n. chapters with mature content will be starred. thanks for reading! p.s, a lot of detail in this chapter. I'm on a roll, ya'll.

I hold the orchids that were supposed to go to my mother on my lap, staring at the bright screen if my phone, almost stinging my eyes in the natural darkness. Quickly responding to a text Charlie sent about having his baby sister throw up on him, I look over at Harry. He drives quietly, staring at the road. He leans back, face stolid and unbothered. Big hand wrapped around the steering wheel while his other arm is lazily resting over the closed compartment between us.

In my notifications, there's one from the Facebook I barely use anymore. I click on it and it leads to a picture of tonight's party. I see Tía Clara had posted a full album of pictures, which is no surprise, she loves sharing pictures on social media with our family. One picture I was tagged in was of Harry and I sitting. I have my body leaned into him and he's laughing at what I assume was the commotion on the dance floor. My smile is soft and I instantly fall in love with the picture.

We come to a red light and the car stops. "Harry, look at this," I get his attention, raising my phone for him to see the picture. He turns and looks down at it, the light from the phone spreading over his face and reflecting in his pale green eyes. A smile curves into his lips. I quickly go to save the picture, hating how cheesy I'm being, but I just can't help it.

The light turns green and the car accelerates again. Harry's quiet as he runs a hand over his face and through his hair, husky voice asking, "You wanna stay with me tonight?" His voice is raspy and he seems almost tired, rubbing his chin as he glares at the street.

"Yeah. I just need to grab some stuff at my house. And leave the flowers there," I respond, locking my phone and leaning back onto the seat. "You tired?" I ask him quietly, turning my head to look in his direction.

"A bit. I've got to show you something, though," he says, and I don't bother asking what because I know if he didn't elaborate at first, he won't later on. I look away and onto the quiet roads. The streetlights, and Harry's headlights are the only source of illumination. It almost makes me want to sleep, but I know I won't.

I ask Harry to wait for me down here. I grab my keys and quickly open the front door. When I enter my apartment, I see my mom sprawled in her pajamas on the couch. She's got her hair fanned around her head, mouth open as she snores lightly. I place the orchids down on the table. As quietly and quickly as I can, I leave a note mentioning where I will be and who the flowers are from. I leave her a glass of water and some Ibuprofen.

In my bedroom, I kick off my heels and grab some fluffy socks and sandals. Then I grab a pair of grey pajama pants and a baby blue t-shirt. I get all my essentials and put them in my bag before heading out. Without even thinking it, I tossed the "morning after" pill in there.

Outside, Harry's texting on his phone. I open the car door and he looks over at me, finishing up his text and putting his phone into his pocket again. Harry glances at my mismatched socks and fluffy slippers. He shakes his head, smiling to himself before I scoff and tell him, "I was rushing."

He drives a bit longer than usual, and when we pass his street, I get a little confused. I raise my eyebrows when we stop in front of large building, much closer to downtown. It's a very quiet neighborhood with tall, glassed apartment and cleaned streets. Trees are symmetrical on either side of the street, well paved sidewalks and mowed grass.

Harry turns and drives up a driveway that leads to a parking lot. I look over at him and he parks the car closest to a tree. He turns the engine off and says, "I bought a loft with the money my dad left me. It's a lot, so the first thing I thought about is getting my own place."

I nod my head, not really that surprised. He did say he was thinking about it, but I didn't know he'd be able to find his own place so quickly. "Did you tell Katherine?"

"No. But I doubt she'll take it too bad. It's only a ten minute drive," he concludes. "C'mon."

Making sure to grab my things, I follow him up to a building where he uses his keys to unlock the door. We get on an elevator, and he pushes in the last floor. Here, on the last floor, there's only a hallway and a couple of other doors. We walk to the second one on the right that reads 14C, and he unlocks the door to reveal a huge room with many black steal beams and large windows. My eyes glue immediately to them where a large view of the downtown city is seen. I can see the UNI from here.

