would end up getting married, I just didn’t think so soon.”

“It’s a big change, I know…but really not a lot is going to change. He’s just gonna be my husband instead of my boyfriend.”

“He’s gonna be my step-dad.”

“Sure, but you can still just call him Noah. He doesn’t expect you to call him Dad or anything.”

“Good, because Dad is who I call Dad.” He huffs. “Rachel refers to you as Mum sometimes.”

“Does that bother you?”

“It doesn’t bother you?!”

“No…I told she could call me whatever she wants. I don’t mind it. I mean…I am sort like a mom to her. Is this why you like living with Dad more? You think we’re becoming a family without you?”

“No.” He mumbles. “I like being in school with Brandon…and Dad…like, Dad knows how to do my hair the way I like, and he takes me on fun trips, and he helps me with my homework.”

“I help you with your homework.”

“Yeah, but you’re not a teacher. He knows how to explain things to me better than you, and as much as I’ve liked swimming all the time, it’s boring just going to the lake every day. I’ve barely been hiking this summer.”

“You could have told me, I would have had Dad come get you for a weekend.”

“Yeah, just for a weekend. I hate going back and forth, Mum, I hate it so much. I just wanna live in one place.”

“Well, I’m sorry, that’s just not an option. I’d miss you too much. I missed you so much last year only seeing you on weekends.”

“Yeah? How do you think Dad felt before I got to live with him?”

“Andy, don’t speak to me like that. I’m trying to-“

“Well, stop. Just stop trying.” Tears well up in his eyes. “I wanna go home now, I don’t wanna stay here for another two weeks, I wanna go home now.” Tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“Honey…I don’t know if Dad can-“

“Then call him.” He wipes tears from his eyes. “I don’t wanna be here anymore.” He looks away from Paige and it breaks her heart.

She wasn’t sure what to do. Should just give in and let him do his thing, or should she just give him what he wants. She didn’t want him to resent her, or make him think he was held hostage here.

“Okay, I’ll call your father.”

She stands up and leaves the room. She goes downstairs where Noah and Rachel are.

“Where’s Andy? I thought we could all go get ice cream to celebrate.”

“Andy wants to go home, I need to call Harry.” She grabs her phone off the counter and goes down the hall to the office.

You and Harry were out for a walk by the river to watch the sunset. It was really romantic. You had stopped to kiss each other when he felt the buzzing in his pocket. He sighs and rests his forehead against yours as he fishes his phone out of his pocket.

“It’s Paige, do you mind, babe?”

“No, go ahead.”

“Thanks.” He swipes to take the call. “Hello?”

“Hi.” She sniffles.

“Hi…um, are you alright?”

“No.” She swallows. “Andy wants to go home, to your home. He doesn’t want to wait two more weeks.”

“What happened? Is he alright?”

“He…he’s not happy with me. Um, Noah proposed…and I said yes.”

“Congratulations.” He says it sincerely, but he rolls his eyes.

“Thanks.” She sighs. “Andy and Rachel saw from inside the house, and he went right up to his room, and then he started saying all these things, and then he started crying and now I’m crying, and I…I don’t know what to do Harry, he hates me!”

“He doesn’t hate you.”

“It’s like he doesn’t want me to be his mom anymore. He doesn’t want me.”

“He wants you, he just…might not want everything else.”

“That’s not fair. I deserve to be happy too. Ugh, you should have heard him. ‘Dad’s better at helping with homework. Dad takes me on fun trips’. I felt like a piece of shit.”

“You do plenty of fun things with him. He’s just…it’s a lot that’s changing.”

“Not really. The living situation is staying the same, I’ll just have a husband instead of a boyfriend. God, I wonder if he’s scared I’ll want another baby…”

“I mean…do you?”

“No! One was plenty, I’m too old.”

“You’re only thirty-four.”

“The store’s closed.”

“Okay, Paige.” Harry rolls his eyes again. You find a bench to sit down at to give him a little more privacy. “What do you want me to do, do you want me to come get him?”

“I guess so, I’m not gonna make him stay here if he doesn’t wanna be here, but I can’t not see him, Harry. We have to keep the weekend arrangements.”

“And we will. Maybe once he’s with me for a bit he’ll calm down. He’s a preteen now, maybe his hormones are starting to act up.” He runs a hand through his hair and looks over at you. “I can be there in like forty minutes, tell him to get his shit together. He’s gonna get a stern talking to, I can tell you that much.”

“Don’t angry with him.” She sniffles again.

“I can’t have him making you cry.”

“But he was crying, and-“

“You just got engaged, he could have acted better. He’s too old to be acting like that. I’ll be there soon.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

He sighs and comes over to you.

“I’m so sorry, I have to go pick up Andy, do you mind if we go?”

“Of course!”

You and Harry jump into his car and make your way to Paige’s house. When he pulls up he leaves the car running.

“Do you mind just waiting here a moment?”

“Not at all.” You smile and he nods.

He goes up to the front door and rings the bell. The door flies open and Andy practically flings himself onto Harry.

“Start putting your things in the trunk, I need to speak with your mother.”

“About what?”

“Andy.”

“Great, so you’re mad at me to?!”

“No one’s mad at you.” Paige says as she comes into view.

“Go put your things in the trunk, and then come back into the house the three of us are gonna have a chat.”

“Here, I’ll-“

“Let him do it, he wants to come home so bad, he can load his shit up.” Harry huffs and goes inside.

Andy was stunned, but he does as his dad says. When he opens the trunk he grins.

“Hi, Y/N!”

You turn around and give him a smile. A smile that says it’s good to see him, but he better not lollygag. Once Andy gets all of his things in the car, he goes inside and down to the office where Harry and Paige were waiting for him. Harry was leaning against the desk with his arms crossed, and Paige was sitting on the couch.

“I’m very disappointed in you.” Harry starts. “Your mum just got engaged, and you couldn’t even say congrats?”

“Right, because you look thrilled.” Andy scoffs. Harry and Paige look at each other and then back to Andy.

“You better check your attitude, or you’re gonna wish you were staying here. You can’t run from your problems, Andy. I’m glad you’re coming home, but it doesn’t change anything. Mum’s still marrying Noah. He’s gonna be your step-dad, and Rachel’s gonna be your step-sister. That’s just the way of it.”

“Noah loves you, Andy, and so does Rachel. I don’t understand, I mean, it’s been three years…”

“He’s not my dad, and she’s not my sister.” He huffs, crossing his own arms. “I don’t love them.” He could feel tears forming in his eyes again.

“I think…” Harry starts. “Maybe it’s time you start seeing Dr. Gardner again.”

“No!”

“Andy, you clearly have things going on that you can’t articulate to us, maybe talking to someone else could help.”

“I agree with Dad.” Paige speaks up.

“Of course you do, you’re always quick to pass me off so I don’t have to disturb your perfect life!”

“You said you wanted to go to Dad’s!” She stands up. “What did you want me to do, say no?”

“I don’t know! Even when I said I wanted to live with him you just let it happen!”

“Because you put up a fight when I even thought about saying no!”

“Whatever, I like living with him better anyways. I had the best year at school I’ve had in a long time, I have way better friends, and I can actually have a conversation with him.” He hands ball into fists. “I…I…I ha-“

“Don’t, Andy.” Harry interjects. “If you say that, there’s no taking it back.”

“God, fuck this!” Andy storms out of the room. Noah had taken Rachel for ice cream, so luckily they weren’t witnessing any of this.

“Andy!” Paige and Harry say at the same time.

