No Control | Holding Me Ransom (Book 2)

77 - Stay Awake And Keep On Dreaming

That weekend Harry and I began moving some of my stuff from my flat into his house. He talked me through his home security system, how to disarm it, and more unsettlingly, how to activate the panic button if I suspected an intruder. He told me there would sometimes be a security presence if necessary, but that I would always be made aware when they would be there, and never to let anyone unknown into the house without first verifying their identity.

"You mean like strange women?" I teased, poking my finger into the dimple in his cheek as he showed me the CCTV system, and how to move the cameras around to view any part of the house and garden. "Blonde, wavy-haired female fans, who pretend to spill drinks on you just to get your attention and then lure you into bed."

He smirked at the CCTV screen. "You wish. I was executing some of my best moves on you that night. You didn't stand a chance against my boyish charm and rakish good looks."

"Or your Disney Prince hair," I agreed, and he frowned at me.

"Stop conspiring with Grimmy," he moaned.

I laughed out loud. "Between us we know all the right buttons to press."

I stayed at Harry's all weekend, and on Sunday night I brought everything I would need for the week ahead, and all perishable food from my fridge. (I was nothing if not practical.) I drove into work on Monday morning, arriving earlier than usual thanks to having left extra early to gauge the traffic. I wasn't sure how long this new commute would take. I turned into the office car park and waved at Sarah, who was crossing the entrance in front of my car. Her jaw dropped when she saw me, and she stopped dead in the middle of my path. I beckoned her impatiently, and she scurried over to the passenger side, opened the door and jumped in.

"Oh my Styles," she breathed, surveying the car's interior in disbelief. "You weren't kidding when you said it was top of the range were you?!"

"Do you like it?" I asked, shyly, pulling into a space and killing the engine.

"Like it?" she echoed. "It's sex on wheels! You are officially the luckiest woman on this entire planet. You have Harry Styles. Your life is goals."

I laughed. "As much as I hate to sound cocky, I have to agree with you," I grinned. "Life couldn't really get any better."

"That sounds like you have gossip to tell me," she declared, eyeing me knowingly.

"Well... I may have sort of moved in with Harry," I said casually, and she literally screamed, clenched her fists and stamped her feet.

"When?!" she screeched, when her limbs had stopped flailing.

"It's still in progress," I explained. "I've moved a load of clothes there; toiletries, essentials, you know the stuff. But I don't know how I feel about staying there while Harry's away. He's going to LA on the twentieth of January for a month, to do some recording and take care of some business, so I suppose I'll use that time to pack up all my things and look into renting out my flat."

"Wow," Sarah breathed. "I can't believe how serious this has turned out. This is better than fanfiction. It's every fan's dream come true."

"Don't," I said, opening the car door and grabbing my bag. "Sometimes I worry that it is all a dream, and I'm going to wake up any second."

Sarah shook her head. "Stay awake and keep on dreaming, Jess. My fantasy of one day hooking up with Louis is out of the window since he started seeing that girl Danielle Campbell." She sighed dramatically. "And with a hiatus on the horizon, no performances to look forward to, and not even a sniff of a comeback date, I'm just going to have to rely on you to keep the conversations One-D active and exciting."