Chapter Text
Spotify playlist--You're the Light playlist
*
Louis squints into the sun as he stares out over the lake. His toes sting a bit in the hot summer sand until he moves forward into the water. He pulls his sunglasses back over his eyes.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Liam says as he claps Louis on the back. “So glad you chose Northwestern, man. It’s going to be fucking great having you nearby especially in the city this summer.”
“Yeah, I can’t thank you enough really, letting me stay with you while I figure some shit out.”
“Hey, no problem. I have the room, and it’ll be fun having you around all the time again. Just like old times, ya know?”
“Like sharing our freshman dorm room?”
“Maybe not around quite that much,” Liam laughs. “Well, now that you’ve seen your fancy university’s private beach, let’s go celebrate your first night in Chicago.”
*
When Louis walks out of the bedroom, Liam laughs. “You even look like a writer, Lou.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Louis asks as he looks down at his tight black jeans and black tee shirt.
“Nothing, really. You look great. Trying to get some your first night here? We could head to Boystown if you want.”
“Nah. We don’t have to do that tonight. What did you have in mind?”
“Thought we’d hit up a hotel bar downtown actually. My friend Niall is there for a work party. You remember, him? The sportscaster?”
“Ah, right. The Irish one? So we’re crashing a television party then? Interesting.”
“Thought maybe a more low key night was in order since you’re starting work in the morning.”
“True. I guess for the first day at least I should seem responsible,” Louis grins.
“So what’s the actual work involve then?” Liam asks as they walk out of the apartment.
“Not really sure actually. I’m just some editor’s assistant though. Probably a lot of making coffee and making copies. Hopefully, whoever it is, isn’t pissed that I’ve only got this job because of Dan. It’s really weird to have a step-parent that’s so connected,” Louis says with a shake of his head.
“As long as you show up and do the work, I’m sure he won’t care. Besides, it’s not like there’s someone more qualified out there. You have a creative writing degree from one of the best programs in the country and a Master’s degree in English Literature. I’d say you’re pretty overqualified to be someone’s assistant.”
“Well, my degrees aren’t going to get me much until I finish grad school, I’m afraid. Or you know, until I write a bestseller.”
*
They take the ‘L’ east through the city from Liam’s apartment ending up near the river, kept lit with boats in the night as they walk the rest of the way to the Langham Hotel. “Damn, Li. This place is nice. We’re definitely not in Iowa City anymore.”
Liam laughs as they step onto the elevator to head up to the bar. “Yeah, not quite. I promise it should be pretty relaxed though. We’ll just stop in and see Niall for a drink, and if you want, we can make it an early night or head out somewhere else.”
A decent crowd surrounds the bar as Liam scans the adjoining room looking for Niall. He eventually sees him perched on a curved white couch, his head thrown back laughing. Louis smiles. “Funny, that’s how I think of him every time you talk about him. Always laughing.”
“Yeah, well he’s the same as ever,” Liam says as they make their way through the small crowd.
As soon as they get close, Niall jumps up off the couch to greet them. “Liam! Ya made it! And ya brought Lou, I see. Nice to finally meet ya. I hear ya got a job at the Tribune. You should really meet my mate—“ Niall abruptly stops talking to watch a beautiful woman stride across the room towards the bar. “Ah, be right back,” he says as he heads to the bar.
Liam just laughs. “Let’s go grab some drinks.”
A low voice rumbles from the other side of the couch, “Or you can have mine.”
Louis whips his head around towards the voice. Long, built limbs unfold to stand up in front of him as a pair of green eyes hold Louis in place. Louis can’t remember what this man has even said to him. The neurons in his brain don’t seem to be firing properly. He’s the most beautiful man he’s ever laid eyes on. His hair curls over his broad shoulders in brown waves, a sideways smile seduces him. He wills himself to say something, anything. The man holds out his drink. Oh, the drink. “Not sure I should accept drinks from strangers,” he manages to say.
“Ah, you’re quite right. Safety first. Hello, my name is Harry,” he says as he reaches out to shake Louis’ hand. “I’m a friend of Niall’s. Can I buy you a drink?”
“Um, I’m Louis. And, uh, sure. I guess,” Louis shrugs as he lets Harry’s hand envelop his own. He raises an eyebrow at Liam as Harry leads him to the bar, a hand at the small of his back. Louis tries to repress the shiver threatening to pulse up his spine.
“Order whatever you’d like,” Harry grins. His eyes sparkle in the shimmering gold of the overhead lights of the bar, deep dimples marking his face. Louis has never before this moment thought obscene thoughts about dimples.
Louis sips a gin and tonic as he peers over the top of the glass at Harry. Harry watches him intently. It’s a heady sensation to have the focus of a man this beautiful. Louis clears his throat. “So how do you know Niall then?”
“We used to work together,” he answers.
“Oh, you work in television then?” Louis asks.
“I did—“ Harry pauses and glances around the room.
Well, this conversation didn’t appear to be going much of anywhere, but before Louis can try to save it, Harry continues. “I don’t know how to say this without sounding strange, but you’re very beautiful. I’m sorry if I’m coming on too strong. I don’t think I’ve ever offered a stranger my drink before, and to be perfectly honest I’m flustered.”
Louis flushes. “Oh. Um, thanks. I could probably say the same actually.”
“I know that sounds like a line or something, but I’m having trouble coming up with something to say besides talking about your eyelashes and how they fan out over your cheeks when you sip your drink.” Harry laughs and runs a nervous hand through his hair. “Oh god, I’m so sorry. I swear to you, I’m not normally this absurd.”
“No, please. Do go on about my eyelashes.” Louis bats his eyes with a smile.
“I could spend all night talking about them." Harry's smile dims. "Damn, I should really be responsible and go home though. I have to work in the morning, but I’m having trouble tearing myself away now.”
Louis shrugs, a bit disappointed, but about to offer up his phone number. “I’ll be right back,” Harry declares and walks out of the bar.
Louis watches him go, a bit mystified. He looks around for Liam and spots him talking to Niall back in the lounge area, so he makes his way over. Liam smirks as he approaches. “So where’s the handsome man?”
“I don’t know actually. He said he’d be right back though.”
“Niall says he and your new man used to work together.”
“Yeah, we didn’t really get into that much. And he’s not exactly my new man, Liam. He just bought me a drink, and now he’s disappeared.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll run into him again, what with him knowing Niall and all. So no worries if you want to see him again.”
“True.”
“Or maybe you won’t have to wait long after all,” Liam nods in the direction of the entryway into the bar.
Louis looks up to see Harry scanning the room intently until his eyes focus in on his own. He watches as Harry smiles and moves confidently through the people separating them. He sits next to Louis and speaks into his ear over the noise of the music. “I got a room. Now, I don’t have to go home.”
Louis’ eyes widen. “Oh, uh. Okay.”
Harry splays his hands out. “It wasn’t a proposition, Louis. It will be worth it even if you only talk to me for the next ten minutes. Although I hope to at least get your phone number out of the deal.”
