One Wild Night

"When has that ever been a secret?" Harry asked, and Jade shrugged.

"It\'s not something you\'ve said outrightly," Jade pointed out, and Harry considered her for a moment.

"So do you want to hear me say it again?" He asked, and Jade bobbed her head.

"I love you, esquire. And I will love you to have more confidence in yourself and in my feelings for you. You are my first love, and I intend for you to be my only love till the day I draw my last breath," Harry said making butterflies flutter in Jade\'s belly.

"I love you too, Jonas. And I\'ve got the answer to your questions," Jade said and Harry raised a brow.

"What question?" Harry asked, wondering what she was talking about.

"You said you weren\'t sure about my feelings for you (chapter 481). Now more than ever, I\'m sure about my feelings for you. I\'m madly in love with you. You wanted to know when I started feeling this way about you, I can\'t exactly point to any particular moment but believe I started feeling this way from the very first time we met but I never took note of it. I also believe it grew over the days we spent together in Varis, but I never realized it until after we got to Ludus. I love you and want to be in a relationship with you because I not only feel alive when I\'m with you, but I\'m also happiest when I\'m with you. And you bring out both the best and worst sides of me," Jade said everything in a rush, and Harry smiled.

"You are slowly catching up," Harry said as his gaze moved over her face.

"A kiss would have been perfect at this moment, but you are not my boyfriend yet," Jade said with a playful grin, and Harry chuckled as his arms went around her waist and he pulled her forward for a kiss.

"You are not my boyfriend yet," Jade reminded him but did not move away from him.

"I thought 21st-century ladies are allowed to kiss guys they\'re not dating yet?" Harry asked, and Jade giggled, feeling much better now than she had felt all day.

"Not old-fashioned gentlemen," Jade said as she let him claim her lips.

Her stomach somersaulted as he kissed her with deliberate care. She could tell he was being careful so as not to drive himself over the edge.

The kiss they shared was short but intense and unhurried. A silent promise of what was to come.

As Harry broke the kiss, his eyes remained on her lips, "I want you so bad, esquire," Harry confessed, and Jade groaned.

"You are really not helping me by telling me that," she complained as she pulled back from him.

"It wasn\'t meant to help you," Harry said with a grin, and Jade smiled as they both wordlessly stared at each other.

"So?" Harry asked after some time.

"So what?" Jade asked, wondering what he wanted to hear.

"Am I forgiven?" Harry asked, and Jade shrugged.

"I guess so."

"Good. Now we can deal with the other stuff you mentioned," Harry said, feeling the need to address all she had mentioned during her outburst.

"Can\'t we just forget it? I don\'t want us to ruin the mood," Jade said, but Harry shook his head.

"We won\'t ruin the mood. We are going to have a mature conversation so we can understand each other better," Harry said, and Jade sighed.

"Alright. I\'m listening."

"Before we do that, I\'d like to ask one question. When did you realize that I was in love with you?"

"Hmm, that. You hid it so well," Jade said in amusement as she thought about how annoying he had been when he showed up at her doorstep. Who would have thought she would be head over heels in love with him? Definitely not her.

"I had no idea you were interested in me. You were always so mean," Jade said, her lips curving in a smile as she remembered all their arguments and banters.

"I wasn\'t mean. You are the one who made a habit of making me uncomfortable," Harry pointed out.

"You were mean. Do you remember all you said when you came into my apartment? (Chapter 161) You even implied that I was unattractive!" Jade said, feeling her blood boil at the memory.

"No offense, but you did look unattractive. You have no idea how upset I was to see you that way," Harry said, with a shake of his head, not wanting to remember that.

"I\'ve always tried my best not to regret past decisions in my life that I can\'t change, but when I saw you I regretted not making any move back then," Harry said, and Jade smiled.

"We probably would have been married by now had you made a move then," Jade reasoned, and Harry chuckled.

"Yeah. Possibly with a kid. A pretty little girl that looks like you," Harry said, and Jade smiled at the thought of that.

"Or a little boy that looks like you," she said, and Harry grinned at that.

"But you would likely not be the hotshot lawyer you are right now," Harry pointed out.

"Why? You wouldn\'t want me to work?" Jade asked, turning to look at him.

"Didn\'t you say you buried yourself in your job to escape your grief?" Harry asked, and Jade nodded.

"True. But I also think if we were married, I would have still been a hotshot lawyer. I know you would have pushed me to become the best in my career. I would have given my best to my job because I was passionate about it and wanted to make you proud, and not because I was trying to escape my grief," Jade said and Harry smiled.

"What makes you so confident?"

"Remember the morning after we arrived at your apartment? (Chapter 278)" Jade asked, and Harry nodded.

"I was so touched to see you had stayed up all night to help me organize the file Cassidy left. That didn\'t seem like something any random guy would do for his best friend\'s sister. I remember thinking then that you would make a very supportive partner. A person that would stay up all night that way to help me organize my file wouldn\'t let me slack off in my career," Jade said, and before Harry could respond she continued.

