One for the Ages // Book One

Chapter 11

Harry woke up the next morning insistent we go to the beach. I was amenable to the idea mostly because I knew it would mean relaxing next to him all day. So we put our suits on and grabbed our towels and headed to the beach. It was a little crowded but nothing bad. Harry found a small area tucked back by the trees for us to at least enjoy a small amount of privacy.

He stepped onto his towel, sitting down as he turned to look at me just as I took my shorts off. I watched as a tiny grin appeared on his face. Almost like he was proud of something.

"What?" I asked as I folded my shorts and tossed them into my bag.

"Nothing." He said, watching me take my seat on my own towel next to his, "There was a time...not so long ago...when it would have taken you a few drinks and an act of God for you to take your cover up off in front of me. But now you don't seem to have any issues at all."

I laid back, situating myself right in the sun to get optimum tan time. I slid my sunglasses onto my face,

"Kind of pointless to be modest now dontcha think? You've seen me naked."

He smiled, laughing through his nose,

"True."

I knew he was still staring at me, I could feel his eyes travelling up my body. I turned my head to look at him,

"Yes?"

He leaned down to press a kiss to my lips,

"Nothing. I'm just proud of you."

That hit me in a way I wasn't expecting. He was proud of me. I don't know if anyone had ever been proud of me. Maybe my mother though she never said it. I reached up to push some of his hair behind his ear,

"Proud of me." I repeated, "I like that."

A ball in the pit of my stomach formed. The thought of walking away from him in a few days was breaking my heart. To know I only had a limited time to soak up all of the affection he was showering me with was enough to make me burst into tears right there. It was a good thing I had sunglasses on.

He pressed a kiss to my lips before laying down next to me. I was about to protest the lack of connection when he reached over and covered my hand with his.

A content sigh passed through my lips as I turned my attention back to the sky and tried to push the despair at the thought of leaving him out of my head.

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He took me to dinner again. This time to a more romantic restaurant that was more secluded and allowed us to enjoy each other in private while still being out in the atmosphere of the island. The name of the place escaped me but it was in an old townhome and each table seemed to be miles away from any of the others surrounding it. Still, Harry paid extra so we could be seated off to the side without anyone near us.

Once we ordered, Harry took the wine bottle and poured some in my glass before pouring some in his own. He sat back in his chair, his green eyes focusing on me for a few moments.

I knew he was about to say something that was going to rock me. I just didn't know what. I silenced myself by taking a sip of my wine.

He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing,

"You're not telling me something."

I stared back at him, keeping the glass to my lips for a moment longer than usual before setting my glass down,

"I'm not not telling you something."

"Yes you are. I can tell."

I rolled my eyes,