713So, I got a PM the other day from the lovely Mistyana who asked if I had anything from the vault of the Intervals era. I've got so many unused chapters and half written bits here and there that I could probably write a whole other story. I started reading through them and found myself falling in love with the OG Pete/Allie all over again. This is the story of their first date, something I didn't even realise we never got to see.
So this is for Mistyana and anyone else who still reads my stories from time to time. If you want more, I've got 'em, just let me know.
And just...thank you to anyone and everyone who's carried on reading my fics all these years. The reviews and DM's...you have no idea what they mean to me.
All my love,
Ella x
"Cinema?"
"Too predictable."
"Pub?"
"Are you trying to get laid or not?"
"Dinner?"
"The places that girl probably goes out to eat are beyond your pay packet, Dunham." Benjamin Ellis grinned at his friend as the blonde drew another line on the board through the list of suggested locations to take Allie Harding on a date.
"So, what, I'm fucked then?" Pete Dunham snorted, leaning back against the whiteboard and frowning when he noted the ink was still wet enough to stain his shirt.
"Y'know we've been playing this game for an hour and it doesn't mean shit if you don't actually pick up the phone and ask her out, brother."
Pete shot the Scotsman a withering look and sighed, rubbing his forehead and wishing not for the first time that he kept a stash of beer in his desk. Where he liked it or not, Benjamin had a point. He could plan all he wanted but he still had to find the stones to call the girl.
Truth be told, he had no idea what to do in this situation. Getting girls had never been an issue for Pete. They either wanted the challenge of finally being the girl who was more than a one-night stand to the Major of the GSE or they had some ill-conceived determination to change him. Going to the pub and finding a girl to sleep with had never been the issue.
But Allie Harding, she was different.
Since he'd kissed her last week when she came to help with parents' night, she'd been all he could think about. God help him, he'd even found himself checking his phone during the football to see if she'd text him. And what's worse is that his heart would pound furiously on the occasion he saw she had.
What the hell was the girl doing to him?
"Look," Benjamin threw his carton of chow mien onto the desk next to him and wiped his hands on his trousers. "You've already swapped saliva with the girl, the date is meant to be the easy part."
"Poetic as ever," Pete smirked. "How the fuck you ended up teaching English is beyond me,"
"Please," the dark haired man grinned. "It's purely to get laid. The second I get them back to the flat and they see poetry books on my shelf, it's a done deal."
"And besides," he frowned. "I've never seen your knickers this tight over a girl. I assume the reason you're seeking my assistance is because the lads would laugh you out of the Abbey?"
"That and their collective track record with birds is worse that Chelsea's run this season," he grinned boyishly as he caught the dark look his friend shot him.
"Low blow," Benjamin shook his head and pointed at Pete with menace. "Just for that, I might call your girl and get in their first."
"Fuck off," Pete laughed, launching his chopsticks at him and smirking when one of them caught him in the face.
Glancing down at his phone which sat taunting him on his desk, he sighed and muttered 'fuck it' under his breath before flipping it open and quickly pressing the call button next to her name, not giving himself a second more to think about it.
Ok, so they'd kissed. And he'd spent all week thinking about her. But what if it wasn't the same for her? What if-
"Hello?"
Silence.
"Hel-lo?" Allie Harding frowned, cradling her phone between her cheek and neck as she fought her way into her office.
Jack and Lara trailed after her, both of them laughing so loudly that she rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to shush them. Glancing down at the caller ID, she felt her breath catch and brought the phone back to her ear.
"Pete?"
On the other end of the phone, Pete Dunham swallowed hard, words failing him entirely as he glanced up at Benjamin who was staring back at him, waving his hands enthusiastically.
"Alright?" he choked out, his voice hoarse. "It's Pete,"
Allie grinned and felt her stomach clench. Immediately dropping her shopping bags to the floor of her office, she grabbed at the phone and held it to her ear.
"That much I got,"
He could hear the smile in her voice and felt himself relax somewhat. Standing up straight, he nodded at Benjamin and cleared his throat.
"Right, yeah, that'd make sense, because you have my number." He frowned to himself. "And I have your number. So y'know…here I am."
Benjamin dropped his head into his hands, peering hopelessly at Pete through his fingers as the blonde began to pace around his desk.
"Are you calling just to…check we have each other's numbers?" Allie bit her lip to keep from giggling.
"No," Pete answered quickly, cursing himself inwardly and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I mean, nah, I'm calling because…well last week was a laugh and I um, I thought…"
He turned and stared at the list on his whiteboard, feeling his stomach drop. Where the fuck did he go from here?
