Hidden Gardens

Chapter 9

In the following month, Louis learned a lot about Harry.

He learned that Harry actually was a health freak that got up at six in the morning to run every single day. How did Louis learn this? By constantly being woken up by Harry's alarm whenever they spent the night together, either at his or Harry's place.

Some days Harry convinced him to go with him, some days Louis convinced him to stay in bed. But mostly, Harry kissed him goodbye and left before he even had a chance to realise what was going on. He would only fully wake up to join Harry in the shower after he'd finished with his exercises, which happened to be at a reasonable hour.

He learned that Harry loved when he was loud during sex. It riled him up to no extent, and Louis had never been very shy when it came to showing how good he was feeling, so they fit together. He learned all sorts of sex-related things.

He learned that Harry was great at sexting, writing down things Louis could never say out loud. The first few times, Louis honest to God blushed and stared at his phone without knowing what to write back. Then he got the hang of it, not even flinching when he read an obscene text right in the middle of happy hour at the pub, surrounded by people. He'd wank himself to sleep later those nights, but he managed to keep his composure and a straight face while he typed down the things he wanted to do with Harry.

He learned that Harry loved dirty talking. It didn't come as a surprise to Louis because Harry simply would never shut up, but he was surprised to discover he was very good at it, too. Sometimes, only being told what Louis was going to do with him was enough to make Harry come before Louis even had a chance to do them in the first place. Far from him to be complaining, though. He loved Harry's expression when he came and the sounds that followed.

He also learned Harry had a bit of an oral fixation. It drove Louis wild when he saw Harry touching his own mouth absentmindedly while they were watching TV on the sofa or when they were reading in bed. He didn't mind it then because he had the chance to ravish Harry's mouth and put it to good use. What bothered him was when he did it when they were in public, and while Louis couldn't blame him half the time, but the other half he was sure Harry knew exactly what he was doing when he was playing with his lips when they were surrounded by people and Louis could do nothing about it. Harry was a little shit when he wanted to.

He learned little things as well. How Harry loved being kissed on his face. Small, butterfly kisses that melted him and left him smiling like an idiot. Louis loved that. How Harry had a spot on his back that made him shiver whenever Louis kissed it. He called it a connection straight to his dick because he would get hard in seconds when touched there. How Harry would talk in his sleep after having too much black tea before bed.

He learned how Harry smelled in the mornings, and fresh out of a shower. How he smelled after a run and after sex. He particularly liked how Harry smelled after a day of photographing, when he came to the pub all giddy with excitement and told Louis about all the beautiful people and things he'd seen; then, he smelled of sweat and happiness.

He learned that once Harry knew he was allowed to touch you, he never stopped. Everytime they were within touching distance, Harry's hand would be on him. Not sexually – not all the time, anyway – they were just for comfort, just to show he was around. Slight brushes of fingers down Louis arm when they were leaning on the pub's counter and talking. Small adjustments to Louis' fringe, which was getting quite long. If one of the reasons for Louis to keep it long was because it made Harry touch him, nobody could blame him. The point was, Harry was always around, always reaching out to him, and Louis couldn't get enough of it. And the kissing. Jesus Christ, all the kissing.

He also learned new things about himself. He discovered that he quite like orgasm-delay, as counterproductive as it sounded. He'd cursed and cursed Harry, who had kept him on edge for almost an hour before letting him come, but in the end he was thanking him and all the gods for how good it felt.