"Your mom is so cool."

Ah, the five words I never expected to hear, especially not from Harry. It's like the equivalent of my therapist saying she has a crush on my absentee father. Harry just knows too much to have an opinion on her.

"Yours is cooler," I retort.

He smiles, putting his hand on my thigh before throwing the car in reverse. His hand slowly slides up my leg before moving to the back of my seat so he can back out. A dreamy sigh escapes my lips. Wow.

"We should visit mine soon. Or maybe have her come down here," Harry adds casually.

The idea is exciting. I haven't seen Anne in forever. Plus it would be so fun taking her around California. I doubt Harry ever did.

Then a sudden thought appears in my head. "Wait... does she know that we're back together?"

Harry only glances at me before focusing on the road. Once again his hand is on my thigh, his thumb tracing a pattern. The slight action has a shudder run through my body.

"No," he finally speaks up.

My brows raise high into my hairline. "Well, why did you make it such a big deal when my mom didn't know?!" The double standards here are getting ridiculous!

He awkwardly clears his throat before mumbling something.

"Sorry, what?" I ask.

He throws me a dirty look before tightening his hold on the steering wheel. "I said, I didn't want to tell her until you had a ring on your finger."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Why?"

He sighs. "Because she was crushed when the whole Trina thing happened and she never forgave me for it. If... if you leave again..."

My brows raise in surprise, then slightly lower when I recall he's such a mama's boy. "Wait, she took my side?"

"Obviously," he scoffs before raking his fingers through his hair.

The silence that settles around us isn't necessarily unsettling. I stare out the window, looking at the cars whizzing by in the darkness. Even though I look calm, my heart is pounding against my ribs. He wants to marry me? Like... 100%?

I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. I still can't believe he puts up with me. And here I am, too nervous to even tell him I love him.

We pull into the hotel, Harry pausing right before the valet. He turns to me, concern etched into his features. "I didn't scare you, did I? With all that marriage stuff?"

"Jesus, Harry," I laugh. It's so cute to see him look so worried for once. "I'm good, I promise."

"Good," he answers. There's still a slight concern on his face, probably because I didn't give a single hint of whether I'd want to get married. I do... one day.

No, let's be honest. If he proposed to me right now, I'd say yes. It's stupid to think, considering I didn't even want to move in with him, but everything that my mom has told me is really sticking. If I want something, I should grab it.

The valet approaches the window. Harry pulls his eyes away from me and hands him the key. I slip out of the car and wait for him to join me by the front door. Once he's near, I start my way inside.

Right before we get into the elevator, his phone rings. He looks down and releases a long sigh.

I reassuringly nod at him. "Take it. I'll go on up."

"Okay."

Once I'm alone in our room, I blissfully fall back onto the bed, my hair fanning around me. A very happy smile appears on my face. Dinner went amazing. Much better than I expected.

After Harry realized my mom was already in love with him, he eased up into his charming self. Everyone was laughing or coyly giggling, mostly at the expense of my pride. I let it slide. Hell, I'd always let it slide if it meant everyone could bond over something – even my most embarrassing moments in high school.

My mom was definitely happy to see me like that. In fact, she and I had another nice chat after dinner while Lily stole Harry away from me.

And then Harry and my mom had a talk, which still makes me nervous. Worst case scenario, she was just telling him more embarrassing stories. I'm pretty much immune at this point. I'm pretty sure Harry's seen me at my worst.

The door clicks open. I continue to stare at the ceiling as I hear Harry's footsteps against the soft carpet.

"Everything okay?" I ask. From the looks of it, his manager called. Harry's never in a good mood after a call from him.

"Yeah," he answers before sitting on the edge of the bed, making it dip. I finally look up at him and smile. He doesn't look pissed, which is good. In fact, he looks a little too happy.

I sit up, fully prepared to interrogate him, when my eyes fall onto the object in his lap.

"What's this?"

He looks down and sheepishly grins. "They're for you."

I take a long look at the sunflowers in his lap. "You got me flowers? When?"

The genuine shock on my face makes him chuckle. "At the store. It's why I sent you out early."