“Hey!” Harry grabs Andy’s arms. He tries to yank it free, but Harry’s much stronger. “We don’t speak like that, do you understand me?”

“Stop talking to me like I’m a baby!”

“Then stop acting like one!”

“Harry.” Paige says. “Stop yelling at him. It’s not going to solve anything. Andy, you can’t speak like that to us, it’s not right. Dad and I have been breaking our backs trying to do everything we can to make you happy. We haven’t asked for much in return. I really want to marry Noah, but I won’t if it makes you that upset.”

“What?” Andy’s features soften and Harry lets go of him.

“I won’t marry him if it upsets you that much.”

“Paige…” Harry says.

“But…then you’d be unhappy, Mum.” Andy says. “I don’t want that.”

“We should have talked more about what it would mean if he and I got engaged and all that, I’m sorry I didn’t include you in those conversations.”

“I’m just confused about a lot right now…” Andy looks away. “I’m sorry for how I acted…it’s great that he wants to marry you.” He looks at Harry. “Can I still come home with you?”

“Yes.” Harry sighs. “Go get in the car, I’ll be out in a minute.”

Andy gives his mother a hug quickly, which surprises her, and then out the door he goes. Harry and Paige look at each other.

“What else do you think is going on with him?” Harry asks.

“I have no idea. I wish I did. I try to talk with him, get him to open up, but he’s very selective.”

“I’ll see if I can have a more relaxed chat with him. He’s only going into sixth grade, he shouldn’t be this moody.”

“Let me know when he wants to come back next…”

“I will. I’m sorry he spoiled everything.”

“He didn’t, they’re bringing me back a big old sundae, and I’m gonna stuff my face.” She smiles. “Look.” She holds the ring up. “Got my style just right.”

“It’s beautiful.” He smiles. “You know, Noah had a chat with me about all this, wanted my blessing and everything.”

“Really?” Her eyebrows raise. “Well, thank you for telling him it was okay.” She says facetiously. “Do you know if he spoke to my father?”

“He did not.”

“Good.” They both laugh. “Thank you…I don’t know how I’d handle him without you sometimes.”

“What are co-parents for?” He hugs her. “I’ll call you in a couple days, yeah?”

“Sounds good.”

Harry comes out to the car where you and Andy were sitting in an awkward silence.

“Sorry bout that.” Harry says as he buckles up.

“No worries.” You smile.

“Do you mind if I drop you at your place, need to have some alone time with that one.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Harry looks in the backseat, and sees Andy with his chin resting in his palm. He sighs and faces forward again. He pulls onto the street, and makes his way home. Harry drops you off, and walks you to your door.

“I’m sorry about all this.”

“Hey, it comes with the territory.” You shrug. “Shit happens.”

“I’ll have less time to spend with you sooner than I thought…”

“Harry, don’t worry about me. Once school starts we’ll see each other every day. We’ll make time for date nights later, go take care of things with him. Seems like he really needs you right now.”

Harry kisses your cheek and gets back in the car. It’s silent until they get home. This time he helps Andy with his things. Once it’s all settled, they both sit in his room to chat. They each sit crisscross, holding pillows to their chests.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Harry says softly. “I know there’s gotta be more to all this.”

“There is.” He sighs. “It’s just…I feel like everyone around me is finding their true love.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mom has Noah, you have Y/N now, and…Brandon, ugh, Brandon started dating this girl Molly…she’s in our class, and they go to the same camp, and he told me they, like, kissed, and…now I feel like he’s never gonna make time for me anymore. I always thought relationships were for adults…I didn’t know he liked girls…I don’t like girls like that…not yet anyways.”

“Oh, Andy…it’s okay that you don’t like anyone yet, and this Molly girl isn’t Brandon’s true love. Odds are they won’t last long. You’re only eleven.”

“When he called me to tell me he was so excited he had his first kiss…and I felt…sick.”

“Sick?”

“Yeah, like, my stomach felt weird like I was going to throw up, and my chest started to hurt. I thought it was my asthma, so I took my inhaler, but it didn’t help.” Harry’s eyes grow wide. Andy was describing heartbreak.

“What did you say to him when he told you?”

“I told him that it was cool or whatever…but that was a lie.”

“It made you feel achy, huh?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really know why…”

“That’s okay, you don’t need to have it all figured out right now.”

“But what if when I see him next he wants to talk about her, or he wants to invite her everywhere?”

“You just need to tell him that you’re not comfortable with it, and that you’d prefer the one on one time. If he’s really your friend he’ll understand.”

“I just wish I knew what was wrong with me.” He starts sniffling. “I hate that I’ve been so mean to mum, I feel like I’ve been taking things out on her, and I know I hurt her today.” He starts crying, and Harry pulls him into his chest.

“Come here.” Harry lays him down with him, letting Andy cry into him and so he could cuddle him easier. Arms wrapped around him tight. “When you feel up to it you can call her to apologize.”

“She must hate me.” He hiccups.

“She doesn’t, I promise.”

“I don’t want her to know about why I’ve been upset.”

“Okay, it can stay between us.” Harry rubs Andy’s back with one hand and scratches his scalp with the other. “When does Brandon get back from camp?”

“In a few days.”

“Is that why you wanted to come back here? So you could see each other?”

“And because I missed you.” He snuggles further into Harry, and it nearly breaks his heart. He couldn’t remember the last time his son let him hold him like this.

“I missed you too.”

“Are things with Y/N going well? I feel bad, I know I messed up your date.”

“Things are good, and it’s okay. We were just out for a walk by the river, nothing special.”

“Is she your girlfriend yet?” Andy yawns. Poor kid’s had a long day.

“Not exactly, but soon I think.”

Harry lays with Andy until he’s in a deep sleep. He goes to his own room and texts Paige that Andy will call her tomorrow to talk some things through. Just as he’s about to put his phone down your name pops up.

You: I know it’s none of my business, but I hope Andy’s alright…is he?

Harry: thanks for checking in, he’s doing fine. We had a good talk, he even let me lay with him a bit. Poor kid felt bad about cutting our date short

You: you’ve raised such a sweet boy, honestly

Harry: maybe you could join us for dinner here some night, I think he’d like that

You: I’d love to, just name the night and I’m there

Harry sighs happily. Other women he’s dated in the past always thought it was cute he had a kid at first, but none of them ever understood that Andy came first. You were so cool about it, and he adored you even more for checking in.

Harry: hey…I like you a lot

You: hey…I like you a lot too

#harry styles #harry styles series #office neighbors #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles imagine #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles y/n #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut

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chandelier-s-notebook · 4 years

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Inspiration *note: this is not my art, it’s on my alt because I couldn’t find an original link, and found this piece years ago. Also the quote is from “Towards the Sun” by Rihanna for the movie “Home.” The songs good if you wanna listen, its slower though.

And other things, there is always more than one source of inspiration, but we can’t name all of them. It was simply that piece of art that set me down this path.

-------------------------------------

Turn your face towards the sun; Let the shadows fall behind you

Techno’s life was full of bloodshed. Senselessly murdering others left, right, and centre. Looting their dead bodies for supplies. Throwing people off of cliffs. He got so good that he would occasionally go in with nothing but his bare fist against those with the strongest swords. He wasn’t stupid about it though, he would have a friend to play support in those times.

But that was years ago. He’s tampered it down a bit, but sometimes it still comes through. At least he can put it to good use farming, murdering cows and pigs for their meat.

