CHAPTER 8
casey
H arrison ends up back at my place after our night at the pub. Sonny and Izak took off at some point with that group of girls and I just waved and wished them luck.
Harrison and I stayed for just one more drink and then we hit the road too. He wanted me to take him home to his apartment but he was yawning something fierce by then and my house was much closer, so we headed there instead and he didn’t protest too much.
Besides, I have three enormous bedrooms to spare and not a single soul to share them with, so I was really excited to show Harrison to the guest room next to my bedroom.
I am not the best company for myself sometimes and I really miss having roommates.
At least that’s my excuse for why I stumble out of bed at the crack of dawn the next morning and pad down the hallway to Harrison’s room.
I must be a little too stealthy cos he jumps in shock when he sees me and pulls the covers up high as though I haven’t already seen his naked body last time he stayed over.
“Do you not know the concept of knocking?” he huffs.
“Not really,” I admit, falling onto the bed beside him. He looks so cosy and warm over there I kind of want to cuddle up to him, but he is giving a few standoffish vibes so I stay put. “Besides, we’ve already seen each other naked. What does it matter?”
“Excuse me? When have we seen each other naked?” he returns.
“Oh, well maybe you haven’t,” I admit. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I’m just used to the locker room mentality of zero boundaries.”
Harrison is silent for a moment but the white knuckles clutching the quilt slowly loosen. “It’s fine, Case,” he replies with a soft sigh. “Just knock next time. You don’t know what I might have been doing.”
“If you mean wanking then I promise you that’s nothing I haven’t seen before. I lived with two guys for the last few years. I have literally seen everything.”
Harrison chokes on a breath, looking at me like I’m speaking a foreign language. “Let’s just be clear, I’m not wanking in front of you.”
“That’s fine,” I smile. “But you can if you want to. That’s all I’m saying. It’s totally natural.”
“Natural for me to whip out my dick while you’re lying there next to me?” he clarifies.
“Exactly.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.”
“It’s cute how shy you are,” I grin, reaching over to poke his dimple. He swats my hand away and I chuckle. “You alright? You were really tired last night.”
Harrison lets out a deep breath. “Yeah, I think the jetlag finally caught up to me. I’m feeling a lot better this morning.”
“That’s good,” I say, stretching out alongside him. I gently rub my abs and Harrison’s eyes follow the movement. “What’s the plan for today?”
“You really never rest, do you?”
“Nope. I’ll rest when I’m dead,” I reply, sending him my trademark grin. “So? The plan?”
“The plan was to have a little lie in,” he replies, eyeing me pointedly. “And then I was going to meet you at the club like two professional people would do instead of waking up together after you kidnapped me last night.”
I laugh out loud. Seriously, he is so cute. “Two professionals,” I chuckle. “You’re so funny, Harry.”
He sighs dramatically. “Like I was saying. If we had a normal working relationship, we’d be meeting at the club for a Pilates session and then I was planning on doing some round ball work.”
I perch on my elbow, an idea flooding my head. “You know, there’s a dawn Pilates session down on the green around a block from here. I’ve never done it before but I’ve run past it loads of times. Looks really cool.”
Harrison is quiet but I can see he is contemplating my idea. “What time does it start?”
“No idea but I usually go for a run around now so we could go check it out.”
“I might be interested.”
“Yeah? Come on then,” I say, jumping off his bed and offering him my hand. He eyes it warily, still clutching onto his quilt.
“You go ahead and get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs,” he says.
“Come and borrow some clothes from my room first,” I return.
Harrison lets out a breath of air. “How about you go get dressed and give me three minutes of peace to myself and then you can bring me the gym clothes here. After you’re dressed.”
I look down at the pair of tight blue boxers I’m wearing, not seeing the issue at hand but I shrug and drop my hand.
“Okay, Harry,” I agree, backing out of the room. “You got three minutes.”
***
Five-point-five minutes later, Harrison and I are walking down the footpath in the direction of the neighbourhood green, just down the block from my house.
Harrison is pretending he doesn’t love being up at this hour with the morning birds and the sun just skirting the horizon.
But I love this time of day, especially in Sydney where the mornings are warm and there’s a buzz of a new day in the air.
We round the corner and my eyes light up when I see the group of fifteen or so people congregating around a circle of date palms. I share a grin with Harrison as we make our way there. The teacher looks up as we arrive, sharing a welcome as we find a space at the back on the grass.
The teacher, Andy as he introduces himself, starts the class with some breathing exercises which then turns in to more of a blend of yoga, tai chi and Pilates, starting with sun salutations.
I glance across at Harrison, pleased to see he seems to be enjoying this as much as I am as I breathe in and breathe out in time with the teacher’s instructions.
By the end of the forty-minute session, I am feeling beautifully stretched and at peace with myself and nature. Even my head feels blessedly quiet as I share a glance with Harrison, noting the relaxed look on his face too.
“Good?”
“Yeah. That was good,” he agrees. “I didn’t realise how much I miss actually doing Pilates classes rather than running them.”
“Sure, Harry. That makes sense. Maybe we can incorporate this into our routine? That way, we both get to enjoy it.”
He eyes me warily for a moment before he nods his head in agreement. “Yeah, sounds good.”
The other attendees seem to be dropping varying amounts of money into a bucket beside the teacher while he chats with a couple from the class. I feel a pang of worry.
“Shit. I didn’t bring any cash. Reckon he takes card?”
