"Hoops or no hoops?"
"Hoops. Always."
I hummed in thanks at Lindsee's answer and I had to admit, she was right. Hoops really did make an outfit and I didn't wear them enough. Considering I had almost too many earrings you really would think I'd make a point to wear them more.
"You think this is okay?" I asked, chewing my lip as I looked at myself in the mirror one last time before I turned to face the blonde girl laying on my bed bothering a sleeping Pineapple.
"You look so pretty, you are so pretty P."
I rolled my eyes at Lindsee before I looked back at the mirror, the black dress splattered with little red and green flowers fell to my mid thigh and I ran my hand down my stomach.
It was casual and I mean it was new but I wasn't bothered if it got messy, I had asked Harry yesterday if a dress was okay considering I didn't want to turn up in a dress if we were going to be go-karting or something.
He'd just said yes and that he couldn't wait to see me.
That had made me smile for the rest of the afternoon at work, I liked this new Harry. I mean I liked old Harry but this Harry who was, or at least seemed to be more open with his feelings was nice.
Two years ago I'd been the one who was open and vocal about how much I loved Harry and looked forward to seeing him and spending together, and this just made a nice change.
I was pretty sure Harry knew how much reassurance I needed.
"Black boots or these trainers?" I asked as I looked at the two pairs of shoes I'd been wearing the most of this week. Although I had to admit I didn't really want to wear the boots considering I'd worn them at work yesterday and bled in them.
"Sneakers." Lindsee replied easily and I nodded just as the doorbell rang and I swallowed as we glanced at each other. "I'll let him in."
I nodded as she smiled at me before leaving my room and I ran my hand down my stomach as I heard the front door close and I sat down on my bed to pull my shoes on and glanced at the time on my phone.
Harry was six minutes early.
"Hey."
I looked up from tying my laces to see Harry standing in the doorway and I smiled immediately.
"Hi, did you know you're early?" I asked as I finished my second shoe and stood, giving Pineapple a stroke as I grabbed my bag and glanced at Harry to see him still standing there and I took notice of what he was holding.
"Yeh', m'bad. Traffic wasn't as bad I assumed it would be." Harry rubbed his jaw and I smiled slightly.
"It's alright, I'm ready anyway." I smiled at him as I stood in front of him and I flushed as I watched his eyes drop down my body.
"Y'look really pretty." Harry complimented causing my cheeks to get even hotter. "These are for you."
I swallowed as Harry held out the bouquet of flowers and I sniffed them immediately before I smiled shyly up at Harry.
They didn't smell too strongly but the Freesias had a faint smell but I was more taken by the sight of the bouquet, all the flowers were pink and white and I'd never seen anything prettier.
"These are so lovely, thank you."
Harry smiled slightly before he held out the gift bag towards me and I looked at it and him curiously.
"What is this?" I asked in confusion as I took a seat on the edge of my bed as I peered into the gift bag and spotted a plant.
"Belated birthday presents." Harry said simply.
I bit my lip as I reached into the bag and pulled out a little potted plant, the green and purple strands hanging over the sides slightly.
"This is so pretty!" I gasped, "Thank you Harry, you really didn't have too!"
I looked at the tag stuck into the soil to see that it was called Ceropegia and I frowned, I didn't know Latin names.
"S'called a string of hearts. M'thought yeh' could maybe put it on yeh' balcony or in here. It's safe for cats too and apparently it grows long and trails."
I looked at Harry as he explained the plant and I felt my own heart swell with the amount of love I had right in this moment and I looked at Harry for a long moment, his eyebrow being raised at me and I just shook my head slowly.
"There's some other stuff." Harry mumbled as he looked around my room and I bit my lip as I reached back into the bag.
I glanced at the bag for a moment before looking back at Harry to find his eyes pointed just past me and Pineapple and to the headboard of my bed, I flicked my eyes behind me to see if something was wrong but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"You really didn't have to do this." I repeated myself as I pulled out a plastic tray and a little pack of seeds and I smiled as I realised it was a packet of cat grass. "She's going to love her Uncle Harry."
