Chapter Seven

How They Date

 

To say Anna was irritated was an understatement as she tried to relax, soaking in the tub that was filled with bubbles.  She had spent hours being interrogated by her family after dodging their calls for weeks, sending them a few simple emails instead to ease their minds.  She cursed Danny’s big mouth for getting them on her case.

She rested her head back on the soft bath pillow, sighing and taking in the clean flowery scent of the candles that burned brightly in the dimmed room.  The steam covered the air, creating a sense of tranquility as she recalled the intimate moments from the past month..

——
She took a swig from the bottle, the bitter taste of the amber liquid burning the back of her throat.  She passed it over to Harry who drank it down expertly.  He handed her the white controller before raising his brows playfully at her.  “Ready to get your arse kicked, Caro?”

“You underestimate my game skills, Wales.”

“I’d like to point out that I know a thing or two about rugby, being British and all.  And these,” he wiggled his thumbs, “were created to play XBOX.” He took another shot straight from the bottle and then picked up his own controller, laughing as she bumped his shoulder with hers.

“Quit your yapping and start the damn game.”

“You Americans, so touchy..”

After playing for nearly two hours, Harry huffed in mock frustration as Anna repeatedly tapped on the buttons.  He was losing.

“Oh, oh! You’re going down, Wales! Ha!”

She was cheating, he was convinced.  She kept biting that damn lip, kept sweeping her tongue across her lips, distracting him.  Harry didn’t like to lose; some would say he was a sore loser.  But when she brought her bottom lip into her mouth and sucked as she scored yet another point, he threw his controller to the side and admitted defeat.

“Oh fuck it.” He brought his mouth to hers, Anna laughing at first from his outburst but recovered quickly as his tongue snaked past her lips.  She moaned at the contact and grabbed onto his broad shoulders, kissing him back feverishly.  He cradled the back of her head with his hand, laying her body down to the rug of her living area and moving over her.  Anna loved the protected feeling of when his body covered hers.

She couldn’t be in more awe of Harry and the unspoken conversation of waiting until they were both ready to take things between them further.  She knew he was interested in a serious relationship after he had revealed how he was ready to settle down soon and start a family during one of their late night calls.  But he never pushed her.

When she felt his hips press closer to hers, she let out a gasp and groaned.  “Harry..”

Harry felt his control slipping, his need for her taking over his mind.  He knew he had to stop, had to pull away from her before he reached the point of no return.  They weren’t ready for that yet.  But his mouth hungrily took hers, over and over.
It was when he felt her legs fall open to allow him in between that something clicked and he reluctantly tore his mouth from hers.  “Fuck, are you okay?” He panted against her swollen lips.

She bent her knees and trapped his body there to stay.  His eyes darkened.  “Anna,” he warned and pushed himself to sit upright, away from her trembling body.

“Sorry, sorry.”

Harry felt awful at her embarrassed expression.  “No, love.  It’s not that I don’t want to.  I very much want you.  I fucking want you desperately.  But we’re not there yet.” He leaned towards her and gave her a chaste kiss and whispered a promise of soon before standing up, needing some space before he lost control again.

“And just so you know, peaches, I let you win.”

Anna gasped in horror before yelling out, “bullshit! I demand a rematch.”

—-
They spent the following evening lounged on her sofa, Anna’s shoulder resting on part of Harry’s and his arm curled around her.  His fingertips were caressing her arms, creating shivers every so often.  She was driving him crazy with her arm casually over his leg, her hand cupping his knee.  He was having a difficult time concentrating on the thriller she had popped in her player earlier.  Harry kept squeezing her to him whenever she’d tense up at the suspenseful music or jump at the startling scenes.  Occassionally, she’d bury her face in his chest, creating light laughter from him as he’d soothe her, rubbing her back and shoulders.

They couldn’t get enough of one another.

At some point during the climax of the film, Harry had found himself with his back on her sofa and Anna laying on him.  She was rubbing his chest, his muscles flexing underneath her fingertips every so often.  He was staring down at the top of her turned head and willed his body to not react in the most obvious way. 

