Moments of Impact H.S. A.U.

22.

Starring out at the ocean sitting on the beach observing reminds me of home, the language is the same, the ocean is the same and the beach could almost have been one of the beaches that are scattered on Australia's east coast. I must admit though that the Californian accent does not resemble mine, and I'm easily given away as a foreigner. I snap photos of people and enjoy my time alone although I'd much rather be spending time with Harry. In all honesty, being some place new just isn't the same when you don't have anyone to experience it with. He's working, but he is very much so on my order. The fact that I'm not working is bad enough, I don't want him to be slacking off too. I don't know if he imagined this as a romantic getaway, but with a job that has as tight of a schedule as his, there's not really much time to enjoy things.

I feel a pair of hands on my shoulders, and I jump in surprise and move away thinking I'm getting robbed. I even yelp.

Harry chuckles.

"Not funny!" I say crossing my arms getting up to see that it is in fact him. "What are you even doing here?"

"I wanted to have lunch with you. God, you should have seen your face," he laughs. "You looked terrified."

"I thought I was being robbed."

"Sorry, babe. You didn't eat did you?"

Babe. The way the word escapes his lips makes me feel uneasy. I don't know if I should be flattered or not. It has a foreign ring to it, but at the same I also have the feeling that it's something someone would actually call their girlfriend if they had one. Perhaps that should make me at least a bit better. "I didn't eat, no."

Harry grabs my purse from the sand and my hand and pulls me towards him. "I missed you," he says and pecks my lips. Suddenly the camera hangs uncomfortably around my neck as our bodies press against each other's.

"It's been three hours," I say but his confession warms my heart.

"It's way too long. I don't want to be separated from you on this trip."

"But Harry, you have work to do."

"I know, Lee. You've reminded me of that at least a hundred times. But that doesn't mean we can't have some fun too. Besides you're joining me for the meeting I have later," I'm not sure whether or not he actually needs me for the meeting or if he simply wants my company, but I don't question him about it. He intertwines our fingers as we head up towards our rental car. The feeling of his hands in mine is almost foreign. Not that we've never held hands before, but it happens rarely. As a matter of fact the only place it happens is around Maroubra. Anywhere else there's a chance somebody Harry knows may bump into us, which means we can't risk it. Not that we've ever talked about it, but I'm sure that's the reason. Why else would we only hold hands and act like a real couple around Maroubra? It's like we live in two different worlds. Sometimes, I feel bad that I don't live in the same part of the city as him and that my parents aren't billionaires. But even if I did it wouldn't change anything. We still wouldn't be able to hold hands or kiss publicly. Not that Harry ever seems to care about the fact that I live in Maroubra, but the fact that we can only hold hands in certain areas is like a hit to the stomach. It shouldn't be like that. I like that we can pretend while we're here. We can pretend that we're a couple and we can forget about everything that's going on at home. If only it could stay this way.

His thumb runs over the back of my hand, and I love the gesture. I love how no matter what, he always leaves small traces of his affection for me. His gestures often seem simple yet they mean so much more than him buying me lunch or dinner. Or bringing me along on this trip for that matter. This is not why I love him, I love him because of all these other things that he does so effortlessly.