dropping roses|| harry styles

Chapter 16: (Temptation)

a/n: follow & vote (if you haven't already)! the fact that y'all are still reading after i've been m.i.a for a whole century makes me love y'all even more than i thought i could. enjoy!! ❣️

Harry's Point of View:

All I could think about on the way to her apartment was how I had missed the perfect opportunity to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her so bad. . . but every time we got too close, I had to think No, stop. Rushing into things will only lead to one of us getting hurt. It's already aggravating enough to know that I've hurt Jasmine before, I didn't want to risk the possibility of dating her and then both of us getting our hearts broken. But then again, she's just so amazing. I like her. I like her laugh, her perfectly imperfect smile, the little beauty mark beside her left eye, her cheesy jokes, her cute afro, the stretchmarks along her upper thigh, her pretty lips, her everything. Maybe she's worth the risk?

I reached the third floor in what seemed to be no time and pretty soon I was knocking on her door. A couple of seconds went by before I heard the sound of shuffling from the other side. And there she was.

She was in an over-sized tee shirt with a little pair of shorts underneath. Her hair was in a tight afro puff and her lips were tinted with gloss. I couldn't help but smile a bit. Beautiful.

"Jasmine, you look lovely", the words slipped past my lips before I could even process them. She tilted her head to the side and smirked, "Well thanks, friend."

Ouch ouch ouch ouch.

Well, I did deserve that. I'm the one who dropped the friend-bomb on her first. I let out a low chuckle, shaking my head, "Alright, Jas. You gonna make me wait out here or can I come in?"

She was trying to hide a smile but she wasn't very good at it. She sighed, "I guess", she stepped to the side, granting me entrance. I was greeted with the familiar scent of cinnamon scented candles and immediately felt more comfortable. She led me to her room and flopped onto the bed. She watched me carefully as I approached the bed; I felt like if I made on wrong move she'd slap me. I made sure to not sit too close, I could tell she wasn't exactly happy with me.

"So, why are you here?" She made sure to get straight to the point, that was for sure. Out of habit, I started rubbing the back of my neck, "I just- I don't know. I wanted to see how you were I guess." I wanted tell her that I didn't think of her as a friend. I wanted to tell her that I was sorry for all the bullshit I put through. I wanted to tell her that I wanted to see where this thing could go; I just didn't know how to say it.

"I'm fine. Any more questions?" She raised her eyebrow, looking slightly bored.

I sighed, "C'mon, Jas, don't be like that".

She let out a halfhearted laugh, "Be like what, Harry? If you wanted to check how I was doing, you could have texted, called, or face-timed me. Don't forget, you were the one who wanted to come over and talk to me face-to-face. Why?"

"Because. ." I lingered, my hand finding its way towards hers. I began to play with her fingers as I searched for the words to say. "I've been a complete ass to you."

She looked at me, quiet. I continued, "Jasmine, I've had my walls up for a long time no and you've continued to put up with it. You have to be the most patient woman that I've ever met." She laughed at that. I smiled, "I'm being serious, Jas. I haven't been being fair to you. I've been trying to seclude my feelings for you by convincing myself that we just had to be friends and only friends when in reality that's not the case."

I released my fingers and lied down next her, gingerly placing my hand on her hip. I watched her expression to see if it was okay with her but I couldn't really read it. "What I'm trying to say is, I like you. I don't want to just be your friend, Jasmine." Her breath hitched as my thumb began to trace the skin of her hip.

I darted my tongue out, to wet my lips as I searched her eyes. I didn't know what else to say, I was waiting for her to tell me that she wanted the same thing but instead she played with her necklace. "Jas?"

She looked up at me, "Harry, I accept your apology, but I can't just forgive you like that."

My heart sank, "What do you mean?" She sighed, "I mean, maybe it's better that we just keep getting to know each other. If I feel that the time is right, I'll let you know."

I slowly nodded. "Okay", I said.

"Alright", she replied.

"Sounds good", I smiled.

"Spectacular", she rebuttaled.

"Sensational", I countered. That one made her laugh. The same crazy laugh that I adored and still do.

"So, friends?" she asked. "Friends", I agreed. "For now at least", I added quietly.

Besides the light sound of a commercial playing on the T.V in the living room, it was quiet. My hands began to slide farther down, stopping comfortably at her bottom. She gave me a stern look, but I knew she didn't mind.

"What? Friends touch each other's butts all the time." I laughed. I pulled her closer, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Then I gave her a cheek a kiss. Then her nose. Then I kissed her neck. . . again and again.

"Harry", she whined. "Hm?" I mumbled as I continued my playful assault on her neck. "Enough", she giggled. I ignored her weak protests and tried to kiss her in the same spot that made her giggle like that. She caught me off guard when she rolled on top of me, seated on my lap. She pinned my arms behind my head.

She had my full attention (in more places than one).

She slowly began to bring her face towards mine. I slowly leaned in, awaiting the contact of her lips to mine. As she leaned in, she quickly retreated her head back, and placed a kiss on my cheek instead.

Okay, I deserved that as well.

She tilted her head back in laughter as she saw the disappointment on my face. However, that laughter was gone after I gingerly took her face in my hands, and gave her the kiss that I should have given her this morning.

I slowly kissed her lower lip, dragging it slightly with my teeth. Her breath quickened as I used my tongue to glide along her lip. She opened her mouth slightly, allowing me entrance. She kissed me with passion, occasionally retreating her head a bit to make me chase her. After maybe a minute of that, she slowly pulled away, breathless.

She rested her head on my chest, "You know, normally friends don't kiss friends."

I stroked her back, "Then I guess we're not normal".

I kissed her again.