Chapter 13

Sarah

I could feel something warm and hard pressing into my leg as I lay there, and I snuggled into it, feeling like a bug in a cocoon. I felt so happy and blissful. My eyes flitted open seconds later and I realized that I was holding on to Harry tightly. Oops.

“’Morning,” he said, looking down at me, his eyes open and wide awake.

“Oh, no, how long have you been awake, Harry?” I asked as I gazed up at him.

“I’ve been awake since you fell asleep?”

“Oh. Oops.” I tried to remember exactly what had happened this morning. I remembered him barging into my apartment at some unearthly hour, but I’d been so tired and still slightly drunk that I wasn’t even really sure what was going on.

His chestnut brown eyes were inscrutable when I looked up at him. “You could have gotten out of the bed, you know? You didn’t have to stay here with me.”

“You kind of made it hard for me to get out of the bed, Sarah. You were holding on to me very tightly.” He grinned. “Almost like you didn’t want to let go.”

“Whatever,” I said as I rolled away from him, realizing that the hard thing I’d felt next to my leg was actually his cock. I could feel myself blushing as I realized that I’d made him slightly hard, and it was then that I also realized that all I had on was a skimpy white T-shirt and panties. “So I think I’m going to go shower now,” I said, as I looked at him from the other side of the bed.

“Okay then, go on.”

“So do you want to go and make some coffee for me or something?” I said, not wanting to get out of the bed because I also remembered that I had on thong panties and I didn’t really want him to see my ass no matter how long we’d known each other.

“No, I don’t really want to make it for you. Do you want to make it for me?”

“Harry, can you please just make me some coffee? You know I am hungover and I’m not feeling great.”

“Fine, Sarah. I’ll be your manservant for the day.”

“Ooh, for the day?”

“I take that back, I misspoke,” he said as he got out of the bed. “I mean, I’ll be your manservant for this one moment while I make you some coffee.”

“Please get some milk and sugar too,” I said in my sweet voice and waited for him to leave the room. As soon as he walked out, I jumped out of the bed and ran into the shower. I looked at myself in the mirror and groaned. Oh my gosh, I looked an absolute hot mess. My hair was a frizzy mess on top of my head. It looked like I might even have some huge knots, and then my face, ugh, the mascara and eyeliner had smudged all over my cheeks, and my lips looked like they were cracked. I wasn’t sure what sort of lipstick and lip gloss they put on, but it wasn’t looking good. I shook my head at my reflection. No wonder Harry hadn’t been impressed by my makeover. I looked worse than I normally did. Not better.

I quickly jumped in the shower and rubbed soap over my face to wash off the makeup, scrubbing my skin as I went.

“Oh,” I closed my eyes. My stomach was feeling queasy. I really didn’t feel good. I’d wanted to blow out my hair and put on my makeup like the makeup artist had shown me the day before, but I just didn’t feel like it. So as soon as I got out of the shower, I put my hair up in a ponytail again, and then quickly grabbed some clothes—a baggy pair of sweatpants, bra, and a T-shirt.

I walked into the kitchen and Harry was there making some eggs. “What are you doing? I thought we were going to go to brunch.” I frowned. I’d really been looking forward to those cotton candy pancakes.

“I think you need some eggs first. We can go somewhere for lunch afterward, but I think you shouldn’t be going out until you eat.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m saying that your stomach’s acting like it could have some food.”

“What do you mean my stomach is acting like it could have some food?”

“You had smelly breath this morning.” He laughed.

“What, you’re rude.”

“I’m just saying your breath stunk of alcohol and it was reeking through your pores as well. So that tells me you had a lot to drink, and when you have a lot to drink, you have to have eggs in the morning.”

“Well, are you at least going to make some bacon as well?”

“Do you have turkey bacon?”

“I don’t want turkey bacon.” I rolled my eyes. “Regular bacon, please.”

“You have to be healthy, Sarah.”

“Oh, shut up, Harry.” I groaned and walked to the living room. “I’m going to sit down on the couch and watch TV, and you can serve me breakfast in the living room.”