"My heart melted too when you made my coffee the way I love it. Anyway, I don\'t need to be a hotshot lawyer. I don\'t mind being just a regular lawyer and your hotshot wife.... I\'m getting way ahead of myself again, am I not?" Jade asked thoughtfully and Harry chuckled as he pressed a kiss on her lips.

"It\'s best you are hotshot Jade. You can be a hotshot lawyer and hotshot wife and hotshot mom," Harry pointed out.

"See? I know you wouldn\'t let me slack off," she said with a smile that made her eyes twinkle like one of the stars in the sky.

"You still haven\'t answered my question," Harry reminded her.

"I had a feeling you might be attracted to me hence I kissed you that night at the club (chapter 300) I was trying to test the chemistry between us to see if the feeling was mutual, but then you disappeared and left me a fuck off note and you also told me at the company cafeteria that you liked Aurora (chapter 304)," Jade said with a shrug.

"It was Tom, Bryan, and Sonia who pointed it out to me that you liked me," Jade said, and Harry narrowed his eyes.

"Bryan and Sonia? How did they know?"

Although he had never outrightly admitted to Tom that he was in love with Jade, despite all of Tom\'s attempts to get him to open up about it, he could understand Tom telling her that, but he couldn\'t understand Bryan and Sonia.

"I don\'t know. Maybe Bryan saw something in the way you looked at me. Sonia kind of guessed it when I told her all about our first meeting."

"You did? Why?" Harry asked curiously.

"She\'s a bestselling romance author, what do you think?" Jade asked, and then pressed her lips together when she realized her slip.

"She wants to write about us?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Well, it\'s more a story about the Hank siblings. And since she believes I\'m romantically involved with you, she wants to write about us," Jade explained, and Harry shook his head.

"I\'m not comfortable with that."

"Your name won\'t be there...."

"Almost everyone knows about her and Bryan\'s story and a bit of Tom and Lucy\'s story. If those stories are part of the novel, any person who makes good use of their brain would know the story is about the Hank siblings and that the partner of the Hank sister is me," Harry pointed out.

"I do not want my business to be public business, so kindly ask her to leave me out of her novel," Harry said, Jade pouted.

"But our story is beautiful. I\'d really love to read about it," Jade pleaded.

"You can write it down in your journal and read it," Harry said, and Jade giggled.

"You know that\'s not what I mean. I want to see what Sonia would do with our story. Besides, I can\'t let her write about my brothers and not write about me. Please?"

"Is Tom aware that Sonia is writing about him?" Harry asked, and Jade shook her head.

"Lucy might have told him, but I\'m not sure."

"I will think about it," Harry said, making a mental note to ask Tom about it later.

"Alright. What was it you wanted to say earlier before asking me that question?" Jade asked, and Harry smiled.

"Good thing you remember. Can I be honest with you? I mean, I know I can, but I don\'t want you to get mad," Harry said, and Jade looked at him for a moment before giving him a nod.

"I believe I can handle your honesty now. Go on."

"One of the things I loved most about you the first time I met you was your confidence in yourself. It was the first thing I noticed about you...."

"You noticed my confidence while I was falling off the stairs?" Jade asked in amusement.

"It was the first thing I noticed about you during our chat," Harry said with a grin.

"Yet you called me a spoilt brat," Jade reminded him playfully.

"Well, I wouldn\'t call you one if you didn\'t act like one," Harry said and chuckled when Jade pushed him away.

"I said I will try not to be blunt. I never said I won\'t be honest," Harry said as he got on the trunk and sat beside her.

"Earlier you implied that I was making you feel like you were forcing yourself on me," Harry said, and Jade nodded.

"Well, I want you, so it\'s not that you were forcing yourself on me. If I acted that way, it\'s most likely because I haven\'t exactly been comfortable with your attitude," Harry said, and Jade raised a brow.

"What attitude?" Jade asked defensively, and Harry took her hand in his own.

"There is a huge difference between a person being confident and assertive and being someone who wants everything to go her way out of sheer pride and unreasonable stubbornness. For some time now you\'ve been the latter not the former." Harry said, and although Jade was tempted to respond defensively, she held back her tongue to let him finish.

"So are you saying I\'m not confident or assertive?" she asked, and Harry shook his head.

"No. That\'s not what I\'m saying. The Jade I met four years ago was all of that and more. But for reasons I don\'t quite understand, you\'ve been more of a spoilt brat since I arrived at your doorstep in Varis. No offense. I know there is more to you than this, and I desperately want to see that part of you again," Harry said, and Jade sighed as she pushed backward and relaxed on the trunk with her back resting on the rear windscreen.

"And what if that Jade doesn\'t exist anymore?" she asked after a short moment of stargazing.

