Tucking my phone into my pocket, I hop into my truck. Before I know it, I’m pulling into her driveway. My stomach does a little flutter of nerves, and I feel my hands begin to sweat. This feeling is foreign to me. I don’t get nervous like this. I pride myself on being level-headed, but there’s something about Harper that makes me unsteady, in the best way.
Knocking on her front door, I rock back on my heels as I wait. When the door opens, I can’t help the smirk that grows on my face as I take her in. We’ve really gotten closer over the last few weeks, and I’ve picked up on a few of her quirks—like how she wrings her hands when she’s nervous. Or if she thinks something is really funny she snorts, much to her embarrassment. I think it’s adorable.She’sadorable.
Harper stands before me, dressed in boyfriend cut jeans and a navy knit turtleneck sweater. Her jet black locks are pulled up into a messy bun. It looks like one of those styled messy buns versus when you just quickly pull your hair up. Her green eyes pop with just mascara on her lashes.
“Hey,” she says, almost breathlessly. “Come on in, I was just throwing the ball in the backyard with Winnie.” She waves me in, closing the door behind me before leading the way through her place. I try to take in my surroundings, pinpointing the spots that I’ve only seen on video chats.
Aimlessly, I follow behind her, my eyes strain as I try to keep them above her shoulders.
I lose the battle as my eyes trail downward, and I admire how the jeans fit her body. The fabric frames her ass perfectly, like it was meant to be a part of her. The all-consuming temptation to reach forward and caress her plump ass nearly overpowers reason. With an extreme amount of self control, I manage to tear my gaze away, focusing on my surroundings just as we arrive in the kitchen. With ease, she glides through the space and continues out the sliding doors.
As soon as the doors are open, Winnie flies through, heading right toward me. I’m already bending to his level when he collides with me, effectively knocking me on my ass. A twinge of pain shoots up my back at the impact of the fall, but overall, it isn’t that bad. Before I know it, there is a wet tongue moving all over my face. I try to escape it, but he is on a mission.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry! Winnie, off!” She runs forward, grabbing Winnie by his collar and pulling him back. “That is not how we greet our guests,” she whispers, scolding him gently. “ He must really like you.” Winnie starts barking, his whole back end swinging back and forth with excitement, making me chuckle.
Once Winnie has mellowed out, we set out to the backyard. Harper begins throwing the ball for him, but he gets distracted a couple times with the fresh snow. We watch as he begins tossing his ball in the air with his mouth, then going after it. “Sometimes, I feel like he really doesn’t need me to play fetch, but just does it for my benefit.” She giggles as she watches him. I take that moment to look at her, the sparkle of amusement in her eyes as she watches her dog goof off in her yard. Her cheeks have a slight tint to them. There’s a small smile gracing her mouth. Her arms are crossed under chest, giving her breasts a little lift. Despite them being fully covered, I would be lying if I said I didn’t take a moment to appreciate them.
I must be staring too long because a moment later, Harper's eyes connect with mine. I give her a small smile, trying to play it off like I was just looking at her for a moment, and not taking in as much as I could.
“Uhh, yeah it looks like it, eh? He’s having fun though either way.”
She sighs with contentment. “Yeah, he does.”
There’s a slight pause before she continues. “So, all my stuff is packed and ready to go. I think Winnie has burned off enough energy that he should just nap until Evie gets off work.” There is a slight tremor at the end of her sentence. She tries to blow it off like she’s clearing her throat, but when I look down, her arms are uncrossed and she’s started wringing her hands.
“What’s going on?”
Her eyes come to me and she takes a breath before blowing it out slowly. “It’s just this is my first long stint away since I got him. We’re still new, and I don’t want him to think like I’m abandoning him.” I step up next to her and grab her hands. “It’s going to be okay. I’ve dealt with a lot of rescue dogs, and Winnie is doing good.” I briefly look toward the dog in question before turning back and looking into her eyes. “How about this? We head up there and check in with Evie daily. If Winnie isn’t eating or interacting with her, I will personally come here, pick him up, and bring him back to the lodge.”
Her eyes go wide, disbelief and awe shining through. “You’d—you’d do that for me?”
I shrug my shoulders. “If it makes you feel better, of course I would. I don’t want you to be stressed out and worried while we’re there. If this is something I can do to make our time together better? I’ll do it.”
Her mouth opens slightly before it closes, and she nods her head. “Thank you.”
A smile forms on my lips as I take a step back, heading toward the door. “It’s really no problem.” I hold open the door, watching Harper and Winnie go through before following. Winnie runs to his water dish to take a drink, and Harper walks toward her fridge. “Do you want something to drink before we go?”
“No thanks, I’m good. If you want to show me where your bags are, can I load them into the truck?”
“Uhm, yeah. They’re just by the door. I’ll meet you out there in a minute, just going to go do a final walk through to make sure I didn’t forget anything.”
I make my way back to the front, seeing her bags and I grab them. By the time I have everything loaded up, Harper is out of the house, and her back is to me as she locks the door. Opening the truck door, I watch as she climbs up into the cab.
“You know– I’m a big girl, I can open the door myself.” She quips, a hint of amusement lacing her tone. My right hand flexes in my hand, and Ibarely resist the urge to pull her down and smack her ass. Her sass will be the death of me over the next three weeks.
Clicking my tongue, I remind her just who I am. “What kind of gentleman would I be if I left you to fend for yourself?” I ask, the corner of my lips twitching in amusement. After closing the door, I round the hood, I run my fingers through my hair, tugging slightly when I reach the base of my neck. A zing runs down my spine. I feel the way something gnaws at my chest, heavy and unmoving. Anxiety sinking its teeth into me as I am reminded what happens when I let someone get that close to me. It’s something I promised I would never let happen again. Jumping into the truck, I quickly buckle myself in and pull out of her driveway.
“We’ve got about two hours ahead of us. You can pick whatever you want to listen to.” Passing my unlocked phone to her so she can pick the music, the cab is filled with brief silence before the musical tones of Twenty One Pilots filter through the speakers. Leaning back in my seat, I settle in and enjoy the company.
The next couple hours are filled with a mixture of listening to music and playing rounds of twenty one questions. With every new piece of information I learn about Harper, I find a hunger for more. Her favorite color is purple. She believes in ghosts and spirits, and would love to have an opportunity to go ghost hunting. Until today, I can honestly say I’ve never realized that was an actual thing people do. I just thought it was something that was made up, likeSupernatural.
Before we know it, we’re coming to the road that leads up to the lodge.
“Now, I have to warn you,” I start.
“That doesn’t sound too good.” She says, chuckling.
“It’s really notthatbad. I just—with Chloe and Derek here—there are probably going to be moments that are going to be tense. Chloe is treated like a princess, and she usually gets what she wants.”