Oh.

Oh!

Wow. Okay, that makes me feel a lot better than the theory I had conjured up. I really thought he was too embarrassed to be seen with me. Now I just feel stupid.

He hands me the bouquet. I goofily grin, looking down at them. "Would you believe that you're the only man who's ever bought me flowers?"

"No," he says quietly. When I look up at him, he has that intense stare on again.

"Well, it's true." I look down at the yellow flowers, my smile only growing. Damn it! Why am I freaking so much about flowers?

Suddenly I recall his thoughtful face in the grocery store. Whatever he chose, he chose for a reason. I personally thought he'd choose the roses, considering they had sentimental meaning.

"Why sunflowers?" I ask, finally looking back at him. Did he move closer?

"Because," he starts, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear. "When you had come to London with me, you made me pull over at a sunflower field once. We danced in the sprinklers. You looked happy, radiant, even with all the bad going on. Do you remember that day?"

With my lips parted in shock, I could only nod slightly. I did remember that day, but it was pushed to the back of my mind until just now.

He continues on. "I do, like it was yesterday. I remember thinking that I'd never let you go again if I got you back. And I'm still holding myself to that promise."

Tears prickled at my eyes as I looked down at the flowers again. So there was a sentimental reason, I was just too blind to notice.

His fingers slowly lift my chin up to meet his gaze.

"Harry?" My voice is thick with tears.

His face falls when he realizes I'm crying. "Oh, fuck. I went too far, didn't I? I've scared you–"

"I'm in love with you."

As soon as the words leave my mouth, so does a gasp of surprise. It wasn't the way I planned on telling him, nor was it the time.

Yet, as I wait for the panic to set in, it doesn't. Oddly enough, I feel lighter.

Huh. Who would've known?

Slowly, his lips upturn from his frown to a bright, bright smile. "You what?"

This time I don't even hesitate. "I'm in love with you. Madly in love."

His lips crash to mine before I can get another word out.

The flowers fall to the floor in a soft crunch as my arms lace around his neck. A small groan escapes from the back of his neck, encouraging me. I nibble at his bottom lip. He opens up right away, more than happy to battle with my tongue.

His hands curl into my hair, using them as reigns to pull me closer. I happily oblige. He slowly pushes me down on the bed, hovering on top so he won't crush me.

"Say it again," he whispers in my ear.

"I love you."

"Again."

"I love you. I love you. I love you!"

A giggle erupts from me when he kisses every square inch of my face. At this moment he resembles an excited golden retriever. If I had known three simple words would bring him this much joy I probably would've said it earlier.

You know what? My mom's right. We've known each other for a long time and it's obvious that ignoring our soulmate bond only hurts the both of us. I need to start living my life. I need to start trying.

"Harry," I laugh as he kisses my nose. I put my hands against his chest, not quite pushing him away but letting him know to stop. "Hold on, I have more to say."

"I don't think anything you say can top this."

Watch me.

"I'll move in with you... if the offer still stands."

He pauses before his lips curl into an ear-splitting grin. "I stand corrected."

I raise my brows as I stare up at him. "So...?"

He rolls his eyes before lowering his head for a deep, sensual kiss that makes my toes curl. As we break apart for air, his lips tease my jaw, trailing down my neck right to my sweet spot. "Of course you're living with me. You never had a choice."

His low tone sends a delicious shiver down my spine. At the same time, he gently nips at my skin.

Should I be annoyed at his implications? Yes. Do they send a warm fuzzy feeling to my stomach? Yes.

Why? No idea.

His large hand slowly slips under my sweater and caresses the soft skin. His movements are cautious, as if he's nervous that I'm going to up and run any second now.

Well, Mr. Styles, it seems that we've both had some character development.

Getting impatient, I grab his arm and tug it toward my chest. He flashes me a cheeky smile. "Eager, are we?"

Just then his warm hand slips under my bra. A flick to my already hardened nipple has my back arching into him. He smirks at my reaction before slowly withdrawing. An embarrassing whimper escapes my lips.

