the list (haylor)

xvi. the morning after

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{Harry looked at his situation. Taylor was on the brink of falling asleep, while he had never been so hard in his entire life. She was now topless laying in his bed, not that he could see anything. He had kissed her for the first time, for real and it was electrifying. His lips still burned from her touch. He didn't want to rush her. After tracing his fingers along her bare skin, Harry began to wiggle his way out of bed. Taylor had been fast asleep, but she twitched slightly as the now empty bed.

"Harry?" She mumbled in her pillow. Harry turned immediately at the sound of his name.

"Good night, Taylor." He smiled before he shut the door and let her sleep.}

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Morning came around faster than Taylor had wanted it to. Smells of home and the rain filled her nose. Dreams from the night had soon disappeared from Taylor's memory.

Time seemed to slow itself down, as fast as it had passed. Fading pictures in her mind of her mother and brother were getting lost in the depths of her mind. As time slipped by, she lost her innocence as quickly as it came. As she had grown up, she learned that many friends pass through your life day by day, just a step before getting out the door. Everyone seems to take a small peek into your life, then once they're bored they go.

Taylor sat up in her bed realizing all the standards and lies she ever told herself. Her back was bare and she began to breathe heavily, rarely recollecting the previous night's unfolding.

Taylor had almost let her walls down. She let the liquor get the best of her and she led Harry into nothing. He'd expect something and she just wouldn't provide it, or anything really. Especially to him, or for him. Taylor had flashes of daydreams of parallel universes where she and Harry would meet and they'd get to actually know their real sides of one another. They'd go for coffee at midnight and talk about their hopes and dreams. They'd go swimming at a lake with friends and spent nights by campfires.

It wasn't fair. The arranged marriage wasn't. Taylor didn't even know where she stood with him, whether it was physical lust or he actually wanted an intimate relationship with her. She was confused because neither outcome was pretty. In the end, it'd be in flames. One would try too hard, the other wouldn't say enough. They'd be off one day and on the next. It'd be a never ending cycle, and then once it'd end they'd be stuck with each other. It'd be worse than it already was.

A part of her regretted not letting Harry have his way, for just one night. She would've had the time of her life, as would he. It would be passionate, dangerous, everything that it should be. His touch would linger after he was long gone. Taste of him would linger as well, but then they'd have to face reality in the morning. Reality like the sun, burned like no other.

She picked herself up out of bed and got herself dressed and headed down the stairs. Taylor stepped her way out of her room. She heard tiny footsteps running across the flooring. Ella covered herself in blankets, and her run caused a slight shake of the chandelier. She hid her face in one hand and her heels from the night prior in the other.

"Don't look at me!" She screamed, all Taylor was able to let out was a slight giggle. Liam walked out a minute later with an embarrassed expression under his smug grin.

"I see Ella is enjoying the English commodities of France, hmm?" Taylor greeted Liam. He let a playful laugh escape his lips as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Don't have too much fun." Taylor warned as the two friends made their way down the stairs. They turned to the open aired kitchen. Dark granite countertops with glass backsplashes fit the colonial styled house well. Harry sat in the outdoor part of the kitchen, sipping his tea smiling proudly at Taylor. Taylor cocked an eyebrow at him irritated at his mockery, while Liam stood oblivious to their obvious actions. He was too infatuated with the kitchen's design to notice their exchanged glances.