Mature Content

Sara's POV:

I lay stretched out across one of the lounge chairs in the backyard, wearing nothing but my bikini and enjoying the last bit of warmth the afternoon had to offer.

The sun rested against my back, wrapping my skin in a comforting heat that made me want to stay exactly where I was for the rest of the day. There was barely any wind, and everything around me seemed unusually peaceful.

I closed my eyes.

For once, I wasn't thinking about anything.

No drama.

No responsibilities.

No wondering what tomorrow was going to bring.

Just me, the warmth of the sun, and the quiet sounds surrounding the house.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been lying there when I suddenly felt a pair of hands against my back.

My body tensed for half a second before I recognized the touch.

Harry.

His palms gently moved across my shoulders before traveling farther down my back. His fingers worked carefully against my muscles, and I sank deeper into the lounge chair.

A quiet moan escaped me.

That felt way too good.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled without opening my eyes.

He didn't answer.

Instead, his hands continued moving slowly over my back, making their way toward my spine before returning to my shoulders.

"Harry," I murmured.

Still nothing.

I smiled to myself.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

Then his fingers brushed against the straps of my bikini.

My breath caught.

I felt a gentle tug.

The knot loosened slightly, and suddenly my top wasn't nearly as secure as it had been a few seconds ago.

My eyes remained closed.

"Is this all right?" Harry whispered.

There was something about the softness of his voice that made my heart beat a little faster.

"Yes," I replied.

His hands stopped for a moment, almost as if he wanted to make absolutely certain he'd heard me correctly.

Then I felt his lips against my back.

One kiss.

Then another.

Slow.

Gentle.

His kisses traveled upward, following the curve of my spine until they reached my shoulder. By the time his lips brushed the side of my neck, goosebumps had appeared across my arms.

I swallowed.

The warmth of the sun had nothing to do with how hot I suddenly felt.

Harry kissed just beneath my ear.

A shiver ran through me.

"You know," he whispered, "it's getting late."

I smiled.

"Is it?"

"Very."

His lips touched my neck again.

"The sun's about to go down."

"That's tragic."

Harry laughed quietly.

"So, would you like to continue this inside?"

I finally opened my eyes.

The sky had begun changing above us, the bright afternoon blue fading as the sun dropped lower toward the horizon.

I turned my head enough to look at him.

Harry was standing beside the lounge chair with that stupidly charming smile on his face.

I pretended to consider his offer.

"Hmm."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't make me regret asking."

I laughed.

"Sure."

That was apparently all the permission he needed.

Harry slipped one arm underneath my knees and another behind my back.

"Harry!"

Before I could protest, he lifted me from the lounge chair.

I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Put me down!"

"You said you wanted to go inside."

"I can walk!"

"This is faster."

"You're ridiculous."

"And yet you're smiling."

I immediately tried to stop smiling.

That only made him laugh.

Harry carried me through the house and toward the bedroom. The entire time, I was painfully aware of how close we were. I could smell his cologne. I could feel the warmth of his skin. And every time I looked at his face, my heart seemed to beat a little faster.

This wasn't the first time Harry and I had kissed.

It wasn't the first time we'd gotten carried away with each other either.

But something about tonight felt different.

Maybe it was the way he kept looking at me.

Maybe it was the way my stomach filled with nervous butterflies whenever I thought about what could happen next.

Or maybe I already knew exactly where this was going.

When we reached the bedroom, Harry gently tossed me onto the mattress.

I bounced once before looking up at him.

"Seriously?"

He grinned.

"What?"

"You could've put me down like a normal person."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Before I could respond, Harry leaned over me.

His face hovered inches from mine.

Suddenly, neither of us was laughing.

His hand rested against my hip.

My breathing became shallow.

His eyes stayed on mine as his hand moved carefully along my side.

"Is this acceptable?" he asked.

The question made me smile.

Even now, when it was obvious how badly we both wanted each other, he was making sure.

"Yes."

I lifted my head and pressed my lips against his.

Harry kissed me back immediately.

My hands found his shoulders as the kiss deepened, all the teasing from a few moments ago disappearing.

His hand moved behind my neck, supporting me as he kissed me before gently guiding me back against the mattress.

My heart was pounding.

I wasn't sure whether it was nerves or excitement.

Probably both.

His lips left mine and moved toward my jaw before trailing down my neck.

"Harry," I whispered.

He paused instantly.

I opened my eyes.

His expression had changed.

"Okay?"

I nodded.

"Okay."

Only then did he continue.

His lips returned to my neck, and I closed my eyes again.

Every touch seemed amplified.

Every kiss.

Every breath.

Every movement.

I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

My fingers curled into his shirt before I finally pushed against his chest.

Harry immediately pulled back.

For a second, confusion crossed his face.

Then I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it upward.

He laughed quietly and helped me remove it.

I tossed it somewhere beside the bed.

And then I stopped.

I had seen Harry without a shirt before, but I'd never really taken the time to study him.

His tattoos covered his skin like pieces of a story I hadn't completely learned yet.

My eyes moved over the birds on his chest, then the large butterfly below his pecs, before settling on the fern leaves across his lower abdomen.

Harry noticed me staring.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're staring."

"I'm observing."

He laughed.

"Observing?"

"Yes."

I reached out and traced one of the tattoos with my fingertips.

Harry watched my hand.

"You have a lot of tattoos."

"Very observant."

I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up."

He smiled.

My fingers continued moving over the ink.

