Marching On

Harry stopped typing, pulling back his hands to crack his knuckles before returning to the email he was writing. It was a short paragraph to a correspondent from one of his charities; he only committed to weeding through his inbox so that his mind would not wander while Lavin was away.

Of course his mind did wander.

He had misspelled words throughout the entire message, even mistakenly typing Lavin’s name instead of a word he actually needed. Harry thought back to yesterday, to his meltdown when Lavin tried to be affectionate.

The scene replayed over and over again, his mind attempting to force itself to make sense of what happened.

Sighing, he closed the laptop and sat back in the chair. Harry knew why he behaved as he did, but it was hard admitting that he no longer trusted the girl he loved.

“Harry!”

His body jolted at the sound of Lavin’s voice coming from the corridor.

“Where are you?”

Harry could tell by the closeness of her voice that Lavin was now in the apartment. There was a thud of a coat as it was thrown over the parlor couch.

“In my office,” Harry called out, assuming a relaxed posture.

His head turned towards the open door, hearing her footsteps against the wood floors, waiting for her to appear. Lavin rushed in; cheeks flushed from the early spring air and flashed him a brilliant smile.
“Hello,” she said cheerfully, leaving a kiss on his cheek.

“Hi,” he said breathlessly.

“How was William?” he asked.

“Very helpful,” Lavin said, leaning against the edge of the aged escritoire. “How was your day?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Answered some emails. Nothing spectacular, I suppose.”

“Oh, well, have you had afternoon tea yet? I can call for it or I can make some…” She eyed Harry warily. “Is everything all right, Harry? You seem a bit glassy eyed.”

Harry pulled at his fingers, tempted to bite the agitated hangnail on his forefinger. He nodded. “There is something on my mind.”

“What is it?” she asked kindly, interested, crossing her arms and then quickly uncrossing them.

“Uhm, well,” Harry said, pressing his fingers together again and again. “Please just hear me out before you saying anything, alright?”

The corners of her mouth upturned. “Alright.”

“Promise me, Lav,” Harry said, his eyes firmly upon her.

Lavin nodded and Harry watched as her posture changed. The comfortable slump towards him had pulled away into a professional straightness. “I promise.”

Then there was a silence between them, Lavin eagerly waiting for Harry to begin and Harry not knowing exactly how to begin. He turned bashful for a moment and looked away from her sober expression.

“Go on, Harry,” Lavin encouraged.

He took a breath, nodded, and looked up. He attempted a smile, but it faded away quickly as he tried to begin; he knew he needed to watch his wording if he were going to get his message across without confrontation.

“If we’re going to do this, Lavin, be together…” He waved a hand between them. “Then I want us to do it right. We have to make sure that we’re open and honest with each other.”

Lavin nodded.

“About everything, Lavinia,” he intoned.

Her lips pursed waiting for more.

“I know there were a lot of things you kept from me to protect me, but it just hurts both of us in the end. From now on, I would like the truth from you, however hard it may be for me to hear it, and I promise to do the same for you.”

“I’m sorry,” Lavin said, voice heavy with guilt.

Harry waved her apology away and took her hands. Giving them a squeeze, he said, “No more apologies, Lavin. I know you’re sorry and I forgive you, but can you promise me honesty?”

“I promise.” Lavin continuously nodded her head. “I promise,” she said firmly.

All the tension in Harry’s back vanished, but he noticed that Lavin did not share in his comfort. “Hey,” Harry said, standing from his chair and fitting himself between her legs. He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it; the skin was warm. “I know that wasn’t something you wanted to hear, but I needed to say it.”

Lavin closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his. “I know,” she answered softly.

Harry grabbed at her chin and pulled her into a kiss.

“I love you,” he told her.

“I love you,” she said.

“I’ve missed you,” she spoke again, hands wrapping around his neck, one running through the ends of his hair before kissing him.

Harry’s body surged with need at her admission. “Say it again,” he said in a whispered demand as he took hold her legs and pushed Lavin onto the desk.

“I miss you,” she exhaled at once.

Harry’s mouth pressed against hers at once and it went on like that for a long while, and his hands roamed downward, holding onto the warm skin underneath her shirt.

Lavin unbuttoned the top of his shirt, sliding her hands inside and across his shoulders. The palms of her hands seared white hot against his skin as they moved down his chest, pulling his shirt loose at the waist.

Lavin traveled the bevels of his abdominal muscles causing gooseflesh to emblazon his skin. He inhaled sharply at the sensitivity.

She pulled away to remove her own shirt, tossing it to the side and Harry was quick to connect his mouth to hers again.

Her hands blindly undid his belt and unbuttoned his jeans. His hands unfastened her bra and let it fall to the ground. Harry climbed further onto the desk, papers and envelopes scattered to the floor to make room for them.
He pressed Lavin onto her back and kissed her once before drawing back; he cupped her breasts and circled her nipples with his thumbs, growing hard.

His hands passed over her stomach to her jeans. Quickly, he tugged the coarse material down her thighs, exposing her entirely.

“No underwear?” Harry asked playfully.

Lavin laughed. “The maids haven’t returned my laundry yet.”

Harry was about to comment but his attention was redirected when Lavin’s hand reached below the waistline of his jeans, taking hold of him.

“Take your pants off,” Lavin murmured.

Harry slid off the desk, shimmied out of his jeans and his boxers. Lavin had propped herself on her elbows to watch; Harry saw that her cheeks were pink and her lips were plump from kissing.

He took off her shoes and then her jeans. Lavin laid naked before him now, breasts round and erect, her entire body tanned form her time in New York.

“You are beautiful,” Harry said as he took her legs and pulled her closer to the edge. His hands ran the length of her thighs, gently squeezing her hips as he placed himself between her.

He bent his head to kiss her neck, and she followed his lead. There was so much longing reverberating between them that Harry forgot his earlier feelings of distrust in Lavin.

There was a place in Harry’s mind telling him that Lavin was not really there, that it was some hallucination, but she was there. He could feel the warmth of her around his legs, the curves of her hips and breasts between his calloused hands, and felt every place her pillow soft lips had grazed.

He pulled away and opened his eyes to prove to that broken part of himself that Lavin was there. Her eyes blinked open.

She placed her hands on either side of his head, her expression confused.

Harry shook his head. “I’m okay.”

Then she smiled and kissed him. “Me too.”