Harry's POV

Damn this bed is comfortable. And huge. These sheets have to be made of legitimate silk. They're soft as fuck. There is not one single part of me that wants to get out of this bed. Even if Carmen isn't here because when I reach out to the side I can't feel her. This is her bed right...

"Carmen?" I roll onto my back and prop myself up on my elbows. After a scan of the room my eyes land on the other side of the bed where she is literally on the very edge with a smile on her face because she knows I can't reach her.

"Yes?" she asks innocently. She starts laughing when I reach for her, first eluding my grasp until I get a fistful of her shirt. "Harry! You're going to rip it!"

"Then come closer."

This is the best part of our relationship. Yeah, it's complicated and messy sometimes but that doesn't mean it's not worth it. Moments like these when we're just playful and laughing and she looks so damn happy it makes my chest feel like fucking exploding.

"Okay! Okay, fine." She huffs and I remain sitting on her waist, her wrists caught under my hands. "You win."

If this isn't winning then I really don't know what is. After a quick trip down my torso her eyes flash back up to mine and she bites her lip to hold back a smile. I can't remember the last time I wanted something as badly as I want her. Not just physically- obviously there's that- but everything, every part of her. I don't think I've ever worked so hard at something in my whole life.

"Harry." She squirms around a bit and tries to get out of my grasp. "Get off me."

"Rude."

"Deal with it."

I raise my eyebrows. "Someone came to California and got an attitude."

"When did I not-"

"Carmen!"

Carmen's eyes go wide and she manages to get her hands free, which are instantly shoving at my chest to get me off her. Suddenly her door swings up and she flings the covers over my lower half as Jayden comes running towards the bed. He manages to leap almost completely on it, barrel rolling to get himself all the way up. He sits up and looks at me like he forgot I was here, then shrugs and crawls over to Carmen. Wary brown eyes stare at me while he curls up against Carmen, the tips of two of his fingers pinched between his teeth.

"Morning," Carmen says.

"What's that?" Jayden points to my arm and then curls back into Carmen's lap. How long has she been here? He's already so attached to her.

"What's what?" Carmen asks. She leans over to see his face and he grins so completely adoringly at her that it makes me smile. This is exactly what I wanted for her when she decided to come here.

"That stuff on his arm," he says. Oh.

"Those are called tattoos," Carmen explains.

"What's that?"

"They're drawings. Like yours, but on skin."

Jayden crinkles up his nose and looks up at her again. Carmen just laughs and leans back against the headboard while the little boy thinks about what she said. Slowly he eyes me again and part of me is starting to think he doesn't remember meeting me last night.

"Jayden," Carmen says, "You remember Harry, right?"

"Who's Harry?"

"I am." He looks at me and I hold my fist up. Without even a second's hesitation he hits his against mine and it makes Carmen and me both laugh.

"Who drew on you?" he asks. He crawls off Carmen's lap and sits between us, leaning on his hands and knees over my arm.

"A few different people."

"Where's all the colours?"

"I like just black." His nose crinkles up again in obvious distaste. "Not good?"

"I like blue," he says. He sits with his legs crossed and facing me. "What's your favourite colour?"

"I like blue, too."

"Why?"

"Because." After a quick glance at Carmen I beckon for him to lean closer so I can whisper. "Carmen's eyes are blue."

He turns and giggles a little while I hold my finger to my lips to convey the secrecy. Carmen just rolls her eyes. The kid is cute, I'll give him that.

"Mom is making breakfast," he says. "Waffles with fruit, but I just like the waffles."

"What's wrong with fruit?" Carmen asks. "Fruit is good for you. You need lots to keep those big muscles." She squeezes the top of his arm and Jayden laughs again. "You might even be stronger than Harry."

"No way." I scoff dramatically and hold out my hand. "Let me see."

We spend the next few minutes ogling over the kid's apparently ginormous muscles, which he clearly loves. He might even be in love with Carmen, you know that cute infatuation kids sometimes get with adults. It's adorable to watch.

"Jayden, you were supposed to-" Gale pauses in the doorway and examines the three of us for a minute. "Oh. Harry. I didn't realize you slept in here."

The disapproval in her tone is obvious and Jayden scrambles off the bed to b-line for the door. Gale smiles as he runs past her, then she looks back at us. Awkward. Definitely awkward.