Sometimes when he was in for-fun tournaments, his bloodthirstiness came through, ruining his easy going mood. At least his teammates never seem to mind when that part of him comes back through.

He’s trying. He can do better. but it’s hard

#Technoblade #general

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tasedda · 5 years

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i’ve *rectified* rihanna’s birth chart into what i think suits her better. after all, her birth time isn’t official, there’s no official sources that prove that she was born at 8:50 am and therefore has an aries rising.

robyn fenty has been a huge inspiration in my life, i’ve been a fan since 2006 & she’s probably my first love, she’s the first person i’ve felt a real connection with despite not knowing her irl, it was love at first sight. i fell in love with her voice & then her green eyes and unique personality. to me, she represents perfection; she has the talent, beauty, brain, charisma & personality. i could spend the whole day talking about how much love i’ve got for her but let’s dive into her *supposed* chart...

• leo rising : i’ve tried to set her birth chart as having a leo ascendant & a sun in the 8th. she makes me think of a leo rising mostly because leo is ruled by the sun which represents the father in astrology & having this sign in the first house of appearance means that the person’s gonna look a lot like their father, and if you know how rih’s father looks, you’re gonna notice that they look very similar. they’re both very lightskin & she’s probably got her green eyes from his side since he’s got very light hazel eyes. i’ve noticed a lot of firstborns tend to have a leo ascendant too, she’s the first child of her family. rihanna obviously possesses qualities of a leo rising, the confidence, the charisma, sex appeal, the taste for the spotlight. the sun itself HAS to be her chart ruler.

• pluto in the 4th house : i noticed pluto in the 4th house being prominent in people with divorced parents charts. rihanna’s parents got divorced when she was 14. pluto kind of has a destructive effect on whatever area of the chart it touches, when it comes to the 4th house, it ‘destroys’ family, childhood etc. her pluto being in scorpio indicates a lot of toxicity in the household/childhood environment. her dad used to be a crack addict & abusive towards her mother. rihanna once said in an interview that her parents relationship caused her a lot of stress and anxiety (very plutonian) and she felt relived when they divorced. she definitely didn’t have the easiest childhood.

• moon in the 9th : rihanna has been raised in a religious household, her mother is a very devoted christian. makes a lot of sense because the moon which represents the mother is in the 9th of spirituality & religion. if you follow rih on instagram, you probably noticed that she frequently posts pictures of bible verses on ig stories. rihanna is not only religious, she’s very spiritual and deep. she’s a pisces after all. having a moon in the 9th house can indicate that your mother is from another ethnicity than your dad, which in rihanna’s case is accurate. her mom is afro-guyanese & her dad is barbadian (from irish descent).

• saturn in the 5th house : this placement can mean a lot of things. first of all, i’ll start with saying that the planet of responsibility in the house of childlike amusement/fun automatically makes you very mature from a young age. rihanna being the older sister of two younger brothers, she probably felt like she had to be responsible in her youth. saturn in the 5th can also indicate delays in having children due to career or fertility problems, which is accurate for her because she stated many times that she has this dream of being a mom but she still has a lot of things to do careerwise before being able to have any children.

• neptune in the 6th : neptune rules glamour, dreams, illusion, delusion, spirituality, ideals, mystique, hunches and creative functions. being present in the house of routine, work & health, it means that the chart holder is gonna want to do something artistic & creative for a living. it is present in a lot of artists charts. but neptune also rules drugs & addictions. rihanna is known for smoking a lot of weed on a daily basis, she never really discussed it but she probably consumed a lot of substances when she was younger, like a lot of people in the industry.

• sun in the 8th : sun in pisces can already indicate issues with the father, but being in the 8th house it takes it to another level of father issues. rihanna has a very problematic father, he was abusive, a drug addict & he even betrayed her by telling the media a bunch of lies following her assault by her ex chris brown in 2009. her sun in the 8th makes a lot of sense to me because we don’t know one rihanna, we know many rihannas. she’s a true chameleon that always knew how to reinvent herself era after era, rebirth after rebirth & she grew stronger after terrible events. the 8th house is all about death & rebirth, but also about trauma, her dad (sun) caused her a lot of trauma. overall, having a sun in the 8th just indicates a toxic relationship with the father & the tension just seems to always be present between one & their fathers.

• aquarius in the 7th house + mercury : aquarius is a very carefree and independant sign. it is ruled by uranus so being in the house of relationships it can indicate rocky & unstable relationships. aquarius is also the sign of friendship so partners must be very good friends first. rihanna always said that chris brown was not only her lover, he was her best friend. with mercury present here, communication & humor are a must too. aquarius in the 7th can also represent on and off relationships, as uranus is unpredictable. her relationship with drake was very on and off, at one point they were together, then they weren’t, then they were together again, then they weren’t. but overall they were really good friends, they even had matching tattoos. mercury in the 7th can also means that your relationships can be gossiped about a lot, depending on the aspects this placement definitely creates a lot of gossip surrounding relationships.

• taurus midheaven : taurus in the midheaven means a lot of things, most definitely the best things in life; beauty, love, art & wealth, all of this in the house of career & social status. taurus is a sign that wants to build and eventually gets things done (earth element). the midheaven is also how you come across, on a more ‘superficial’ level than the ascendant. it’s your reputation. rihanna has this reputation of being a laid back boss ass bitch, business woman that is pretty chill, gorgeous but humble & still relatable, she likes to smoke weed... very taurean. her venus (being the ruler of taurus) in aries accentuates that bad girl/independant woman image that she projects & that made her reputation. she also has mc conj jupiter (planet of expansion) & is officially the richest female musician in the world with a $600 million fortune.

i think this chart completely suits her but again, it’s only my opinion. ugh i wish i knew her official birth time!!!!!!!!!

#rihanna #astrology #mine

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hannewham · 5 years

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west ham 2019 field trip permission slip

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: hannah ingrid jordan MEANING: (hannah) favor, grace; (ingrid) beautiful ancestor; (jordan) descend, flow down REASONING: hannah is classic irish name her parents liked the sound of, and ingrid was—fittingly enough—her father’s mother’s name NICKNAME(S): han BIRTH DATE: november 6th, 2001 AGE: 18 ZODIAC: scorpio GENDER: female PRONOUNS: she/her ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: hetero- SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual NATIONALITY: american ETHNICITY: mainly irish

BACKGROUND

BIRTH PLACE: west ham, ct HOMETOWN: west ham, ct SOCIAL CLASS: lower-middle-class FATHER: connor jordan MOTHER: maeve jordan née mcallister SIBLING(S): keiran jordan BIRTH ORDER: twins! but keiran is minutes older PET(S): none OTHER IMPORTANT RELATIVES: her (middle)namesake, grandma ingrid PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS: many hookups. probably a middle school boyfriend and a short high school relationship before meeting duck ARRESTS?: once, but it was more of a fine & citation for underage drinking PRISON TIME?: none

OCCUPATION & INCOME

SOURCE OF INCOME: none CONTENT WITH THEIR JOB (OR LACK THERE OF)?: she loves not working. PAST JOB(S): she tried waitressing, but quickly got fired when her party schedule was more important SPENDING HABITS: all her money goes toward booze MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION: her sewing machine

