"IF YOU'RE GOING TO JUST sit there and stare at it, you might as well put it back in the fridge. You're wasting delicious fruit and I will not stand here and watch such cruelness."

I looked up from my bowl of watermelon to see Harry joining me at the table. Half of his hair was up in a bun while the other half laid against his shoulders. He was wearing a bright smile and I wondered what he was so happy about. I then noticed he had his earphones in but the music was not loud like it usually was. He actually had the volume turned down and he was actually talking to me while listening to his music.

I was suddenly intrigued.

I pushed my bowl in his direction, "Do you want some?"

He grabbed a piece of watermelon with two of his fingers and took a huge bite out of it. I did not complain that he did not use a fork to get it out. I had been bored at work all day and it was nice to finally have some company. Harry was not here for most of the day but when he arrived not too long ago, I was thrilled. I had not communicated with him since I went job hunting with Greysen, which was a couple days ago. This was my first day back to work and it was going by very slowly. My sore feet and I were ready to call it a day.

"It looks like we're closing up shop today," Harry pointed out and reached for another piece of watermelon.

"What do you mean?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Clare just left. She said her excuse involved something about a pomegranate."

"I like pomegranates."

"Yet, here you are eating a bowl of watermelon. What is it, then? A love-hate relationship?"

I rolled my eyes and checked my phone for the time. It was a little after six and the shop was open for a little while longer. We had to be the only ones here or else Harry would not have joined me back here, ignoring Clare's sign about banning earphones. She had left and he was taking advantage of it with his little iPod. He had not had it at the shop in a while because of Clare's sign. I wondered what made him bring it with him today. Did he know Clare was going to leave early today? I chuckled as I thought of what a pomegranate had to do with this.

Harry continuously flipped through the music on his device and ate my watermelon. I decided he could have the rest of it since he seemed to be enjoying it more than I was. Besides, I had more fruit at home. It was not a big deal. I watched his lips move in a circular motion as he chewed and I watched his Adam's apple move as he swallowed. I cupped my chin in the palms of my hands and my eyes now landed on his determined eyes. They were still looking at his iPod, of course, but I was able to see my favorite color—green.

His eyes suddenly met mine and he raised an eyebrow before asking, "Wanna listen?"

"Hmm?" I was caught by surprise.

"You heard me," he was smiling now.

"You're asking me if I want to listen to your music...with you?"

"There are two earphones. One for you and the other for me."

"As tempting as that sounds—"

"I have...like...great taste in music."

"I just—"

"Stop being a baby and scoot your chair over here. I don't bite."

I found myself scooting my chair closer to Harry and he took one of his earphones out, handing it to me. I put it in and frowned when I was unable to hear anything. Harry was still scrolling through his music and this made my frown deepen. How many songs was he going to skip? I waited impatiently until he decided on a song and when he did, I sat up straight and looked down at the table. I recognized the beat and it was the same song Harry was listening to when I showed up to work early that day...back when I thought he hated me. I noticed Harry was tapping his foot along to the beat and it did not take me long to realize I was doing the exact same thing.

• • •

Harry put down his iPod for the first time in more than half an hour. We had moved from the chairs and were currently sitting on the floor in front of the fridge. Our backs were pressed against it and her eyes were glued to the wall on the other side of the room. We had barely exchanged words since the first song started playing. The songs were hypnotizing, pulling us in. I now knew why Harry ignored the rest of the world when he had his earphones in. The music was too good for this world. I had never heard anything of the sort and I never wanted it to stop playing.

It was pretty cool how we were able to sit this close and not feel awkward. I felt all right sitting next to him, my shoulder brushing slightly against his. My heart was not beating out of control and I was not tempted to do things to him that I knew would ruin everything. My breathing was fine and I did not have to constantly remind myself to relax. There was something about this that I loved so much. The music found a way to distract me and all of the worries and thoughts about everything seemed to vanish within thin air.

It was nice.

Harry scooted away from the refrigerator and the earphone was yanked out of my ear. I frowned as I watched Harry lay down on the cold floor. He patted the spot next to him and I only stared at him. Did he really want me laying down beside him? I felt obliged, though, and laid down on the floor as well. The earphone was handed back to me and I put it in my ear. I had no idea what made him want to lay down suddenly but I liked it better this way. He scooted closer to me and my heart skipped a beat. Just when I thought I had my body under control, this happened. I turned my head to look at Harry and he had his head off of the floor to look at me.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Nope," I shook my head, trying to ease the tension between us. "We're the only ones here and that means you have an opened window to do anything you want with me." His eyebrows rose and I realized what I had just said. "Wait, no—"

"Like what?" he wondered.

