Always

Chapter 55

As soon as I entered my empty house, I called Harry to invite him over.  He agreed and said he'd be over soon.  I let myself into the kitchen to find something to eat for dinner, trying not to think about the fact that my father was, once again, missing, with no sign as to where he was or if he was ever coming back.  I told myself he wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye, but couldn't quite bring myself to fully believe it. 

I had just decided to make some shells and cheese when I heard Harry let himself in my front door.  My back was to the entrance of the kitchen, busying myself with adding the necessary ingredients to the pot when I felt him move behind me.  His hands slid around my waist, pressing his chest to my back as he leaned around me to press a kiss to the side of my neck.  I grinned widely at his actions.

"Hi," I said, giggling as his lips pulled away from my skin.

"Hello," he mumbled, his words muffled by into my throat.  He tightened his arms around my waist, pulling me tighter to him.  "How did your meeting go?"

His lips pressed back into my neck, resting his mouth there while he watched me finish mixing my ingredients, waiting for my reply.

"Good, actually," I told him, enjoying the feeling of his lips on my neck and his warm breath that blew out across my skin.  I finished what I was doing and turned around in his grasp, his arms sliding around to rest against my lower back as I wound mine around his neck.  His weight pressed me back to lean against the counter top. 

"Yeah?"

I nodded, looking into his astonishing green eyes.  "Yeah, we kind of worked it out."

He smiled, his grin stretching across his lips so far his dimples poked into his cheeks.  "You forgave them?"

"Mmhmm.  They're on thin ice, trust me, but we're gonna try to start over," I told him.  His arms tightened around me even more as I spoke, and his eyes lit up.

"That's great, love, I'm so proud of you," he said, positively beaming at me.   My heart swelled; I knew it would be worth it just to see him like this. 

"Good, because you're basically the only reason I did it," I giggled.  He leaned his forehead against mine.

"Doesn't matter, as long as you did," he grinned at me before leaning down to press a kiss to my lips.  My elbows bent as they rested on his shoulders, allowing my hands to weave themselves into his hair.  His lips captured my lower one, molding around it perfectly as he kissed me, keeping me pressed into the counter. 

I could feel his hands spread out across my lower back, his wide palms filling almost the entire expanse as he pulled himself closer.  His tongue had just swept into my mouth, deepening the kiss when a sudden hissing sound startled us both, springing apart instantly.

The water I had been boiling had bubbled over, spilling onto the hot stove top and sizzling against the hot surface.  Both of us snapped our attention toward the sound, frozen and locked together before Harry collected himself to take action.  I giggled as he separated himself from me and turned down the stove, allowing the water to slow it's boil and stop overflowing.

"My bad," I said, pressing my fingers to my lips to cover my guilty smile.

"I knew you weren't the best at cooking but this is pretty bad... can't even boil water properly," he teased, poking me in the rib. 

"I can if someone isn't distracting me," I returned, grabbing his hand and twisting it away from my ribcage.  My fingers tangled with his as I pulled him back over to me, grabbing his other hand so both of ours were linked together near our shoulders.  He stood in front of me as he grinned innocently down at me, fingers wiggling between mine.