SKILLS & ABILITIES

TALENTS: sewing, clothing design, making people feel comfortable SHORTCOMINGS: musical skill, to-do lists, athletic skill LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: english DRIVE?: yes. JUMP-STAR A CAR?: she did it once, with blue’s help. CHANGE A FLAT TIRE?: she knows how, but she can’t physically do it by herself. RIDE A BICYCLE?: yes. SWIM?: yes. PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?: she played flute for a number of years before keiran came clean about how very bad she was at it. PLAY CHESS?: no. BRAID HAIR?: very intricately, yes. TIE A TIE?: duh. costume crew skills. when the boys can’t do it, they know who to come to. PICK A LOCK?: only the lock to her mother’s painfully underused liquor cabinet.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

FACE CLAIM: alycia debnam-carey EYE COLOR: hazel (green/brown) HAIR COLOR: light brown HAIR TYPE/STYLE: wavy, but often wears it straightened or blow-dryed GLASSES/CONTACTS?: none DOMINANT HAND: right HEIGHT: 5′5 WEIGHT: 126 BUILD: thin & slim, naturally fast metabolism EXERCISE HABITS: “i exercise! ... no, i don’t.” SKIN TONE: quite pale but tans easily TATTOOS: none PEIRCINGS: three in each earlobe MARKS/SCARS: a few relatively new scars on her shins, thighs, and forearms from drunken spills she’s taken NOTABLE FEATURES: long nose, full lips, soft eyes & bone structure USUAL EXPRESSION: resting bitch face CLOTHING STYLE: very fashion-forward, always wearing the next trendy outfit. she adores clothes & always wished she had the means to buy what the rich kids could instead of having to piece together the right things to make the cool new outfit. JEWELRY: always her three earrings, often a few cheap CVS rings to go with ALLERGIES: seasonal. BODY TEMPERATURE: 98.2° DIET: whatever’s available. she’s not picky. PHYSICAL AILMENTS: none.

PSYCHOLOGY

MORAL ALIGNMENT: neutral good TEMPERAMENT: sanguine ELEMENT: earth MENTAL CONDITIONS/DISORDERS: alcohol use disorder SOCIABILITY: very high. loves going out & having a great time with almost anyone. EMOTIONAL STABILITY: pretty stable; she’s had to deal with a lot & has learned some coping mechanisms (thought they may not necessarily be healthy, she can handle stress & change) PHOBIA(S): mild claustrophobia ADDICTION(S): alcohol DRUG USE: more frequent than it should be. lots of weed & relatively often, party drugs. ALCOHOL USE: addicted. PRONE TO VIOLENCE?: no

MANNERISMS

QUIRKS: can’t leave the house without a “proper outfit” on HOBBIES: fashion design, drinking, smoking, fun times with blue & keiran, calm & cute times with duck HABITS: drinking too much, forgetting responsibilities, not texting back soon enough NERVOUS TICKS: her hands shake when she’s extremely nervous or scared DRIVES/MOTIVATIONS: her brother. blue. duck. grizz. FEARS: their addictions taking blue & keiran from her. duck getting fed up with her baggage. never getting to have a normal life. POSITIVE TRAITS: caring, perceptive, selfless, generous NEGATIVE TRAITS: stubborn, touchy, dramatic, overzealous SENSE OF HUMOR: hannah loves to laugh and rarely takes things seriously — unless you really rub her the wrong way. she’ll enjoy whatever jokes you want to tell. DO THEY CURSE OFTEN?: oh, yes. CATCHPHRASE(S): none

FAVORITES

ACTIVITY: tied between drinking and designing ANIMAL: zebra BEVERAGE: tequila BOOK: “i don’t really... read. i just trust whatever grizz says are good books.” CELEBRITY: rihanna COLOR: gold DESIGNER: betsey johnson FOOD: breakfast, old-fashioned donuts; lunch, greek salad; dinner, eggplant parm FLOWER: daisy GEM: diamond HOLIDAY: st. patty’s day, of course MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: cars, as long as she doesn’t have to drive MOVIE: pretty woman MUSICAL ARTIST: dua lipa QUOTE/SAYING: “beer before liquor, never sicker. liquor before beer, you’re in the clear.” SCENERY: rolling hills & blue skies SCENT: campfire smoke SPORT: olympic ice skating SPORTS TEAM: “the west ham centurions, obviously! gotta support our boys.” TELEVISION SHOW: the carrie diaries / sex and the city WEATHER: blue skies, a few puffy clouds, and bright spring sun VACATION DESTINATION: big cities with lots to see & do

ATTITUDES

GREATEST DREAM: having celebrities wear her designs GREATEST FEAR: never getting to have a normal life MOST AT EASE WHEN: going crazy & stupid with keiran & blue LEAST AT EASE WHEN: she remembers that her father is probably losing his mind right about now BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: being head of costume crew on the play BIGGEST REGRET: that one time she told keiran something really, really hurtful MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: flashing an entire party while trying to climb the outside of a fireplace BIGGEST SECRET: how bad her father’s overprotectiveness & mental health issues are TOP PRIORITIES: her family (whether blood or adopted). namely keiran, blue, grizz, duck.

#newhamhq: task #task01

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jghouse-asia-pacific · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://www.jg-house.com/2019/09/04/water-royal-valley-davao/

Quickly Rising Water: Royal Valley, Davao

I met Rachel, a coordinator for a non-governmental organization, at a restaurant called Mesa. She wore a long, white dress and told me that she had trained as a nurse. It was 11:30 on a Sunday morning. During the night, an intense rain storm had moved onto the island of Mindanao from the Celebes Sea. Now it seemed the storm had passed. The sun had emerged, and the heat and humidity had settled back over the city of Davao.

In front of a pair of glass doors, Rachel handed me a dossier, which we had discussed on the phone, and, as quickly as she had appeared, she disappeared once again, saying she was late for another appointment.

Although Mesa occupied a large space on the ground floor of a sprawling, modern shopping center, called SM Lanang, it was crowded and noisy. The waiter said: “You want a bottle of San Miguel Light?” I replied: “No, fresh fruit juice.”

Something irritated me. Was it the blast of cold air from the restaurant’s air conditioner or the stark contrast of the modern shopping center with its grim surroundings? SM Lanang was an island in a sea of slums. Or was it Davao City itself, a 19th century outpost, with a muddy river running through it?

The waiter brought a tall glass of calamansi juice.

My immediate goal was to deliver some initial figures on low-income families in the Philippines to my research partner in the U.S. She had been waiting for a week. We had graduated together from the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego and worked together for two years.

My ultimate goal on this trip was to complete a series of interviews with various families in Davao. When I turned on my computer and accessed the Internet, the waiter hovered over me. Like many others I had encountered in my travels across the Philippines, he was curious.

Young Women, Sweat Shop, Davao, Mindanao

Family

I ate the rice, vegetables, and chicken, and I sent my latest figures by e-mail. Then my telephone rang. “I’ll pick you up in front of the main entrance of SM Lanang at 1:00.” It was Chuy, my taxi driver. I looked at my watch. The digital numbers showed 12:15. Rachel had arranged a visit for me with a family at 3:30 in the afternoon. The people lived in Royal Valley, a community on the outskirts of Davao City.

My thoughts turned to Jogie. She was supposed to go with me to meet the family.

With 11 family members living in a dwelling of 70 square meters with one bedroom, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom, I could imagine serious problems. There was no privacy. According to the World Health Organization, a minimum amount of living space for an adult in a house was 20 square meters. The seven adults in this family required at least 140 square meters, or twice what they had.

Imelda, 54, and her sister, Maria, 43, were the matriarchs of the family. Bonifacio, 55, was the husband of Imelda and worked 60 hours per week, earning 150 dollars, per month as a forklift operator. Arnold, 40, was the husband of Maria and also worked 60 hours per week, earning slightly more, 175 dollars per month as a taxi driver. The only wage earners toiled nearly every daylight hour six days per week.