Louis looks at Harry’s long fingers spread out across his thigh, rings lining several of them. Fuck, why is that so hot? Louis’ eyes track up Harry’s body, eying the tattoos that peek out from his partially unbuttoned shirt. He meets Harry’s eyes, glimmering with amusement. “Like what you see?”
Louis rubs his hand across the back of his neck. “Heh, yeah, um, just give me a second.” Louis turns to Liam and pulls him off the couch and over to the windows looking out over the city. “Hey, Li, uh, Harry has a room here, so um. I think I’m going to uh, go there with him now.”
Liam laughs. “Okay, man. Sure. Just catch a cab back if you don’t want to stay the night. And you know, be safe and all that. I mean, he’s not a complete stranger, but you know what I mean.”
“Right. Thanks. Oh god, what am I doing?”
“Eh, you’re being young and free. Go get him,” Liam claps a hand on his shoulder and walks off to the bar, leaving Louis standing with his back against the windows.
Louis looks back in Harry’s direction. He’s been watching them. Harry glances toward Liam as he walks away, but then his eyes immediately turn back to Louis. He stands mesmerized as Harry stalks across the room towards him. When he is close enough, Louis can see the lust in his eyes.
“So is he just a friend?” Harry asks. Louis can tell Harry is trying to act casual, but failing.
“Yeah, just a friend. He’s how I know Niall.”
Harry crowds Louis up against the glass. “So what was that about then? Me?” he growls into Louis’ ear. Louis nearly groans as every hair against his neck stands on end.
Louis grabs the front of Harry’s shirt to keep him close. “Let’s go to your room, and I’ll show you.”
Harry wastes no time leading him immediately out of the bar to the hotel elevators. As they ride up they look at each other and smile nervously. “I don’t think I’ve ever done this before,” Harry says.
“What? Never brought a guy back to your hotel room? I find that hard to believe, Harry.”
“Well, I haven’t. And I definitely have never gotten the most expensive hotel room of my life, so I could spend an extra ten minutes talking to someone. I did hope those ten minutes would turn into ten more minutes and maybe ten more after that—“
“Oh.”
“Not that I intend to do a lot of talking once we get there,” he says darkly. “Er, I mean, unless you want—“ The elevator door dings as they arrive at his floor.
“Nope. Talk later,” Louis says as he pulls Harry out of the elevator. “Where’s your room?”
Harry leads him down the corridor quickly and opens the door to a luxurious room overlooking the river. He doesn’t turn on the lamp and instead allows the glow of the city to dimly light the room. Louis isn’t sure what he was expecting, but if he had a chance to think about it, he would have said he expected them to immediately rip their clothes off and fuck on the bed. But that isn’t what happens.
Instead, Harry reaches out his long fingers to fit around Louis’ jaw. He leans in, tucking his other hand around Louis’ waist and waits a few brief moments. Louis’ heart pounds as their breath mingles, their lips parted. He would close the distance, but Harry is holding him firmly in place. Harry finally closes the gap between them and brushes his mouth gently across Louis’ lips as though to slowly coax a response. Louis threads his fingers through Harry’s hair and groans as he slots himself between Harry’s open thighs.
His fingers brush under the back of Louis’ shirt, caressing him carefully as Louis presses himself against him. Harry deepens the kiss momentarily before drawing Louis’ shirt slowly up his body and over his head. He tosses the shirt next to the bed and returns his mouth to Louis’. He runs his hands up and down Louis’ back, seeming to revel in the feel of his bare skin. Louis keeps his hands in Harry’s hair, keeping his lips drawn to his own as Harry finds the button to his jeans and slowly unzips. He draws his fingers around the now loosened edge to Louis’ ass, filling his hands and pressing Louis’ hard dick against his own. Louis moans and Harry releases him to drop to his knees. He tugs Louis’ jeans down over his thighs as he noses along his dick through his thin boxer briefs. Harry grazes his fingers over the back of his thighs, his calves, his ankles as he carefully pulls the jeans completely off. As he stands he runs his fingers back up Louis’ ankles, his calves, his thighs, and over the swell of his bum until he’s again looking into Louis’ hooded eyes.
“I—your—Harry— your clothes,” Louis mumbles, his mind hazy.
Harry nods and unbuttons the few remaining buttons of his shirt and slips it off his shoulders. Louis’ hands fall to Harry’s shoulders and down across the tattoos on his chest. “Fuck, you’re hot,” he says. He can feel the smile on Harry’s lips as they press against his neck, and Louis leans his head back to allow him more access. He can feel Harry slowly walking him backwards until the back of his legs hit the bed. He sits and scoots back, pulling Harry over him. Harry’s hair brushes across his chest as he licks across Louis’ collarbones. His lips move down to flick his tongue over a nipple. Louis tries to push up and gain some friction, but Harry pins his hips down with his hands. Louis hears a low growl asking him what he wants. “Anything,” Louis pants as Harry slowly draws his briefs down under his ass, releasing him, and then taking him into his mouth. Louis shouts out as Harry draws him in and out between his reddening lips. He feels like he could burst into flame at any moment, and Harry still has half his clothes on. He’s close to coming when Harry’s lips draw back. Louis looks down to see Harry intensely staring up at him. “Harry?” he croaks.
“I need to know what you want, Louis. Do you want me to finish with my mouth until you come down my throat? Do you want my fingers inside you until you scream? Do you want to ride me as I push up into you? Do you want me to fuck you into the mattress until everyone on this hotel floor knows my name?” Harry licks a stripe up the underside of his dick. “I’m also open to suggestions.”
Louis’ mouth hangs open, his eyes wide. “I—yes—please—fuck—take off your fucking clothes, Harry.”
Louis hears a low chuckle as Harry slides off the bed and peels his jeans down his legs. He takes something out of the pocket and places it on the nightstand. Louis eyes him greedily. “Jesus fucking Christ, Harry,” he says as he gets a look at Harry, hard and very large.
Harry reaches for the packet on the stand and slicks up his fingers as he sits back on the bed between Louis’ legs. “You still haven’t told me what you want, Louis,” he says as his finger brushes over Louis’ hole.
“Harry! Please—fuck—more—yes—any of it,” he spits out as he tries to press into Harry’s finger. Harry gives in, pressing one long finger inside of him as Louis cries out. He pushes in and out, watching Louis as he grips the sheets of the bed in his fists. He adds another finger to his motions and Louis cries out his name frantically. “Harry, please. I’m ready. I swear. Please—please—please—“ he begs as Harry adds a third finger. Louis whimpers as Harry’s fingers withdraw from him. He hadn’t realized he’d closed his eyes, but he opens them to see Harry rolling a condom on and lining himself up. Sweat drips down Harry’s brow as he restrains himself, his biceps bulging on either side of Louis’ body. Harry slowly pushes in and holds himself still with a gasp. Louis watches the anguish on his face as he struggles to keep control. Louis threads his fingers through Harry’s hair and yanks him forward to look him in the eye “Fuck me,” he commands as Harry finally loses the last thread of his control and fucks Louis up into the bed. His hands find Louis’ hands, and he holds them above Louis’ head as they find a rhythm.