"I saw a glimpse of her tonight. So I know she is still in there. And if for any reason she is no longer there, we can always come up with a better version of her," Harry assured her as he kissed her open palm.

Jade sighed, "I\'m sorry."

"What for?" Harry asked as he turned to focus on her.

"For being a spoilt brat. And for indirectly hinting that I don\'t trust you or your judgment," Jade said, and Harry felt his heart soften towards her.

"I trust you. Or so I think. But I guess I have some emotional baggage I need to deal with so I don\'t keep being such a spoilt brat. I will do my best to consciously and actively work on it," Jade said, and Harry took her hand.

"How can I help?" Harry asked, and Jade shook her head.

"I\'m not sure you can. This is probably something I need to do on my own," Jade said, and Harry pulled her close so that her head was resting on his shoulder while they both gazed at the stars.

"Did he hurt you that much?" Harry asked, and Jade bobbed her head.

"Yeah. This whole time I thought I had healed, but thanks to my parents I got to realize today that I\'m still very hurt, and it\'s affecting my reaction to things," Jade said, and Harry kissed the side of her head.

"I guess I sort of noticed it. Each time you talked about him you sounded bitter. I just didn\'t realize that was the reason you\'ve been acting so out of character. I\'m sorry I\'ve been so hard on you. I promise to be more patient and understanding," Harry promised.

"Thanks."

"Was that why you cried earlier?" Harry asked, and Jade raised her head to look at him.

"How did you know I cried?"

"Your eyes don\'t lie to me. I can tell how you feel when I look into your eyes. You shouldn\'t have bothered with the makeup," Harry said, and Jade smiled.

"I could hardly come down to see you looking a mess. The last time that happened you said a lot of unpleasant things," Jade reminded him.

"That was the best way I thought I could handle it then. I\'m sorry."

"What about now? How would you handle it?" Jade asked curiously.

"Carry you. Embrace you. Kiss away your tears. Tell you I love you," Harry said, and Jade giggled happily.

"I see. Why do you keep kissing me and talking to me like I\'m your girlfriend yet you always remind me that I\'m not your girlfriend yet?" Jade asked, and Harry smiled.

"Apart from the obvious reason of wanting to get on your nerves, and make you slow down, I don\'t want to feel like I\'m lying to Aurora. She will feel better if she believes I\'m in love with you but haven\'t asked you to be my girlfriend yet. I will tell her about my feelings for you during our hang out, and hopefully, she won\'t mind me taking you to the anniversary party instead," Harry said, and Jade nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. About your date with Aurora...."

"I won\'t end things with you because of that. But I still insist that you don\'t show up there," Harry cut in before she could finish.

"Yeah. I was going to say you don\'t have to worry about it. I won\'t interfere with your date," Jade assured him and Harry got off the car and faced her once again, taking both her hands in his.

"Look at me, esquire," Harry said softly, and Jade met his gaze.

"This heart has never raced for any other lady but you in all my life," Harry said as he placed her right palm on his chest.

"As far as I am concerned, no other lady holds a candle next to you. You don\'t ever have to worry about the nurse, Aurora, or anybody else. Neither of them means anything to me. And if you ever start having doubts, talk to me. I promise to always listen, and I promise to always clear your doubts," Harry assured her, and tears gathered in Jade\'s eyes.

"I trust you."

"Smart girl," Harry said as he placed his hands on her waist and carried her down, but when he let go Jade embraced him.

"Thank you."

"What for?" Harry asked as his arms went around her to envelop her.

"For staying single this whole time. I\'m glad I didn\'t lose you," Jade said as she pulled away from him and Harry smiled.

"I\'m glad I didn\'t lose you too. As much as I didn\'t like seeing you in that state, a part of me was glad you buried yourself in your job and didn\'t get into a new relationship," Harry said as he took her lips in a lingering kiss, that left them both breathless and restless.

Harry glanced at his wristwatch, "We should head back now," Harry said as he led her back to her side of the car.

"Why the hurry? Let\'s stay here and talk some more," Jade complained, refusing to get in.

"We\'ve been out here for about an hour now. I brought you out without telling anyone where I was taking you. I have to take you back home before they start to get worried," Harry said, and Jade rolled her eyes.

"I\'m not a teenager, Jonas. They all saw me get into your car. No one would be worried even if I don\'t go back tonight," Jade said, and Harry opened the door.

"They don\'t know we know they saw you. I\'m not irresponsible," Harry stated simply, as he jerked his head for her to get in.

"You should just as well seek my father\'s permission before taking me out on a date," Jade muttered under her breath.

"Sure. I intend to. Now get in."

Harry chuckled when her mouth fell open in disbelief, and Jade wasn\'t sure whether or not he was joking.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am. Now get into the car, esquire, and tell me how you enjoyed your day without me," Harry urged her and Jade sighed in resignation as she got into the car grudgingly.

"Good girl," Harry said as he shut the door.