Harry laughed as he shook his head at me before he glanced at the sleeping cat behind me before he looked pointedly on the floor and I flushed knowing what he was judging.
"She plays with the majority of them."
"Does she?" Harry answered immediately and I rolled my lips together as I fished out the rest of the contents of the bag, several packs of cat treats and I put that lot back into the bag before I stood and smoothed my dress out.
"Sometimes." I said before I stepped towards Harry and wrapped my arms around him, his own coming up loosely around me. "Thank you, they were really lovely."
"Y'welcome Flower." Harry mumbled, "Sorry they're so late."
"Well we weren't exactly friends, were we?"
I teased him as I stepped back and picked my bag back up and slung the strap over my shoulder, I was distinctly aware there was no birthday card and I wondered what he'd done with the one I'd found on Sunday.
Harry rolled his eyes but didn't say anything in response before he took a step towards my bedroom door and I followed behind him, leaving the door open in case Pineapple wanted out.
"Y'bed is really nice by the way. All those curls n'loops and hoops."
I flushed as Harry complimented my bed and I tried not to read into, but that's what he was looking at? Why?
I thanked him quietly before I called a goodbye to Lindsee who was laying in bed watching something on her laptop and I assumed she wasn't seeing Niall tonight before Harry and I left, shutting the front door behind me.
"Can I know where we're going now?" I asked just as Harry pulled away from the curb and did a quick three-point turn in my street and I glanced at him to find a lit cigarette sitting loosely between his teeth.
"No, s'surprise."
"H." I whined, hoping to convince him to tell me with the use of his favourite nickname.
"Flower." Harry countered and I pouted making him laugh before he exhaled smoke out the window.
"How was work?" I asked instead, realising that I hadn't asked him how he was.
"Same old shit, different day. You?"
"Alright," I shrugged, "I have to go to court next Tuesday. Is it wrong for me to be excited?"
"No, m'don't think so. Is it for a case?" Harry asked and I nodded.
"You really think I'd commit a crime?" I laughed making Harry nudge me. "A divorce case but there's children involved and I have to watch as the children decide who they want to live with."
"Sounds fucking grim."
"That's marriage." I clicked my tongue as I looked out the window, lots of the pubs full of people and I could only imagine if the street tables were full then I'm sure the gardens were bustling.
"Thought you liked marriage." Harry said as we stopped at a red light and he turned the volume up on the song that just started which happened to be my favourite Hozier song and I felt my cheeks heat.
"Maybe I changed my opinion."
"Why?"
I looked at Harry just in time to see him take a drag of his cigarette and I felt my lips part slightly as I tried to control myself. Was it wrong for me to tell me how hot he looked smoking?
"Isn't this a bit heavy for a date?" I asked instead, my voice light as I tried not to think about how much I had wanted to marry Harry. "How's Gatsby?"
"S'fine." Harry said, glancing at me and I knew that was in response to my subject change. "Yeh' sure I can bring him over tomorrow night?"
"Yeah, I know Lindsee will want to see him again."
I glanced out the window just as Harry pulled into an empty parking space outside a row of buildings and I realised we hadn't actually gone that far and I peered out curiously.
"C'mon Carmichael." Harry flicked his head as he finished off his cigarette and shut the car door and I followed suit as I waited for him to join me on the pavement considering I didn't know what we were doing.
Harry surprised me by simply walking forward to the door we'd parked in front of and I looked up at the building reading the name, Food at 52.
"I've got a booking for two under Styles at seven o'clock." Harry said to the girl at the front desk who tapped what I assumed was his name into the computer before nodding and she looked up at us smiling.
"Harry and Poppy?"
Both Harry and I nodded at the same time and I chewed my lip as she smiled again.
"Great, we're still setting everything up but it won't be long, feel free to head into the lounge, there are a few other couples already here. We've got a couple of bottles of wine on offer too."