"It was late when we went to bed," Carmen says. "You never said where else he should sleep."

"I didn't think I had to," she says. "Carmen, I've got my two young kids here, this isn't appropriate for them. Especially Jayden."

"We didn't even do anything!" Carmen says. "What is inappropriate?"

"Harry isn't even dressed!" She gestures to me with her spatula thing and then sighs. "You can do what you want in your father's house, but here I have rules. And I expect-"

"Expect?" Carmen repeats in a louder tone. This isn't going to end well. "I'm pretty sure you can't expect me to do anything."

"My house, my rules," Gale says firmly. "You want to be here, then you follow them."

"First of all, you're lucky I'm here at all. Second, I'm nineteen. I'm an adult. Third, you have absolutely no right to make me follow your rules. Harry is my boyfriend and being here isn't easy for me, so I want him to sleep in my room." She stands from the bed and walks over to the bathroom. "You don't get a say."

I wince as she slams the bathroom door shut. When Carmen told me to put some clothes on last night I really regret not listening to her advice. Slowly I turn towards Gale and she sighs again. With one last glance at me she starts walking away.

"Breakfast is ready," she calls as she disappears. Well fuck.

The hardwood is cold against my feet as I quickly close the bedroom door. The bathroom is next on my list of stops, right after I've gotten my sweats from my bag. After a few soft taps there's no sound on the other side.

"Carmen." I place my hands on the door frame on either side. "You okay?"

After a minute she opens the door and then walks back inside to sit on the edge of the biggest bathtub I've ever seen in my entire life. The door shuts softly behind me and I lean against the vanity opposite her. She leans forward with her elbows on her knees and cups her chin in one hand.

"Did I overreact?" she asks quietly.

"Do you think you overreacted?"

She sighs. "I don't like people telling me what to do anyway, never mind someone who was gone for all the years that she was actually supposed to be telling me what to do. Plus, Jayden has no idea what sleeping in the same bed means. Evan hasn't gotten closer than three feet to me so I highly doubt he's going to notice. Plus, he's eight. He probably doesn't know either. She's being dramatic."

I can't help but smile at the little rant. She huffs and rolls her eyes at me as I make my way towards her, sitting on the edge of the tub beside her.

"How have things been with her?"

"I've spent most of my time with Jayden," she says quietly. "Gale is...it's too complicated."

"Has she given you any other rules?"

"No."

I nod and place my hand on her back. I don't think it's that unreasonable to request that Carmen and I don't share a bed. It's not ideal, but I don't want to make things more complicated than the are. This week is mostly about her relationship with her mother.

"I want you to sleep in here," she says quietly.

"Me too, but it is her house."

"You're annoying when you're right." She leans into me with my arms still around her, her head against my shoulder. "But I still want you to sleep in my bed."

Well that sounds like the best idea ever, that's why. The thing is that I haven't gotten this side of Carmen in a while and when she's actually feeling cuddly, which is almost never, then I just want to trap her in my arms until she's sick of me.

"I'm going to shower. You should go talk to her," I advise.

"Fine." She stands between my legs and places her hands on either side of my face. "But I'm officially offended that you're not asking me to join you."

After a quick kiss on my lips she walks out of the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind her. If I ever figure out a way to get a handle on how much I love that girl, I'm going to have to write a book or something. I can't be the only one that feels this way, right? I don't know how people deal with it. Loving someone so much that you don't know how to deal with it is the craziest thing ever.

---

When I emerge from Carmen's room, fully clothed this time, I can hear everyone in the kitchen. Jayden's adorable giggle and another voice that I can't recognize. I met Todd and Gale last night when I got here, but there is another kid that I have yet to see. Jayden sees me first when I enter the room and he jumps off his seat to run towards me.

"You can sit here." He moves the chair on the other side of him so he's between me and Carmen. "And Evan is sitting right there."

Evan. When I turn around the other kid is sitting there, eyeing me with incredibly bright blue eyes. After a moment he goes back to eating his breakfast.

"Evan, this is my friend Harry," Carmen says.

"Your friend or your boyfriend," he says in a cruel tone. Well he is not like his brother.

"Is there a girl you like?" I ask, lifting Jayden onto his chair and then sitting in my own. Evan narrows his eyes at me. "At school or something."

"No. Girls are weird."

"As true as that is, soon enough you'll like them anyway. Then you won't think it's so strange."

