Unchanging [h.s. au]

eleven

I peeled off my wet clothes and set them in a pile on the floor before I pulled the gray t-shirt Harry gave me over my head. It was way too big, but it was soft and smelled lovely, just like Harry's room. I pulled the shorts on and rolled them up a few times so they weren't too long.

I took one look at myself in the mirror to make sure I was at least decent before walking out of the bathroom with my wet clothes in hand.

Harry's bedroom door was wide open and I walked in without thinking.

The first thing I saw was Harry's bare back. His flexed muscles moved underneath his skin as he looked for a shirt he could wear. He finally settled on a black t-shirt and pulled it over his toned back.

At that point, I knew I should've walked out of the room so he wouldn't discover me watching him, but my brain was moving in slow motion.

Harry turned around and smirked as he saw me in the door frame.

"How long have you been standing there?" The flirtatious tone in his voice was evident.

Instead of acting all coy, I figured I should just own up to it. "Long enough,"

Harry's smirk grew deeper as he moved forward until he was standing directly in front of me.

"If you wanted to see me shirtless, all you had to do was ask." He leaned down and pressed a kiss on my forehead before walking out of his room.

My mouth hung open in shock as I watched him walk away.

Who did he think he was?? Not that he didn't look good shirtless, but assuming all I wanted to do was check him out? Please.

I snapped my mouth shut and stalked after him. I was going to give him a piece of my mind.

I followed him down the hall, struggling to keep up with his longer strides. "You know what, Harry? I have a sneaking suspicion you left that door open on purpose."

I almost ran into Harry as he suddenly whipped around to face me. "Do you now?"

"Mhmm. I think it's all part of your act."

Harry put his hand to his chest. "My act? What are you talking about?"

"You know, your charming ways of getting girls to like you. You give them tours of the country club, give them a golf lesson so you can wrap your arms around them, throw in a few harmless kisses along the way, make them 'accidentally' fall into a pond so you can bring them back to your place, and then you leave your door open so they can see you changing." I took a big breath at the end of my rant. "It's all quite clever, I'll give you that."

Harry's face looked completely amused and it only made me more frustrated.

"Hmm," his deep voice drew out in a hum.

Harry walked towards me, causing me to be pushed up against a wall. He placed both hands on either side of my face and leaned in to look me in the eyes.

"The pond thing truly was an accident. And I'll have you know, I wasn't trying to charm you into anything. I was only being myself." He sighed and brought his hand down to cradle my cheek. "Besides, I'm convinced it's the other way around. Maybe you're the one trying to charm me."

"W-what?" I sputtered. I had not in the slightest been attempting to charm Harry this whole time.

"When I first met you, you were so determined to not need my help, and then, suddenly, you turned into a damsel in distress, begging me to help avoid your dad. Even though I don't condone that type of behavior, how could I say no to helping a pretty girl out?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but Harry laid a finger over my lips to stop me.

"Then, you jumped out of a moving golf cart to make me insanely worried, but you only brushed it off, making me even more intrigued with you. And even though it was your first time golfing today, you refused to give up, making me want to watch and help you." His thumb traced the arc of my cheekbone. "Everybody knows girls who golf are my weakness."

I ripped Harry's hand from my mouth. "How was I supposed to know that?" I hissed. "We haven't even known each other long enough to cover the topic of what turns us on."

"Well, now you can use that knowledge to your advantage." He winked knowingly at me.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't think I can fit "seducing Harry" into my schedule."

"Suit yourself," Harry dropped his hands back to his sides and turned to look outside. "I probably should be getting back to work. I can drive you home if you'd like."

This boy was driving me crazy. One second he's telling me how charming I am and the next he's telling me he has to go. And I honestly couldn't tell if he even liked me or not. I had a bad feeling he was only playing with me. When it came to male attention, I typically drew slim to none.

Instead of voicing all my thoughts, I nodded to Harry as I checked my phone. The last text my dad had sent me was from 16 minutes ago.

I'm boarding the plane now. I'm sorry it all happened this way. Please be safe while I'm gone.

I triumphantly smiled at the screen. "You can take me home. He's gone."

"Alrighty, home it is then."

As we drove back to my dad's, the sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in a mosaic of oranges and purples. Harry's house was relatively close to mine. After a minute or two of driving, we were already there.

Harry slowed the golf cart down as he approached my house. "Did you at least have fun today?"

I quirked my mouth up into a small smile. "Yes." I answered honestly.

Harry smiled back, his green eyes seeming to sparkle in the setting sun. "Good. I'll see you around, okay?"

I nodded my head, gathered my backpack and wet clothes, and turned to go.

"Clara?"

"Hm?" I turned back to to see Harry's face only inches from mine.

"You look really hot wearing my clothes."

I felt my face begin to flush. "I'll use that knowledge to my advantage." I sarcastically replied, repeating his words from earlier.

"I thought you didn't have time to fit that into your schedule."

"I don't know what to think when it comes to you." I blurted out. After realizing what I admitted, I quickly sealed my lips together, not trusting myself to say anything again.

Harry's deep voice let out a laugh. "Goodnight, Clara." Harry drove off in the golf cart, leaving me confused and standing on my dad's driveway with a handful of wet clothes.

I raised my arm to wave goodbye after him, but he was already gone.

. . .

This chapter is dedicated to the brilliant seasidestyles, who writes my most favorite books on wattpad.

Thank you for reading :)

-K