I didn't realize how much I needed a day with Riley until today.

After my amazing date with Harry a couple days ago, we got to wake up next to each other undisturbed, and I've never felt more content in my life.

That was until Brandon finally moved out today. It was a very sad moment for us. I showed up at Riley's this morning in tears, emotional that my brother was gone and I now lived alone.

Harry didn't know Brandon left yet, or that he was even moving out. He had a few photoshoots to do today so I haven't seen him since early this morning when I was half awake saying bye to him.

So to cheer me up, Riley took me to the mall and we were there most of the day. It was around seven by the time we got back from our day out. We stopped at Walmart after we had dinner and got stuff for baking so we can hang out at her apartment and watch the Step Up series.

We are currently in her kitchen making cupcakes for whatever reason and dancing to my throwback playlist. Riley is making red velvet cupcakes while I am making carrot cake cupcakes, knowing Harry loves carrot cake more than life.

We didn't let the sound of the front door opening stop us from belting out the lyrics to When Doves Cry by Prince as it blared from her tv.

Zayn and Harry appeared on the other side of the counter, mouthing something to us but we couldn't hear them over the music.

I ignore what they were saying, too busy whisking my batter with a whisk and singing along. If my friends have learned anything, it's to not interrupt me when I am singing Prince.

Harry leaned his head on the counter, watching me with a wide grin on his face.

I lift the whisk to my mouth and sing into it.

"Touch if you will my stomach.

Feel how it trembles inside.

You've got the butterflies all tied up." I point at him. "Don't make me chase you. Even doves have pride."

I didn't have to hear him to know he was laughing at how passionately I sang, the way his lips opened and he revealed his teeth, his eyes lighting up. I'm glad he's enjoying the show.

As for Zayn, he is standing there watching both Riley and I get way too into it.

"Darling don't cry." We sang, finally finishing the last few lyrics in one breath. "Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!"

The music faded out and it became quiet, the silence filled with Riley and I's heavy breathing and clapping.

"Was not expecting a free concert when we walked in." Zayn chuckled, kissing Riley's cheek.

"I'm not complaining." Harry commented, winking at me.

I smile and continue mixing my batter, setting the bowl aside when I finish it.

"I didn't realize your girls day was going to last this long. Baking and music? Can we join?" Zayn asked, dipping his finger into Riley's red velvet mixture and licking it before going for mine.

I smack his hand away. "Don't touch."

He pulled his hand back and stuck his tongue out at me before walking out of the kitchen. "Rude."

Harry watched our exchange before leaning over the counter and looking down at me while I spooned certain amounts of batter into my cupcake liners.

"Can we talk for a minute?" He asked me quietly, glancing at Zayn and Riley as the two of them worked on her cupcakes.

"Uh...yeah." I answered, setting my spoon down and quickly rinsing my hands. I dry them on a clean rag and walk out of the kitchen, following Harry towards the spare bathroom.

Odd place to have a talk but okay. I didn't even know what he wanted to talk about, and it was a little unnerving.

"What's up?"

"Are you okay?" He asked with concern, eyeing my face.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Zayn just told me that he and Nick were helping Brandon move out. Why didn't you tell me?"

I frowned at the mention of it and I shrugged. "You were working all day and I didn't want to bother you about it."

"You never bother me. I could be in the middle of taking a shit and I would still answer a call from you." He said seriously, but I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Gross, but I appreciate that."

He rolled his eyes, his lips twitching upwards. "I'm serious. If something is bothering you, I want you to be honest with me about it. Honesty is what makes a relationship work, and believe me when I say I need this to work. I quite literally cannot live without you."

My chest warmed up at his worry, and I placed my hands in his comfortingly. "I'm not going anywhere, Harry. Yes, my brother moved out but I am doing okay now. I've been with Riley all day and she took my mind off of it."

"Are you sure you are okay?" He sighed.

"I am. You know how?" I asked him with a squeeze of his hands. "Because I know at the end of the day, I'll be falling asleep next to you; and in the morning, I get to wake up to your smile."

Dimples, dimples, dimples.

"That smile." I whispered, my eyes on his lips as I brought my thumb up to brush against them.

"You just fucked my heart, Butera. And here I thought you hated cheesy, romantic moments." He chuckled, grabbing both of my hands and pulling me towards him until my chest was against his.

"What can I say? You bring it out of me." I replied, staring up at him as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips. I haven't kissed him all day, and it felt really good to finally be able to do it again.

"Can we go back to your place now? I want to spend the rest of my night locked away with you." He murmured against my mouth before pulling away.

I roll my eyes playfully before placing my hands on his chest and stepping back. "I have cupcakes to finish."

I kiss his cheek before opening the door and walking out, waiting for him to follow behind me while he groaned at my rejection.

"There you are." Riley says as she saw me walking back towards the kitchen, spotting Harry next to me and smirking.

"Here I am. What's next on the playlist?" I asked, pretending the look she was giving me wasn't there as I looked at the tv screen and walked into the kitchen.

"Let's find out." She said, hitting play on the remote with her elbow.

Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake started playing, making Riley and I both look at each other knowingly. This song played at our senior prom during the couple minutes Riley and I made out for fun.

