Going by the Book

When Jason asked her what she wanted to do for their second date, Harper knew he was never expecting her to say a picnic in the park. It was such an absurd request, yet here they were walking into the park with Harper carrying a blanket and Jason toting the basket she’d put together. It had only been a few days since their first actual date and yes they were still figuring each other out, but Jason was really thrown by this idea. And judging by the look on his face when she brought the basket to his car in the first place, he wasn’t expecting a picnic of this magnitude.

This was the sort of thing Harper enjoyed, and was quite possibly one of the reasons she never really had a boyfriend. It was quirky, to say the least. She wanted the romantics of a relationship, like the ones she read about in countless books. The problem was those sorts of relationships were rare, if not extinct. Boys didn’t want picnics in the lawn or walks on the beach; they wanted a night of drinks and an easy lay. So now with Jason being open to the idea and so willing to please, it reignited Harper with the idea that her standards were never really too high, she just had to find someone who was willing to amount to them.

“Here’s good,” she smiled and unfolded the blanket. With the wind whipping, she took off her sneakers and placed them on diagonal corners of the blanket to keep it down. They were beneath a massive tree, and for now shielded by the sun’s harsh rays.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever been on a picnic.” Jason set the basket down and crawled beside Harper, getting into a comfortable position.

“What?!” She could hardly believe that. Picnics had to be the easiest thing in the world to arrange; all it was, was eating outdoors. Harper opened the basket and pulled out two paper plates and two sets of plastic utensils. “How have you not had a picnic in twenty-eight years of life? What did your childhood even consist of?” She pulled out two turkey sandwiches, which she admittedly did not make, but rather bought at the deli down the street from her place.

Jason smiled and leaned back on one of his hands as he set his plate of food in his lap, “a lot of great things, but never picnics.”

Harper beamed and lifted her sandwich, “cheers to your first one.” She tapped the end of her sandwich against Jason’s and then took the first bite. As she finished chewing, she looked over at him as he did the same. “Are you really good at anything?”

He looked at her, taken aback by her question, “besides what?”

“Hockey,”

“Oh!” He laughed and squinted into the sunlight to look at her, “I guess I’m alright at that.” He took another bite of his sandwich while he thought. It gave Harper time to do the same. “Video games? I’m pretty good at video games,”

Harper rolled her eyes and brushed her hair away from her face, “twenty-eight years old and you’re still into video games?”

“You can take Grand Theft Auto from the man, but you can’t take the man from Grand Theft Auto,”

“You’re such a nerd,” she giggled and broke open a water bottle to take a sip. “What’s your first hockey memory?”

Jason looked over at her again and chuckled. “Um, crying.” His eyes crinkled as Harper let out a guttural laugh. “My parents have this video of me just crying, going to the rink, not wanting to go. It was too early.”

Harper leaned into him as she wiped tears away from her eyes, “how old were you?”

He took a bite of his sandwich as she collected herself. “Probably three. My dad was my coach for most of my childhood so we always had to be there first.”

“Was hockey your dream or your parents’ dream?”

Jason found it strange how her questions always seemed to have him at a slight disadvantage. He hadn’t been expecting this question, and surely not so soon on the second date. “I never thought about it that way. Hockey is Canada’s dream so it felt like the natural thing to do.” He paused to finish off his sandwich before he placed his plate on the blanket beside him. “I’ve always wanted to be a hockey player, but no kid wants to wake up at six in the morning for practice.”

Harper put her plate on the side too and then leaned over into Jason, tucking into his side. Since this was the first time they were seeing each other again after the first date, she wanted to show him some intimacy so he knew that she had enjoyed the kiss, despite being completely nervous. “Have you ever wondered how strange it is the lengths children will go to make their parents happy and proud? They could be doing something they hate for years before they begin to put their own happiness ahead of their parents’.”

“I think along the way we hope our parents aren’t leading us astray, and that what they want us to get into will actually be good for us.” Jason looked down at her and tilted his head towards her, “I can’t complain. Hockey’s given me a lot.”

“Like a bunch of fancy things,” Harper mocked and giggled when slung his arm over her shoulders to bring her closer to him.

“You’ve not seen anything fancy from me,”

“I did see you in a pink suit online,” she smiled and looked up at him. She also noted that his cheeks got redder as he laughed. “You looked really good in it actually,”

“Yeah?” He grinned and lay down, taking Harper with him. They lay side by side with Jason’s arm beneath her head. Harper rolled into his side, resting her head on the front of his shoulder, and looked up at him. “You shouldn’t be so surprised. I can clean up nicely,”

“I’m sure,” she joked again. This time Jason just leaned in and kissed her. She appreciated his forwardness seeing as though she’d probably never have the balls to make the first move. Though after a moment when she tried to pull back, Jason held the base of her head to keep her in place.

