Falling | h.s

thirty-one

HARRY'S POV

It was the Fourth of July and everything was perfect. The air was cool, the company was good, and most importantly, she was here. 

Janie and I had spent the last few weeks busy as can be, selecting songs we wanted to be on the album. We still had a few more tracks to write, but we were both thrilled with what we had so far. I had barely spent more than six hours away from her in weeks. When we weren't writing, I was either cooking for her, she was reading to me, or we were laying out on the beach. We had spent more nights than I could count drinking wine and talking about our favorite novels on my back deck. After I had made her all of my favorite dishes, I learned hers and started to work through her favorite cookbook. No matter what I made, she always acted like it was the best thing she had ever tasted. 

When I was away from her, I felt weird. Off. Like I was missing a part of myself. As I fell asleep at night, I thought about her laugh and the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled at me. I missed the different voices she would use when reading out the words of her favorite F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. I craved the way she smelled; like oranges and a warm summer night. I wanted her arms around me, my nose in her hair. I wanted to cocoon myself around her and never let her go. 

It had been her idea to throw a Fourth of July cookout. She insisted on us celebrating the American holiday together, and slowly but surely, she included a group of my closest friends to join us. She had gotten closer to Tom, Mitch, and the rest of the writing team as well as with some of my other friends. It was impossible to deny that she was blooming into who she was supposed to be. Into who she was without Charlie. 

It was the perfect California evening. The sun was just starting to set as we began grilling out hamburgers, hotdogs, and veggie burgers for the entire group. My friend Benjamin and I had started on the cooking while my other friends were making cocktails and socializing. 

Rosie and Janie sat on the corner of my deck with their feet perched up on the wooden railing, cocktails in their hands. Janie threw her head back with laughter, golden light shining behind her, giving her a sort of halo. She wore a white sundress that accentuated all of her curves in the best possible way. It was hard to take my eyes off of her the entire night. She and Rosie had gotten even closer in these past few weeks and were thick as thieves. Whenever Janie wasn't with me, she was sure to be found with Rosie. 

"So," Benjamin says, yanking my attention away from the golden girl. "How's everything been with Janie." I furrow my brows in confusion, unsure of what he was referring to. "You know, since the kiss?" I sigh deeply, glancing back over to Janie. 

"We're friends," I say unconvincingly. 

"Bullshit," he responds with a grin. "You like her." 

"Of course I like her," I shake my head. "But she's not ready." 

"It's been like, a month since she and her boyfriend broke up. She might be ready now?" He suggests and I shake my head again. 

"I don't want to push her. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable in any way," I explain and he hums, understanding my view. "I just don't want to mess up what we have now," I add. 

"Well, I love her," he declares before reaching down to grab a spatula. "She's by far the coolest girl you've ever brought around." He opens up the grill to take a look at all the burgers before flipping them on the grill.