I watched Harry curiously as he nodded and thanked her quietly before he held his hand out for me and without thinking I took a hold of it and followed him into the lounge, the girl behind the desk was right and there were four other people already in there.
I smiled politely as they all looked at us and said a quiet and polite greeting before Harry took a seat on an empty sofa and pulled me down next to him.
"What is this?" I asked quietly, peering at Harry who simply looked down at me and smirked.
"Why are you so nosy?"
"I'm not nosy." I pouted, "I'd just like to know if I'm about to die or something."
"Killing you would be a really lame third date." Harry drawled and I looked at him pointedly. "Also m'pretty sure murder victims don't get to a third date."
I opened my mouth to tell him to be quiet only to be interrupted by a man standing in the doorway letting us know that everything was ready if we wanted to follow him in and Harry stood, taking a hold of my hand and pulling me up behind him.
I stayed silent as I followed behind Harry and the man who'd introduced himself as Gustav into a large kitchen and my eyes widened as I saw the aprons hanging along the back wall as the other couples filed in.
"If you'd all like to get an apron on, we can begin." Gustav said and I looked at Harry who gestured for me to go first and I picked an apron off the hook easily before I put my bag on the ground and slipped it on over my head.
I smiled at the woman standing next to me at the bench as we waited for everyone to get settled.
"I hope it goes without saying if you're allergic to seafood then this is not the class for you. Welcome to the fifty two sushi making class."
My eyes snapped to Harry who simply smirked but kept his eyes pointed forward, looking and listening to Gustav who was stood in front of us.
We were learning how to make sushi.
Forget wanting to marry Harry two years ago, I was pretty sure I wanted to marry him right here right now.
"Alright so before we begin I just want to give you some ideas about how to do this at home, arguably the most important thing is the fish you choose to use. Of course, everyone has different tastes, we're going to be using Salmon, Tuna and prawns this evening, along with a variety of vegetables.
"When you're buying whatever fish if you want, stick to sashimi grade fish. Even if you're going to cook it and put it in a California roll, sashimi or sushi sometimes grade fish just means that it's been frozen very cold and very quickly to kill off all the bacteria."
I listened intently to what Gustav was saying, I had to admit I didn't even know you could get 'sushi grade' fish. I just thought fish was fish.
"Some things to keep in mind are that the filets that are bright, not dull, firm but not mushy and most definitely not stinky. I'm sure we've all walked past a fish counter that has that distinct fishy ocean smell, right?"
I nodded at Gustav as did everyone else in the kitchen but I was proud to admit that I did know this.
"That's not fresh fish. Fish that is fresh, eg not frozen but chilled on ice will not smell. The same goes for fish that has been frozen, it will not smell. If it does smell, it's been sitting around for a while. I think it goes without saying, avoid that fish at all costs for sushi.
"Alright, so the second most important thing about sushi is, of course, the rice." Gustav paused and I took notice of the rice cookers along the bench. "We have a rice cooker for you all to use which makes things a hell of a lot easier.
"But if you don't have a rice cooker, it's pretty much the same as any normal rice cooking. Measure the grains dried, one cup of dried rice is about three cups of cooked rice and usually, this goes for the majority of rice, one hundred and eighty grams is a cup of rice."
I knew that.
But that was mainly because I weighed everything out because I was anxious bitch, especially with food.
I glanced at Harry to find him watching Gustav still, his face impassive like it usually was whenever he was concentrating on something and I had another rush of appreciation for him.
I'd never have thought of doing something like this for a date.
"Wash and drain your rice and then boil it on the stovetop until tender. Which usually runs anywhere between ten and fifteen minutes, then you just drain it and let it sit for at least five minutes before transferring it to an insulated pot that you can cover and keep warm."
I listened carefully, I didn't know about the letting it sit part, although I usually managed to cook the rice in time with the main food.
"We're going to be making a few different types of sushi this evening, the classic maki which is often referred to as California, nigiri which is the fish on top of the rice, and uramaki. Which is similar to maki but the seaweed is on the inside and the rice is on the outside."