After what seemed like hours, his heart fluttered when she placed her lips on his chest and looked up at him with soft eyes.  It didn’t take long before she was reaching up to kiss him affectionately.  Harry adjusted their positions so they were laying on their sides and facing each other, their lips never parting.  He felt his head spin when she swung her leg over his and kissed him more deeply.

——
“It was honestly one of the worst blind dates I’ve ever experienced and the reason why you will never find me at an Olive Garden again.”

Harry raised his fork to his mouth and paused to laugh.  “Give the bloke some credit, love.  He was probably nervous as fuck that he got paired up with a stunning date.”

Anna crinkled her nose.  “Stunning? Hardly.  I was 16 years old with thick glasses cause I was too petrified to poke my eye out with contacts.”

Harry shoveled more pasta in his mouth, chewing loudly.  “Sexy.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he thought the spinach stuck in my braces was attractive.” He choked at the image and burst into laughter.  “Are you laughing at me right now?” She couldn’t keep a straight face, giggling as she remembered her awkward self years ago.

After they finished up the home cooked supper, Harry had begun yawning but didn’t want to end their time together so soon.  She suggested a nap and he obliged, taking her with him to the couch and laying down, her body tucked against his, her back to his front.  Shortly after, they were both soundly asleep, his arms protectively around her small body.

When Anna awoke an hour later, she felt warm all over.  She peered at his peaceful face, still dead to the world and wanted nothing more to spend the rest of the night cuddled up close to him.  She looked down at their entwined legs and rubbed her foot on his, smiling softly at how adorable and sexy he was barefoot.

She sighed when she checked the time on the clock that hung on her wall and carefully untangled herself away from him, grabbing a blanket and draping it over him.  Her shift was in just a little over an hour and she still had to get ready. 

Picking up the empty beer bottles that were discarded on the coffee table, she stumbled forward and knocked one over.  “Fuck a duck.”

“Quack quack.” Anna let out a startled yelp and whipped around to face Harry.  His eyes were squinting at her, a half smile gracing his features.

“Shit, you fucking scared me.” Her hand covered her still pounding chest before chuckling at how silly she felt.

“Sorry, love.  Couldn’t resist.” He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.  He glanced at his watch and felt the disappointment creep in.

Harry watched as Anna brought the bottles over to the sink and peered out the small window.  “It’s raining pretty hard out there so you can just chill here until morning.”

Harry actually enjoyed that idea.  He was exhausted after hours of studying to pass his flight missions that were taking place in a matter of days.  He also wanted to spend as much time as he could with her before he would get busy on base.
“I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

She made her way over to him and placed a sweet kiss on his head before resuming the clean up she had started.  “You know you’re always welcome to stay.”

He grabbed his phone.  “I’ll text Edward to drive you to the hospital.”

“You don’t have to do that.  I can take a cab instead of walking over tonight.” He didn’t respond, nor did he discard the message he had started to send his protection officer that waited outside.  “Make yourself at home.  Whatever you do, do not go through my underwear.”

Harry laughed and winked in her direction.  “I won’t make any promises.”

The next morning, Anna dragged her sore feet through the front door, noting the tinted jeep still parked outside her building.  She stopped in her tracks before covering her mouth with both hands and bursting into uncontrollable giggles.

Harry was singing horribly loud over the sound of the shower.

——-

Congratulations!

The chocolate frosted cake was the first thing Harry noticed when he walked through her door.  She wore a satisfied grin, stunning in a worn pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt with Coldplay sprawled across her chest.  “Commander.” She saluted him.

He brought his hands up to cup her cheeks and leaned down to give her a kiss. 

“Mm, thank you.” He licked his lips to taste the familiar flavored lipgloss that lingered and winked at her.  “Peaches.”

Her cheeks flushed.  “Congratulations.  There is no one that deserves this promotion more than you.  You’ve earned this.” Her hands smoothed down his white button shirt and he caught her hands in his own, touched by her praise.

“Wanna dance with me?”

She looked at him curiously.  “With no music?”

“Why not? We are celebrating my awesomeness.” He spun her once, then twice before catching her in his embrace as she laughed. 

“I’m impressed.”