“Wow. Okay,” he added and grinned. “I guess you are really going to owe me after this.”

“I’m already going with you to your events. I think you’ll owe me for the next ten years.”

“Sarah, did you forget what you did yesterday?”

“Harry, that was a joke. If any of the girls had a sense of humor, they’d understand that.”

“You know, I don’t date girls for their sense of humor.”

“I know, Harry. You date them for their big boobs and their ...” I stopped myself.

“And their what?” He walked toward me and then looked down into my eyes. “Continue, Sarah. I’d like to know what you think I date girls for. Their big boobs, and?”

“And nothing.” I kept my mouth shut. All I could think about was his hardness as it had been pressing into my leg this morning. I’d never felt that way with Harry before and I think it was on my mind because, as I had realized that he had been hard, my panties had gotten wet. We didn’t have that sort of relationship. Yeah, I knew Harry was a gorgeous man. Most probably the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in my life, and I knew he was packing with a good body, but not in the sexual sort of way. He was my friend. I’d never looked at him like that.

But this morning, when I’d felt his very hard, very long, and thick cock pressed against me, my panties had just soaked themselves. I don’t know if it’s because I’d had a lot to drink the night before or because I was starting to want to do more in my life. But Harry was suddenly looking a lot more attractive than I’d ever thought of him before.

“Sarah, what are you thinking?” Harry pinched me on the nose, and I glared at him.

“Don’t do that.”

“Well, I was talking to you and you weren’t talking back.”

“Because I always ignore you, Harry, because that’s the only thing to do with people like you.”

“That’s the only thing to do with people like me?” He laughed. “Go on, Sarah. Go to the living room and watch your TV.”

“I’m going,” I said and turned around. As I walked out of the room, he hit me in the ass with his hand. “What are you doing?” I looked back at him. “That’s not cool.”

“What? Naughty girls deserve a little spanking, don’t you think?” he said with a wink, and I just walked out quickly. I had no answer to that. “Anyway, eat up and then we’ll go to The Met later, okay?”

“Okay,” I said with a smile. He knew how much I loved The Met.

“So, how long do you think we have to be here, Sarah?” Harry said as we walked through the British Gallery exhibition at The Met.

“What do you mean how long do we have to be here? You’re the one that suggested we come. You’re the one that said that it was the museum’s 150th anniversary and it was going to be devoted to British decorative arts design culture. Do you remember that?”

“I may have said something like that.” He yawned. “But I didn’t think you’d actually take me up on it.”

“Well, here we are.”

“I didn’t think it was going to be teapots,” he groaned. “I mean, I know the British love their tea, but, really? A museum for teapots? Like who cares?”

“Harry, you know I find this stuff interesting.”

“I mean, I know you say you find this stuff interesting, but do you really?” His eyes narrowed as he grinned. “I mean, teapots, Sarah? Really? I’ve watched paint dry and it was more exciting than this.”

“Harry, do not get me started, okay?” I walked on ahead of him, even though I knew that he was going to hate every minute of his time here.

“Well, I have a suggestion for you, Sarah.”

“What’s that, Harry?”

“What about after this we go and get lunch?”

“Okay, that was the plan, right?”

“Yeah, and after that we—”

“Oh gosh, what do you want to do?”

“Well, I told you about the merger we have coming up with that German company, right?”

“You kind of mentioned something about a merger with a company from Germany. I don’t really know what it’s about.”

“Well, it’s a company that makes children’s toys out of wood.”

“Okay. And?”

“And I want us to check out some of the toy stores in the area to see what comparables we have. See what else is out there?”

“Didn’t you guys check that out before you decided to merge with this German company?”

“Yeah, we checked out the big stores, the big manufacturers, but I want to see what these cool boutique stores are doing.”

“Okay. So you want us to go to toy stores this afternoon? Interesting. I always knew you were a big child, Harry.”

“Ha ha, Sarah, it’s for work and you know, in my life, work comes first.”

“I know, Harry. Work always comes first for you. What are you going to do when I get married?”

“What do you mean what am I going to do when you get married?” he asked as we continued walking through the museum.