"If you want me to work on another school project, I may have to charge you," Allie giggled and he honestly felt his heart stop. "I'm still finding glitter glue everywhere."
"Well," he smirked. "How'd ya fancy giving me a shot at making it up to ya?"
"Ok," Allie sat down in her chair and bit her lip nervously. In front of her, Jack and Lara had shut up and were giving her their full attention whether she wanted it or not.
"Is it him?" Lara whispered loudly, her whiskey coloured eyes flashing with excitement.
"Him?" Jack gasped, glancing between them rapidly. "The sexy ruffian from the tube?"
"I thought we could go to the cinema," Pete winced. "Or maybe just the pub? Or dinner?"
"Jesus Christ, this is painful." Benjamin muttered, throwing his head back.
"Or maybe…" Pete felt himself panicking at the silence on the end of the line and squinted harder at the list. There had to be something he'd forgotten.
"I'd love to."
Pete froze, his jaw going slack as he turned back to Benjamin and grinned.
"Which one are you saying yes to because I'm on a teachers' salary here,"
"Whichever, any of them." Allie grinned and then cringed, realising how desperate that had sounded. "I mean, I'm easy,"
Jack burst out laughing and Lara simply shook her head as the blonde's ivy coloured eyes grew wide in horror.
"I mean whatever works,"
"Right," Pete smirked, his confidence finding him again. "How's tomorrow night? Gives you a solid weekend to get over the hangover,"
"Really?" Allie raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly makes you think that I can't drink you under the table?"
"Harding," Pete shook his head and grinned into the phone. "Don't embarrass yourself,"
"I'll take that as challenge," she giggled. "I'll bring an extra hairband just in case you need to throw up,"
"Make sure it's sparkly," he smirked back. "I want it to bring out my eyes."
"I'll see what I can do," Allie chewed on one of her fingernails and tried to keep her body still but the thought of just seeing him again was making her dizzy.
"I'll come to yours, pick you up at 7.30?" Pete offered, wondering briefly if that was the best idea. He'd already met her best friend once and it had been a lot. What if her bloody family where there this time? What if they took one look at him and realised what Allie herself was clearly too stupid to: she could do a hell of a lot better than Pete Dunham.
"Sounds good," Allie squeezed her eyes shut, hating herself for falling to pieces over a simple phone call. "See you then,"
"See you then," Pete echoed, lowering the phone and turning to Benjamin.
"HOWZAT!" He shouted, beaming, his arms raised triumphantly above his head.
At the exact same moment, he heard a muffled squeal followed by voices and glanced down at his phone, his stomach dropping when he realised he hadn't hung up.
"Oh shit," he muttered in unison with the girl on the other end.
"Alright?" Pete laughed into the receiver. "Sorry about that...I uh, I just realised I had a free period."
"Right," Allie squeaked from her position on Lara's back where she'd leapt up the moment she thought she'd hung up the call. "I uh, I just saw the latest copy of Cosmo had come in the post."
"Right."
"Right."
"I'll uh, let you go then," Pete licked his lips. "Oh and Harding?"
"Yep?" Allie squeaked out.
"I've spent all morning tryna find the stones to call you," he shrugged at Benjamin who looked at him as though he was mad. "It was worth it."
Allie felt her breath hitch and smiled into the phone. Oh God, what was this man doing to her? One kiss and she's some fainting, swooning old school film actress?
"I'm sure it will be."
Biting her lip, she hung up the phone, staring at it a moment longer than she needed to this time. Her dignity was already on its knees, she couldn't risk it happening again.
"Ladies," Jack held up his hands. "I'm cancelling my afternoon meetings and we're making sure that you," he pointed at Allie. "Are waxed, glossed, preened and prepped to within an inch of your life."
"Jack," Allie laughed. "It's a date, not an invite to an orgy,"
"You say that now but you can either be prepared or get caught out a la Bridget Jones." He shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee and smiling smugly at her. "Your choice."
"Look, Zsa Zsa," she screwed up a post it note and threw it at him. "I'm not going out on a date just to sleep with the guy…that hasn't even crossed my mind."
Both Lara and Jack looked at each other before smirking at the blonde mischievously. Allie felt a blush cover her chest and creep up her neck. Of course she'd thought about it. It had been on her mind the night she'd met the guy. With one smirk or one brush of his fingers against her shoulder when he slipped his coat around her, he'd been able to do things to her that she'd never experienced with Will.
Biting back a groan, she recalled last week when he'd kissed her. Not just their first kiss but the kiss he gave her when he walked her back out to her car. His mouth moving achingly slowly against hers, his body pressing hers back against her car, his hands slipping just under the hem of her sweater to stroke the skin of her back. It had taken everything in her not to throw caution to the wind and just tell him to take her there and then.
