Summer in Scotland (Prince Harry #1)

Chapter Thirty-One

Sun hit Meredith's face. It was warm, too hot, like it had been there for a while, but Meredith had been too tired to notice her. Her whole body was warm. Her body still tingled. Her mind still buzzed. Her mouth was dry. She was on fire. She loved it. A smile spread across her lips, and she heard someone chuckle beside her.

"Good morning," Harry said.

"Good morning." Meredith rolled over and matched his eyes. The sun shined into beautiful blue eyes, turning them clear. His features were lighter this morning; he glowed. Then the world came crashing back around her. "Shit." Ungracefully Meredith rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a bang.

"Mere?" Harry called, jumping up too.

Running down the stairs, Meredith searched and searched with her eyes but couldn't find a damn clock. However she didn't need a clock to know. Grabbing her purse, she found her mobile. Her test started in thirty minutes.

"Harry, get dressed and let's go. I've got a place to be, and I'm going to be pissed if I'm late." Immediately she went into the laundry room and grabbed her damp clothes. At least they were better than last night. She threw them on.

Fully dressed to the best of his abilities, Harry ran downstairs, hopping to get his shoes on. Meredith didn't care as she grabbed them and headed for the car. Harry followed quickly behind her.

The problem was getting out of Edinburgh with the streets already packed. Meredith didn't help because she was nervous. Her hands ran along her pants, up and down, over and over again. Harry became nervous because Meredith was so nervous. He thought to break the tension with a joke, but then he thought better of it. He valued his life. As well as Harry learned that Meredith didn't always appreciate his driving, and sometimes was a sore topic for her.

Stuck behind a bus, Harry had to say something, "So about last night...." His blue eyes glanced over to Meredith, who stared out the window, shaking.

"I think I'm going to vomit."

"Um... I don't think it was that bad," Harry said quickly. "I think that it could've been a little better, but I think it was really good, so like--"

"That's not what I mean." Swallowing, she turned to him with a smile. "Sorry. Last night was... good-- great-- wonderful-- terrific." Meredith wasn't sure what the word was that he wanted. "Harry, you're the first person I've ever had sex with, and I liked it. I might have even loved it. You're very talented."

Was that what he wanted? Harry found it suitable. Though, Meredith gave him a backhanded compliment since she had been a virgin and didn't know how other people... moved.

"I feel like I'm going to vomit because I didn't think it through." Seeing his confusion, Meredith knew she needed to explain. "I have my final today. I should've been studying and I should've gotten a nice rest last night. I should've had a nice breakfast this morning. I should feel confident going into this test, but I feel like I'm going to vomit. Instead of studying and sleeping, I was fucking you."

Harry snickered.

"What?"

"You're very blunt."

"Like an object that can kill." Meredith's hands rubbed against her pants again. Her nerves didn't calm in the slightest. The rocking car that flew past trees and people only made it worse.

"Do you think you're going to fail?" Harry asked. "Because I don't think you are--"

"I'm not going to fail," Meredith declared. "I don't fail."

Meredith seemed pretty sure of herself, Harry decided, but it was forced. All of the air rushed out of her body in one smooth motion. She stared outside again. Harry hesitated. "So about last night...."

"You really just want to talk about it, don't you?" Meredith snapped. "I have bigger things to worry about."

"I thought it was pretty big."

Meredith tried to be mature, but she still snorted. "Looking for a compliment?"

"I'm trying to distract you," he admitted. "And since you said you enjoyed last night, let's think about that."

Slowly Meredith's eyes found him. Trees and people passed by quickly. She remained on him. Harry kept a steady pace down the road. "What do you want to speak about?"

"Things." He shrugged. "But first, if this morning had gone according to plan, we wouldn't be in the car right now. I would be making you breakfast. Your clothes would be washed and dried. We would talk and cuddle. Maybe we would speak about news, because I know you enjoy current events. Perhaps we would go for a walk around the gardens, without being noticed," Harry added. "Something nice like that."

Meredith's hand reached over and combed through his orange hair. Her head rested carefully against the car's head rest, and she smiled at him kindly. "You must say that to all the girls you fuck."

Harry snorted again. "Once again: blunt."

"Like something you smoke." Meredith's hand dropped from his hair and went back to her lap. Again she rubbed her jeans. "It sounds nice and all, but did you know when you met me that night that I'm... blunt? Maybe a little scratched around the edges."

"No," Harry confessed. "I knew you didn't trust people; you are cautious. You are one of the only people that ever hesitated to get into my car." His tongue clicked. "I never thought about the hard edges you might have."

"Is it bad?" she whispered.

"No." Harry's hands tightened on the steering wheel as they entered Dalkeith. "I've met people in my life that are uneven around the edges. They've seen the worst of life. They've looked death in the face. They've come back. Yet they're not whole. You're nice and smooth compared to them."

"You barely know me."

Harry drove carefully down the road. "I would like to know you, if you let me." His blue eyes only flashed to her for a second, but it made Meredith shrink back.

"And if I say no?"

"It's your right." Harry's voice was small and weak, barely audible, matching the tone of Meredith's too closely. Neither of them wanted to be having this conversation, but it was bound to happen at some point. "Mere, you're strong. You don't take shit. I think you could fight anyone using your words, and I barely know you." The car stopped outside the gates of Dalkeith County Park. "Imagine if I did know you."

Meredith smiled mysteriously at him. "For another day." She let her safety belt go. "My friends and I have a week off. We leave tonight."

"Where are you going?"

"They're going to Belfast. I'm going to Germany. But we're meeting up in London." Meredith got out of the car. "If you're allowed back in the city for a short while, I would love a personal tour." Closing the door, Meredith walked through the gates and out of sight. Once she knew she was out of sight, it was a mad rush to get to the house. She had five minutes before the exam started.

Meredith slid into her desk in Classroom 5. It creaked beneath her. The plastic was cold against her back. "Can I borrow a pencil please?"

"Veronica was all worried about Sofia and you last night. Neither of you were in the room with her. Veronica isn't one to worry, but there was no one tell Veronica she snores, so she got concerned. You said Sofia likes to go into the woods, so I assume that's where she was last night. As for you...." Rachel looked her over and handed a pencil over. "Aren't those the clothes from yesterday?"

"I'll stab you with this pencil." Meredith twirled it in her fingers.

"You're very homicidal."

Meredith stared at her good friend. "Yes."

Rachel commented no more as the exams were handed out, and Meredith thought she knew what she was doing. But at this point, anything about a F would be good. Maybe that was even too big of a hope. Meredith stared down at her paper. She took a deep breath. She got to work. Meredith wasn't a quitter. Meredith didn't fail. Meredith wasn't weak.