Painted Lady {h.s}

on the road again

{The life I love is making music with my friends
And I just can't wait to get on the road again}

★ HARRY ★

June 23rd

1997

"Toothbrush?" I nod my head. "Razor?" I nod. "Underwear?" My neck strains from nodding so much. "Socks?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Baby, we've gone through the list seven hundred times, we have everything!" I groan, my body falling backwards onto my bed.

"I just want to make sure!" Lorelai stands at the foot of my bed, dropping the checklist in her hands onto my nightstand. "Lucky guitar pick?" Her eyes quirk up to me.

"Yes! Now please, let's just take a break." I attempt to grab her arm and pull her to me, but she's too quick on her feet. I groan in frustration, watching her pace the room.

"I actually have something for you." She stops her pacing, her eyes nervously connecting with mine.

"Lor, you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know I didn't have to, I wanted to." An insecure smile grows on her face. "Think of it as a 'I'm so extremely proud of you' gift." Her eyes glisten as she speaks, her face stuck in a constant state of bliss. "I'll be right back."

She flees from my room, and I instantly feel colder without her.

It's so strange how in such a short amount of time, you can become completely attached to someone. You always want to be close, and when you aren't, you feel empty. It's almost like I don't even want to risk moving so as to not experience a single moment without her.

It's been nearly a month of us being back together, and though we haven't put an official label on anything, we are a lot more open with our relationship.

Lorelai doesn't care to hide anymore, she doesn't fear people's thoughts or snide comments. She sits with me on the couch with all of our friends around, she kisses me in the living room and in the kitchen. She holds my hand in the streets, and is free of past insecurity. I can tell she's ready this time.

But I have to get the timing right to even attempt asking that question again.

My bedroom door creaks open and Lorelai walks inside sheepishly. She holds something behind her back, a tight lipped smile on her face. She walks into the middle of my room, and I can feel the nerves radiating off her body.

"God, I'm nervous." She laughs.

"Honey, you gave me a plastic star and I cherish it like it's gold. I'm sure whatever is behind your back, I'm going to love." I attempt to reassure her.

"This present comes with a speech," She clears her throat dramatically as I sit up on my bed.

"Okay, so you remember that night like two weeks ago when we were up all night just talking?" I nod my head even though I hardly remember the words said at the ass crack of dawn. "Well, you told me about how sad you were to leave your job, and I was really confused cause I thought you hated working. But then you told me about Oliver. I could tell you were half asleep as you told me about your deepest darkest secret, but the way you spoke about how fulfilling it was for you to teach a kid like that... It really warmed my heart, Harry."

Shit I told her about that?

"Where is this leading?" I question slowly, my nerves growing with every second she doesn't reveal the gift.

Oh god. Did she kidnap Oliver and is now hiding him behind her back?

"Well, the other day I took a little trip to the music shop and I ran into Oliver..."