Harrison chuckles. “Don’t worry, I got it.” I watch in relief as Harrison steps towards the front of the class and drops a twenty into the bucket. Andy smiles and thanks him and they end up chatting for a few minutes while I wait where I’m still lying on the grass.
The morning sun spills through the date palms, tracing golden streaks across Harrison’s face.
I don’t know what it is about dappled sunlight, but it makes everything look so beautiful and Harrison is no exception.
I guess I already thought he was beautiful, but in the moment I can’t look away as he shares a laugh with the teacher, golden dust motes crowning his curls.
Andy places a proprietary hand on Harrison’s elbow, and something tugs in my gut. I mean, he’s my best friend and I don’t think I like the way Andy is looking at him or touching him like that. Only I get to touch my best friend that way.
Harrison turns to me, sunlight catching on the golden flecks in his brown eyes, and for a moment, I’m completely spellbound.
His head tilts, curiosity dancing in those chestnut eyes—and that’s when I realise I still haven’t looked away.
I laugh to myself as I shake away the thrall.
I blame this class for that weird headspace I’ve found myself in.
Harrison is quiet as we walk back home to my place, and I leave him to his thoughts. I know quiet time is a rarity around me and it’s an effort not to constantly speak my mind. But I’m still feeling a little weird too, so I don’t mind the peace this morning.
“Shower?” I ask once we’re back inside my house.
“Ah …” Harrison mulls, confusion in his eyes.
“You want one?” I clarify, not sure what is confusing about my question.
“Oh right, yes, yeah. Sounds good,” he stammers.
I narrow my eyes at him as his cheeks dot with pink but I let it drop.
We’re both weird this morning clearly. He immediately turns and walks up the stairs and I follow behind him.
He’s already in the shower by the time I find him a towel from the linen closet, but the bathroom door is locked behind him.
“Harry?”
“What?”
“I have a towel for you. Let me in.”
“Just leave it on the floor for me. I’ll get it in a minute.”
“Just unlock the door and I’ll give it to you,” I huff.
I think he might not have heard because it takes a moment before the lock clicks open and he pulls the door aside, just barely wide enough for me to pass the towel through to him.
He looks flustered and that’s when I remember he didn’t like it when I barged in on him last time he stayed the night.
I really do need to remember other people have boundaries.
“Thanks,” he says as he takes the towel and then promptly shuts the door as quickly as he opened it. I hear the lock turn again and I take that as my cue to go have my own shower down the hallway in my ensuite where I find myself all alone again.
***
Our morning Pilates/yoga/tai chi class really sets the tone for the rest of the week. We’re down to the eight day mark for the Fever’s season opener and to say I’m desperate to play is the understatement of the year.
But it’s Friday’s team list announcement that is the real deadline because that is when Mick Brabham will make the call on whether I’ll be playing.
Currently there’s zero media speculation about my health but I know that if Mick makes the call to rest me it’s going to light up interest in the true extent of my injury.
Harrison is called into a meeting with Coach and some of the senior medicos early Saturday morning after our Pilates class and I know exactly what they’re discussing. Me.
Dean Hampton isn’t in yet so I decide to make use of the time with a swim because that is high on the list of Harrison Thornfield approved activities.
I’m not as enthused about kicking the soccer ball around later today but I’ll do whatever Harrison tells me to do if it gets my name on that team list on Friday.
He's waiting for me at the end of the pool when I emerge from a lap. I pull myself out of the water, not even bothering with my towel when I pad over to him.
“So, what’s the verdict?” I ask, pushing my hair out of my eyes as the water pools around me.
“No verdict yet, Case,” Harrison tells me, glancing down at the notes in his hand. “We’re going to leave it to the very last second before we make the call.”
“But the call is going to be that I’m playing, right?” I press, turning on my most charming smile.
“Don’t you use that smile on me, Casey Calloway,” he returns straight back. “The decision will be made purely on your medical results. Not your charm and not you batting your eyelashes to get your way.”
I frown. That’s less positive news for me because if there’s one thing I can do best it’s talking my way into getting what I want.
“But you’ll put in your best word for me, right?” I ask anyway.
Harrison sighs, finally looking up from his notes as his gaze drops down my body before meeting my eyes.
“I told you I’d be making this decision based on what is best for your long-term prospects, Casey,” he says.
“If I had my way, we would have six more weeks before you’re let loose on the football field.
I know that’s not possible,” he adds as I start to protest, “but I’m just letting you know where we’re at. ”
I sigh heavily, the weight of his words souring my good mood. I live to play this game. It’s literally my life. All I’ve got.
“Hey,” he says, lifting my chin with his finger until my eyes collide with his chestnut browns. “We’re going to give it everything we’ve got to get you on that list on Friday, okay? None of this moping around. That’s not the Casey I’ve come to know this last week.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I agree, pulling my head back into gear. It’s a quick process. I’m not a moper. I’m all about next steps, taking action, making plans. “So, what’s the plan?”
Harrison just grins at me as he shakes his head. “There you are,” he smiles, dimple out in force. “Give me a few more laps now that you’re here in the pool anyway and then we’ll hit the practice field for some real football.”
“ Real football?” I perk up.
“The football the rest of the world consider to be real,” he adds with a dramatic eyeroll, and I huff.
“Sometimes I think you forget which team I play for, Harry.”
“Don’t worry, Casey. I have not forgotten which team you play for,” he sighs with another shake of his head.