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Chapter 137

When you're happy like a fool
Let it take you over
When everything is out
You gotta take it in

— OneRepublic, Good Life

. . . .

After Christmas was completed, we attended an adults only New Year's Eve party at Harry's friend's party with plenty of alcohol and socializing with people he's known for years. I always knew he was a charming, charismatic, and loved person, but every person at the party showed an interest in what Harry had to say as we mingled around the house. A lot of the guests at the party were friends of Harry's during his university days and the amount of people just spawned from there. Everyone was excited to see Harry and catch up with him. It was all very heartwarming to witness.

The playfulness that I see with Harry had shown through at that party. To others, he could seem slightly closed off, definitely as a result of his past with being critiqued constantly by his father and even Emma. I had seen that side of him way too often at the start of us getting closer, but he's opened up a lot, and I love the man that he blocks away from the world.

But the people at that party had an effect on Harry to be able to extract his charming, sarcastic personality that's hidden behind a façade to most. I adore him, every cell and quirk to what makes him the man I love. I enjoyed seeing him interact with his friends and hear about his times at university.

People had asked him about Lilly and why he never posts about his life and family. He gave broad answers that steered away from broadcasting the privacy of his life and his controversial relationship with a now ex-student. His friends demanded they catch up with a few beers, which showed how little they have kept up with Harry's life within almost the last decade. Harry politely agreed and we moved on to a few other people around the party.

I, on the other hand, had about two glasses of champagne and my feet were feeling a little lighter than they had when we showed up at his old classmate's house. I was a bit more relaxed by midnight and when it was time for the cliché 'kiss someone at midnight', I had slipped Harry some tongue as couples around us shared simple several second long kisses. It was an ass-squeezing, tongue-twisting, and hair-gripping kind of kiss.

That night around one when we were already into the new year, Harry and I had come home to an empty house (Lilly was staying with Anne and Robin for the night). Our clothes were scattered around the living room a minute after we stepped into the house. Needless to say, we celebrated the new year against the front door, on the island counter, and finished it all off on the couch.

I was slightly tipsy, but I was well aware of my actions. After my second glass, I decided to dial it back with water and the coffee someone had put out so I could try to wipe away the haziness from my mind.

When we woke up the next morning, we were glued together with a dried layer of sweat between us and a blanket over our bare bodies. The living room was left in disarray from our clothes and things being knocked over from bumping into end tables and the coffee table. Harry had woken up a few minutes after me when I was sitting up to examine the damage we had done to his living room the night before. To continue the fun of New Year's Eve, we carried the party into the shower before Lilly got home from her night with her grandma.

Several days later, we're bickering back and forth about joining my family on a mini trip to a ski resort several hours away. No one except for my dad is planning on skiing but apparently, the place is gorgeous and there are plenty of activities like sled riding and snow tubing for the kids.

Dad mentioned bringing Harry and Lilly along, which is probably going to be a recipe for disaster all on its own, but I want to be with both sets of people at once and if joining them together is what it takes, then so be it.