Butterfly Keeper // h.s. au

Chapter Twenty Six

He steps to the side and opens the door wider for me to exit the room. I trail past him, obeying his wishes and I can feel his presence close behind me as we walk down the hall that's slightly illuminated by sunlight streaming in through a small window on the left wall.

"You look so good." He says lowly from behind me, causing my stomach to ball into a knot.

I thank him quietly as we exit the trailer to climb into his truck. He wastes no time turning on the engine and pulling out of the lot, rolling down the windows as we go so that the breeze can blow through our hair and cool down the car. It's another beautiful day, the weather being in the mid seventies which is amazing for November. Apparently this type of weather is normal here though, even in the fall and early winter. Harry doesn't have to tell me where we're at because I find it out for myself. Many of the cars here have the letters, OBX, in their license plates and on bumper stickers. It stands for Outer Banks, which is a small strip of barrier islands that lie just off the coast of North Carolina. When I ask Harry more about it he tells me the section we're in is called Emerald Isle because the ocean appears a beautiful emerald color in the summer.

I'm still just as intrigued with my surroundings as I was yesterday, my eyes never leaving the scenery flying by outside my window as we cruise down the parkway. Harry likes to look at me out the corner of his eye and let a hidden grin slip onto his lips when he thinks I'm not looking. I don't let him know that I am, because I love the fact that he does that.

We come up to the same parking lot as yesterday, the one sat next to hotel that borders the beach. There are more cars parked here today, and as we pull into a parking space I watch as a family consisting of a little boy and his parents make their way towards the beach.

I kick off my flip flops and leave them on the floor of the car before hopping out, letting the fresh air washing in from the ocean fill my lungs. The concrete stings the bottom of my feet as I now stand completely barefoot outside, the sun being high in the sky and baking everything below it's harsh rays. Harry is beside me in seconds and watches me with a humorous look on his face as I dance around and shift my weight from foot to foot. He was smart enough to leave his shoes on.

"My feet are being cooked! It feels like I'm standing on an oven!" I exclaim as I continue my ridiculous hopping around.

He rolls my eyes at me. "Get on my back," He instructs, lowering himself to my level with the skin of his knees showing through the holes in his jeans.

I don't hesitate as I climb onto his back, my legs wrapping around his waist as I finally feel relief in the soles of my feet. I feel his hands hoist me up more sturdily onto him and steady me as his arms hook around my lower thighs. It's like I'm three all over again as he begins to trot towards the ocean with my legs tight around his waist and my chin resting on his shoulder. I give him a small kiss on the soft skin of his neck to show my gratitude and also because that's one of my favorite things to do.

I bounce slightly on his back with each step he takes, slightly giggling to myself because this is most certainly not the first time he's managed to carry me effortlessly on his frame. The night in the woods replays like scenes from a movie in my head and I can suddenly hear our conjoined melody of laughter as he raced with me thrown on his shoulder through the forest.

He looks up at me as we reach the sand, his soft pink lips glimmering in his trademark smirk as he looks at me in a way that I only see couples in cinemas do, or those people at the park who stare at each other like their gaze is a stairway to heaven and can't seem to keep their hands off each other. I never thought I would understand that or even have something similar of my own, but as Harry connects his lips tenderly to mine I can't help but think that it seems to suddenly all makes sense.