"Harry, you need to slow down," I tell him with a playful roll of my eyes.
"I'm not even driving that fast," he says, one hand on the steering wheel and the other wrapped firmly around mine. I peer over at the speed monitor behind the wheel.
"You're going 15 over," I tell him, sitting back in my seat normally. I rest my elbow on the armrest between the seats, resting my chin in the palm of my hand, looking up at him with dreamy eyes. "You don't need to speed to impress me."
"That's definitely what I was going for," he says sarcastically, nodding. I give his hand a squeeze in response, shaking my head and turning my attention back to the road before us.
The night should be pitch black, but the road was lit up by all the lights from signs and the headlights on the front of Harry's car. Jess's phone lights up the backseat, while Harry and I hold hands in the darkness of the front of the cab. There weren't very many cars in the freeway surprisingly...it was fairly empty.
I found peace and comfort in watching the overhead signs come and go. It made me feel like I was actually getting somewhere, not just driving on a continuous road.
"How was your birthday?" I decide to ask Harry, tilting my head lazily to the side to look over at him. The dim lighting only accentuated the chisel of his cheekbones and sharp jawline. His eyes were glossed over with focus as he stared out onto the road before us, his brows furrowed above. No camera ever made could capture the full beauty of the sight before me.
He turns to look at me briefly to show he was listening before focusing back on the road, surely to make sure Jess wouldn't be getting into a second car accident this week.
"Lonely," he says simply. He didn't sound sad though, just very blunt. Not angry, not sad, just almost...emotionless.
"I'm sorry." I frown, never taking my eyes off of him.
"I know it's not your fault." He looks up in the rearview mirror for a second before looking back at the road.
"Well, what did you do? Walk me through your day," I say, trying to keep a conversation going. Deep down, I hoped he did something for himself yesterday. But knowing Harry, he more than likely didn't.
"Well, I went and got breakfast," he starts off, sparking my interest.
"Where did you go?" I ask quickly, just before he could say the next thing he did, if there was anything.
He sighs, his shoulder slumping the smallest bit. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long time."
"That must've been a nice to see a familiar place," I say, trying my best to be optimistic.
"It wasn't. I knew there was a reason I didn't go there anymore." He shakes his head. He inhales a shaky breath, preparing to continue. "Then I took it home and ate it. Then I sat there for a few hours. Then I got ready and went to Glenne's party. Then I came home and saw your text and the rest of the night cleaning my house."
"You cleaned?" I ask, chuckling. "Why did you clean?"
"Yeah." He shrugs. "You guys were coming today and I always make sure my house is clean when company comes over. Plus I have to make an even better first impression for you guys. Don't want you two thinking I'm a slob." He looks over at me chuckling. I laugh as well as he looks up in the rearview mirror, switching his attention back to Jess. "Hey, Jess."
She doesn't respond, her head too wrapped up in whatever she was looking at on her phone. I hate when people can't seem to put their phones down for two seconds to have a conversation with the people around them...it's one of my biggest pet peeves.
"Jessica," I say sharply, her head finally snapping up. Harry looks over at me with wide eyes, a scared look on his face. "Go on," I urge him, nodding.
He hesitantly looks back up into the rearview to continue talking to Jess. Or start, with her attention now on him.
"You can sleep in the guest room," he tells her.
"And how far away is this guest room from your bedroom, Harry?" She asks.
"Why?" He asks cluelessly.
"Jess," I warn, knowing exactly what it was that she was implying.
"No reason," she says, the confidence in her voice gone now.
* * *
After driving for a little while longer, we eventually pull off the freeway and drive down a street with large houses lined behind the curbs. The houses were built on a hill and the further up the street we drove, the higher up the hill we traveled.
We drove up the hill for a few more minutes until turning right. Up the street, I could see a dead-end, which actually turned out to be a gate.
"Is that it up there?" I ask, pointing ahead.
"Yep," Harry says, nodding.
He pulls up to the gate, punching quite a few numbers into a keypad on the driver's side of the car. I roll down my window, the cool air embracing my face. I see a security camera pointing directly at the car, a red light blinking on it.
A beeping noise gains my attention, causing me to look straight out the windshield to see the gate creaking open. Harry slowly drives through, them up the street a bit before turning left.
He turned off onto another short road lined with hedges, and after only two seconds of driving, I can see the house. It was not what I was expecting, but exactly what I expected at the same time.