The floors are unfinished and so are the walls, part of it being old bricks that are in need of some retouching. There is only an undone white bed in the middle of the room, some clothes, and small old TV plugged into one of the beams that I assume is electrically wired.

"It's nothing too great, but there's a lot of space," he comments and I'm still looking around the enormous loft that is lit up by the moonlight. I know Harry hates artificial lights, but he surely picked a place where he won't really need them.

I walk around a little more, towards the windows, gushing, "This is so nice. It's amazing, Harry." Turning around, I hold my things to myself tighter out of excitement. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? When, when did you sign for this place?"

"Just a few days ago. I've slept here only one other time, hence the mattress and the beat up telly," he points out.

Nodding, I glance around once more and ask, "Is there somewhere I can take off my makeup? And if I were you I'd take off the concealer."

He scoffs playfully and then proceeds to show me to the bathroom up some metal stairs, where I let him borrow my makeup remover. I smile amusingly as he uses the wipes to rub off the concealer, staining the white wipes. I do the same, then using my facial cleanser to get rid of the stubborn mascara. He hands me a towel to dry my face.

This isn't the first time I'm around Harry without makeup, and even if it was, I doubted I would feel embarrassed. He's just good at making me feel relaxed around him. I hardly find the need to be self-conscious anyway, but now that I value his opinion so much it feels slightly different.

The faint bruises on his jaw are prominent now, and so are my freckles across my nose and cheeks. Harry can't help himself from bending forward and kissing my nose, grabbing a hold of my face with his hands, as a result squeezing my cheeks lightly.

He chuckles, his forehead against mine as he looks as my squeezed face. I frown at him, which only makes him laugh more. "God you're so cute," he confesses, looking at me like he can't fathom that I'm right in front of him.

I roll my eyes and yank his hands away from my face, quickly biting the tip of his nose and moving away. My bag is placed by the mattress, and I dig into it for my phone. I check the time, three thirty four in the morning, and I'm not a bit tired.

Behind me, Harry kicks off his shoes and begins to remove his shirt, unbuttoning it with tired eyes. I walk up to him and slip my fingers between his to stop him, gazing up at him with a sly smile, earning one back from him. He finally leans down and presses a full kiss on my lips, letting me blindly continue to unbutton his shirt. Revealing his muscled chest and the golden cross necklace hanging around his chest.

We break the kiss only to pull the shirt off of him, and it soundlessly drops to the floor. I feel my heart beat a little faster when he grips my waist, digging his fingers lightly into my ribcage as his teeth gently bite into my bottom lip. Then my tongue glides across his, and they touch in a heated, deepening kiss. Lust seeps through it as my palms gently lay on his chest, careful now of his injuries.

Hands lay across my backside, pushing me forward and into him. I'm scared I'll hurt him, but he clearly doesn't mind. The way he squeezes my ass, and groans into my mouth, biting into my lips...I sigh heavily, sharing our increasing breaths and gently humming into his skin. Harry's lips separate with a small noise from mine, licking and sucking down my jaw and then my neck, his second favorite place to kiss other than my lips. One hand clamped to my butt, the other brushes against my collarbones and skin, pushing the thin strap of my dress down my shoulder, making room for his lips.

I shut my eyes tightly, feeling him bite down and suck on my skin. It makes me feel a gush of heat and his breath that fans against my skin only adds to it. I let out a helpless noise fall from my parted lips, my restlessness not letting me think straight. My hands slip into his hair as he bites again, marking me with the harsh suction of his lips on my skin.

"Hmm..Harry," I call out, and he trails his nose against my skin, looking me up and down and searching my face. His green eyes watch me intensely, hair evidentially wild from my tugging fingers, and heart lips reddened. I finally breathe out, irritation clear in my soft voice, "Get this dress off of me."

He says nothing and pulls the other strap down from my shoulder. The dress has no zipper, and he tugs it down past my bare breasts until it's bunched around my waist. My cheeks turn pink and my breath increases. He looks down at me, mouth opened and chest rising a little faster than before. I swallow harshly, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him down to my lips. My hair falls behind me onto my back, and his hands grip my waist tightly.

