Unexpected

19. Harry

After returning back, she took it out on me because I slammed the door and told her that she was silent maybe, I honestly didn't understand it either. She then gave up and lay down on the sofa with me.

"So, are we starting to do something productive or not?"

We spent about an hour lazing around, we even fell asleep.

"For example?" I tell her.

She turns on her side towards me and I hold her around the waist. "Um... I don't know. Maybe it's time to rehearse the song, right?" she tells me joking.

I snort and roll my eyes. "I don't feel like it, I swear."

"But we have to, we can't lay here doing nothing all the time." I look at her with a grin on the face. "What?" she says tilting her head to one side.

"We could also do something else, what do you say?" I put a hand around her waist to hold her closer to me.

She giggles and shoves me on her chest before standing up. "Oh no, absolutely not. Only the lucky ones manage to get a second time with me," and she presses my nose with the tip of her index finger.

I curl it up instinctively. "What can I do to be one of those?" I ask, as I watch her walk towards the kitchen. Her legs are bare to mid-thigh, they are smooth, slim, perfect and when she walks like this she knows what she is doing. There is no woman more attractive than one who knows she is beautiful without bragging about it.

She comes back from the kitchen and replies by untying her hair from her messy bun. "You can find out for yourself."

"Okay, I'll work hard." I sit up and take the guitar out of the case.

Helen passes me a copy of the lyrics — to no avail, because I already have one.

"Do you know the chords?" When I nod, she says, "Okay, let's get started."

I start playing, after four bars she starts singing. Her voice is angelic, divine, that's why she confuses me every time.

"Harry, focus!" she exclaims after at least the fourth time we start over.

"Yeah, sorry, it's just that you're very good, holy shit" and she runs a hand through her hair, slightly embarrassed.

She smiles and comes over to kiss me.

I don't know, but something about this simple and spontaneous gesture made my heart do a somersault. This is fucking wrong... at all.

"Concentrate, come on," she tells me in a soft voice, "so maybe we can do something else later, what do you think?"

"Like what?" I need to know so I can have some sort of satisfaction at the end of this fucking rehearsal.

She thinks about it for a few moments. "I don't know..." She notices the smirk that has popped up on my lips. "And no, I didn't mean to fuck, as your perverted brain is thinking," she laughs.

"I'm not thinking about that," I lie. That's just what I'm thinking instead, all the ways we could do it, even feeling like we're wrong, fearing getting caught.

"Yes sure. I meant something like going out." She pauses and I frown, confused.

Does she mean... a date?

"Um, I don't mean a date," she says, as if reading my mind. "I don't want anything from you."

Ouch, a little bullet in the chest. I don't even understand why this surprises me; the two of us simply can't, there would be endless complications... maybe I don't care much, my friends neither, but she... she does. Jade would never take it well — even if we now we could say she's with Evan. I messed up with her, and I'm not going to mess with her best friend again. I'd like to say that I am one who learns from mistakes, but unfortunately I'm not.

After a pause, she continues, "It's just that we are together tonight, we could do something to pass the time, right?"

I sigh. "Okay, don't worry," just to be alone with you as long as possible, I would've added. "Okay, let's get on with this fucking song."

* * *

"Finally!" she exclaims, as I stand up because my legs are fucking atrophied. "It turned out well, didn't it?" She comes towards me and her little hands wrap my wrists with incredible delicacy.

When she looks at me with those blue eyes of hers and that smile I want to give up, to be selfish. She looks so innocent, but man, she isn't, I do know and she does too.

She realizes that she is touching me and pulls her hands away. I take them again and intertwine my fingers with hers. I kiss her forehead and she chuckles nervously, like a little girl. "Yeah, we did a good job after all."

She hugs me. She is so small in my arms that she almost disappears.

After she breaks away from me, she says, "So where are we going?"

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get out of here, only the weather has to allow, and when it rains I prefer to stay at home.

I go to the window in the kitchen. No, it's not a good idea to go out at all. "Helen..."

"Yeah?" she comes towards me.

"There's a big storm." It wouldn't even be the case for me to come home in this rain.

"Oh my God," she snorts. "You don't know how much I'd like to live in... Los Angeles, for example, and go to the beach every day."

"You are right." We hear a very strong thunder. "Fuck, it started to hail."

"Okay, let's stay home," she finally decides.

"Good idea."