It isn’t Harry’s name that the other hotel guests will remember though as Harry loudly calls out Louis’ name over and over as they come.
Harry bows his head, a curtain of curls falling alongside Louis’ face. He’s still inside him. With a weak moan, Harry slowly pulls out and lays on his back beside Louis. He rolls the condom off and ties it, tossing it in the vicinity of the small trash can near the nightstand. He turns back, propping himself on an elbow to look down intently at the man before him. Louis stares back for a moment before allowing his face to settle into a smile. “Hi,” he says, feeling a bit silly. He wonders what people say to strangers after they have the best sex of their lives.
“Hi,” Harry says back. He’s not smiling though. His eyes still burn with heat as he begins to trace the tattoos across Louis’ collarbones. Louis watches his fingers as they go over each line of ink down Louis’ arm, carefully turning over his wrist before pressing his lips to the rapidly beating pulse there. He stills.
Harry’s eyes fly back to Louis’. “I’m sorry,” he begins. “I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable. It’s just that I don’t think I’ve ever been this attracted to someone in my life. I want to taste every inch of your skin.”
Louis’ eyes widen.
“Oh god. I’m so sorry. That sounded horribly creepy, didn’t it?” Harry covers his eyes with his hand as he shakes with laughter. “Fuck, I can’t believe I said that.”
Louis lets out a loud laugh, his eyes crinkling with mirth. Harry lays back on the bed as their laughter builds into a crescendo of tears. Louis wipes his eyes and sits up. “I’m going to clean up a bit,” he says, his nose scrunched as he looks down at the mess still across his stomach. He knows Harry is watching him walk to the bathroom, so he makes it worth his while. “I know you’re staring at my ass, you creep,” he calls out as he opens the door.
Harry groans, “I want to taste that, too,” as Louis closes the door with a giggle.
Louis washes up quickly and returns to the bed. “You can stay if you’d like,” Harry says. “I promise to stop, you know, licking you long enough for you to get some sleep.”
Louis grins. “Uh, yeah. I’ll stay if that’s okay. I’ll just set an early alarm. I have my first day of work in the morning, and I need to get back to my friend’s to change.”
After Louis sets the alarm, Harry takes the phone from him and sends a text. “I just texted myself, so you have my number in case you want to do this again sometime. Well, not this precisely, uh—I mean—just if you wanted to see me again or—”
“I know what you mean, Harry.”
“Oh. Okay.”
A small moment of awkwardness appears as they both silently wonder how to fall asleep. Should they be cuddling? Face each other? Face away? Flat on their backs? Louis tentatively opens his arm towards Harry, and without any hesitation Harry slides into the space. Louis rests his chin amidst the curls as he drifts off.
*
Morning comes all too soon. Louis silences the alarm as quickly as possible to avoid waking the sleeping man beside him. He quietly dresses and takes a last look at the parted lips and soft curls spread across the pillowcase. It doesn’t feel like a one night stand, and Louis doesn’t feel like he’s sneaking away. He’ll text him when he gets off work. Maybe see if he’s free for dinner sometime this week.
Louis takes a cab back to Liam’s apartment. He doesn’t want to chance being late on the first day. He dresses fairly conservatively as he doesn’t really know what he’s in for yet, pulling on grey dress slacks and a white collared shirt. He decides he has enough time to take the ‘L’ and still be early.
When he walks up to the Chicago Tribune building, a sense of awe washes over him. It truly is an astounding building, an amazing neo gothic beauty set amidst some of the most innovative and experimental architecture in the world. He glances back in the general direction of the Langham, only a few blocks away, and wonders briefly if Harry has left yet or if he’s still lying between the cool, white sheets he left a short time ago.
He makes his way through the ornate interiors up into the elevators that lead to the much more modern look of the newspaper offices. Long concrete beams cut through the large, open spaces. He inquires at the first desk about his appointment with HR and is ushered into a small office. A very pretty young woman enters and introduces herself. “Hello, Louis. I’m Eleanor Calder. I work in HR here, and I just wanted to let you know where you’ve been assigned. We usually just use additional interns to help our editors, but our photo editor has some new responsibilities with social media. So we figured you’d be the right fit for that.”
Louis doesn’t correct her, but that sounds like the absolute wrong fit. What the fuck does he know about photography or photo editing? His degrees are in creative writing and literature for fuck’s sake. He reminds himself he’s just an assistant. Coffee and copies. He can do this.
Eleanor begins leading him back through the concrete paths as she explains. “You’ll be working for Harry Styles.” Louis tenses at the name. Odd to find another person named Harry brought up, not really the most common name in the Midwest. “He’s really quite talented. Used to work in television, but we snatched him up when we got the chance. I’m sure you’ll get along fabulously. This is your desk and cubicle area right here outside his office. I think he just arrived a short time ago, so—“ She knocks lightly at the door.
A deep voice answers the knock, “Come in.” A chill runs up Louis’ spine, but before his mind can catch up, Eleanor opens the door and says, “Hi, Harry! I have your new assistant here to meet with you.” She walks the rest of the way into the office as Louis stands stock still in the doorway. She smiles back at Harry and says, “Harry, this is Louis Tomlinson. Louis, this is Harry Styles, your new boss.”
The color has drained from Harry’s face. A forgotten piece of paper still in his hands as he stares in shock at Louis. Louis still hasn’t moved from the doorway. His body doesn’t seem to be in his power at the moment, and while Harry’s face has paled, Louis’ face is burning from the inside out. Eleanor remains oblivious and removes herself from the room without a second glance at either of them.
“I—“
“You’re—“
They both stop to let the other speak.
“What—“
“I didn’t—“
They both stop again and let the silence fall. They stare at each other for a few moments before Harry seems to gain some small control over himself. Louis still stands just inside the door as Harry brushes past him to close the door behind him. Louis startles and jumps back.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Harry seems to realize he’s still very close to Louis’ personal space and backs up a few paces before turning his back to him and retreating back behind his desk. “Fuck,” he says quietly as he places the paper in his hands into a pile on his desk.
“Yeah.”
Harry clears his throat. “Well, um, please take a seat, Louis. I assume they haven’t explained much about the position, but I’m quite pleased to have a more formal assistant over an intern. I’m hopeful that you’ll be able to do some of the social media posting for Instagram and Facebook, so I can take that off my plate to concentrate more on the actual photography and video that needs to be posted on the website and some in print. I’m assuming you’re familiar with those? And honestly, if you have other social media ideas for us, we’d be all ears. They’re in the process of finding a social media director, so for now I’ve taken over some of the tasks of one. It’s why I get an assistant instead of an intern.”
