What we become

9. Take me home

There was a moment of silence, then the guys applauded and clapped Harry on the back and the girls began whispering to one another and offering themselves to be next.

I sat up slowly, Harry helping me, our eyes remained locked on each other. In that moment, there was no one else but the two of us. Not for the first time, I noticed how his eyes were an intense green and full of desire.

He took me by the waist and helped me down off the table. As I slid down, my body gently moved against his and we stay there for a moment, unable to break the trance. My hands rested on his forearms, and I felt the trickle of breath against my neck as he whispered, "come with me." Then he slid his hand into mine and led me away from the others.

I didn't ask where we were going, I didn't care. As long as it was just the two of us, alone.

Suddenly, Courtney was there, pulling me in the opposite direction. "Come dance, Ella! Harry, come dance!"

"Courtney, stop." I tried to say, but she already had me and was twirling me around. God, I felt dizzy. I wasn't quite sure which was up, and which was down, until I felt warm arms around my waist and hard abs against my back and suddenly, I felt centred again. I knew it was him by his scent and the way my body reacted to his; a shock ran down my spine and goosebumps sprung up on my skin wherever he touched me. Harry nestled his chin into my shoulder and pulled me closer. I reached backwards and ran my fingers through his soft, wavy hair. I closed my eyes and let the rhythm of the music take over me. I could feel Harry's body sway naturally and easily with mine, his arms wrapped around me. Friends certainly didn't dance like this, I thought to myself in my drunken haze.

"C'mon," he whispered in my ear and took me again by the hand.

He led me outside and around the corner of the house, where it was dark. He turned to face me and took my face in his hands. Then, before I could lean up to close the gap, he beat me to it and his lips were on mine.

Soft lips, that melted into mine, and at last, we were kissing. After a moment, it turned into something hungrier and deeper. I felt his tongue twist together with mine. I could taste the mix of lemon, tequila and salt still on his tongue. It was delicious, steamy and sexy all at once.

His kiss made me melt once again, and I was sure I would fall over had I not been pushed up against the side of the house, his body pressed in close to mine, holding me in place. He broke away from the kiss for just one second, and looked down at me, his eyes full of desire. Then his hand laced through my hair and he pulled me closer and held me there as he kissed me yet again. His other hand slid down my back to the bare skin between my shirt and shorts and he pressed his body hard against mine.

I wrapped my hands around his neck and slid my fingers through his hair to pull him in to an even deeper kiss. I didn't kiss him sweetly and I didn't kiss him gently. I felt like my knees would give way and I stumbled against the force of his body against mine, the passion and hungriness behind his kiss. But he steadied me without breaking the kiss, one leg sliding between mine, balancing me. And oh my God, that was even better, being entwined with Harry that way. He broke away for a moment, to come up for air. "Is this okay?" his voice came out low and husky, full of desire. I nodded, pulling his mouth back to mine without a word, where it belonged. I could feel the denim of his jeans pressed between my legs, and I hoped he couldn't feel how wet he was making me.

I kissed him like it was our last night together... because it was. He would be gone tomorrow, and I would be left all alone, with nothing but this moment to remember him by. Nothing but the delicious blend of salt and bitter tequila, the fresh, clean scent of his skin against mine, the feel of his rough denim jeans between my legs and the warmth that melted down there simply because of the way he was touching me, the way he was kissing me.

My hands slid out of Harry's hair and pulled his shirt off his shoulders. I could feel him tense slightly as I pulled it all the way off and let it drop to the ground, but he didn't pull away. I laced my fingers under his white singlet, which was quite hard considering how close we were standing to one another. When I got the shirt up to our chins, I broke away from the kiss to pull it the rest of the way off his body.

"Mmmm, Ella." He murmured in my ear as I let him nuzzle into my neck and kiss his way up my throat towards my lips. I ran my fingers down his chest, over his abs and to his belt. I started to unbuckle it before he put a hand on mine, stopping me. Then he broke away from the kiss and took my hands in his.

"I don't think this is such a great idea," he said, and my face dropped. "Not because I don't want it," he continued and tilted my face up to his to kiss me sweetly one more time. "Believe me, I do."

"Then what's the problem?" I asked, hating the way my voice betrayed me by sounding so hurt.

"You're drunk," he said.

"So are you," I shot back.

"Exactly," he whispered and kissed me again, long and hard. I didn't really understand what he was saying, or what he meant, but that was probably because I was too drunk, and my head was spinning. I didn't know if that was because of the alcohol or the way he was kissing me, but I decided it was probably a mix of both.

The kiss was intensifying again I couldn't seem to stop my hand from wandering down towards his belt buckle. I had never wanted anything as much as I wanted him. His hand reached down to stop me, and I could tell he struggled to break away from the kiss. When he finally managed to pull away, he held my face closely, kissing my lips a few times before he could finally talk. "I don't want it to be like this," he said looking around and gesturing to the dark area against the side of the big house we decided would make a great spot for making out.

"Okay," I said finally understanding. Anyone could walk out and see us here, making love up against the side of the house... except it wouldn't exactly look like making love because our emotions were running high, fuelled by the alcohol. It would look more like we were fucking hard and passionately up against the side of the house. Drunk Ella was feeling adventurous and brave though, the way sober Ella would never feel. I took another step closer to him and ran my fingers along his tattooed torso. I kissed his chest, then kissed my way up his neck and finally, as I reached his mouth and he leaned in to kiss me, I pulled back for half a second to deny his kiss.

My eyes were locked on his wonderful lips and I whispered, "take me home," before I closed the gap and kissed him again, long and deep.