"Ok, so that was a huge lie," she waved off their laughter and rolled her eyes. "But I'm not going to be the girl who freaks out just because a hot guy asked her out," she flopped down in her office chair and tapped a perfectly manicured nail against her teeth pensively. "That's just not who I am,"
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"
Lara watched with an amused smirk as Allie hopped across the foyer of the Harding home, one shoe on and the other hanging off her toes.
"Is he early?" the blonde gasped as the gentle knocking at the front door started up again.
"No," Lara rolled her eyes. "He's right on time and you've had three hours to get ready."
"Oh Christ," Allie cried, running for the kitchen. "I can't find my earrings. Can you just stall him? Give me a few minutes so I can come in and look...nonchalant."
"Nonchalant?" Lara snorted. "Sure, Jan,"
Laughing at the obscene hand gesture her best friend threw at her before she threw herself down the kitchen hallway, Lara let out a long breath before opening the front door.
The man stood on the other side was even more gorgeous than she'd remembered. His bright blue eyes twinkled in the sun, the light grey sweater he was wearing somewhat emphasising his toned arms. He was hot, she had to admit.
But Harry Harding was heart stopping.
Hating herself for even allowing the thought to enter her mind, Lara pasted a smile on her face and leaned against the doorframe.
"Dunham," she grinned. "We meet again,"
"Alright, red?" he smirked back.
Despite the Spanish inquisition she'd put him through the last time they'd met when he turned up looking for Allie, he had a soft spot for the girl already. Much like Allie, appearances were deceiving. One look at her would have you believe she was nothing more than some posh, west ender. Then out came spewing a sense of humour so dry that it rivalled Bovver's.
"If you've gotten past thinking I'm a stalker or a murderer, I'm here to pick up your girl," he grinned.
"First of all, I said you had the potential to be a stalker or a murderer. Give me some credit," he threw his head back and laughed, stopping only when he heard a loud bang from inside followed by a muffled screech. "Secondly…she's just fixing her hair."
Pete raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly, making his way into the house as she stepped aside and ushered him in. Trying to look unbothered, he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans as he took in his surroundings. The foyer had to be the size of his entire flat. A huge stone fireplace sat at one end and a grand piano at the other.
Frowning to himself, he wondered what the hell Allie would think when she saw his place. Would she just laugh? Or worse, look at him with sympathy?
"It's a lot, isn't it?"
Lara's voice broke Pete out of his increasingly depressing train of thought and he tore his eyes away from the gigantic chandelier above them to meet her eyes.
"Believe me, Dunham," she smiled softly. "I live here and it still gets me most of the time."
"Yeah, it's uh…" he shoved his hands into his pockets and took them back out straight away. "It's not exactly your average gaff, is it?"
"They're not your average family." Lara told him, a warmth in her voice as she jerked her chin towards one of the photos sat atop the piano.
Pete let his eyes flicker over them; some of Allie and two boys who he assumed to be her brothers as children. One of a woman who looked exactly like her. One of the family with the exception of her dancing on a table top in what looked like a ski resort, Allie's father dressed in a giraffe onesie.
"I know I'm bias," Lara continued. "But I don't think you could meet better people. They might live in the nice neighbourhood in a house that looks like it should be in a BBC period show but they're" She frowned. "I was going to say normal but they're…mental, to be honest."
Pete laughed, gesturing to the photos.
"I gathered that much," he grinned.
"She's a lot softer than she looks, y'know?" Lara met his eyes and he noticed something in them had changed, something that was daring him to look away. "She's only 22 but that girl has been through hell. She'd never let it show but she has. See, Allie has this incredible heart. She gives and gives and never expects anything in return. I mean, she's terrifying when she needs to be, don't get me wrong. I've known the girl since we were five and I still wouldn't mess with her."
"But that big, juicy heart is still there. And she wears it on full display," Lara smiled. "It's a Harding thing."
Pete nodded and opened his mouth to let her know he understood what she was saying, but he beat her to it.
"We're ying and yang in that respect," she raised her eyebrows. "She brings the heart, I bring the crazy. So, with that in mind,"
The petite redhead took two long strides towards him, stopping when they were practically toe to toe and staring up at him hard. The fact he was towering over her didn't seem to bother her in the slightest and to be honest, it took Pete Dunham everything he had in him not to gulp and take a step back.
