Harry Styles - Instant Attraction Ch. 09

9. Tahiti

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Charley had happily settled into her room at the resort in Tahiti a few hours ago and had just enjoyed a long, relaxing swim. She was staying in a beautiful king size bungalow with a view of the stunning, enormous aqua pools. The resort was littered with giant palm trees, hammocks and sparse guests drinking cocktails on loungers -- pure bliss.

Now, as afternoon started to turn into evening, Charley emerged naked from the bathroom in her room, having just washed her hair. Lifting her roughly towel-dried hair off the back of her neck where she was already starting to sweat, she padded over to the bed where her suitcase still lay open.

Selecting and dressing in her favourite plain black string bikini, she pulled on her short, ripped denim shorts and shrugged on a loose, coral, oversize button up shirt. She tied the ends in a knot loosely under her breasts, leaving the buttons undone, and checked the effect in the mirror, feeling young and carefree. She loved tropical locations. She loved wearing bikinis even more. It felt so decadent. The hour-long massage she'd had after her swim had been magical. Grabbing her sunglasses before slipping her room key into her back pocket, Charley left the room barefoot, her fingernails and toenails a freshly painted pink, her hair already almost dry.

She felt super relaxed for the first time in ages. She didn't start work 'til tomorrow, and photo shoot she had been flown out to help with was actually Caroline's -- and she wasn't acting as a designer, either. It was a swimsuit shoot for the major brand Caro was a spokesperson for. Winning, Charley thought happily as she closed the bungalow's door behind her.

The two friends had made a pact years ago that Charley would always be her personal assistant at swimsuit shoots, as it benefited both of them: Caroline because she felt more at ease in the often-tiny bikinis when she knew her best friend was nearby, and Charley because she got to be paid to be with her bestie at tropical locations all over the world a few times a year. All she had to do was get her friend refreshments, take Instagram photos for her and make sure she was in the right outfits at the right time. Easy and fun!

Charley couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she headed to the resort bar where she would be meeting Caro and Zayn. This was exactly what she needed after the events of the last few weeks. Some rest and relaxation time. Between her blind date with Harry, the photoshoot in Europe, her work deadlines, and going to London -- all in the last month -- Charley felt like she deserved a little bit of time off.

Perfect timing, Caro, she thought happily. And she'd got her Harry fix too, she thought mischievously, feeling her smile stretch even further across her cheeks as she thought of the ache between her legs and the man who'd caused it.

Raising her face blissfully to the hot sun as she crossed between the bungalows to the restaurant and bar, she wished all her jobs were like this one. It was only a one-day shoot, being held at a private beach across the island tomorrow, but Charley had booked to stay three days afterwards, coming home on Wednesday night. It was the benefit of working for herself -- she'd assigned Cynthia two minor branding jobs that just needed fleshing out, and she could check the work from her tablet. She'd just been paid, too, so after assigning a large chunk of it to her savings account, she put the rest into her expenses account for this trip.

She couldn't believe the workout her passport was getting this year. And she hadn't had to pay for a single flight so far, meaning the little nest egg for her house was still intact. Life was good. She was young, fit, had a successful and fast-growing graphic design business -- soon she'd like to consider leasing a studio and hiring Cynthia on permanently -- and had an unbelievably sexy boyfriend. Harry. At the thought of him, her heart fluttered and she hugged her arms around herself briefly. He hadn't contacted her yet today, although she hadn't expected him to really, after her note let him know she was flying out. But she hoped he had had a good sleep at least. He'd really needed it.

As she stepped through a door into the cool interior of the bar, her attention instantly focused on a beautiful couple standing at the counter. Caroline was wearing a short, sleeveless, floaty yellow romper suit and wide-brimmed hat. Along with white sandals, her entire outfit set off her even, golden tan and honey blonde hair. Admiring her glowing skin, Charley knew it was a spray tan because Caroline never sunbathed. She practiced good sun-care at all times, protecting her skin on a daily -- a true sunscreen queen. Zayn, half a head taller than her bestie, a testament to how tall Caro was, looked dark and handsome as usual, his eyes fixed on Caroline's face as she spoke to him. He was sporting a white, printed singlet top which he'd paired with dark wash denim shorts and simple black flip flops -- his heavily inked arms and trendy, trimmed beard gave him a dangerous, bad boy edge.