"I don't know," I felt stupid. "Kidnap me and hold me hostage until you get your money."

This caused him to laugh.

Oh, my dear sweet baby Jesus in a wicker basket.

How was I supposed to focus with him being cute like this?

I felt betrayed. We were supposed to be working on our feelings but he was making it so hard for me. Everything he did was cute and everything he did made me want to kiss him again. Our eyes were still locked and I closed mine with embarrassment. He probably saw my reaction to his laughter. He probably heard my breathing change and he probably heard me mentally curse myself.

"You never answered my question, Sydney."

Right. His question. What was his question? Did I seriously forget? Was his hair always this curly? God, I needed someone to hit me with their car. I needed some sense to be knocked into me. I was tempted to run outside and throw myself in the middle of the road. I would probably chicken out halfway but the temptation was still there.

"Yeah," I said, trying my best to remember his question.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

Harry rotated his body to where his head was closer to my stomach. My eyes widened and his question came hurtling into my mind like a wrecking ball. He laid his head down against my shirt and I forced my head back on the floor. I stared up at the ceiling and tried my best not to look at him. He was probably looking at me, wondering what I was going to do. Why was he doing this? I wanted to yell at him. I wanted him to think about Jillian. Did he suddenly forget about her?

Calm down, Sydney. He's just laying down on your stomach. No big deal.

No big deal? I hated the way my brain worked.

We laid in silence for quite some time. I ignored the music that was playing and focused on the different patterns on the ceiling. I focused on the sound of the freezer making more ice. Harry moved his head every now and then to get comfortable and every time he moved, I felt as if I was going to pee on myself. It was highly possible. I did not have to pee but Harry was going to make it happen. He was making my body act abnormally. I wanted this to stop but at the same time, I did not. I wanted it to continue.

I wished he would say something. I was too nervous to say a word or move, for that matter. My body was frozen and I was not sure if I was even breathing. Honestly, I doubted I was capable of moving. I was supposed to be moving on from this man, not allowing him to get this close to me. I was supposed to be getting rid of the crush I had on him. I closed my eyes and mentally screamed. This was so frustrating. How were people able to do this?

How did people fall in love with someone who was already with someone else?

My phone buzzed from the table and my reaction was quick. I sat up and Harry immediately moved his head as I got into standing position. He looked slightly confused. I sighed, realizing he had not heard my phone vibrating. I walked across the room to get it when the bell from the front of the shop rang. I looked down at Harry.

"Do you usually get customers at this time?"

"Yeah," he was stretching his arms. "Can you go check on them?"

I sat my phone down and nodded my head before leaving Harry alone in the kitchen. My apron was hanging up and I grabbed it, wrapping it around my waist rather than putting it on completely. As soon as I walked out, I frowned. There, standing in front of me, was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. It was Jillian, of course. Her black hair was perfectly curled and it laid over her tanned shoulders. She was wearing makeup but there was a natural rosy color to her cheeks. She looked much better than she did that night at Harry's. In fact, she looked healthier.

She was smiling at me, which caught me by surprise. She looked so happy and I could not help but to smile back. I strongly disliked her but I was not doing to disagree on how beautiful she was. Jillian was a face full of beautiful white teeth and her entire face was beaming. Every time I saw her, a part of me wished she would suddenly become ugly; however, my little dreams had yet to come true.

"Sydney?" she was still smiling and I wondered if her face was hurting.

"Jillian," I made sure I was still smiling, too.

She had no idea Harry had laid his head down on my stomach on the kitchen floor a few moments ago. I wanted to come off as cheerful, sweet, delightful—like her. She did not have the slightest clue about the feelings her boyfriend and I had for each other. It was ridiculous and she did not deserve this. She was so beautiful and so was Harry. Maybe that was why they looked so good together?

Her entire appearance was making me feel sunny and happy and it made me a little excited to see her.

Lies.

Lies.

Lies.

Oh, well.

My eyes widened when she stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. What the hell? She let her purse slip off of her shoulder and it landed on the desk. I was so confused as to what was happening. I secretly thought she was the Devil; yet, here she was hugging me. Was the Devil even capable of hugging people?

