Winter Air [H.S.]

Fifty-Four

His fingers intertwined with her small trembling ones. “Only if you want, love. I’m not one to turn down my girlfriend.” 

Ava could feel her cheeks heat up. “I want to.” 

“Then you will drive me in.” Harry held her closer to his body, not wanting the moment to end. In only a short few hours he would have to give her one last kiss until he saw her again in three weeks. His stomach churned slightly at the thought of it. 

-

Harry didn’t know when he had become this whipped. Even with his relationship with Delaine, he hadn’t ever felt this anxious about leaving her. But with Ava, it was different. In fact, everything about their relationship was different than Delaine’s. For starters, they were honest with each other. He could trust her with everything. And he couldn’t deny the tingling feeling that erupted deep in his core whenever she was to just look at him. Everything about Ava Hastings- from her paint chipped nail polish to the sparkle in her eye-, set off fireworks inside of him. 

When he fell in love with her, he fell in love with her fast. There was no stopping it. Their friendship - something that he had lacked with Delaine - was the solid base for their romance. From the simplicity of her makeup, the the quirky way that she thought, to how she would give Harry the last egg roll, made his heart explode. 

So maybe that was why this was so hard for him. Maybe it was all of these reasons and the undying love that he had for her was the reason he didn’t want to leave her today. That was the reason that he regretted the decision to go on tour. He had hoped that she could come with him. That she would drop everything that she was doing and join him on this crazy adventure he was about to endure. But he couldn’t ask her to do that. He wasn’t selfish enough. As much as he wanted to spend every waking moment with Ava, he couldn’t stop her from fulfilling her dreams and passions. What kind of man would he be to not cheer Ava on in her dreams in life. What kind of man would he be to make her leave everything that she worked hard for to run off with him. 

He had once hoped that she would do that. He once wished that she would just run away with him and follow him in his life passions and pursuits. But he knew that was selfish. That wasn’t love. 

Love was sacrificing your own desires for the desires for your love. It was standing back and cheering them on as they reached out for their goals and passions. Love didn’t pull them away from that. Love ran alongside them. 

That was what Ava was doing for him. By letting him go on this tour and not begging to take her with him, he was showcasing love. And by not asking her to leave with him, Harry was showing her his love. His trust. 

He trusted Ava. That was something he would never deny. 

Trust brought vulnerability. She made him vulnerable, but he knew that he did the same for her. Perhaps that was why they worked so well with one another. They trusted each other, they humbled themselves with the other. They didn’t allow their personal demons from stopping them from showing one another their true love. Perhaps that was why they worked. 

They were a team after all. 

- 

The drive to the publishing office was quiet. Neither Harry or Ava said a word. The silence was filled with the sounds of the Arctic Monkeys and the bustling wind from outside her open window. 

Ava’s fingers were intertwined with Harrys on top of her lap. Harry had decided that he would be a gentleman and drive them. (Ava also argued that it was his rental car and she wasn’t going to risk crashing it. Harry then countered that she would be using it for three weeks anyways so she should get used to it now. However, Ava still won and Harry was now driving them.)