“I mean what I said, what are you going to do when I’m not here to spend afternoons with you going to toy stores so you can work?”

“Well, why won’t you be able to do that once you’re married?”

“Harry, I’ll have a husband and I’ll have kids, and they’ll need more of my time.”

“I’m sure your husband will be fine with us hanging out. He’s going to understand that we do things together. A lot of things together.”

“Okay, Harry, if you think so. I’m just saying that maybe you want to think about getting yourself a proper girlfriend sometime, not just a best friend to hang out with.”

“Are you telling me you don’t like these weekends with me, Sarah?”

“I’m not saying I don’t like these weekends with you, Harry. I’m just saying that don’t you think it’s a little bit weird?”

“What’s weird?” He shook his head as we stopped in front of another collection of teapots.

“I just think that a lot of people—”

“Who? Don’t tell me a lot of people, is this Gemma?”

“Yes, well, Gemma is one of them, and there’re other people too.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I just think that a lot of people think that we have an unusual relationship.”

“Why do we have an unusual relationship? Guys and girls can’t be friends now?”

“Well, yeah, we are friends obviously. Everyone knows we’re best friends and we do everything together all the time. We have since we were kids. But we’re getting older now. I mean, you date a lot. You’ve dated so many different women and you’ve never really been in a serious relationship. And I don’t date, and that’s weird. I’m twenty-five now. I’m done with college, I’m done with grad school, and I think it’s time for me to find someone that is more on my level.”

“What do you mean is more on your level? Who’s going to be more on your level than me?”

“I mean find someone who’s going to be a proper boyfriend, who’s going to hold my hand, who’s going to kiss me, who I’m going to have sex with.”

“Oh, really? It is overrated, Sarah. Really.”

“Really, Harry?” I looked him up and down. “You’re saying sex is overrated?”

“I’m just saying that I don’t think you should rush and get involved with anyone too soon.”

“Well, Harry, it’s not like they’re all lining up for me, but I’m just saying, I was thinking about maybe joining a dating app.”

“Oh, no. You cannot join a dating app, Sarah.”

“Well, I didn’t say I was definitely going to do it, but that’s one option. There are some really cool ones out there and maybe Gemma and I will go out to a couple of bars and we’ll meet people.”

“What have I told you about Gemma? She is not the right sort of friend to be going out and meeting men with.”

“Yeah. Well, then who else am I going to go out with, Harry? I don’t have that many friends in the city, you know that.”

“Well, then come out with me. I’ll help you meet people.”

“You’re going to help me meet people. Really?”

“Yeah.” He grinned. “Let’s go tonight.”

“Tonight? Really?”

“Yeah, it’d be fun. We haven’t gone out in a long time like that in the evening.”

“We just went out last week.”

“Going to a movie is not the same thing as going to a club, Sarah, you know that.”

“I guess. So what, are you going to be like my wingman or something?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll help you find a good guy.”

“Well, I guess that sounds cool. Can Gemma come?”

“If you really want her to come, I guess, but...” He paused.

“Fine. She doesn’t have to come.”

“Yeah. Just let it be the two of us, girl. We’ll have fun.”

“Okay, Harry, I guess.” I nodded at him and then he made a face.

“Can we go yet, Sarah? This is so boring.”

“Fine. Let’s go and eat. You’re lucky I’m hungry.”

“Yeah. Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’m pretty hungry myself.” He licked his lips, and I had a feeling he was talking about more than food as his eyes surveyed my face and then my body.

“Oh, man. Harry,” I said, as I yawned. “I don’t think I’m actually going to be able to go out tonight. I’m too tired.”

“Oh, let’s see. You went out last night and had fun, and now you don’t want to go out.” He shook his head at me. “And I was going to help you try and find a boyfriend.”

“Whatever, Harry. I mean, I’m not feeling great and, yes, I did get drunk last night. I mean, if you really, really want us to go out, I can.”

“No, it’s fine. We can just stay in.”

“No, you should go out if that’s something you want to do,” I said. “Don’t let me hold you back. I know I held you back with those women.”

