Eden wakes the next morning with an ache in her hips and sand still in her shorts. Her ears perk up at the sound of Harry snoring lightly a few feet away from her. A grin slowly stretches onto her face as she remembers the events of the night before, reveling in the sensation of Harry's hands still burning their way up her body. Crossing Item Nine off her list is going to be such a satisfying feeling.

Her teeth sink down on her lower lip as she bites back a devilish smile.

Well, almost as satisfying as when Harry made me-

"Mornin'," Harry rasps, his voice interrupting her sultry thoughts. He rolls over and gazes at her through squinted eyes. "I need coffee."

"Unless you can tap a tree for coffee, you're shit outta luck," Eden simpers, sitting up and running her hands through her bedhead. "I don't think there's any left."

A few more obfuscated words tumble from his lips as he covers his face with his blanket; mere moments pass before his breathing returns to a slow state, indicating his relapse into sleep. Eden dresses languidly beside him, pulling on her last clean shirt and pair of underwear. She sniffs her shorts before tugging them on, making a mental note to find a nearby laundromat.

Outside the tent, the morning sun is shrouded with wispy clouds and the earth beneath her bare feet is still cool from the night before. Safiya and Will are laughing over a small fire, while Cal and Natalia seem to be handling breakfast. Taylor and Holly are nowhere to be seen, but Eden isn't surprised; she's barely interacted with them while on this trip.

"Hey guys," Eden smiles as she walks up. Will waves cordially and Safiya looks up from stoking the fire.

"Good morning, Eden," she grins, maybe a bit too eagerly. "How did you sleep?"

Behind her, Eden hears Cal stifle a snort and Natalia break into hushed giggles. A sinking feeling starts in her stomach; Eden can only think of one thing worth hiding laughter. Her cheeks immediately flare red-hot and she sputters for a response.

"I, uh, g-great," Eden stammers, overwhelmed with the need to avoid any and all eye contact. Will clears his throat awkwardly and Safiya nods her head.

"Good," she says cheerfully. "Would you care for some breakfast?"

"Yeah, um, just let me see if Harry is awake," Eden says, trying not to cringe. She stumbles backward towards the tent, resisting the urge to hide her face in her hands.

"Harry," she hisses once inside the tent. She shakes him roughly until he begins to stir.

"What?" he grumbles crossly.

"Get up," she snaps, whipping the blanket off his face and waiting until his sleepy eyes open. "We've been made."

"What are you talking about?" he groans, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Last night, dingbat," she whispers frantically. He peeks at her through his fingers, mouth slightly agape, and she nods. "Guess we aren't as sneaky as we thought."

"No way," he laughs into his hands. "That's hilarious."

"God," Eden groans, rolling her eyes. "I'm so embarrassed. We need to leave immediately."

"What, why?" Harry exclaims, suddenly sitting up.

"You don't understand," she says hurriedly, beginning to stuff her clothes into her bag. "Last night was supposed to be between you and I, alone. It was special, it was for my list, and they heard . . . they saw us."

He doesn't say anything for a moment, but soon Eden feels his warm hand land on her arm. She halts her packing but doesn't turn to face him.

"Eden," he says gently, firmly. "Tell me why you're upset."

"It's embarrassing that they know," she says quietly.

"Why? Because you don't want people to know you had sex or because you don't want people to know you had sex with me?"

"How selfish can you be?" she snaps, glaring over at him. "Not everything is about you, Harry. It's embarrassing because I never bare myself like that, literally or figuratively, and especially not in public. That took a lot of guts for me to even put on my list, much more for me to actually go through with, but all they saw were two people doing it on a beach." She tugs her arm from his grip and angrily tosses the last of her things into her bag. "You should've heard Cal and Natalia, I said two words and they burst into laughter. It makes what happened . . . cheap. Dirty."

"Eden, whatever they saw doesn't take away from what it meant to you," Harry says. "Or to me."

She pauses to look at him again. "And what did it mean to you?"

He licks his lips, almost like he's nervous. "That you trust me, enough to let me in."

She raises an eyebrow and he rolls his eyes. "No pun intended."

Eden chews on his words before hanging her head in guilt. "I'm sorry for calling you selfish. I should've known better, especially after all you've done for me since we met. You could never be selfish."

