84 Not A Single Regret

By the time we both take a shower and lay back in bed it is almost four in the morning.

"I have to be up in an hour." I groan against his chest.

"You could sleep until seven thirty and still make it on time." He reminds me. The idea doesn't sound appealing to have to rush around but I do need the sleep. I am thankful I took a nap earlier so I hopefully won't be dead on my feet during my first day of actually working at Vance.

"Mhmm." I mumble against his skin.

"I'll fix your alarm." He says and I drift off.

My eyes are burning from lack of sleep as I try to curl my unruly hair. I line my watery eyes with brown eyeliner and put on my new Ruby dress. The neckline is square and just low enough to accentuate my bust. The hem ends just above my knee and the small brown belt across my waist gives the illusion that I longer to get ready than I actually did. I consider putting on a little blush but thanks to my night with Harry, my cheeks are still glowing. I slip my feet into my new shoes and walk over to the mirror. The dress is quite flattering and I look better than I deserve. I glance over at Harry wrapped in the blanket on my tiny bed, his feet dangling off the edge and smile. I wait until the very last minute to wake him, I consider not waking him at all but I am selfish and want to kiss him goodbye. I slip on my jacket and grab my purse.

"I have to leave." I say and gently shake his shoulder.

"I love you." He mumbles and puckers his lips without opening his eyes.

"Are you going to class?" I ask after I kiss him.

"Nope." He says and rolls back over.

I place another kiss on his shoulder and grab my things. I want to crawl back in bed with him so badly. Maybe living with him wouldn't be so bad, we spend almost every night together anyway. I shake the thought from my head. It's a bad idea, it's too soon. I spend the entire drive imagining getting an apartment with Harry, picking out curtains painting walls.

When the elevator reaches the third floor a young man steps on with me. He is wearing a dark navy suit and smells like soap.

"What floor?" I ask him.

"Top please." He says. I was already going to the top anyway so I lean back against the wall of the elevator.

"Are you new here?" He asks. His eyes are crispy blue which is a strange contrast to his dark hair.

"I'm just an intern." I tell him.

"Just an intern?" He laughs.

"I mean, I am an intern not an actual employee." I correct myself nervously.

"I started as an intern a few years ago and was hired on full time. Do you go to WSU?"

"Yea, did you?"

"Yep, just graduated last year. Glad that is over with." He chuckles. "You'll like it here."

"Thanks, I already love it." I tell him as we step off the elevator.

"I never caught your name." He says as I turn the corner.

"Tessa, Tessa Young." I call and he smiles and gives me a small wave.

The same woman from yesterday is at the desk and she introduces herself as Kimberly. She smiles, wishes me good luck and gesture towards a table full of food and coffee. I smile and thank her, grabbing sprinkled donut and a cup of coffee before I head back to my office. I find a thick folder on my desk with a note from Mr. Vance telling me to begin my first manuscript and good luck. I love the freedom of this internship, I can't believe my luck. Digging into my donut I pluck the note off the folder and get to work.

The manuscript is actually really good, and I can't seem to put it down. I am only two hundred pages in when the phone on my desk ring.

"Hello?" I have no clue how to answer my own office phone. I feel much more grown up than I ever have. "I mean, Tessa Young's office?" I bite my lip and hear a small laugh on the other end.

"Ms. Young, there is someone here to see you. Shall I send him in?" Kimberly asks.

"Tessa, call me Tessa please." I tell her. It seems disrespectful to have her call me Ms. Young, she is far more experienced and older than me.

"Tessa." She says and I can picture her friendly smile. "Should I send him in?" She asks again.

"Oh, yea. Wait...who is it?"

"I'm not sure...he..uhm...he had tattoos, lots of tattoos." She whispers and I laugh.

"Yea, I will come out to get him." I tell her and hang up.

Harry is here, the thought thrills me than scares me. I hope everything is okay. When I walk out into the lobby Harry is standing with his hands in his pockets and Kimberly is on the phone. I get the feeling that she is pretending to be on the phone, I can't tell for sure. I hope that it doesn't seem like I am taking advantage of the great opportunity Mr. Vance has given me by having visitors on my sending day.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I approach him.

"Yea, I just wanted to see how your first day was going." He smiles and rolls his eyebrow ring in his fingers.

"Oh, it's great I." I begin to say but stop when Mr. Vance strides towards us.

"Well...well...well...come to gravel for your job back?" He smiles at Harry and pats him on the shoulder.

"You wish, you old wanker." Harry laughs and my jaw drops. Mr. Vance chuckles and raises his fist before playfully nudging Harry in his ribs. They must be closer than I thought.

"So what do I owe the honour? Or are you here to stalk my new intern?" He says and looks at me.

"The second. Stalking interns is my favorite pastime." He says and looks at me. I look back and forth between them, unsure what to say. I love seeing this playful side of Harry, it doesn't come out much.

"Do you have time to get some lunch, if you haven't already?" Harry asks me. My eyes dart to the clock on the wall, it's already two. The day has gone by quickly.

I look at Mr. Vance and he shrugs. "You have an hour each day for lunch so go ahead." He smiles and says goodbye to Harry before disappearing down the hall.

"I text you a few times to make sure you got here but you didn't answer." Harry tells me when we step onto the elevator.

"I haven't looked at my phone, I got sucked into a story." I tell him and I reach for his hand.

"You're okay right? We are okay?" He asks, his eyes locked into mine.

"Yea, why wouldn't we be?"

"I...don't know...I was just getting worried because you weren't answering me. I had thought...maybe you were starting to regret last night." He looks down.

"What? Of course not. I honestly didn't check on my phone. I have no regrets from last night, not a single one." I can't hide my smiles as the memories invade my thoughts.

"Good, Well that's a relief." He lets out a deep breath.

"You drove all the way here because you thought I was having regrets?" I ask. it's a little extreme but flattering all the same.

"Yea...well not completely. I also wanted to take you to lunch." He smiles and lifts my hand to his lips.

We step off the elevator and walk outside. I should have brought my jacket. I shiver and Harry looks over me.

"I have a jacket in my car. We can grab it then walk around the corner to Brio, it's really good." He says as we walk to his car. He pulls a black leather jacket out of his trunk and I laugh. He must have an entire wardrobe in there, since I met him he has been pulling clothes out if it.

The jacket is surprisingly warm and smells like Harry. It engulfs me of course so I shake my arms to push the sleeves up.

"Thank you." I kiss him on his jaw.

"It looks good on you, perfect fit." He laughs.

He takes my hand as we walk down the sidewalk, we earn a few strange glances from the business men and women on the streets. Sometimes I forget how different we appear on the outside. We are polar opposites in almost every way, but somehow it works for us.