“Oh, Sarah, enough, enough.” He shook his head as we walked down the street. “We can go back to your place and then see what we want to do. Just have a low-key night.”

“Yeah, I guess so. But I think I’ll most probably have an early night because I’m so tired,” I said as I yawned. He laughed and he put his arm around my shoulder.

“Oh, Sarah, you see, this is why you don’t drink.”

“What is why I don’t drink?”

“Because you can’t even stay awake, and it’s only five in the afternoon.”

“It’s also the weekend, Harry, so it’s fine.”

“Every day is a weekend for you though.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I snapped at him as I moved away. “What are you trying to say??”

“I’m not trying to say anything, Sarah, but you don’t have a job yet, so it’s not like you’re working during the week.”

“So what, I’m just a bum during the week. I can just sleep all day?”

“No, Sarah, that’s not what I said,” he groaned. “Oh my god, why are you so sensitive these days?”

“I’m not so sensitive these days. You know I’ve been looking for a job, and actually, that’s why I went to that event yesterday because I thought I might get a job at the American Museum of Natural History.”

“Sarah, but you studied British history,” he looked confused. “Why would you get a job at the American Museum of Natural History?”

“Well, obviously, it wasn’t my best thought ever. I was just thinking about getting a job so that I could actually have an income.”

“But you don’t need an income, Sarah. You have loads of money and if for some reason you never have loads of money, you have me.”

“What do you mean I have you?”

“I’m a millionaire and I will be a billionaire one day, so I can give you whatever you need as well.”

“Harry, I’m not taking money from you. Are you freaking kidding me? I want to stand on my own two feet. I’m not going to go from taking money from my parents to taking money from you, my best friend.”

“I know you don’t want to do that, Sarah, but I’m just saying, if push comes to shove and you need money, or for some reason you don’t want to take money from your parents, I’m always here for you, okay?”

“Thanks, Harry.” I gave him a grateful look. “I’m not trying to bite your head off. You know I want to stand on my own two feet. Ever since I told my parents that I don’t want to take over the business, they’ve sort of like been guilting me into doing something still with the company.”

“Oh, what do they want you to do?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I haven’t really seen them, but it’s just like, you know I love history. You know I want to work for a museum. You know I want to work in that capacity.”

“Yes, Sarah, you need to follow your dreams, whatever you want to do.”

“I know. It just seems like maybe I’m not in the right city,” I said hesitantly.

“What do you mean you’re not in the right city?” His eyes narrowed as he looked me up and down. “Where else would you be?”

“Well, I mean, there’s always London. I mean, what better place to get a job when you’re an expert on the Tudors than in the country that the Tudors lived in.”

“Don’t be silly, Sarah. You can’t move to England. You’re American. You live in New York.”

“I know I’m American and I live here, but I’m just saying, you know, other people take job opportunities in other countries of the world. And perhaps, maybe I should look in England as well.”

“Don’t be stupid, Sarah.” He shook his head. “You’re not going to England. You’d never survive there by yourself. “

“Okay, Harry, whatever. Are you scared that I’ll never survive there by myself or you’ll just never survive here without me?”

“Really, Sarah?” He laughed. “I think I’d get on fine without you in my life.”

“Really? So you’re saying you don’t need me in your life then, huh?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying that if push came to shove and you ended up moving, I’d be okay. I am a playboy, remember? I have lots of women who are after me.”

“Yeah, but I’m not lots of women. I’m your best friend.”

“I know you’re my best friend. I’m just saying that.” He let out a deep sigh. “Oh my gosh. I think you must just be tired. Let’s just go back to your place and order a pizza or something.”

“Fine. Fine.”

We got to my place and Harry called for a pizza while I changed into my pj’s. He walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed as I brushed my hair.

“I guess your hair doesn’t look that bad,” he said. “The color is pretty nice, I suppose.”

“Wow, super big compliment. Thanks, Harry.”

“I’m just saying. I mean, I liked your natural hair color, but this is okay if you had to dye it.”

“Well, thanks. I’m glad I finally got your permission, Harry. Next time I’ll ask you before I do anything.”

