Always

Chapter 33

Several hours later and I was pacing around my room, a complete nervous wreck.  Why did I have to be freaking out over this? Yes, it was a big deal, and yes, I was nervous to tell him, but everything I was feeling was one hundred percent real, honest, and I needed him to know.  Also, there was no rule saying I had to tell Harry tonight; I could always chicken out if I wasn’t feeling brave enough.  I shook my head, scolding myself for being a wimp. No, I can do this.  I can tell Harry that I’m in love with him.

I shook my hands by my sides and stretched my neck, trying to calm myself down.  If I kept this up, Harry would surely see that I was nervous and would want to know why.  I didn’t want to tell him that way, so I would have to relax.  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, standing in the middle of my room. Okay, I can do this.  Relax.  Not a big deal.  Just… telling him I’m in love with him.  Oh god. 

I was interrupted from my internal struggle by a soft knock at my front door, followed by the slight creak of it opening.  Harry.

“Joey?” he called, letting himself in.  I really loved that we did that.  Despite being desperately nervous, a smile spread across my face as I shook my head one last time to clear it. 

I yanked my door open and practically ran down the hall, appearing at the top of the stairs to see him struggling to pull his shoes off, just as he had the first time he was in my house.  That seemed like such a long time ago.

“Hi,” I grinned wildly before nearly throwing myself down the stairs.  He looked up at me, bent over as he struggled with his shoes.  A wide grin of his own was plastered on his face, radiating past the dark bruises and cuts that slightly marred him.  They did look better now than they had so far, but they were still a clear reminder of what had happened to him.  My stomach twisted in guilt.

“Hello!” He finally defeated his shoes and straightened up, stepping closer to me, hunching down and taking my face in his large hands and pressing a lingering kiss to my lips.  My hands came up to grip his elbows as he pulled back, smiling happily.  My grin was so wide it started to hurt my cheeks, but I didn’t care. 

Upon seeing him here in my house, there was no doubt in my mind that I was in love with this boy, and that thought made me inexplicably happy.  Not to mention the fact that Harry was becoming much more comfortable making the first move, so to speak.  A few weeks ago, he would never have brought it upon himself to kiss me so assuredly.  Now, however, he was quickly learning that it was okay for him to take charge and kiss me whenever he wanted, and I loved every second of it.

“I missed you,” I told him, running my fingertips up and down the back of his arm. 

“Oh you did?” he laughed, green eyes practically glowing as they looked into mine.

I nodded and pulled my lips together, trying to contain the ridiculous grin on my face. 

“I might have missed you, too,” he admitted softly before leaning down to kiss me again.  I could kiss him forever.  His lips were so soft as they molded against mine, setting off an eruption throughout my entire body.  He pulled back again and grinned at me, pecking me quickly on the nose.

“Ready for this game?” he asked.  My mind was still dizzy from kissing him as I nodded.  I still didn’t know where he had picked up things like that from, but I was not complaining. 

“Yep. You’re lucky I like you enough to put up with this Packers bullshit,” I teased.  He laughed as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the coat wrack, revealing a white t-shirt with a big, ugly ‘G’ for Greenbay on the front.  “You’ve got a shirt and everything, huh?”