“Impressed? You’ve seen nothing yet.  I’ve got moves, baby.” He dipped her suddenly and grinned at her arched brows.  “You could say that I’ve got the mooooves like Jagger.”

He was easily taking her champ status and she knew it.  “I’ve created a monster.”

He straightened them and his hand sneaked down to rest at the top of her ass, making Anna boldly push her body up on his as they swayed together.

———

Anna stood on her tiptoes and peeked over Harry’s shoulder as he was bent at the waist, icing the freshly baked cupcakes.  “They’d freak if they knew you were the one that helped me bake these for them.” He had happily agreed on helping her bake three dozen cupcakes to celebrate a couple of her patients’ birthdays.

“I’m a nice guy, I know this.  Everyone loves the Hazza.” He wore the pink apron proudly after much teasing from her ever since he put it on when he arrived.  She smacked his ass and moved over to stand next to him.  Desire pooled in her stomach when she caught him licking his lips, leaving the tip of his tongue peeking through as he concentrated on the task.

How did he make something so innocent look so damn sexy?

The sound of the timer went off and interrupted her thoughts, alerting them of the last batch.  She hurriedly put on the oven mitts and slid them out of the oven, placing them gently on the stove top. 

“Want to inspect my masterpiece?” Anna bit her lip as his lowered voice tickled her ear. 

Her heart stopped when she looked over and saw four cupcakes lined up on her counter.  Four words were iced on messily.  Four words that held a question with such weight.

Will You Be Mine

She looked at his shining eyes, her mouth slightly open and felt the tears well up. 

Anna reached for two cupcakes that still needed decorating and turned away from him so he wouldn’t see what she was doing.  Harry waited patiently, his heart beating out of his chest.  She glanced over her shoulder and smiled before turning back to him and handing him her answer.

I’m Yours

—-

Anna smiled at the heartwarming memory of when they became official.  Harry was her boyfriend; she was his girlfriend.  She never had experienced being in an adult relationship before but it felt so gratifying to belong to someone, to have someone belong to her.

Her phone buzzed on the side of the tub and Harry’s handsome face lit up the screen.  She quickly swiped to answer.

“Hey baby, just thinking of you.”

“Naughty thoughts, I hope.”

“Always.” She giggled before adding, “how’s your day going?”

“It’s,” he paused, “exhausting, to be honest.  How are you doing, love?”
She let him in on how she had survived talking to her family and Harry joked that her day sounded more stressful than his.

“What’s your guilty pleasure?”

“Pardon?” She smiled at the confusion in his voice.

“Spice girls? Telenovelas? The Notebook?”

“Jesus, peaches.  Your randomness gives me whiplash.”

“You love it.”

He really did.  He took a breath and thought hard. Anna let out a giggle, sharing an inside joke of how she could hear the wheels turning in his head.

“What’s so funny?”

She took another sip from her half empty glass. “Just anxiously awaiting your answer.”

He sighed dramatically. “Alright, you have me.” Then he added in a high pitched voice, “You complete me.  You had me at hello, you had me at hello.”

“Oh my fucking god. Did you just quote Jerry McGuire? Tom Cruise? Really, Captain? That’s very American.”

She laughed loudly, the water splashing as she shifted her legs.  Harry’s breath caught in his throat at the sound. “Annalisa,” his voice lowered, “are you in the bath?”

She stretched her foot up, toeing the faucet and biting her lip. “Maybe.”

Harry groaned. “Fuck, are there bubbles?”

“There may be bubbles, yes.”

“Christ, woman.  What are you trying to do to me?” He threaded his fingers in his hair, tugging gently in sexual frustration.  It had been too long, way too long.

Harry was quiet for a long while, listening to her quickened intake of breaths, starting to pant himself at the need to touch her, to feel her around him. “I miss you.” Her sultry whisper did him in.  His eyes frantically swept the area, finding no one in sight before he moved into the restroom area that he shared with three other guys on base.

Anna could guess he was on the move when she heard his uncontrolled breathing and the sound of a door being shut.  “Harry…”

“I miss you too, love.  I don’t have much time.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “For..?” Her heart pounded loudly when she heard the spray of a shower clearly from his end of the line.

