MANWHORE | H.S | edited.

18.

Harry always loved mornings. He had always been a fan of the different colours of the sky when the sun came up the horizon, the quiet that came before the humdrum of a busy day that would surely follow. Even if it meant lying down on his bed and doing nothing, Harry loved to wake up in the early mornings.

But today he had a different reason to be enjoying the morning.

Suzy was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of the lad admiring her closely. He could count the eyelashes that adorned her beautiful eyes and trace the freckles spread all over her cheeks. Her shoulder rose and fell with each steady breath she took and what he loved the most was the small hint of a smile playing on her lips. She must be having quite the dream.

There was only one thing he disliked though; the distance. She was lying too far from him and he wanted to do nothing but slide closer to her and hold her just the way he was last night.

Oh god... last night... he'd actually told her that he liked her last night... he'd been stupid enough to blurt it out knowing she wasn't ready.

But what if she was?

The Anna he'd known 3 months ago didn't give anybody a chance. She would bulldoze over anyone who couldn't stand up to her. She could be blatantly rude, and her jagged edges could cut like a chainsaw to wood. She didn't think anyone was worth it. But he knew she was, she was worth every obstacle, every brick he would have to knock down to get to her.

All these thoughts were consuming him whole, they were playing in his head like a broken record and all he could do was look at her, look at the serenity on her face and cherish it.

He raised his hand to her face, the back of his knuckles gently caressing her soft and supple skin. The contact stirred her. As soon as she frowned and inhaled sharply, he pulled his hand back to himself hoping that she didn't know that he was the one had woken her up.

As she opened her eyes slowly, it felt like getting a quick sharp stab. Right in the damn heart. That first moment she opened her eyes, a moment of recognition flashed in her eyes. And that was when she smiled; as if she was happy that she woke up and found him there. He was at a loss for words.

There was a tightness in his chest, and the more he watched her face the tighter it got.

"Hi." She was the first one to speak, the smile never faltering from her face. The sunshine from the window made her face glow and her honey-brown irises looked so intricate. When they frowned at him, he realised he'd forgotten to greet her back.

"Hey." He said, "You seem awfully happy this morning."

"Is that a bad thing?" she quirked an eyebrow, challenging him.

"No, no." his hand reached under the duvet, searching around before he found hers. Squeezing her hand in his, he smiled, "Of course not."

He wanted to stay this way for as long as he could, getting out of this bed felt like torture.

"Were you staring at me?"

"I couldn't help it." He looked like a boy who had stolen cookies from the cookie-jar and was happy about it.

"You're rather flirty in the mornings, aren't you?"

"Only for you, love." She giggled when he brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed her knuckles against his lips, "Good morning."

She could feel all the air getting caught up in her throat and her senses getting replaced by static. His raspy morning voice wasn't helping her case either. The happy smile he wore on his lips, the content in his green eyes, it scared her to see that he felt this way around her.