The Switch Up

13

November 19, 2016

"Don't feel any pressure or anything Talia and Niall are the nicest people you will ever meet." I calm Harry's nerves as we race through the Miami freeway. Talia had begged to meet Harry and I thought now would be a better time than any other. Thanksgiving was approaching and with our relationship growing every day it was becoming more and more likely our families wanted to meet each other. My family was dying to meet Harry and Harry had told me his parents and family were eager to meet me.

This double date with Talia was inching towards showing him my life outside of work. He hadn't met my best friend and I wanted them to meet each other. I wanted to show Harry my life and I wanted him to show me his in return.

"I just want to make a good impression, she is your best friend!" He tells me and I look over to see him internally thinking to himself. I look down to see one of his hands in his lap and inching my fingers towards it. Lightly touching his hand I felt him take hold of it and I smile to myself feeling his warm hand around mine.

"You will, what's not to like?" I ask him glancing over to see a little smirk on his lips. Harry had been a little stressed over this double date ever since I told him on Tuesday. He has been so worried about Talia liking him even though I had told him countless times that she was going to love him. I can't even begin to imagine what it is going to be like when it comes time to meet my family although I am probably going to be more nervous than him.

My family was crazy! Absolutely crazy and I can't even imagine what they will ask and tell Harry. Especially my mother, lord knows what she will have to say. Both her and my father came from Puerto Rican backgrounds and although my mother was loud my father sometimes could balance that out which I was hoping was the case. I wasn't so much worried about my father but more so my mother and my two brothers who think they know everything about everything. They also loved to embarrass me which didn't go to my favor.

We soon pull up to the burger joint that sits next to the beach. Talia had planned the entire thing and told me that after we ate we could just sit and make a fire on the beach until the stars came out. It was also really nice that I could double date with Talia and Niall now, I have been single since before time so it was exciting I didn't have to third wheel anymore.

Hand in hand Harry and I found ourselves in the burger place Talia had picked. People were crowding around in table as talking among themselves. My eyes scanned the room to see Talia and Niall who waved us over. Talia stood up from the table and came over to hug me and Harry causing my hand to detach from his.

"Hi, I'm Talia!" Talia gushed just as Niall came to stand next to her greeting Harry as well by introducing himself. "We have heard so much about you from Mads! It's nice to finally meet you!" Talia gushed tracing her eyes up and down Harry who responded to her with his smile that could make anyone melt.

"Good things I hope." He responds to her with a bright smile. I hope in this moment Talia doesn't go into detail about my thoughts in Harry. Then again I am sure Talia wasn't in the business of embarrassing me since I tended to do that myself.

"Of course, its Madeline we are talking about here. Whenever she finds someone she likes it's the only thing she talks about." Talia told him making me internally cringe when Talia talked to Harry about me.

We carried our conversation over to a table where we waited for our waiter who eventually made his way over to assist our party. We placed our orders by going clockwise around the table and once everyone had their orders placed a gained another look from the waiter.

He had shaggy blonde curly hair and light chestnut eyes. He looked like a typical surfer and being so close to the beach I could gather he was in fact a surfer.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but can I just say you are a total hottie?" The man said in a Californian surfer accent causing my cheeks to flush a pink color. I became a little awkward when others confronted me with compliments which is weird but I've always been that way.

"Thanks, I-" I feel Harry's arm instinctively tighten around my waist and push out the rest of my sentence by trying to not get distracted by Harry's actions. His arm is wrapped around my in a protective manner and honestly, I find it really sexy. "appreciate it."

The waiter winks at me and tells the group he will be back momentarily with our food and I catch Harry rolling his eyes. I didn't think Harry would be the jealous type but I was wrong it was evident in his reaction to the waiter calling me quote "a total hottie".

I didn't take what the waiter said seriously and nor did I really care. I shrug it off and look over at Harry who is engaged in a conversation about gold with Niall. However, I can tell that the entire encounter bothered him just by glancing at his more tense features and by the way he held me closer to him.

"Can you tell Niall is obsessed with golf?" Talia teased while I giggled along with the group. Niall was always begging Talia to go golfing with him but she only denied his request telling him it was a boring sport.

"So Harry what do you do outside of work?" Talia asked gulping down on her pink lemonade that she got any time we went out. Pink lemonade was her staple drink.

"I love to play tennis actually," Harry told her as I glanced at him to see a little smile form on his lips. Whenever he talked about the things he liked I could spot that smile that curled on the ends of his lips.

"Ah you don't say, I was on the tennis team in high school. I wasn't any good but I liked the game. We should all play together sometime if we haven't scared you off yet." Talia enthuses with Harry coming up with another double date option. I wasn't the athletic type at all which meant, whenever physical activity was mentioned I was blasting out of there.

