Change My Mind

Chapter 53 - Car Wash

Lily’s POV

I arrive back at Ed’s flat with the biggest smile on my face. I lean against the door once I step inside and sigh.

Tonight was…perfect.

Harry and I watched the sunset but even after the sun disappeared, we stayed where we were. I stayed in his arms and he held me against him.

~

The stars are out now, the moon looming over us. All we can hear is the wind rustling the leaves and the crickets chirping. I don’t hear this in Ed’s flat and I wish I could hear it every night. It’s soothing.

Harry doesn’t make any move to remove himself from me and I don’t either. He continues to lightly run his hand up and down along my arm and I relish in the comfort it brings me. I never want to leave.

The soothing sounds around me, the scent of Harry’s cologne surrounding the car and the relaxation I get from his hand causes my eyes to droop. I try to stay awake so I can be here with Harry as much as I can but sleep pulls me under.

It’s not until I wake up after what feels like a couple of hours that I realize that I had somehow ended up with my head in Harry’s lap. For a second, I think that Harry’s asleep too but then I feel his hand run through my hair. I tense at first but then I find myself relaxing under his light touch.

I miss this. I miss the days when we would just lay in bed and do nothing. He would play with my hair until I fell asleep and then I would wake up to find him asleep as well. I would take that opportunity to study his face, his hair. I would run my finger lightly against the length of his nose, his lips, his jaw until he would wake up with a lazy smile on his face. He would then take my finger and playfully bite it.

I snap back to the present and slightly tense. I know he’s only doing this because he thinks I’m asleep. Would he still do this if I were awake?

I move around in my spot, pretending that I’m just waking up so he wouldn’t be embarrassed. He pauses for a second but then he continues to brush my hair. My heart accelerates. I take a deep breath and turn my head to look up at Harry.

He’s looking down at me with so many emotions playing on his face. Wariness. Hope. Longing. Happiness?

I sit up and fix my shirt.

“What time is it?”

He glances at his watch. “12:14.”

I nod, avoiding his gaze. “Sorry I fell asleep.”

“It’s okay. I fell asleep for a bit, too.”

I turn to look at him and he’s giving me a small smile. I return it with one of my own, finding myself less embarrassed about falling asleep.

“Did you sleep okay?” he asks.

“Yeah. You?”

His smile widens. “I slept wonderfully.”

As much as I want to stay here for the rest of the night, I know that we should be going.

“We should go home. It’s late.”

His smile falters for a second but he quickly recovers.

He clears his throat. “Yeah.” He gets out of the car but he turns around and helps me out.

“You don’t have to do that,” he says once he sees me folding up the blanket. “I’ll do that later.”

“It’s okay,” I say. I place it back in the trunk once it’s folded and Harry closes it afterwards. He leads the way to the passenger side door and he opens it for me.