Gustav continued explaining about how we were going to learn to make the food, his explanations simple and easy to follow along and I had to admit I was happy about that. I mean I knew I was a good listener but sometimes I was just stupid.
"So you're all going to want to make three cups of cooked rice, so gets measuring. Once that's done add about half a cup of water to the rice and put it all into the cooker. Use sushi setting three and press go."
"Do you wanna weight it out?" I asked Harry as I got the bowl out and put it on the scales making sure to tare it as he picked up the box of rice and nodded.
"How much?" Harry asked making me look at him as if he was crazy.
"One eighty! He just said that!"
"M'know, just making sure you do too Flower." Harry winked and I rolled my eyes at him but I couldn't deny the heat on my cheeks or the fluttering in my stomach at his actions.
"Whilst the rice is cooking, you need to cut up your fish. The prawns have been de-shelled, de-tailed and cooked. We do also have cooked tuna and salmon for you, depending on what you'd like to use in your maki or uramaki."
"I'd like tuna maki and uramaki." I said to Harry who nodded, "And I think prawn and salmon nigiri."
"M'want salmon sashimi."
"That's just fish." I said dryly as I looked at the pots of vegetables we had, cucumber, avocado, carrot and a variety of sauces and I noticed one was cream cheese.
"Your point?"
"Plain salmon is gross." I said honestly making Harry roll his eyes and nudge me as Gustav started talking about how to cut the fish properly.
"Slice, don't saw." Gustav said seriously. "You will need to take the longest and sharpest knife, which luckily for you all we did it for you earlier." Gustav paused as we all laughed before he rubbed his hands on his apron.
"You want to pull your knife back and through, working from the heel of the blade to the tip. Keep your slicing hand wrist totally still and straight and drive your elbow back as you slice. If you work with sharp knives you'll know that this is actually a lot easier than it sounds."
I handed Harry one of the knives and gestured for him to go first and I watched curiously as he picked up a salmon filet and began to cut. I narrowed my eyes as he managed to slice the salmon almost perfectly.
At least he was better at it than the woman next to me and I rolled my lips together as he told me to do the tuna and I picked up the knife and began to gently slice through the fish.
Considering neither of us had ever done this before, I had to say we were pretty good at it. Annoyingly Harry was better at it than me and as I glanced at his salmon I saw that his were pretty equal slices whereas my tuna was all different sizes and I flushed.
"How are you so good at that?" I whined just as all the rice cookers went off and Harry shrugged at me.
"Jus' maths really. Knowing how wide n'shit."
"Just maths really." I mocked quietly under my breath making him roll his eyes but he laughed as well.
"Alright so now with the rice you need to measure out one third of a cup of rice vinegar and about twenty five grams of sugar. Mix it together in a bowl and then fold into the rice, put the lid back on and keep it warm."
Harry let me measure out the vinegar and sugar and I made sure all the sugar had disavowed before I took the top off, steam pouring out and I lent away to make sure I didn't get burnt before I poured the liquid in and began to fold.
"Never understood the whole folding thing." Harry muttered making me look at him curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"Ain't it just stirring?" Harry asked as I cocked my head at him slightly and thought about it.
"Yeah I guess," I said slowly "But it's usually gentle. Like stirring things is a lot of motion, I think folding is mostly used in baking because you have powders like flour and sugar."
"How'd yeh' get so smart?" Harry asked as he looked down at me as I put the lid back on the rice cooker and shrugged as my cheeks heated.
"Let's do the maki first class, it's arguably one of the hardest but the most common. So you need to place your sheet of nori, or if you're English- seaweed, on top of the bamboo mat. The mat helps tighten and even out the roll when we roll it.
"The rice is spread on first, you don't want too much. The more you do this, the sooner you realise that less is more with rice in sushi. There would be nothing worse than biting into a maki and it just being a mouthful of rice and a tiny bit of fish, right?"
I agreed with Gustav as Harry and I both flattened out our nori sheets on our respective mats.
