Last Girl Standing

Sadie’s eyes were locked on the ceiling above her, as she counted backwards from sixty in an effort to help her sleep. Everyone else in the house had already gone to bed, and each of Sadie’s three roommates were snoring peacefully, but for some reason, Sadie couldn’t catch a lick of rest.

Only a few hours before, another girl had gone home. Another beautiful, successful, fully qualified girl had been forced to leave the Love Games house, and Sadie was sure that was what was keeping her awake. Their numbers were growing thin, with just twelve girls left, and they were getting down to the wire. Between that, and her date with Harry the night before, her thoughts were jumbled.

The date had gone better than the first one, where they’d only seen each other on the boat for a brief moment. They’d stayed up all night, and even when they were both yawning in exhaustion, neither could bring themselves to go to sleep. It still amazed her the she could have so many feelings for someone she hadn’t even kissed.

Sadie didn’t know how it happened, but somehow during the challenge, when she and Harry had only been friends a moment before, things changed between the two of them.

Before Harry had sacrificed his chances of winning for her, the curly haired boy was only a small bleep on her radar. After that moment, where he’d convinced her, with just a few sentences, that he thought of her as something more than what they’d been, Harry was the only one she thought of.

So on their date, when they heard the sounds of Louis and Megan moaning from the cabin beside them, what once would have been cause for her stomach to ties in knots, only caused her to laugh, while Harry laughed beside her.

Thoughts of Harry’s bright smile and curly hair calmed her mind. Her eyes began to flutter shut, and with it, came the hope that she would finally fall asleep. Just as the lids met, she felt a shifting at the side of her bed. A soft finger rubbed against her temple, causing her to stir. Her eyes opened to a gentle meeting of Harry’s, and he smiled at her. She could only barely make out his mop of curly hair in the darkness, but she knew it was him.

“Sadie?” He asked, his voice no louder than a whisper. “Are you awake?”

When she nodded her head, his smile grew wider, as his dimple covered his face. He said no more words, only grasped her hand beneath the blanket, as he pulled the fabric off of her. With light footsteps, she followed him out of the dark room and into the hallway. The door shut behind them and even though they no longer needed to whisper, they still did.

“What are you doing?” Sadie asked. The wild grin on her face let him know that she was just as happy to see him as he was to see her.

His eyes locked with hers, as they crinkled at the edges. His voice was soft as he spoke. “You said you snowboard, right?” Sadie nodded. “How’d you like to snowboard right now?”

“Well, I’d love it, but there’s no snow here, Harry.” Sadie giggled. “We’re on a tropical island.”

A smile tugging at his lips, Harry raised his eyes. “I’ve got the next best thing.”

With his hand wrapped around Sadie’s, he led her down the stairs and to the kitchen. Through the sliding glass door, Sadie could see the rain drops that fell outside. It was the first time it had rained since they arrived at the house, and Sadie was thankful for the change in scenery.

When Harry began pulling her towards the door, she tugged her hand back. “Where are we going?”

“Outside,” Harry said, pointing towards the lawn. The way he said it almost made it seem as though he didn’t care it was raining. He noticed the hesitation in her eyes and smiled at her. “Trust me.”

Biting her lip, Sadie looked back at the boy. He’d only meant the words to mean one thing – do you trust that I’m not going to take you outside and murder you – but she took it to mean a thousand others.

It was a game they were playing – they all were – and in the end, no one could really be sure of anyone else’s intentions. Harry had been flipping through girls in the Love Games house like the worn pages of Abelia’s old book. There was no way to tell if this moment, or any that she spent with Harry, was real. All Sadie could do was feel things out until they fell together.

With a nod of her head, Sadie smiled and the curly haired boy pressed his hand against the glass. It squeaked as it opened, letting in the warm island air. The pair stepped out, still covered by the concrete balcony above them.

“So, snowboarding, you said?”

Nodding his head, Harry dropped his hand from hers and wrapped it around her shoulder. He took a few steps forward, pulling her with him, until the rain fell in drops on the tops of their heads.

The water was fairly warm, a pleasant surprise to Sadie. As Harry pulled her across the stone surrounding the pool, Sadie’s eyes whipped back and forth, searching for the snowboard Harry had promised her.

“I’m still not seeing the snow.” Sadie laughed, as her eyes met Harry’s.

“I know,” Harry said. His hands met the handles of the wooden shed, and he left Sadie’s side for a moment to step inside. “I’ve got the next best thing.”

When he appeared again, he had two small boogey boards in his hands and a large grin on his face. His hair was wet and pressing against his head, but he still looked just as handsome as when he was dry.

“What is this?” Sadie asked, taking one of the boards from Harry’s hand as he passed it to her.

Smiling at her, Harry raised his eyebrow. “Have you ever heard of mud boarding?”

Sadie shook her head quickly. She hadn’t, and she didn’t like the sound of it.

