Their lips remained still. She held her breath. He looked up at her but was met with closed eyes. He dipped in once more and brushed his lips against her own; he had become uncertain if he should continue. Taking a leap of faith, Harry lightly placed his hand against her warm cheek and touched her lips with his own. 

His breath was caught. Her mind was spinning.

Without another moment of hesitation, Harry placed both hands on her cheek and kisses her harder. She didn't give it a second thought. With a small ounce of uncertainty she lightly tugged on the curls at the nape of his neck. He let out a small groan as she tugged again. Their kiss deepened; a concoction of lust and passion. 

Harry began to push in more causing Ava to slump back into her couch. Their bodies fit together like an old puzzle piece. With each passing moment they became lost with one another.

Harry slowly moved his hand away from Ava's cheek and brought it to her waist. Controlled by the passion of each others actions, he began to slowly tug at her shirt. Ava didn't stop. Without any hesitation, Harry bit on Ava's lip causing her mouth to open and allow a muffled moan to escape. 

It was in that moment that Harry's brain caught up with his heart. He quickly slowed down and leaned back. Ava had become completely entranced by Harry's passion. It had taken her a moment to realize that he had stopped. She opened her eyes slowly and became completely flush. She was so caught up that she had not realized that her shirt and slid up. Quickly tugging it down, she sat up and scooted away. This caused a distance that Harry quickly took a dislike to. 

"Harry-" Her voice was soft and her lips were swollen. 

"Ava-" His voice was scratchy creating a million butterflies in the pit of her stomach. He leant back against the couch while  raking a hand through his tangled curls. She bit the inside of her lip subconsciously while looking at her own hands. It took a moment for both to recollect their thoughts. 

"Ava," he tried again- this time his voice not as hoarse but still equally sensual. "I'm not sure what came over me." 

A wave of insecurity washed over Ava. Thoughts of doubt began to invade her mind. I shouldn't have kissed him...

"But that doesn't mean I regret it." 

She let out the breath that she was unaware she was holding. She looked over at him timidly. His gaze on her was intense but soft. A hint of lust remained but was being overtaken with affection. 

"Neither do I." And she meant that. Not once did she regret allowing Harry to kiss her. However, she would be lying if she said she wasn't sure why she did. 

"It seems like we need to stop drinking alcohol. It keeps causing us to make out." Her voice was playful and he squeezed her knee. 

"I think so." 

They stared at one another for a moment, neither one saying a word. The small smile on Harry's face was clear that he was beginning to fall for Ava. 

"Thank you for telling me about your parents." 

Ava stiffed up at the mention of her parents. Harry quickly took notice and placed his arm around her petite frame. She unconsciously leaned in at his touch. He took that as a sign of gratitude. He never pushed her to talk about her past; something she was thankful for. This didn't mean that he was not completely enthralled by her. In fact, it caused Harry to want to know more. 

"I want to know you, Ava. Everything about you. If you let me."

The world seemed still in that moment. It had been a long time since a guy has shown any ounce of interest in her. She knew that she had to open up to Harry about her past. Yet there was still a piece of her walls that would not crumble down. 

"Harry." Her voice was quiet, each holding in their breath. Without giving it another thought, Ava reached over and grabbed Harry's hand. She fiddled with his fingers while trying to form her thoughts. Harry kept quiet, anticipating her next word. 

Ava took in  a deep breath and continued. 

"When I was two years old, my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I was too little to know what was going on. The only thing I really remember was his Tom Selleck mustache and his cologne. God, even to this day if I smell it I recognize it right away. Calvin Klein One." She let out a small laugh. "My mom bought it for his birthday. She would always tell me that he hated it but wore it anyways because she loved it." The smile on Ava's face was faded but you could see the memories flashing through her eyes. 

"From that moment on it was just my mom and I. She was my best friend. We did everything together and I trusted her with everything. Even when we lost the house when I was fifteen, she was still the strongest woman I knew. In tenth grade I went through a messy relationship and she was my rock. I don't think I would be here today if it wasn't for her. And then-" Harry tightened his grip on Ava's hand while brushing away the tear that was slowly falling down her cheek. 