“I wanna be wet with you.”

Fuck.

He got under the stream of water, carefully avoiding getting his head wet with his phone attached to his ear.

She was nervous, unsure of what to do.  She had never done anything remotely close to phone sex before.  Fuck, she had never even sexted before.

“I wish I was in that tub with you. Help you relax.”

“How would you do that?” She innocently asked after gulping down the rest of the wine. But he knew it was anything but innocent.

“Have I mentioned I give incredible massages? Rub your shoulders, get rid of the tension from your day.”

Anna closed her eyes, letting his husky voice surround her. “Mm sounds lovely.”

“And after your muscles were loosened enough, I’d make my way down your arms to wrap back around my neck.”

“I love having my fingers in your hair.” She could almost feel the softness of his locks and it only intensified the ache in her core.

***Mature****

“I’d love to have my fingers in you.”

Anna gasped at his bold confession. “Shit, Harry.”

“Do something for me?” His voice was strained and Anna imagined it was from him gripping his growing erection. She chewed on her lip, ready to combust at the image.  “Anna?”

“Yes, anything.”

“I want you to touch yourself for me.  Pretend it’s my hand on your skin.  Start from your collarbone and follow my direction.” She moaned at the anticipation, lifting the hand that had been in the warm water and let her fingertips tickle her collarbone like he instructed. “Are you?”

“Yes.” Harry licked his lips, tightening his hold on his hard cock before starting a slow up and down motion.

“Follow the path down between those perfect breasts of yours, pinching each nipple on your way down to your stomach.”

“Mm, I need you.”

“I’m right here baby. I’m right here with you. I have my hands on you, rubbing your thighs, my fingers brushing over where I want them to be the most.”

“Please, please,” she pleaded, teasing the wetness between her legs.

“Are you wet for me?”

“Mm, so wet.”

He groaned and banged his head on the shower wall, the spray pounding on his back as he stroked himself faster, swiping his thumb over the tip.

“Touch it for me, rubbing your fingers up and down, pinching your clit.  Fuck, slide them inside your sweet pussy for me, baby.”

“Oh, Harry.” She gasped out, his voice adding on to the sensations she was feeling.

He was ready to explode at her soft moans, ready to let go of the pent up tension he had been feeling ever since he met her.  He could hear her movements, the water soundly splashing over the tub helping his imagination.

His voice was coming out in between small gasps as he worked himself into a frenzy. “Let it come, love.  Keep pounding them in, curling them.  Rub your clit and imagine my mouth lapping up your sweet juices.”

Anna screamed out, all the tension in her body being released out in her loud moans of his name.  Harry grunted and pumped his cock several more times before choking on a sob as he found his own release.  Neither of them spoke for several minutes, both panting into one another’s ear.

**EM****

Harry swallowed, his mouth dry and let out a chuckle. “Why, Annalisa Caro. I do believe you have become quite the pleasure that I am guilty of pursuing.”

“Right back at ya, Captain.”

“So listen, I was thinking about trying something different this week.”

He was nervous and that intrigued her.  “Yeah? What did you have in mind?”

“Well, you’ve cooked for me and shared your home with me.” He took a breath.  “I wanted to do the same for you.”

Anna’s eyes widened in surprise.  “You mean like.. me going to Kensington Palace?”

“To my home, yes.” The silence on the other end only made Harry’s nerves increase.  “If you’re not ready for that-”

“Harry, I’d love to.”

“Yeah?” He sighed in relief in the smile he could hear in her soft whisper.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll have Dave pick you up at 6pm.”

They chatted for a few more minutes, Harry still in the shower and Anna in the now lukewarm bath.  He had asked her what her guilty pleasure was and when she responded with country music, he smirked and called her lame.

“Wales!” The pounding on his door startled both of them.

“Shit, I gotta go, love.”

When they hung up after promises of seeing each other later that week, Anna’s heart rate slowed down to its normal beat, but her body still tingled from the intense release.  She had never felt that satisfied before.  She could only imagine what it would be like when he was actually there with her, sending her into complete bliss.