Wistful Paradise / H.S. [COMPLETE]

Thirty One

Harry

I didn't remember much from what happened once everyone cheered out "Happy New Year!" apart from the fact that Florence was by my side for the rest of the night, somehow trying to be as close as possible all the time.

I didn't put any mind to it, so instead, I held her and kissed the side of her head whenever she wanted and it that made me feel like we were teenagers again. Lovesick and overjoyed.

It was good to see my friends again, we are always on the road and don't have a lot of time for each other. But when we are together it feels like the circle is complete. Niall, being the party animal he is, kept giving me shot after shot and I happily took them.

Every time I threw a shot back and felt the small burn in my throat, my mind seemed to get a little hazier and my body to loosen up.

Jules took Florence with her about an hour after midnight and they danced. When it was close to four, she came back to me, complaining how her feet were hurting from the high heels she was wearing. When I asked her if she wanted to go home, she profusely shook her head like going home was an absolute nightmare.

But only half an hour later, I knew she was too tired to keep going. I whisked her away from our friends before she even had the chance to protest and slid into the cab with her.

We stumbled upstairs a little past five in the morning, both drunk. The last time we were drunk, we had mindless sex but it seemed as if we were both still sober enough not to dive in bed and repeat last time events.

I didn't understand why Florence clung to my body all night long, even resting her head on my bare chest but it made me feel so warm and safe. I noticed how she was awake for another hour, not really saying much but her fingers kept tracing my skin.

I was awake too, with much on my mind. For starters, I was thinking about the past few weeks. A lot has changed and has stayed the same at once. The space between us and the conversations were different, but my love for her hadn't changed.

In my eyes, she was still the young girl that took my whole heart and kept it safe with her. Even if she had aged, she was still the same.

I knew that whatever the universe would throw at me and had thrown at me before, I wouldn't be able to go through it on my own. Florence was the only one that I could feel completely safe with. She was the only person that held me sane through all these years and I would be absolutely foolish to let go of that, let go of her.

I wanted to tell her that night but she was already asleep by the time I knew that I would never file for a divorce. So I tried to rest as much as I could for the remainder of the night.

Eventually, I fell into a restless sleep. The sun beaming through the light curtains woke me up a little before noon. So I climbed out of bed, running on five hours of sleep and got myself ready.

The first step of my plan today was making a little brunch for Florence and me, that way we could talk about our feelings together. So I went to the supermarket, hiding with a beanie covering my curls and sunglasses on my nose.

Sometimes I wonder why I even try disguising myself because I still get spotted everywhere I go.

When I got home after grocery shopping, I let Bono out to do his business in the backyard and walked back into the kitchen.

I knew what Flo liked and prepared all the things I knew she would be craving after a long night out, well besides a greasy burger. Since I knew both of us would have a hangover, I made us a mimosa, starting the way how we ended it last night.