“Oh, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.” He grinned. “I can’t wait till you have a husband because I can’t wait for us to complain about you and your surly attitude.”

“You know what, Harry? You’re an asshole.”

“And that’s why you love me.” He laughed as he lay back on the bed. “Okay, so I ordered a pepperoni pizza, barbecue wings, and a Caesar salad. Oh yeah, and two slices of New York cheesecake, one with strawberries and one without.”

“I hope the one with strawberries is for me.”

“No, it’s for me.”

“Harry, you know I don’t like plain cheesecake.”

“I’m joking. Of course, the one with strawberries is for you.”

“Thank you.” I beamed at him. “Okay, so what movie shall we watch tonight?”

“Um,” he hummed and hawed for a couple of seconds. “Why don’t we play a game instead?”

“What game are we going to play?”

“Don’t you have any board games?”

“I have a couple, let me see.” I got up and walked out to the living room. “Come on, let’s have a look and see.”

“Okay.” He followed behind me. “What do you have?”

I opened my cupboard door. “Okay, I have Incan Gold.”

“But we can’t really play that. That’s not fun with two people.”

“I have Monopoly.”

“I like Monopoly,” Harry said. “Though it lasts rather long.”

“It does last long, and you always cheat.”

“I don’t cheat.”

“Yes you do.”

“Okay. What else do you have?”

“I have Diplomacy.”

“Don’t know what that is.”

“I know. I got it from a cousin. I don’t know why. Let me see what else I have. I have Telestrations.”

“But that’s not good for two people, is it?”

“No, that’s more of a party game. Oh, I have Twister. We haven’t played that in a long time.”

“Yeah, we haven’t played that since we were kids.” He laughed. “I don’t even know if you could get into half of the positions now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Harry?”

“I’m just saying you’re not as flexible as you were as a kid.”

“Whatever. You’re not as flexible as you were.”

“I think you’d be quite surprised at how flexible I am, Sarah.” He wiggled his eyebrows and we both laughed.

“Okay, fine. I dare you. Let’s play Twister and let’s see who wins.”

“That sounds like a plan to me.” He grinned.

“Do you really think you stand a chance against me, Sarah?” He looked me up and down. “There’s no way you’re going to be more flexible than me. I can put my hand behind my ears and my ears behind my legs.”

“That doesn’t even make sense, Harry. How can you do such a thing?”

“Ah, but I got you thinking, didn’t I?”

“Oh gosh. You’re so going down, Harry.”

“So do you want to start now or you want to eat first?”

“Well, how long is the pizza and stuff going to be?”

“They said about an hour.”

“So let’s play a game now to warm up and then we’ll play a game later.”

“Okay, that sounds like a good idea. You go and get it out.”

“Okay. Where are you going?”

“Well, I’m going to change.”

“What do you mean you’re going to change.” I looked at him in his jeans and shirt. “Why are you changing?”

“Because you’re wearing clothes that are more easily flexible.”

“What are you talking about? “

“You have on shorts and a T-shirt, Sarah. I have on stiff jeans and a shirt. I’m not going to be able to bend easily in jeans.”

“So what are you going to put on?”

“I think I have a pair of sweatpants here from a couple months ago. You put them in a drawer for me, right?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s with your other clothes in the second drawer. Okay, fine, you go and get changed and I’ll get the game ready.”

I watched as he walked toward the bedroom and then I pulled out the box with the game. I took out the plastic sheet and placed it on the rug in the living room, and then I took out the spinner.

“Hurry, Harry, I can’t wait to beat you.”

“You wish, Sarah,” he called out from the bedroom and I laughed. “There’s no way in hell that you’re going to beat me.”

“I will. I do yoga, you know?”

“No, you don’t.”

“Well, I did go to that one yoga class like two years ago.”

“And you stopped going because you said you couldn’t get into the positions they were doing.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.” I laughed and then groaned. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

“Okay, I’m back.” He walked back into the living room wearing his black sweats and a white T-shirt. His hair was slicked back and his brown eyes were sparkling as he grinned at me. “So do you want to go first or second?”

