PULSE [H.S]

092

"The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind." — Caroline Myss

Harry offered to sleep on the ground.

It was nice of him to offer that, but this place definitely isn't clean enough for someone to sleep on the floor. There's probably bugs down there, and who knows when the last time the carpet was deep cleaned was.

Besides, I don't mind sharing a bed with him. A big, stupid part of me is excited about it. The thought of being so close to him makes my chest tighten.

He sits back against the pillows, putting his hands behind his head as I still sit on top of the covers. It's not that late yet, and the nerves of going to bed with him are making me feel wired to the max.

He's so pretty.

His bare chest is hard to avoid staring at. His chiseled abs look like he stole them from a Greek god. My favorite part of his chest is the butterfly tattoo, and the part right in the middle that's still slightly messed up from the scar. I wonder if it still makes him think of that day when it became clear to him that he loved me.

I feel like I'm going to pass out as he sits in front of me, shirtless, looking so beautiful. His hair isn't wet anymore, and the dampness brought new curls to his head. It's not fair that he always looks so perfect.

He teases, "Are you checking me out again?"

"Shut up," I say with a smile as I roll my eyes. "I saw you checking me out earlier."

"You're wearing nothing but my shirt, Kiz," he says as his eyes trail down to my legs again, making my toes curl. He says coolly, "Of course I was checking you out."

My breathing stops altogether.

My body is betraying me. It wants him so badly. Every part of me misses his touch, and I just want his hands on me.

His flirty attitude today is killing me.

I say, "I'm starting to think this day was all just a trick to get me trapped in a hotel with you with no clothes to wear."

He laughs, saying, "I'm not complaining about how it turned out."

A loud boom of thunder fills my ears, and the sudden loudness of the noise makes me jump a little. My reaction amuses Harry, who laughs at me. We check the weather again, and the storm isn't going to let up until early in the morning tomorrow.

"I used to think natural disasters were going to be a much bigger problem in my life than they are," I think out loud.

He raises an eyebrow, saying, "Like tornados, and shit?"

"Yeah, they made us do so much emergency training for those in elementary school, but I've never once been anywhere near a tornado zone," I ramble. "When I was little, I thought they'd be breaking out every week."

"I don't think you have to worry about them as a Seattle resident," he laughs. "Hurricanes, maybe."

I ask, "Is this a hurricane?"

"Don't think so," he replies. His eyes shift to my hair as it falls around my shoulders. He says, "Your hair's gotten long."

I say, "Yeah, I haven't gotten it cut in a while."

"I like it," he compliments me. "You're beautiful."

I feel my cheeks heat up a little. It's a little exciting where we are right now, in a bit of a flirty place, but nothing more than that. It's like we are in middle school and I have a crush on him, and he has one on me, but we haven't told each other that yet.