The Photographer - h.s

Canyon Ridge

Harry

I woke up in her bed, swimming in the smell of her shampoo and perfume that cling to her pillows. I sat up and could hear soft music in the kitchen, I climbed out of the bed and followed the sound down the hallway. She was at the stove cooking French toast as she sang along to Paramore's 'Only Exception' as she swayed to the music. She had on baggy black sweatpants and a white tank top, her brown hair was thrown up in bun at the top of her head. She was radiant. I smiled at the sight of seeing her this happy this morning. I walked over to where she was cooking and stood beside her, placing my hand gently on the small of her back. She turned her to see me and smiled widely before turning her focus back to breakfast.

"Well, good morning, love." I said and she hummed and nodded.

"Good morning." She replied lightly and scooped a piece of toast off the pan with her spatula and placing it on a plate beside her. She put another piece on the pan and it whistled as the egg hit the hot surface.

"I like your music choice for the morning." I said lightly, this is such a soft, light, loving song... it reminds me of her.

"It was my dad's favorite song to sing in the car with me." She said and placed another piece on the plate beside her and turned the stove off. She handed me a plate with 2 pieces of French toast and a small bowl of yogurt with fruit. I don't know what I did to deserve her but...wow.

"Thank you, so much." I said to her and leaned in and kissed her cheek before walking around the counter and taking a seat on one of the stools. She followed me and sat next to me and handed me a fork, knife, and spoon.

"I wanna take you somewhere today." She said and took a bite of her food and looked over to me. I smiled and nodded, I'd honestly go anywhere if she would be there.

"You want to take me somewhere?" I repeated to her and she nodded and smiled.

"On an adventure. There's this place I used to go when I first moved here, it's a great hiking spot, it'll be fun." She rushed out and I smiled and nodded. She was so cute, she seems so excited and giddy talking about this spot, I can't wait to see it.

"I'm always in for an adventure." I told her and winked, her cheeks got light pink and she took another bite. We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence letting the soft music shuffle through songs on her playlist. It felt very comfortable.

Once noon rolled around she had put on her  leggings and a sweatshirt and was ready to go. We were stopping at my house first so I could change into something more comfortable for hiking. We got into her car and she pulled her seatbelt over her chest and looked to me.

"It's gonna be about an hour long drive. You ready?" She asked and I smiled and nodded.

"Let's rock and roll." I said and she giggled and backed out of her spot and we started driving down the street.

We stopped at my house and I ran in and changed, I took about 10 minutes to get into some sweat pants and a black shirt and make sure I brushed my teeth before running back out to her waiting in the car. I hopped back in and she turned the radio back up and we started on our way. I was excited to see where she was taking me, where this spot is that she used to visit frequently at the beginning on her move, the place that brings her comfort. The drive was long but with her company it was worth it, any time with her is time well spent.

We parked the car in a small parking lot and we stepped out and met around the back of the car.

"It's a short hike, it's worth it." She told me and I followed her to mouth of the hiking trail and entered into the woods. Of course, a hike that should've only taken us 30 minutes took us an hour because we kept stopping to look at bugs, or when we stopped for 10 minutes just to watch a frog hop along the trail. We took our time and enjoyed the scenery.

"Okay, it's just up here." She said halfway up the large hill we were trying to conquer. We powered through to the top and when we did we came up onto a large rock ridge. We maneuvered our way to the rocks and avoided the gaps between them and walked to the edge. We weren't very high up but we looked out over a large lake and miles and miles of more forest.

"This is Canyon Ridge Lake." She said and we stood looking out at the scenery. It was breath taking, the air felt so fresh and it was so quiet you could hear the wind blowing and the birds chirping. It was a nice change from living right by the city. "It's beautiful at night... you can see all the stars. It reminds me of New Hampshire." She told me and the thought of her star gazing in the backyard of her home, laying out on a big blanket. Maybe even laying beside her dad as they counted the constellations they could find. "And the moon is always so... bright and it just steals the show. Nothing compares to a canyon moon." She added and I smiled to her and looked back to the lake. I saw small spots that were people walking down at the lake standing by the edge of the water... probably fishing. We both took a seat on the ground, I could feel the cold stone through my sweat pants as we looked out over the lake.

"If you had told me 3 months ago, that after embarrassing myself trying to talk to a pretty girl, I'd end up here...with her, I would've told you there was no way." I told her and she smiled a little before shaking her head a little.

"What do you mean?" She asked and looked at me with her eyebrows furrowed together.

"I thought.... I thought that you were just so far out of my league that you wouldn't have even stopped if I tried. And then I was just... so awkward when I finally did say something." J told her honestly, my insecurity peaking through the words. She let out a breathy laugh and just looked at me for a moment.

"Harry Styles, I think you're so beyond extraordinary." She said softly and looked back to the scenery. She was beautiful, so effortlessly stunning. She is so soft and so warm, I feel so myself with her, I don't have to tuck pieces of myself away, I was able to unpack and get comfortable with her. Seeing her here, in her element, and just radiating such sunshine... I feel so honored to be in her presence right now. I love this moment.