Harper was laid up in bed with Les Miserables in her hand. She had done an embarrassingly poor job at keeping up with her reading. Now as Jason finished his post-wedding shower, she found a moment to spare to at least get a page in. He came out of the bathroom, towel hung sloppily around his hips, and stared at Harper until he got her attention. She looked at him and then returned her eyes to the page, but needless to say, she was inexplicably distracted. How was she supposed to focus on a book about the French Revolution, when in front of her, the person she believed embodied what it meant to be a man, flaunted his half naked body.

Jason seemed to be unimpressed with her looking back at the book, and so he came closer to the bed, unwrapping the towel from around his waist. He reached for the book and pushed it lower until Harper was forced to look at him again. She smirked and looked up at him, tilting her head to the side as though she were unamused with him. In reality, she doubted that would ever be the case. He bent over and put his hands on either side of her legs and leaned in to peck her lips. Harper smiled and lifted her hand to push his hair back from his face. His curls were getting long, now at the point of hanging down into his eyes.

“Put your pants on; I want to read,” Harper grinned, lifting the book back up.

“No,” Jason whined playfully. He tried to lower the book again, but Harper held firm. Finally he relented and found a clear pair of boxers, sliding them up into place.

As Harper went back to reading, Jason crawled into bed next to her and situated his head in her lap. He kissed her thigh and nuzzled back against her. It was comfortable to do that with Jason. To do nothing. To not have to talk and fill the silence. She could read and he could doze off, and there was no pressure to entertain each other. That was something she always wanted, but was never sure she’d find. In the past, silences were awkward and Harper always felt the need to fill them, if only so she didn’t have to listen to her own brain thinking.

She flipped forward in the book, looking to see how many more pages she had before the end of the chapter. Thankfully, there were only a few left. Even though Jason wasn’t saying anything, or making any action that should’ve been distracting, Harper couldn’t deny that he was. She wanted to be cuddling with him and kissing up on him, not having him drift off to sleep with his head in her lap.

Harper tried to power through the chapter, but the more she tried to do that, the more she had to go back and reread passages. It was useless. She never thought that getting into an adult relationship would mean that her reading habits would go to shit. Maybe this was why her parents always urged her away from them. They had bigger plans for her. Career plans. And so the more she thought about the plans her parents had for her, the more she wanted to stop reading. It was like her way of disobeying her family. So Harper flipped the book shut and stretched over to put it on the nightstand. In a few days, they’d be leaving Alberta and heading back to Florida. Harper had some meetings to attend for the upcoming school year, and she assumed Jason would get to working out and skating on a more regular basis.

She scooted down, which caused Jason to stir. Her movement roused him from his drowsy state, probably thinking he was going to get some action. He could’ve, in all honesty, if he made a move for it. But he didn’t. And Harper didn’t mind that too much. He repositioned his head on the pillow beside her, and she took the chance to curl over into him. She hooked her leg over his and wrapped her arm around his torso, hugging him tight.

Jason looked at her and grinned. When she gave him an equally goofy smile, he pressed his lips to her forehead, “you think I’m crazy, but I love you.”

“I do think you’re crazy,” she hummed and tucked her head against his chest. “What’s two weeks? What amount of time is that to know much of anything?”

Jason stretched out and tapped her hip, “I mastered multiplication in two weeks.”

“Twelve times seven,” Harper looked back up at him.

Jason squinted his eyes. His fingers tapped her hip in a counting pattern. Eventually it stopped, and Harper continued to wait for his answer.

“Eighty-four. My students know that faster than you,”

“Yes and I also learned that twenty years ago. Your students learned that a couple months ago.”

Harper rolled her eyes. She leaned up over him and kissed his lips slowly, simultaneously working herself on top of him. With her legs straddling his hips, she traced her fingers over his chest. He was content to stare at her, relaxed by being able to simply just be with her. He’d be lying if he said the start of the upcoming season didn’t worry him. The team was new, Harper was new, and he feared that her expectations would be shattered by his reality. He wanted to get to know as much of her as he could before September came around, because when it did, their time would be limited.

“Are you sure you don’t want to venture to California?” He gave her a boyish grin. Maybe part of him hoped it would defuse the situation a little bit. “I’d like to see where you grew up… Meet your parents and Sasha,”

She pursed her lips and zoned out. Her family was her baggage. And what did she have to say to let Jason see that? “I could’ve gone to school anywhere, Jase. Anywhere in this whole country. UCLA, USC, Stanford… any number of schools in California. So why do you think I chose Miami? On the other side of the country, three thousand miles away?”

