"If you promise me you'll stay in my vicinity, then I'll be the person I swore I would be."

Song: My Vicinity

Artist: The Spill Canvas

Again, I really hope you guys listen to the songs I use because the lyrics, tones, and moods are all relevant to each chapter and I really think it makes it better :)

The first thing I registered when I woke up in the morning that was my bed was hot, too hot, but in the best way imaginable.  It took me a second to remember the reason for the warmth searing into my skin, the weight of another person resting pressed tightly against my chest and stomach, and the torso my arm was wrapped around.  Everything came flooding back to me at once, my mind, body, and senses being overwhelmed by her.  By Halle. 

To say it felt good to have her body pressed into mine, folding perfectly into my body, was an understatement.  I was surprised to find how tightly I had her clutched to me, my arm that was slung around her waist positively clinging to her.  It was like I had been afraid she would try and leave again, so I had held on desperately even in my sleep.  I suppose that part was true. 

Her admission last night that she did have feelings for me had practically made my heart explode with relief, so happy to hear her finally admit to what I knew she was feeling.  Try as she might, I could read her like a book.  She was an awful liar, and her true emotions were often spelled out on her face.  She had been desperately fighting to deny her feelings not only to me, but to herself, finally caving in last night in the dark and wrapped around me. 

What maybe surprised me the most was how much I had revealed.  Never in my life had I so much as had an inkling of affection for a person, much less felt it so strongly so early and told her the relative truth.  I had opened up before she had, even if I had reverted, twice, into my old habits, which she had forgiven.  I had never felt guilt for my actions, but there was no other word for what I had felt last night when she told me how much it had hurt her to see.

Both of us were guilty of wounding the other, and both of us knew it. 

I thought about how terrified I had been when she suggested we go on an actual date, because I had never gone on anything remotely close to a date.  Even when I was younger, I didn’t date.  Now was the first time I actually wanted to spend time with someone, which made me feel vulnerable.  I didn’t like feeling vulnerable, but I was going to have to if I wanted to see Halle. 

The rules made me feel a little better, although it had been like a hit to the gut when she’d immediately said no hooking up with other people; it wasn’t because I wanted to continue seeing other girls, it was because she thought I was so likely to.  I supposed that was fair of her to assume, seeing as I’d done it twice now.  She had been surprised by my rules, but accepting.  Embarrassment had flashed through me when I instantly demanded no leaving in the morning, the wound from her leaving me still very fresh in my mind.  Little flashes of my fear had shown through, but I hoped she hadn’t picked up on them too quickly.

The lying rule was actually much more to my benefit.  I hadn’t really lied to her at all so far, and had no real plans to.  She knew who I was so I wasn’t going to try and hide it.  I had requested that rule mostly so she couldn’t keep shutting down her feelings and lying to me about them.  It had been hard enough to pry out of her the first time- I couldn’t imagine having to do that from here on out.  If she had to be honest, this would go a lot more smoothly. 

It felt, for once, we had finally laid our feelings out on the table, for real.  I felt happy. 

Halle shifted a bit in my arms, her back pressing tighter against me as her muscles flexed in her sleep.  My face was pressed into the crook of her neck, her skin warm against my lips as I pressed them lightly to her shoulder.  A quiet hum left her throat, and I wondered if she was actually awake.  Her hand, which had been resting by her face, slowly slid down the sheets and over her stomach before covering mine, which was still wrapped securely around her.  She squeezed lightly before taking a deep breath.

“Morning,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper and thick with sleep.  So she had been awake. 

“Hi,” I said, my voice even deeper than usual in the early morning.  She squeezed my hand again and I couldn’t resist pressing my lips into her neck once more, the strange and unfamiliar yet wonderful feeling of her being here in my bed making me do things I normally wouldn’t.  Both of us were still naked apart from our undergarments, so most of our heated skin was still pressed against each other’s, every inch of mine tingling. 

Her hand released mine and trailed up my forearm to trace a few of the tattoos that littered my skin.  I watched her closely, taking in the gentle way she tickled the pads of her fingers around the outlines before sliding to the next one.  Little goose bumps rose wherever she touched, and I couldn’t help but smile lightly against her neck.   No one had ever touched me the way she was now, so delicately and gently and with such curiosity. 

If this was what it was like to cuddle throughout the night and wake up with them, I never wanted to spend another night alone. 

“Harry?” she said quietly.  I loved the way my name sounded as it rolled off her lips while I was pushing deep inside her, but the sound of her saying my name in the early morning, so soft and quiet and vulnerable, might have been my new favorite sound. 

This girl had me completely infatuated already. 

“Hmm?”

“Do you still mean everything you said last night?” I could feel her apprehension as she asked, afraid that whatever we had decided last night had been in the heat of the moment and wouldn’t carry over into the daylight.  Her body tensed against me and her fingers slowed their careful tracings as she waited for my answer.

“Yes,” I replied softly. 

“Even the… going on a date part?”

