Running With Lions

Harry shut the bathroom door behind him and let out a melancholic sigh before taking off his shirt.

Harry stared at himself in the mirror, admiring his body for a short while before he focused in his face.

It was riddled with frustration and worry.

This wasn't like him. He was normally happy. Usually positive but lately Caroline had been up his arse more than normal.

It's like she always wanted to be around him. And it wasn't just the constant wanting to be around him, she was acting oddly too. Dressing less provocatively, less like herself. She had toned down her makeup dramatically and was even talking in a refined accent.

And her newfound lunacy affected his thoughts, and clouded his mind during polo practice today. He nearly fallen off his horse twice and his arms and legs were painfully sore.

Harry rubbed his face, stretched and moved towards the shower, turning it on. The water was already beginning to steam, fogging the shower door, as he unbuttoned his jeans.

He took his boxers and jeans off in one quick movement. He couldn't wait to feel the hot water on his skin.

Harry opened the glass door and stepped into the shower, shutting it behind him.

He placed himself directly in the flow of the showerhead, relishing in the feeling of every individual droplet bouncing off his face one after the other. As the water washed over his arms and the rest of his body he felt all his muscles loosening.

His thoughts also slowed and soon emptied of the anxiety he felt every time he thought about the ring that was burning a hole in his dresser drawer, Caroline recently becoming a nuisance, and the fact that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Lavin. She had been coming into his dreams nightly for the past two weeks.

He placed his hand against the wall, allowing his head to drop as he bobbed it back and forth. Lavin had told him that this released any stress a person was holding in their upper back.

He exhaled loudly, feeling totally relaxed and careless for the first time in days.

Then he heard a knock on the door, which he couldn't remember if he locked it.

"Harry, are you in there?"

He couldn't place the voice; he only knew that it was definitely female.

Caroline wasn't supposed to visit tonight; Lavin was in Demark for the weekend; and the cleaning staff always finished their business early in the day.

"Harry, I'm coming in."

The door opened and then was shut with almost no noise.

Harry knew he should be at least somewhat frightened by this intruder but that emotion didn't seem to be known to his body. He only felt elation.

The more he replayed the woman's voice the more familiar it was to him.

Through the fogged glass he could see the distorted image of the woman stripping off her shirt and pushing her jeans to the floor.

The door slid open and first a foot appeared and then the woman's entire body stood in front of Harry. The mist from the shower hitting her, causing her skin to glisten in the dim light of the bathroom.

He knew this woman's blue eyes, her round nose with the straight bridge, and her pink mouth with the ripe bottom lip.

His eyes followed her long blond hair down to her navel where the dark beauty mark sat just above it. Like it always had.

This was Lavin. His Lavin. The same girl he remembered from his dreams and from those years spent together when they were younger.

This was his best friend.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but didn't know what to say. He didn't think he could form words.

He couldn't take his eyes off her. She was beautiful.

He saw her reach her hand out and felt it wrap around his bicep. Harry felt her squeeze it as she looked at him shyly, as if she wasn't sure if she should touch him.

Her insecurity reminded him of their first time together when they were just eighteen; and warmth erupted in his chest and traveled through his bloodstream awakening all parts of his body.

Harry reached for her. His hand fluttering lightly up her neck until it rested on her jaw, his thumb circling her mouth.

He looped his other arm around her waist, holding her close, hearing her soft breath as he drew her closer.

His lips pressed against her neck, which was hot to the touch. It was then that Harry realized he cared not for Caroline as Caroline was not even a whisper in his thoughts.

Everything he saw was Lavin.

Everything he felt was Lavin.

Everything he knew was Lavin.

Harry felt her hand on the back of his neck, light to the touch and sending wonderful sensations up his back and shooting into his chest.

He continued to kiss her, leaving a trail of kisses from to her neck to her jaw line. Harry could only feel her lips on his ear as she stood on her tiptoes to reach him.

Harry stepped forward until Lavin was against the wall. It was then that she looked at him, her hands on his shoulders.

Harry watched as a smile formed on her lips, almost taunting him for more. She used his shoulders to steady herself as she stood on tiptoes bringing her mouth to his, making sure to never make contact.

They stayed like this for seconds, but to Harry it felt like hours. Lavin was closer to him than she had been in years and still so very far.

All he needed to do was kiss her. Take that extra step and do it but he wanted her to kiss him first. He wanted her to be the one to give in.

Lavin, known for her patience, didn't give in. It had been Harry, wracked with the frustration that she didn't give him what he wanted and overcome by the need to know her again.

Once Harry kissed her, Lavin had given into her desire. Her kisses were continuous now, like a never-ending dream come true.

Harry had Lavin in his arms, her legs locked around him when she pulled away. Harry objected, instantly trying to maintain their closeness.

Instead she placed her hands on his face. He closed his eyes to her touch, opening them a moment later to see Lavin looking at him, her cheeks flushed and lips red. Her eyes were wild and calm at the same time and it was then that she spoke.

"I've missed you."

Harry smiled, butterflies...yes, butterflies had come to life in his stomach. Harry grabbed Lavin's head and crashed his lips into hers, his smile never fading.

Then Harry surprised himself by pulling away. Their foreheads together as they caught their breath.

"I love you," he said. "I adore you."

Then the water ran cold and Harry found himself sitting upright in his bed his sheets tangled around his legs and a reason that would cause him too much embarrassment if he were to get out of bed.

He pressed a pillow over his lap and lay on his stomach. He felt pathetic, lying in bed with an unsightly friend and having dreams of Lavin instead of his own girlfriend.

This had to be at least the twelfth dream with her in it.

Then came the annoying buzzing of his phone. It was rumbling the entire bedside table and when he finally reached for it it had nearly fallen to the floor.

Of course, as irony seemed to rule his life these past few weeks. Caroline was calling him.

And in the pit of his stomach he could feel the butterflies dying, one by one.