That Summer Feeling: SUMMER 4EVER [H.S.]

56. Summer Feelings

HARRY

Does it always feel this good to be in love? Is this what all those generic pop songs and all those movies I secretly enjoy are about? If so, why did I shy away from it for so long? Why did I crumble it up like a piece of paper and set fire to it? Why wasn't I always in love my entire life?

I'll tell you why. Unknowingly, I was waiting for an angel like her. My Ace.

I feel it when I wake before her and have a chance to study her features as they remain peaceful and her breathing is quiet and even. I feel it when I see or hear something funny and she's the first person I want to tell if she's not with me, wanting to make her smile and laugh. I feel it when her hands subconsciously wander to me in search of warmth while we watch a film, more than happy to provide that for her. I feel it when I get those flutters in my belly minutes before I'm about to see her. I feel it all the time whether I'm with her or not. I even feel it in my dreams of her. And it feels so damn good.

I'm also feeling it now as I watch her gently scratch the back of a black cat as she rubs up on her leg, pushing her little pink nose up at her to lure for more cuddles. The way Lacey's happy to give her love away as much as she can in the two minutes they've just met, being the natural embodiment of a giver, or better yet, a lover like I know her to be. Someone so willing to share that precious heart with the world, including me.

"She's so sweet," Lacey coos, bending down at the cat's level and petting behind her tiny ears. "And so cute. Aren't you, sweetie?"

"Kiko? Yeah, she loves cuddles." I hear Sage chuckle in the kitchen as she and Riley prepare a dessert to go for us. It's a new recipe Riley was trying out for her restaurant that the rest of us were more than willing to come back here after dinner to try.

As promised, I took the couple up on my offer to pay for a really nice dinner for them as an appreciation for their help this summer. But they refused unless I asked Lacey if she and I wanted to join. I know there was a slightly rocky start with them seeing as a day ago Lacey didn't have the best first impression of them. That was partly my fault, I know that too.

I'm so fucking stupid for lying to Lacey and making it seem like they weren't a part of my life because looking back at it, they were. I assumed the awkwardness would still be fresh after a day and I thought it'd be too soon to all get together, but it came a bit of a surprise to me when Lacey agreed to dinner. Again, she's too much of a natural angel to refuse the offer to be wined and dined and meet new people.

I, on the other hand, was nervous as fuck. Not because I thought it wouldn't turn out well or that they all wouldn't get along. I knew they would. I was nervous Sage and Riley would tell Lacey multiple embarrassing things about me, more than Sage already has apparently.

And I was fucking right. They both spent nearly all of the meal re-telling the story of how the three of us met from their different perspectives and the number of times I knocked on their door just to give their cats a new toy or how I tagged along on their dates every other weekend because I was bored out of my mind.

They left out some of the more painful details of the way I behaved after the breakup but were sure to include plenty about the time I cat-sat for them one weekend and almost flooded their kitchen because I accidentally knocked over one of their plants and dirt spilt all over the floor. The cats came in like nosy little shits and played around in the dirt like dogs. Then I thought it'd be best to give them baths since they smelled like shit and one thing led to another and I had to replace most of their towels and three other pots of plants. The next time they saw me I was covered in scratches and still had dirt in my ears. This particular story had Lacey in tears from laughing so hard.