“I don’t care. What do you want to do?” I said.

“Um, I’ll go first.”

“Okay, time to spin, Sarah.”

“Fine, I’m spinning.” I spun it and smiled as I saw right foot red. I stood on the red and then looked at him. “Your turn.”

He spun it and he got left foot blue. “I’m winning.” He grinned.

“Dude, all you’ve done is your left foot.”

We continued spinning for about four more rounds until I found myself on my knees stretched out on the map. Somehow, I was now precariously close to falling on top of Harry. He grinned at me as he spun the spinner.

“You’re so going down, you know that right, Sarah?”

“Nuh-uh.” I laughed, and then as he moved his arm to reach across me, I slipped and fell on top of him.

Oh, Harry. Oops, sorry," I said as I lay there facing him.

“You should be sorry.” He grinned up at me, his brown eyes staring into mine intensely. “I told you, you’d lose.”

“I told you, you’d lose,” I said. For some reason, I didn’t move. Instead, I shifted back until I was sitting on top of him and looking down. “I think we should say it was a tie.”

“But it wasn’t a tie, Sarah.” He grabbed my hands and rolled me over so that I was now on my back and he was on top of me, my legs widened and I wrapped them around his legs so that I could push him back down. “Oh no, you don’t, Sarah.” He held my wrists tightly so that I couldn’t move him.

“Come on, Harry, come on.” I struggled against him, hoping to get him on his back again.

“Say that I’m the winner,” he said, as we both lay there.

“No, I’ll never say it.”

“Say I’m the winner. I’m never going to let you go.”

“You will let me go.” I struggled against him again. My legs moving up and down and then he shifted suddenly. Suddenly, I could feel his hardness between my legs. We both paused for a few seconds. Neither one of us saying anything. I could feel my panties getting moist as he just ground himself against me lightly. Neither one of us acknowledging the fact of what he was doing.

“Say it, Sarah, or I won’t let you go.”

“I’m not saying it, Harry.” We kept pretend fighting and ignoring the fact that our privates were rubbing against each other. We’d play-fought millions of times before, but it never felt like this.

Suddenly, he came down and whispered in my ear, “Tell me that I’m the winner and I’ll let you go.” The feel of his warm breath in my ear tickled and I felt a shiver all the way down my spine.

I glared up at him and shook my head. “Never.” My lips were mere inches away from his and I knew that if I just moved my head slightly up, we’d be kissing.

“Sarah,” he said as he moved his face dangerously close to mine. Now, we were just centimeters away and I could feel his breath on my lips.

“Yes, Harry?”

“Admit defeat,” he said.

“No, you admit defeat.” He lowered his body onto mine so that his chest was now crushed against me. I could feel my nipples getting hard at the feel of his warm body against me. “Sarah.” He kissed me on the nose. “Admit defeat.”

“No.” I pushed him and he moved slightly off-balance even though he never let go of my wrists. We rolled over to the side and suddenly my T-shirt was running up and so was his. Our warm skin was now touching. I felt like a surge of electricity had gone through me at his touch.

“Sarah.” He removed his left hand from my wrist and ran it across my stomach and started tickling me. “I’m going to tickle you and you’re going to pee your pants if you do not say I won.”

“Harry, stop,” I groaned, for the feeling I was feeling inside had nothing to do with wanting to pee my pants and everything to do with me wanting to feel more of him against me.

“Sarah.” His hand ran up the side of my body now, coming dangerously close to my breast. I wondered if he was going to grope me, but instead it went to my arm and he started tickling me there.

“Okay, okay,” I said finally, laughing as he tickled me hard. “You win, you win.” Finally, he let go of me and we both just lay there, staring at each other. My heart was racing, and I wondered if his was racing as well. His eyes narrowed slightly, and I saw them move to my lips. I reached out to touch him on the arm, and just as I was about to pull him close, the doorbell rang.

“Thank God for that,” I whispered inside my head. Saved by the bell. I don’t know what I’d been thinking about doing, but it would have been a really bad idea to kiss Harry.