One Wild Night

"It was nice meeting you, Aaron. And you too, Harry," Janet said once Adolf called to let Evelyn know that he was outside the building waiting to drive them to Tom\'s house.

"Same here. I hope to see you all again before you leave," Aaron said with a smile as he looked at the group.

"We hope so too. Get well soon," Evelyn said as they rose to leave.

Aaron had enjoyed their company far more than he had expected he would. The jokes, the banters, the teases, and all of it. They were an exciting and amusing group.

"Are you coming with us?" Evelyn asked when Jade, who had gone to show the nurse to her bedroom a while ago, returned carrying her luggage.

"Yes, I am," Jade said as she eyed Harry, but he maintained a blank expression as he looked back at her. Only she could tell that he was amused despite his straight face.

"Oh! Okay," Evelyn said, deciding not to ask any further questions there since she was sure Jade had her reasons, and they could always talk about it later.

"That\'s great! We can have a sleepover in your bedroom! Just us girls," Sonia suggested happily.

"Who is in?" Sonia asked, looking from Jade to Lucy and Candace.

"I\'m in," Jade said excitedly.

"I can join you only after Jamal goes to sleep," Candace said, and Sonia clapped her hands gleefully.

"So it\'s settled then," Sonia said, but Lucy shook her head.

"No, it\'s not. I didn\'t say I was going to join you. And I doubt you will have the time for that yourself if Tom and Bryan arrive soon," Lucy pointed out, and Sonia sighed.

"That\'s true," Sonia murmured. She would be too busy discussing with Bryan and making up with him to want to leave him for a girls\' hang out.

"You got my hopes raised for nothing. I guess it\'s going to have to be just the both of us single ladies, then. You are my new BFF. We still have to choose a day to go clubbing. The last time I went clubbing, your brother cut short my fun," Jade told Candace as she placed her arm on Candace\'s shoulder while Harry\'s ears perked up at the mention of her going to a club.

There was no way he was letting her do that in his absence, not after he had seen firsthand what she did at the club when she was drunk and twerking on the stage. No way!

"You can decide on that on our way. Let\'s leave now so we can get there in time for Jamal to observe his bedtime," Janet suggested as Jamal went to hug Aaron and Harry good night.

"Since the car would not accommodate everyone, I will drop off the young ladies while the elders can go with Adolf," Harry suggested, but they all refused.

"We can get a Uber. There is no reason for you to drive all the way to Tom\'s and then come back on your own. You should stay back with your dad or get some rest," Jade said, setting aside her grudge temporarily as she took out her phone to quickly order an Uber ride.

"Jamal will come with us, and the rest of you can find your way," Evelyn said while Janet looked at Candace.

She hoped she would get a private moment to chat with Candace. She was going to find a way to do that once they got home. She was feeling very maternal towards Candace and Harry, who had never experienced the love of a mother.

"We will see you tomorrow. Have a good night\'s rest," Candace said as she embraced Aaron and kissed his cheek.

Once Candace, Lucy, and Jade had kissed Aaron goodbye, he looked at Sonia, "What about you? You shouldn\'t be left out," Aaron said with a grin as he patted his cheeks where the others had kissed him and Sonia, and the others laughed as she went to do the same.

"Dad, I will be back after seeing them off," Harry said to his father as he took Jade\'s luggage before escorting them out of the door.

Inside the elevator, the elders talked about how exhausted they were and how they needed to go to bed while the girls talked about the interview. Jade bragged about how she brought the idea to call Derek and Paul while Harry listened to them all without saying anything.

"I\'m surprised you are leaving when such a hot chick just moved in. Why?" Candace asked Jade as they walked out of the elevator ahead of the others.

Sonia hurried to join them as she excused Harry and Lucy when they started their own conversation.

"If Harry were the type that would fall for just anyone, I wouldn\'t be trying so crazy about him, would I?" Jade asked, and Candace scoffed.

"You know that, yet you want to spy on him and Aurora?"

"That is different. I\'m just uncomfortable about their date," Jade said defensively.

"I don\'t see how it is different. I\'m still curious though, why are you leaving already? Earlier, you said you were going to be here for some time. What changed?" Candace asked while Sonia listened as she tried to figure out what they were discussing before contributing to the subject.

Jade shrugged, "He wants me to go home," she said casually, trying to sound like her pride wasn\'t hurt by that.

"Really? Why?"

"Did you do or say something to annoy him?" Candace and Sonia asked simultaneously.

"What do you mean? It\'s his house, and he is allowed to decide who stays and who leaves," Jade said defensively.

"What was his reason for asking you to leave?" Sonia pressed.

