28. Harlow
Chapter 28
Harlow
Heath: Any plans for Halloween?
Me: Just relaxing with Meg, we’re going out for a drink. We made a friend out here, and they know a nice local spot.
Heath: A friend? Do you make friends easily?
Me: Do I not look like I make friends easily?
Heath: It was an honest question. I don’t. I’m often known for sticking to business. It can take me time to warm up to people.
Me: I guess I’m like that, too.
Heath: Then I guess I just have to be patient and earn your friendship.
Me: I guess.
Heath: Image attached.
H e’s sitting next to his PA, a warm smile on his face. His definitive brows are lifted from their usual furrow.
I look over to Cassidy and Meg as they chat happily with each other, all smiles. I can tell that Cassidy enjoys the company of other women. She’s told me about her group of friends, and they sound as close as Meg and me—practically sisters.
Holding my phone away from us, I call their attention over and snap a quick photo of us. The lighting isn’t the best due to the festive decorations, but you can make out our faces and the drinks in front of us, a dark glow and mostly darkness behind us. Adjusting the exposure, I blur the background.
Me: Image attached.
Heath responds immediately.
Heath: You look beautiful. Stay safe.
Me: Thanks. Will do.
The girls and I finish the round and decide to call it a night. They can tell that after my rendezvous with Harrison, I’ve been on edge and trying to settle myself.
Thinking back on it, I have a mixture of emotions. Guilt, humor, and a simmering need for him. We’ve only brushed the surface of experiencing each other’s bodies, and every time I’m left with a buzzing feeling under my skin and my mind spinning.
Since I started this contract with him, I’ve made a ton of progress in my writing. My passion for reading and editing has been rekindled, making my work both easier and enjoyable again.
After my last break up I settled into this sad feeling. I wouldn’t have said I was depressed, more like just not living.
I feel like I am alive again. This trip is what I needed to help me feel more like myself than I have in a long time. Going back home, I think I’ll be refreshed and ready to face whatever lies ahead of me, feeling more confident and able than before.
My disinterest in Heath isn’t hateful, just practical. His constant reminder of his presence isn’t annoying like I thought it would be. It’s just there. This could be exactly what I was telling Harrison about. A relationship with mutual understanding and respect, but without the big Hollywood feelings.
Closing out our tab, I link my arm with Meg, and she does the same with Cassidy. We walk over to Cassidy’s SUV and make our way back to the bunkhouse.
“Have you ever seen the movie Practical Magic ?” I ask Cassidy as we start to head back to the property.
“I think maybe once. I’m not a big TV girl. My dad and I didn’t have a TV until later and by then I was already a library regular.”
I take a moment to think about Cassidy’s strength and how she’s had to learn how to depend on and trust others. Being alone with her dad created a type of independence that I can’t even begin to understand. I have always had family to rely on, same with Meg. Harrison seems that way, too, like he could count on his brother or parents for anything. I bet he hasn’t seen that movie either. I’ll have to add it to our movie list; it’s one I never get sick of.
“Let’s do some midnight margaritas at the bunkhouse!” I yell while Meg and Cassidy give loud whoops over the music.
Spending time with Cassidy has helped me in so many ways, just like my time with Harrison. I came to this small, secluded getaway to give myself a reset before possibly turning my life upside down.
In my mind, it was going to be a quiet place for me to turn into myself, work, and maybe get some riding in.
Instead, I found a new friend who helps me learn more about myself without even trying, a quiet place to work, a new favorite bar, and a hot-as-fuck fall fling to sow my wild oats with on my terms before committing to a relationship I hadn’t planned on.
Cassidy is so confident and unapologetic; it helps me lean into those characteristics, myself. She doesn’t mind talking about her wins and losses. In my family, talking about the wins is what matters.
Maybe all this time I’ve had some fake confidence and didn’t even realize it. Being in this small town where no one knows me and I don’t fit in has given me the chance to be whoever I want. I can just be myself and know I’m leaving in a few weeks, and whatever happened while I was here will just be a blip.
Everyone here has welcomed me without a doubt or second thought. I get an extra glance when I’m first spotted, but once a conversation starts, it’s like everything clicks. I wonder how Cassidy moving into this town went; was it as seamless as it seems? Do people just welcome you with open arms despite how different you are?
My time with every person here is leaving an imprint on my soul and getting me ready for whatever I’m going to face next.
As much inspiration as Harrison offers me, and trust me, there’s a lot, I realize it’s much more than that. It’s the control and freedom I get simultaneously while spending time with him. As he would say, we haven’t taken things all the way, just lots of other stuff. I’m surprised by how much fun I’m having with the “other stuff.”
I’ve enjoyed pleasuring my partners in the past, but this is different. Every time I go down on Harrison I feel a burst of energy after. I feel alive and high-wired, and if I was anxious or upset, that tension is relieved.