Looking at them a moment longer, Charley's heart squeezed at the way he was looking at her best friend -- Zayn seemed to truly adore her -- bad boy he was not. Together, they made an impressive sight. Light and dark beauty colliding, Charley appreciated, smiling at her own poetic thoughts, then let out a long, loud wolf-whistle.

She grinned as Caroline and Zayn turned together. Caro squealed and ran towards her best friend as Zayn smiled and followed behind at a slower pace. Holding her arms wide, Charley felt the breath knocked from her as Caroline greeted her with her usual exuberance.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages," Caroline said happily to Charley, her beautiful face wreathed in pure joy. Something was different, and she was glowing more than usual. Charley pinched her friend's cheek affectionately.

"It's only been about a month, hasn't it?" Charley teased, pulling back. "That's not that long for us really."

"That's ages for me," Caroline pouted. "You look hot, by the way."

Charley laughed and struck an exaggerated pose while pulling a silly face, eliciting a laugh from her friend.

"It's great to see you Charley," Zayn said in his slow, english drawl as he gave her a hug in greeting, smiling as he kissed her on the cheek as was his usual custom.


"It's good to see both of you," Charley smiled, as Zayn's arm slid easily around Caroline's waist.

"We've ordered some drinks, they'll bring them out to our table," Zayn smiled easily and led the way out to the pool, where they laid on sun loungers shaded by huge umbrellas.

"This is the life," Charley said in appreciation as she took off her top and stretched out in her bikini top and shorts, wriggling her toes. There weren't too many people at this resort, and not a single photographer in sight. Caroline had specifically picked it as it had high security. It was also incredibly expensive -- meaning the rich and famous could be afforded a lot more privacy.

Caroline, on the middle lounger, dropped her hat on the ground between her and Charley and pushed her sunglasses up on her head. She turned to look at Charley and inspected her face closely, a small smile playing around her mouth.

"You look very happy," she remarked lightly, but intonation clear in her voice. Charley rolled her eyes, knowing where this was going.

"That didn't take you long," Charley groaned. She knew it wouldn't. She heard Zayn chuckle. Obviously he knew, too.

"What? Is it so bad that I feel ridiculously smug about the successful blind date I set you up on?"

"We, you mean," Zayn interrupted, grinning as Caroline waved a hand in his direction to quiet him.

Charley grinned. "You did good," she admitted. She lifted her head to look at Zayn and rolled her eyes. "Both of you." She noted the smug smile he threw at Caroline at that. Caroline laughed and blew him a kiss before turning back to Charley.

"So, I know we talked about London over the phone, but I want to hear about what you guys have been up to since then? Where is Harry? I was kind of hoping he might come with you so I could see you two together and gloat a bit more," she said with a wicked glint in her eye.

Charley laughed as their server appeared bearing drinks. She accepted her cocktail and waited until they left before replying.

"So?" Caroline prompted impatiently. Charley noted that while Zayn was looking straight ahead at the pool in front of them, she got the impression he was listening intently.

"He's working on his album," Charley said as she measured her words, wondering if she should be careful about what she said. Zayn and Harry were friends, despite the sometimes-odd vibe she got. She opted for vagueness, just in case. "I've only seen him once since London. Last night actually," she said casually.

"How is he?" Zayn asked, suddenly looking at her, his dark eyes curious. "He was always bad at looking after himself in the band when we were writing." He looked tense the second he finished the sentence, like he wished he hadn't said anything. Charley blinked. He cared about Harry, that much at least was evident. But he wasn't comfortable with admitting it. Strange since they'd known each other for the better part of eight years.

"Really? It seems it's still the case then," Charley admitted. "Technically I was uninvited last night. I hadn't seen him in two weeks and I thought he deserved a break." She grinned and took a drink of her cocktail as Caroline immediately shouted in glee.

"Deserved a break! You dirty hoe!" Caroline began to laugh, slapping her hand on her leg, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Caroline!" Charley said, mortified, looking around to see if anyone was close by. "Jeez, keep your voice down!" She saw Zayn was chuckling, all traces of tension erased by Caroline's teasing.

"Well," Caroline said smugly. "He's a lucky guy. Did he appreciate the surprise?" She smirked as Charley blushed. Zayn looked away with a smile.