"We're going to spread about one cup of rice per whole sheet, alright? Make sure you leave a small space at the top edge so you can seal it up. A pro tip is to wet your fingers with a little bit of water as you spread the rice, which will be sticky.
"When you add your ingredients, make sure they are centred and don't overload it! It'll look like there isn't that much but once you roll, it'll be plenty."
I chewed my lip as Harry reached for the cooked salmon first and I went for the tuna before I dipped my fingers into the little water bowl and scooped out a cup of rice and gently tipped out onto the nori.
I watched in amusement as Harry unceremoniously dumped the cup of rice onto his, creating a mess that he quietly swore at and I laughed a bit making him nudge me as I began patting it and I clicked my tongue at him.
I carefully pulled apart some of the cooked tuna and pressed it into the rice, sneaking a look at Harry's mat to see just where the centre was and copied him. I knew he was good with numbers but who knew that meant distances as well.
I added some cucumber and carrot to the roll, making sure to rearrange it into a neat and smooth line and I watched as Harry loaded up on avocado instead.
"Now gently lift the bottom of the mat up and over the sushi when you're ready, press and shape the ingredients into a tube. You want to roll with pressure so you get a firm roll." Gustav instructed and I let Harry start first.
"Roll until just an inch of nori is showing at the top. Seal the edge with a little and I mean a little bit of cold water. You can firm it up by squeezing the mat around the roll until it feels snug if you're unsure. It another one of those practice makes perfect things."
I watched silently as Harry squeezed his mat, rolling it until there was just a straight thin line of nori showing and he dripped his fingers into the water again.
"Stop watching me."
"I'm learning!" I protested making him narrow his eyes at me. "You're good at this, it's annoying."
"Makes a change from you being the one tha's' good at everything."
I shook my head as I smiled at him, that wasn't true. I was only good at the things I tried hard at, Harry seemed to have that natural ability to be good at everything he tried the first time.
I pressed my lips together as Harry followed Gustav's cutting instructions and I couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling out of my mouth as I saw Harry's finished maki, so much for his cutting skills.
I knew I shouldn't laugh and I quickly stopped once I started to roll my own nori and Harry's eyes burnt into the side of my face making me shift on my feet.
"Stop it." I mumbled as I struggled to get a firm enough grip around the roll.
"Not doing anything m'love."
I looked up at Harry as the term of endearment left his lips and I saw his nose tint pink as his eyes widened and I couldn't stop the smile from growing on my lips. I looked back to my roll and attempted to finish it off before I acted crazy.
I'd managed to cut mine into slightly more uniformed sizes but both Harry's and mine were as bad as each others, but it had made us both laugh.
Gustav carried on explaining and demonstrating how to do the other different types of sushi before he let us go at it and I had to admit even though my maki turned out kinda bad they were the easiest to make.
Harry hadn't really been much help, he'd had one glass of wine and he'd almost immediately given up on trying to be serious and ending up eating the majority of the salmon before we even got to making nigiri or sashimi.
I watched in awe as Harry gently placed the prawns I wanted on top of the rice that he'd gently but firmly as Gustav put it, squeezed into shape and I had to squeeze my thighs together at the thought of Harry doing anything with his hands that was gentle but firm.
"It's time!" Gustav spoke up a little while later, the majority of the couples here had been working on their own with Gustav wandering around us every so often. He hadn't been impressed with Harry just eating the salmon.
But as Harry protested, it's sashimi.
It had made me laugh, to say the least and Gustav just shook his head as if we were two of his children who he'd tried to educate but failed.
"I know you're all dying to get a taste of your own hand made sushi," A look was thrown towards Harry and the man at the other end of the table and I laughed slightly, it must be a man thing. "Go ahead and get tasting!"
I grabbed one of my tuna maki's immediately, dipping it into the wasabi before I raised it to my mouth and took a bite, my other hand hovering under my chin in case I dropped any.
"Oh my god." I practically moaned once I'd swallowed my first bite and Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Good?"
