“Want to see the rest?” he asked.  I nodded, smiling up at him.

He led me across the small cabin and opened one of the doors, revealing a tiny bathroom, complete with toilet, sink, and a narrow shower.  I was surprised a boat this size had a bathroom, much less a functioning shower.  After closing the first door, he opened the second one. 

Behind this door was a quaint bedroom that held a double bed, a thin dresser, a bedside table, and a lamp.  And, of course, photos.  The room was small, but it was beautiful.  Rustic, worn, and cozy, it was exactly the type of room I would picture this boat to hold. 

On the bed sat a medium sized cooler, clearly having just been placed there a few hours ago.  Next to the cooler was a pile of cozy looking blankets and a few pillows.  I smiled at the sight, seeing where Harry was going with this. 

“I love it,” I told him.  He squeezed my hand as he watched me take in the room.

“Care to join me for a picnic on the deck?” he asked happily.

“I’d love to,” I agreed, grinning up at him as he entered the room to try and grab the cooler, pillows, and blankets.  He fumbled with the linens, finding it difficult to control all the items at once.  I giggled before stepping forward and taking the pile of blankets from him, allowing him to carry the cooler and pillows. 

“I had it,” he said sheepishly, shooting a shy grin at me.

“Sure you did,” I teased before leaning up to press a quick kiss to his cheek.  I turned from the room, walked through the cabin, and out the door onto the deck.  Harry followed me and set the cooler down on the deck toward the front of the boat. 

Following his lead, I took one of the blankets and spread it out.  Harry then helped me arrange the rest of them and the pillows until we had a comfortable picnic setting.  I was about to sit down when Harry stopped me.

“Wait, we have to leave the harbor first,” he said, smiling softly at me.  My heart thudded in my chest at his words.  He was actually going to take me sailing, not just on the boat.

“Really?” I asked.

“If you’d like to.”

“I’d love to,” I gushed, feeling my heart swell with pride and love for this boy.  He smiled at me before instructing me to sit down, safely out of the way and with a clear view.  I watched him closely as he easily maneuvered around the deck, never hesitating.  If I didn’t know better, I never would have guessed that he hadn’t been on the boat in nearly four years. 

He was a natural.  He moved nimbly across the deck, pulling on mysterious ropes and levers.  Before I knew it, we were moving, and he was steering us out of the harbor into the quickly darkening lake. 

I watched as the muscles moved in his arms and back, entranced by the boy in front of me and beyond impressed at his skill and prowess on the boat.  It was such an attractive quality that he was so talented at so many things, and I had never been more proud to call him mine.  Before long, we were in the middle of the lake, surrounded by nothing but softly swishing water, the quickly setting sun, and the clear sky.  After some more impressive and mysterious actions, Harry returned to me.

He sat down next to me, grinning sheepishly as he opened the cooler, presenting me with a simple meal of sandwiches, chips, grapes, and soda.  Absolutely perfect.  He acted so nonchalant, as if he hadn’t just single handedly sailed us out into the middle of the lake. 

“Right, we should stay floating here now,” he explained.

“Wow.”

“What?” he asked, eyebrows raising innocently.

“That was amazing,” I told him. “I had no idea you were so… skilled.”

He just chuckled.  “I’ve been doing it since I was little… it never really goes away.”

“Still, that was amazing,” I insisted.  He just blushed modestly before smiling softly at me.

“What a fine meal we’re having, sir,” I joked, grinning at him as I changed the subject.  He was so modest, he never would almost never acknowledge my complements.

“I hope this is okay, I didn’t really know what to make…” he trailed off, eyebrows knitting together.

“It’s a perfect meal for a picnic, thank you, Harry,” I said sincerely, smiling at him.  He looked relieved as he returned my smile.  I glanced out over the rail of the boat, taking in the beautiful scenery.  The sun was nearly set now, making it pretty dark, but still light enough to see the rays reflecting off the water, the shapes of the other boats around us, the outlines of the houses framing the lake. 

“Oh, hang on!” Harry said suddenly before springing up and jogging around to the back of the cabin.  I couldn’t see what he was doing, but it suddenly became apparent when white fairy lights suddenly lit up the boat.  The strings of lights were woven around the railings at the base, which I hadn’t noticed the first time I had been on the deck.  I couldn’t help but feel the magical setting they created, casting a warm, glowing light around us in all directions.  It was like we were sitting in a halo.

“Like it?” Harry asked as he returned, smiling giddily at me as he plopped his large frame back down on the blanket.

“Love it,” I said.  “Just when I thought it couldn’t be any better, you pull this out,” I laughed, gesturing around us. 

“Good, because it took nearly an hour to set those damn things up,” he revealed, chuckling good-naturedly. 