"We discussed it, okay? He just needs space until we are able to sort through our feelings. It\'s not a big deal," Jade lied, not wanting to say anything else since she knew the more questions she answered, the more questions they would ask. It was embarrassing enough for her that Harry had asked her to leave. She didn\'t want to add to it by listening to them tell her how flimsy his excuse was.

Behind them, Harry and Lucy were having another serious discussion, "I was speaking with Tom earlier and raised the issue of marriage..." Harry paused when Lucy stiffened.

Of course, if it were someone else, Harry would never have mentioned this, but with Lucy, he felt like they had a connection and could talk about anything, so he didn\'t hesitate to raise the subject. That would help him know if he should get involved or not.

"Don\'t worry; it\'s between us both. He told me you don\'t want to get married. I\'m just curious to know why," Harry said, and Lucy looked at him.

"I\'ve never given it a thought. I don\'t think it\'s a big deal," Lucy said, curious to know exactly what Harry and Tom had talked about and what Tom had said.

"Do you think it\'s something you can change your mind about? Maybe if you are persuaded otherwise?" Harry asked, and Lucy shook her head.

"Did Tom ask you to talk to me about it?"

"No, he didn\'t. I told you it came up in the middle of our conversation and I told him I was going to try to help. I wanted to hear from you first to know whether or not I should interfere," Harry explained.

"Don\'t interfere. I will rather not be persuaded on the subject. If I ever decide to do it eventually, I want it to be because it is something I want, not because anyone convinced me or persuaded me to change my mind. I want to be able to take responsibility for whatever decision I take," Lucy explained, and Harry gave her a nod.

"I understand," Harry said with a smile. From what she had said, he could tell that her decision was not a rigid one and could be subject to change but only on her own terms.

Once they all got to the front of the building, Adolf got out of the car and held open the car door for them.

Desmond turned to Harry, "Let\'s have a drink one of these days before I go back, okay?"

"Yes, sir!" Harry said with a polite bow, and Evelyn smiled as she touched his cheek fondly.

"Good night, Harry. Take care of yourself and your dad," she said, and Harry gave her a nod as he watched her get into the car with Jamal.

"It was nice to meet you, Harry," Janet said, and Harry smiled at her.

"Same here," he said with a polite bow and watched her and Andrew get into the car as well.

"Drive safely," Harry called to Adolf as he drove off with them.

The Uber ride pulled up almost immediately, and Lucy embraced Harry before getting into the car.

"I don\'t have to worry about Jamal saying anything to them, right?" Harry asked Candace once again, and she smiled.

"He won\'t. Don\'t worry about it," Candace assured him and embraced him before joining Lucy inside.

"Good night, Sonia," Harry called to Sonia, and she smiled.

"Good night," she said with a wave as she got into the car.

Once Sonia got into the passenger seat with the others, and Jade was left with Harry, a smile tugged on his lips when he noticed she was scowling at him again.

"Try not to miss me too much, esquire," Harry said as he stepped forward and kissed her forehead, making butterflies flutter in her belly.

"Who says I\'m going to miss you?" She asked in a voice that came out differently than she had planned.

"You said so. Call or text me if you are bored or lonely," Harry said and jerked his head towards the car.

"Get in," he ordered softly.

Although Jade wanted to argue, she scowled, "Whatever," she muttered as she turned to get into the car, but Harry was quick enough to open the front passenger door and hold it out for her to get in.

"Put on your seatbelt. I\'ll see you tomorrow," Harry said as he shut the door after she got in.

"Why didn\'t you request an older nurse? Or someone unattractive?" she asked before Harry could step away from the door, and he leaned forward so he could look into the car through her window.

"Because I didn\'t factor your self-esteem in while requesting for the most suitable nurse to take care of my dad. I had no idea you had so little confidence in yourself or my feelings for you. Goodnight, esquire," Harry said dryly before looking at the driver.

"Take them home. Drive carefully," Harry told the driver before stepping away from the car.

As the driver drove off, Jade turned in her seat to frown at Harry, and Sonia turned in her seat too, but unlike Jade, she had a broad smile on her face.

"Wow!" Lucy breathed, breaking the silence in the car.

"What was that? I can\'t decide if he just scolded you or if that was a reassurance or a weird declaration of love," Candace said, and Sonia and Lucy laughed softly.

"That\'s what I have to face with Harry," Jade said with a sigh.

"I like him," Sonia declared.

Harry was definitely not what she had expected. She had expected someone very calm, gentle, sweet, romantic, and doting.

And although she was sure he was all that, she could tell there was more to him. He was more exciting than he appeared. She was so going to enjoy befriending him and getting him to permit her to write about him.