"So good." I laughed as I put the rest of the roll in my mouth. "I don't know if its because we made it or if because I love sushi but we're really good at this."
Harry laughed as he picked up a tuna nigiri and nodded appreciatively at me and I nodded.
"Told you so."
"Yeh' alright, we make a pretty good fuckin' team huh." Harry agreed as he finished off his nigiri and I reached for a prawn nigiri.
"You are more than welcome to finish your food here but we do have boxes for you all to take it away in." Gustav said and I looked away from our little pile of sushi and I saw Harry glance at his phone and I bit my lip.
Was something wrong?
"We also have a little doggie bag for you each to take away, it comes with a set of Wakasa Blue Frost Sakura Chopsticks which are handmade in Japan, your own bamboo rolling mat, a set of lotus shaped soy sauce dishes, a bamboo rice paddle and a ceramic sushi boat."
I felt my eyes round out as Gustav listed off what was in each of the bags as a woman appeared holding a bunch of very fancy looking gift bags and started handing them out as Gustav walked over with the leftover boxes.
"Thank you." I said quietly as Harry and I were handed our things and I looked at him immediately to see what he wanted to do.
"We're taking them to go." Harry stated and I nodded, my brain only just reregistering how easily I slipped into letting him take charge.
I carefully packed up our leftover sushi, needing both boxes Gustav had given us before I slipped off my apron and picked my bag back up. I noticed we weren't the first couple to leave and that the remaining two had decided to eat.
I thanked Gustav quietly as Harry hovered by the door and I thanked Gustav and the girl we'd spoken to when we arrived one last time before I followed Harry out onto the dim street. I glanced around to see it quite quiet and I wondered what the time was.
I didn't know how long we'd been in there but it also felt like time had flown by because I'd been having so much fun.
"That was amazing! Thank you so much." I gushed to Harry who unlocked the car with an easy press of a button, a nod and hum being thrown in my direction.
I carefully put my gift bag in the footwell as I slid into the seat and Harry handed me the boxes of sushi once I'd strapped myself in. I looked over at him curiously, my eyes finding the clock on the dashboard to find that it was only half past eight.
"D'yeh' need to get home or can I keep yeh' out for a while longer?" Harry asked quietly and I smiled, he was cute.
"No I'm all good. I told Lins not to wait up for me." I joked making Harry laugh as he ran a hand through his head. "That was really fun thank you, I mean it."
"Yeh' liked it?" Harry asked as he turned the car on and I nodded.
"I loved it, I'd never think of doing something like that."
"M'glad you liked it Flower." Harry said quietly and I smiled to myself.
"Am I allowed to know what we're doing now or that another secret?" I asked a little while later. We'd been driving long enough to know we weren't going to my flat or Harry's.
"S'not a secret, nothings been a secret."
"Oh I'm sorry, a surprise." I amended, a slightly mocking tone in my words.
"Don't be a brat Flower. Yeh' know how I feel about that." Harry warned lowly and I swallowed thickly, how could I forget how Harry dealt with brats or rather how he dealt with me when he thought I was being a brat.
"Never been a brat." I smiled sweetly just as Harry accelerated to make it through a yellow light and we drove up and along the road next to Regents Park.
"Not if yeh' know what's good for yeh." Harry clicked his tongue at me and I kept my eyes out the window as I shook my head in amusement.
"Are we going where I think we are?" I asked as we turned right off Regents Park Road and I answered my own question as Harry kept driving straight.
I exhaled as Harry slowed and I felt my heart start to thump harder as he parked the car before turning to look at me, my eyes flicking between the view behind him out of his window and the pretty man in front of me.
"I uh, I thought we could eat on the bonnet, like we used to."
I swallowed thickly as Harry spoke softly, his eyes darting between my own and I nodded watching as he seemed to relax as if everything was balanced on my agreement.
I climbed out of the car carefully, I didn't want to drop our food or shake it up too much.
"Do you want your chopsticks?" I asked Harry who was already pulling himself up onto the bonnet.
"Fuck no."
