A/N: I linked the song above to listen to when it's mentioned because it makes the part even more magical:)
"Harry, what did you do?" I said in awe. Byerly and I stood there with our jaws on the ground, staring up at the giant yacht floating before us. I shook my head in disbelief, not comprehending what was before us.
The water sloshed around, small waves crashing into the dock, leaving there to be a small sway on the ground. I was in complete and utter shock at how Harry interpreted a 'casual day'. The peacefulness and serenity I could only imagine accumulating from us about to be on board is building in my mind.
Harry stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and leaning his chin on my shoulder. "Something fun, huh?" he shrugged, placing a quick kiss on my cheek before standing straight to head towards the boat. I watched him get on board while standing still, racking my brain for the reason that him and his friends were so chill about this.
Mitch followed him, turning around to walk backwards, looking at us and saying "plus, management will buy him anything if he labels it as 'inspiration' for music." he said with air quotes, and I laughed at that excuse.
Sarah caught up to us, grabbing one of each of our arms, pulling us along. "C'mon!" she said, leading us to the edge of the boat.
We followed along, getting on board, and seeing the driver waving down at us from his post at the top. We all waved back, looking around us at the view of the open sea. Mitch and Sarah lead Byerly around, going into the indoor area, as Harry and I stood out on the deck. I was still in shock by how today took a rapid 360° shift from the calming morning I had.
I felt the floor underneath me shift, and we pulled farther and farther away from land as the captain led us out into the sea. I walked to the back edge of the boat, resting my hands in front of me on the railing. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Harry's tattooed hands on the outside of mine, feeling his breath along my ear.
"Beautiful." I stated, looking out at the crystal clear water trailing behind us; The type of water where you could see the bottom no matter how deep it was. There were schools of fish swimming peacefully, in their own little worlds as Harry and I were in ours. "Look at them," I pointed out, "it's all so beautiful."
He hummed against the side of my head, acknowledging my statement. "Not as beautiful as you, Love." he chimed in, sending my heart into a frenzy. Every compliment, tribute, accolade, and bouquet of words he said to me made me feel as if I was the only girl in the world, and he only held his eyes on me.
"Come on," He grabbed my hand from the railing, tugging me towards the daybed near the edge of the boat. I followed behind, setting my backpack on the ground next to me, plopping down and letting out a sigh of perfection as I laid back. I threw my arms above my head, the back of my hands hitting the pillow above. I looked up at the sky, not a single cloud in sight. The sun shone down directly on me, warming me, but the cool breeze not allowing me to overheat.
I saw a shirtless Harry pop into my view, leaning over me and pulling me up. I sat up, readjusting my sunglasses that became slanted on the top of my head. He sat down next to me, holding the flower I tucked into the side pocket of my bag earlier. He twisted the stem until the end broke off, making it shorter in stout, then tucking it behind my ear.
I scrunch my nose as he took all of my features in. "that was for youuuu." I groaned. I plucked the flower from the bouquet for him, since his beauty seemed to always rival the earth's creations.
His eyes burned holes in my skin, looking deeper than just the surface at me. "You get more and more lovely every time I see you." he says. I shove his arm in response, him crashing against the pillow behind him while letting out a captured breath.
I stood up as he propped himself up on his elbows, his butterfly tattoo dancing in the sun's rays. I shimmied my shorts off, revealing my swimsuit bottoms, then my hands going to work on the buttons of my shirt.
Harry sat there, letting out a whistle as my shirt flew open from the wind. I rolled my eyes, sliding my shirt off of my arms, and tossing it at him, covering his head in the blue pattern.
"That wasn't very kind." he mocked, pulling the fabric from his face.
"Oh hush." I said, grabbing my book from the bag before climbing back onto the bed next to him. He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me to lay on him as he laid back. I propped my chin on my hands which rested on his chest. He reached up, lowering my sunglasses onto my eyes.
I reached next to us, grabbing his phone to play some music as we basked in the glow of the perfect day. Brooklyn '95 by Robotaki played, mixing with the sounds of the crashing waves around us. We laid there, staring at each other through the darkened shades, not saying a word, but not needing to.
I could hear the slight contrast of our calm energy with the three others laughing from the top of the second deck. Harry and I didn't mind though, we liked being together, just the two of us.
He reached up, tucking a stray hair behind my ear, watching his hand move, lingering at the tips of the ends of the strand before breaking the silence. "What are you going to do after all of this?" he asked.
I furrowed my brows, not fully sure as to what he was asking. "What do you mean?" I wanted him to elaborate.