Harper felt him smile against her lips. He wasn’t being too forceful with her, just getting more from the kiss than she would’ve given him. Her nerves stemmed from a place that really enjoyed him, and believed that if they continued down this road too quickly, she’d be put in a position she wasn’t completely ready to handle. On the other hand, if she didn’t go down this road, Jason might not stick around for too long. When Jason parted his lips and nudged his tongue against hers, Harper put her hand on his chest and partially sat up.

She leaned on her arm and looked down at him. Jason opened up his eyes and glanced at her, smiling, as her expression seemed completely nervous. “You okay?”

Harper nodded and bent down to kiss him once more, “you make me nervous.”

Jason laughed and reached up to keep her in place, close to him. “I swear six years isn’t that much,”

“It’s not that,” she persisted. “Maybe it’s that a little bit.” Harper looked down at Jason’s t-shirt and pinched the fabric between her fingers, playing with it. “I don’t really date around, so I’m kind of intimidated by you,”

He set his hand on her thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze, “don’t be. I’m a twenty-eight year old nerd; you said it yourself.”

She let out a soft chuckle and shook her head, “no like I’ve never had a boyfriend.” When she gained the courage to look at Jason again, it didn’t shock her at all that he was already staring at her. She came to expect that with him. Nothing ever seemed to rattle him. “Doesn’t that freak you out at all? Like I’m the twenty-two year old loner that can’t even figure out how to have a functional relationship. I’m too selfish to even have a boyfriend?”

“I don’t think that’s the reason,” Jason sat up now too. “I don’t think not having a relationship makes you a loner, and I don’t think it means you’re immature. Like who gives a shit? I wasted some valuable time in pointless relationships so between the two of us, I think you’re better off.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re being nice,”

Jason chuckled, “nah I dated some pretty shitty people.”

“Who was the worst?”

He looked up in thought and smiled. “Annabelle. We were in third grade. She would always kick me in the knees and then steal my graham crackers. She told me boyfriends always give up their food, so that went on for a few months before my mom asked why I was going through so many graham crackers.”

“That’s a lie,” Harper giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

“That’s the truth. Annabelle McLaughlin. Turned out to be a real ballbuster. Had a kid sophomore year; not mine.” He watched as Harper tried to gather her composure, but she was getting a kick out of picturing little Jason handing over his recess snacks. “So I don’t care if you’ve never had a boyfriend. It doesn’t matter to me. Your value doesn’t rest on the number of boys you’ve dated.”

Harper stared at him and tilted her head to the side, “I just haven’t had as many experiences as you. You’re a professional athlete, I’m sure you always have girls hanging on you.”

He rolled his eyes and reached forward to grab onto one of her hands, “I was on a team with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. And now I’m on a team with Jaromir Jagr, probably the biggest and oldest playboy in the league; I’m not the one the girls are going after.”

“Give yourself some credit, Demers.” Harper grinned and winked, “you got Annabelle McLaughlin in third grade.”

When they finally stopped laughing about Jason’s childhood dating history, they gathered their things and went for a walk around the park. Jason was now carrying everything in one hand, and holding Harper’s hand in the other. She stuck by him, completely aware that whenever they passed by someone, they seemed to notice that Jason was their hockey team’s newest player. While no one came up to him for anything, Harper squeezed his hand every time she caught someone staring.

Jason invited her back to his place to hang out for a while longer before he dropped her back home. She didn’t want their good vibes to end, so she accepted his offer. As they stood outside his front door, Jason paused before pushing it open. He looked back at Harper, “you’re okay with dogs?”

“What? Yeah,” Within the second she answered, Jason pushed open his front door and they were immediately bombarded by a dog-shaped pistol. They hadn’t even entered the house before the dog met them on the porch and greeted them with jumps and kisses.

“Layla, down,” Jason said over the dog’s happy whimpering. She finally settled enough for Jason to lead her and Harper into his home.

It never occurred to Harper that someone at his level would have such a sparsely furnished apartment. The moment she stepped into his waterside condo, a sharp laugh escaped her lips. She stood in his living room, looking out the glass backdoor and at the water, while noticing that the room only consisted of a couch, a TV mounted on the wall, and an Xbox. He also laughed, but not for the same reason. It was nearly impossible for him not to smile when she started laughing, even if it was at his expense.

The rest of his place was just as modestly decorated. On the tour he gave her, the kitchen had all the cursory appliances, but he was still waiting on the dishwasher. The space that would soon become a kitchen nook was now still just a storage place for boxes that were only half unpacked. The bathrooms and laundry room had everything they’d ever need, and were probably the most furnished. Of the two bedrooms, the master had only the bed, one nightstand and a dresser, while the other bedroom was still completely empty. Harper laughed her way through the tour, finally ending back in the living room, where she tried to calm herself down.

“Cut me some slack, I only moved in a couple weeks ago.” He flopped down on the couch, noting that Harper followed close behind him. For the moment, she was petting Layla, who’d made a spot for herself at their feet.

“I didn’t know you were such a new transplant. That’s like new, new.”