The two couples shared the house with two of their children and five of their grandchildren. How did it all work?

Martha, a daughter of Imelda and Bonifacio, was the mother of three girls, Mary, 6, Lila, 4, and Rihanna, 9 months. Armane, a daughter of Maria and Arnold, was the mother of a baby girl, Rian, 6 months. While Martha was 27 years old, Armane was only 17. Although Martha received 2,000 pesos, or 50 dollars, per month from the father of her children, Armane received no support of any kind from the father of her baby. Because Armane was immature and penniless, her situation was dire. Her baby was both sick and undersized.

Anthony, the son of another daughter of Maria and Arnold, had showed up only recently and had enrolled in high school. He was almost a mystery. It was not clear where Anthony’s mother and father were.

I turned off my computer. The bill for lunch was 1,000 pesos, the equivalent of 25 dollars. It was more than a family of five, living at the poverty line, would spend on food in two weeks.

Close-Up, Two Waitresses, Davao

System

When I exited the restaurant, I saw a security guard, one of the ubiquitous guards stationed at the door of nearly every business across the Philippines. The young man, maybe 20 years old, was dressed in his uniform of a white, button-down shirt with black tie, black trousers, and black shoes and was followed by two older, casually but expensively dressed men. The young man walked briskly; so, too, did the pair of older men. All three of them were talking. But it wasn’t clear they were talking to one another. Then the words spoken by the three men became distinct as they passed me.

“Mar Roxas wants to take care of you,” said one of the two, older men. “I’ve already received 500 pesos from him,” replied the young security guard, “but I’m not sure it’s enough.”

At first, the manner of the young security guard struck me as odd. He spoke as if he were thinking about something else, as if he didn’t care. Then I realized that the vote buying for the presidential elections had started in earnest. The two, older men, who worked for the Filipino political elite, were bribing the younger man.

It was clear that, down to the last detail, the system was corrupt.

In front of the main entrance, Chuy waited in his taxi. I sat down in the back seat of the car. My cell phone rang. “I’m with Imelda and Maria,” Jogie said after I answered the phone. “We’re at Bankerohan. Meet us here at 1:30.”

From SM Lanang, Chuy followed J.P. Laurel Avenue, traveling southwest. We passed the Abreeza Mall and the Seda Abreeza Hotel on the left. At the next intersection, Chuy turned right on Elpidio Quirino Avenue. Before crossing the Davao River, Chuy turned right again. We stopped in front of Bankerohan.

Millennial Women, International Airport, Davao

Lifeblood

A sprawling outdoor market, Bankerohan was the most important source of food for the majority of Davao’s 1.5 million people. On that Sunday afternoon, women and children and a few men moved among the stalls, where shoppers could buy everything from fruits, vegetables, and rice to poultry, pork meat, and seafood.

I joined Imelda next to a display covered with rows of fish—tilapia, according to a sign—resting on a bed of ice. “Do you always buy tilapia here?” I said.

Hesitating for a moment, Imelda replied: “Sometimes I buy fish from a vendor who passes by my house. It depends on what I can afford and what is available.”

Carrying her fish wrapped in a newspaper in her left hand and carrying a plastic bag containing rice in her right hand, Imelda moved to another stall with onions, garlic, and radishes. Near a stall displaying beans and squash and several varieties of rice, Maria stood looking at a piece of paper, her grocery list, in her hand. Soon the sisters had selected some beans, squash, and rice.

“How many times per week do you buy vegetables?” I asked. Maria’s face was more expressive than her sister’s. Her eyes seemed brighter.

“Two or three times,” replied Maria.

“What about fruits?” I asked.

“Fruits are different,” said Maria. “Bananas, mangoes, durian, and mangosteen. We buy them only when they are in season. And cheap.”

Imelda, Maria, Jogie, and I returned to the parking lot. Chuy was waiting in his taxi with the engine idling and the air conditioning at full strength. As the two sisters got into the back seat of the car, Jogie said to me, “They have to go shopping for food every day. They don’t have a refrigerator at home.”

Jogie paused. “If they don’t come here to the outdoor market,” she continued, “they buy food from vendors who pass through the neighborhood. Sometimes they buy food at small neighborhood stores, but food costs more there. Occasionally they will go to SaveMore.” SaveMore, I knew, was a conventional supermarket.

Young Woman in a Garden, Downtown, Davao

Journey

Inside the taxi, the air was cool. Chuy pulled out of the parking lot and into a line of cars moving eastward. “How much money do you spend for food each week?” I asked, turning toward Imelda. “About 2,000 pesos,” said Imelda. It was the equivalent of 50 dollars. “It’s never enough,” she added. “We have many mouths to feed.”

The distance from the market to the house in Royal Valley was about five miles. The traffic was light, and the journey was fast. We crossed the Davao River, following MacArthur Highway. On either side of the highway, lush vegetation spread toward the horizon. Here and there, banana plantations occupied large plots of land. Fields of other crops, such as red onion and eggplant, stretched away from us in long rows.

Chuy slowed as we approached a curve in the road. We found ourselves moving northwestward on MacArthur Highway. When we passed the SaveMore market on the left, Chuy slowed the taxi again. But this time he brought the vehicle to a stop and turned left onto a smaller street, called Taal Road.

“We’re entering Royal Valley now,” said Jogie. “We’ll be at the house in a few minutes.”

“How long have you lived in Royal Valley?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at Imelda. “Almost 20 years,” said Imelda. I looked at Maria. “And you, Maria? Two years?” She nodded. Rachel had told me that Maria and her husband, Arnold, and their daughter, Armane, with her baby, had moved into the house recently because they had nowhere else to go.

“They lived in Digos City before,” Rachel had said. “But then Arnold lost his job.” Digos City, 30 miles to the south, with a population of 150 thousand people, was much smaller than Davao City.

Billboard, Downtown, Davao

Home

Turning off Taal Road, Chuy entered a small street. Imelda spoke then, and Chuy turned on another and a smaller street. Chuy slowed the vehicle, and we proceeded over potholes. The street was half dirt and half pavement. The biggest holes forced Chuy to stop and start. I saw a large creek stretching behind the houses on the left side of the street. Also I knew from looking at a city map earlier that another large creek cut through the other side of Royal Valley five blocks away, where the two creeks emptied into the sea. This part of Royal Valley was a flood plain.

Chuy brought the taxi to a halt in front of a one-story, unpainted house on our right. It was ten feet from the road. I looked at my watch. The digital numbers showed 3:15. Then I looked at the house.

It was a simple structure, starting on the ground with a foundation of concrete and finishing in the air with a mix of corrugated iron, wood beams, and plastic sheets. It had been built from discarded materials.

From the open front door, a man emerged. He approached the taxi. “I’m Bonifacio,” he said to me. He had a broad face, dark skin, and grey hair. I knew that Bonifacio worked as a forklift driver for San Miguel Brewing, one mile to the west on MacArthur Highway. According to Rachel, he had been a forklift driver for 37 years. She said he had purchased a lot in Royal Valley for 20,000 pesos, or about 425 dollars, in 1998 and built the house himself. “I’ll be right back,” said Bonifacio. He started walking down the road.

“That’s my husband,” said Imelda.

Kick Boxer, Exhibition, Davao

Heat

I took Imelda’s groceries; Jogie took Maria’s. We followed the sisters into the house. It was as hot inside as it was outside. The structure had one window in this front room, with no cross ventilation. The tropical heat stacked itself in layers. I saw one fan.