Charley rolled her eyes. "I'm not answering that," she said primly and grinned into her drink as Caroline laughed at her answer.

"How's your work going, Zayn? Are you working on any new music?" Charley changed the subject abruptly, talking across her friend.

Zayn lifted a heavily tattooed arm to rub a hand through his hair, messing it up a little. "Not a lot. I've just been enjoying having my first album doing well. I do, however, have a couple collaboration tracks in the pipeline with some pretty big artists that we'll release towards the end of this year. I can't say anything, but it's exciting," he smiled.

"One's with Taylor Swift," Caroline whispered confidentially to Charley, and Zayn threw up his hands in disbelief.

"I told you that in secret," he complained good-naturedly, rolling his eyes. "Top secret, I said."

"Baby, you know I tell Charley everything," Caroline winked at her lover. Her voice lowered as his raised eyebrow of exasperation didn't lower. "Don't be mad. Love you." Caroline blew him a kiss and a secret smile.

Charley raised an eyebrow at that, and watched as Zayn's annoyed expression turned instantly sweet at the words.

"Love you, too," he mumbled, looking into her eyes, both of them seeming to forget Charley was even there.

Wow, they were in love, Charley marvelled, her heart squeezing happily for her friend. That's why she looked different. Caroline hadn't told her that. Her and Zayn had only been together six months or so, but they were already so serious. She thought about Harry, and how fast they had moved already. Would they be in this space in six months time, too? She shook the thought from her mind and looked away from the couple.

She cleared her throat with a smile after she deemed an appropriate amount of time had passed. "So, Taylor Swift, huh? That's a huge deal, Zayn," Charley commented. "I saw her once at a premier with Calvin Harris, I think she was promoting one of her new pop songs at the time -- I love some of her older country music."

Zayn and Caroline finally looked away from each other, both smiling. "I've been friends with Taylor for a long time, actually," Zayn said. "She's really lovely, and when I played her the track for the soundtrack it's going on--"

"It's the Fifty Shades Darker movie soundtrack!" Caroline interrupted with glee.

"Caroline!" Zayn slapped a hand over his face and groaned.

"What? I'm done, I swear," she said innocently. Charley laughed.

"Anyway," Zayn said loudly, glaring at Caroline and turning to Charley to continue his story, "I played her the track and she loved it, and said yes immediately. We'll start work on it in the next month or so."

"I can't wait to hear it," Charley said earnestly. "It sounds like an amazing opportunity and really high-profile -- since it's on a movie soundtrack do you think you'll be up for any awards?"


"That's the goal," Zayn said with a shy smile, looking down at his beer in his hands. That was the thing about Zayn, Charley thought, interest stirring. He was so successful but he also appeared to truly dislike the celebrity it brought. She knew from Caroline that he'd chosen not to take his new album on tour and had barely done any press for it.

Caroline turned and reached out to touch a hand to Zayn's arm and squeezed. "Zayn is so ridiculously talented Charley, you should hear the song that's going on the album -- he sings it like an angel," she said softly.

Charley watched Zayn look back up at Caro with an appreciative smile and noticed the way his whole expression changed as their eyes connected. Wow, Charley thought again, her heart flipping. They really were in love.

Caroline turned back to Charley. "Maybe when they shoot the music video you could come say hi and meet Taylor. She's friends with a lot of the models I work with on a regular basis, so we've been out together a few times -- she's a lot of fun."


"Oh, so everyone knows Taylor Swift except me!" Charley laughed lightly, not really interested in meeting the pop star.

"Yeah, Harry's even bloody dated her," Zayn grinned, and Charley nearly spit out her drink. She wiped her mouth and stared in surprise at Zayn, who was now looking desperately at a cringing Caroline

"Harry dated Taylor Swift?" Charley's mind went blank. She tried to picture Harry with the slim, blonde beauty, who was quite literally her antithesis in every single way.

"Years ago. When he was 18," Zayn said quickly, shrugging helplessly at Caroline. "The band had really taken off and we were all getting crazy amounts of attention..." he trailed off as Caroline shot him a look.

