"M'gonna move some stuff over here after the new year."
"Why?"
"Because, I want to be closer to you. I want this to be more permanent."
"Us, or your living situation?"
"Both." Nora was laying in between his legs, and the sky was entirely dark, though the snow could still be seen, flurrying downwards, creating a thick blanket across the city. Their fingers danced together, intertwining and twisting around one another. "Ten days."
"Hm?" She hummed, her eyes trained on the beautiful bronze ceiling tiles.
"I've known you for ten days...and already, I see the rest of my life."
"I know. It's fucking frightening, huh? How it all happened so fast..."
"The thing is...I'm not scared. I'm confident. I'm so sure of this — of you and me."
"I read this quote by some lady...she said, 'you will always fall in love, and it will always be like having your throat cut, just that fast.'"
"That's a bit morbid..."
"But I feel like...it's true. Like, you can't help how quickly you fall in love — and I'm not saying that we're falling in love, but yeah. I just think that we're not...this isn't impossible."
"Who says we're not falling in love? I don't think we've got a say, Nora."
"It's been ten days. We're not falling in love."
"How do you know, Nora?"
"Why do you always say my name?"
"Because, I love your name and I love saying your name."
"We're not falling in love yet."
"Love doesn't come with any warning signs, Nora. You fall like you're being pushed off a cliff. There isn't any time to think about what's happening, it just happens. It's inevitable. Nothing controls you, you just fall..."
"It's been ten days..."
"Okay, Nora."
"Don't get all snippy."
"I'm not snippy."
"Okay, Harry."
"I'm not saying that I'm in love with you, but I'm saying that I'm falling for you." He sighed, "I think, there's a difference." Nora turned over so her chest was flat against his abdomen.
"Hey, I know. It's just a lot. Remember what we talked about the other day?" Harry pet her hair down, "No pressure, we don't have to be in a relationship...we can just be. You said that."
"Right, I know I did, but does that mean I can't tell you how I'm feeling?"
"Of course you can. You can always tell me how you feel, I want that, obviously..."
"Then why are we talking about all of this?"
"I don't know."
"It got tense."
"It did." Nora's chin rested right in the middle of his butterfly, and she smiled. "I don't like it." Harry booped her nose with his fingertip.
"I don't like it either." He said, pouting.
"Kiss me." She puckered her lips and he pulled at her to slide up.
"You kiss me." Nora scooted up his torso until they were close enough for their lips to meet. "We're good, yeah?" She nodded.
"We're good."
"Bedtime?"
"Bedtime." Nora confirmed. They both rolled out of bed and walked their naked bodies to the bathroom. They brushed their teeth, side-by-side, washed their faces side-by-side and then got into pajamas side-by-side. When the lights were all turned off, they got into bed and snuggled up beside one another.
"Goodnight, baby." Harry mumbled into her hair.
"Goodnight, you." She whispered against his chest.
===
Nora had become entirely restless, especially as she lost to Harry in pool for what seemed like the hundredth time. The blizzard hadn't let up for at least two days, and they hadn't left Harry's luxurious apartment. Granted, this had been Nora's original plan, but she was growing tired of being confined for this long of a period.
"It's your turn." Harry deadpanned.
"I want to go home."
"What?"
"No offense, okay? But I need to get out of here. Like within the hour, or else I'm going to get really grouchy and moody and it's going to be bad." Harry nodded.
"I'm going bloody insane, yeah."
"I'm kind of worried about the cats too."
"Do you want to be alone, or do you want to just switch apartments?"
"Well, I'm definitely planning on using you for sex later, so come with me?" Harry poked her with the pool stick and smiled.
"Was hoping you'd say that."
"Yeah, if I'm alone, I'm sure I'll start talking to myself or something. I need some sort of outlet."
"The F train isn't running though...did you get that notification?"
"I did, yeah. We can walk? It's only two miles. We'll just bundle up, cover your cute face. I need to stretch my legs anyway."
"I'm up for it if you are."
"I am." Nora said, nodding. They began getting their belongings together, and half an hour later, they were swaddled in parkas and beanies, mittens, scarves, sunglasses...the whole nine yards. Harry, being the gentleman that he was, had Nora's bag slung over his shoulder and her hand in his. Luckily, there were no crazy photographers waiting to catch a glimpse of him, so they slipped out the back door, unseen. There really weren't many people out and about, seeing as how the snow was still coming down, but Nora finally felt like she could breathe.
"We should go away..." Harry said, his words muffled through his scarf, "somewhere warm."
"Gigi and her sister and I are going to Greece, I think. After the new year."
"Yeah?"
"Mhm. But I agree, maybe when I come back?"
