Luckily, you woke up hangover-free on your final full day in this blissful place. Last nights meal had been classy and filled with stories and laughs, but thankfully a lot less tequila than the night before.

You and Harry had kept your flirting to a minimum during dinner, and surprisingly you were glad about that. The text you had received from Damon before the meal, and now the subsequent one you had just woken up to, was making you reconsider some things.

If Harry was dating that girl from his apartment, and you and him had unanimously decided to stay friends, there was no harm in considering opening the door that Damon was graciously holding wide open for you.

Going back to an ex always had it's downsides and you knew that, you prided yourself on thinking rationally, but at the same time he was showing you the effort that had always been lacking before, Granted, it had only been one date and quite a few thoughtful text messages - but in comparison to when you had first dated that was quite a big improvement.

And ultimately, if the door between you and Harry was closed forever, there was nothing holding you back if you wanted to start considering other options.

Sighing frustratedly, cursing the existence of men, you rolled out of the comfy cream sheets and went to freshen up in the bathroom before pulling on a dark rose coloured bikini. Slipping some cute hoops onto your ear lobes to dress the outfit up, you slipped into a long black beach skirt before grabbing your stuff and heading down for some breakfast.

◇

The whole day was spent similar to the first; lounging around by the pool and soaking up the sun. You were determined to get a good tan and was very happy with your progress, until Harry cheekily pulled the waistband of his leafy swim shorts down an inch to show you the clear line separating his tanned skin (which was definitely a shade darker than yours) from the paler skin below it.

Swatting him around the shoulder and crossing your arms over your chest, bottom lip pouted out in disappointment led Harry to laugh heartily, the soft, happy crinkles around his eyes making you melt soon after and join in with his contagious laughter.

Later on in the afternoon you were sat on the edge of the pool with your toes and calves dangling into the cool water, reading a book.

"Whatcha reading?" You jumped at the husky voice which sounded from your left. Moving your book away from your face, you were greeted by Harry peering up at you with big doe eyes, hands folded on the edge of the pool with his head resting upon them, chestnut curls now darkened and sticking to the sides of his face from the water.

"Jesus, H, you scared me."

"Sorry love, didn't mean to scare you," his thumb swirled comforting circles on your knee that was closest to him, watching intently as goosebumps popped up where he marked you, before raising his eyes to yours.

The colour of Harry's eyes were spectacular on a normal day, but bathed in the soft afternoon sun they twinkled more than the brightest star in the sky. You loved how the shade always seemed to change depending on his mood or the lighting, and the current spring green colour was definitely one of your favourites.

"S'okay," you replied smiling, splashing him lightly with your toe.

"Heeey! Watch it or you'll be coming in with me," his tone was teasingly threatening and it was like music to your ears.

"No, I most definitely will not," you argued back.

He poked his tongue out at you playfully, "So...tell me about this book then."

"Oh yeah, it's called Deception Point by Dan Brown," you began, showing him the cover with a flourish, to which he raised his eyebrows, "I'll read you the blurb..."

Harry couldn't take his eyes off the way your lips moved as you spoke; it was enchanting. He sat there hardly hearing a word you spoke, but instead thought about how he would hopefully be kissing those pretty lips of yours soon if his plan to speak to you alone tonight went well. He wouldn't admit it, but Harry was nervous; even though he felt quietly confident that everything would work out, there was a niggling suspicion in the back of his head, a big what if? standing out in bold letters and he wasn't entirely sure why.

◇

Everyone stayed by the pool until the sun started to set. Grabbing your things to move down to the beach, where the smell of barbecue was wafting deliciously through the air, you were looking forward to the small firework display in honour of July Fourth. Everyone was buzzing around, grabbing the last bits of food, refilling drinks in classic red solo cups, and looking for the perfect place to sit to watch the light show that would be starting as soon as the stars were hung in the sky.

The four of you sat on a small dune in the sand, surrounded by some other colleagues. As the vast orange sky transformed into darker pink and purple hues, you shivered slightly, as the temperature had dropped slightly with the sun as it disappeared beyond the horizon.

Harry, noticing your small shiver, was quick to reach for his his cable-knit cardigan he had bought down with him earlier. He sat with his knees up slightly behind you, so he caught your attention by nudging your shoulder with his knee, before slipping the soft fabric over your cold shoulders.

You smiled gratefully at him, murmuring a low thanks as he started to shuffle down to sit close next to you, your shoulders touching.

Instantly you felt warmer; partly from his cardigan but also partly from his body heat - he was like a personal radiator.

"Won't you get cold?" You asked gesturing to the light grey Mickey Mouse t-shirt that clung to his body in the best way. Of course Harry could make a Mickey Mouse t-shirt look sexy.

"Nah, besides we can keep each other warm," and with that, he smoothly lifted his arm over your head, like in all the cliche movies, to rest behind you on the sand, the length of his arm meaning his fingers curled around the point where your thigh met your hip. Suddenly, you felt hot all over, Harry's light touch was wonderful on your skin.

Just as you started to relax in your slightly snuggled position, your phone rang.

Picking it up, confusion etched onto your features, you were quickly surprised to see that Damon was calling you.

"Um...I'll just be a sec," you stood up and walked away from the group to have some privacy.

"Fireworks are starting soon Ceece!" Emmy called after you as you looked back and nodded towards her before placing the phone to your ear, back towards them all.

Harry frowned, the loss of your body next to his made him deflate. He had seen who was calling and wasn't happy about it. Emmy noticed his expression, and raised an eyebrow in question.

"It's Damon," Harry whispered in answering, watching as Emmy's eyes widened in shock, before narrowing in dislike.