Feeling his bare skin on mine makes me moan against his lips, and he accepts the moment of vulnerability to kiss me harder. I feel him bend, swinging his arm underneath my ass until I'm being lifted. Out of habit, I wrap my legs around his waist and I'm led to fall onto the bed covered in cool sheets. The coldness and Harry's touch spreads chills and goosebumps around my body. My breasts become perkier and I know Harry feels them against his chest, squeezed between our bodies. He breathes harshly onto my lips, staring at my face.

His hair falls across his cheeks, his necklace dangling and falling right at the curve of my breasts. He kisses kisses my lips before trailing them down again. Down my neck and my collarbones, past the curve of my breasts as his slightly rough hands follow. He squeezes my breasts and presses tender kisses to the sensitive skin there, sucking and paying particular attention to my nipples. My heart is racing and I bite my lip at his tenderness, and my sensitivity, tugging at his hair.

The necklace of his trails down my body with him, cool metal tickling my skin. He stops just where the fabric of my dress remains. I forgot that I had my fluffy slippers on and mismatched socks. I sit up, and he slides off the edge of the bed with a gentle smile on his face, kneeling. I wiggle my feet as he slips off the fluffy shoes. My laugh is instant as he presses a kiss to my ankle, pulling off my socks on the way.

He looks back up at me, grabbing the sides of the dress and pulling it down my legs to reveal my lacy, light blue thong. Harry pauses and groans softly, trailing his lips up my thigh and grasping my backside between the tussled sheets. My lips part. He places a tender kiss on my stomach, and I hear him murmur, "Tara..." At first I don't respond, still coping with the reality of his touch. We joked and we teased, but I can't believe how overwhelming it is to actually feel him.

He gets off his knees and climbs over me again, grabbing me tight and pulling me further up the bed with him. Back to our previous position where I'm pressed to him fully, legs wrapped around his waist, everything about him consuming me. His scent, his eyes, his skin, his hair tickling my cheek and everything else. "Let me," he says his words, whispering them huskily against my cheek. "Let me, baby."

I bite my bottom lip, unable to look away from him. My hands push his hair back once again, and I respond quietly that he already has my permission. He kisses me softly, lips lingering together and we stay that way until he moves away from me, sitting on his knees. I look up at the ceiling, hearing the jingle of his belt as he undoes his dark jeans. He's left in black underwear, and he climbs back over me, leaning on one arm that rests beside my head, the bed dipping in that particular spot.

We both can hear our panting breath, our excitement almost pathetically unbearable. I take his face into my hands, wanting more than anything to feel him in every single way. I feel this profound link to him, and it may seem harmless, but it's terrifying all the more. I can't imagine what the other end of this contentment feels like.

His face falls closer to mine, out eyes shut as we blindly kiss each other. I feel his hand carefully trail down my waist and brush against the fabric of my underwear. Even when we're breathless, we can't care enough to completely separate our lips. His hand slips beneath the elastic band against my hipbone, pulling it down slowly. I inhale deeply, too focused on the way he feels against me and my lips. The fabric falls gently to the floor after he moved to get it off of me.

And there I lay, naked in front of him. My heart pumps louder in my ears when he gives me that look. The look he first gave me when he stared me down by that damn vending machine. When I thought he was weird, but really he was trying to memorize the features of my face.

I grab gently onto his face again when he leans back over me, and I feel my breath hitch in my throat and my eyes fly open when his hand trails down my stomach, and his fingers touch my most vulnerable, sensitive spot. I tense up, forgetting how it felt. My hand tugs at his hair, my body arching off the bed slightly. His lips brush against my cheek, voice coaxing me to relax. The feeling is desperate and all I want is to feel the relief the more the tension builds.

Swallowing harshly, my panting starts to become a little more audible. My eyes fall to his face, my lips bitten and reddened. His fingers move quickly and I'm pink in the cheeks from the heat, at the filthy noises from my arousal and the way I can't even keep still. I feel him against my thigh, as my voice comes out hitched and weak. Breathless. He kisses my neck, hearing me say his name like a chant just beneath my breath.

