Golden Luckenbooth

Fifty

"You're shivering," Harry murmurs after we've been swimming in the pond for 30 minutes or so. The intermittent sunshine has disappeared once more, and clouds have stolen the sky on all sides.

Nodding, my teeth chattering, I head for the shore. "That storm doesn't look like it's going to blow over quickly. We should get back to the house."

I pull my new Harry t-shirt over my body, knowing it's a translucent tapestry. Deciding the jeans would be even harder to stretch over my damp body, I eschew them in favour of stuffing my feet inside my shoes. Harry has gone the opposite route, stripping off his pants and drawing his jeans over his naked lower half, shunning the shirt entirely. Wriggling his damp feet into his tied shoes, he retrieves our jettisoned clothing, snatches the umbrella, and begins strutting in the direction of the house which is currently out of our line of sight.

"What's the rush?" I call, chasing behind him as I hop to try to get the heel of my left shoe completely on my foot.

"It's going to rain."

"Um...we're already wet."

"True, but also my pregnant girlfriend is now at risk of catching a cold." It sounds like he's talking through clenched teeth, so he must be chilled too.

My legs are getting lashed by the longer grass, my left foot is still only partway in the shoe, and the massive amount of hair I'd stuffed into a messy bun this morning has started to fall around my shoulders and into my eyes. Stopping, I stare daggers at his back as I complain, "Well, maybe you'd care to check on your pregnant girlfriend before you race her to the house!"

Stopping in his tracks, his bare torso and tattoos spotlighted in a brief moment of sunshine breaking through the clouds, Harry turns to me just as the greyness above us closes ranks once more.

"Dammit," he mutters, and I watch as that jaw muscle ticks. "Sorry, babe."

When I finish situating my shoe correctly and arrive at his side, I kiss his cheek lightly. "It's okay. We forgive you." I glance down at the bump to indicate the other part of my pronoun. The dampness of my shirt has outlined my pregnant belly in a way no other clothing has before. "Holy shit!" I exclaim. "It seems I'm pregnant."

Harry laughs heartily at my faux astonishment. "When did that happen?" His tone is teasing, and I chuckle. "We should do a photoshoot," he states, taking my arm and steering me to the house. "I don't want to rush you, but it seems the rain isn't going to wait any longer."

At his prediction, a raindrop hits my head, quickly followed by an invading army of encapsulated wet dots, each one angrier than the last. Grasping his hand, I allow him to pull me along as we race for the back door, our feet slapping in the newly formed puddles as we get closer. At the first door, Harry tries the knob.

"Locked!" He yells to me as the rain has picked up speed and ferocity. "Come on!" We run to the other end where the outdoor patio with its fireplace and sofa live. While the area is covered, the fierce winds of the storm continue to blow water droplets at a slant into the space. Harry tries the door, shaking his head when it won't budge. "Wait here!" He yells to me.

I follow his direction as he passes off our clothes and uses the umbrella as intended. Why he hadn't thought of that when the rain first started, I'll never know. Then again, I hadn't either. Laughing and shivering, I wait for him to locate a way into the house and come back for me. It doesn't take long, and when he returns, it's through the door he'd previously attempted to open.

"Strip, babe. Let's get you warm."

We're standing in the sun room. It's the one we'd seen previously that had no visible entertainment. Together, we shuck our damp clothes, the material clawing at our bodies like cling film on leftovers.