He tugs my sweater over my head and tosses it to some random corner of the room. His lustful eyes rake over my body as if it's the first time he's seeing it. A coy blush speckles my cheeks. Being the object of his attention can be overwhelming sometimes. The air suddenly changes in the room. It's no longer filled with only the innocence of a confession.

Caught up in a whirlwind of passion, I pull his head down and run my nails on his scalp as I sear his lips with a kiss. He's taken by surprise but quickly takes the lead, ravishing my body as if he were a thirsty wanderer and I was a mirage.

And for the first night in a long, long time, we intentionally make love.

~~~

"I feel like the luckiest man in the world."

I give Harry a flat look, even though the compliment has my heart swooning to no ends. I swear this boy is going to be the death of me.

"What now?"

He heaves a heavy sigh before propping himself on his side. His hair falls into his eyes. Almost instinctively, I brush it away for him. His brows raise but the smile on his lips shows me he's totally content.

Me too.

"It's a new day. We're going to fill you up with breakfast, we'll go visit Drew, and then we'll have a repeat of last night." His eyes wickedly gleam at the last part.

As the words leave his mouth, I look around at the hotel room. It's an absolute mess. Clothes are strewn everywhere, the sheets are everywhere but the bed, and even the curtain is half hanging down from the window, courtesy of an accidental moment of passion.

"Jesus," I mumble. "What the fuck did we even do?"

"Which time?" He tilts his head. "The one where I took you on that wall? Or the shower? Or the–"

I slap my hand over his mouth. "Okay, okay. I get it. We're the worst."

He softly chuckles and kisses my palm. "That's what hotel rooms are for."

I open my mouth to object because to my knowledge, hotel rooms are for temporary living, but decide against it. It's useless to argue with him.

Then his earlier words hit me. Drew. I sink lower into the mattress and smother myself with a pillow. "I don't wanna."

"Ellie," Harry says, prying the pillow away from my face. I reluctantly let go. "Come on, you said it yourself! This is the amends trip. As far as I know, Drew's the only one left on your list. Besides Noah, of course."

"No. He's going to be mean to me."

"Good," Harry smirks. When I shoot him a flat look, he innocently shrugs. "What? You're mean to me all the time. It only makes sense that you get a taste of your own medicine."

"That's different... Drew's going to hurt my feelings. He's blunt."

He laughs, clutching his stomach. For a split second, I forget he's laughing at me. He simply looks so handsome that I can't focus on anything else. And that sound... hell, I should take up being a comedian to make him laugh more often. Do you think he'd let me record it so it can be my ringtone? No... that's creepy.

Is it?

"You don't think you hurt my feelings?"

I blink at him. His words sound so light but they're not.

"I... I do?"

He grins, pulling me closer. "Sometimes, yeah. I'm not a robot, El. Don't worry though, that's what makes you, you."

I pull away, completely bewildered and caught off guard. "Wait, wait, wait. Don't brush this aside! Do I seriously hurt your feelings? Why don't you tell me?"

"Because I see your pretty face and get over it."

"Harry."

He groans before flopping on his back and staring at the ceiling. "I didn't mean it in a serious way."

"Well, this is pretty serious. Is it because I tease you too much? Because I can–"

Cut off by a pair of lips, I pull away from Harry and shake my head.

"It's not that. I love your teasing."

"Then what is it?" The idea of hurting Harry sends tight knots in my stomach. What's worse is that I never even knew I was doing it.

He skillfully avoids my gaze and I let him. It's obviously taking a lot of effort for him to tell me. If he can't look at me, that's fine.

"It's when you act like staying with me is the worst option in the world."

I freeze. Do I do that?

"You're so insistent on taking things slow and it makes me feel like it's because of me. Like you're settling for me because I'm an insistent bastard. You don't truly want to be with me."

Before realizing it, I'm pushed up against him, my arms wrapped around his torso. "Harry, that's not true at all. I'm so sorry I made you feel like that. It's just..." I hesitate, then decide I should tell him. Why not? It's obviously confession time. "I'm so scared of hurting you. I feel like every time we're going good, I screw it up."

His arms tighten around me. "That's not true. I've screwed up plenty of times. And I'm scared of hurting you too."