Riley imitated the moan at the beginning of the song, making me snicker as I finished putting my mixture into the cupcake tray.

"Wait a minute, you ready, JT?" Riley asked me, holding her whisk in front of my mouth.

I waited a couple seconds before singing Justin's part, adding a little dance when the beat dropped. "I can't wait till I get you on the floor, good-lookin."

Harry shook his head with a chuckle as he saw us dancing freely before joining Zayn in the living room.

Once Riley and I finished putting our cupcake trays in the oven, we set a timer and cleaned up the kitchen, no longer having the energy to sing now that our voices were almost gone.

Instead of watching the first Step Up movie, we started the second one. Mainly because the very first love of my life is in that movie.

"Moose can fuck me up any day of the week." I swooned as the curly brunette entered the screen during the dancing scene in the rainy streets.

"Um, hi. Remember me?" Harry says, waving his hand in front of my face. I look away from the screen to see him wearing a pout.

"Yes. Hello, Harry." I say, fighting the urge to laugh at his reaction. Someone's jealous.

He huffed and relaxed back onto the couch, folding his arms over his chest.

"Aw. Are you jealous your girlfriend finds Moose attractive?" Riley cooed at Harry from Zayn's lap.

"No." He grumbled.

"He's been my celebrity crush since I was thirteen. The things I'd let that man do to me today are just-"

"Okay, fine!" Harry cuts me off, finally admitted his jealousy with a huff of annoyance.

I smiled in satisfaction and grabbed his arm, bringing it out of its folded position and linking my hand on his. He was clearly trying his best not to smile, but when I pressed my lips to his cheek, he rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Can we bounce now?" He whispered to me, his warm breath fanning my ear and making me shiver at the contact of his lips on my skin.

I put my hand on his cheek and lightly push his face away while he puckered his lips and I chuckled. "We haven't finished the movie and my cupcakes are still in the oven."

His lips fell into a pout once again but he kept his right arm around my shoulder, clasping my right hand in his.

"Did the timer go off yet?" Riley asked me, getting up and walking to the kitchen.

I lift my wrist and check my watch just as the timer went off.

"Yup." I confirmed, removing my hand from Harry's and standing up, joining Riley in the kitchen as she poked our cake and cupcakes with a barbecue stick.

The sticks come out clean so I shut the oven off and slide the rubber mitten on my hand, taking the trays out and setting them on the counter to cool off.

While they cool off, we return to the living room to finish our movie.

My heart fluttered when Harry's large hand grabbed my thigh and lifted my legs, bending them over his lap while my back rested against the armrest. He then placed his left hand on my thigh and smiled cutely down at me.

"Any ideas for what you want to do tomorrow?" I asked him.

"Not really." He shrugged before grinning cheekily. "I wouldn't mind staying in all day with you."

I roll my eyes and poke his dimple. "That's not fair to everyone else."

"Damn." He frowned.

"If you don't want to go out anywhere we can all just hang out at my place. I'll make dinner." I suggested, and his face lit up.

"That sounds good. Would I be able to help you cook?" He asked hopefully.

I stared at him apologetically. "I'd rather you didn't burn down the apartment on the anniversary of the day we met."

"I'm not bad at cooking!" He gasped.

Zayn snorted, but when we both turned to look at him, he whipped his head back to look at the tv.

"You almost burned your moms house down trying to boil spaghetti. All you had to do was put noodles inside of water." I reminded him once again, watching his lips fall into a frown.

"That was one time. And you distracted me, remember? You admitted to it." He grumbled.

"Oh please. You just didn't know how to keep it in your pants."

"You wouldn't stop teasing me."

"How on earth was I teasing you?" I asked, knowing exactly what I did that night. It was just funny watching him defend himself.

"We were on the couch and you kept putting your hands under my shirt and touching my thigh. And don't even get me started on when you slid your hand down into my-"

"Can you guys take this conversation somewhere else?" Zayn cut him off, holding a look of disgust on his face.

"Leave them alone, Z. We're worse than them." Riley jumped in, patting her boyfriend's chest.

I sigh, giving in. He can work on something small and easy. "Fine. I guess it was my fault. You can help me if you really want to." I tell Harry.

"Thank you." He finally smiles in relief, kissing my cheek.

"Yeah yeah." I chuckled, putting my focus back on the movie.

"The party is here!" I heard Louis shout from the front door. Alongside him was Nick, the both of them approaching the living room and polling themselves down on the couch next to each other happily.

"You both look like you just got the lives fucked out of you." Riley snorted.

"And what about it?" Nick fired out jokingly.

Riley but her hands up in defense. "Nothing. Just stating a fact."

I couldn't help but smile as I looked at all of us. Zayn and Riley are in a relationship. Louis and Nick are in a relationship.

I'm in a relationship. For the first time in years, I feel like myself again, all because of the man beneath me.

I found myself staring at him, my fingers playing with his short hair when he mad eye contact with me, the smile I fell in love with on his perfect face.

"Per sempre e un po' di più." I found myself whispering to him, only for his grin to widen and his eyes become the brightest of greens I have ever seen.

"Per sempre e un po' di più."

• • •