iMate

Every second that Eden spent with Harry only made it harder to deny the fact that she wanted to be with him. It was like all of her thoughts didn’t belong to herself anymore, and she had Harry to thank for that. The damn boy she’d spent all her life with and never given any thought to had suddenly become the only one to occupy her mind.

All of the things that they’d done before that meant nothing only seemed to prove to Eden that they were right for each other. She’d never noticed it before, but it suddenly all made sense, and she hated it.

More than anything, she wanted to go back to what she’d deemed “the before time” - the time in which she didn’t know that she was destined to be with Harry and everything was so simple. Things were easier then, and she didn’t have to worry about making someone fall in love with her when he had no reason to. She didn’t have to worry about accidentally telling Harry she wanted to be with him before she was ready. She didn’t have to worry about accidentally showing Harry that she was head over heels for him.

Everything with him had suddenly become a struggle to fight the feelings she was developing for him, and it was only becoming more difficult with every passing day, especially when they did things like have their movie nights, where he’d wrap his arms around her shoulder and she’d press her head against his chest and everything would feel so right that she couldn’t deny it anymore.

Pitch Perfect was playing on the screen, one of Eden’s recent favorites, and Harry had a bowl of popcorn in his lap. One hand reached for the popped kernels, while the other was placed comfortably around Eden, bringing her closer to him. He seemed so natural laughing at the movie and popping the corns into his mouth that it only furthered Eden’s belief that they were meant to be together.

She saw it so suddenly, so why couldn’t he? She just had to ease into it, so she wouldn’t mess things up, and then all would be right in the world of Eden and Harry. They’d laugh and be merry and start their own reality television show.

Eden knew that it had to be the night the she eased into things. She couldn’t wait any longer and it seemed like everything was at a standstill. She had to do something to gently push it forward.

With a deep but silent breath, Eden moved her hand towards the bowl at the same moment Harry did, grazing their fingers against one another.

He chuckled, pulling his hand away. “Sorry, you go ahead.”

She shook her head. “That’s alright. You go. It’s your popcorn.”

He looked down at her, his eyes fixed in a glare.

“E, when have you ever cared before?”

She shrugged, not knowing how else to respond, and he gave a soft roll of his eyes. He scooped a few pieces of popcorn from the bowl and dropped them into her hand.

“Such a gentleman,” Eden joked, as she popped one of the pieces into her mouth.

He clicked his tongue to his teeth. “I try.”

His face donned a huge smile, which only made him look more perfect than he already was. His dimple covered his cheek and his brilliant white teeth forced her to smile back. Slowly but surely, with every look at that perfect face, she felt herself losing control.

Before she knew what she was doing, she sat up, pulling herself from his grasp, and twisted her body so she was facing him. He looked back at her with confusion, his lips pursed as though something was wrong with her. She knew she shouldn’t do it, but she couldn’t stop herself.

“Harry, I – I, um.” She stuttered over and over, her mouth suddenly unable to form words.

“What is it, E?” He asked, twisting slightly so he was better facing her. She took one look at him and knew she couldn’t wait any longer.

Her hand fell on top of his knee, using it to balance herself as she leaned forward. She kept her eyes on his, hoping to gauge his reaction before it was too late, but found that his face had dropped all emotion.

She took one last breath to gather up her courage, and leaned against him, so his lips were just inches from hers. He wasn’t pushing her away yet, which she took as a good sign.

Looking into his eyes one last time, she let hers flutter shut, before pressing her lips gently to his. He was soft but firm, just like she imagined, and he tasted like the popcorn she always associated with him.

Their lips were only together for a second before she pulled away, and when she did, his hand found its way to her hair, pulling her back to him. This time, he pressed his lips against hers, and she felt like her body was going to explode. Every one of his touches sent her up in arms and she loved all the feelings that kissing him brought about. If she could have imagined a perfect kiss, Harry did it one better.

Much to her dismay, just as soon as he’d started kissing her, he pulled back. When she slowly opened her eyes, fearful of what she’d find, she was met with his wide eyes. She didn’t know what it meant right away, but she knew it couldn’t be good.

“E, I’m so sorry,” he said, shoving himself off the sofa and away from it. “I never should have –”

“Harry, no, it’s fine, really.”

“It’s not fine. You’re my best friend and I never should have –“

“Harry, I wanted you to.”

“Eden, no.” He let out a long sigh, shaking his head, before pulling on his coat. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll be back later.”

He left without giving Eden a chance to say another word, not that she would have known what to say. She felt her heart sinking in her chest, and before she knew what was happening, tears were falling from her eyes faster than she could wipe them away.

She couldn’t believe that she’d had her first kiss with Harry and that it had ended so terribly. Their first kiss was supposed to be perfect and right and it was anything but. She’d moved too quickly and ruined everything.

She was suddenly cursing to the ceiling, blaming her iMate for everything that had happened to her. If she hadn’t gotten the damn thing implanted than she wouldn’t be in the mess she was in. She wouldn’t have ruined things with Harry. She wouldn’t have screwed things up with her best friend. Things wouldn’t have had to change and she wouldn’t have had to get feelings for Harry. She wouldn’t have fallen for his perfect smile or the way he looked at her when he made a joke. She never would have noticed that one curl that was always out of place or the way he felt so warm when he held her.

If it weren’t for her iMate, she never would have known what she was missing.