"Is Harry in the back?" she asked, pulling away from the hug.

My only response was a nod.

"I'll go see him in a second."

Oh?

"I think it's great he has someone around his age working with him. As you know, I come by when I can to keep him company but I'm always so busy with my grandfather that it's hard to sneak away for a bit. I know he's been a little lonely at work and Clare isn't always the best company when you're so young. He talks a lot about you, Sydney. So, how are you fitting in? Have you been out with any of the girls? When I first met everyone, Olivia forced me to go to Fred's Diner to have some of their cake. Have you been there?"

The thought of them not hiring me made me sick to my stomach.

"No," I lied. "I can't say that I have."

She nodded her head and grabbed her purse from the desk, fishing in it for something. She pulled out a pack of gum and offered me a piece. I took it and watched her grab a piece for herself. I liked how she was so caring and pleasant. I chewed slowly on the piece of gum and smiled at her. She smiled back and leaned against the desk. A black cocktail dress covered her body and black heels covered her feet. I wondered how in the world someone could be so beautiful. It seemed impossible. What did I have to do to be this beautiful? Was I missing the key ingredient or something? I obviously was not made of sugar and spice and all things nice.

"I like hanging out with the group," I finally responded. "I've never been around this many people before so it's taking some getting used to."

"Good," she grinned. "Harry told me how you left his house a while back because you weren't feeling too great. I'm sorry about that. I wanted to get in contact with you since then but, once again, I've just been so busy with my grandfather. I never really got to talk to you that night, as I wasn't feeling too well, either."

It bothered me that Harry told her I was not feeling well. I left because we had kissed and I felt disgusted by the situation. He was with Jillian and I helped him disrespect their relationship. I frowned, realizing Harry would not have told her any of that. He loved her too much.

"So," Jillian widened her smile and I had no idea that was possible. "We're going out tonight to have fun and loosen up."

I blinked, "W-We?"

"Me, you, Harry and Greysen, if he's up for it. Do you think you can be ready in an hour and a half? I know it's short notice and you aren't home but think about how fun it'll be."

"Okay." I raised my eyebrows.

She then threw her purse back over her shoulder and slipped into the back of the shop. I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes. I stood there waiting...listening. The sound of Jillian laughing from the back made my skin crawl. I decided to go ahead and head home. If I went back there to where Harry and Jillian were, I would only make things awkward. I untied my apron from around my waist and hung it up in its appropriate spot. I reached in my pocket for my phone and frowned.

It was still sitting on the table.

I rolled my eyes and muttered a few unholy words under my breath as I made my way to the back of the herb shop. With each step I took, I felt as if I was stepping on a sharp nail. I was disappointed in myself for leaving my phone behind. Something should have told me it would be Jillian inside of the shop. I almost wanted to scream at myself for being so careless. If I was being honest, I did not want to go out tonight. I just wanted to home and call it a night. It sounded like a very relaxing plan.

My fingers wrapped around my device and when I looked up, Jillian had her arms wrapped around Harry. His back was facing me and he had no idea I was in the room. Jillian did, though, and she smiled when she saw me. I smiled back and showed her my phone before turning around to leave.

"Wait, Sydney," she called out and I wanted to run.

I slowly turned back around, "Yeah?"

"Meet us at Harry's, okay?"

I swallowed hard, getting rid of my anger and jealousy, "Yeah, of course. I'll see you guys there."

I quickly walked away from them and made my way out to my car. My purse was hidden underneath the passenger's seat and I kept my keys in my pocket. I pulled them out, unlocked the door, and got inside. I turned the key in the ignition and gripped the steering wheel. In this moment, I wanted to become the Hulk. I wanted to wreck something and yell out, "Sydney smash!"

Or something of the sort.

I buckled my seat belt and backed out of the parking spot. I had no idea what I was even going to wear. I knew I was going to have to take a quick shower and make sure my hair would not explode into a hot mess. I wanted to look as beautiful as Jillian. Now that I knew what she was wearing, I could try my best to do a better job. I frowned, realizing no one could possibly be as beautiful as her. My heart sank, knowing Harry was not going to leave her for me because she was the perfect woman. She was everything he ever needed and I was just someone he worked with. The more I thought about it, the more I dreaded what was yet to come.

This should be fun.