“Yeah,” I say. “Let’s just get cleaned up.” I search her nightstand, find a box of tissues and remove my condom. I wipe between her legs and I’m about to slide in next to her, but a bang outside her house stops me in my tracks. “What the hell was that?” I ask.
Her eyes open wide, and fear washes the color from her face. “Harper?” What the hell? What would frighten her so badly.
“I don’t know,” she says. “It sounded like the garbage can.”
“You stay here. I’ll go check.”
She reaches for me. “You don’t need to go out there.”
“It’s fine.” I scoop up my pants and shirt. “I’ll check it out and be right back.” I dress quickly as she ducks under the blankets and pulls them up to her neck. The bedroom door creaks open and I quietly head down the hall to the front door. Outside the night is quiet and dark, in the distance a dog can be heard barking, but there are no sounds coming from around Harper’s place. She lives in a quiet, low-crime neighborhood so I’m assuming it was an animal or something.
When my search comes up empty, I head back into the house, lock the door, and tiptoe back to Harper’s bedroom. She’s in the exact same position as I left her. Her brows lift in question when I begin to strip, to crawl back into bed with her.
“I think it was an animal. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
She nods quickly. “Okay, good.”
“What did you think it was?” I ask as I slip in beside her and pull her close.
“An animal,” she says quickly. I want to question her about it, because for the first time I get the sense she’s not telling me the truth and that’s not like her. But I decide to let it go and kiss the top of her head as she rests against my chest, and I briefly close my eyes, planning to stay here until she falls asleep and then make my way to her sofa. But sometimes the best laid plans….
The next thing I know I’m being awakened by footsteps running in the hall, and before I can get out of bed and get dressed, Gavin and Holden come running into the room.
Shit.
They both come to an abrupt halt when they see me in bed, and I glance at Harper to find her eyes wide with worry.
“Did you have a sleepover too?” Gavin asks.
I nod. “I did.”
The boys look at us for a second, their innocent eyes taking in the scene before them, and then Gavin shrugs. “Want to play Fortnite with us?”
“You bet I do, buddy. You two go get it set up, and I’ll be right out. We’ll let your mom sleep in, and we’ll eat cake for breakfast, okay?”
They both smile and high five each other before dashing from the room and once they’re gone, Harper groans and puts the pillow over her head. I tug the pillow from Harper’s face, and drop a kiss onto her head. “It’s fine. They’re kids, they don’t know any better, and also I’m sorry, because I fell asleep. It was just so comfortable.”
“What if they say something?”
“Who are they going to say something to, and does it really matter? We’re consenting adults, doing what adults do.”
“Yeah, but the papers.”
“I’m sure Gavin isn’t in the room calling any paparazzi,” I tease.
“I know, but—”
“I promise you it’s fine. Why don’t you try to get a bit more sleep and I’ll take care of the boys?”
She goes to push her covers off and I stop her. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” I tuck her back in. “Also, how do you feel about a big homecooked Sunday dinner?”
“You’re cooking it?”
“Hell no,” I say quickly. “My folks love Sunday meals, and I thought it might be fun for Gavin. My sisters will be there, and their kids. I think he’d have a good time and I know they’ve been wanting to meet him.”
“I don’t want to impose.” She rakes her teeth over her bottom lip. “Maybe you two should go, and I’ll stay home.”
“Not a chance. We’re all going.”
“I’ll think about it, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, conceding. “Get some sleep. I’m going to kick Gavin and Holden’s ass at Fortnite.” She grins at that, and I leave the room, instantly missing her presence, her touch, her smile. The boys are already in front of the TV as I make my way to the kitchen in search of coffee. I find the grounds, and put on a pot. As it brews, I search the drawers for a few forks and carry the cake to the boys.
“Yay, cake!” Gavin says and plunks down onto the sofa. I set the slices on the coffee table, and a thunk at the front door pulls my focus.
“What was that?”
“I dunno,” Gavin says with a shrug as they both dive into their cake.
I walk to the front door, pull it open and find Sunday’s newspaper on the stoop. I grab it and toss it onto the kitchen table as I grab a cup and fill it before the coffee maker beeps. As the boys chat and eat, I flip through the paper, and nearly spill my coffee when I come across the local entertainment section and see the photo of Harper and me.
“Shit,” I grumble and glance over my shoulder. For a split second, I think about hiding it, but she’ll likely hear about it from her friends sooner or later. This is the last thing Harper wanted but there we are, under the caption that says, House Broken. “Jesus.” I scan the article, and it showcases Harper as a single
