Harry and I have been talking all night long at the bookstore. We've talked about books, school (he's a college freshmen, like me), family, and all of the above and below.

"You know, it's been really great talking to you, but I should get going now. It's pretty late." I say, standing up. Harry quickly stands up beside me, a worried look on his face.

"Wait- Ember. Don't go yet, I wanna show you something." He says ubruptly.

"Harry, really, I need to-"

"Just come, I promise you won't regret it." Without my permission, he takes my hand and leads me to the back of the store to a door labeled 'Employees Only'. Since one of his hands is busy gripping mine, he first looks around (probably checking for any prying eyes), then opens the door with his other hand; pulling me inside with him.

We find a set of stairs and climb all the way up, only to find yet another door, this time labeled 'Roof'. Before opening the door, Harry looks back at me and smiles, his green eyes piercing into my blue ones, and gives my hand a light squeeze. What does that mean? I think. We've only just met and he's treating me in ways only a boyfriend would. But before I can further contemplate on that thought, Harry opens the door and pulls me through, onto the bookstore rooftop and into the beautiful, starry night.
I let myself out of Harry's warm grasp and curiously look around in total and complete awe. I come to this bookstore almost every night, do the same thing, yet I have never noticed the way the sky looks here. It must be the rooftop, being that much closer to the sky and all. The stars seem so close, so bright, and there are so many of them.

"I feel like the sky looks different up here somehow." Harry says, suddenly behind me, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine. (That would be the second time tonight he's snuck up on me unexpectedly. I swear, he's going to give me whiplash.) I quickly turn to face him, but stay silent, not trusting myself to speak the right words.

"Come." He says, nodding in another direction.
I follow him to another part of the roof, then watch as he slowly lies down. Right there; on the roof. I awkwardly stay standing, not sure if he meant for me to join him, or-

"Are you going to join me, or stand there?" Harry asks.

I avoid the alternative and take my place beside him.

It's extremely cold out tonight, even for Washington. I can see my own breath as I exhale, as well as Harry's next to me. Studying him, I find it interesting that he breathes in and out through his nostrils only, considering I both in and exhale through my mouth only, while normal people breathe air in through their nose and out through their mouths. Looks like we're both just a little bit off.
I think he catches me watching him, because he looks over and half smiles at me (still using his nostrils as a two-way air transportation to and from the lungs). I've never been self conscious, nor have high self esteem, so I don't look away. I keep watching him, noticing how slowly he breathes, how often he blinks, and the little freckle on the lower right side of his mouth.
He looks away, continuing to watch the stars, somehow appearing as if he was searching for something, but he didn't know exactly what.

"I come up here a lot," he starts. "to clear my head, usually. I like to look for constellations in the stars , then come back the next night and see if they're still there, or where they've moved to. " he says quietly, slowly.

Harry points upward, a little to his right.
"See the one that looks like a little tea pot?" he asks. I nod yes.

"It's called 'Sagittarius'. I always look out for that one, because it reminds me of my home in England." (He previously explained that he was from Cheshire, in Holmes Chapel, England, but he moved out here about a year and a half ago, because of some 'personal reasons'. Albeit my curiosity, I didn't question him on the topic.)

"I always though constellations were just the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper." I say. Astrology was never my best subject...

Harry lets out a breathy chuckle. "Oh, but its so much more than that, my friend."

Just then, our hands touch for a second, and I instinctively drawl mine away, but not without noticing how warm his is, regardless of the 45 degree weather.

"Jesus. Give me you're hands." Harry says to me. Well, that didn't sound much like a request. I cautiously stretch both my hands out toward him, letting him take them into his own. He clasps his large hands over my small ones and brings them up to his mouth, warming them with his breath, rubbing his hands over mine in between breaths, the friction causing warmth. The soothing act makes my eyelids flutter, and I suddenly feel tired. But the sharp, icy wind keeps me awake. I just barely hear Harry mumble something to himself about what a lightweight I am, and how he wonders how I am with alcohol.
We continue laying there on roof for what seems like forever, taking in the sight, listening to the faint sounds of cars rushing by on the streets late at night, shops closing, and each others breath, and- the stair access from the roof door locking? Shit!

"Uh-oh." Harry says, returning my now warm hands. He stands up quickly, then offers me a hand which i gladly take and pulls me up along with him.

"How the hell do we get down now?" I ask. If I have to be stuck on this roof all night long, I'll turn into an ice cube, and I don't think Harry has enough breath in his system to melt that.

"Here, there's a latter over this way." He says.

We walk over to the latter, and Harry goes down first. Now, I'm not afraid of heights, but its a long way down and I'm the kind of girl who trips over her own two feet.

"C'mon, Em! I'll catch you if you fall! I promise!" Harry shouts as he successfully reaches the ground.
Em? He has a nickname for me now?

Well, here I go..

I strap my bag securely over my shoulder and turn around, grabbing hold of the top of the ladder with my feet on the bar below. I climb down at a mild pace, carefully watching my steps. More than halfway down, the wind picks up a strand of my long, dark brown hair swipes across my face and covers my vision. I don't want to let go of the bars to move it, so I try to keep going. But as I remove my hand from one bar to grab hold of another, my poor vision causes me to miss, my foot slipping off the ladder completely. The wind rushes past me as I fall towards the ground, causing my breath to hitch in my throat. Instead of the hard impact of the concrete I was expecting, I fall into a pair of strong arms, causing me to let out a gasp.

"Told you." Harry breathes before letting me down.

Harry briskly walks me to my car parked on the opposite site of the parking lot. We reach our destination, and I turn to Harry with my hand on the car door handle.

"Thank you, for that." I say a bit sheepishly. Why do I feel nervous, unlike my smart, witty self? I wonder.

"For what?" Harry questions with a smirk.

"You know, keeping me company, telling me about constellations, saving my life..." I trail off.

"Why, you are most welcome. I had a great time tonight." He says. Then more quietly, "I wish it never had to end."

Harry takes a step toward me, reaching behind me and grabbing something out of my back pocket, which I recognise as my cell phone. I'm surprised it didn't drop during my fall down that ladder. He turns it on and unlocks the screen, then types something, turns it off, and hands it back.
Without a word, Harry leans forward, planting a small yet lingering kiss on my cheek, steps back, smirks, winks, and finally strides away to someplace (I imagine his car) off into the distance. When I can't see him anymore, I open my car door and get inside, finding my keys inside my bag and pushing them into the ignition. But before driving off, I take my phone and unlock the screen to find Harry's contact information set intact, along with a text he had sent from my phone to his:

"Hey, sexy (;"

Notes

Here's the next chapter! I haven't gotten any feedback so far, so PLEASE comment!

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I'll probably update once or twice a day, IF people say I should keep writing!

-Daisy