It was a large, cream, two-story Mediterranean style house. The driveway wrapped around a small rose bush garden near the front of the house, back to the short road leading to the main street. It was absolutely beautiful at night, which meant it was only prettier in the daylight.
Harry pulls the car up to the front of the house, parking but not shutting the car off completely. He opens his door to get out, and I take that as my cue to get out as well.
Harry opens the trunk and takes our suitcases out as I walk around to the tail end of the car.
"I'll take Jess's bags if you can take yours," he says as he unloads them from the trunk. He hands me my suitcase. "Glad to see you're getting use out of your presents."
I take the luggage from him. "You saw my suitcase in London...I needed a new one."
"That's why I bought it for you." He smiles.
After taking out all the suitcases, he shuts the trunk. Jess follows Harry and me to the front door. Harry punches numbers into the keypad on the lock once again and the door unlocks. He opens the door, revealing the dark interior of his home. I follow him inside and he flips on the light and my heart drops to the floor.
I loved everything about his house. You usually think men know nothing about decorating homes, but in the instance, you'd be totally wrong. The house's interior was so...Harry.
"Jess, you can pick from the bedroom down here or the one upstairs, it's up to you," he tells her, placing her luggage down while she decides. I turn around to see Jess's jaw in the same place as mineâon the hardwood floor.
"W-Which one is better?" She asks, unable to look away from the paintings Harry has hung on the walls.
"They're pretty much the same." He shrugs. "I think you'll like the one down here more though."
"I guess I'll take that one then," Jess says, walking forward. Harry chuckles, picking up her luggage once again, preparing to follow her.
"To your left," he tells her as she walks into the living room.
I leave my stuff by the door and follow behind both of them until we approach a closed door that Jess doesn't hesitate to open. We enter inside and just when I thought there weren't any more surprises left, I realized just how wrong I was.
Everything was so clean and so neatly placed and decorated. I wouldn't be surprised if he had hired an interior designer.
"Oh...my...god," Jess says slowly. Harry laughs, placing her luggage by a dresser against a far wall.
"If you need anything, the fridge and kitchen are fully stocked," Harry says, straightening his back and walking back over towards me. "If there's something you can't find, don't be afraid to ask."
"Okay," Jess says, tearing her eyes away from the room to look at Harry. "Thank you, Harry."
"'Course." He nods.
He places his hand on my waist and leads me out of the room, leaving Jess behind. We walk back out into the living room before turning to walk back toward the door.
"Where are we going?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.
"Our rooms upstairs," he says in a low voice.
* * *
I lay on Harry's chest, looking up at the ceiling. It's been an exhausting day and I was insanely tired. It felt nice to finally be home. And by that, I mean in Harry's arms.
The room was dark, the only source of light being a lamp on the nightstand on Harry's side of his bed.
"Harry," I speak up.
"Hmm?" He hums.
"Can I ask you a question?" I say, genuinely just wanting to hear his voice before I fell asleep.
"Always," he says in a sleepy voice.
"Do you ever think about the future?" I ask.
"Everyday," he says simply. "But I try not to let it take over too much of my mind."
"Why's that?" I was genuinely curious to know his philosophy.
"Obviously I like to have a plan, but still live in the moment," he explains. "I try to live in now as much as possible. Tomorrow's never promised, so why waste all your life worried about what's next? There couldn't be anything next and you would never know." I just stare at him, his mind fascinating me. Everything about the way he thinks endears me. He's so incredibly smart and logical. "The same thing goes for the past. Sure, your past is where your memories and experiences are, and it helps to shape and form you into the person you are now. But it doesn't define you. You can't let yesterday take up today."
"What do you see in your future?" I ask, not wanting to steer away from the subject.
"I'm not sure," he says, but I could that was a total lie.
"Harry," I say in a soft voice, my exhaustion overbearing my body. I force my eyes to flutter open to look up at him. Even in the dim lighting, I could see his green eyes peering down at me.
"Hmm?" He hums in response, just as he did before. I close my eyes again, nuzzling my head comfortably into his chest.
"You're on my trust list," I say, barely staying awake.
"Where on your list do I place?" He asks, pulling me closer to him, holding me tighter.
"The top." I let out a breath. "The very top."
* * *
a/n: idk if that's actually harry's house and if it is please don't sue með³