Summertime & Butterflies

(AN: I've finally added to the character page!)

The loud rumble of a garbage truck outside roused Olivia from her slumber, her eyes popping open as she heard the sound of scraping metal and shouts back and forth between the city workers. She stretched out her legs, realising she felt incredibly rested. She’d never been a very good sleeper when sharing a bed with a partner, so the fact that she didn’t wake up kinked and exhausted surprised her.

Wiggling herself out of Harry’s grasp, she turned to look at him. He stirred slightly as Olivia’s warm body pulled away from his chest, his brow slightly furrowed. His lips, dry from sleep, jutted out in a small pout. Olivia smiled as she looked at his hair, tousled and standing straight up as though he’d stuck a fork in a light socket. Somehow, he resembled a sleepy toddler, and yet looked incredibly sexy at the same time.

And he was all hers.

The thought admittedly still terrified her – opening herself up to someone and trusting them with her feelings was something she wasn’t used to doing. But Harry had asked her to trust him, so trusting him was what she would do – even though she might have to remind herself to at times. But as she looked down at the boy lying beside her and remembered all of the things he’d said to her, and the sincerity in his voice, she realised that while he was fully capable of breaking her heart, she couldn’t imagine him doing anything to hurt her.

Smiling at the thought, she cuddled against Harry again, pressing her chest against his as she captured his lips against hers. His eyelids fluttered at the sense of her touch, tiredly flickering open. Heavy with sleep, Harry blinked his eyes a couple times as he focused on Olivia’s face, lazily smiling at her.

“Hi, my girl,” he greeted her, his voice gravelly but his words sounding sweet as honey. He draped his arm across the small of Olivia’s back, pulling himself closer to her as he let out a contented sigh.

“I like waking up with you…” he mumbled after a moment, dropping a kiss against Olivia’s forehead as he squeezed her tighter. “How did you sleep?”

“Perfectly,” Olivia assured him. “Even with all of your snoring,” she teased him, though relieved it was just a tease and Harry didn’t snore. It wouldn’t be a deal-breaker, not by far, but it would definitely put a kink in any future slumber parties.

“I don’t,” Harry told Olivia, his tone sounding defensively whiny. “Right?” he questioned after a pause.

Olivia snickered. “Like a pig sawing logs,” she joked, kissing his collarbone affectionately. “Good thing you’re cute…” she added, pulling away from Harry and flashing him a sassy grin. “Otherwise…” She lifted her arm and made a fist, gently tapping it against his shoulder.

“Oww…” Harry whined dramatically, clutching his shoulder. “You’re so abusive to me already…” he pouted, though cuddling closer to Olivia, his head resting against her breasts.

“I have to establish dominance from the start,” Olivia teased, her cheek settling against Harry’s floppy hair. He laughed, his breath bouncing against her cleavage.

“Like 50 Shades stuff?” he wondered, his voice still sounding sleepy but the hint of a smirk evident in his tone.

“Gross,” Olivia commented, making a face that Harry couldn’t see, hoping he wasn’t secretly into the kinky fetishes featured in the book series. “No… like… I’m dominant in that I… always get to pick the restaurant.”

“Hmm…” Harry hummed, appearing to mull it over. “Can I feel you up in the cab?” He wondered, putting his own offer on the table.

“Ma-aa-aybe,” Olivia mused, though she knew she’d let Harry grab her breasts almost anywhere. “Can I steal bites of your dessert, even though I’ll insist I don’t want any?”

Harry chuckled at the accuracy of her comment. “That’s pushing it a bit, love,” he teased her, tickling the small of Olivia’s back. “But… I suppose you’ve got a deal. Just ‘cause you’re kind of pretty,” he added, pulling himself back up to Olivia’s eye level. He smirked at her, running his hands through her tangled hair before dropping a light kiss against the bridge of her nose.

“Pretty, pretty,” he determined, nuzzling against Olivia’s cheek. “I still think I should kidnap you,” he told her after a moment. “I’d be a nice kidnapper, I promise. Like the Beast. You can even go in the west wing,” he joked, his words drawling out slowly as he continued to graze his lips across her cheek.