There was something strangely intimate about it. I wondered how many stories were hidden behind those tattoos. Which ones meant something. Which ones he'd gotten because he simply liked them. Which ones he regretted.

I looked back into his eyes.

Suddenly, all the playful confidence I'd had disappeared.

This was actually happening.

Harry seemed to notice the change in my expression.

His smile faded.

"Sara."

I placed my hand against the back of his neck and pulled him closer.

Our lips met again.

This kiss was different from the others.

Slower.

Deeper.

My arms wrapped around him, and his body settled closer to mine. Before long, my legs were wrapped around his waist.

Harry pulled away just enough for our lips to separate.

His forehead rested against mine.

For several seconds, all I could hear was our breathing.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

There wasn't any teasing in his voice this time.

I looked into his eyes.

The nervousness was still there.

So was the excitement.

But beneath all of it was certainty.

"Yes."

Harry didn't move.

I almost laughed.

"Harry."

"What?"

"I said yes."

"I know."

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I want you to be sure."

My expression softened.

"I am."

He searched my face for another second.

"You'll tell me if you want me to stop?"

"Yes."

"Promise?"

"Harry."

"Promise me."

I smiled.

"I promise."

That finally seemed to satisfy him.

I pulled him back toward me and kissed him again.

The rest happened slowly.

There wasn't some perfect movie moment where I magically knew exactly what to do. There were nervous pauses and awkward movements mixed between kisses. There were moments when Harry stopped to check on me and moments when I couldn't stop myself from laughing because we were both trying so hard to make everything perfect.

Eventually, I realized it didn't need to be perfect.

It just needed to be us.

At one point, discomfort made me tense beneath him.

Harry noticed immediately.

He stopped.

"Sara?"

I opened my eyes.

"Do you want me to stop?"

For a moment, I considered it.

Then I shook my head.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

I reached for him, pulling him closer.

"Just...slow down."

Harry nodded.

"Okay."

He kissed me gently.

The nervousness gradually began to disappear.

I stopped thinking about whether I was doing something wrong.

I stopped wondering whether he was judging me.

I stopped worrying about everything that could happen tomorrow.

Instead, I focused on him.

On the way he held me.

On the warmth between us.

On the quiet kisses he pressed against my skin.

On the way he continued checking my expression whenever he thought something might be wrong.

Eventually, the entire world outside that bedroom seemed to disappear.

There was no backyard.

No setting sun.

No tomorrow.

Just Harry and me.

My fingers traced the tattoos along his back as I held him closer. His forehead occasionally rested against mine, our breathing uneven as we tried to catch our breath between kisses.

At some point, I started laughing.

Harry stopped.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He gave me a suspicious look.

"You're laughing at me."

"I'm not laughing at you."

"Then why are you laughing?"

I covered my face.

"I don't know!"

Harry stared at me for a second before he started laughing too.

"This is serious."

"Apparently not."

"You ruined the moment."

"I ruined it?"

"Completely."

I lowered my hands.

"You're the one who stopped to ask me what I was laughing about."

"Because laughing isn't usually the reaction a guy wants."

I couldn't stop smiling.

"You're an idiot."

"And you're still here."

"Unfortunately."

Harry kissed me again.

I smiled against his lips.

And just like that, the nervousness disappeared.

Hours seemed to pass without either of us noticing.

By the time everything became quiet again, the sunlight that had filled the room earlier was completely gone.

I lay beside Harry underneath the sheets, staring at the ceiling.

Neither of us spoke.

His breathing was slowly returning to normal.

Mine was too.

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say.

Was there something people were supposed to say after a moment like that?

Thanks?

Good job?

That sounded ridiculous.

I almost laughed again.

Harry turned his head toward me.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're doing that thing again."

"What thing?"

"Thinking."

I looked at him.

"How do you know I'm thinking?"

"Because you get this little look on your face."

"What look?"

He narrowed his eyes dramatically.

I slapped his arm.

"I do not look like that."

"You absolutely do."

"Shut up."

Harry smiled and reached for me.

I moved closer without thinking about it, resting my head against his chest.

His arm wrapped around me.

For a while, I listened to his heartbeat.

Everything felt strangely peaceful.

I traced one of the tattoos on his chest with my finger.

"Does this mean anything?"

Harry looked down.

"Which one?"

"The birds."

He was quiet for a second.

"Yeah."

I waited.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Maybe someday."

I lifted my head.

"Someday?"

"Yeah."

I narrowed my eyes.

"You've got secrets?"

"A few."

"Should I be concerned?"

"Probably."

I hit his chest again.

He laughed and pulled me tighter against him.

I rested my head back against him.

Maybe someday.

For some reason, I liked the sound of that.

Because someday meant there would be another day.

Another conversation.

Another night.

I had spent so much time worrying about what tonight would feel like that I hadn't thought much about what would happen afterward.

Now I knew.

It wasn't some dramatic transformation.

I was still Sara.

Harry was still Harry.

The room hadn't changed.

The world hadn't stopped moving.

But something between us had changed.

There was a new closeness there that hadn't existed before.

A vulnerability I hadn't expected.

I tilted my head and looked at him.

His eyes were closed.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you asleep?"

"Almost."

I smiled.

"Goodnight."

His arm tightened around me.

"Goodnight, Sara."

I closed my eyes.

Earlier, lying underneath the sun, I had thought the warmth against my skin was the most relaxing feeling in the world.

I had been wrong.

Because lying there with my head against Harry's chest, listening to his heartbeat while his arm remained wrapped securely around me, felt even better.

And for once, I didn't need to wonder what came next.

Tonight was enough.