new beginnings [h.s.]

two

At the sound of the soft knock on my balcony door, I pushed the covers off of me and jumped to my feet in one swift motion. However, my foot got caught in the covers, making me lose balance and topple over with a thud, one foot still caught on the bed while the rest of me was laying sprawled on the floor. I lay completely still as I listened for any sound that could indicate I'd woken my parents up, but the house remained silent.

I untangled my foot, this time actually managing to stand up and tiptoe to the french doors. The lock clicked open as I turned it counter-clockwise. It barely had time to click in place before the door was opened from the outside and I was engulfed in a pair of strong arms.

My own arms threw themselves around Harry's neck as he picked me up and spun me around in two full circles before my feet were safely back on the floor. Once he put me down, his arms tightened even more around my waist, pulling me so close there's no room for even a single strand of hair to fit between our bodies.

His head came to rest on top of mine after kissing it a few times, and my face was deeply buried in his neck, inhaling the scent that is Harry. A heavy mix of wood, fabric softener and faint mint, almost as if the leaves had been worn off throughout the day, hit my nostrils and made my head spin. He smelled like the earth after the rain. He smelled like home.

I felt overwhelmed as I found peace in his arms again, fully aware of how much my body and mind ached for him, for this feeling of his strong arms around me, his head resting on top of mine.

"I've missed you so much," I whispered, slightly pushing him away and holding him at an arms length, just so I could take a good look at him.

His strong jaw, heart-shaped lips slightly pink, the vague blush on his cheeks, messily tangled curls brushed away from his face. Looking at him was like looking at the sun, his beauty so bright it was rather painful. But I couldn't stop. He drew me in, making it impossible for me to look away. His presence is loud in the room without him needing to utter a single word, demanding my attention, demanding all I am and all I have, which I gladly gave him.

Finally, I let my eyes meet his, blue-grey mixing with pale green. The ocean and the forest. He dipped his head low, brushing his nose against mine once, before capturing my mouth hostage with his. His lips moved slow and passionate at first, his hands moving from my waist to either side of my face, holding me still. My stomach dropped the way it does when riding a roller-coaster, and then erupted into a thousand butterflies on a sugar high. Warmth flooded my body as Harry continued his slow movements.

His tongue darted out and slid across my lower lip, making my knees buckle. He chuckled and resumed his previous actions. I couldn't help the small smile pulling at the corners of my mouth, I wouldn't give in so easily when he was exercising torture.

Despite my will to stay strong, my body betrayed me as my lips parted involuntarily in response to Harry catching my lower lip in between his teeth, gently tugging and releasing it with a snap. He didn't hesitate as he spotted his opportunity, his tongue slipping into my mouth as if he had done nothing else all his life, but exploring as if for the first time.

My legs disappeared underneath me as Harry's right arm hooked underneath my knees and the left secured around my back, picking me up as if my weight was light as a feather.

He pressed his lips to my forehead, the both of us trying to catch our breaths.

"I've missed you." His voice was low and deep, vibrating in his chest as he spoke, a little rough around the edges and raspy, my favourite sound in the universe. "I've missed hugging you." His arms tightened as he walked over to my bed, carefully putting me down and climbing on top of me. "I've missed your smell." He dipped his head down to where my shoulder met my neck, pressing kisses from there all the way up to right under my ear, his nose slightly tickling the sensitive skin there. "I've missed how your body feels against mine." He pressed himself against me in all the right places. "I've missed kissing you wherever and whenever." His lips moved from my neck to my shoulder, my cheeks, forehead, tip of my nose, corners of my mouth. "I've missed you."