*HARPER'S Point of View*

Harry had stayed with me til the wee hours of the morning. Such a divine way to spend the night. But he had to vacate my room before anyone discovered that he had been there. I was half awake when he mumbled in my ear, "I love you, Baby. See you soon."

I think that was around 4 AM. A few hours later, I was jolted awake by another knock on the door. Harry. He was really asking for it. I swung the door open, ready to give him some cheeky comment, but it wasn't Harry at all. 

It was Claudia.

She stood there with that same oddly fake smile plastered to her face. "Good morning, Harper. Since last night went so late, we didn't have time to hand out today's date card. You have the first one-on-one with Harry. Hurry up and get ready. Oh, and I brought you some coffee," she said, raising the cup a little before setting on the desk in my room. Then she took a sip of her own, saying, "I think we all need it after our late night last night." 

"I don't understand," I said. "Isn't this the week we're going to his home town?" Speaking so early in the morning triggered a huge yawn. Little did Claudia know, I hadn't slept most of the night due to my stealthy visitor.

"Yes, that's happening today," she answered. "Harry is going to meet you there. He wanted you you to get there and have an early breakfast at his favorite cafe. I'm sure you know he wants to spend as much of the day with you as possible." 

After asking what I needed to bring, I shooed her out so I could get dressed. I hoped that Harry wouldn't tire of my blue and orange fetish. I pulled on some comfortable khakis with a white and blue striped top. Claudia had told me to dress casually, and that maybe we would do some walking. My blue Converse would be perfect; I was far too tired to define the exact shade of blue. I completed my look with an orange leather bracelet and some of my favorite earrings. I sipped more of my coffee and headed out the door, thrilled to see Harry again so soon. He wasn't joking when he had said, "See you soon," just a few hours earlier. What a goof; he thought he was so clever.

In the car, I let myself reminisce about last night, about connecting with Harry, mind, body and spirit. I still couldn't believe that I was "the one." We hadn't really spoken about it in detail yet, but I wondered if that meant he was planning to propose at the end of the week. That seemed ridiculous on the one hand, but he had made it clear during the entire process that he was looking for his wife. 

As premature as it sounded, I was ready for an engagement ring. Even under the contrived circumstances that brought us together, I was certain we had gotten to know each other well enough to say to each other, "You're the one." It boggled my mind that Harry Styles, world-wide superstar and heartthrob, loved me.

We pulled into the airport, which surprised me. "We're not going to drive?" 

"Nope, I guess not," the driver said. "My instructions were to put you on this plane here. Shouldn't take you too long. I guess Mr. Styles had early morning plans for the two of you." 

I smiled gratefully, hopped out of the SUV and stretched my hands up into the air, arching my back with another huge yawn. Even with the first round of coffee, I was still terribly sleepy. I would definitely grab a second cup on the plane. After that, I was sure adrenaline would carry me. Or maybe Harry and I could even grab an afternoon nap at his folks' place. 

I boarded the jet and found an insanely large man seated in one of the comfy chairs in the lounge. His size reminded me of Arlo, my bodyguard from our date in Mexico. He was reading a magazine and didn't seem to notice that I had walked in.

"Oh," I said in surprise, but then I recovered quickly. "Hi, I'm Harper."

"Hello," the man grinned. "I'm Alex. Sorry to startle you. I thought they were going to tell you that I was going to be your bodyguard today."

"No problem," I said, waving my hand. "We only have one more week of filming and I'm still meeting new people. It's nice to meet you, Alex."

"You, too," he replied warmly. 

I looked around the small cabin of the plane. It was the first time I noticed that this wasn't the one we usually traveled in. "Where's the other plane?" I wondered aloud.

"Harry took it just an hour ago," he answered. Oh, right. That made more sense than flying back here to pick me up. He was probably just arriving now anyway, if he only left an hour ago; not much time for them to fly back here and get me.

I wondered about this special place where he wanted to take me for breakfast. I was excited, nervous and a little anxious all at the same time. I was glad that I'd already met his family, at least. But now, seeing where he grew up, sharing some of his memories of growing up in the small town - this made it seem so much more real.

I got comfortable on the sofa and Alex asked, "Can I get you anything? Coffee, juice...?" 

"Coffee, please!" I said, trying to sound enthusiastic even though my eyelids felt like lead. "Must be the jet lag or the crazy pace of this show that's finally catching up with me." I yawned on cue. "Or both."

The plane started to taxi towards takeoff while Alex disappeared into the kitchenette. I smiled inwardly to think of that huge man crammed into a tiny kitchen area, just to get me some coffee. "Are we the only ones going on this flight?" I called.

He came back and handed me the cup, which I gratefully received. I took a sip, testing the heat, while he answered, "The crew went up with Harry."

"Ahh," I said. That made sense, too, I suppose. It was just odd because I hadn't traveled with just one other person before. My brain was so foggy, though, so I just focused on the coffee, willing it to bring some vitality to my brain and my body. 

Eventually, my mind wandered again to just a few hours ago when Harry was groaning in my ear as his body moved roughly, yet deliciously, against mine. I chose to ignore how he had gotten so good at sex and I just enjoyed the fact that all of his expertise was now directed towards me. Relationships were never all about sex for me, and I'd only been in a few serious-ish relationships anyway. But with Harry, I found myself wanting him more than I had ever wanted anyone. That meant a lot to both of us - we wanted each other in every way and we enjoyed each other in every way. We understood each other words, spoken and unspoken, we sensed each other's moods and needs, and expressing our love through sex was more than just physical; it was a more profound connection than I had ever shared with anyone else.

The flight seemed to be taking a long time. "When do you suppose we'll arrive?" I asked Alex, stifling another yawn. It had to have been close to an hour by now. 

"It might be a while yet," he said, not looking up from his magazine.

"What do you mean?" I asked, becoming slightly alarmed. I looked out the plane's window and saw...ocean! Not just a swath of the sea, bordered by land, but endless ocean in all directions. We were definitely not headed for Holmes Chapel. "Where are we going?" I demanded, feeling rather panicked. Even if this was another "surprise," I wanted to know what was going on. I had no patience left for this.

"Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine." He still avoided eye contact.

I jumped up, wanting to force him to look at me, but the cabin swayed and tilted. "Oh, my god!" I cried out at first. "We're crashing. We're going to crash! What's happening?" I found myself on the floor at Alex's feet as the dizziness subsided.

"We're not crashing," he said calmly, finally looking at me. "Well the plane isn't crashing. Here, let me help you."

The last thing I remembered was this huge, hulking man picking me up and laying me down on the sofa. 

____

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