A Moment in the Crowd

Chapter 15: Today was real

As my lips brush gently against Harry's I can feel a sharp and sudden intake of his breath. It fuels the need to deepen the kiss and my instincts kick in before I can control what I'm doing. I wrap my arms around his neck and he pulls me closer by the waist. His breathing intensifies as he opens his mouth further, urging me to continue. 

He doesn't wait for my approval to slip his tongue slowly into my mouth, but I don't stop him. I allow him to brush it softly against my lower lip and then against my own tongue. The smell of sweet mint envelops my senses as he continues. His hands move lower from my waist and down to my hips. We're both breathing fast and he stops to look at me for reassurance. 

His dark green eyes shine like gemstones in the dim light of the abandoned streets. His stare causes my stomach to flutter and heartbeat to increase as he closes his eyes to kiss me again. He softly pecks at my lips until I open them wider and he slides his tongue in once more, causing a river of heat to rush through my body. My sensory system is erupting like fireworks inside, slowly but surely, I will crack at any moment from the intensity.

His hands move up and down from my waist to my hips as he pulls me closer to him. We're both panting by the time we notice the sound of a car door slamming behind us. In complete unison, we snap our heads in the direction of the noise, breathing hard, to see Harry's damn driver standing to light a cigarette. That asshole has perfect timing doesn't he? The driver shrugs at us and takes a puff of his own slow death. 

"You should probably get home." Harry says gently, and I look up at him to see his serious face staring back down at me. 

"Uhm - yeah." My lame response is the only thing that my stirring mind can manage at this point. 

I feel a little numb and as if my brain has been dumped into a pool of water, making it really difficult to think straight. 

Before I can even begin to dry out my thoughts, Harry puts his fingers underneath my chin to look back up at him. He's wearing a weak but content smile.

"I'll see you soon, Lily." He plants one more kiss on my lips, lingering longer than I expected, and then pulls away from me slowly. 

It isn't until the driver and Harry are both back into the SUV and pulling onto the street that I realize I'm standing in the middle of the sidewalk gawking at the car that's driving away. I check my phone for the time and it reads 1:56am.

I dumbly sway towards the underground subway station to catch my ride home, strangely thinking to myself how thankful I am that the subways run all night.

I rock back and forth in my seat on the lonely subway, as I revel in my post-kiss glory. I'm still unable to put together today's events, but I am certainly ready to end the day. All I can think about is how tired I am, and kissing Harry has added so much to the tiredness. It was like all my senses were suddenly ignited the minute his lips touched mine, and I hadn't realized what it was like to truly feel something until that moment. It clearly made me damn tired because I can feel myself nearly falling asleep on the ride home. 

I stagger off at my stop, texting my mom to come and pick me up. She'd already agreed to give me a ride home, and she's the best mom in the world for agreeing to get up at nearly 2:30 in the morning for her daughter who is currently on cloud-9. 

When I see the white Toyota approaching the station, I take my seat in the front and buckle my seatbelt. 

"How was hotel stalking?" She asks rubbing her eyes and placing her hands back on the steering wheel. 

Her black frizzy and wavy hair completely contrasts my brown and dead straight locks. People always say I look more like my dad, but I wouldn't mind looking more like my mom because she is beautiful, even in her old age. She complains about wrinkles and getting fat, like most aging moms do, but she's still stunning in her older years. Not that I think she's that old, I mean I'm pretty sure she's only forty-six. I'm not sure because she refuses to tell us her real age, claiming she's lost count at this point. 

"It was... interesting." I decide on the vague word that seems to sum up my day perfectly without a detailed explanation. 

I don't ever really hide things from my mom, and I will definitely tell her about everything tomorrow. I just couldn't bring myself to explain it all while I was still in shock and trying to change to get to a concert I didn't even know I could attend. In all honesty, I was pretty sure I was still dreaming, but with my mother's groggy expression and my own jumbled emotions, I've never been more sure that today was real.

My mom pulls up into our miniscule excuse of a driveway, and I rush inside, climbing up the stairs just in time for me to pass out on the bed.