Before She Falls

Chapter 7

I hear Harry's laugh and I giggle along with him.

"Anyway, tell me about the hot tub" Harry's voice seems more cheerful than it was just a minute ago.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, very confused.

"The question about doing it in the hot tub" Harry tries to remind me, and then I remember the "Never have I ever" question about having sex in a hot tub. I laugh instantly as I realize exactly what he's referring to.

"If I remember correctly, you should have a hot tub story too" I avoid telling him a personal story of mine, even though he had just ranted to me a few minutes ago about his ex-girlfriend.

"I asked about yours first" Harry replies in a light, almost immature voice.

"What do you want to know" I sigh, giving in.

"Just tell me the story, it'll be like my bedtime story for tonight" Harry says and I hear him turning in his bed next to me.

"Okay, long story short, I-" I start to say but Harry interrupts my sentence.

"I'm sorry but I don't think I asked for the shortened version" he says in a playful tone but I know he actually wants to hear my full story.

"Okay, okay" I say defensively, "it was about a year ago, in the summer. One night my boyfriend, at the time, and I just spontaneously decided to go skinny-dipping in his hot tub and yeah... I guess that's the end of the story" I finish awkwardly, not knowing what else to say about the event.

I hear Harry's hands clapping together slowly and I laugh at his action of making fun of me.

"You're a great story teller" he pokes fun at me again.

"Well then" I sit up a little bit, "I expect your story to be ten times more interesting" I say with attitude and Harry clears his throat.

"So, I was eighteen years old and I was with the lads skiing at this beautiful resort back in England. And there was also this beautiful girl with blonde hair and big brown eyes. She could not keep her eyes off of me the entire trip. I mean, she followed me down the slopes and even took the lift when I did and then she-"

"Alright, I get it" I cut Harry off to stop this rant about this stupid girl.

"Anyway" Harry raises his voice to try and jokingly hint that I shouldn't interrupt him anymore. "One of the last nights we stayed at the resort I wanted to relax my sore muscles before the next full day on the snow. So I went to the indoor pool and jacuzzi by myself and I thought I was dreaming when I saw the same girl already sitting in the hot tub alone as well. Oh and she was wearing this little black bikini and her hair was tied up in a small bun on the top of her head. And then one thing led to another...and then we grabbed hot chocolates at the lodge and I walked her back to her hotel room afterwards."

"Such a gentleman" I add my own commentary to the end of his story, that I had to admit was a lot more detailed than mine.

"She didn't think I was a gentleman in the hot tub" Harry replies to my remark and it makes me shut up, which was probably his intention.

He just took the direction of this conversation in a sexual way that I was not at all prepared for. Harry didn't say anything after his last comment, and of course neither did I. I could feel the alcohol buzz wearing off and a sleepy feeling consuming me. It has to be at least two o'clock in the morning now. My eyes start to slowly shut as if knowing that it was so early in the morning makes me feel that much more tired. The silence in the room makes it a lot easier for me to drift into a deep and well-needed sleep.

I open my eyes and it takes me a moment to realize where I am. The hotel room is still pitch black as I look around, only being able to make out the dresser across the room and the nightstand next to my bed. I turn over on to my side and I don't see Harry in the bed next to mine.

As soon as I start to wonder where the hell he would go at this hour I hear the water running in the bathroom. That's when I start to worry, I hop out of my bed and walk down the hallway. The bathroom door is closed but I can see the light shining through the small slit where the door meets the floor.

I expect to see Harry standing in front of the mirror, humming with the faucet running when I walk through the door. But when I step into the bathroom, Harry's body is curled up inside the tub and instead of humming, his hands are tapping on the side of the bathtub and of course, the sink is pouring out water. His eyes are closed and his breathing heavy. I don't know if I have enough patience in me to deal with this situation a second time in twenty-four hours.

"Harry?" I ask lightly. "Harry come get to bed" I say to him as he ignores my first call. I reach my hand out and turn the faucet to shut the sink off.

Harry mumbles as he continues to drum on the side of the tub.

"Hey" I kneel down to the height of the bathtub and touch Harry's arm. He instantly tenses up but relaxes as I pat his forearm.

"Harry" I repeat his name for a third time.

"Hm" Harry continues his tapping.

"Come with me" I say lightly pulling on his arm.

To my surprise, Harry pulls himself up without my help and stands up inside the tub. I lead him out of the bathtub, making sure he doesn't trip stepping over the sides. It's easier than I thought to pull him by his arm down the hallway and over to the beds.

"Let's go back to sleep, alright?" I ask as we reach his middle bed.

"Okay" he practically whispers to me.

"Come lay down" I guide him to his bed and he plops down right onto the left side of his bed.

"Get some sleep, okay?" I make sure the blankets wrap around his entire body and then pat his upper arm.

"Go to sleep Harry, okay?" I say as I start to walk back to my bed.

"Hm" Harry mumbles.

"Okay?" I ask again, just wanting a real answer.

A grumble escapes Harry's mouth again and I move back over to the side of his bed.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" I ask Harry and I'm not sure why.

Harry doesn't even verbally answer me, all he does is nod his head. And with that gesture I climb onto the other side of the bed. Harry automatically turns to face me as I get comfortable next to him.

"Time to fall asleep okay?" I pull the blankets over myself, up to my shoulders.

"Okay" Harry says in a raspy voice and his eyelids flutter a little bit.

Harry's breathing starts to slow down and creates a steady rhythm. He keeps his hands to himself, but his body is inches away from mine. All of sudden my eyes feel heavy and my body sinks into the soft mattress. I finally fall asleep within minutes.