'Him calling me Beautiful feels so out of context.'

"Beautiful?"

"What do you want me to say, Harry?"

"I want us to talk.  Properly talk.  Get everything out in the open." 

"I've tried to talk to you more than once this week..."

"But Jeff got in the way.  Yes I know and I'm unhappy he text you the other night."

"To be honest I'm glad he did let me know what was going on."

"Well, you've changed your tune."

"Harry, stop using Jeff as your scapegoat.  None of this on him; this is between us."

"I'm not!  I explained how important the Gucci meeting was. Alessandro was in London and my hands were tied.  I thought you were okay with it?"

"I was okay with it but it was one call, Harry, to say you weren't going to make the dinner plans you promised."

"I know I should have called, I just lost track of time but what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Packing your stuff up and just leaving like that."

"Don't turn this around on me.  At least I left you a note."

"Oh, we're back to me leaving without you earlier this week are we?"

"No, that's not what I was referring to.  I meant, at least I left a note, which is more courtesy that you showed me when you didn't call to cancel our dinner.  Talking of cancellations, what was cancelled the day we were supposed to be travelling to London?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Sovereign something or other left a message on the answerphone at Summer Haze."

"It doesn't matter now, just forget it. "

"I thought everything mattered always between us.  Your words not mine.  What are you keeping from me?"

"It's nothing.  Why are you being so defensive?"

"Because you asked me to come to London to support you but you've spent the whole time acting like I am not here and this Sovereign thing was the start of it." 

"Alright.  I'd planned we'd go to Mums and I'd show you around Holmes Chapel then we were due to fly private jet from Manchester to London.  It was a surprise start to the week but I couldn't change the depart time which is why we had to leave on time." 

"That is a nice surprise, Harry. Why didn't you tell me that instead of getting annoyed and leaving without me?"

"Honestly, would it have made any difference?"

"..."

"There you go then." 

"It's not that black and white.  My conscience still isn't clear from leaving Olive and the fact you still have an issue with it."

"I do not have an ISSUE.  You brought up Sovereign Exec.  I'm just letting you know what the deal was!"

The waiter's approaching brogues tap across the parquet flooring to interrupt us.  As he clears our plates, we both lean back in our chairs, looking at anything but each other.  The second waiter brings our main course; delicious looking plates of pan friend chicken breast with Portobello mushroom on a bed of asparagus tips.  He tops up my wine glass but Harry puts his hand over his.  The waiter then leaves us to our dinner. 

"I just don't understand why you asked me to come to London with you if you were going to work?  I might just as well have stayed home."

"It was never my intention to get so distracted work wise.  I let things run away with me.  What I really wanted was to show you what a great life we can have here together."

"Great life?  I'm confused.  So that morning at Summer Haze when you asked me to come back to London with you, did you actually mean permanently?"

"Beautiful, the thought of leaving without you was killing me, so yeah, I s'pose I hoped you might consider it."

"But when I asked you about it you denied it and back tracked to change the invite to just the week?"

"Because you bolted from the bedroom and I knew I'd gone too far.  Talking about our future after that just became the elephant in the room."

"Why would you even think it okay to ask me to leave my family, my friends, my business, my job.  I'm due to start back at the florist next week not to mention the business contract at the golf club."

"I'd never ask you to give up on your dreams but over the next few months there are only going to be snatched moments when we can see each other.  We have to find some way to put each other first."

"Harry, the minute you've returned to your life here in London you've never put me first so why would I even consider leaving my life behind to move into yours.  We are nowhere near that point."

"That's unfair."

"Is it?  Let's face it, what you are really saying is that you want to go off touring around the world and when you have a break you'll come back and expect me to drop everything so we can spend time together, in London."

"No! NO! Have you heard yourself that is fucking absurd." 

"No it's not.  You are being arrogant and selfish and putting your own needs ahead of our relationship." 

"Absolutely not.  For you to even suggest that hurts like hell.  I've spent the last few months building a relationship with you, showing you how our lives can be amazing together in preparation for when it all goes crazy.  My work life is demanding and the schedule is so tight that sometimes I have to drop everything.  I cannot make apologies for that.  It's the way it's been since I was sixteen."

"You sound so matter of fact."

"I have to be.  It's the nature of the beast."

"But going solo was supposed to be you in control of your schedule.  I thought that's the whole point?"

"It's not that cut and dry."  

"Then I am not sure how I fit into your 'schedule'."

"Don't say that.  That's not what I mean.  This is new territory for us both.  I never pretended it would be easy but I'm determined to try and better the balance."

"Life was so simple at Summer Haze.  I'm not sure I have what it takes to manage all this."

"What do you mean all this?"

"This, your life here.  It's so much.  I can't live up to the expectation of it Harry."

"There is no expectation, not from me.  I want to make this work.  To make us work.  Beautiful, please."

"Harry, we're both going to be so focused on other things over the next year.  You with your album and tour.  I've got my new business and so many people need me - Olive, my sister is giving up Uni and moving back home, and mum has reduced her hours at work to spend more time with the family.  A long distance relationship on top of everything else is not what either of us need right now."

"Do you know that the one thing I've learned is that the world isn't really that big. We'll speak and see each other more than you realise."

"We haven't even made it through this week.  It may start okay but gradually it'll be missed calls, broken promises, frustration then resentment will set in. 

"All sounds like excuses to me.  We've had a blip this week that's all."

"It's more than that and you know it.  This week was a test and we failed it." 

"Where is all this coming from? I thought we were more solid than this?"

"What we've shared has been the most incredible few months and cocooned in our little bubble was great but we are kidding ourselves."

"No we aren't.  Lily, I make one mistake, ONE, and you completely overreact.  You aren't giving us nearly enough of a chance." 

"Your life is poles apart from mine.  We cannot follow our dreams and be there for each other."

"Forget all that stuff I said about London.   I got carried away.  We can still be together."

"You know how I feel about that, Harry."

"Not this again!  How many times.  We are NOT your parents.  For whatever reason they had a tough time being apart but they stayed together and seem really happy now.  This, us, is completely different."

"Our situation is no different from theirs. I've never hidden the fact that I don't want a long distance relationship.  I want to be able to call you and say, 'hey what you doing tonight, fancy a movie?' That possibility is so far removed from your lifestyle."

"Why are you doing this?  You know I can't offer you that. Please don't do this.  Please.  Not now."

"It's best for us both."

"No.  Not best for me.  It's not what I want. You knew the score.  That night after I picked you up from the party, why did you kiss me in the kitchen?"

"Because I wanted you but I never thought for one moment it would last between us." 

"You're seriously trying to tell me you thought we'd have a fling, say goodbye and that would be it?"

"....Yes."

"No, no, no. I don't believe you, Lily.  You can't fool me.   One, because I have spent the last months showing how much I love you and two, because casual is not a look you wear, remember?  We were never destined to be casual.  My feelings for you, I love you, Beautiful, so much." 

"I just, Harry, I just don't think it'll work and it's better to leave it here now than..."

"Do you love me?"

"Why ask me that now?"

"Because you've never said it." 

"You said you didn't need to hear it."

"I said you didn't need to say it back to me the night of your birthday when I first told you I loved you but that doesn't mean I never wanted to hear it." 

"I'm sorry."

"You could say it now."

"But it wouldn't have any meaning."

"It would to me."

"I...."