From the front door we passed through a living room with a table and two metal chairs against a front wall and a sofa on a side wall. Then we entered the kitchen, where Jogie and I placed the four grocery bags on a small table. Imelda and Maria started to remove the food. The room had one window.

While I watched, Imelda placed a black pot on the grate of a large, iron stove and started washing and cutting up the vegetables and dumping them into the pot. Simultaneously, Maria started cleaning fish. She discarded the heads and tails and intestines and cut the meat into chunks. Then Imelda opened a compartment of the stove and inserted charcoal into it.

“You use charcoal, not butane gas, for your stove?” I asked. “If I have 700 pesos for a canister of gas, then I use gas,” said Imelda. “Today, I don’t have the money.”

“Who usually cooks?” I asked.

Maria spoke in a low voice in Bisaya to Jogie, who translated into English. “Bonifacio fixes breakfast,” Jogie said. “Maria prepares lunch and dinner, and Imelda does a special request, such as a pork adobo.”

I saw two mattresses propped against a wall. Rachel had told me that Imelda and Bonifacio used one to sleep on the floor in the living room and Maria and Arnold used the other one to sleep on the floor in the kitchen. The seven children and grandchildren slept in the bedroom.

People at the Beach, Davao

Beer

In the far corner of the kitchen, I saw two doors, both of them closed. I opened one door and glanced into the interior of a bathroom. A sink, toilet, and shower occupied a tiny space. The room had a small mirror above the sink but no shelves. I wondered how 11 people could use one bathroom. When I opened the other door in the kitchen, I found myself looking outside. In a small yard, I saw clothes hanging from a wire. Blouses, shorts, and undergarments were drying in the sun. I stepped into the yard. Several plastic buckets—blue, red, and green—rested on the ground.

Thirty feet away, the yard terminated in a bank of dirt, weeds, and bushes. I took several steps forward. Beyond the bank of bushes was the creek. The water was fast-moving. A series of paper cups and plastic containers was caught in the leaves of the bushes. Suddenly, I heard Jogie speaking. “The children can’t play in the water. They’ll get sick. By the way, Bonifacio has returned and wants you to join him in the front room. He bought beer.”

I hesitated. The creek was high because of the rains, and there were now dark clouds overhead. If it rained again and if the creek rose another foot, it would flood the backyard and, possibly, all of the rooms in the house. I followed Jogie back inside.

Man, Downtown, Davao

Rain

In the front room, when I sat down in a green armchair in a corner beneath a window with a view of the street, I thought it would be cooler, but I was wrong. To my right was a doorway, which provided a glimpse into another room, a bedroom. I could see vague shapes in the room.

“My daughter and Imelda’s daughter sleep on the bed in there with their babies,” Bonifacio said. “Anthony and the two little girls sleep on the floor. It’s crowded. We didn’t plan it. People just showed up.”

In front of me, Bonifacio sat on a chair and stared at the floor. On the table next to him were a 1-liter bottle of Red Horse beer and two glasses. Bonifacio poured the beer and handed me a glass.

A small girl emerged from the bedroom. When she saw me, she walked over to me, took my hand in her two hands, and pressed the back of my hand to her forehead. It was Lila, Martha’s second daughter.

A tiny TV in the opposite corner suddenly flickered on and off again. “The power does strange things every day. We can’t depend on it,” Martha said. She looked at me.

Bonifacio watched. He said nothing. I could hear the rain coming down hard on the street in front of the house. When I turned to look out the window behind me, I saw the water filling the potholes in the street.

Three Men, Davao River, Davao

Flood

Jogie and I sat in Chuy’s taxi on MacArthur Highway parked near the bridge over the muddy and swollen Davao River. We watched the dark water as it rose.

“The storm is dangerous,” said Jogie. “It could flood Bonifacio and Imelda’s house. They would have to pack up and leave since nearly everyone in the house sleeps on the floor. Their house flooded last year.”

“What was Maria upset about?” I asked. She had been crying in the kitchen while I had been standing outside, in the back yard. When I came back inside her face was red and her eyes were dark.

“Armane and her baby have disappeared,” said Jogie. “Martha found a note from Armane at the bottom of the closet in the bedroom while we were at the market. Martha and her daughters were taking a nap when Armane left.”

“What did the note say?”

“That Armane was going away with her boyfriend and would not return. She didn’t like living with her mother and father and the rest of the family.” Jogie was quiet for a moment. “But the most serious problem is that Armane is a bad mother, and her baby is sick. We are afraid the baby will die if Armane does not get help.”

“I’ll tell Rachel,” I said.

“Rachel already knows. She can’t do anything.”

#LifeCulture, #Philippines:AmericanScientistinDavaoCity #AsiaPacific, #Culture, #Inequality, #SoutheastAsia

#Asia Pacific #culture #inequality #Southeast Asia

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networkingdefinition · 5 years

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Coconuts Quotes

Official Website: Coconuts Quotes

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• 150 people die every year from being hit by falling coconuts. Not to worry, drug makers are developing a vaccine. – Jim Carrey • A plant-based diet has actually simplified my life in so many ways. For breakfast, I try to get my first serving of fruits and nuts for fuel. I’m completely addicted to coconut water for the electrolytes and hydration. – Michelle Forbes • Adrian sifted through the bags and pulled out a slice of coconut cream. “If I were a dragon, this is what I’d go for.” I didn’t argue, mainly because that statement had no logical argument. – Richelle Mead • Anyway, like I was saying, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautes it. There’s, um, shrimp ka-bobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan-fried, deep-fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich… That’s, that’s about it. – Mykelti Williamson • Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? – Graham Chapman • At the end of the block where I used to live in Coconut Grove in Miami, there’s a swampy area, a no-name alcove with a little mangrove estuary. It’s beautiful. – Karen Russell