I pull back enough to cup his face with both hands. "You won't. Me on the other hand?"

He somberly nods. "You have a lot of power over me, if you didn't know."

"I do not," I snort.

"You do." He looks completely serious as he stares down at me. "You have no idea but you drive me mad, in a good way," he adds when he sees me wince. His finger slowly traces my cheek. "I'd do anything for you, you know?"

Somehow, yes, I do know this.

"I'd never ask of it."

He nods like he understands. "Doesn't mean I won't try. El, I love you. Don't think I ever stopped. The last thing I want to do is hurt you."

I suck in a sharp breath at the three words he has casually spit out. He just confessed to me like he's reading the weather, whereas I took weeks of contemplation and then blurted it out in the spur of the moment. Sure, we said it long ago, but that was an eternity. It doesn't count. Now we're completely different people.

He loves me. He loves me.

"Me too," I whisper back before grinning. "You love me."

His brows furrow. "Of course I do. Have I not told you?" After a second, his eyes twinkle in amusement.

He's making fun of me!

This time I take a pillow and smack him with it.

After our mini pillow fight, I take a shower – alone – and get dressed while he takes his. What the hell do you wear when meeting your ex-boyfriend/best friend's soulmate/friend that you lowkey abandoned without any warning?

I settle for jeans and a hoodie.

"Where's Drew staying?" Harry asks as he exits the bathroom in only a towel wrapped around his waist. His body is glistening with drops of water I'm tempted to lick off. His hair is a dark shade of brown, already starting to curl from the air.

I turn back to my mirror so I can multitask – gawking and putting on jewelry. "Apparently at our old apartment. I guess Audrey's parents still own it."

He hums before nodding.

Then his towel drops.

My eyes quickly avert back to my hoop earrings. Knowing me, one look at him and we'd be here the whole day. Knowing him, catching me staring would be enough to make him hard. Either way, we've had nonstop sex since we've got here, and as amazing as it is, we have work to do.

Well, I have work to do. He's just here for moral support.

We're both soon ready and leave the hotel. Surprisingly, Harry knows the entire route back to the old apartment. A sliver of excitement flows through me at the thought of seeing the old place. We've had so many fun memories there.

Then I remember Drew being there and my stomach sinks again. It's not that I'm not excited to meet him. Hell, I'm so excited to see him and Audrey. The issue is I'm afraid of his reaction. Everyone's been more than generous when it comes to forgiveness. I'm just waiting for the ball to drop. A small part of me thinks that Noah's disappearance is the worst to happen, but who knows?

Then again, even if Drew was mad at me, he was always more mature. He'd probably want to talk it out or something, which is totally fine with me. Plus Audrey might coax him into forgiving me.

Yeah, that's totally what will happen. Worst case scenario, he lectures me for being irresponsible, which I can handle. It's Drew we're talking about! He might be blunt but he won't be mean...

...at least on purpose.

The apartment complex looks the same as when I left it. The buildings, although freshly painted, are the same color. Lots of people are leisurely walking around with their kids and dogs. It's a familiar sight that sends warmth through me.

Ahh, the good old days.

We pull into the spot closest to the building. Harry turns to me, his brows slightly raised in surprise, probably because I'm not shaking with nerves. I guess my new positive outlook is working.

"Do you want me to stay in the car?" he asks instead.

I wave a hand before smiling. "You should come up. Aud would be happy to see you... I think."

He smirks. "Glad to know I still get under her skin."

I roll my eyes playfully before getting out of the car. His hand grabs mine and squeezes before we head on up to the door.

This will all be fine. I'll get a long lecture and then we'll be friends again. Everything's okay.

And I'll get to see my two bestest friends!

I ring the doorbell and stand at the door with a bright smile on my face. Harry glances at me from the corner of his eye before frowning. I'm about to ask him why when the door flings open.

Drew.

His brows raise. My smile widens. His eyes flicker from me to Harry.

"Hi, Harry. Nice to see you again. Sorry about this, it's nothing personal toward you."

Then the door slams on my face.