The only time you catch me running is to get McDonald's breakfast before they stop serving pancakes. Either that or if there was a zombie apocalypse and there was a big ass horde coming for my Puerto Rican ass which was very doubtful since that wasn't going to happen.

"Of course not, if I am being honest I was super nervous to meet you guys since you are Madeline's best friends but there was no reason to be," Harry confesses to Talia and Niall who laugh and continue on with their conversation. I follow along loosely but find myself distracted by my own mind and thoughts.

Our waiter makes his way back over to our table and hands off our burgers one by one that is, until he gets to mine. I feel Harry's arm again tighten around my wait and feel my heart beat a little quicker in my chest.

"Call me sometime." He winked and handed me my hamburger that had a heart drawn in ketchup on the patty. He snaps his fingers as he walks away doing some twist around and saunters back around to his next table.

"Sweet baby Jesus!" I say cracking up at the gesture and his cheesy little jig he had done walking off. I laugh in my hands but notice Harry isn't taking the same approach as everyone else was. I could tell he was trying to be a good sport about the whole thing but fake laughing it off but I could see it bothered him.

+

The sun is low in the sky and the soft waves of the ocean uncurl on the shore of the beach. The cotton candy purple sky is dimming as the sun hides under the ocean's horizon. I stand at the edge of the wet sand just far enough so the waves don't touch my feet. I stare out at the wide ocean like I am in some drama movie about a girl who is trying to make a big life decision that could change the course of her life forever. If only I was listening to some mood-fitting music to bring the whole scene to life.

"I know what that waiter said bothered you." I turned my head when I saw Harry appear next to me.

"It didn't bother me." He denied trying to laugh it off weakly but I knew this was all a lie. For being a lawyer he isn't that great at hiding what he feels but then again I'm not either.

"Yes it did and I just want you to know, it didn't mean anything to me. You don't have to worry... although I do find your jealously very sexy." I admit turning my body until I am close to his chest and can smell his familiar cologne scent.

"I wasn't jealous." He denies again and I pull away slightly from his chest that I had found myself in.

"Hmmm... Well, I guess that's too bad then." I begin to walk out of his arms and he is alerted by keeping his gaze on me. "I find protective men extremely attractive."

"I never said I wasn't protective, just not jealous." He pulls my wrist until I am back into his chest and I chuckle at his little smirk playing on his lips.

"Prove it." I tease him leaving his arms in a mad dash down the beach and feel the wind in my hair. I guess I was wrong, here I am running and there was no zombies or Mcdonalds breakfast involved.

I know Harry is gaining speed on me by the footsteps that are closely tracking behind me but my lungs are beginning to burn from my lack of never running. His arms reach out and grab me and I am tossed over his shoulder, my hair hanging while my body is situated upside down. My hair is brushing against the sand and I see Harry is walking towards the ocean.

"Boy, you better not! You are entering dangerous waters right now... you... you better not or else!"I squeal seeing the tips of my hair touching the salt water of the ocean that is only a few inches from me.

"Or else?" He laughs at me and I squirm a little more to test how strong Harry's hold on me is.

"Or else you don't want to know!" I earn another chortle from him and feel the blood now rushing to my head.

"You don't know what." He finds my struggle hilarious as I squirm and feel him begin to drop me. Inch by inch he loosens his grip and I immediately stop trying to break free instead I squeal out and tell him to stop.

"Okay, okay!" I tell him but again he loosens his grip and more of my hair is now floating in the water.

"Oh no... I can't hold on!" He teases and I laugh and shout at him to cut it out. My face feels red if you can even feel colors.

"Harry!" I shout at him, he reels me back up over his shoulder causing my feet to hit the water. I stand in front of him trying to gather myself once again from being flustered and hung upside down.

"Madeline!" He mocks in my voice which is exaggerated and high inaccurate of how I sound.

"You are so annoying." I shake my head and catch my breath from everything leading up to this point.

"I thought you found me attractive since I am protective.." Harry grinned and I instantly become entranced by the way his eyes seem to smile at me. My hands trail around his waist and within seconds our lips are planted on one another.It feels like all the air is sucked out of my lungs as my heart beats are quick against my rib cage. Everything becomes elevated when I kiss Harry and my chest swells just feeling his soft lips on my own.

I felt like we were in some romantic comedy with how this all happened. Everything was movie perfect with the sun setting beach as our setting and the kiss being that main scene. I am infatuated with the way his hand cradles my face while still holding our kiss. He sparks something inside of me and its hard to say what but all I know is that I loved every single time he struck it.

N. Guess whose back, back again, Shady's back tell a friend! It feels good to talk to you all again! Also I loved the ship name Hadeline so that's what we are going with! I also want to let you know I am going to start speeding up time to keep things interesting:) thoughts on Hadeline?