He shrugged, "you know... once you're gone." he stated, seeming to be deep in his own thoughts. I watched his adam's apple bobble as he let out the inevitable truth of us being separated.
"Well... school will be starting soon, then I'll move on to college next year, I guess." I said, not giving it too much thought, since the latter half of the statement is so far away. "What about you?" I shifted the attention to him.
"Finish my album. Hopefully tour." he sighed. He disconnected our eyes, looking to the side as if he didn't want to acknowledge the fact that I would soon be gone.
I pressed my pointer finger to his right cheek, causing him to tilt his head back to where it was, so that I was in his view again. "None of that." I said. He pulled his lips to the side, seemingly his energy shifted down in opposition of his attitude earlier. "Living in the moment, remember?" I reminded him.
He nodded, pressing his hand to my upper back while leaning upwards to connect our lips. I smiled against him, grabbing his cheeks between my hands, and peppering kisses around his whole face, landing back onto his lips where I stayed for a second longer. This all caused him to erupt in laughter, which was infectious. "You make me so happy." he told me, a giant grin etched into his face.
I gazed at him, soaking up every inch of his features. "You know what, Harry?" I asked him. He let out a soft 'hmm' encouraging me to continue. "I really, really like you." I playfully said, a goofy smile growing on my face. I didn't even care that I told him that, since he already knew I had feelings for him. Might as well just put it out there, since I have nothing to lose. Except... I'll be losing him.
Right after the words came out of my mouth, he flipped us over, towering over me with his curls hanging down in my face. "Well I sure hope so, cause I'm smitten for you." I laughed at his quick movement, and his choice of words.
I looked over to my side, seeing the blue cover of my book flung open from the breeze. I reached over, grabbing it and pressing it to Harry's chest. "Read to me?" I asked, giving him my puppy dog eyes behind the shades.
He took the novel from my hands, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek, before rolling off and laying on his back next to me. He pulled me in closer, resting my head on his shoulder as he folded the paper-back book behind itself.
He began to read, his British accent flowing into the air like smoke. The warm rays of the sun blanketed us in this moment, and it felt as if time had frozen, and we were encapsulated in this scene forever.
I felt myself dozing off, my eyes shutting as his calm voice faded out.
-
"Oh, Lovebirds!!!" my sister yelled, waking me up abruptly. I sat up, tilting my sunglasses onto the top of my head, seeing Harry do the same next to me.
I guess we both fell asleep out here, and it must have been a long time, because the two of us were looking a tad bit pink. The tip of his nose accumulates some natural freckles, and his hair looks more messy than usual. We both turned our heads from each other, to my sister's voice.
She walked out of the doors that I haven't been through yet, wearing her swimsuit and sunglasses, while her blonde hair was tied in a low bun. She held up a bottle of champagne, dancing her way over to us, as we sat on the edge of the cushion, furrowing our brows and looking at each other and then back at her. Mitch and Sarah followed out the same door, laughing at something between themselves.
As Byerly approached, she sang out to us again. "I think we have something to celebrate!" she cheered, lifting the edge of her sunglasses with one hand for her to wink at me. My eyes widened, knowing that she was talking about Harry and I last night.
I shook my head slightly, hoping that Harry wouldn't see, but that only she would. I felt his eyes on me, and felt compelled to look over at him. He had a growing smirk on his face, asking "what are we celebrating, Peanut?". My jaw dropped slightly at how he used my annoying family nickname, and how he knows exactly what we would be celebrating.
I saw Mitch and Sarah looking at each other in confusion, and I couldn't bring myself to admit anything, since Harry and I have yet to talk about it. I sprung up to my feet, opening my arms to show off what was around. "This amazing day of course!" I faked.
I could tell that people were not buying it, so I snatched the bottle out of my sister's hand, "we don't have any glasses." I said, and rushed into the door where my sister came out of.
I let out a sigh as the door shut, leaning against the darkened glass which nobody could see me though. I tilted my head up, shutting my eyes, as I needed a second to myself.
I reopened my eyes, seeing that I was in a fully stocked bar. I looked around, seeing there was a hallway that I assume would lead to bedrooms and such. I moved around the counter, ducking down to look for some glasses. I heard the door open, and shot my head up to see who it was. I deflated my lungs as I saw Harry stalk through and behind the counter.
"My love," he called out to me. I looked up at him while I was still crouched down, my cheeks feeling warmth which I knew could be seen on the outside as well. He held his hand out to me, and I sat the glasses on the counter before grabbing a hold on his grip, and standing back straight. "What was that all about?" he asked.
"I- I don't know what you're talking about..." I tried to play it off, but he tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, not accepting that answer. I sighed, looking down at my feet, "my sister is just happy for me, I guess." I shrugged.