"I can tell you're a good guy," she nodded. "Christ, the fact you met Allie the way you did tells me that. But you're still a guy. So be under no illusion, Pedro." Lara narrowed her eyes. "If you hurt her, waste her time or upset her in any way…the fact she has two brothers and a dad will be the least of your worries. Because I will hunt you down and make you suffer."
Pete grinned lopsidedly at her and she bit the inside of her cheek, forcing herself not to return it. Dammit, she knew all those hours spent watching The Soprano's would pay off.
"You 'ave my word, red," he told her with a small salute. "I wouldn't be here if…."
He trailed off, petrifying himself with the realisation of what he was about to say.
I wouldn't be here if I didn't think she was my whole future.
Frowning, he glanced back at Lara who he noted had a strange, knowing smile on her lips. Of course she'd be one of those birds that could read minds or some shit.
"I'm glad we're on the same page," she slugged his arm, not in the least bit surprised when he barely moved in response. "Oh, and one more thing," she held a finger up and jabbed it into his chest. "Practice safe sex and do NOT let her drink tequila."
"Fuck me, you're loving this, aren't ya?" he laughed at her.
"Are you kidding?" she grinned back. "This is the highlight of my year,"
Pete ruffled her hair and gave her a playful shove, liking her more and more by the minute.
"She's been a while, are you sure she's-"
"She's going for nonchalant," Lara interrupted him with a roll of her eyes.
As if on cue, the door at the far end of the foyer opened and Allie stepped inside, forcing Pete's gaze away from the red head and solely onto her.
Jesus fucking Christ.
The camel coloured turtle neck sweater and jeans clung to her body perfectly. On anyone but her, it would have looked almost plain. But as his eyes swept up and down her body, it took Pete Dunham everything he had not to abandon all dignity and just run at her.
"Sorry, I'm a little late," she checked her watch and winced, reaching for her long, camel coloured coat which was hanging on the wall by the fire. "Or…very late."
Glancing at her best friend, Allie caught the smirk on Lara's lips and paled.
"Oh Christ, she didn't do her Godfather impression, did she?"
Pete laughed, shaking his head when Lara jutted her hip into him and sent him stumbling forward a few steps.
"I simply informed the boy of our house rules," she shrugged, her eyes wide. "No tequila and always use a con-"
"O-kay!" Allie laughed, praying Pete didn't catch the blush colouring her cheeks as she stepped towards him and gently pulled him towards the door. "We'll just be going,"
Turning around to salute the redhead goodbye, Pete laughed louder when she held two fingers to her eyes and then pointed them in his direction. Closing the door as the stepped out onto the colossal drive way, Pete turned to Allie who was hoisting her handbag over her shoulder.
"Most blokes usually dread having to meet the dad or the brothers when they pick a girl up for a date," he told her.
"Honestly, I think they'd have been easier on you," she answered him with a snort. "I…uh, I'm sorry."
"S'alright," Pete shrugged, sending her a smirk that made her stomach clench. "I'll do my best to uh…avoid tequila."
Allie rolled her eyes, hating the fact she could feel the blush covering her entire body. Of course Lara Knight would bring up the subject of sex before they'd even had their first date.
"Ok, then," Allie gestured to the gates that opened slowly as she pressed her key fob. "Lead the way."
"It couldn't have been that bad," Allie giggled as she ambled slowly through the throng of people on South Bank. Despite the wintry chill in the air, the London streets buzzed with activity around them, the smell of chestnuts and questionable hot dogs roasting enveloping them as they made their way through the winter markets.
"You wanna bet?" Pete smirked, reaching over to snag a piece of her candy floss. "She told me -and I quote- if this is what you think counts as a date, I'm signing up to be a fuckin' nun,"
Allie threw her head back and laughed loudly, stopping only when a man in a suit slammed into her shoulder, shooting her an uncaring look as he carried on talking at rapid speed into his mobile.
Her stomach sank as for the first time in weeks, she thought of Will. Recalling their first date which had involved him yelling at a waiter to get them a table and uttering the phrase 'do you know who my father is?' followed by an almost silent 'romantic' walk along the same riverside, she cringed inwardly.
What the hell had she been thinking?
"Oi, you alright?"
Glancing up, she met Pete's eyes as they darted between her and the man who'd bumped into her, the azure depths turning dark and stone like as he watched the suit amble away from them.
"I'm fine," she smiled, touching his arm gently and trying not to think about how electricity seemed to shoot through her body as she did so.
Nothing like Will.
Snorting, she shook head head, remembering not for the first time that Pete Dunham had been the only thing on her brain since she'd met him. The way his eyes got softer when he looked at her, the way his hands felt on her body, the way his laugh sounded, the way he could turn her into a pile of mush with just a look.