“Not the west wing!” Olivia exclaimed, gasping with feigned disbelief. “You’re too kind to me,” she told him, turning her head slightly to intercept his lips. He laughed, weaving his fingers through Olivia’s hair and keeping her lips against his.

“I know,” Harry murmured between delicate pecks. “Just don’t touch the rose, okay?”

“Deal,” Olivia agreed, stretching her legs out across the bed. She didn’t want to look at the clock, but she knew she couldn’t be late returning to her sister’s house. With a sigh, she rolled over and peered at the vintage alarm clock tucked under the lamp on the bed side table. The hands indicated that she was to be back in Manhattan Beach in just over two hours. Given the time it would take to drive across town, Olivia and Harry had roughly an hour left before he was to drive her back to the South Shore.

Echoing her sigh, Harry wrapped his arms around Olivia from behind and rested his head on her shoulder. “How much longer do I have you for?” he wondered quietly, his hands resting against her stomach. Surprisingly, she let him.

“An hour or so…” Olivia answered, unable to stop her lips from pouting. “I don’t want to go,” she whispered, entwining her fingers with his and sighing again. She wondered how long she would have to wait before seeing Harry again. They hadn’t discussed future visits, but Olivia had a feeling it would be next to impossible to see her boyfriend until summer.

“I know. I don’t want you to either,” Harry answered, squeezing her hands. “Mmm… and there’s so many thing I want to do to you…” he told her in a husky murmur, letting his hands briefly wander up her body. “But… I’m sure you’re hungry… and want coffee… and want nothing to do with me,” he teased, giving her breasts a gentle squeeze before running his hands back down to her stomach.

“Well, two out of three anyway,” Olivia told Harry cheekily, taking his hands and moving them back to her breasts. She was hungry… and she did want coffee. But she wanted Harry more.

“Hmm…” he commented, sounding pleasantly surprised as Olivia cheekily placed his hands back against her chest. “Yeah… I definitely like waking up with you…”

~*~*~*

“So then he thought it might be a good idea to bring this dog down to Malibu, but I guess most of the beaches there are dog free, so…” Harry trailed off, casting a sideways glance at Olivia, who was only half listening to Harry’s story – it was incredibly boring, but she knew he was trying to lighten the mood. After another sensual shower and a quick breakfast on Harry’s patio, enjoying the early morning view and stalling as long as they could, the two of them grudgingly began the trip south.

“Hey…” he interjected softly, squeezing Olivia’s hand. She looked at him and smiled, though rather unconvincingly. “Story’s not that bad, is it?” he teased, flashing Olivia one of his winning smiles. Infectious as it was, Olivia had a difficult time conveying happiness as their morning and her vacation came to a close. Still, Harry was trying desperately to keep the mood in the car light, so the least Olivia could do was try to appease him.

“It’s pretty bad,” she teased back, scooting closer to Harry and resting her head against his shoulder. “But… I like that you’re trying to make me smile… even though I don’t want to,” she added, her tone of voice resembling a bratty toddler.

“Well, you look rather pretty when you smile, so you should do it all the time,” Harry told her, reaching his arm across Olivia’s shoulders and lightly tapping his fingers against her skin.

Despite wanting to throw a tantrum or grab the steering wheel and force Harry to turn the car around, Olivia giggled. “You sound like a grandma,” she informed Harry, letting her hand drape lazily across his thigh, squeezing lightly.

“Grandma’s are very wise ladies, you know,” Harry answered seriously, pressing a quick kiss against Olivia’s forehead. “And so am I. Wise, I mean,” he corrected himself. “I’m not a lady,” he added, as though he needed to assure Olivia of the fact.

“Thank you for being honest with me,” Olivia teased, though keeping her tone of voice serious. She tapped her fingers absentmindedly against Harry’s leg, refraining from letting out the sigh that was itching to come out. Harry was working so hard at keeping Olivia happy; she couldn’t be a brat. But as Harry slowed the car down and turned right at the Belamar Hotel, she couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh. Seeing the stone sign was always one of the landmarks she counted while on her way to Stephanie’s house. The hotel, being less than a mile from Laurel Avenue, was the last landmark.