Harry wouldn't let that scumbag ruin his plans for the pair of you - know he knew why that what if had been bouncing around his brain; he'd caught you smiling at your phone once or twice over the weekend and hadn't thought anything of it until now when the reason for that was now glaringly obvious. He ran his hands through his hair, unsure of what to do next.

"Harry," Emmy nudged him with her foot, tipping her head in your direction, "Go and get your girl."

Someone shouted there was two minutes to fireworks and you were still occupied with your phone call, so with Emmy's encouraging words, Harry stood abruptly and began the short walk to where you were standing.

As he approached his heart was pounding in his chest as he caught some of the conversation.

"Yeah, maybe, that would be nice..."

A muffled response.

"Damon!" You laughed, and Harry felt a stricken pang in his heart - he wanted to be the one making you laugh, "I...look I'm very flattered, but let's just wait and see when I get back to the city okay? Oh look, I've gotta go, I'll talk to you later...yeah, bye." You clicked the phone off when you heard Harry drawing near.

Your eyebrows furrowed when you took in the look on his face; it was a combination of nerves and...was that jealousy? "Everything okay H? I was just coming back -"

"Why were you speaking to him?" The question wasn't harsh but it still surprised you.

"Um, he's my friend Harry, it was nothing."

"Cecelia, I -" Boom. The first firework being set off cut his sentence short, the multicoloured lights highlighting the pained, torn look on his face like a beautifully gruesome scar.

"Harry...what's going on?"

"I need to tell you something," he rushed out, even in the now dark light you could see the sheen of sweat on his temple.

"Okay, you know you can tell me anything right?"

Harry's eyes were full of anguish when he looked at you, his hand coming to rub his sharp jawline as he nodded curtly, taking a deep breath he spoke, "I think I'm in lo-" Boom.

"What did you say?" You took a step towards him since you didn't catch his sentence.

Something flashed behind his eyes as he began to speak again, like he was glad the noise of the firework had muffled what he had said, "Cecelia, I just - I never wanted things to end up like this after what happened...those few months when we didn't speak killed me, I - I missed you so much, I've used up more than half the journal you got me purely on shitty love songs about you."

You stared at him blankly, trying to comprehend what he was saying, not used to his sudden vulnerability, "But...that girl, she's your - your girlfriend...I don't understand..."

He looked positively wrecked at this point, this was not how he had wanted things to go and yet again he was fucking it up. Harry wracked his brain with what to say, he couldn't believe he'd almost blurted out the L-word, where the fuck had that even come from?

Taking a deep breath, he moved to gently swipe the strands of hair floating around your face that had escaped from the sunglasses pushed back on your head, before letting his soft palm rest on the side of your neck, long fingers curling into your hair, "She was never anything to me Ceece, I just wanted to get the bad press away from you so I made a big fuss about being seen with her and then she just took it for more than what it was and I was lonely and stupid - 've not spoken to her in weeks."

Once again you just blinked at him vacantly, she was never anything to me Ceece.

You took a step back, watching his hand fall to his side as another boom sounded around you, bathing the sky in a now seemingly mocking colourful light.

"Why are you telling me this now, Harry? I spent so long trying to fix what you broke - when I saw you with that girl I..." tears pooled in your eyes but you forced them to not spill over, shaking your head you continued, "Doesn't matter -"

"No it does matter, I never wanted to hurt you, you're so much more to me than just an assistant and you always have been from the night we met and you know that," he reached wildly for you again, but you took another step back.

Hearing him say these things was like receiving a beautiful rose, only for the unseen thorns to spike you when you least expected it. You'd wanted to hear this for so long, but now that it was finally here you couldn't discern one clear emotion out of the jumbled mess in your head and heart. Just when you'd finally come to terms with you and Harry being friends, accepting that you missed your chance with him, here he was giving you every reason to go back on that completely.

After a beat you spoke, "Harry, I don't know what to say."

"Say you feel the same, say you forgive me, say you want me too," his breathing was harsh as he pleaded recklessly with you to admit feelings you knew where there, but didn't want to admit. Another boom illuminated his gorgeous face to show it tangled up in despair and regret, his green eyes morphing from colour to colour like a kaleidoscope.

"I did Harry, I do...but it's too late, I need some time to think, you can't just spring this on me when we both know how shit we felt for months and you didn't say anything."

Harry's whole body physically slumped before he looked back up at you with tear-filled juniper eyes, so much darker than they were earlier in the pool. He parted his lips as if he were to speak, but instead he just leapt forward and crashed his lips to yours in one heart-achingly powerful kiss. It was like all the feelings and emotions he felt towards you - from love to pain - were passed over to you in that one kiss. And all too soon he had pulled back and was staring at you with such an intensity your own eyes teared up again, "'M so, so, sorry my love."

Lacing your hands through his soft curls you breathed his smell in deeply, allowing yourself one moment to indulge in him, "Just give me time Harry, show me."

And with that, you walked away back to the group, wiping your tears and leaving him alone just as you had the last time he kissed you. 

welp that didn't go to plan did it, H?

these guys just can't get the timing right can they smh (laughs evilly cos I know thats all down to me)

anywhooo so glad you guys are still enjoying the book!! I promise the next few chapters are gonna be a bit more cutesy and less angsty lol, but maybe it's just the calm before the storm? who knows? 

also sorry for the slightly shit pictures of harry at the top I couldn't find anything better but hope you get the gist hahaha

and finally, just wanna say a HUGE thank you for all the votes and comments and ofc for 2k reads!!! you guys are the best <3

just remember it takes two seconds to tap that little vote button and don't be afraid to leave a comment! I love interacting with you guys :))))

lots of love,

kait x