Several hours later and I was pacing around my room, a complete nervous wreck.  Why did I have to be freaking out over this? Yes, it was a big deal, and yes, I was nervous to tell him, but everything I was feeling was one hundred percent real, honest, and I needed him to know.  Also, there was no rule saying I had to tell Harry tonight; I could always chicken out if I wasn’t feeling brave enough.  I shook my head, scolding myself for being a wimp. No, I can do this.  I can tell Harry that I’m in love with him.

I shook my hands by my sides and stretched my neck, trying to calm myself down.  If I kept this up, Harry would surely see that I was nervous and would want to know why.  I didn’t want to tell him that way, so I would have to relax.  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, standing in the middle of my room. Okay, I can do this.  Relax.  Not a big deal.  Just… telling him I’m in love with him.  Oh god. 

I was interrupted from my internal struggle by a soft knock at my front door, followed by the slight creak of it opening.  Harry.

“Joey?” he called, letting himself in.  I really loved that we did that.  Despite being desperately nervous, a smile spread across my face as I shook my head one last time to clear it. 

I yanked my door open and practically ran down the hall, appearing at the top of the stairs to see him struggling to pull his shoes off, just as he had the first time he was in my house.  That seemed like such a long time ago.

“Hi,” I grinned wildly before nearly throwing myself down the stairs.  He looked up at me, bent over as he struggled with his shoes.  A wide grin of his own was plastered on his face, radiating past the dark bruises and cuts that slightly marred him.  They did look better now than they had so far, but they were still a clear reminder of what had happened to him.  My stomach twisted in guilt.

“Hello!” He finally defeated his shoes and straightened up, stepping closer to me, hunching down and taking my face in his large hands and pressing a lingering kiss to my lips.  My hands came up to grip his elbows as he pulled back, smiling happily.  My grin was so wide it started to hurt my cheeks, but I didn’t care. 

Upon seeing him here in my house, there was no doubt in my mind that I was in love with this boy, and that thought made me inexplicably happy.  Not to mention the fact that Harry was becoming much more comfortable making the first move, so to speak.  A few weeks ago, he would never have brought it upon himself to kiss me so assuredly.  Now, however, he was quickly learning that it was okay for him to take charge and kiss me whenever he wanted, and I loved every second of it.

“I missed you,” I told him, running my fingertips up and down the back of his arm. 

“Oh you did?” he laughed, green eyes practically glowing as they looked into mine.

I nodded and pulled my lips together, trying to contain the ridiculous grin on my face. 

“I might have missed you, too,” he admitted softly before leaning down to kiss me again.  I could kiss him forever.  His lips were so soft as they molded against mine, setting off an eruption throughout my entire body.  He pulled back again and grinned at me, pecking me quickly on the nose.

“Ready for this game?” he asked.  My mind was still dizzy from kissing him as I nodded.  I still didn’t know where he had picked up things like that from, but I was not complaining. 

“Yep. You’re lucky I like you enough to put up with this Packers bullshit,” I teased.  He laughed as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the coat wrack, revealing a white t-shirt with a big, ugly ‘G’ for Greenbay on the front.  “You’ve got a shirt and everything, huh?”

“Well obviously,” he said sarcastically, shooting me a grin as I turned to lead him to the living room.  He plopped his lanky frame down on the chaise, letting his long legs stretch out in front of him while I searched for the remote. “It’s on top of the TV stand,” he told me, noticing I was struggling to find it.  Sure enough, the black remote was found exactly where he said it was.

“Thanks,” I grinned before tossing it to him.  I started walking toward the couch to sit down, slightly disappointed he had chosen to sit in the chair instead of the larger seating area.

“You’re not gonna sit with me?” he asked, pouting out his lower lip.  I turned and grinned.

“Is that an invitation?”

“Mmhmm,” he mumbled, patting the space on the chaise between his legs.  I crossed the room and climbed into the big chair with him, sitting down so my back was pressed to his chest, my body nestled between his legs.  One of his arms wrapped around my waist while the other came to rest on the side of my thigh.  His fingers lazily drifted back and forth across my skin, raising goose bumps wherever he touched; I was so glad I had chosen to wear shorts.  

One of my hands came to rest on top of his that was wrapped around me, my fingers intertwining with his as my palm pressed to his skin on the back of his hand.  My other hand trailed lightly up and down the outside of his leg.  We fit together perfectly, completely comfortable with our limbs tangled and fingers tickling against each other. 

I could feel his chest rising and falling as he breathed steadily, focusing on the game that was about to start.  His breath tickled against my neck and right ear, causing me to shiver.  I could already tell I wasn’t going to watch a minute of this game. 

My entire body was buzzing with the contact and the thoughts that had been bouncing around my head all day.  I was still nervous, but I felt more confident now that he was here with me, arms wrapped around my waist and fingers trailing across my skin. 

I jumped a little when he cheered, his team having scored a touchdown.  I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn’t even noticed until he exclaimed.  Torn from my reprieve, I giggled at his excitement.  Football was such a normal boy thing to enjoy; it made me happy that this extraordinary boy, who was so unique and interesting, also loved something so simple. 