Louis’ head spins. Is Harry really just telling him about the job right now? He isn’t going to say anything about how a few short hours ago the cross necklace dangling around Harry’s neck was brushing against his skin as Harry moved inside him? Louis realizes he is still standing still in the middle of the room. He walks over to a chair opposite Harry’s desk and sits down carefully. “Uh, Harry, don’t you think we should talk—“
Harry runs a hand through his hair as he interrupts him. “Louis, fuck. Sorry. I’m a little at a loss right now. I obviously had no idea you were starting work here. And now that you’re apparently my assistant, I—well, that changes some of what I said about last night.”
Louis has no idea how Harry is able to think things through so quickly. He feels like he’s still in shock from the first moment he realized Harry is his new boss. A strange emotion crosses his mind. Disappointment, maybe, that it’s so easy for Harry to dismiss last night as just a fuck. It hadn’t seemed that way to him, and a thread of foolishness weaves its way through the disappointment. “Okay,” he manages to answer.
Harry looks like he’d rather be anywhere but in front of Louis. “Well, Eleanor showed you your desk area I’m sure. If you’d like to get settled a bit. I’ll let you know when I need you.”
Louis stands up at the sign of dismissal. “Right.” He walks back out the door and sits at his desk. He has no tasks. He really wishes he had coffee or copies to make. It’s taking all his will to not lay his head down on his desk.
He spends the next ten minutes attempting to wrap his mind around what’s just happened. Thoughts and pictures careen wildly through his head. Harry’s deep dimples as he offers him his drink, the feel of Harry’s light touches across his body, the taste of mint on his tongue, the look of torture on his face as he held himself still inside him, the way all color drained from his face the second Louis walked into his office. Fuck, he slept with his boss. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He turns and eyes Harry’s office door warily. Is Harry ever going to come out of there and give him something to do? Apparently not.
Okay, so his only clues so far for this job is to help post visual content on social media. Well, he absolutely can’t sit here and do nothing all day. He’ll lose his mind. He turns on the computer at his desk and plugs in his phone. He spends some time becoming familiar with the Tribune’s Facebook page and Instagram. The photos are incredible really. He browses the website a bit as well and searches for a Snapchat that doesn’t seem to exist. He watches a few Snapchat stories from other publications.
A few interns and other people who work in the department stop to introduce themselves and say hello. He notices a few of the nearby desks remain empty throughout the morning. He walks by them and sees they belong to staff photographers. Probably out on assignment. So great, he works in a semi-empty area with a boss who is pretending he doesn’t exist. Perfect.
Harry finally emerges from his office around noon. Louis looks up in anticipation that Harry has some directive for him, finally. “Hi. Well, I guess you’ve had time to familiarize yourself with—ah, your desk.” He looks down at the mostly empty desk in front of Louis and at least has the grace to look a little embarrassed.
“Yeah, I know my way around this desk pretty well now.” Fuck. That sounded worse out loud. He probably shouldn’t talk to his boss like this.
“Right. Well, why don’t you go ahead and take your lunch, and I’ll see you back here after that.”
Really? He’s given him nothing to do and now he’s supposed to go eat lunch. “Okay.”
“Okay,” Harry nods before turning around and walking back into his office.
Louis stands up with a sigh. Harry hasn’t told him how long to take for lunch, but he’s guessing the longer he takes the better. He walks toward the river and keeps heading west. This has been hands down the most humiliating day of his life. He wants to just quit and go home, but that’s not really an option. He needs to be in the city to look for someplace to live when he starts grad school. He would hate to not be able to pay Liam some kind of rent for letting him stay with him, so he kind of needs this. And he definitely doesn’t want to have to ask his step father for more money or more favors.
He stops when he finds himself in front of the Langham again. He climbs the steps up to the plaza and heads into an outdoor patio area and sits down at the bar. He orders some tacos and thinks about how much he’d like a real drink right now.
The beginnings of a headache builds up behind his eyes as he presses against the bridge of his nose to relieve the pressure.
The bartender looks at him with sympathy. “Bad morning at work?”
“Uh, yeah. First day actually.”
“Ouch. Bad already, huh? You work nearby?”
“Yeah, at the Tribune” Louis replies. “You could say last night caught up with me.”
“I hear that,” he says as he refills his soda. “So you gonna quit?”
“Nope. Can’t quit. Gotta help my friend out with the rent.”
“You in the city? ‘Cause rent is insane here, man.”
“Yeah, my friend I’m staying with has an incredible apartment, actuallly. He’s an engineer. I can’t even afford to pay half his rent for him, but I definitely want to help out what I can for the summer.”
“Nice. You looking for your own place after that?”
“Yeah, I’m going to Northwestern in the fall, so I need somewhere near campus then.”
“Really? Damn, you must be smart, bro. Hold on a sec. Let me get you something,” he says as he reaches for his wallet and pulls out a business card.
“My name’s Ed by the way, and my brother-in-law is a broker if you need help looking for a place.”
“Thanks, Ed. I might need one of those,” Louis says with a nod. He finishes his tacos and calls out a goodbye to the bartender as he reluctantly retraces his steps back to the Tribune.
He slides back into his chair with a sigh. The business card he stuffed in his front pocket pokes him, so he takes it out and taps it on his desk. The door to Harry’s office is still closed. He doesn’t even know if he’s in there or not. He’s back to wondering what the fuck he should do when the door swings open. He turns toward it instinctively. “Oh,” Harry says, seemingly startled. “You’re back from lunch already.”
“That I am. I was gone nearly an hour, so yeah. Anyway, you didn’t really say how long I had for lunch, so I just made a guess.”
“Um. No, that’s fine. An hour’s fine. Well, for today anyway. If we’re busy, probably less than that.”
“Okay,” Louis says as he lays the business card down.
“What’s that?”
“What’s what?”
“Whose card is that?”
“Oh. Uh, the bartender’s at the Lan—where I had lunch, I mean. Well, his brother-in-law’s, actually. He’s a broker. Can maybe help me find a place when I start school in the fall.”
Harry’s eyes seem to be burning a hole in the card. “Seems kind of presumptuous to give you his card like that.”
“Uh, well, it’s not actually his card, is it? And we were talking about it, so it kind of made sense in context, I guess.”
“I guess.”
Louis is genuinely confused by this line of questioning. What the fuck does it matter that he got some business card at lunch? Harry is still just standing outside his office door staring at him. “Um, do you need anything? Coffee?”
“No, thank you. I don’t need anything. Why don’t you spend some time familiarizing yourself with the website and social media accounts? Go ahead and just do that for the rest of the afternoon.” Harry beams at him though as he’s given him a great task, so Louis doesn’t say anything about having already done that. Harry shuts himself back into his office.
Louis leaves at five o’clock without laying eyes on Harry the rest of the day.
*
The journey back to Liam’s feels very different than it did this morning. The blocks to the nearest 'L' station seem awfully long. He has to switch trains. The loop is fucking miserable at this hour. And the trains perched far too high above the ground seem like death traps about to fall off the damn tracks. He makes a mental note to check out the bus schedule. Now, he understands why Liam chose an apartment close to his job. As he walks through the neighborhood he realizes how not Liam it is. Divvy bike stations. Whole Foods. Diners with gluten free and dairy free menus. Even the doughnut shop looks fancy. It makes him smile to think of Liam navigating this neighborhood. Safe to say he picked this place for proximity to work.