Jason tried not to look too saddened by what he thought. He wanted to give her the benefit of doubt that it wasn’t something so sinister. “I just want to know you; every part of you. There had to be something, Harper.” He paused and sat up. She was still straddling his lap, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. “Something along the way made you believe you didn’t deserve love or companionship or… whatever. Made you think that compared to someone else, you were less.”

She cupped her hands over his cheeks. How she wished he’d let this go. “You already know. I’m unhappy when I’m there with them.” Harper leaned in and kissed Jason’s lips slowly. If he wasn’t going to let this go, maybe she could distract him for the time being by putting sex on the table. “So just… be here. With me.”

He stared at her, and after a moment, he kissed her back. “I am. I’m here. But it’s important to me to learn your past life. I love you,” he grinned boyishly as she sucked in a deep breath and looked down. “And I know you think that’s ridiculous, and I’m going to pretend the fact that you’re not saying it back isn’t scaring the hell out of me.”

Harper giggled softly and shook her head. When she looked back up at him, he was still staring at her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself into him tighter, “just give me some time.”

Jason smiled and kissed her temple. “How much time does one need to figure out if they love someone?”

She turned her head and pressed her lips against his neck, “I’m not sure there’s a timetable for that.” She trailed her lips up to his jaw and finally to his lips.

He smiled and kissed her back, cupping her face in his hands. They stared at each other, which only earned quiet giggles from Harper. That made Jason smile a bit more and he kissed her nose before pulling her into him and wrapping his arms around her tightly.

---

Jason pushed open his front door and nudged his way into his apartment, carrying the majority of their bags. Harper followed him in with a duffle bag slung over her shoulder, and kicked the door shut behind them.

“I think it’s a bummer you have to leave Layla behind,” Harper mentioned, falling onto the couch, emphatically.

He shrugged, “that’s part of the cycle. I get her for the summer, and then my parents keep her during the season. I’m on the road too much.” Jason pulled open the fridge and grabbed a bottle, “beer?”

Harper glanced back at him, “I’m good, thanks.” She waited for him to come back to the living room with a beer for him in his hands. She watched him take a sip and plop down next to her, “so… am I another Layla?”

Jason squinted at her. He thought her question to be absurd. But her expression didn’t seem joking. He went to take another sip of his beer, but Harper grabbed it from him and took a sip to force him to answer. Not knowing exactly what to do, he chuckled nervously and looked down at his lap.

“If I am, it’s fine. But I’d like to know.” She waited. And eventually Jason looked back up and squinted at her again. “You get me for the summer and then you’re on the road too much?”

“No, Harper, I love you,”

“You love her too,”

Jason looked up at the ceiling. This was a trap because nothing he said would make things better. Harper had made up her mind about something; albeit something crazy. “That’s different,”

“You’re right. Your pet requires very little care. She can go out to the yard, you can leave food out or have a neighbor swing by. I’m a little more hard to handle, aren’t I? A little more needy?”

He chuckled again because he couldn't believe this was the first conversation they were having after coming back from vacation. But his reaction didn’t help nullify Harper.

“If I’m a Layla, let me know. I don’t know what other types of girls you’ve dated in the past, but I don’t need you, Jason.”

Jason clenched his teeth and took a deep breath before he stood up from the couch. “I’m not going to have this conversation with you right now. Because I think you need to reflect on everything you just said.” He looked down at her, “if you truly believe I think you’re like my dog, we’ve got bigger issues, honey.” Jason rested his hands against his hips, “I know you don’t need me. And I know you don’t love me. But some thought about your words, and not your stream of consciousness would be nice.” He scratched the side of his head and looked around, “I’m gonna take a shower.”

He left the room, not in any sort of hurry, but with a purpose. It was their first real argument. They’d talked about touchy things before, and had maybe even gotten heated with other conversations, but this was the first one that ended unresolved. Jason left the room.

Harper waited for the shower to turn on. Once she heard it, she was convinced that Jason wasn’t coming back to talk to her about it anymore. He had been serious about what he’d said, but so had she. She stood and gathered her bag and suitcase, and from his front porch, Harper called a car to take her home.

She didn’t think she’d be so relieved to make it back to her tiny apartment in Sunrise. It actually felt like home. After all that time in Canada, and living some sort of dream life, she was anxious to get back to something she knew she was good at. So Harper made herself a cup of tea, and snuggled up in her bed with Les Miserables in her hand.

Notes

I'm sorry this took so long. I hope to be re-inspired and unblocked with this story soon