Black Ink || Harlena a.u.

36.

I could have told Harry how caught up I was in him. How much I knew what he meant because it bothered me when I saw him with that girl, too. And how crazy it drove me when I didn't know where he was and what he thought of us- more specifically, what he thought of me.

Maybe I could have told him everything I felt towards him and how much I was forced to face reality: I had fallen for him too. I had fallen for the person that had inked my skin far more then with just that needle.

But I didn't. I couldn't.

His words had rendered me speechless to the point where all my organized thoughts about what I felt for him were sent into one messy and blurry swirl, prohibiting my brain from picking each distinct thought and sending it flying out my mouth.

Instead, I let my lips form a smile I couldn't hide and looked down at the table in front of me while Harry asked for the check. He refused to let me split it and instead waved me off.

But something had changed between the moment we walked in here to the moment we walked out.

The way he looked at me seemed to be filled raw with a new emotion I couldn't decipher.  The more I tried to figure it out, the more it sent me into a wild frenzy that only he seemed to know how to control.

We walked down the street for a few minutes because there had been no parking spaces when we had arrived. And in those few moments, Harry had reached for my hand and laced his fingers with mine, pulling me in closer to him so that my side was pressed against his.

I looked up at him to find his cheeky grin and twinkling eyes that dared me to protest. But of course, I didn't.

It was when we were both in his car that my phone buzzed. Thinking it was a text from Anne, I opened it in a hurry to reveal Louis' name boldly displayed at the top of my screen.

I tried locking my phone, but it was too late. Harry's eyes were already hardened and his jaw was already set.

I swallowed down the guilt that surfaced and threatened to spill while Harry turned the car on and drove down the street.

We were both quiet and I couldn't help but rest my head against the window and just close my eyes to relieve the embarrassment and refrain myself from shuffling in my seat every two seconds because of it.

I had been like that for a while when suddenly the car came to a sharp stop, making me snap my eyes wide open in panic before looking at Harry, who had a grimace on his face after we waited at the stoplight.

He read my what the hell expression and rubbed the back of his neck. The red light's glow shadowed his features.

"I wasn't looking at the light," he mumbled sheepishly before looking ahead.

I frowned at his response before noticing the way he glanced at me from the corner of his eye with a sly smile.

Oh.

My cheeks felt warm and I gave in with a grin before shaking my head at his silent confession.

When we finally arrived, he parked the car and didn't say anything as I unbuckled myself. My hand was already on the door handle, but before I pulled it, I looked back to see Harry's darting eyes and softened expression.

My body spun around and I pushed myself so that my lips attached to Harry's. He responded almost instantly and even gripped my hair to deepen the kiss.

When I pulled away from him, his hand moved from my hair to my cheek, thumb going over my lips and then down to my chin.

"Night," he whispered.

"Night," I whispered and got out the car.

He sped off a few seconds later and I watched as his car became smaller and smaller as the distance between us increased. It seemed like it would always be that way between us.

When I couldn't spot him anymore, I looked down at the pavement. Then I took my phone out and read the godforsaken message.

Louis: Call me when you're free (; xx