Confusion flashed through my mind; did she want out?  Was she hoping I hadn’t meant what I’d said last night so she wouldn’t have to go through with it?

Stop, Harry. You’re overthinking.

“Yes, I meant all of it.  I want to try,” I said solidly, refusing to believe the rebellious thoughts bouncing around in my head.  She relaxed against me and I knew I had just been overreacting.  She didn’t want out, she was just afraid I would take it back. 

“Good,” she said softly, a smile pulling over her lips from what little I could see of her face. 

“I can’t promise I’ll be good at it, or have the slightest clue what I’m doing though,” I warned.  That much was true- I fully expected to be dreadful at the whole dating thing. 

“That’s alright,” she answered, her smile pulling even wider.  She surprised me when she rolled herself around, twisting in my arms until she was facing me.  My arm that had been holding her to me now rested over her hip, my hand dangling down across her lower back where her skin was burning from it’s previous contact with me.  I liked that I could feel the heat from my own body on her. 

Her face was inches from my own now, and I suddenly found it difficult to look at her.  She was too beautiful to look at so closely in the early morning light; her eyes were bright and clear, their blue color radiating out between us and she looked like she was glowing. 

“Oh, that’s alright, yeah?” I teased lightly, something that surprised me.  Since when did I tease people?  Since when was I playful?

Her smile widened on her lips as she looked at me.  “Yes.  But what if I said it wasn’t?” Her tone, too, was now playful, a sparkling glint in her eye shining through. 

“Tough shit,” I said quietly, a quiet breath of air sucking through my teeth as I laughed silently.  My hand pressed more firmly into her lower back, pulling her body closer against mine, my skin missing the contact with hers. 

“So I should fully expect it to be awful, right?” she teased back.  I found my eyes drawn to her full lips, captivated by the way they moved as she spoke. 

“Dreadful, yeah.  Worst date of your life.”

“Can’t wait,” she said, smiling gently once more.  My gaze traveled up from her mouth to her eyes, which were peering into mine closely. 

“When do you wanna go?” I asked. “Out, I mean.”

This was such a foreign concept to me.  I had no idea what to do for a date or how to even go about setting one up, and I felt completely in the dark.  

“Um… Tuesday night?  I don’t have class Wednesdays,” she answered, before realizing what she was implying.  “Not that, um, anything is gonna happen after, I don’t mean to assume anything…” she rambled. “Actually, we probably shouldn’t… sleep together if we’re gonna try this whole dating thing.”

“Are you serious?” I asked in astonishment.  She couldn’t honestly believe I would be able to stay away from her if we were going to be hanging out and going on dates.  There was no way I’d be able to resist her; there hadn’t been a time yet when I’d seen her and we hadn’t wound up together. 

“Don’t you think so?” she asked sincerely, eyes narrowing innocently at me.  I groaned.  

“No, not at all.  You know how hard that’s gonna be?”

Speaking of hard, I could feel the hardness between us thanks to her sleeping pressed against me all night and just the morning in general, her hips pressing into me unknowingly.  Looked like this morning would have no repeats of last night. 

“Yeah,” she admitted, looking annoyed with herself for suggesting it in the first place.  “But I think it’d be for the best, you know?”

I groaned again, a heavy exhale falling from my lips.  She probably was right, but I didn’t want to admit it.  This was going to be extremely difficult.

“Yeah, yeah, probably,” I conceded, already determined to make her break that rule as soon as possible.  I knew she had just as hard of a time resisting me as I did her, so it really shouldn’t be too hard.  She smiled, pleased with her triumph.

“Just remember, when you’re begging me to touch you and you’re so hungry for me that you can’t stand it, that you asked for this,” I whispered darkly, hoping to start chipping away at her resolve already.  She shivered, letting me know it was working.

“I’ll try to remember,” she said, her eyes flashing to my lips before rising back to my gaze.  She shifted innocently in my arms, simply rearranging herself, but her hip rolled against my groin and I couldn’t stop the hiss that escaped my mouth.  Realization struck her features, finally feeling the firmness between us.

“Oh god,” she said, biting back a laugh. “Awful timing for that rule, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, bloody bullshit is what it is,” I retorted, only half joking.  She caught my tone easily, and pressed her lips together to stop from laughing at me. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered quietly, her eyes positively glowing. 

“Yeah, you will be,” I threatened playfully.  Little did she know I planned to do everything in my power to make her cave on that rule.  There was no way I’d be able to keep myself from wanting her. 

She surprised me by leaning forward and pressing her lips to mine to stop my grumbling.  As soon as she realized what she was doing, she jerked back quickly, unsure if she as allowed to do that.  My eyes scanned back and forth between hers and her lips, my breath catching slightly in my throat before I let my hand rise to her face and brush lightly across her cheek.  Her skin was so soft beneath my fingers and her breath hitched as well before I closed the space between us, pressing my lips into hers again. 

