The Sound of Silence 2 // H.S.

10

Author's Note: Hello lovely people! There are several flashbacks to some memorable moments from the first book. **** will mark these parts. I hope it's not confusing. :)

"Collide" - Howie Day

Nikki's POV

Harry and I ran up to the house hand-in-hand. It was raining so hard and we were completely soaked. My clothes were weighing me down. I tumbled over in the sand, which resulted in Harry carrying me piggyback for the rest of the way.

The moment we got inside, Harry stripped down to his boxer briefs. My face was numb from the wind and rain so I could only hope that I didn't look like I was gaping at him. It has been sometime since I've seen his body. His muscles seemed more defined. He did do quite a bit of weight training for Dunkirk.

"Heeey..." Harry held a towel in front of my face.

"Oh, thanks." I squeezed the ends of my hair with the towel.

He gave me a small smile then grabbed my suitcase that Adam brought in and motioned for me to follow him. Mitch saw Harry in his underwear when we walked through the living room and muttered 'getting it on already?'

"I'll deal with you later, Rowland!" Harry promised.

I followed him into a bedroom that had a lovely window seat that over looked the ocean. I love a good window seat; I had one in my own bedroom back home. I nudged the bed with my knee when I walked by it and noticed that it moved about.

"Woah..." I grabbed onto the bed post.

"I saved the best room for you, but it does have a waterbed." He laughed.

"I didn't know that they still
made these. How cool! I wanted one when I was a kid." I make waves on the bed with my hands in delight.

Harry lets out a little amused laugh.

"I had a feeling you would like it." He ran a hand through his wet hair. "You also have your own bathroom through there. My room is across the hall. Mitch, Clare, and Sarah are on the other side of the house while Adam has his own place next door with his family."

He placed my suitcase next to the bed. The lights flickered as he looked at me intensely. The tension that had been growing since we last saw each other was starting to buzz around us after the temporary high of our reunion.

I sucked in a breath. The brave face I had put on was wavering. Harry always saw right through me.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I'm so—"

He engulfed me into a tight embrace. His lips kissed me below my ear.

"I know. Me too." He whispered. His fingers felt warm against my lower back where my shirt had ridden up. These small ghostly touches were enough to ignite a fire that I was afraid had gone out.

"I'm going to shower and get into some dry clothes." I kissed him on the cheek before pulling away.

"Alright. We'll talk after, yeah?" He held my hands in both of his.

"Yeah." I nod with a small smile.

+
+

The electricity went out while I was in the shower. I squealed then laughed at my own reaction. My hair was still completely sudsy and my eyes were shut as I blindly searched for the hanging towel. I finally found it and wiped my eyes before wrapping it around my body.

I opened the bathroom door, jumping slightly at the sight of Harry right outside. He was still shirtless but had on a pair of joggers and appeared like he was about to knock, his fist hanging in the air. Both of us let out an awkward laugh.