Hearing Olivia’s sigh, Harry twirled his fingers through her hair. “I’ll drive slow, sweetheart,” he promised her, his statement peppered with a sigh of his own. But despite the speedometer barely reaching 25 miles per hour, Harry pulled into Stephanie’s driveway just a few minutes later.

Harry moved his arm from Olivia’s shoulders to turn off the car, but quickly found his positioning again. Neither one of them made any motion to vacate the car – perhaps thinking if they didn’t move, they wouldn’t have to move. Quietly, Harry massaged his fingers against Olivia’s shoulder, toying with locks of her hair. Olivia kept her head nestled against Harry, tracing circles and shapes against his leg. It wasn’t until she saw motion at the front door out of the corner of her eye that she even looked towards the house.

“We’ve been spotted,” Olivia told Harry in a hushed voice, nodding towards the house. The front door was open, and two little girls—dressed head-to-toe in Disney Princess attire – peered around the door jamb, staring at Olivia and Harry parked in the driveway. Once they realised the adults had spotted them, Mia quickly slammed the door shut, but Olivia knew it wouldn’t be long before Stephanie sent her daughters out to nag at their aunt.

Harry chuckled, dropping a kiss atop Olivia’s head before pulling away from her. “Come on, sweetheart,” he told her gently, grasping the door handle. “I can’t hug you very well in here.”

Olivia sighed again, watching as Harry stepped out of the car. She followed suit, morosely tossing her bag onto the front lawn and meeting Harry at the front of the car. He smiled at her, gently caressing her cheek before enveloping her into a tight hug. They rocked slightly together, both of them quietly enjoying their bittersweet embrace.

Laughing after a moment, Harry tightened his grip. “This is like the end of a cheesy romantic comedy,” he told her, kissing along her hairline to show he was teasing.

Olivia snickered. “You’re not chasing me through an airport, though,” she reminded him. “So it’s not quite the end.”

“It’s definitely not the end,” Harry told Olivia, playing on her words. He pulled away from her and looked into Olivia’s eyes, smiling as he searched her soul. “It’s a bit better than a movie, too… crazy, real life, isn’t it?”

Olivia was quiet for a beat, letting Harry’s testament hang in the air. It was like a movie… but he was right. It was real life. Somehow, the teacher from Canada had wooed the British rockstar and her simple spring break had turned into the most incredible two weeks of her life.

“Crazy real life,” Olivia echoed, tucking her head closer to Harry’s chest and breathing him in. She didn’t think she could forget what he smelled like, though she wanted to be sure.

“Yeah… and it feels like – I feel like… I could tell you… could say… I…” Harry stammered through a convoluted sentence before trailing off, shaking his head. “Then it really would be like a bad romantic comedy,” he joked lightly. “But… I could…” he added, his voice so hushed, he was nearly inaudible. His comment was vague and his stuttering hardly made sense, but Olivia knew exactly what he was feeling… because she was feeling the exact same way. It was insane, ridiculous and laughable; and yet, it felt exactly right. No one else could understand it – Olivia could hardly understand it – but she realised she’d been biting her tongue from letting those three words slip out since their first date, and hearing Harry say he could say those special three words too brought a smile to her face. She wasn’t the only ludicrous – or completely smitten – one.

“I could, too…” she admitted, her voice as low as Harry’s had been. She realised that for all intents and purposes, they’d just confessed their love for one another. And while they both now knew how the other one felt, a hurried goodbye in her sister’s driveway didn’t seem the proper scenario to utter the words.

Harry beamed at Olivia’s admission, seeming relieved as his lips found hers. “And… I will,” he promised her, delicately sweeping his lips across her mouth. His kiss was soft, but it sent chills through Olivia’s body as she came to the conclusion that she was certainly, absolutely and in all entirety head over heels for Harry Styles.

Notes