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Coconut', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_coconut').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_coconut img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Coconut milk is the only thing on this planet that comes identically to mother’s milk. – Dick Gregory • Coconut oil contains the most concentrated natural source of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) available. Substituting coconut oil for other vegetable oils in your diet will help promote weight loss. – Bruce Fife • Coconut oil has always been my favorite. Any dry spots I have I’ll put coconut oil on them because it’s a natural ingredient and it works better – than anything. – Shay Mitchell • Coconut oil has been described as the “World’s Healthiest Dietary Oil”. There is a mountain of historical evidence and medical research to verify this fact – Bruce Fife • Coconut oil is the healthiest oil on earth. – Bruce Fife • Eighteen luscuios scrumpitous flavors, Chocolate,Lime and Cherry Coffee,Pumpkin, Fudge-Banana, Caramel Cream and boysenberry. Rocky Road and Toasted Almond, Butterscotch,Vanilla Dip, Butter Brinkle, Apple Ripple,Coconut,and Mocha Chip, Brandy Peach and Lemon Custard. Each scoop lovely.smooth and round. Tallest cream cone in town lying there on the ground. – Shel Silverstein • For 41 years I have gone with a very natural hair “look” that was originally popularized by coconuts. – Dave Barry • For I am coconut / and the heart of me / is sweeter / than you know. – Nikki Grimes • For people may not know what they think about politics in the Balkans, or the vexed question of men and women, but everyone has a definite opinion about the flavour of shredded coconut. – Louis Simpson • Her hands were empty now, as empty as her heart, which itself was a coconut shell with its meat scooped out. – Thrity Umrigar • I am a believer in nutrient timing and supplementation, through 8Zone. I love eggs, apples, wild fish, leafy greens, brown rice, pasta, oatmeal, home grown Washington Potatoes, and cooking with coconut and olive oils. – Apolo Ohno • I am the MacGyver of cooking. If you bring me a piece of bread, cabbage, coconut, mustard greens, pigs feet, pine cones…and a woodpecker, I’ll make you a good chicken pot pie. – Si Robertson • I believe it was Shakespeare, or possibly Howard Cosell, who first observed that marriage is very much like a birthday candle, in that ‘the flames of passion burn brightest when the wick of intimacy is first ignited by the disposable butane lighter of physical attraction, but sooner or later the heat of familiarity causes the wax of boredom to drip all over the vanilla frosting of novelty and the shredded coconut of romance.’ I could not have phrased it better myself. – Dave Barry • I developed a passion for the Middle Ages the same way some people develop a passion for coconuts. – Umberto Eco • I drink a lot of coconut water. It balances out all the other toxic stuff I put into my body. – Rihanna • I drink coconut water before my workouts. It has just the right amount of calories and electrolytes to get me going. My body has actually started craving it. – Jennifer Morrison • I eat only white foods: eggs, sugar, grated bones, the fat of dead animals; veal, salt, coconut, chicken cooked in white water; fruit mold, rice, turnips; camphorated sausage, dough, cheese (white), cotton salad, and certain fish (skinless). – Erik Satie • I enjoy using coconut oil – not only for my skin and hair, but I’ll digest it. • I get stoned, I can’t get home, I’m calling long distance on a public saxophone. My head is achin’, my back is breakin’, feel I got run over by Captain Coconut and his dog named Rover. – Jimi Hendrix • I grew up with coconuts as the main flavor in food in Jamaica. It’s part of our culture. – Ziggy Marley • I happen to love coconut, particularly for that sweet and crunchy texture it adds to any dish. – Marcus Samuelsson • I have a coconut oil stick, which I use for everything – on my eye lids to make them shinier, on my lips, and on any dry skin. – Georgia May Jagger • I just feel like I aint never did nothing foul in the game. My ghetto report card has always been straight A’s across the board. So I said let me go ahead and name this “My Ghetto Report Card,” and I’m touching down on all 4 angles of the game you smell me? I’m touching it from all basis. The album aint banana’s, it’s coconuts. – E-40 • I knew he was unreliable, but he was fun to be with. He was a child’s ideal companion, full of surprises and happy animal energy. He enjoyed food and drink. He liked to try new things. He brought home coconuts, papayas, mangoes, and urged them on our reluctant conservative selves. On Sundays he liked to discover new places, take us on endless bus or trolley rides to some new park or beach he knew about. He always counseled daring, in whatever situation, the courage to test the unknown, an instruction that was thematically in opposition to my mother’s. – E. L. Doctorow • I love cakes. Chocolate and coconut cakes. I love that combination! – Adriana Lima • I love KIND bars. My favorites are coconut and almond and the dark chocolate and sea salt because staying fueled helps keep me from getting sick or injured. Bananas have also made a great comeback in my life. My kids eat them all the time on the go, which has inspired my go-to pre-run morning meal of peanut butter and banana on toast. – Summer Sanders • I love making Italian food. And coconut chicken. – Joe Jonas • I think I was a mermaid and I used to swim the shores or Hawaii and used to pop up and see coconuts and pineapples everywhere. – Ella Henderson • I think that the heart is a lot like those wonderful fruit, like coconut and mangoes, you know, you have to break the skin, you have to break it open to get to the good part. – Saul Williams • I try not to overeat (which is my biggest problem), and I find that when I’m eating quality foods from good sources, I don’t need to overeat to feel satisfied. I cook with healthy oils (olive, coconut) and stay away as much as possible from overly processed foods. When I do indulge, I enjoy it. For that moment. And then I balance it with exercise. – Adam Rodriguez • I try to eat healthy all the time. I don’t eat takeaways. I drink mostly water or coconut water. – Conor McGregor • I try to get seven to eight hours of sleep. Wash my hands a lot, take a few supplements, like omega-3 and vitamin D. When I feel a cold coming on, I pop some zinc. I do my best to eat a low-sodium, high-fiber diet. I drink mostly water or coconut water. I don’t smoke, no drugs, and drink red wine occasionally. – Andrea Navedo • I was at a speaking engagement for MIT… and I said, ‘The Professor has all sorts of degrees, including one from this very institution [MIT]! And that’s why I can make a radio out of a coconut, and not fix a hole in a boat!’ – Russell Johnson • I was in Cancun, Mexico, sitting in a disappearing-edge swimming pool, on a bar stool that was actually under the water, watching palm trees sway in a sultry breeze against the unmistakable aqua splendor of the Caribbean Sea; drinking coconut, lime, and tequila from a scooped-out pineapple, with salt spray of breaking surf and sun kissing my skin. Translation: I’d died and gone to heaven. – Karen Marie Moning • I was sometimes called ‘coconut’ when I was at school. – David Oyelowo • I will not go a day without coconut oil. I personally take four tablespoons per day, either on my salads, in my cooking or in my cups of green tea. – Miranda Kerr • I wish I could tell you about the South Pacific. The way it actually was. The endless ocean. The infinite specks of coral we called islands. Coconut palms nodding gracefully toward the ocean. Reefs upon which waves broke into spray, and inner lagoons, lovely beyond description. I wish I could tell you about the sweating jungle, the full moon rising behind the volcanoes, and the waiting. The waiting. The timeless, repetitive waiting. – James A. Michener • I would like magical palm tree that had a lot of shade with instead of coconuts there’s just peanut butter jelly sandwiches with cheetos underneath. And my wife that is always happy and possibly naked. – Channing Tatum • If you live on an atoll and you get a warning by radio that a big wave is coming and everyone is told to move to higher ground, where are you supposed to go on these islands? There is none. The highest ground is four-meters (around 13 feet) above sea level, meaning you’d be safer in a coconut tree. How, though, are you supposed to get your grandfather, grandmother and grandchildren up there? – Enele Sopoaga • If you take 12 waters from the coconut – not the ones you buy in the store, although that’s good – but the fresh coconuts, the little brown ones with the three eyes, if you take 12 of those within 24 hours, your blood will go back to the way it was when you were born. – Dick Gregory • I’ll admit that I do quite like drinks that come in coconut shells. So there’s always that. – Danica McKellar • I’m all about having one day during the week when I have an at-home spa day. That’s when I like to do my nails and moisturize, or do a coconut oil hair masque and clear out my blackheads with pore strips. That’s one of my favorite things. – Shay Mitchell • Im at a slightly higher risk for type 2 diabetes, and my grandmother had diabetes. My hemoglobin a1c, which is one of the measures, started being a little high when I was drinking a ton of that coconut water. – Anne Wojcicki • I’m just taking care of myself: Eating less, exercising more, drinking a lot of coconut water. – Jennie Garth • In the first weeks I had occasionally worn clothes in the morning before the sun began its