I felt him tilt my chin up, meeting his bright green eyes that swarmed with confusion of my last sentence. He shook his head, "I don't understand."
I sucked my bottom lip in between my teeth, sinking down since I didn't know how to describe what I was saying. "I've just had a tough year... and she was there for me every step of the way. She is just happy to see me grow."
I told him about my past, how rocky things have been for me, but I don't expect him to understand the psychological standpoint of it all. I'd been in a dark place for the better half of a year, and the only thing that really shifted who I was, and brought back full light in my life was... well he is standing right in front of me. He has changed me for the better, and reopened my eyes to the world around me, and all of its beauty.
"You helped me grow." I whispered. I saw the beautiful craters engrave into his cheeks, his hand shifting positions from my chin to engulf the left half of my face, his eyes staring deeply in, through mine.
"And you helped me too."
He helped me grab five glasses, moving back outside again to see that Byerly had already popped the bottle and was pouring the sparkling liquid into Sarah's mouth from the spout.
"Y'all couldn't have waited?" I yelled from across the deck.
"Y'all took too long!" B hollered back. I rolled my eyes, approaching them and holding out the glasses for her to fill. We all grabbed one, and cheered to 'the amazing day'. Harry grabbed my waist with one hand, giving me a squeeze to signal that we were cheering for something different between the two of us.
Once we had a few glasses of champagne, I was feeling a bit tipsy; Loose and fun. The other girls were like me, but Harry and Mitch kept their composure. We were all sitting on the daybeds where Harry and I took our nap, talking about random things.
I reached over next to me, running my hands through Harry's dark brown curls. I had a glazed film over my eyes, showing that I was, in fact, intoxicated. I hopped up to sit on my knees, Harry looking at me with a goofy smile on his face. "I wanna go swimming." I said to him.
He raised his eyebrows, "alright, Love." he said to me, then calling up to the driver for him to stop. We were in the middle of nowhere, land barely in view, becoming a speck off the horizon.
Byerly and Sarah perked up when they heard we would be swimming, already jumping up to rush to the stairs that lead to the water. I hopped up, grabbing Harry's wrist and pulling him up to follow along. "Come onnnn!" I whined.
I pulled him down the stairs, standing on the edge of the lower deck, when I felt him lift me up bridal style. I let out a squeal, and wrapped my arm around his neck instinctively, looking at him in shock. "You ready?" he asked with a devilish smirk before jumping in the cold water without my answer.
I squeezed my eyes at the last second before being submerged by the iced color water. Once I reemerged, Harry's hands found my waist, pulling me close. We both giggled, lifting the energy all around into a goofy manner. I wrapped my legs around his torso, keeping me afloat, as I leaned my head back to look up at the clear sky. It was almost as if the world was sandwiched between two blue slices of bread; the ocean and the sky mimicking each other.
I looked back at Harry with a childish smile on my lips, unable to control the emotion written across my face. He had an unreadable look drawn on, but it seemed to be on the positive side. "What?" I asked.
He shook his head, "nothing." he brushed off. I want to know what is running through his head, what thoughts are swarming his mind right now and always.
I narrowed my eyes at him, flicking my sight up at his hair, a few stay curls dangling down on his forehead. I ran my fingers through it, brushing them out of his eyes.
We stayed in the water until we pruned up, finally getting out, and going back to the main deck. We all laid out on the chairs, Harry and I side by side, soaking in the last of the rays before the sun set. Once the sky turned a beautiful shade of orange and pink, I turned to Harry and asked, "When will we be going back?"
He fluttered the tips of his fingers down my cheek, "oh, we're staying here tonight."
I sat up, wide eyed. "I need to tell my parents." I said, somewhat stressed, since I doubt anyone would have cell service from where we were.
He pressed his hand to my shoulder, calming me instantly with his touch. "I already spoke to them this morning before I left your house. They know." I sighed in relief, living in the fact that he was one step ahead of me.
I rested my head on his shoulder, staying there for as long as I could, before the sun grazed the horizon. I saw the golden glimmer in his eyes, so I hopped up, rushing over to my bag to grab my camera. He is always so photogenic, so it made me happy that I was getting to use this old thing. My grandmother gave it to me, but I hadn't really used it, since I never knew what to take pictures of, but once I met Harry, he sparked my interest.
He let me take a few pictures, me squealing in excitement for when I can get them developed back home, since I couldn't see what was actually being taken.
