Page 78 of One More Chance
Jensen
I wishI could say with certainty I knew what the hell I was doing. This morning I thought I’d go for a run, clear my head, really give this some thought. But when I came back, Harper had cooked breakfast and damn if it wasn’t delicious. Then we had what I can only assume was the longest, sexiest shower in history. This didn’t help with my muddled mind at all.
Now, we’re driving down the highway and her bare feet are tucked up beneath her in the passenger seat, her hand resting in mine. Every now and again I give it a little squeeze and she squeezes back. Every time she does, the corners of her mouth turn up a little. She’s staring out her window and yawning, still tired from the early morning. Apparently she didn’t fall back asleep like she wanted.
“You can nap in the car, if you want,” I suggest. “The drive is about an hour.”
“I don’t want you to have to drive in silence while I sleep,” she says.
“I don’t mind. I want you to rest if you need to.”
“Really? Well, maybe I will. If I happen to fall asleep, I won’t fight it,” she says, and I give her hand another squeeze and smile.
Shit, maybe I can use a quiet drive to help with this whole clearing-my-mind thing I need to do. Fuck. Of course I got myself into this messy thing. I know two things to be true: Harper leaves in a few days, and it will go too quickly.
Also, I am starting to feel something for her. Is it love? God, I don’t know. I want to say no. I want to say it’s too soon for that. I want to say it’s more than like but less than love. Is that a thing? Now I’m fucking confusing myself.
Harper’s hand goes limp in mine and I glance over to see she’s indeed fallen asleep. Good. She needs rest. I want her to enjoy the pier. A quick nap will do her good.
I’ll just…stew in my thoughts. Great.
* * *
“Wake up, sleepyhead,”I whisper, gently shaking Harper by the arm.
Her body stretches out like a cat in the sun, and her eyes blink open. “Shit, I fell asleep. I was so certain I wouldn’t.”
“You went pretty fast,” I say, laughing. “Are you ready for the pier?”
“Yes, definitely,” she says, and I gesture over to it, its tall Ferris Wheel stretching upward into the sky. Harper dips her head to look up. “Okay, I definitely want to ride that,” she says.
“Let’s go,” I say, opening the car door and stepping out. I stretch out my back and walk around to meet Harper. After pressing a kiss to her lips, I grab her by the hand and tug her toward our first stop.
“What do we need tickets for?” she asks, as I hand money to the teen in the ticket booth.
“Lots of things, including the rides.”
“Are you going to win me a teddy bear?” she asks, giving me her best pouty lip.
“I will win you whatever your heart desires.” I plant another kiss against her mouth as I shove the tickets in my pocket. “But I suggest we win stuff last so we don’t have to carry it all around.”
“Good call,” she says.
We walk together, holding hands, and every now and then she leans into me. To anyone who sees us, this is natural and normal, like we’ve been together forever. That thought makes me smile. Finally I have a thought that’s making me smile. Jesus.
“Can we ride the Ferris Wheel first?” she asks.
I nod. “Of course. Today, it’s whatever you want.”
We stand in line for the wheel, which thankfully isn’t too long. I made it a point to get us here earlier than the rush at lunch. That’s usually when everyone filters in.
As we step into our bubble, the attendant tells us not to try opening the door while in the air and not to rock it.
“Oh that’s scary,” she says.
“Why?” I ask her.
“Because he wouldn’t be telling us if someone didn’t actually do it before. It’s like the warning label that says don’t drink the shampoo. It’s only on there because someone drank the fucking shampoo.” She laughs.