"Wow, okay," Charley said quietly, not really sure what else she should say, taking a sip of her cocktail as she processed Harry dating the famous country-turned-pop star. A twist of jealousy snared low in her belly and it surprised her that it actually didn't matter that it was Taylor Swift -- it was the thought of any other woman with him that made her feel sick. She was pretty sure he wouldn't cheat on her, but it was tough to claw herself out of the sudden hole of doubt. If Harry could be with a woman as beautiful, talented and famous as Taylor Swift, then why was he with normal old her? Was she a novelty?

"Charley, don't. I know what you're thinking," Caroline threatened lowly as she sat up and fully turned towards her.

"You do?" Charley asked in genuine surprise. She'd never been the jealous type before. It seemed that Harry was bringing out sides of her she never knew existed.

"It's written all over your face," she replied, then suddenly her glance flicked up behind Charley, her mouth twisting suddenly up into a broad grin. "But I know what can take your mind off it."


Charley shot her a curious glance, and opened her mouth to ask what -- but she never got the chance.

"Well, well, well," a familiar British voice said in a jaunty tone. "Fancy seeing you guys here."

Charley nearly spilled her drink she spun so fast. "Harry?" she squeaked. Never in a million years did she ever expect to see his stunning face to be staring back at her here in Tahiti. It was like her thoughts of him had summoned him here. She stared in amazement as Harry plopped himself down in the lounger next to hers. Charley blinked and opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Harry laughed in delight as he watched her struggle to speak. He took the opportunity to rake his eyes lazily down her body from head to toe. She looked even more gorgeous than usual, if that was possible. He realised that Charley seemed to become more beautiful to him every time he saw her. It made his chest ache. He reached over and pulled the cocktail from her limp hand and, keeping his eyes cheekily on hers, took a long drink from it.

"Mmm, this is delicious. I'm going to get one of these," he grinned and smacked his lips as Caroline and Zayn chuckled.

"But...how did you get here?" Charley breathed, confused and blindsided by him, as she often was.

"The same way you did, I expect. Just a few hours behind," he grinned and winked at her, finishing her drink off and setting it on a table beside his lounger.

"I mean -- what?" she couldn't seemed to even get a coherent sentence out.

Harry laughed again, loving her reaction. "Well, I had to do a bit of detective work to find out what you were doing in Tahiti. Then, when I found out about the shoot and how Caroline and Zayn would also be here, I just needed to discover which resort you were staying in." He flexed his hands and cracked his knuckles with a broad grin. "So I just rang and asked to be connected to Tom Payleran's room -- and boom, I'm in."

Zayn groaned and slapped a hand to his face.

"I can't believe you still use that name, by the way," Harry offered as a side note to Zayn with a wink.

Caroline muffled a grin behind her hand as she looked at her boyfriend, but Charley was still behind in the brain stakes. "Tom Payleran?"

"It's kind of a joke -- a mix of all the names of the members of the band minus his own," Harry smiled and laid back in the lounger, closing his eyes and wriggling down to emphasise how relaxed he was. Charley bit her lip and she laughed softly at his behaviour. He looked good enough to eat, too. White shorts that stopped just above his knees and a black, short sleeved shirt that he'd left completely unbuttoned to reveal his toned, tattooed torso.

"You could have just rung, man," Zayn chuckled.

"Nah, much more fun this way," Harry said and turned his attention back to Charley. "I quite enjoyed playing Sherlock. Completely worth it to see the look on your face." He winked and Charley rolled her eyes. "That, too," Harry laughed.

"How long are you here for?" Charley asked, ignoring his comments. Now that she'd gotten over the shock of him being here, she was keen to find out how long she had him for -- she was on set all day tomorrow, though he could come as Zayn was coming, too.

"How long are you here for?" Harry countered nonchalantly, sending her another outrageous wink.

Charley smiled broadly now, unable to take her eyes from his. He looked so good. The sleep had done him wonders. "My flights are Thursday morning."

"Me, too!" Harry said, feigning surprise. "Amazing that." Charley laughed and she itched to get up and sit on his lap. She had to remind herself Caroline and Zayn were still there.

"Well, we're so happy you could make it," Caroline said, her eyes darting happily between her friend and Harry. "What room did you get?"

"Oh, Charley's, I've already moved in," he said innocently and Charley's mouth dropped open in amazement.

"But I have the only key," she said, patting her pocket to make sure the keycard was still in there.