Separately Together

Chapter Twenty-Five: Its Yours 1/2

"Oh, she's absolutely beautiful, Liz," I say as I sway the beautiful little girl in my arms, they named her Lily Haze. It suits her well. She looks like a perfect likeness to her mother with a Finnic eye shape.

She was asleep in my grasp, making motions with her lips as if she was dreaming about drinking a bottle.

"Auntie suits you." Liz smiles tiredly up at us as I sit the sleeping newborn in her arms.

"I'm going to head out and let you three get some sleep." I glance at Finnic as he lies on the uncomfortable couch asleep.

She turns her attention to the baby as I leave the hospital room filled with a new kind of joy, from the new life that I will get to love all of the time.

I meet Harley in the hallway, he had excused himself a little before I did. "She's perfect," I say with a smile on my face. My midnight blue gown touched the floor, we were getting ready for our separate dates when we got the call from Finnic. We rushed over here quickly, and it only took an hour for little Lily to make her arrival.

Jared sat waiting in the corner of the hallway. Gale was busy with Dixon today and Harley didn't feel comfortable sending me off by me.

"You look stunning," Harley says his eyes skimming up my entire body his gaze growing darker when he spots the curve of my hips and my exposed chest. The dress was moderate it wasn't in any way too revealing but it was a substantial change from my everyday attire.

Whereas I was used to Harley being in a suit and tie, he had never seen me so dressed up in my life besides the wedding, and even then, the demeanor was different.

"Well, maybe my efforts didn't go to waste I say as I pull out my phone to message Tom." I knew it was wrong to go out with him when my heart belongs to Harley, but Harley wasn't going to give in, if this made him more comfortable then I would do it.

Tom was a nice enough guy, I trusted him. Did I feel a connection with him, absolutely not. He was a really good friend but that's all he was to me, that's why I felt bad asking him out.

I just couldn't think of anything else.

Tom: It's getting late. We missed the movie. Maybe another time.

"Nope. They did." I sigh heavily. "Well, your plan was a fail, my date bailed."

I can say that all of this was a fake disappointment, I was relieved that this happened because it was going to be so awkward, and I knew at the end of the day I would still feel the way I feel now.

This date wasn't going to change that, I wonder if sleeping with another woman would change it for Harley. Or did he even have any feelings other than lust for me?

"You should still have a good time," Harley says a sound of irritation in his voice, but I could tell he was trying to hide it. Not want me to see that my going out with someone else was bothering him.

"And you?" I look at him our eyes meeting for a fleeting moment before he retracts them. "Did your hook-up bail on you?"

He chuckles slightly shaking his head like he was trying to make up what to say next. Almost as if the man that always knew exactly what to say had to ponder his thoughts not wanting to let too much be known. Concealing his intentions from me and I suddenly wish that none of this would have ever happened and Harley was still just my friend because I didn't want there to be a need to hide how he feels from me. I didn't want there to be secrets between us. I wanted to know everything about him, every emotion, and every flaw.

"I .." He swallows hard, causing his veins to pop out at his neck. "Never had one ..."

"What? Why?" Why had he told me we needed to find someone else to occupy our time if he wasn't going to follow through on his end?