Chapter three
The drive way was long and winding and I had absolutely no idea where it was leading. I couldn’t make myself believe that this house belonged to Harry, the boy next door for most of my life. Trees lined either side of the entrance, obscuring the house from sight. We reached a rot iron gate, where Harry typed in a code and then they opened.

“Please tell me this isn’t your house.” I turned toward Harry, who laughed lightly at my comment.

“Why?” he asked. I rolled my eyes at the mansion that we drove up to. He didn’t stop however, he continued around to the back where there was an immense garage that he parked in. The difference between his cars and mine was stark and drastic. He turned the car off, and turned to look at me. I just stared back, taking in every inch of his face, admiring his lovely curls, sweet dimples, and bright green eyes. I could tell he was doing the same, which made my cheeks take on a light pink undertone. His eyes kept searching my face looking everywhere at once before coming to settle on my lips. They became his primary focus, and I found myself staring at his in return. Suddenly, his hand came up and he kissed me firmly, our tongues teasing one another. My hands flew to the back of his neck, my fingers tangling in his hair. He pulled away, resting his forehead against mine. We were both breathless. “Maybe,” Harry said shakily. “We should go inside now?” I nodded, fluttering my eyelashes against his. He kissed me once more, softly this time, before exiting the car and coming to open my door for me.

“How gentlemanly,” I smiled. Harry did a little bow, a wide grin spread on his cheeks, adorned with dimples. He offered me his hand, which I readily took. He helped me from the car, wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and headed for the mansion, otherwise known as his home.

He unlocked the door, and showed me in. The entrance room was enormous. The ceilings were extra tall, the floor a checkered marble. The house was extremely open, making it a very welcoming environment. He put my car keys on a tray with his, shoved his hands in his pockets and watched me admire his home. I walked around aimlessly, leaving my scarf, mittens and hat scattered throughout the rooms as I went. When I had finished looking at the first floor, I went up the stairs to the second floor. Upstairs there were many guest rooms, beautifully decorated, and I randomly pictured Harry designing each and every room as I knew he would have. There was a family room, a music room, but at the end of all the rooms was Harry’s room. I opened the door and walked into the most perfect room yet. The bed was enormous, as was the entire room for that matter; the walls were filled with pictures; pictures of his family, pictures of us and pictures of his band. One wall was completely made of glass, and overlooked a beautiful little stream that was nestled on the property. Doors lead out to a balcony, where there was a hammock and sitting chairs, all facing the setting sun.

“Wow,” I breathed. “It’s so gorgeous!” I leaned against the railing of the balcony, admiring the glorious sunset. Harry came up behind me and rested one hand on the railing next to mine and began playing with my hair with the other.

“It’s alright,” he sighed, then lowered his mouth to my ear. “But it pales in comparison to you.” He breathed. I felt my eyes flutter closed and my body press into him. His hand drifted up to my shirt, pulling the fabric back to expose my shoulder where he planted soft, wet kisses. My hand reached up to cradle his neck. He turned me around in his arms, and my hands immediately began removing his flannel shirt. When I was successful with that, I reached for the hem of his t-shirt, but before I could dispose of it as well, he began to laugh. I looked up at him, utterly confused.

“What’s so funny?” I asked him. He cupped my face with both hands and kissed my forehead, his thumbs drawing soft circles on my cheeks.

“I’m happy,” he shrugged. “I’m so totally, completely happy that you’re here. And I find it funny that I don’t even have you here for an hour, and here we are.” He chuckled again, this time I joined in. It was true, we were slipping back into our old routine, and it was almost effortless. It was as if the last three years were nothing more than a bad dream.

I held his hand that was cupping my face, “I’m happy, too.” He smiled brilliantly, again kissing my forehead. His arms pulled me into a tight embrace, and even when he released me, his hands never truly left my body.

“What would you say to some dinner?” he asked me. I took his hand and pulled him back inside.

“I would say that that would be lovely,” I smiled at him. This seemed to please him, and so we started towards the kitchen.

“Excellent,” he said as he pulled me along. “To the kitchen we go!”

Once in the kitchen, he sat me down in a stool so that I could watch him while he prepared our meal. I looked around the kitchen, and was surprised that I couldn’t find any signs of a hired cook. Harry began gathering what he needed, finding everything in no time at all, a picture of ease.

“What,” I started. “No chef to wait on you?” I teased him. He laughed loudly, turning around to grab a wooden spoon from a drawer.

“Naah,” he turned back around and began stirring the pot on the stove. “Cooking’s my thing. I don’t need someone in my face all the time serving me some crap. I prefer to eat in style!” He joked. I laughed with him, pleased to see that he was still the humble boy I remembered.

“So,” I said. “Let me guess... you’re making us tacos!”I pretended to look surprised. He continued stirring, shaking his head at my mockery.

“What else?” he asked me rhetorically. I looked around again, and thought back to what he’d said in the car.

“Harry,” I said. “Didn’t you say that your band was gonna be here?” I asked him. He seemed un-phased by my question, and began dishing out the food.