Harry grimaces, looking almost bashful, and waves his hand. "Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean it."

"I did, however, mean that we need to leave soon," she says with a wistful smile. "Niagara is still waiting."

He nods. "After breakfast, I promise."

***

Breakfast is terribly uncomfortable, to say the least. Only Safiya and Will seem to be trying to hide their knowledge of Harry and Eden's night together; the other four take turns exchanging looks and covert giggles when they think Eden can't hear them. Harry chats amicably with Safiya and Will while Eden keeps her eyes down, focused on her plate as she pushes her food around with her plastic fork but barely eats any.

"Come on," Harry says, gently nudging her with his elbow. He nods his head at her plate. "You'll need energy for the road."

"Actually I was hoping you would drive," she mutters. "I don't really feel up to it."

He doesn't say anything but he does squeeze her shoulder before returning to his conversation; she appreciates his respect of her space, but it does little to ease the tense knot in her stomach. Weighing heavily on her mind, even more so than being caught by their new friends, is the ongoing suspicion that he'd done the unspeakable and read her list. Something in her can't seem to push that worry from her mind. Harry may not be selfish, but that isn't to say he's not capable of prying.

Harry eventually picks up on her bad mood and takes his cue to end breakfast. Eden lugs her things from the tent and waits patiently by the car while he packs up his bag.

"Sorry to hear y'all are heading back out," Will says, startling Eden's quiet time as he approaches her from across the parking lot.

She crosses her arms over her chest and shrugs. "I'm sorry too but we've got to get going. I appreciate you letting us tag along for as long as we did, though."

He nods with a genuine smile. "It was awesome having y'all along, you did some great jumps. And you're a hell of a volleyball player."

She chuckles quietly. "Thanks, I was telling Harry I was team captain in high school. Seems I still remember most of what I learned."

Will shoves his hands in his pockets and leans against her car, his shoulder brushing against hers. "Next time you're in town, be sure to let me know. I'm always down for a drink."

"Don't worry," Eden says, feeling the first real smile of the day cross her face. "I'll be back again one day. You and Safiya, at least, are pretty cool."

"Oh, don't worry about the others," Will dismisses with an apologetic grimace. "Bunch of children, they are."

Eden sighs heavily, eyes trained on Harry as he says a few final words to Safiya. "No, we should've known better. I appreciate you being . . . discreet about it, I guess."

Will laughs breathily. "So you two are together now," he chuckles. "Can't say I didn't call it."

"Oh, no," Eden says quickly. "No, that was a one-time thing. It's . . . a complicated situation, I'll leave it at that."

Before anything else can be said, Harry approaches and holds out his hand for Will to shake. "Hey, mate, thanks again for everything, we had a great time."

He and Will shake hands before Harry says, "By the way, I had some issues disassembling the tent."

"I got it, bro," Will grins. "You guys head on out. We'll see you around again sometime."

Harry puts his things in the car and slides behind the wheel while Eden takes the passenger seat; Will waits nearby as Harry slowly backs out the car and turns it toward the exit.

"Wait," Eden says to Harry before she rolls down her window and sticks her head out. Will gives her a wide grin as her gaze meets his.

"If you're ever in Florida, give me a call," she shouts, a wide smile overtaking her face. "I'll be happy to show you around my side of the world."

"I'll be sure to swing by sometime!" he calls back. "Drive safe!"

With that, Harry drives out of the parking lot and Will is left waving goodbye in Eden's rearview mirror. In moments, he's gone completely, shrouded from view by the trees lining the one-lane road. Eden breathes a content sigh and glances at the dashboard clock.

"It's about nine in the morning," she remarks, turning her attention to Harry's profile. "I vote we stop at a laundromat, find some breakfast, and then keep driving North."

He flashes her a crooked grin. "Sounds like a plan to me."

~~~

hey y'all! hope this chapter made you smile a little bit, at least for a moment.

what's new with you?? i have some exciting news :)

*drum roll*

......

i adopted a kitty! she's a calico named moscow and she's so tiny and adorable. i've only had her for about a week but i've been obsessed since i met her.

stay tuned, more is coming soon xx

(also harry is such a babe look at that gif)