“Well, that’s because I just made it up.” Harry tugged at her hand again, pulling her towards the grassy hill on the opposite end of the lawn. “Snowboarding and mud boarding are basically the same thing.” Harry placed his board on the lawn and Sadie did the same. “Here, let me help you.”

Harry evened out her board, lining it up with the hill. If he’d known anything about boarding, he would have left it where she had placed it, but now it was facing 45 degrees too far to the left. She didn’t mind though, and placed one foot on top of the board.

The moment her foot touched the board, she knew they were destined to land face first in the grass. It was far too slippery, but she wasn’t going to rain on Harry’s parade.

“Both feet,” Harry said, pointing to her foot still placed on the ground.

When Sadie lifted her foot, the slick board slid beneath her, causing her to lose her balance. Harry’s large hands moved immediately to her waist. The strong boy caught her before she could fall, and she smiled in thanks.

Laughing, Harry looked down at her. “I thought you knew what you were doing?”

“I do,” Sadie said, “I just need a refresher is all.”

“Let me help.”

His hands moved to her sides, holding onto her tightly. His soft green eyes encouraged her to place her feet back on the unsteady board. She knew when she did, she’d fall again, but something about Harry’s grip made her feel more confident.

As her feet landed on the water laden board, they began to wobble. Harry tightened his grip on her, and she placed her hands on his shoulders for balance.

Just when she thought she had the hang of standing, a flash of lightning cracked behind her, causing her to flinch. The jump pulled the board from under her feet, and she fell against Harry.

The gentle push of the light girl caused his feet to slip over the grass, and he flew backwards, pulling her down with him.

She fell to his side, face first into the grass, while he landed on his back. The moment they hit the ground, he rolled over and pushed her hair from her eyes.

“Are you alright?” Harry asked, his voice thick with worry. She nodded softly, letting out a small groan. “I’m so sorry, Sadie. I should’ve caught you.”

Placing her hands on the ground, she pushed herself up. “It’s okay, Haz. I’m fine.”

His hand moved to her face, where he pushed away a bit of grass from her cheek. Her hair was a wet mess, and she was sure her face was covered in dirt, just like Harry’s was.

“At least there’s no cameras out here to see us like this,” Harry said, as if he’d read her mind. “It’s nice to have a moment alone.”

Sadie nodded her head, as Harry stood up from the grass. Holding his hand out to her, he pulled the light girl from the ground with ease.

His hand fell to her hair, as he moved a water filled lock from her face.

Every time his fingers brushed against her body, Sadie felt her stomach rise to her chest. It was the moments like this, where they both knew what they wanted to happen next, that made Sadie hope even more that this wasn’t just a game to him.

The rain continued to wash over them, but their soaked bodies had grown so accustomed to it that they didn’t notice. Harry’s usual curls were a mess of tousled wet locks that covered his head. Sadie chuckled at him, and the two shared a smile.

“Have you ever had a kiss in the rain?” Harry asked, flicking his hair with his hand. Sadie shook her head, and Harry bit his lip. “Me neither. It’s on my bucket list, though.”

His deep green eyes locked with hers, as his hand moved to her cheek. His thumb rubbed against her skin, while his other hand moved to her hair. The fingers he wrapped up in her wet locks tugged at the ends of her chocolate hair.

Every touch brought the two closer together until they were just inches apart. As Harry’s breath rolled across Sadie’s lips, she felt them begin to tremble. In all her life, she’d never felt so nervous to simply kiss a boy before.

Perhaps it was because there was so much riding on the one moment. If she were to kiss him, and have him feel nothing, there time together would be over, and the last thing she wanted.

The two had spent so much of their time building up to that moment, that it had to be perfect, and Sadie wasn’t sure whether or not she could be perfect enough for him.

When his rough lips met her soft ones, she felt his body relax, as he pulled her closer to him. His hand pulled through her hair, while his lips moved against hers. It was a soft kiss, gentle and slow, but neither one of them wanted anything else.

His heart beat roughly against her, and with every push, he pulled her closer. Sadie was so wrapped up in the feeling of being pressed against Harry that she didn’t have any time to worry about what the kiss meant to him. She didn’t think about whether or not it was good enough, or if it would impress him, until he finally pulled away.

A nervous smile fell across her lips, while her hand moved to her wet hair. His eyes darted straight to the ground, as his feet kicked against the grass. She wanted, more than anything, to ask if he felt the same way she did. She was dying to know if her touch sent his body racing the way his did to hers.

Harry looked back up to her, his teeth running against his lips. Before she had a chance to say any of the things she was thinking - that she knew she would never really have the courage to say - he leaned forward again. Their lips met in a quick kiss, that filled Sadie’s body just as much as the last one, before he pulled away again.

“That was so worth the wait,” Harry said, a large grin on his face.

Biting her lip, Sadie nodded her head. She knew what he meant – that it had been worth skipping the challenge so that their lips could meet for the first time in that perfect moment. Even though they were covered in mud and dripping wet, Sadie thought that the moment couldn’t have been any better.