“Honey, I’m home!” Louis calls out.
“What’s up?” Liam answers from the kitchen. “Want a drink?”
“Fuck yes. Fuck. Yes. I need a fucking drink, Liam. A really big fucking drink.”
“You got it, Tommo. Is everything okay though? Why do you need a big drink?”
“You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you,” Louis groans as he throws himself dramatically across Liam’s couch.
Liam comes back with two beers and hands one to Louis. “So what happened today, anyway?”
“Does this beer honestly say “Fist City” on it or am I losing my mind?”
Liam flushes a little. “Oh. Well, yeah it does. Look, living in this neighborhood eventually gets to you, okay? It’s pretty good really. A pale ale. It’s from a pretty cool brewery in Logan Square. I’ll take you there sometime, but are you ever going to tell me what happened today?”
“Oh. Yeah, well,” Louis rubs the back of his neck before taking a long drink. “Hmmm, this is pretty good.”
“Louis.”
“Yes?”
“Just spit it out.”
“No, Liam, I won’t spit out this lovely craft beer you’ve given me. Fine, okay, I’ll just say it,” Louis takes a deep breath. “My new boss turned out to be the guy I slept with last night. Surprise!”
“Uhhhhhh. Jesus. Okay, well, fuck. Lou--Christ, I don’t know what to say. So the guy? From last night? Niall’s friend? You walked in and he was your boss?”
“Well, yes, pretty much.”
Liam bursts into laughter. “Oh my fucking god, Lou!” He continues to laugh hysterically until he’s wiping tears from his eyes. “Oh, god. I’m so sorry, but fuck, I can’t believe it!” He tries to take a drink and ends up laughing again and snorting it through his nose.
Louis glares at him. “Serves you right. My life is ruined, and you’re laughing about it.”
As Liam’s laughter dies down, he asks, “Okay, so what happened when you showed up?”
“Well, it was awkward as fuck, Liam. Obviously, he had no idea I was going to be his assistant. He’s the photo editor. So I’ve been assigned as his assistant, which is just fucking great. I don’t know shit about photography.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think that’s your biggest problem here, Lou.”
“Fuck off, Liam. You think I don’t know that? At first he just started talking to me as if we were going to just pretend last night never happened or something.”
“No way.”
“Yeah, but I said something, so we kind of talked about it. But then, he spent the rest of the day basically ignoring me. He barely left his office. He must have been holding his piss all damn day. It was boring as fuck to have nothing to do.” Louis groans. “God, I’m dreading tomorrow. What if he tries to ignore me all day again?”
“Dude. No. You’ll have to say something if he tries that again. Doesn’t he need help with his work? Why else would he need an assistant? He’ll have to give you things to do tomorrow.”
“Yeah, you’re right. If he tries to pull that shit again, I’ll call him on it,” Louis sighs and takes a long gulp of his beer. “Think I’m gonna need another one of these.”
*
Louis arrives on time to work to find a closed office door. He lasts about twenty minutes before politely knocking. He hears a muffled sound that he takes to mean to enter, but as he walks in, Harry says, “I said, just a moment” as Louis watches him hop on one foot, grimacing.
“Oh, I couldn’t really hear what you said. Sorry, but are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. I just—when you knocked, it startled me. So I kind of stubbed my toe on the desk.”
“Ah, I see,” Louis tries to stifle a smile.
Harry watches him. “I can see you smirking, you know.”
Louis grins wider. “Sorry, sorry. I actually came to ask you what you’d like me to do.”
“Oh. Right. Well, why don’t you spend some more time today familiarizing yourself with our Facebook and Instagram accounts.”
“Harry, I did that yesterday morning. There’s only so much to see on there.”
“Well, that’s all I really had planned for you to do today, so—“
“Harry, you can’t just ignore me.”
“I’m just trying to stay professional.” Louis is pretty sure this is the least professional situation he’s been in.
“Hate to break it to you, but it’s not very professional to ignore your assistant and give them nothing to do when you need help.”
“Well, what did you think this job would be, anyway?” Harry says a bit defensively.
“Honestly, fetching coffee and making copies, but you clearly don’t need me to do those things. So use me for what you do need.”
Harry’s eyes widen for a moment, but then he seems to gather himself, “I’ll write down some passwords. You can go ahead and post a few things.”
“Harry, unfortunately I don’t know much about photography. I have a degree in creative writing that doesn’t seem to be very useful in this case. I’m going to need more direction than this, I’m afraid.”
“Right. Okay,” Harry runs a hand through his hair. “Uh, give me some time to think this through, and then I’ll let you know the plan.”
Louis manages to hold his tongue, but he can’t help wondering why Harry didn’t have a plan for how to use or train his assistant. He suspects he did have a plan, but he has probably decided to alter it based on the fact that he knows what his assistant looks like when he comes. He drags himself back to his desk and begins to look at apartments to rent near campus.
He’s not sure how long he expects Harry to take to create this plan, but he startles when the door to Harry’s office swings open less than an hour later. He turns to see Harry smiling, his dimples marking his cheeks. Louis swallows and tries to remember to curb his thoughts. “Okay, Louis, why don’t you come on in? I think I have this worked out now.”
As he sits in a chair opposite the desk, Louis notices that Harry’s left the office door open. Maybe he always does that, he thinks. Although he hasn’t had it open at all since he started here. “Open door policy?” Fuck. Why does he not have a better filter?
The smile on Harry’s face falters. “Well—sometimes.” Harry stares at the open door for a few long moments. “I suppose I keep it open if I’m available to talk and closed when I’m busy or need to be alone. And I’m busy now, so—“ He stands up and firmly shuts the door.
The air in the room immediately changes with the click of the door. Louis can feel the charge of electricity pass between them as Harry walks back to his desk. He wonders if Harry can feel it, too. Harry begins to try to speak, but he has to clear his throat a few times and finally takes a few gulps of water from a bottle. “Sorry about that,” he croaks. “Must be coming down with something.” Louis watches him take a few more gulps and can’t help but remember what else had been between those lips. He can feel his face begin to burn, and he just wishes he could keep his damn mouth shut for once. His new personal motto is going to be: shut the fuck up.
“So a plan?” Louis begins.
“Right. Yes, a plan.” The color begins to return to Harry’s face, and Louis can sense Harry slipping back into editor mode. “You said you were a writer, and I thought of a way to maybe best use those skills for now. There are so many amazing photographs that come through this office, but we need the ones that either tell a story on their own or best support an already written one. For Facebook it’s really just about choosing the best photo to represent the piece, basically one that best symbolizes it or summarizes it. There will already be a series of photos once you click on the article, but we need one with the headline to capture the reader’s attention as well. So at some point I’ll likely have you do that as part of your daily work. But I sort of have an idea about something, so I’d like to see if you’re up to it.” He looks at Louis before he continues.
“Great. Mind if I write this down? I’m used to keeping notes on things.”