“Jeez, you really put me to shame,” I said.  It was true- he was amazingly romantic when it came to things like this, while I was utterly hopeless and uninspired.  While he seemed to have no limit to what he could come up with, I struggled to think of even one good idea to surprise him with.

“You don’t have to do anything like this, love,” he said gently as he picked up a sandwich and took a bite.

“I like it when you call me love,” I told him, smiling at the term of affection before grabbing a sandwich for myself.

“Yeah?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Yeah,” I smiled.  We continued to eat our food and exchange playful banter, laughing with mouthfuls of food, nudging each other, and taking in the gorgeous scenery around us.  It was a simple meal, but that didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying myself, just as I did every other moment I was with Harry. 

It felt wonderful to be able to do this type of thing with him again, especially after spending those miserable days without him, wishing exactly to go back to times like this where we were just ourselves and were happy.  It was perfect. 

When we finished eating, we gathered up the various garbage and supplies left behind and put them in the cooler, which Harry moved off the blanket, clearing more space for us to relax.  We both lay on our backs on the blanket, staring up at the now dark sky that was dotted with glittering stars.  It wasn’t as clear as it was when we had been at Harry’s secret spot, but the stars were clearly visible in the cloudless sky. 

Harry’s arm was slung around my shoulders, my head resting comfortably on his bicep as he tugged me close against him.  My hand rested on his thigh as my fingers traced patterns against the fabric of his jeans absent-mindedly.  I signed contentedly.

“I love this,” I said quietly.

“The boat?” he asked.

“No.  Well yeah, it’s wonderful, but mostly just… being with you,” I clarified.  “Like this, just alone, ourselves.”

He tightened his arm, squeezing me to him and turning to press a kiss to my temple.  “I love it, too, babe.”

I pushed myself up on my elbows and turned to face him, lying on my side.  Even now in the dark, I was struck by how incredibly handsome he was.  Right now, particularly, his jaw looked like it could cut glass, it was so sharp.  I reached my hand up to allow my fingers to trace along the line of it.

“What else do you love?” I asked, smiling softly at him.

“You,” he said, the corner of his lips raising up. 

“Hmm, good answer,” I said before leaning over him to press my lips to his, giving him a slow kiss. Pulling back an inch, I asked, “What else?”

“When you kiss me,” he said softly, eyes burning into mine.  I bit my lip gently before leaning down to kiss him again, this time parting my lips to capture his lower one.  I felt his hand trail up my lower back beneath my sweater, the pads of his fingertips pressing into my skin.  My lips separated from his once more, giving me just enough space to speak again.

“What else?” I could feel his eyes burning into mine when I looked at him.

“When you kiss my neck,” he whispered.  I smirked before ducking my head to the side, nudging his jaw with my lips, making him tilt his head.  My lips pressed against the soft skin on his neck, leaving a trail of peppered kisses up and down it. 

“Like this?” I mumbled against his skin before letting my tongue dart out and taste him.  He groaned softly.

“Mmhmm, like that,” he agreed.  His hand moved grip my hip, his fingers burning into my skin.  My lips continued their slow assault on his neck, licking, sucking, and biting him softly as he groaned quietly beneath me. 

I was pleasantly surprised when his grip on my waist tightened and he pulled me on top of him.  My knees came to rest on either side of his hips as I rested my weight against him.  Already, the pressure between us was causing me to become restless. 

I trailed my lips back up his neck, reaching his ear lope and taking it gently between my teeth and tugging softly before releasing it. 

“What else, baby?” I breathed into his ear before running my tongue along the rim of it.  He shivered.

“I love everything you do,” he said, trying to hide the slight quiver that had crept into his voice.  I released his ear and brought my face back in front of his.

“Hmm, good,” I said, my lips brushing against his as I said it before diving back in to kiss him.  His tongue immediately parted my lips before sweeping it through my mouth, kissing me deeply.  I couldn’t stop my hips from grinding against his, the friction causing both of us to groan.  His large hands trailed up my thighs before coming to rest on my hips and squeezing tightly, pulling me closer to him. 

My fingers raked up his shoulders, his neck, and his face before settling in his hair and tangling themselves there.  I could feel the muscles in his neck straining as he lifted his head, pressing himself harder into our kiss. 

Both of our breathing was quickly getting faster as our kiss deepened even more, our hands continued to roam across each others bodies, and our hips ground against each other’s more and more.  I could feel him growing harder under my hips, which was driving me insane.  When he lifted his hips off the deck and pressed into me, I let out a particularly loud groan that seemed to echo in the space around us.

Suddenly I remembered we were very much visible on the top of his boat, in a lake that was far from private, with the possibility of another boat sailing by at any moment.  Due to the quickly increasing heat between us, I figured we shouldn’t be quite so visible.

Thanks for reading! If you guys get this and Chapter 40 to 15 votes/likes each by tonight, I'll post the next chapter! Trust me, you want it ;) xx