Jason smiled and placed his hand on her knee as she turned towards him, “yeah just after fourth of July. So you can understand why I don’t have much furniture yet.” He paused and set his head back against the couch cushions. “I’m gonna fix this place up all nice and modern so I’m kind of waiting to furnish it for that,”

She did the same, grinning as their heads were even now. “You plan on staying here long?”

“With any luck,”

Now for the first time, Harper gained the confidence to kiss him first. She leaned in and went for it, pleased that he didn’t duck away from it. She didn’t actually believe he’d reject her, but her mind was being mean and making her feel like this was all a hoax. Mid-kiss, he took her legs and draped them over his lap. In doing this, he again caught her off guard, and she pulled back, blushing wildly. He didn’t push it, like he had done so gently at the park, and instead, just set his head back against the couch. If she wanted to go slow, he could do that. She was setting the pace.

“What city are you from in Canada?” The questions came out of left field but Jason went along with it seamlessly. He opened his mouth to answer and Harper interjected excitedly. “Actually let me guess!” She squinted her eyes in thought, trying to gauge his expression, hoping through telepathy or something, she’d actually be able to figure it out. “Saskatoon,”

“No,” Jason said evenly while he reached forward to tickle Harper’s sides for giving such an absurd answer. “I’m from Dorval,”

“Never heard of it,” she laughed back.

He grinned and leaned over her. It was at this point Harper realized she was now reclined along the couch with Jason’s body partially next to her, and partially on top of her. “I know. It’s pretty small; like under twenty thousand people. And the airport literally takes up like half of the town. But it’s cool because we’re really close to Montreal’s Ikea.”

Harper smiled and twirled her finger in a curl in Jason’s hair, “that makes it all better. Do you speak French?”

“Kind of?” He chuckled and brought his hand up to cup around the back of her neck like he was getting ready to kiss her after this answer. “It’s next to Montreal and the majority of people speak French there. But in Dorval, the majority of people’s first language is English. So that’s my first language and I’ve clearly mastered it,” he grinned and winked. “But in school we learned French, and a lot of my teachers used that… I’m not sure if it’s still like that. But anyways, I only kind of speak French because I don’t really use it that much anymore.”

She beamed, finding this aspect of him even more attractive. “Say something in French… Like, my name is Jason and I have no furniture in my house.” Another laugh passed her lips and Jason moved his hands down to tickle her sides. In his position half on top of her, he was able to keep her pinned in order to tickle her.

After he felt she’d had enough of the tickling, he squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lower lip in thought. Finally he reopened his eyes and looked down at her, “Je m'appelle Jason et… je n'ai pas de meubles dans ma maison.”

Harper blushed and grinned wildly, “yeah I really like the way that language sounds coming out of your mouth.”

“Ouais?” He cupped his hand over her cheek and smiled against her lips, “unfortunately that about does it for my French knowledge.” Although he went in for another kiss, he held back as Harper let out a laugh. Already, he found her laugh intoxicating and wished to hear it on a daily basis.

They managed to talk for a long while, and it wasn’t until Jason got up from the couch to feed Layla, that Harper got a moment to check the time. It was already nearing six, and although that wasn’t late, she couldn’t help but notice that she and Jason had spent the better half of the day together. She didn’t want to take up too much of his time in the event that he had any other plans. In fact, Harper just assumed he did. What sort of professional athlete didn’t always have plans during the offseason?

By the time he was on his way back into the living room, Harper was sifting through her purse to make sure she had everything. She stood up from the couch and gave him a slight smile as she reached for the picnic basket. Jason looked utterly confused, and who could blame him? They’d just spent most the day getting to know each other with kisses sprinkled in between, they’d just previously been lying on the couch together, and now Harper was ready to head out.

“I should get going,” she murmured, shrugging her shoulders. They were now standing across from each other and Harper couldn’t bear looking at Jason’s defeated expression. “Give you some alone time… some ‘R and R’.”

Even though he seemed defeated, Jason laughed at her excuse. “Are you ever not going to be shy around me?” He noticed his question caught her off guard because her eyes shot to him, nervous that she’d actually have to give him a question. “Is there something I have to do to break you out of that, or…?”

Harper shrugged again, “it’s just how I am. I know it’s weird, so I’m giving you an out. If you’re not in, and you don’t want to pursue anymore time… like that’s okay. I’ll be fine,”

“Believe it or not, I don’t usually hang out with a girl all day long if I’m not in. So I think you’re good on that end.” Jason smiled and stepped forward. He wrapped his arms around Harper’s shoulders and pulled her in tight until she was forced to wrap her arms around him too. “C’mon, I’ll drive you home,”

She turned her face into his t-shirt and took a deep breath in. She really, really liked Jason. And the more she realized that, the more it terrified her. With each passing day, and each passing conversation, she could feel the heartbreak growing. The longer they waited, the harder it would be.

Notes

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