“Of course,” Harry replies. He slides a pen and a piece of paper across his desk to Louis. Louis leans forward at the same time and hears the shaky breath Harry releases as they physically near each other. Louis determines it’s best not to think what that was about as he scribbles down the directives about Facebook.
“I’ll just type it up later,” Louis mentions.
“Uh, okay, so my idea was about Instagram actually. Photographers don’t seem to write the best captions. I thought what I’d do was give you a few photos to choose between and have you write some more creative captions with them. And maybe you could come up with some better hashtags for them, to get them seen a bit more than they are now. I’d like to approve the first few you do, but I’m hoping to be able to just hand this over to you fairly quickly if it goes well.” Harry smiles, pleased with himself.
“Well, okay. That sounds pretty good then. A lot more interesting than I thought my job here would be.”
“It definitely got interesting.”
“What?”
“Uh, nothing. Um, I’ll send you a few photos to choose from on your email. Just send me back what you come up with.”
Louis smiles. He’s actually looking forward to this. Harry seems to be watching him with an indiscernible look. Louis stands up and gives him a quick smile and nod before he turns and walks toward the door. He hears Harry make an odd noise and looks back as he reaches for the handle. Harry appears to be appreciating the fit of Louis’ slacks. “My eyes are up here, boss,” Louis quips before he can think. Fuck. He quickly opens the door and flees without looking back to see Harry’s reaction.
*
Louis opens his email with anticipation. Harry has sent him some incredible photos to choose from, but Louis reminds himself to choose the ones that tell a story. There are two that really stand out to him. One is a close up of a gorilla’s profile, her eyes watching the photographer. The other is the back of a shirtless man wearing the bottom half of a baseball uniform and a baseball cap, a large tattoo covering his entire back. There are definitely stories to be told here.
He spends the rest of the morning finding out more about the photos. He tracks down the sports writer writing about the baseball player and gathers a few quotes to use. He looks up a bit more about the gorillas living at the Lincoln Park Zoo, but there isn’t a credit for the photographer on this photo.
Louis decides to start with the baseball player’s photo.
“Chicago White Sox infielder, Tyler Saladino, lost his best friend to a drunk driving accident in 2008. When the needle first punctured the skin on his back, Saladino wanted to quit. “It was brutal,” he says as he looks out across an empty U.S. Cellular Field. “But that was the process I needed.” As the pain pulsed on, in the end taking thirty hours to complete, his inner pain began to find a release. As the hours passed, he spoke of his friend, Nikko Maeva. He talked. He cringed. He cried. Although he knows the pain of losing his friend will never truly leave him, he also knows it means they’ll never be apart.” Read more on this story from sportswriter Paul Skrbia at chicagotribune.com. Photo: E. Jason Wambsgans #tattoo #chicagowhitesox #themanwiththedragontattoo”
He decides to keep it a bit simpler with the gorilla photo.
“A western lowland gorilla peers knowingly at the viewer in her enclosure at the @LincolnParkZoo Regenstein Center for African Apes. The Lincoln Park Zoo has famously found success with breeding this critically endangered species. Photo: ? #GorillaSpeciesSurvivalPlan #gorillas #lincolnpark #lincolnparkzoo”
Louis stares at the photo awhile longer. It’s so striking. He wonders who took it. There’s clearly some kind of connection between the photographer and the gorilla, the knowing look from the gorilla and the clear empathy from the photographer to capture the intelligence of this animal with just a photograph.
He wonders if he should go ahead and send it to Harry.
Someone clears his throat. “Hi, Louis.”
Louis whips his head around, startled. One of the interns is standing near his desk. “Oh. Sorry, didn’t see you there. Hi, what’s up?”
“Some of us are headed to lunch. Would you like to come?”
“Oh. Uh, sure, I guess,” Louis says, surprised that it’s already time for lunch. He has no one else to eat with anyway. Harry apparently never leaves his office. “Max, right?” he says as he stands and closes out of the document.
“Yep. I’m Max. And Sophia and Perrie said they’d join us, too,” Max replies as they head toward the elevators. The four of them start off on a hunt for salad and sandwiches.
They find some outdoor seating at a café and order. Louis eyes Max surreptitiously. Max is quite striking really. He’s wearing a black graphic sweatshirt, layered with a paisley collared shirt beneath it, and tight black trousers. “Aren’t you hot in that?”
Max deliberately misunderstands as he runs a hand through his hair. “Why thank you, Louis! I do think I look quite hot in this ensemble.”
Perrie laughs and smacks Max’s arm. “He always puts fashion above function, you’ll find.”
“Ouch,” Max complains as he rubs his arm.
“I’m surprised he hasn’t already brought it up, but Max here supplements his pathetic intern money with modeling,” Sophia mentions.
“Ah, okay,” Louis replies. “I’ll come to you for fashion advice then.”
Max eyes light up. “I could do amazing things with your body.”
The girls burst out laughing as Louis blushes a bit. “Uh, okay then.”
Max glares at them. “Whatever. It’s not like the entire office hasn’t noticed Louis is beautiful. We’d all be gossiping about how you got the job if we didn’t already know.”
Louis frowns at that, ready to defend himself. “No, no, don’t defend yourself to us. It makes sense for the photography interns to be out there with the photographers. And for the editor to need a different creative type as an assistant. Speaking of your editor, how is it going working with Hot Lips Harry? Just watching the two of you from across the room raises the temperature of the whole place.”
“What? Why?” Louis asks a bit panicked as his mind replays a moment with those lips.
“Um, because you’re both hot as fuck, Louis. Are you happy you made me say it out loud?”
Louis presses his lips together. He doesn’t know what to say, so he just says, “Thanks,” and stuffs his sandwich in his mouth. “So Hot Lips Harry, huh? Do I have a nickname, too?”
Perrie and Sophia immediately begin laughing. Max rolls his eyes. “Of course, you do. I prefer ‘Ass and Sass,’ myself.” Max’s eyes sparkle as he leans in, “I’ve seen how you talk to Harry. Definitely sassy for an assistant.” Louis can feel his cheeks burning.
Perrie points to Sophia amidst her giggles, “This one calls you ‘Peaches.’
Sophia gasps and fires back, “Well, she calls you ‘Honey Booty!’
Max raises an eyebrow as he grins at Louis. “Sorry you asked?”
Louis laughs. “Maybe.”
After lunch, they walk through a maze of skyscrapers back to the office. As they near the photography desks, Max wiggles his eyebrows to Louis at the sight of Harry standing at Louis’ desk with a frown.
“See you, Peaches,” he calls out as they all walk off back to their respective areas.
Harry watches as Louis approaches. Louis squirms a bit under the intensity of his stare. “Peaches? You already have an inappropriate nickname?”
“Um, well. I wouldn’t call ‘Peaches’ inappropriate per se. They’re just having a bit of fun. And it’s definitely more appropriate than the other ones they mentioned.” Louis keeps his chair between them, but they’re still close enough to one another to cause Louis some awkwardness.
