3.3 | You & I - EDITED

                                    

                                          
4th July 2015 (continued)
"Ugh, I have sand in wildly inappropriate places," Gemma whines as she makes her way back to the steps from their impromptu beach volleyball court. Anne and Julia laugh from their vantage point up at the edge of the fire pit.
"You do?! At least you bloody won!" Eloise grumbles, trying to shove a giggling Harry off from on top of her. The epic last match point had gone awry; somehow ending up with them sprawled under the net. And they were supposedly on the same team. 
"No one likes a sore loser, Lolly Pop!" Ben gloats as Niall and James barrel past him, shotgunning first dibs on the showers. "H, come on... I'm trying to be cool about all this, but can you at least not molest her in public?" he jokes. Well, kind of.
>
When Harry finally rolls off Eloise and jumps to his feet to pull her up, she eyes him, and then herself, with a grimace. They're literally covered in sand.
He just chuckles and unties his bandana. Shaking it out, he steps closer to start brushing her down. 
Tongue poking slightly out of the corner of his mouth concentration, he's intent on doing a very, very thorough job. 
As he gently manoeuvres her this way and that, she keeps her eyes locked on his face, turning gooey at his focus. She laughs as he makes a play of slut dropping down to his haunches. 
Keeping a hand on the back of her thigh for balance, he runs the bandana up and down her long legs. Job done, he looks up at her with a satisfied cheeky grin.
She rolls her eyes, pops a hip, and holds out a hand for the bandana he's shaking out. "Go on, then..."
Then it's his turn to stare as she moves the cotton over him, swiping and smoothing. 
It's her first time properly seeing all of his ink up close and she's fascinated. Once it's revealed again, she can't help but trail her fingers across his butterfly tattoo. 
Abs tensing at the touch, a gasp leaves his lips. "That'll do." Clearing his throat, he steps even closer and drops a kiss to her forehead, hushing her protest that she's not finished. "Your brother will castrate me." He swipes the pad of his thumb over some sand he'd missed at her hairline. 
Her fingers ghost his before running a hand through her hair to her very messily undone bun.
He can't help but bark a laugh at her dramatic wail, feeling so much sand against her scalp.
>
The pool deck is empty when they make it back up the stairs from the beach. A glance upward reveals lights on in all the bedrooms. 
"Bastards," Harry huffs under his breath, but happily changes tack to lead Eloise over to the cushioned fire pit.
He sits close and rests one arm behind her back. His other hand draws circles on her bent knee. Twisting to snuggle into his side, she toys with his fingers draped over her shoulder. 
"God, I love it here," she says, looking out over the long stretch of beach.
"So beautiful," he says wistfully.
Looking up at his tone to find him already looking down at her, she squirms and buries her face - and her smitten smile - in his chest.
At feeling his lips press a gentle kiss to the nape of her neck, she braves a look back up at him. "Today's been wonderful."
"It has," he agrees. "And it's not over yet..." Trailing into a whisper, he lifts his hand from her knee to the nape of her neck.
They've snatched the odd kiss here and there today, but this is the first time it feels like they have time. And no audience.