"There's this place, my mate Jeff and his wife went...in the United Arab Emirates. He said they got this private villa on the beach, with a pool."
"Interesting. I've never been there...Abu Dhabi, right?"
"I think so, yeah." She nudged him, playfully.
"I'd be interested." He laced his gloved fingers through hers, "Maybe we can plan for the end of January, or Valentines Day...?"
"Valentine's Day would be nice."
"Wouldn't it?"
"Our first Valentine's Day..." Harry smiled behind his scarf. "I quite like the sound of that."
"It has a very nice ring to it, doesn't it?" He pulled her in front of him and tugged their scarves down. His tongue tickled hers as they kissed, and she threw her arms around his neck, furthering their embrace. Harry, despite the baggage he had strapped behind his back, picked Nora up and she aided in twisting her legs around his waist. "You are so fucking handsome, mister." He delivered countless kisses to her lips before she let her feet hit the ground.
"And you...are the prettiest lady I've ever seen." They continued walking again, hand in hand. The trek was long, and the heavy snowfall blowing into their faces made things much more difficult, but eventually, forty-five lengthy minutes later, they were trudging up her front steps and emerging into the warmth of her apartment.
"Fuck, fuck, FUCK! It's cold!"
"What? It's warm in here!" Harry countered.
"I know, it's fucking cold out there! Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to walk?" He wrapped his arms around her and chuckled into her blonde tresses.
"You did, my love."
"Shit." She sighed, "You're right."
"Bed." Harry nudged her towards her bedroom. "Sex will help. We need to get that blood pumping."
"You better get something pumping..." She giggled as he haphazardly rolled on top of her. They were sloppy, partially because their bodies were basically still frozen, but by the time they both finished, things were slightly back to normal.
"Are you warmer now?"
"One would think...I'm a New Yorker though, my blood runs cold."
"Is that so?" Harry gave her clavicle a smooch.
"It's definitely so." Nora said, nodding. "You haven't seen me during my time of the month...or when I don't get a taxi or when I miss the subway...you don't want to know the Nora I turn into."
"You know, you couldn't be more wrong." He smiled, "I want to know every Nora. I want to know your gory bits, baby. I want to know all of you."
"Can I get that on record?" She teased, but he reached for his phone.
"Siri!" He began, summoning the woman inside his iPhone, "Please, create a voice memo..." He pressed the button and said it once again. "I want to know every bit of Nora Dodson, this beautiful, naked girl laying beside me. P.S, we just had a killer shag..erm, bye." Nora cackled loudly and stuck her mile-long legs up into the air, as Harry sent the voice memo to her phone.
"That was mediocre—it was a mediocre shag!"
"Nora!" Harry yelped. "It was not!"
"Sweet Jesus, Harry! That was mediocre compared to our past shags."
"Fine...but it was still good. It wasn't bad."
"I never said it was bad."
"Okay then."
"I'm hungry."
"Want me to whip something up?"
"Only...if you do it naked."
"Done. But you have to be naked too."
"Can I be naked in bed?"
"What's the fun in that?"
"Oh, fine." Nora grumbled, sass seeping from her tone. "But I'm opening up a bottle of wine and you can't say shit about it."
"Wine is different from bourbon, Nora. I won't cut you off, I promise."
"I'll fucking scream, if you do." Harry somersaulted off the bed and fell on his back. It was quite the sight that had Nora laughing until her ribs hurt. Harry laughed with her, while simultaneously whining. "You somersaulted off the bed, baby. What exactly were you expecting to happen?"
"Not that, Nora! I thought it'd be graceful."
"Well, it wasn't." She grinned, "It was a fucking shit show."
"I'm very glad I could entertain you." He walked out, butt-naked and Nora followed, but not before grabbing her silk robe. She didn't tie it, but Harry still opposed. "You are not naked."
"I am!"
"You're wearing a robe!"
"But it's open! I'm fucking cold!"
"Oh, and I'm not? Nora, I'm bloody shriveling up as we speak!"
"Well, my tits are as pointed as the tip of the Empire State Building."
"The difference is, that's not gross to look at! Mine is like a wimpy little thing, shrinking back into the warmth of my body. It's not a pleasant sight."
"I think it's pleasant."
"You're lying."
"Yeah." She giggled, ferociously. "Here! I have an idea. Stay here." She hopped back to the bedroom and came back a minute later, with what Harry soon understood, was a fuzzy sock and a hair band.
"Jesus, Nora." This didn't stop her from kneeling down covering his manhood with the red and white striped material. She'd purposefully looked for a skinnier hair tie so that she didn't have to twist it around twice, and it worked. Harry now had a cute little candy cane sock covering his member, and Nora couldn't have been prouder of her work.