“Are they making you uncomfortable? Because I will have a talk with them myself if need be.”
“No, really, Harry. It’s fine.” He holds his tongue from saying Harry is the one making him uncomfortable.
“Okay, well, ‘Peaches’ doesn’t seem appropriate to me as it’s clearly referring to your—well—your—you know.” Harry looks up at the ceiling as though he can’t believe what he’s just said.
“Uh, yeah. Um, I get the meaning,” says Louis, torn between laughter and embarrassment. “Your nickname is just as bad.”
“I have one? What’s mine? Oh god, never mind. I don’t want to know. Anyway, I don’t suppose you were able to complete anything before you went off to lunch with your new friends.”
Louis frowns. “Actually, I was about to send you what I got done before they showed up to invite me to lunch. Should I have cleared that with you? Lunch, I mean? It didn’t seem like anything pressing was happening, so I took about forty-five minutes. I didn’t want to bother you. Your door was closed. As usual.” Damn, he’s gone one step too far again. This is probably what Max says he can see from across the room.
Harry clears his throat. “Ah, no. That’s fine. Lunch, I mean. It’s fine. I just came out to talk to you, and you weren’t here.”
“Well, would you like to see what I’ve got done then?”
“Of course.”
Louis sits in the chair and pulls up the photograph of the baseball player first. He slides his chair to one side as much as possible, but it’s not much. Harry still has to loom over him to read the screen. “Well, first of all, I like the one you’ve chosen. I would have chosen that photo myself.” He then reads the screen, focused on the words. “Well,” he says as he finishes and straightens. He’s still too close to Louis in the small cubicle. “Louis this is—well, it’s impressive. Beyond just peaking interest, it’s given a great segue into finding and reading the full article. I don’t think they should all be this long in word count, but for this particular photo I think it really worked.”
Louis smiles. “Thanks. I’m glad you think it works. I definitely did a much fewer word count on the other photograph I worked on.” He pulls up the photo of the gorilla. “I don’t know who took the photo. It didn’t say, but here’s what I came up with,” he says as he again slides to one side to allow Harry access to the screen. Harry has an odd look on his face as he looks down at the screen to read it. He looks back at Louis as he finishes.
Before Harry can speak, Louis begins an explanation. “I wanted to keep it simple as the photograph is so powerful on its own. It really tells the story just within the photo, but I wanted to maybe push any viewer who doesn’t sense the human connection to do so. I’d love to know who took it. I could really feel the empathy in it. It’s quite amazing.”
Harry remains silent for a moment as he looks down at Louis. “I took it. You can credit me. The password is: citybythelake1967. Go ahead and post them. I’ll send you a few others to work on for this afternoon.” He turns and walks back into his office and shuts the door.
Louis looks back down at the photo on the screen, trying to wrap his mind around Harry. So Harry took this photograph. It’s not like he didn’t know Harry must be a photographer. Who is this man? He tries to remember that this man is his boss, but he feels the push and pull between them. It’s hard to ignore. He sighs and pulls up another photograph.
The rest of the week follows a similar pattern. Harry’s office door remains closed with most of his directives to Louis coming via email. Everything Louis chooses and writes about comes back approved to post, so he supposes that means whatever it is he’s doing is fine. Not that anyone actually tells him that or gives him any feedback. It’s fine really, albeit a bit strange, to be an assistant to someone you barely see.
He’s just finished writing about a mural set to be torn down with the building when Max comes by for lunch. “Glad it’s Friday, Peaches?”
“Uh, yeah, I suppose. You guys feel like tacos? They have some great ones at the Langham. Not traditional ones, but they’re good. Outdoor seating, too.”
They reach the Langham, and as they approach the patio, Louis glances back at the entryway into the hotel, remembering. He shakes it off and says a quick hello to Ed at the bar before finding some seats.
“You know the bartender, then?” Max asks.
“Not really. Just talked to him last time I was here when I sat at the bar. He gave me his brother-in-law’s card. He’s a broker, said maybe he could help me with an apartment this fall.”
Perrie glances up from her plate. “So what’s going on with Harry anyway?”
“Uh, what do you mean?”
“Well, he like locks himself in his office all the time now. Just wondered if you knew why.”
“Did he not always do that then? I guess I don’t know why,” he says. He’s pretty sure he knows why.
“Probably just trying to keep from ravishing Louis here. I’ve seen the way he eats you up with his eyes,” Max says with a wink.
“Stop making him uncomfortable, Max,” Perrie says as she thwaps Max on the arm. “It must be hard enough to have Hot Lips for a boss and not be able to do anything about it. Although I don’t know if you’d even be interested, Louis.”
“Oh, uh. No—er, yes—I mean, I don’t know if I’d be interested in Hot Lips—er, Harry. But yes, I’m gay if that’s what you’re asking. Or did you mean single? I’m that, too, I suppose.”
“Very interesting,” Perrie says as she gives him a sly smile. “I’ll have to think of someone to set you up with.”
“Hey!” Max pouts. “Why is no one setting Louis up with me?”
“Ugh, way too much drama,” Sophia says. “You’d break up the second week and then we’d never hear the end of it. And then, no more fun lunches.”
“Well, she’s right, Louis,” Max sighs. “Our romance was short lived and ill fated, I suppose.”
“I’ll say. Only lasted about thirty seconds. That’s a new record for me.”
“Eh, I’ve probably had shorter. So who were you thinking of, Perrie?”
“Hot Luke,” Perrie claps her hands together. “The one who’s in the business office. Ugh, he’s so hot. I guess I’m not sure he’s gay. We’ll all have to hang out, and I’ll figure it out.”
“Speaking of hanging out, do you have plans this weekend, Louis?” Max asks. “The girls and I are going out dancing.”
“Oh, yeah, kind of. I’m going to hang out with Liam probably. I think one of his friends is having people over at his place, so we’ll probably go there one night.”
“Well, feel free to tag along with us sometime if you’d like. And you can bring your friend.”
“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll come hang out sometime,” Louis assures them with a smile.
*
“So what exactly am I supposed to wear to Niall’s, Liam?”
“Whatever you want, Lou,” Liam replies. “You can go pretty casual. It’s just a UFC fight we’re watching tonight there. But we can head out somewhere else afterward, if you want.”
“No, casual is fine. Rather not have a late night, if it’s all the same to you. Work’s stressful, and part of me wants to just crawl back into bed,” Louis says as he struggles into some tight black jeans.
“I thought work was going okay now!” Liam says, surprised. “You said he actually gave you stuff to do, and you kind of liked it!”
“No, I do. I do. Just it’s awkward, you know?”
“Oh. The whole I-slept-with-my-boss thing.”
“Yeah, that. The other interns sort of know something is up, but I don’t think they’d dream of thinking the truth.” Louis pulls a white graphic tee out of his closet and pulls it over his head. “Let me just fix my hair, and we can go.”
When they enter Niall’s townhouse, Louis realizes he’s made a big mistake. Liam immediately looks at him with alarm written plainly across his face. Great, he needs someone to tell him not to panic, and Liam is ready to climb down the fire escape.
