Red String [h.s] (Completed)

Chapter 41

"Well couldn't you
Say you do
Say you might
For tonight
Have a heart
Bend the truth
Even if you don't
Couldn't you
Mess me up
Get in my head
Steal my t-shirt
Wreck my bed
All night long
Like you used to
Even if you don't
Couldn't you
Say you do?"

After saying thank you and good bye to Tom, Amy and Harry head inside with Harry carrying Amy's suitcase. Harry is trying to play it cool like he's not bursting on the inside with excitement. He has been planning for weeks to invite Amy to stay at his place, he just never got the nerve to ask her. He didn't want to scare her off. He knows she has her guard up with him now, not wanting to get hurt by him again. But Harry has no intention of leaving her again. He has spent enough time apart from her.

"So, I...uh...got my guest room ready for you," Harry says nervously.

"That's probably a good idea, separate bedrooms...right?"

Harry wants to tell her no. That he wants her in his bed. That he needs her next to him. That how could he stand knowing she was in the same house as him but not staying in the same room. But he doesn't. He holds all this back.

"I think so," Harry says and hopes he sounds convincing.

"I just want to take it slow. No mistakes this time," she says cautiously. She looks up at him, through her eyelashes in that way that makes his heart feel tight in his chest.

"Whatever you want, love," he says, looking at her earnestly.

He begins leading her to the bedroom and puts her suitcase down at the foot of the bed.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"I was hoping so. I have a nice dinner planned," he smiles at her.

"Do you mind if I shower? I feel gross from the flight."

Harry pauses momentarily as he thinks about Amy in his shower. He clears his throat, also attempting to clear the dirty thought from his mind.

"Yeah. Of course. There should be plenty of towels in the bathroom. Use whatever you need," he says, gesturing towards the en-suite. "I'll be downstairs making dinner."

"Thanks Harry," and before she can think too much about it, she touches his chest and leans over to kiss his cheek. Harry feels warm inside just from her simple gesture. And how she said his name. He forgot about all the different ways she used to say it that would drive him crazy. He notices that she still hasn't called him 'baby' again, like she used to. Not in the entire month that they've been talking on the phone.

Amy takes her time, happy to enjoy his fancy shower with all sorts of sprayers and steam settings. She realizes she forgot to grab her shampoo and then notices Harry's. She can't resist the urge to smell like him so she uses both his shampoo and soap.

She wraps herself and her hair in two fluffy white towels and heads to her suitcase to grab some clothes. She looks through her options and sighs when she realizes that she needs to do laundry. She thinks about how much of a pain it is to wash clothes in hotel laundry rooms.

"Knock knock," Harry says aloud as he stands at the open bedroom door. His breath is taken away when he looks at her. Fresh faced out of the shower in just a towel was always when he thought she looked her most beautiful.

"You have your overthinking face on," he says to her. Amy forgot how good he was at reading her, they hadn't had a face-to-face conversation in awhile.