"It's okay," He cooed. 

"My high school graduation came. This was supposed to be the most exciting time of my life. I was finally done high school, you know? All I wanted to do was go home, eat a shit load of cake and just hang out with my best friend. But then I got this phone call. God- I can still here the police officer's deep voice on the phone telling me to go down to the station. Little did I realize that I would be finding out that my mom was dead."

"Harry, I became an orphan that day. Do you realize how that felt? I lost everyone that ever truly loved me. In that moment I had to grow up."

By now, Ava was fully crying. Harry held her tightly in his arms. He began to rub circles against her back while whispering sweet words into her ear. It had pained him to see her like this; completely broken. All he wanted to do was to make her feel better. It broke him to see her broken. 

"Ava, I know that this is cliche but I'm sorry about your mom and your dad. No child deserves to lose their parents. You don't deserve to lose both of them. Fuck, I hate that you had to go through that." 

It was right then that Harry knew that he had received something special. In that moment, he had broken down the barriers of Ava's heart. It was in that moment that he received a place close to her. By opening up to him about her parents, Ava was finally stepping away from the hurt that she felt in the past and was finally on her way to healing. The ice that encapsulated her heart was finally melting. 

"Ava, you are the strongest woman that I know." He lifted her chin and looked her in the eyes, green meeting brown. "Please let me be here for you. Let me hold you up."

"I thought you said you didn't love." 

"Some people change." His words held a lot more meaning than he realized. 

"Who hurt you?" Her voice was quiet. Tears were still sliding down her delicate cheek. 

Harry took in a deep breath. His hands let go of hers as he began to pull through his curls. 

"Her name was Delaine. She was the love of my life." 

"What happened?" 

"She was murdered." The roughness in his voice soften as she grabbed his hand tenderly. 

"What was she like?" He looked into her eyes and he saw compassion. 

"She was stubborn." Harry let out a small laugh. "God, she was the most stubborn woman I had ever met. We were kids when we met. I didn't know why she loved me but she did." He paused, "I wanted to save her."

"From what?"

"Her parents, the bad guys. But mostly herself. I wanted to be her Prince Charming. I guess in some sick twisted way I was that. But she was involved with a lot of shit and it caught up to her. Next thing I know she was killed in her living room and I didn't do anything to stop it from happening."

"So you chose to never love again?"

"Yeah, I guess so." 

Ava scooted herself onto Harry's lap. She grabbed his hands and held it to her mouth. She placed a small kiss on each of his knuckles. 

"I guess we are both messed up." 

"Ha. I guess so." They sat in silence each reveling in one another’s confession. "I want to learn to love again." 

"Okay." She softly replies. 

He leans in and leaves a chaste kiss on her forehead. His fingertips trace over the exposed skin above her jeans. His touch sends a chill down her spine, a sensation she had long forgotten. His lips slowly make their way to her neck. He leaves lingering kisses down to her collar bone. The hand that is not on her back makes its way to her hair. He slowly tugs on the loose waves of her chestnut hair. She lets out a small moan as he sucks on the skin between her collar and neck. He begins to lay her down on the couch while shifting his body so it is hovering just above her own. He moves his lips from her neck to her mouth. It is a battle of tongues and passion. She turns her head and breaks the kiss. 

"Let's try this then. I don't know what we are or what this is, but I want to learn to love again too." He nods and kisses her forehead. 

"Sit up."  

He places his hand on her chin and traces her lips with the back of his thumb. 

"I'm shit at relationships." He breathes out. 

Ava lets out a chuckle. 

"Me too." Her voice is soft. They continue to look at one another. 

"Let's try this then." He breaks eye contact to grab her hands and put them into his lap.

"Okay." 

Neither are sure of what the next step is but are both willing to take the chance to find out. 

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