I shifted to the side and turned my head so I could look at him.  A wide grin stretched across his face and his eyes looked alive with excitement.  I couldn’t resist pressing a soft kiss to his jaw.  He looked down at me, eyes alight.

“Thought you didn’t like the Packers?” he teased.

“I don’t, but you do so I guess I’m happy,” I answered, shrugging.  He didn’t say anything, just continued to grin at me before lowering his head and kissing me.  He held his lips there for a few seconds before retreating and refocusing his gaze on the game.  I took a few more seconds to examine his beautiful features, his sharp jaw line, his cheekbones, his long eyelashes and glowing green eyes before turning back around to continue to not watch the game. 

As the game went on, I enjoyed my own favorite form of entertainment: inspecting Harry.  His legs, which were stretched out around me, seemed never-ending in comparison to mine.  Long, lean, and toned, they were enviable to nearly everyone, especially when clad in his usual tight, black jeans. 

How no one else seemed to find him as attractive as I did was a complete mystery to me.  Next, I switched my gaze to his hand that was currently running across the top of my thigh.  His fingers, too, seemed impossibly long, as did the wide expanse of his palm.  The veins that ran under the skin could easily be seen with every movement before disappearing into his toned forearm.  Even without seeing it, I could feel his firm chest against my back, the muscles there expanding and contracting slowly as he breathed. 

It was half time now, a fact I only noticed because Harry had cheered again at the last second touch down by his team.  Throughout the entire half, he had not stopped his attention to my skin, despite being engrossed in the game.  I sucked in a breath when I felt his lips press softly into the base of my neck, lingering for a few seconds before he mumbled into my skin.

“You’re being quiet,” he stated, face buried in the crook of my neck.  I could see wisps of his hair, which he had been leaving natural more and more often, in my peripheral vision. 

“Hmm,” I hummed as he breathed into me, the warm air causing me to shiver.  “Just thinking,” I answered.

“About?” he asked.  I hesitated.  If there was ever a time to tell him, it was now.  Here he was, being incredibly sweet and asking me basically flat out.  I took a deep breath.

“You just make me so happy, Harry,” I started out.  I could feel him smile against my skin.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, like… happier than I’ve ever been,” I told him honestly.  “I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

“If anyone’s lucky, it’s me,” he said, words muffled.  My heart fluttered at his confession.  I twisted around in his lap, bringing my feet to rest on the side of him so I could look him clearly in the face.  His arms were both wrapped around my waist now as mine wound around his neck and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. 

My gaze slowly traveled up his face, starting at his chin, to his lips, his cheeks, and finally meeting his eyes.  He wore a small smile that was also reflected in his eyes as he looked at me.  I pressed my lips together and took a deep breath.  Here we go. 

“I… I’m in love with you, Harry.”  My eyes searched his intently, flicking back and forth between them.  His light expression from seconds before fell from his face, and he visibly paled.  His jaw slackened in surprise as he just stared at me, not speaking.  I swallowed nervously, eyebrows knit together.  The silence seemed to stretch on for years.

“You… you what?” he stammered, unable to wipe the shocked expression from his face.  I also noticed his arms had become slack around me.  His reaction caused my already pounding heart to beat even harder.

“I love you,” I repeated, stomach twisting into knots.  He continued to stare at me as his breathing grew heavier.  I could practically hear my pulse in my ears. 

“Um….” he mumbled, swallowing harshly.  “I, uh… I have to go,” he said.

My heart plummeted in my chest.  Oh no.  “What?” I asked, my mouth turning completely dry. 

“I have to go… I’m sorry, I, uh, have to do some stuff for my mom….” he trailed off, fidgeting in his seat.  I was still sitting on him, holding him down.  It was a miracle I was able to stand up; my entire body felt numb.  He hadn’t said it back.  Worse, he was leaving abruptly with only a shoddy excuse that wasn’t even close to true. 

I stood in the middle of the room, staring at him, arms dangling limply by my side as he hastily extracted himself from the chair.  He shot me a tense look before turning to go up the stairs.  I watched his back for a few seconds before forcing myself to go after him.  He threw on his jacket and was stuffing his feet into his shoes while I stood there trying not to cry.

“Harry,” I started, finally finding my voice. “I’m sorry if that seems… soon or whatever… but it’s completely true and I just wanted to tell you.  You don’t have to say it back but… you don’t have to leave,” I pleaded.  This was the last way I had expected him to react.

“It’s not that, I just promised my mom I’d help her with some stuff…” he lied again.  He looked at me quickly before averting his eyes above my head.  He stepped forward and pressed a cold kiss to my cheek before straightening up.  “I’ll call you, okay?”

I nodded numbly, eyes focused on his chest rather than his face.  I couldn’t stand to look at him and see the rejection surely plastered on his features.  He turned and opened the door before disappearing into the cool night air.  Just like that, he was gone, and I was alone.  

Pleaseeee don't hate me :) x