Hope «h.s.»

Thirty-Two.

Chapter 32:

Soon afterward, I coaxed Harry to let me climb onto his back. It was great thought, a great idea, but not a great execution. He took me all around the lake, climbing the big hill that led to the cliff, to the rocky, beachy part, to wading knee deep in the water.

My arms were around his neck the whole time. I knew for a fact, and he would not admit that we almost fell down the hill because he was running a bit too fast. He was a typical guy to say "I knew what I was doing" and deny that he almost tripped at least five times.

"Okay, we're going up one more time," Harry said breathlessly. I knew he was getting tired from all the walking with the extra pounds on his back. Nonetheless, he traveled all the way up the hill once again. As for I, I was giggling, holding onto him as my hands felt his chest rise and fall rapidly while he was trying to impress me. Typical. What can I say.

When I thought Harry would put me down, he did not. We walked up to the edge. My grip got a bit tighter and I didn't even think of flinching because the mere thought could have sent us flying forward.

"Harry," I breathed. I did not like the fact of being on his back while we stood at the edge of the cliff. I tried to not look down but look at Harry's hair, the trees across the deep pond, anything to keep my anxiety down.

"Do you trust me?" Harry asked like the question was so simple.

After a few seconds of me not answering and him obtaining the unspoken response, he restated, "You trust me, right?"

I nodded and muttered a simple 'yes' while closing my eyes and took a deep breath into his neck. Seconds later we were airborne and my eyes were still closed. I screamed at the top of my lungs right before we hit the water together in one huge splash.

Once I surfaced my first words were, "What the heck Harry, that was so dangerous!" He just smiled while water droplets peacefully slid down his face. He looked like a god, despite how mad I was at him for making me have a heart attack.

It was only a matter of seconds before we both were in a fit of laughter from what we just did. I swam towards Harry and put my arms around his neck and leaned my head on his right shoulder.

This moment was too good to be true.

We stood there in silence as if nothing was supposed to be said. It was bliss.

•••

"I'm so glad you came today," Harry said as we watched the sunset from across the lake.

"What else would I have done?" I joked. "I'm glad too." We were laying side by side on the blanket. Harry weaved his fingers through mine as if it was the most normal thing to do.

I snickered at the thought. We had just officially met in January, a mere four months ago at the beginning of a new semester. I hated his cockiness but was in love with his beauty while he acted as if I was so inferior to him. Looking at us now was mind blowing: on a picnic blanket, watching the sunset. I cringed at that thought, it was so cliche. Nothing about my life was cliche up until this moment. So with that thought, I just let it happen.

I needed something like this in my life. I needed Harry and I loved knowing we had the same feelings for each other.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

I lifted my head and laughed. I set my chin on his chest and signed. "I was thinking about us," I said with candor.

"My favorite topic," he said and I slapped his stomach.

"Oh shut up."

"Just thinking about having you, Piper, laying on my chest in your underwear right next to my family's private lake. Wow."

This time I slapped his gut harder. No words were needed after that.

"Okay, okay," he resigned from his joking and instead, started playing with my hair.

I was so comfortable with him, that I was about to fall asleep on his chest. My eyes were getting heavy after so much physical activity.

"Freshman year," Harry said. I suddenly woke from my cat nap and tilted my head up towards him. "First day of school. You wore a brown dress as you walked past me, keeping your head down. No one else who was gathered around me noticed how good you looked in that dress but me. I barely new your name, but I was intrigued."

I lifted my head in perplexity. "What?" I whispered.

"Just recalling the first time I saw you, like really saw you for the beautiful person you are." He smiled. "But of course, I was thinking other things other than beauty, but they all had the same effect."

"Like what?" I edged on.

"Like your sexiness," he muttered and I laughed. Harry was so open about his feelings now, all I could do was giggle.

I could not even think of the first time I saw Harry. I knew his name, his ego since the first year of middle school when he first started his opulence. It was infectious, the way he held himself and kept a well appearance throughout all of our schooling. No wonder he did not branch out with friends when the jocks and the partiers always came to him; and no wonder he did not branch out when it came to girlfriends, when the prettiest, most out-going always crawled his way.

But he was here with messed-up little me and somehow I was laying on a blanket with him. Such an absolutely absurd thing for me to do, but at the same time, I did not regret a single thing. Harry's happy side was astonishing, like a drug that I've been missing out on for a lifetime.

I could not quit now.