One Wild Night

He had spent most of the day thinking about this moment, about seeing Jade again after her housewarming party with the girls.

He took a deep breath, his finger pressing the button with a sense of finality.

Inside the apartment, Jade was tidying up, humming softly to herself happily. She had spent the day with her friends, laughing and chatting, and now she was ready to have some time for herself.

The sound of the doorbell cut through her thoughts. "Sharon must\'ve forgotten something," she muttered, a smile tugging at her lips.

Rushing to the door, she threw it open, ready with a playful admonishment but her eyes widened in surprise before a delighted smile spread across her face when she saw Harry standing there, looking uncharacteristically sheepish under the dim hallway light.

He held a brown paper bag crinkled in one hand, the other rubbing the back of his neck.

"Babe!" she exclaimed, unable to hide her happiness. Seeing her a passerby might think she had not seen Harry in weeks.

"Surprise," he grinned, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

A part of him had been sort of worried that she might not want him around seeing as she had changed a lot in the last two weeks and barely spent time with him even though they were back together, but seeing her excitement at seeing him, his heart lifted.

"What are you doing here by this time of the night?" She asked, a delighted bubble rising in her chest.

"Did you really think I was going to miss having a private housewarming party with you?" he replied, raising an eyebrow playfully, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Jade laughed, the sound filling the space between them. "Come in, come in," she said, stepping aside to let him in. "I wasn\'t expecting you at all!"

Harry entered, the scent and warmth of her apartment wrapping around him like an embrace. Harry took in the scene with a soft smile, the little touches of Jade\'s personality evident in every corner.

"I see you have fully settled in," he observed as he placed the bag on the table, and moved to the couch to sit down.

"Yeah. Thanks to the girls it was quick," she said, and with a playful glint in her eye, she straddled him.

"It would have been even quicker if I was here," he pointed out and she laughed as she leaned down and captured his lips in a kiss, a silent apology for asking him to leave earlier.

Harry pulled her closer, the kiss deepening with a hunger that spoke volumes. When they finally broke apart, both breathless, a comfortable silence settled between them.

"I\'m sorry for asking you to leave earlier," Jade said, pulling back slightly to look into his eyes. "I just wanted to spend some time alone with the girls." She murmured, tracing a finger along his jawline.

Harry shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. "It\'s okay, as long as you had fun," Harry replied, cupping her cheek.

Jade\'s eyes lit up. "I did! We had a really good time."

Harry raised an eyebrow, feigning mock indignation. "I can\'t believe you just admitted to having a good time without me."

Jade laughed a melodic sound that made Harry\'s heart swell. "A good time with the girls is different from a good time with you."

He chuckled. "Oh, really? How different?"

"More… intense," she whispered, her voice husky. "I\'m happy you\'re here now. It\'s such a nice surprise."

Harry chuckled, his hands sliding up her back. "So, how was your day? What did you girls do?"

Jade sighed contentedly. "We ate, had some drinks, chatted about life, and just enjoyed each other\'s company. Candace joined us on a video call. It was really nice. What about you? What did you do?"

Harry nodded. "After I left you, I joined Tom at the meeting and after that, we hung out together deliberating on Mia\'s issue."

Jade\'s expression turned serious. "What\'s up with Mia now? Is she okay?"

Harry sighed. "Yeah. Henry is about to make his move on Mia."

Jade\'s eyes widened in concern. "What is he up to now?"

Harry shook his head. "I\'m not here to talk about Henry and Mia."

Jade\'s expression softened, a playful smile curving her lips. "Oh? What are you here for?" she asked, her tone teasing.

Harry mirrored her smile, his gaze dropping to her mouth. "Just wanted to spend some time with my always-busy girlfriend."

Jade swatted his arm playfully. "Hey, I\'m not always busy!"

Harry laughed, the sound deep and rich. "Yes, you are. You\'re always so busy these days. And I just want to spend some quality time with you and have a feel of your place."

Jade leaned in closer, her lips brushing against his ear. "You should know I\'m not too busy for you. I\'ve just been trying to settle in at work and set up my place."

Harry\'s eyes gleamed with affection. "Now that you\'re done setting up your place and moving in, can I have you to myself tomorrow since it\'s not a work day? Maybe we can go on a date tomorrow?"

A warm thrill shot through her. "Yeah. Let\'s do that. I\'d really like that," she replied, leaning into his embrace.

Harry\'s expression turned more serious. "So, how\'s therapy going?"

Jade\'s eyes sparkled with a mix of excitement and relief. "It\'s been great so far.  I\'m glad I signed up for it. I can\'t wait for us to start our couple counseling next month."

Harry nodded, "Me too."

