Separately Together

Chapter Two: 2/2

Honestly, I think this conversation with Harley was helping a lot, which was such a strange, scary feeling. I've never talked so easily with anyone, not my mother, brother, or therapist.

To have this kind of feeling for a man I barely even know anymore was off-putting. "How old are you now, anyway?" He asks, changing the subjects thankfully. He could probably tell that it made me uncomfortable to talk about it.

"Nineteen." He nods his head before wincing a little.

"I regret what I said earlier now." He chuckles and I grow flustered again at just the thought of the vulgar sentence. "Still a baby."

"You say that like you're an old man. What are you? Twenty-four? Right? You were younger than Finnic." I purposefully avoided the subject of his dirty comment. I didn't need to flush any more today as it is, or my cheeks might end up staying that color.

"Yeah, but still it felt like a lifetime ago." A moment of silence passed between the two of us before I stood up exhausted from the events of today and feeling the scratch in my throat getting worse.

"It was good seeing you again, Harley. I'm going to head home. Tell Finnic I said bye, I don't want to bother him." I make sure to smooth out my dress not needing any more embarrassment today.

"Good seeing you too, sweets. Let me walk you to your car." He stood up as well, his tall, gigantic stature towering over me. He was humongous compared to the average person. It wasn't like I was considered short, but he still had a good head over me.

"You don't have to." I try to reason with him because I had already bothered him enough today. He was surprisingly nice to me, not that he was ever mean when we were younger. I can just tell that he has something on his mind revolving around me that he wasn't comfortable with. I see it in his eyes now and again.

"It's not a problem." He insisted, and I didn't argue any further because he was just like my brother in his stubbornness. The two of them were so hardheaded it's a wonder they have stayed friends all these years. Whenever they got into a disagreement, I would refer to them as the two bulls because that's what it was like watching them.

We walked out to where I parked my car, I stumbled over my feet a little, partially because of his looming presence behind me. He opened my door and held out his hand to help me slide into the seat. They fit so well together it almost made me not want to let go. As if he felt the same way our fingers dragged down each other in an attempt to get just a second longer of physical touch.

"Thank you. You've been my rock today." I feel like I owe him something now. First, he saves me from embarrassment, then he lets me follow him around like a lost puppy all evening, and now he's walking me to my car.

"It isn't a problem. I've enjoyed your company." He says while he stares into my eyes. My stomach clenched and my heart did this little fluttering thing, that tingling feeling was back and I didn't want to get rid of it this time. I knew whatever attraction I was feeling right now was bogus, Harley? Like, come on now heart this was Harley. I had just been alone for so long my heart was mistaking kindness for flirting. That was the only logical explanation.

There was no logical reason that Harley would be flirting with me, look at me. Look at me with my frizzy hair and littered face, I don't have the perfect smile like the girls on tv do, I came with more baggage than most and no one deserves to have to sort out all my crap. Harley was like a god, powerful, physically and financially. Too good for anyone in this tiny town, he needed some big-shot lawyer or something.

"I'll see you around sweets." He says and crouches down to the car window level, his beautiful green eyes staring at me intently before he leans in and kisses my cheek. His lips felt so warm and so, so good.