ascent, but very soon I abandoned this habit, and the only bit of material I ever wore was the strip of sari cloth around my hips, which was so useful for making into a bag to collect coconuts on walks. – Lucy Irvine • In the garden of gentle sanity, May you be bombarded by coconuts of wakefulness. – Chogyam Trungpa • It is almost as if happiness is an acquired taste, like coconut cordial or ceviche, to which you can eventually become accustomed, but despair is something surprising each time you encounter it. – Daniel Handler • It never takes longer than a few minutes, when they get together, for everyone to revert to the state of nature, like a party marooned by a shipwreck. That’s what a family is. Also the storm at sea, the ship, and the unknown shore. And the hats and the whiskey stills that you make out of bamboo and coconuts. And the fire that you light to keep away the beasts. – Michael Chabon • It was incredibly cheesy set with torches [TV’s Survivor] – it looked like the lobby of the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. And here as some guy pulling names out of a coconut, and I said, ‘This is the thing that has made American mass media stop in their tracks? – Tom Hanks • I’ve been doing this new ritual where the first thing I do in the morning is put a tablespoon of coconut oil in my mouth and swish it around. Then I put Kora Organics Rosehip Oil all over my body, which is incredible for your skin, and have a freezing-cold shower, all while I’m swishing the coconut oil in my mouth. It’s a way to get the circulation going and to make you feel reenergized and refreshed. – Miranda Kerr • Jemu watched his father disappear. He didn’t throw the coconut and he didn’t cry. Never again would he know love for another human being that wasn’t adulterated by another, contradictory emotion. – Kiran Desai • Love is also like a coconut which is good while it is fresh, but you have to spit it out when the juice is gone, what’s left tastes bitter. – Bertolt Brecht • My favorite food is macaroni and cheese that my grandma makes. My favorite drink has to be Vita Coco coconut water. – Sloane Stephens • My fridge is really just vegan: coconut water, Gatorade (my favorite!), cucumbers, mint, kale, vegetables, ginger, and wheat grass. – Serena Williams • My friend has hand soap that smells like coconut. It’s nice. Unless your hands are dirty from coconuts. – Demetri Martin • My mom grew up in the Philippines, and she would use coconut oil. I put that in my hair always – literally, natural coconut oil that you use for cooking. I use that for my cuticles and dry spots on my skin too. – Shay Mitchell • My mother was very strong. Once, she picked up a coconut and smashed it against my father’s head. It taught me about women defending themselves and not collapsing in a heap. – Alice Walker • My wife is on a new diet. Coconuts and bananas. She hasn’t lost weight, but can she climb a tree. – Henny Youngman • Natural beauty products are a must! I use coconut oil-based RMS makeup, and I slather almond oil on my hands to soak while I watch a movie. – Phoebe Tonkin • Numerous studies have clearly demonstrated that coconut oil has a neutral effect on cholesterol levels. The reason coconut oil does not adversely affect cholesterol is because it is composed primarily of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA). These fatty acids are different from those commonly found in other food sources and are burned almost immediately for energy production, and so they are not converted into body fat or cholesterol to the degree other fats are and do not affect blood cholesterol levels. – Bruce Fife • Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot,’ billed as ‘the laugh sensation of two continents,’ made its American debut at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, in Miami, Florida, in 1956. My father, Bert Lahr, was playing Estragon, one of the two bowler-hatted tramps who pass the time in a lunar landscape as they wait in vain for the arrival of a Mr. Godot. – John Lahr • Skeletons of mice are often to be found in coconuts, for it is easier to get in, slim and greedy, than to get out, appeased but fat. – Viktor Korchnoi • Snooki is a bestselling author? Huh? What? I don’t know if I should dumb down my book, shoot myself or find a publisher who’ll settle for a rough draft written on a Pop-Tart and a coconut lotion handie. – Geoffrey Hill • sometimes you get run down. sometimes life throws dirt in your eyes and it stings and you can’t see for a few minutes. even after you get it out your eyes are all red and your vision is shitty… but eventually, whether through tears or maybe just time… you start to see even clearer than before. life is not always good. which is why music exists. why i believe God exists. and why there’s always a pint of coconut milk ice cream in my freezer. – Hayley Williams • The coconut trees, lithe and graceful, crowd the beach like a minuet of slender elderly virgins adopting flippant poses. – William Manchester • The cyclone ends. The sun returns; the lofty coconut trees lift up their plumes again; man does likewise. The great anguish is over; joy has returned; the sea smiles like a child. – Paul Gauguin • The only time I feel at ease is swinging up and down in a coconut tree. – Ray Davies • The single greatest invention man ever conceived in the dollar bill, because I don’t want to know the conversion rate for coconuts. – John Smith • The two basic items necessary to sustain life are sunshine and coconut milk. – Dustin Hoffman • There is no way to understand the public reaction to the sight of a Freak smashing a coconut with a hammer on the hood of a white Cadillac in a Safeway parking lot unless you actually do it, and I tell you it’s tense. – Hunter S. Thompson • There is one fat that diabetics can eat without fear. That fat is coconut oil. Not only does it not contribute to diabetes but it helps regulate blood sugar, thus lessening the effects of the disease – Bruce Fife • There’s lotion for your face, for your hands, for your feet, for your body. Why? What would happen if you put hand lotion on your feet? Would your feet get confused and start clapping? Each kind has something special in it – aloe, shea butter, coconut, cocoa butter, vanilla, lemon extract. That’s not lotion. That’s one ingredient short of a Bundt cake. – Ellen DeGeneres • Well in two months, it’d be sunbathing time. That made me smile. I enjoyed lying in the sun in a little bikini, timing myself carefully so I didn’t burn. I loved the smell of coconut oil. And I don’t want to hear any lectures about how bad tanning is for you. That’s my vice. Everybody gets one. – Charlaine Harris • What is meditation?… It is fleeing from the self, it is a short escape of the agony of being a self, it is a short numbing of the senses against the pain and the pointlessness of life. The same escape, the same short numbing is what the driver of an ox-cart finds in the inn, drinking a few bowls of rice wine or fermented coconut-milk. – Hermann Hesse • What kind of tea do you want?” “There´s more than one kind of tea?…What do you have?” “Let´s see… Blueberry, Raspberry, Ginseng, Sleepytime, Green Tea, Green Tea with Lemon, Green Tea with Lemon and Honey, Liver Disaster, Ginger with Honey, Ginger Without Honey, Vanilla Almond, White Truffle Coconut, Chamomile, Blueberry Chamomile, Decaf Vanilla Walnut, Constant Comment and Earl Grey.” -“I.. Uh…What are you having?… Did you make some of those up? – Bryan Lee O’Malley • When I lie on the beach there naked, which I do sometimes, and I feel the wind coming over me and I see the stars up above and I am looking into this very deep, indescribable night, it is something that escapes my vocabulary to describe. Then I think: ‘God, I have no importance. Whatever I do or don’t do, or what anybody does, is not more important than the grains of sand that I am lying on, or the coconut that I am using for my pillow.’ So I really don’t think in the long sense. – Marlon Brando • Yes, we could solve for why, but we could also eat another slice of coconut cake. – Sam Lipsyte • You plant twenty coconut trees over here, and twenty coconut trees over there, and you water this batch and don’t water that batch. Of the batch you water, nineteen will survive and one will die. Of the batch you don’t water, nineteen will die and one will survive. – Randall Robinson [clickbank-storefront-bestselling]

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jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'e', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_e').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_e img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'i', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_i').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_i img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

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jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'u', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_u').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_u img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

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colors-memes-and-musings · 5 years

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Where ya’ gonna go? | Where ya’ gonna go? Where ya’ gonna run to? When you get to the edge Of the night?

- - -

This time I’ll face the sky!

#musing #song lyric musing #source: rihanna | towards the sun

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equitiesstocks · 5 years

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Coconuts Quotes

Official Website: Coconuts Quotes

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