Yeah, nothing like Will.
"You sure? Because I don't have a problem with shoving his phone up his ar-"
"Jesus, Dunham," she giggled and he looked at her, unable to prevent the grin that spread across his face. "Did the whole Soprano's routine from Lara rub off on you?"
"Nah," he winked at her. "You're not the damsel in distress type anyway. Something tells me you can handle yourself."
"You think?" she raised an eyebrow at him as they carried on their slow pace along the Thames.
"Harding, I've been in some scraps in my life," Pete told her with a chuckle. "And I still wouldn't go up against you,"
"So, you're afraid of me?" Allie scoffed, turning to face him and fixing him with those damn eyes.
Pete felt his heart start to thump deep inside his chest, almost causing an ache. It happened a lot with her around. He'd never been nervous around a girl before. It was usually a case of chatting them up, going back to theirs and then sneaking out before they had a chance to hit him with the age old 'so, do you have any plans today?'.
He wasn't the type to get attached. He had too much on his plate as it was, with the school and the firm. With his brother.
"Afraid?" Pete smirked at her, praying the blush he could feel on his neck wasn't visible. "I'm fuckin' petrified."
And he meant it. This girl, this tiny slip of a thing that he could probably lift with one hand was the scariest person he'd ever met. Because she made him question things. She made him want more, made him want to be more.
He wanted to be good enough to love her.
"Well, if that's the case," Allie took a step towards him and bit down lightly on her bottom lip, the action making his stomach clench and his mind head straight for the gutter. "What you're basically saying is that I have the upper hand here,"
Pete grinned as she reached out, slowly lacing the fingers of both of her hands through his.
"You got something in mind, Harding?" he quirked at eyebrow at her.
"Fancy testing that athletic stamina you go on about so much?" she met his eyes and felt a certain smugness when she saw his throat muscles working overtime.
"I mean…" Pete smirked, taking a step closer to her so that their bodies were touching and he had to remind himself that they were in public and all the thoughts running through his mind right now were not only inappropriate but borderline arrestable. "I'm all ears,"
"Hmmmm," she hummed, leaning into him and noting that his eyes were now solely trained on her mouth. "How good are you on your feet?"
"Not nearly as good as I am off 'em," Pete grinned as she threw her head back and let out a loud giggle.
"Time will have to tell on that one," Allie rolled her eyes, praying that he couldn't see the blush on her cheeks or, God forbid, read her mind. "But for now…"
She jerked her chin to their left, watching as the grin slipped off his lips, his eyes wide as he turned to her, shaking his head.
"Fuck off," he choked out. "Not in a million years,"
Allie winked at him, tugging on his hand as she made her way over to the ticket stand for the Hyde Park ice skating rink. She could feel him digging his heels in, doing his best to stop her and that only made her giggle more.
"We can do anything you want," he swallowed, his eyes wide. "I'll go shopping, I'll do art galleries, fuck it, I'll-"
He stopped short when she turned out of nowhere and kissed him.
Fuck.
It took Pete Dunham all of a second to slip one of his arms around her waist, pulling her tighter to him while the other cupped the soft skin of her cheek. Not particularly caring that they were in public, he swept his tongue over her lips, groaning quietly when she instantly opened her mouth.
His heart was thumping, his hands restless as they swept down her back and then up under her hair to tilt her head back and really let him kiss her. How was she doing this to him with just a kiss? How could she make him forget anything other than her existed just by touching him?
He was in deep shit. He knew it. But fuck, if he wasn't happy about it.
Frowning at the actual groan that left his lips when Allie suddenly pulled back, her chest rising and falling sharply as she tried to get her breath back. It gave him some comfort to know that he wasn't the only one on the verge of going nuclear.
"I'm a size 12 shoe," Pete mumbled, his voice husky as he licked the taste of her from his lips. "And I can't balance for shit so you best believe that if I go down, you're coming with me."
Allie blinked in surprise and then giggled, shaking her head and letting some of her soft, honey coloured hair falling into her eyes as she did so.
"So, that's all it takes, huh?" she looked up at him, her eyes twinkling. "A little positive reinforcement?"
"Put it this way, Harding." Pete leant down and brushed his lips over hers, gently this time, allowing himself to feel her smile against his mouth. "If I'd 'ad you with me at Uni, giving me positive reinforcement, I'd be PM or working for NASA right now, not teaching History and playing hallway Olympics with Benjamin Ellis,"
Allie giggled again, pulling him closer to her, her arms locked around his waist as she stared up at him and wondered whether it was physically possible to have a heart attack just from looking at someone.
"Well then," she narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Let's see what you've got,"