I laughed as I bent back to grab a set and then shut the door, I handed the boxes to Harry as I pulled myself up onto the black metal, the warmth from the engine just seeping through and warming my bare legs.
"Oh my gosh." I breathed as I pulled my chopsticks out of the box, the sticks were a dark wood with beautiful textured tips and an equally if not more so beautiful blue and silver frosting on the majority of them.
"Is that pearls?" I asked absentmindedly as I held them closer to my face, Harry snatching one from me so he could look at it too. "I think it is, wow."
"Shit, these are nice. Too bad m'never gunna use them."
"Why not?" I asked as I took my second stick back from him and opened up the first box between us.
"C'mon now Carmichael, d'yeh' really think I can use them?"
I looked at Harry in shock as he finished speaking and then shoved a whole salmon nigiri into his mouth and I decided between a tuna maki or uramaki.
"But of course yeh' can use them brilliantly." Harry muttered as he watched me pick out a maki with my chopsticks, take a bite and hold the rest of the roll in them.
"It's just practice H."
I hummed in appreciation as we let the silence cover us, the faint sound of the traffic in the city below us a nice background noise as we ate and I tried hard to not let my brain run wild but I was pretty sure I was more than just liking Harry again.
"D'yeh' remember last week when yeh' came over and we talked?" Harry suddenly broke the silence and I looked over at him from where I'd laid back against the windscreen and nodded.
"Yeah."
"D'yeh' remember I said I'd spend the rest of my life making it up to yeh'?"
I nodded again, my bottom lip slipping under my teeth, where was this going?
"Yeah."
"I said I wanted to do it properly this time and I mean it, slower and better. I was so fucking stupid back then and I mean, s'me Poppy so m'still stupid. Jus' older and stupid but I knew that I wanted you again. I never stopped wanting you."
I swallowed thickly as Harry paused and I sat up so we were partially facing each other and I brought one leg up under me as we looked at each other.
"I know I have a long way to go and so much more to do to make that night in France up to you and I know it's only our third date but I wanted to ask-"
Harry stopped talking again and I could have sworn that my heart stopped beating in that split second. I could barely hear my own breathing, just the sound of my blood rushing fast in my ears.
"M'didn't do this last time and I know I said some real shit things because of it and I don't know why I didn't, m'guess I jus' didn't think about it, didn't think it was important, I dunno." Harry paused and met my gaze.
"I'd really like it if you'd be my girlfriend, Flower."
If I thought I'd stopped breathing beforehand then I definitely did now, the air was sucked from my lungs as Harry's words settled on my skin, a slight crease between his brows forming as the silence stretched on between us.
I didn't know what he was going to say when he started talking but somehow this wasn't what I would have expected from him.
But I couldn't deny that the thought of being Harry's girlfriend made me happier than anything.
I nodded quickly, aware that Harry was chewing his lip something chronic and I felt my eyes sting as water pooled in them and I knew Harry's noticed as he raised an eyebrow slightly before he pulled me into his chest, my bare legs sliding against the metal.
"I'd like that more than anything." I breathed as I clung to Harry, his face buried in my hair as I sucked in a deep breath of his familiar scent.
I didn't know if what I was feeling in this moment was love or not but I just knew I was happy.
Happier than I'd been in a very long time.
Because there was a difference between thinking you're happy because you've accepted that feeling as happiness and being genuinely happy.
I knew what love felt like, I'd been so madly in love with Harry and I knew that had never really gone away. No matter how hard I'd tried to make it, it didn't.
But I also knew as happy as I was right now, I didn't want to open up so soon and have it all come crashing down around me again.
"One thing though," I said as I pulled back slightly to look at Harry held onto my waist and I swore I thought I saw his wet eyes shining in the darkness.
"Hm?"
"Stop asking to kiss me. I'm never going to say no to you."
My laugh was swallowed as Harry joined our lips and I melted into his chest once more, his free hand tangling in my hair as the other stayed on my hip, rubbing softly through the material of my dress as I let him take the lead.
"Thank you, Flower."