"Tessa." Hardin's voice wakes me.

Without thinking, I sit straight up in bed and check the clock. It's only eight...it's Sunday. Why is he waking me up?

"What's wrong?" I ask, looking down at him.

"Nothing, I have to piss and you were latched on to me."

"Oh." I lay back down and he climbs out of bed.

I stare at the ceiling and go over my options. How should I tell him about Seattle? When I mentioned it last night he didn't take it seriously, he just told me I didn't need to make a decision now. The problem here is that I've already made a decision, one that has me moving in a little over a week. No matter how many times I play this over in my mind, I can't imagine how he will react. I know one thing, he won't be happy. Will he be angry? Sad? I just don't know.

"What time are we supposed to be meeting Steph and Tristan?" Hardin asks as he crawls back into bed with me.

"I don't know, I'll text her in a few hours."

"You still want to go? Because if not, that's fine too." He smiles.

"Yes, we're going." I bury my face in the crook of his neck.

"Last night was fun." He reminds me.

"Yeah." I say, hiding my face.

"You were.. demanding. Did you have a few shots of vodka that I wasn't aware of?" He chuckles and I playfully bite down on the skin of his neck.

"Someone's fiesty." His hands grip my hips and pulls me to lay on him, chest to chest.

"I need to shower." I inform him while he attempts to lift the t-shirt from my body.

"No, you're not leaving the bed yet. It's been far too long since you've been in it and you just started something that I'm going to need you to finish."

"Me? I have no idea what you are referring to." I smile and he lifts his pelvis to show me.

"Don't act all innocent now when last night you were in your knees sucking.." I clamp my hand over his mouth and feel his laughter against my palm.

"Enough." I laugh and try to loosen his grip on my hips.

"Nooo..."

"It's not like I'm going anywhere.." I nearly choke on my words. I am going somewhere, soon, and I hope you'll come with me.

I wiggle out of his grip before my mouth starts running without my mind's permission.  Hardin makes a playful pouty face and it's adorable enough to make me lean down to kiss his forehead before heading to the bathroom. I expect him to follow me into the bathroom but when I turn around in the hallway to look for him, he isn't there.

The water is hot against my skin and I pray that it washes away the anxiety of telling Hardin about Seattle.  He was so vulnerable last night, admitting that he was afraid of being expelled. I'm afraid for him, I wish I could fix this all for him, erase the impulsive mistake that caused him to get to this point.  I would do anything for him, even after everything he's put me through in the past six months since I've met him. It terrifies me to know just how much I would do for him,  the prospect of England keeps crawling its way to the top of my mind. If he blows up and refuses to go to Seattle with me would I really give up my ideal future for him? Yes, I would. However,  I can't. I would never forgive myself if something went wrong and I know that I would end up resenting him, blaming him for holding me back and that's the last thing I want. 

The shower curtain is pulled back and I scream, if my hand wouldn't have  come up to muffle the sound, the neighors would have heard.

"Jesus Tessa!" Hardin appears as startled as I am.

"You scared me." I reach for the red shampoo bottle.

"Who else would it be?" He half smiles and drops his shorts to the tile floor before stepping into the small shower. 

I love watching the water blanket him and run down his naked body. It's quite the sight, the way his hair turns black when wet, the way the drops cover and roll off of his nose. I am only half aware that I'm still lathering the shampoo against my scalp and he is staring at me with an amused smile, obviously pleased to have caught me gauking at him.

"Come here." He reaches out and wraps his fingers around my elbow, pulling me to him. 

"What's wrong?" He asks once my body is flush with his.

"Nothing, just thinking."

"About what? Me?"

"Yes."

"What about me?"

"Our plans. . the future,  all the things you hate talking about." I manage a smile and he presses his forehead against mine, the water incasing us.

"Hmmm.. you're right to stay quiet then." He teases and turns me around to have the water rinse the shampoo from my hair.

"Steph and Tristan are thinking of going to LSU next year together." I inform him after a few seconds pass.

"Good for them." He doesn't make the connection. 

"Honestly,  I'm surprised they are still dating." He says, handing me the bottle of conditioner.

"Why?"

"I don't know, they are just too alike."

"No they aren't!" I laugh.

Tristan and Steph may look alike because of their tattoos and piercings but they are nothing alike personality wise. Steph's personality almost reminds me of Hardin's,  she's outspoken and doesn't care what people think about her with the exception of her boyfriend and his family. Tristan, on the other hand has a harsh appearance but he's so kind and somewhat soft spoken. 

"I disagree, they are both lame asses."

"They are not!" I scowl at him.

He's not the least bit intimidated by me or my scowl, instead he wraps his hands around my waist and squeezes my bottom.

"I will never get enough of you, you have to come with me." He breathes into my ear.

"Hardin.."

"Let's get dressed and go meet these assholes." He changes the subject after noticing my apprehension. 

"Stop talking about them that way, they are your friends."

"That's exactly why I talk about them like that." He shakes his wet hair at my face. I squeal and pull the towel from the rack to rub it over his soaked hair, ending his playful assault. 

Two hours later I text Steph to get the time and name of the shop where are meeting her and Tristan, Hardin tells me that he's been to the place before and points to the ship tattoo at the top of his arm.

"This one was done there, I was wasted." He smiles at the memory.

"How touching." I roll my eyes and refill my coffee mug.

"It is a lovely story really, I almost puked on their floor."

"Are you sure you're even allowed back in there?"

"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't dare to tell me no." His ego speaks,  loud and clear. 

Hardin insists on driving to the shop which is fine by me. I'm not too familiar with this part of town. Thick, black bars cover nearly every window of every shop on the street and a barefoot man with a thick beard is singing to himself as he crosses the street in front of us.

I have spotted more cop cars in the last ten minutes than I've seen in the last week.

"Where are we?" I ask quietly.

We pull up in front of a small cluster of shops, one of them has a large flashing sign that reads "tattooos".

"It's not the best part of town but you'll be fine." Hardin assures me as he pulls into the small gravel lot behind the building. 

Hardin grips my hand in his the moment I step out of the car.

"You're okay." He assures me again, giving my hand a gentle squeeze before we cross the lot.

(I know its short but everyone said they needed "their fix" even if it was short! lol I'll make up for it tomorrow, ily all, goodnight♥)