Jade smiled, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "You know, as much as it sucked… everything falling apart… I\'m glad it all played out that way. It was an eye-opener for me, and it made me finally take the bull by the horns, and I\'m happy now."

"I wish I could say the same. I have mixed feelings about the way everything happened, to be honest. I just wish it didn\'t have to happen like that. I wish that wasn\'t what it took to get you to get on this path. I miss the clingy Jade sometimes but I\'m also happy you\'re working on yourself now."

Jade shook her head, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Get used to this Jade. This is the only Jade you\'re going to be getting. But I don\'t mind a clingy Harry, though."

Harry laughed, his eyes locking onto hers. "I\'m glad you don\'t mind having a clingy boyfriend, \'cause I intend to be clingy as hell," he murmured, his lips meeting hers in a tender kiss as she laughed.

As their kiss deepened, Harry\'s hands roamed over her back, pulling her closer, while Jade\'s fingers tangled in his hair. As the intensity between them grew, their need for each other became unbearable.

Breathless, Harry pulled back slightly, his eyes dark with desire. "How am I supposed to carry you up the ladder to your mezzanine level bed?" he asked, a playful glint in his eye.

Jade laughed the sound husky with desire. "We don\'t have to go to the bed. The couch or the floor will do just fine."

Harry\'s eyes gleamed with a mix of amusement and longing. "The floor it is, then."

Jade\'s lips met his in a fierce kiss, her hands tugging at his shirt. They tumbled to the floor, their laughter mingling with the sound of rustling clothes. The feel of his skin against hers sent shivers down her spine, each touch igniting a fire within her.

As they moved together, their bodies finding a rhythm, Harry\'s mind spun with the intensity of his emotions. This was what he had been missing, this connection, this love. Jade\'s touch, her kiss, and her very presence filled him with a sense of completeness he had longed for.

An hour later, they lay tangled together on the floor, their breathing heavy and satisfied. Harry\'s fingers traced lazy patterns on her back, a contented silence settling over them.

"I\'ve missed this," Jade whispered, her voice barely audible.

Harry tightened his hold on her, his lips brushing against her temple. "Me too," he murmured. "I\'ve missed us."

Jade\'s heart swelled with love for the man beside her. "I\'m so glad you came tonight," she said softly, her fingers tracing the lines of his face.

Harry smiled, his eyes filled with warmth. "I admit that I was sort of worried you wouldn\'t want to see me," he confessed.

Jade frowned as she pulled away to look into his face, "Why would you ever think that?"

Harry sighed, "I don\'t know. I just sort of had the feeling that you were still sort of keeping your distance even though you said we were cool now. You\'ve not made any attempt to visit me in two weeks. You\'ve not gone on a date with me. You\'re usually on your phone during the drive to and from your therapy sessions. We barely talk as much as we used to," he said, and Jade shook her head.

"Aww. It wasn\'t intentional. I didn\'t mean to make you feel that way, I promise. And there\'s never a time when I\'m not happy to see you no matter how awkward it might be. I\'m sorry you felt that way," she said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

Before she could kiss his cheek, he turned so that she kissed his lips instead and they both laughed.

"Are you really happy, goddess?" Harry asked, looking into her face.

Jade nodded, "Yeah. I\'m happy."

"That\'s good. I want you to always be happy," he said, pulling her back to himself.

"What about you? Are you happy?" Jade asked, turning in his arms to look at him.

"I\'m happy, but not contented yet. I will be when you\'re finally my wife and we are living together," he said and she laughed.

"I barely just moved in here and you\'re talking about living together. I\'m going to be here for at least a year, Jonas," she said, and he sighed.

"I figured you\'d say that. So, I\'m just going to move in with you," he joked and she laughed.

"But seriously, you don\'t mind, right?" She asked and he shrugged.

"I brought this upon myself, I don\'t have a choice," he said and she shook her head.

"Don\'t say that like it\'s some kind of punishment. I\'m not doing this to punish you. I\'m doing this because I want to. And it is good for us."

"I know that. Logically it all makes sense. I get it. But I just can\'t help how I feel," he said and she kissed him.

"You can visit me whenever you want to. I will visit you too. We will go on dates. Everything will be okay," she assured him as she rested her head on his chest. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I\'m sure it will," Harry murmured, kissing her shoulder.

As they lay there, wrapped in each other\'s arms, Jade felt a sense of peace wash over her. She had found her place, her home, not just in her apartment, but in the heart of the man she loved.

The future stretched out before them, filled with possibilities, and she knew a new chapter was beginning for her. It was a chapter filled with love, with hope, with confidence, and with the promise of a future built together. And for the first time in a long while, Jade felt truly at home.