Chapter 30 Harper
Harper
The next morning, light streamed over Orion and me, neither willing to haul ourselves out of bed.
“How are we feeling, love?” he asked, his fingers trailing lazily in my hair.
“Perfect because I’m here. With you,” I said with a smile. “At home, it’s the same old, same old. Mom gets her butt off the couch every now and again and cleans a house or two, but it’s not going to be enough.”
“You know I’m here…”
“I know,” I said. “But between her sponsor and me, we’re trying to motivate her with very scary bank notices.” I shook my head. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it. I have to get going to work on my NoSci. What do you have for today?”
“Same. Plus, crew practice and a lesson with Ezra.”
The schedule was getting packed—the Head of the Bay Regatta was this Friday, while the Novus Science projects presentations were the following Thursday, winners announced at a big ceremony on Saturday, and the spring concert on Sunday.
He gave me a squeeze. “How are the old Ugly Buckets coming along?”
“Don’t make fun of my Ugly Buckets,” I said, laughing at his affectionate nickname for my water-purification project.
“Hey, your Ugly Buckets are going to save the world. My pothole glue is going to save an axle or two. Definitely not in the same ballpark.”
“We’ll see,” I said, and last night came back to me. The dinner, the sex, all of it floating on the sound of Orion’s incredible Nocturne.
He shifted under my heavy gaze. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I just realized I have a little bit of time before I need to get to work.”
“Oh. And?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “And.…” I kissed his lips, his chin, his neck, and then started moving down.
“What are you doing?” he said tightly.
“Just something I feel like doing,” I replied.
My mouth was now on his chest, over one small nipple. I bit it, and he gasped sharply, so I sucked and licked the pain away.
“Harper,” he said through gritted teeth. “You don’t have to.”
“I know.” I moved lower. “I want to.” I stopped and cocked my head. “Unless you’d rather I didn’t.”
“I never said that.”
***
The following Monday at school, Tessa Carlyle fell into step beside me in the hallway, a Starbucks in hand. “Now that is a ring.”
“Oh, thanks,” I said, and covered my fingers self-consciously.
“You do not have to hide that beauty from me,” she said, grabbing my hand and admiring it. “From Orion, right?”
“Yes. Christmas.”
“Oh my God. I’m so jealous. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t keep saying that, but he is so hot and, according to you, the world’s best pianist, and you get to have sex with him on a semi-regular basis.”
I laughed. “He spoils me, honestly. The other night we went to a beautiful restaurant, and then after, he played the Nocturne for me.”
“Kinky.”
“Indeed. He was rewarded generously.”
“Oh? Do tell. Like I said, I’m surrounded by gay boys and have zero prospects. I need to live vicariously through you.”
I don’t know what possessed me; usually I never kiss and tell, but once upon a time, back in Pittsburgh, I’d been a bold, give-no-fucks kind of gal.
I shrugged and said coyly, “I may or may not have gone down on him until he came so hard, he forgot his own name.”
“Jesus, Harper!” Tessa had been lifting her Starbucks to her mouth. “I nearly spit out my coffee.”
“Huh. I don’t really have that problem.”
“Oh my God.” She laughed harder and shoved me in the arm. “You are terrible. I love it.”
We rounded a corner, and there was Orion standing with a bunch of his Richie friends.
“There he is,” Tessa said. “Girl, look at him.”
Orion shot me a wink as we passed, and Tessa just about fainted.
“He’s so charming,” she said. “He’s Prince Charming, surrounded by Tucker the meathead, Rhett the serial killer, and Blake, Blake, and Blake.”
“That’s a lot of Blakes.”
“Those guys are all the same. So boring. Orion is the only good one,” Tessa declared. “You lucked out.”
“Yeah,” I said, my smile fading.
“Oh no.” She peered up at me; she was a petite little thing. “What just happened?”
“Nothing. Things have been great. My home life is a complete shit show, I’m stressed to the max, but he’s the best. But the end of the year is racing toward us, and we haven’t talked about what happens after.”
“Oh,” she said. “What’s the plan?”
“He’s supposed to go back to the UK and go to Cambridge, and I’m hoping the NoSci will get me into MIT or NYU with a bunch of scholarship help and some prize money.”
“Are you going to NYU?” Tessa bounced up and down. “That’s my dream school. Did you apply?”
“Yes, but I’ve almost forgotten all about it because I don’t have a prayer of paying for it, and I don’t know what I’m going to do about my little brother.”
“What do you mean?”
I waved a hand. “Nothing. Long story.”
“Well, I hope it all works out. You’re brilliant and it would be so wonderful if we went there together, even if we’re locked away in different departments. And maybe you should just sit down with Orion and talk it out?”
It sounded so simple when she put it that way. The best I could do was a whispered stay…
“Yes, but…” I bit my lip and decided to be really honest. “This is exactly the situation I wanted to avoid. I didn’t want to be with somebody and really…”
“Love them?”
I nodded. “Unless it was real. And this is real, but every time the subject of him playing piano instead of working for his father’s company comes up, he deflects or makes jokes.
I think we’re both just afraid to have that conversation because what if it’s the end?
I mean, we’re in high school.” I touched the ring on my hand.
“It’s not like I can demand a different kind of ring. I can’t demand forever.”
Tessa bit her lip, thinking. “Well…why not?”
I made a face. “Because who does that?”
“People who are in love?” She shrugged. “I’m not inside your relationship, but I’ve been in a lot of plays and musicals, and they’re all stories.
And all stories are love stories. Every single one.
Maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic, but if he loves you and you love him, then there’s no reason why your story can’t go on forever. ”
“Thanks, Tessa.”
“Anytime,” she said brightly. “Go have your talk, and then have more sexy times so you can tell me all about it. That made my day.”
“Happy to be of service.”
She left, and I thought she took her optimism with her, but then I noticed Bandit, the vending machine, across the hall.
Maybe…