The feeling leaves me when he doesn't hesitate to pull down his black underwear, the fabric falling to the floor without a sound. The whole loft is soundless except for the panting of our breaths. My hands boldly touch him, feeling him against my hand. I blush like an idiot, thinking he should be egoistic and confident rather than the quiet guy that used to be so reluctant to talk to me that he would rather admire me from afar.

He shakily inhales, nostrils flaring as he looks upon me. It's cold and he can tell, grabbing the sheets and pulling them over us in order to enclose our warmth between us two. I remind him through furious kisses that I can take a pill, and he nods his head. In the midst of our kisses, a phone rings and we pull away for a second.

"Is that your phone?" He breathlessly asks, and I recognize the ringtone.

Stifling a small laugh, I nod and bite lip before I mutter, "Charlie."

Harry pauses. "I will kill him."

"Shh," I hush, and Harry takes the liberation of leaning off of me and turning my phone to silent. I laugh quite breathlessly until he kisses me again, pulling me back into our previous mood. He used an elbow to prop his body over mine. Our faces are close and I shut my eyes when I feel him push in. He grips my waist with one hand, and I sigh heavily at the feeling that gives off a foreign sensation, but still relieving for us both. He breathes out against my lips, digging his fingers into my waist.

My body is tense and he presses a kiss to my shoulder, pushing his hips flush against mine. I let out a soft moan and feel him move away again, pushing and pushing deeper each time. I feel my toes curl, and the feeling of him so deep makes me dig my fingernails into the back of his neck. I feel the movement of his hips, pressing hard against my sensitive clit with each thrust. My mouth parts and I release hitched, soft pants from it. He moves slow, teasing, yet hard. "Ha..Harry," my shaky voice calls, relishing in the feeling of him. I am not prone to begging, but I needed him to move at a better pace. "Faster," I breathe out.

I bite against his lips, feeling his quick breaths when he pushes faster. Our skin touches every time, slapping and making evident noise. The pace quickens and I can't hold in my weak, quick moans and he groans profoundly, removing his hand from my waist to punch it against the pillow beneath my head. I tighten my legs around his waist, feeling him push in and out hard and fast, our quick breaths mixing together as I moan into his parted lips.  "Fuck, fuck," he pants. My toes curl again, my nails move from his neck to his back, finding peace there. But the loft is no longer quiet.

He strokes my hair away from my face, looking down at me as he gives me hard, deep, and fast thrusts. I look back at him, feeling the tops of my breasts bounce against his chest from the force. His face reddens, hair falling to his cheeks again, moving swiftly with him. I swallow harshly, trailing my fingers against his lips parted lips. He watches me and I breathe out his name, furrowing my eyebrows and squeezing my eyes shut as he pushes against a particular spot. His necklace dangles against my chest, the cool metal a contrast to the steady growth of warmth. I tip my head back and gasp, pushing at his shoulders, wanting to grab onto something to give me some ground. I dig my fingernails into them, stammering out a soft "baby".

His hand slips behind my back and pushes me flush against him, shocking me when he bends his knees and holds me against him, pushing into me at that angle. Our noses brush against one another as I close my eyes, lost in his touch. The sheets slip down his back from our constant movement, and I grip the mattress with one hand as the other holds the back of his neck. I call out his name, in my own little world. He breathlessly responds, "Yeah?" But he doesn't need a response from me, while I can't keep quiet he listens.

"I'm...I can't," I sputter out, pulling his face closer to mine if that was even possible. I could feel it, my body becoming more hypersensitive and my thighs tingling. I guess he feels it, too, squeezing me tighter and moaning gently into my ear. I can't keep up, and he begs me to give up. And I do. My mouth hangs open and I tense up before feeling an overwhelming sensation of relief. Harry bites into my lip, tensing up just after me, stopping suddenly to spill into me. My eyes flutter shut, swollen and kissed lips closed. Skin sweaty and body exhausted as he falls into me, resting his head against my shoulder.