“Come on in!” Niall calls out loudly, causing them both to cringe. “Whatcha standing in the door for? I got Guinness in the fridge, mates, as well as some fancy shit Harry’s brought wit ‘em. Think he even brought some wine.” Niall claps Louis on the back harder than he was prepared for as he jostles Louis forward. “I mean, wha’s that even about, right? Who drinks wine to watch Conor McGregor beat the tar outta someone?”
Niall is steering them towards the kitchen, an arm still around Louis’ shoulder. “So what’s yer poison, Louis?”
“Yeah, a Guinness is fine. Thanks.” He takes the bottle from Niall and takes a long sip.
“So ya know me mate, Harry, then? Ya work at the same place?” Louis chokes a bit on the beer and coughs as Niall suddenly shouts out across the room. “Harry! Ya know me new mate then? This here’s Louis! Think he works wit ya!”
Harry’s eyes zero in on them. He nods at them with his lips pressed together.
Oh god. “Uh, yeah, Harry is actually my boss. I’m his new assistant.”
“What? Yer kiddin’!” Niall exclaims, wide eyed. He calls back out to Harry, “Harry! He says yer his boss! Ain’t that somethin’?”
Harry gives him a stressed smile.
“Wha’s he lookin’ at me like that fer? Maybe he’s afraid ta let loose now that his employee s’here,” Niall explains. He shouts back out to Harry, “Ya afraid to dance on the tables now, mate? Don’t be! I’m sure Lou here won’t mind at all, will ya Lou?”
Louis looks at Liam for help, but Liam looks like he wants nothing more than to sink through the floorboards. “Uh, no, don’t mind,” Louis manages to squeak out.
“See! He says he don’t mind, Harry! So do whatcha will, mate!” Niall shouts.
Louis keeps his distance the rest of the night as does Harry. It’s not that difficult as he seems to have some type of radar that allows him to feel precisely where Harry is at all times. Or maybe he’s just staring. Fuck, who can blame him? Harry looks sinful tonight. Black jeans painted onto his long legs, a dark blue shirt barely buttoned, the tattoos on his chest peeking out. God, Louis wants to taste them again. His eyes continue to travel up to his long hair curling over his broad shoulders and into the incredible green eyes that are staring straight back at him. Fuck. He’s been caught. He quickly turns away and says some nonsense to Liam, but he can’t help but glance back at Harry who returns the look with a smirk. Well, Monday is sure to be awkward as hell.
As soon as the fight is over, Liam graciously decides they should go. “To be honest I don’t think I can stand the tension for another minute,” Liam mumbles as they walk back through the door. “I don’t even want to imagine what it’s like working together all day. This was bad enough.”
“Thank you so much, Liam. I wasn’t aware.”
Liam laughs. “Sorry, man. That shit was intense.”
Monday comes too soon. They don’t talk about it. If possible, Harry spends even less time talking with him in person. It’s so strange to get so many emails from a person who is only a few feet away and behind a door. It’s a relief to have some human interaction at lunch with the interns. They continue to have lunch at the Langham on a regular basis, and Louis wonders why he tortures himself with coming there so often. He tells himself it’s for the tacos and the outdoor seating and the drinks with his friends after work. Ed, the bartender, even buys them a round once in awhile. Sure, that’s why. Liam takes him out in Boystown a few times where they meet up with Max and his friends. He tries not to think about his disinterest in meeting anyone new.
On the last day of June they return from lunch to find Harry standing, frowning, at Louis’ desk. “Ooooh, someone’s in trou-ble,” Max sings as he wiggles his eyebrows. “Have you been naughty, Peaches? Maybe Hot Lips needs to punish you.”
“Oh my god. Shut up.”
As he nears his desk, Louis plasters on a polite smile. “Hi, uh did you need me? I sent you the latest IG posts—“
“Yes, I got them. There’s enough IG posts to post ten times a day. It’s clearly not enough to keep you busy. I think it’s safe to say you could easily handle the Facebook posts as well, so you can add that to your list of responsibilities.” He glances at Louis desk. “Tea, huh?”
Louis colors a bit as he looks at the several boxes and tins of tea stacked in the corner of his desk. “Uh, yeah, I have a cup in the afternoon. I’d leave them in the kitchen, but Max would steal them all.”
“Oh, well, if you don’t mind, could you come by my office this afternoon? I’d like to discuss something with you. Wouldn’t mind having a cup of tea myself.”
“Sure thing. How do you take your tea?”
“Just a bit of milk.”
“Ah, same for me. A man after my own—uh, yeah, I’ll be by around two.”
“Great.”
“Great,” Louis echoes.
*
At precisely two o’clock, Louis knocks on the door to Harry’s office with his elbow, trying not to spill the two cups of tea he holds.
“Come in.”
“I can’t,” Louis calls out. “I’ve got tea.”
The door swings open. “Oh, right. Sorry.”
“No worries,” he tries to come into the office, but Harry is still in his way. “Um, should I come in?”
Harry snaps out of his daze. “Oh, yes. Of course. Come take a seat.”
“So you wanted to discuss something with me?”
“Well, yes. I know I haven’t said it, but your work has been excellent, Louis. You can clearly handle more, so I’m proposing you create the Facebook posts, selecting a photo that best represents the article as we discussed. I’d also like your thoughts on something new I’m pitching,” Harry pauses to look at Louis. “I have an idea about how to cover urban violence mainly using our IG account, but also perhaps as an article or maybe even a column for the paper. I was thinking of calling it, The Day After. The photos would be taken of residents in neighborhoods the day after a shooting.”
“Wow, Harry. That sounds amazing actually. Maybe important is a better word for it.”
“Yes, well, thank you. I’m going to take the first few photos myself, and then have you write the posts. I thought perhaps you could go with me when I take the photos.”
“Oh. Okay. I—I could do that.”
“I want you to be able to hear their stories in order to incorporate them into the posts.”
“Right, right.”
“I also thought it might be a good idea for you to come with me to a few other locations. I thought it might be helpful for you to actually see the photos being taken.”
“Sure. I mean, you’re the boss, right?” Louis inwardly cringes. “I mean—I just meant that I’m your assistant. So if that’s what you need me to do, I’ll obviously do that.”
Harry’s lips press together firmly as he gazes out the window across the Chicago skyline. “Yes. I’m your boss. It’s not the most defined assistant’s position though, I realize. So if you’re uncomfortable coming with me to take the photos, I could have an intern come with me to record it for you.”
“No, no, no. That’s—no. I’d like to come. Even if it’s not required, I’d like to come.” Louis tugs at his shirt a bit nervously. “I’m not—uncomfortable,” he squeaks. Great, he sounds really convincing right now.
“Okay.”
“Okay,” Louis echoes.
He looks down at the full cups of tea. “I’ll just take mine—“
“Oh, the tea. Thanks. I’ll drink mine now.”
Louis flees with his tea before his tongue invites more trouble.