My fingers slid softly back into her hair, my palm resting along her jaw as her lips folded perfectly against mine.  This kiss was sweet, chaste, innocent, much like the first time I had really kissed her, but that didn’t stop me from wanting more.  The hardness of my dick was not helping matters, because I felt myself trying to deepen the kiss. 

Her lower lip was captured between mine and my tongue slid across it slowly before she parted her lips and let me in.  I felt her hands slide over the skin of my chest, the pads of her fingers pushing into me lightly before hand found my neck and pulled me closer to her.  I could already feel the heat increasing between us and knew I had to stop now or I’d never be able to.  I pulled back, separating our lips before pressing them lightly against hers once more, lingering for a few seconds before ending it.

“If you’re gonna insist on that rule, I’m gonna need to shower.  Like now.”

She giggled quietly, a guilty expression on her face.  “Sorry.”

“Sure you are,” I grumbled playfully, pressing one more kiss to her lips despite my frustration.  Her eyes followed me as I unwrapped myself from her and exposed my body to the decidedly cooler temperature of my room.  Goose bumps covered my body in the absence of her warmth and the covers of my bed.  I watched as she pulled the blankets up around her, snuggling into the residual heat left by my body as she grinned sheepishly at me. 

“Have a good shower,” she said, another giggle escaping her as I playfully flipped her off before disappearing out the door to move down the hall. 

This was going to be very, very difficult indeed if I could hardly kiss her without craving her body so much. 

Fifteen minutes later, I was feeling refreshed and relieved, thanks to the cold shower I had just taken and no thanks to Halle, but I was still in an incredible mood.  With just a towel wrapped around my waist, I moved down the hallway back to my room.  I was pleased to see she was still snuggled in my bed, only her head poking out atop the white comforter. 

I smirked when I caught her eyes widen at the sight of me in just a towel, droplets of water still dripping from my hair down my back as I waded across my room.  Her eyes were burning into my skin as I pulled clothes out of my dresser.

Good, I thought. Maybe she’ll rethink her little decision on the no sex thing.

Once I was fully dressed, I casually made my way over to the bed, my hands gripping the edge of the covers tightly before yanking them down and off her body.  I grinned widely as she squealed, clutching futilely at them as the cold air rushed over her and a reluctant smile spread across her face.  I immediately regretted my decision, however, because seeing her spread on my bed in just her bra and panties was definitely not what I needed when I was supposed to be focusing on resisting her. 

I groaned and slapped my hands over my face.

“You need to put clothes on now before I throw you down and fuck you, no matter what stupid rules you’ve set,” I grumbled, searching the ground for her clothes I had hastily discarded last night.  I found her clothes in a bundle on the floor and tossed them to her, my eyes glancing at her quickly enough to catch her frown.

“You think they’re stupid?” she asked quietly.  I rolled my eyes lightly.

“No, you’re just making it extremely difficult for me at the moment,” I answered honestly. 

“Oh,” she said, her happy grin returning to her face once more as she redressed herself and climbed out of my bed.  She crossed the room to where I stood and let her hands rest lightly on my hips.

“You gonna take me home?” she asked quietly.  I looked down at her, my arms hanging at my sides before I realized it was okay to touch her.  My thumb rose up to run along her jaw lightly as I held her eye contact.

“Yeah, I suppose.” I really didn’t want to, but I didn’t want to say that.  She grinned at me before rising on her toes and pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth, barely grazing my lips.  Her hands fell from my lips as she turned on the spot and walked out of my room, leaving me to shake my head violently, attempting to clear it before following her. 

Once she had all her stuff gathered, we made our way out to my car.  We were pretty quiet on the drive, unsure of what to say outside of the comfort of my room.  I tried to think of anything possible to talk about, but kept drawing a blank.  I was so out of my element it was unreal. 

Before I knew it, we had arrived at her apartment building and I was parking in a spot in front of her door.  She started to reach for the handle to let herself out.

“Thanks for the ride,” she said, leaning away from me to try and leave.  Before I knew what I was really doing, my hand had reached across the space to grip her chin between my fingers and pull her face to me, my lips landing on hers in a sudden kiss.  She leaned forward to me immediately, as if she had been hoping I’d kiss her.  Her hand snaked up my neck before resting along the nape as my lips molded gently against hers.  The kiss was chaste and innocent, but perfect as our lips fit together like they were meant to. 

When she pulled back, she had a wide grin on her face and here eyes were glittering in content. 

“Bye, Harry,” she said sweetly.

“I’ll call you,” I promised, determined to figure out this date situation even if it killed me. 

“Please do,” she replied with a smile.  “Bye.”

“Bye, Hal,” I said, the shortened form of her name slipping out before I could reign it back in.  She hesitated and I feared she didn’t like it before pressing her lips to mine once more, the contact lasting only a second before she pulled away and jumped out of my SUV, leaving me stunned and buzzing like a stupid little boy.

This was a dangerous road I was about to go down, a very dangerous road indeed.  

"You deserve so much more than me, but if you say you'll stay that's what I'm gonna be." 

Thanks for reading!! Please vote and comment, I really appreciate it :)