My period had just finished almost in time for Meg’s arrival, and I know Harrison had been itching to return the favor. I don’t mind making our time together about him. I don’t think he’s used to being tended to. He is a natural caretaker. He likes setting up a movie, blankets, and drinks for us. I can tell each time we watched a movie and he massaged my feet that it brought him a sense of accomplishment as well as joy.
A side thought barrels its way into my mind.
Does Harrison have a foot fetish?
Every single time we watch a movie, he starts massaging and touching my feet. It’s almost a habit for him, like he can’t help it. I file the thought away to include that in my erotica research.
“Damn, Sandra Bullock has aged like a fine wine. Like she’s cute here and all, but she’s smokin’ now,” Cassidy states before finishing her margarita.
The movie plays in the background and is almost over.
“I just love how much this guy loves her. Like he was the person they needed to break that stupid curse. Her fate was meant to be with him, as heartbreaking as losing her husband was. In the end, true love wins,” Meg chimes in, her third margarita more than halfway gone.
I roll my eyes at the two of them. “But some people may never get to experience that kind of love.” I hate being the negative one, but that is the reality for some people.
“You can’t say that just because you and Heath might get married!” Meg whines.
Cassidy’s head snaps over in my direction lightning fast.
“Who’s Heath?” she asks.
“No—”
“Oh! He’s this guy her parents are trying to set her up with. Not ugly. Not hot. Kind of a stick-in-the-mud, ya know? Like he’s always on his phone working and taking care of business.” Meg uses air quotes around the words “taking care of business,” sending the wrong kind of signal.
“Does he take care of business?” Cassidy quirks a brow at me.
“I wouldn’t?—”
“He does! He makes lots and lots of money running his family’s business. So, he knows what he’s doing. He saw a picture of Harley and knew she would make the perfect corporate trophy wife. But he barked up the wrong tree. Harlow isn’t anyone’s trophy!” I facepalm myself and close my eyes as Meg runs her damn mouth.
Cassidy has a stupid smile on her face, but at the same time, she looks worried. She’s been watching Harrison and me. I know how much this family means to her. Taking Cassidy into their family means mutual love and protection.
“So, are you guys dating?” Cassidy inquires.
“They—”
“Meg hush!” I quiet her before she can start again. Getting up and grabbing a glass of water, I shove it in Meg’s direction and take her other drink away .
“No. We’re not dating. It’s meant to be a sort of . . . arrangement between my parents and him. We had one family dinner before I left town.”
Cassidy sits up and puts her glass down on the coffee table.
“I’m sorry, what?! An arrangement?! Between who?!” I love how mad she is. I can only imagine crossing someone she’s truly close with. She would burn down a city for them.
“Girl. That’s how my family works. It took my dad like a decade to accept that my sister is gay. He already arranged one of my sister’s marriages, and I’m his oldest. He can’t stand that I’m not married to some business elite. I haven’t said yes to anything, but in my house, it’s hard to say no.”
Cassidy’s cheeks were pink before from our alcohol consumption, but now they are red.
“Fuck that! You are not going to get stuck in some ugly, boring business marriage! You are a queen, you hear me?! A QUEEN! Say it. Tell me you won’t go through with it. What if he has a small dick, Harlow?! What will you do, masturbate until you die?” I laugh at her last line.
“We tried to look for a bulge in ANY of his pictures and NOTHING!” Meg pipes in. I shoot her a glare, and she brings her cup to her lips.
“It doesn’t matter, as long as he respects me. I’m happy with that.”
“Cassidy! Tell her she’s wrong, and she needs love,” Meg whines.
“Listen, I wasn’t a big believer in love myself before Hunter . . . but it’s out there, and it’s worth it.” From spicy to sincere in a moment. Just the mention of her husband brings her a sense of peace.
“I’ve been in love before. I think maybe I can learn to love him. I just need to give him a chance. If anything, it’s to appease my family. For all we know, he could be the one.” I fake a dramatic sigh and earn a look from both of them.
Looking at them, I can see they both want to say something. Likely along the same lines, but in different ways. Luckily neither of them says anything that I anticipate.
“Whatever, all I know is . . . you need love. I don’t think you’ve had enough in your life. If anyone deserves it, it’s you, bitch,” Meg states, putting her glass down and snuggling into her blanket on the couch. “Let’s finish this movie and call it a night. I’m exhausted.”
I let out a light laugh and look over to Cassidy, sitting in the wingback chair, blanket across her lap, hands held together, looking more worried than I’ve ever seen here.
“Let’s just finish the movie, you love addicts,” I joke and fix my eyes to the screen. I can feel Cassidy’s gaze on me, and I know she’s going to have questions, but I don’t have the mental capacity to answer right now.