Standing in the doorway, Harry watched as Ruth tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before typing something on the notebook resting in her lap. She'd not seen him yet; a miracle all unto itself; and it gave him the opportunity to openly watch her. He loved watching as she immersed herself in the task at hand, the way she fiddled with her hair without knowing it, the light flick of her tongue over her lip every so often, the way her...
"I can feel you watching me."
Harry laughed as she continued typing, a smile flitting across her lips as she acknowledged him but kept up with whatever it was she was doing. Pushing off the doorframe, he crossed the room and sat down next to her on the couch, his knee lightly pressing into hers.
"Working on anything important?"
"No." Clicking save, she closed the program before lifting her gaze to his. "I haven't had time to write in a few weeks; I thought I'd take some time and catch up."
"Ah. I'll let you work on that then. Pretend I'm not here." Shifting his leg, he pushed his knee harder into hers.
"The last time you said that I would up trying to explain to a therapist that I wasn't intentionally burning myself."
"But there's no hot pans or fires around here."
Laughing, Ruth shut down the computer and closed the lid. "Still, I don't think I'll take that chance."
"Well, if you're not going to write, I wanted to run something by you."
"And there is the reason you were lurking in the doorway." Setting the computer on the table in front of her, she shifted until she could pull her legs up and under her, her body leaning into his side.
Grinning, Harry lifted his arm, placing it around her shoulders. "I was not lurking; I was biding my time."
"Same thing."
"Hmm. Fine, forget talking. We can just sit here in companionable silence enjoying an actual quiet Saturday afternoon."
"Oh no, you came in here for a reason. I happen to know there's a test match on this afternoon that you've been planning on watching."
"It's not important. I'd rather spend time sitting here in our bout of silence."
Poking him in the side, she laughed as he tried to keep a serious face. "Bullocks. You'd rather be watching the test match and you also know I'm not going to watch it with you." Turning her face towards his watch covered wrist, she looked at the time. "Seeing as you've got exactly ten minutes before the match starts, you might want to tell me why you've come in here."
"You know, I knew there was a reason I loved you. No matter where we are or what we're doing, you know my schedule. I never have to remember it."
"Harry..."
"Alright, alright. Don't get mad." Moving his arm, he slid his hand down until it gripped hers. "I've been thinking about our relationship."
Ruth tensed, afraid of what was going to come from his mouth next. Was it over already? Had he realized that he only saw her as a friend? Did he plan this so there'd only he'd only have to deal with her crying for ten minutes before his match started? She knew she should have kept looking for apartments.
Harry felt her tense and sighed, his grip on her hand tightening. "I'm not ending it Ruth."
"I didn't say anything." she said softly, her eyes staring at the notebook computer.
"No, but I know you; you're worried that I'm going to leave; and I need to know why."
"Harry..."
"No, Ruth, we need to talk about it. I can see it in the back of your eyes when you don't think I'm watching. I read the pieces you wrote that you gave me; you're afraid that I'm going to leave you when I've gotten bored with you; and because of that, you're hesitant. Please, talk to me."
"I...Harry...can't we just let this go for now?"
"No, I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable but we can't. Letting things go is what ruined my first marriage. Not talking about what was bothering the both of us ruined the marriage. Keeping our thoughts, feelings, and parts of ourselves ruined the marriage. I'm not making that mistake this time around."
"Now's not the time. You've got a match to watch."
"Forget the match; you're more important to me than any Cricket game. But you should know, I decided now was the time to talk to you because it means you've got ten minutes to tell me what's going on in your mind. You do better with limited time. Plus it'll give you time to analyze everything without me hovering and we can continue our discussion over dinner tonight."
With her free hand, Ruth fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, not knowing what to say. Finally settling on her first thought, she subconsciously tightened her grip on his hand. "I think the biggest thing that's ... well for lack of better word ... bothering me is you've had affairs in the past. On women who were so much more than I am; more beautiful, more intelligent, more sexual, more everything; and eventually you're going to become bored with me."
"I'm not going to argue with you because I know no matter what I say, you're not going to believe me yet but Ruth, you are by far the most beautiful, intelligent, frustrating, sexual , mind-boggling woman I've ever met. And because of all that, I love you more than any woman I've ever been with. I can't promise you much but I can promise you that I'm not going to cheat on you. My track record isn't good; trust me when I say I know how bad it is; but I want us to work. And I will do whatever I need to to convince you of that."
"You can say that Harry but I won't hold it against you when you change your mind. Everyone always does. Just please...don't hide it from me. Tell me to my face."
"You should know by now that I'm not everyone else. Once you said yes, that was it. There will be no one else for me."
"You don't know that. Harry, I know my limitations; I've been told by enough men that I'm frigid when it comes to sex whereas I know you're not and I can't hold it against you when you realize that I'm not enough for you. Just please promise me that you won't hide your desire for an affair from me. I can manage it if you're honest."
Letting go of her hand, Harry slid off the couch until he was kneeling in front of her. Gripping both her hands in his, he squeezed them until she met his eyes. "I promise you that I won't keep anything from you but Ruth, you're far from frigid, trust me."
"You don't know that; we've never had sex."
"Hmm. No, we may not have made love yet but I've seen you flush with desire, I've kissed you and held you as you've climaxed and I know that you're far from frigid. You forget that I know you Ruth, perhaps better then you know yourself. Underneath the exterior you show to the world you're an emotional person. It goes to reason that a physical relationship is not enough for you; that you need both the emotional and physical as well as have a solid layer of trust to fully let yourself go. Which is what you've not done in the past; hence the fools thinking you're frigid. I promise you it's going to be different with us."
Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against her forehead, his hands still gripping hers in his.
"Harry you can't promise that."
Pulling back, he smiled at her, his eyes twinkling as he watched her chew on her bottom lip. "Oh, I can promise you that it'll be different. When we reach the point that we're ready to move our relationship to that final level, frigid will be the last thing you think of to describe it or you. It will be so hot there will be worries of spontaneous combustion; we'll have to make sure there's a bucket of ice water to put out the fires."
Not being able to help it, Ruth laughed at his description. "You are by far the most insane man I've ever met."
"Insane over you." Leaning forward he pressed his mouth against hers in a passionate kiss, his hands still gripping hers as she sighed against his mouth. A minute later he pulled back, a smile covering his features. "One other thing before I go watch my match."
"What's that?" she asked, slightly dazed from their kiss.
"We need to work on building that foundation of trust. I think a small game is needed."
"Game?"
"Yes. Did you ever play twenty questions when you were younger?"
"I think so but how is that going to help us?"
"We're going to get to know each other one question at a time. But the catch is whatever we ask the other, we also have to answer."
Standing, Harry pulled on her hands until she stood with him. Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her tightly against him for a moment before he pressed his lips against hers in a quick kiss. Letting her go, he moved towards the door and the living room. Pausing in the door, he turned back towards her and smiled.
"What's your favorite book?"
AN: A quick update before I settle in for another three to four hours of work. HR Always Lives On mentioned there was no Harry in the last chapter - I hope this makes up for it a bit. ;) As for the person who got out their calculator - you are the first person who caught onto that. I wasn't sure if anyone would or not. When I did that I actually figured on 40 years of one month anniversaries in addition to an anniversary every year for their wedding, the conception of their children, and a yearly celebration commemorating the first time they sleep together. I know, cheesy. If anyone has any questions they should ask - let me know either through PM or in a review. Thank you all for the lovely reviews - I do read them all and they do make me write a bit faster. =0)