“Yeah, they’ll be here,” he said. “Zayn just bought a place pretty close by, so he’s moving in this week. The rest of the guys are going to be coming down from London on Friday, Simon wants to hold a conference about some P.R stuff happening soon.” He said it nonchalantly, as if everybody held conferences with Simon Cowell about “P.R Stuff”. I played it cool, pretending like this was a conversation I was perfectly used to having. “What about you,” he asked me. “When do you go back to Uni?” he set a plate in front of me and sat down next to me. I began to nibble at the food he put in front of me. It was just as good as I remembered it.

“I go back next Monday, but only till May, and then I’m done.” I had done some summer courses in both my first and second year, and was on track to graduate this year, which I was extremely pleased about, especially if it meant spending more time with Harry.

“So,” Harry interrupted my thoughts. “About what we talked about earlier, you’re still gonna move in, right?” he asked me, he seemed unsure of my answer. I laughed at his doubts and placed my hand over his.

“Harry,” I started. “I couldn’t stand knowing you were this close and not being with you as much as possible.” He smiled, obviously pleased by my answer.

After we were finished, I helped him put away our dishes. We talked about the minor details of our lives in the last three years, sharing mainly inconsequential stories. It was getting less weird now when he mentioned the band, like I somehow was getting to know them through him. When we were done cleaning up after ourselves, Harry kissed me slowly, standing there in the middle of his kitchen. He tucked some stray strands of hair behind my ear and continued to stroke it as he spoke.

“So, I’m thinking that after the road trip today you’d probably like to shower,” he looked down at my jeans and light grey t-shirt I was wearing. “I’m also going to assume that you’d like a change of clothes.” I laughed quietly.

“You’d assume correctly,” I said, starting to move away from him. “My clothes are in my car, I’ll go gra--” he cut me off, pulling me back to him.

“Forget about them,” he said. “You can get them in the morning. I’ll just find something of mine that fits you for tonight. Now why don’t you go shower?” I nodded, and we made our way up stairs.

He showed me into a guest room that was equipped with an en suite. The bathroom was magnificent, and in the centre there was one of the biggest tubs I’d ever seen. For a while, I stood there, openly gaping. I heard Harry chuckle behind me.

“I’ll leave you to it,” he kissed me on the cheek and gently shut the door. When he was gone, I sat down on the edge of the tub. My life had changed so drastically in a single day. Three years of sadness simply gone with Harry’s return to Holmes Chapel. I’d missed him, obviously, and even more obviously I was beyond ecstatic at his reappearance in my life. But now, sitting here alone in one of his bathrooms, I began to fear the stability of this relationship we were entering. How could this work out? We’d tried before, and we’d failed. What was to say that this time would be any different? The sound of running water tore me from this depressing train of thought. I opened the door, and headed down the hallway to where the water was coming from. I opened Harry’s bedroom door, and saw that the bathroom door was ajar. I crept in quietly, and peered into the steamy room. Harry was standing in the shower, his naked form outlined in the frosted glass. He was beautiful. There was nothing in the world that I wanted more than him. And then the realization hit me: I didn’t care about how this would turn out. Harry was right in front of me, and he loved me, and I certainly loved him. I slipped out of my jeans, my t-shirt. I undid my bra, and let it fall to the floor as well. I made my way over to the cabinet, in desperate search of a condom. When I was at last successful, I shimmied out of my panties, letting them join the heap of clothing on the floor. I crossed the room to the shower, and silently slid the door open. Harry turned to see me as I stepped in. The most sincere smile stretched across his features, and his hands began reaching for me. He pulled me close to him and began kissing me, so deeply it was intoxicating. Our breathing was uncontrollable, and close was never close enough. He pulled my leg up, wrapping it around his waist, and I could feel his erection, hard against my soft and quivering flesh. His fingers found their way down to my opening, first sliding one, then two, then three fingers inside me all the while staring into my eyes in the most intimate gaze I’d ever felt. Our need for one another was so overpowering, I couldn’t bare it any longer.“Please,” I breathed. And that was all he needed to hear. Handing him the condom, he donned it on quickly pushing himself inside of me, and began thrusting slowly and sensually. My fingers dug into his back, my mouth searching for his. When I found it, our tongues intertwined, matching the rhythm our bodies were creating. Our moans of pleasure were absorbed into our kiss. Harry’s hands slid down to my ass, and then he lifted me up, still inside of me and carried me out of the shower. He set us down on his bed, our wet bodies staining the fabric wherever it came into contact with our skin. Once on the bed, his pace quickened, his passion heightened. My hands tore at the sheets, my body writhing with pleasure underneath his. Harry’s mouth again found mine, but our kiss was often broken when the sensations became more intense. I could feel my body gearing up to explode, and at the same time, we both came. Harry’s body went limp on mine with exhaustion, his head resting just over my right breast where he planted soft, tender kisses. He remained inside of me, my muscles clenching down on him, trying to pull him deeper inside of me. My hands ran through his hair, which was still partially damp from our shower. It was in this manner that we fell asleep, perfectly content in one another’s arms.