He looks at me and I laugh grabbing a beer. “You’re on your own.”
“Don’t patch him in. He’s a pussy, looking at you for advice,” she says.
At this point, Kace, Reid, and Porter have come over. We all laugh as Finn’s eyes widen.
“She knows this shit, man, you’re screwed,” Kace says, grabbing a beer.
Harper turns around with a smile on her face. She loves being back here, I can see it. That makes this that much easier and that much harder.
“What the fuck happened?” Porter asks, reaching for her face.
She backs up and takes the beer from my hands. “Nothing,” she says. “When are you guys gonna get some decent prospects? I make a better Shattered Soul than this asshole.”
She gets the laughs she was looking for. It’s something she’s good at, deflecting.
We spend the next few hours drinking, talking, and laughing. Everyone, including Brooks, has been welcoming. I asked them to treat her like my old lady and they are. I sit back, smoking, taking in the scene. Harper fits in like she truly belongs. She’s smacking away Reid’s grabbing hands, laughing at Porter’s stupid jokes, and her face drops as Kace tells her about being shot. If things were different, the world actually bent in my favor, this is how it would be. She’d be my old lady and I’d knock her up. I’d get her the house she wants and we’d both be dedicated to this club.
“Hey,” she says, touching my arm.
I snap out of my ridiculous thoughts and smile. “Hey.” I grab her, pulling her onto my lap. I’m drunk and so is she. It’s been a long fucking time since this last happened. “I fucking love having you here.” I kiss her neck and move to her awaiting lips.
“Fuck yeah,” Kace yells. We both laugh and look at him. “What? There’s tits bouncing all around us, but this is real action.”
Harper turns her face to me and presses her lips to my ear. “Can we talk?”
I nod and grab her hand after we stand up. “We’ll be back.”
“No glove, no love, brother,” Kace yells. Of course laughter erupts as the door closes behind us.
We get to my room and I close the door behind us. “What’s up?”
“Seriously, Z? Don’t you have a house?” she asks, looking around.
“You know I do,” I say, lighting another smoke.
“So why the fuck is all your shit here?”
She starts opening and closing drawers, the closet door, and the bathroom door. I lean against the dresser and watch. I have no fucking idea what she’s leading up to, but whatever it is, it’s not easy for her. She’s trying to deflect.
“Why, Z?” she yells.
I smash out my cigarette and cross my arms. “Because it’s easier to be here.”
Anger flashes across her face as she stomps over to me. “Bullshit.”
“What did you wanna talk about, babe?” I’m just ignoring her tantrum.
She grabs my head and slams her lips to mine. I grab her ass and lift her, deepening the kiss. Her legs wrap around me and she moans in my mouth when I push my hard cock against her. I dig my fingers into her ass through her jeans and break the kiss. My tongue drags against her soft skin, up to her ear. I bite her earlobe and kiss the tender spot below her ear.
“Talk to me,” I whisper.
Her body sags as her head drops to my shoulder. I feel her begin to shake and I know she is crying. Whatever is going on, it’s bad. It takes a lot for her to cry. Look at her face for christ sake, it’s beaten and she walks around like nothing happened. She’s built up walls to keep everything inside and everyone out. I know she doesn’t like showing her how she feels and these tears, they are making her vunerable. Something neither of us ever want to be.
I sit on the bed and she all but jumps off of me. “Not this fucking bed,” she yells.
Without releasing her, I move to the chair. I hold her while she silently cries. Her hands holding tightly to my shirt.
“Harp, babe, what the fuck is it?”
She finally looks up at me and I swear my heart bleeds. The pain and sadness I see hurts me more than anything. I wipe her tears and kiss her forehead.
“Look at me,” she says.
“I’m looking babe.”
“No, I mean look at how I’m acting. I’m a teenage girl, crying over a boy,” she says, shaking her head.
Confused, I tilt my head. “You’re gonna need to explain that shit.”
“Zane, I cried so much when we were young. I wanted this so badly that it was the only thing I could do. I knew we could never be together and it hurt more than anything. Sitting here tonight, with your club, it’s like we’re teenagers again. It makes me want things that are impossible.”
I kiss her salty cheeks and rest my forehead against hers. “Babe, there’s nothing in the world I want more than for you to be my old lady. To have a family, a house, a future. For us both to one day run this club. It’s not impossible, nothing is,” I quietly confess.
“Fuck, Z, we aren’t teenagers anymore. We both know that it will never happen. I’m scared. I’ve never been more scared in my life. Not because my father will kill me, because he will. I’m scared that the feeling I have when I’m here, I’ll never feel again,” she admits.
Our eyes lock and I grin. “Harper, trust me. That’s all you need to do. Stop fucking worrying and questioning everything. Just be here, with me.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “Z, you really are a fucking fool.”
I turn her so she’s straddling me. “Look, I’m gonna say this once. After this, I’m fucking done talking about it. If you want to walk away, go. I won’t stop you and I won’t bother you again. I’ll let you go for good. But,