. . .

I wake up to bright sunlight lighting up Harry's loft. My eyes squeeze shut and I squeeze the pillow beneath me to get some sense as I stretch out my bent legs. Beside me, Harry lies on his stomach. The sheets cover him up to the middle of his back. His head is turned in my direction. He snores softly, pink mouth parted and the evidential sex hair to go along. My eyes lovingly trace along his relaxed face, then I go to rub my tired eyes.

Quickly, I recap last night in my head. The first thing on my mind is to grab some water and the pills. I shuffle out of the bed, pulling on my extra clothes. The small baby blue t-shirt and my grey pajama pants. I dig through my bag and find the pills. I head to the bathroom quietly as to not wake Harry up. I place a pill on my tongue and cup my hands under the faucet for the water. I proceed to look at my tired self in the mirror, debating on tying my hair. Dressing in my clothes, deciding to pull my hair up into a bun. And not the cute ones, it genuinely looks fucked up and flat.

I rub my fingers underneath my eyes and groan, stretching again and heading back downstairs. When I'm there, Harry's sitting up and rubbing his hands over his face. He blinks rapidly before looking towards me. I send him a smile before placing my things back into my bag, reaching out for my phone. I climb back onto the bed and his voice shocks me at how low and raspy it sounds. Oh, wow.

"You hungry?" He asks. "I can order take out. Your favorite?" I nod. He lays back down and reaches for his pants at the side of the bed, digging for his phone. While he does that, I look at my phone at all the text messages I have from Charlie.

And they're all of him freaking out over baby vomit. I roll my eyes and decide to call him. It's eleven in the morning right now, and I'm still hoping to sleep some more.

Harry gets up from the bed, the sheets slipping off of him. I shamelessly let my eyes follow his naked body, the image of it over me still fresh in my mind.

"Hello? Tara? Why the fuck would you call me just to breathe loudly?" I hear his obnoxious voice in my ear.

As Harry looks for fresh clothes, I laugh into the phone and tiredly retort, "Shut up, Charlie. You're the one who called me at three in the morning to talk about baby vomit."

"It's gross though. And why the hell didn't you answer me? I knew you were still awake!" He accuses, and I will definitely leave out the fact that I was with Harry at that time.

"I was too tired," I say, lying on my back.

"So how was the party? What'd your family think about your weirdo boyfriend?" Charlie teases.

"Harry was actually really social. He just hates you," I tell him. "And they liked him. My mom got a little too drunk before we could have a more serious talk."

"Of course they liked him. And I knew that guy didn't like me ever since I cockblocked his ass," Charlie confesses. "So, so sad."

"You also cockblocked me."

"Yeah, but I won't apologize to you," he admits teasingly.

"You're an ass," I laugh quietly, fingers fiddling with my hair. In that moment, Harry returns with boxers on, phone in his hand, and audibly says, "Baby, I ordered the noodles you like --" I signal him to shut up, but it's too late.

I pull the phone away from my ear, and in our silence, even when off speaker, we can hear Charlie yell out, "OH SHIT. I COCKBLOCKED THAT, TOO? UNINTENTIONALLY? THAT'S HILARIOUS. SHIT. I GOTTA TELL MARTHA...MARTHA, BABE, I FUCKING --"

I hang up before this can escalate any further. Harry lets out a little laugh and I roll my eyes at Charlie's idiocy.

"How?" Is all he asks.

"He's Charlie. Expect no less," I mutter, followed by a yawn. Harry lazily lays back down on the bed. He shuffles up towards me, laying next to me and hugging my waist with an arm over me. I grin in his direction, and he places a lazy, tired kiss on my shoulder. "I'm still exhausted."

"We can eat and then sleep some more," he suggests.

"I'd love that."

n. okay shit. i might update again bc my ass is so bored and glued to my bed. #sickgang. thanks for reading, ya'll! Love ya'll!

any predictions???