"Girls are not weird!" Carmen shakes her head and stabs at her waffle. "Boys are the problem."

"I like girls," Jayden says, staring up at Carmen. She smiles at him and he's got the biggest smile on his face.

"Nobody likes a butt-kisser, Jay," Evan sneers.

"Evan, that's enough. You've been rude all weekend and I'm tired of it," Gale says. She puts a waffle on my plate and raises her eyebrows at him. "We have guests in our home and you're going to be polite."

"Fine."

"So," she says, smiling at all of us. "First day of March break! Dad's taking the day off so we can all do something together."

"Sounds fun," Carmen says. After a close watch of a small interaction I've decided they worked everything out. I'm wondering where I'll be sleeping tonight, but they're not fighting so that's a good thing. Carmen catches me staring at her and she leans her chin on her hand, eyes locked with mine while Jayden goes on about something. Fuck. I'm way too happy.

---

"I like your tattoos, Harry."

I look down at my arm and then back at Todd. "Really?"

"Yeah, I always wanted them but it would have been terrible for my job."

"It's pretty easy to cover them up."

"You do have the one," Gale says. She laughs.

"You do?" Carmen stands in front of me, her arm around my neck as she sits on my thigh. "What is it?"

"Thanks," Todd says to Gale. She laughs again. "It's an anchor."

"That's nice, I've got one." I show him my wrist and he smiles in a weird way while Gale keeps laughing. "What?"

"It's not...it's in a weird area." He grimaces and shakes his head at Gale while she laughs louder. "Hun, I will tickle you until you pee yourself."

"It's on his butt!" she screeches. Carmen covers her mouth with her hand and starts laughing in almost the exact some way. I start laughing and Todd shakes his head.

"I was a kid! I got drunk with some friends and lost a bet." He shrugs and laughs a little. "Oh well."

"If nothing else, it's a great story," I laugh. Jayden and Evan come running over and each of them take on of their parent's hands to pull them to the pond. We went for a hike on a quiet trail Gale's family likes to go to and the boys really seem to love it.

"Maybe I should get a tattoo on my ass," Carmen says. She fiddles with the bandana that's holding my hair out of my face. "Like a smiley face or something."

That would be something. She watches me pull my hair back into a bun and then takes my hand, leading me away from the picnic table. After quickly telling her family that we'll be back soon she pulls me through the trees onto the trail. It's also important to not that her ass looks amazing in the little jogging shorts she's wearing.

"Where are you taking me? Oh, this is the part where you hack me into pieces or something, isn't it."

She laughs and shakes her head, taking a turn and veering off the trail. She's much more coordinated than I am, though I'd never admit that out loud. The trees get slightly thicker and it's harder to manoeuvre through the rocks and other brush to wherever she's leading me.

"I don't actually know where I'm going." Carmen stops and sits against a rock.

"Seems like a good plan. I've always wanted to die in the wilderness."

"Don't be a baby." Long blonde hair falls around her shoulders before she pulls it up again. "I like Todd. He's funny."

"He seems cool."

"Gale said you can stay with me. As long as you wear clothes from now on. She thought you were naked this morning." She laughs and my eyes go wide.

"That's awkward."

"Oh well." She tugs me closer and lets her hands rest on my waist. "I'm really glad you're here."

"You had to take me all the way here to say that?"

"No, but I want to make out with you and not in front on my family." Her eyes go wide. "I mean...not...they're not-"

She sighs when I kiss her, my hands on either side of her face. She stands up and wraps her arms around my neck, mine reaching down to lift her up. Her legs wind around my waist and our lips separate briefly so I can find the closest tree. She whimpers slightly when I push her up against one that's wide enough to block our bodies from the people walking the trail. When I feel her tongue against mine I make a low sound before I can control it and her cool fingers rest on the back of my neck.

"I love you," she whispers. That stops me, that's for damn sure. "Harry, you know that, right?"

"I do now."

"You didn't before?" She runs her finger over my jaw and I close my eyes. My insecurities when it comes to Carmen haven't exactly been subtle. "Can I tell you something else?"

"Okay."

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me," she says quietly. Her lips press to mine and she sighs. "I don't want to be alone again."

"Baby, you were never alone. And you don't have to worry about that ever again because I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

Notes

okay.
my brain hurts.

how is everyone's life