The sun closed behind the edge of the earth, night falling quickly upon us. I felt my stomach growl, begging for something to eat, since all I had was from breakfast with my family and a few too many glasses of champagne. I looked up at Harry from where I was laying with my back against his chest. "Dinner?" I questioned.
"sure, let's go." he pressed me up to standing. Once we were both moving towards the door, I felt a shiver from the crisp night air. He must have heard me shutter, because when we went into where the kitchen was, he left me sitting at the counter, and came back with a stack of clothes. "Here, My Love." he handed it to me. I grabbed his face while my other hand was on the clothing, standing tall on my tiptoes to press a kiss on his cheek. "There's a bathroom down the hall." he pointed, and I headed in that direction.
Once I shut the door behind me, I looked at myself in the mirror, and slammed my face in the shirt on top, letting out a muffled scream, before looking back at myself with a wide grin. I just had to let out every feeling I had, since I wasn't around him for this short time. He had my heart racing constantly, leaving me to be breathless for the whole day.
I quickly changed into a pair of his boxers and one of his crewnecks, looking down and smiling at the oversized nature it was. I took a few more moments to myself, reveling in the fact that he remembered to bring me something to wear, since I didn't have a clue that we wouldn't be going home tonight. He, once again, was one step ahead of me, and it seemed to be becoming a recurring theme.
I stepped back out, seeing that Harry had also changed, and was starting on dinner. I came up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and peaking my head around his broad shoulders. "Need any help?" I asked, seeing where I could be of use.
"I got it, Angel." he said, looking back at me with kind eyes. I nodded, and let go to move around to sit at the counter, propping my head in my hand, and watching him cook.
I heard the door open, revealing B, Mitch, and Sarah all talking about something I couldn't pick up on. "Oh hey guys. We're all going to go shower." Sarah announced, moving towards the hallway.
"Okay, dinner will be ready soon." H said to them down the hall.
After a bit, dinner was ready, and we all wrapped around the table, devouring the meal Harry whipped up for us. From under the table, Harry rested his hand on my bare leg, drawing mindless designs on my skin. Just his simple touch always felt like my skin was on fire, making me feel as if I was melting under his touch.
When we were done, I cleaned up after everyone, forcing Harry to stay seated even when he offered to do it. I told him no, since he had made the dinner, and it was the least I could do. The rest of them went off somewhere else on the boat, leaving Harry and I behind.
Once I washed the last dish, Harry grabbed my wrist and led me up the stairs, and out on the upper deck. It was smaller than the main one, but perfectly secluded, leaving us to be wrapped in only ourselves.
He pulled his phone from his pocket, clicking a few buttons before La Vie En Rose by Emily Watts played through hidden speakers. He grabbed my two hands in his, speaking softly, "dance with me." he insisted. I gazed into his eyes, pressing one hand in the palm of his, while my other rested on his shoulder.
We moved to the slow guitar strums, and the beautiful voice of the artist. He led the way, making me feel as if I was in an old-timey movie. The sweatshirt I was in turned into a long gown, and we were moving swiftly across the dancefloor at the ball, gracing the ground with our feet that were in sync.
We never broke our eyes from each other, and he twirled me under his finger in the Pas De Deux. he pulled me in by the back of my head, resting it against his chest as he laid his on top of mine. We swayed with each other, the only light coming from the luminescence of the moon. It was full tonight in the sky, representing how my heart felt in this moment.
The warmth of his body so close to mine felt like I was being wrapped in a blanket, the homely feeling toasting me from the inside out. I shut my eyes, matching my breathing to the beat of his heart. He softly moved his hand up and down my back, letting his touch speak a thousand words.
Once the song was over, he pulled back, realigning our eyes. "I have a million things I want to say to you, but I don't think I'll ever have enough time." he spoke so softly that I could barely hear, even with our close proximity.
"C'mon. Let's go to bed." I recommended, pulling him towards the stairs.
We passed where my backpack was, so I swiftly grabbed it before we went inside to where the rooms were. We instantly climbed into bed, huffing in exhaustion when our heads hit the pillow. We rolled over onto our sides to face each other, only looking but no words being exchanged. He lifted his hand to tuck my hair behind my ear, leaving it to rest on the side of my head.
I watched him doze off, falling asleep so peacefully. I sat up, reaching into my bag to grab my journal, wanting to remember this day forever. I began scribbling down my thoughts, looking back to the kind man who was fast asleep with his hand resting in my lap. I wrote so quickly that my hand began to cramp up after only a few words. I looked down at the title on the page, smiling as my thoughts were flooded with ideas and memories of the past week with him.
The million things I want to say to you...
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Happy international women's day:)
Let me know your thoughts!
Sending all my love<3<3<3