Chapter Eight #2
Harte scooted off the bed. “I guess you’ll have to decide what to do. I know how close you are to your family. And this thing between us is so new, maybe we should take it slow.”
It would be the easy way out to simply agree with him and let it ride for a while, but dammit, I didn’t want that. Having Harte here in my house to greet me when I came home off tour was a bonus I wanted to make permanent.
“Let’s take it day by day and see what happens.
Right now, I need coffee and something to eat.
Only two more days of night tour, and then I go on days and get my regular life back.
” I flung the comforter off me. I needed a hot shower and had to do laundry, although I’d have loved to keep Harte’s smell on my bed and me all day long.
“How’s Emerson feeling?”
I frowned, thinking of him all alone. I didn’t know if his girlfriend of the week would be there to help him. “I planned to call him when I came home but got distracted.”
Harte grinned. “Sorry not sorry. You can do it after breakfast.”
“Gonna shower first.”
His eyes darkened. “That sounds like a good idea.”
I held out my hand. “Come join me.”
Our hair still damp, we sat at the island, drinking coffee and finishing our meal.
Harte took a bite of his bagel. “I can’t make eggs to save my life, but I’m a master cream-cheese spreader.”
“This was perfect.” I took another slice of smoked salmon and laid it over my bagel. “Thank you again. What’re your plans for today?”
He set his mug down. “I need a new car—that’s number one. I didn’t have a chance to tell you, but last night I talked to Dev and Brody about what I could do in retirement, and they suggested college scouting. Lots of colleges with good programs here in the North Atlantic region.”
Impressed, I chewed and swallowed. “Yeah. That sounds like a winner of a plan.”
His smile flashed in his bright face. “It’s up to management, of course, but I’ll put in a call to my old coach and see what he says.”
“That’s great.” I took a sip of coffee. “So,” I said, hoping I sounded casual, “you’re planning to stay in Appleton Falls permanently?”
“Having friends like Dev and Brody close by makes it easy.” He chewed his lip. “And of course, there’s you.”
“Yeah? What about me?”
His lashes lowered. “I-I don’t want to give up on what’s happening between us. It’s more than friendship for me.” He sneaked a peek at me, and I held out my hand and he took it.
“For me too. No matter what people say.”
Harte frowned. “I don’t want to be the cause of discord in your family. That’s not fair to you.”
I squeezed his hand before letting go. “You know what’s not fair?
Me having to change or hide because it might offend someone or because they don’t like it.
My mother loves me, and I know when she has time to think about everything, she’ll understand.
As for my boss and the other guys? Fuck them.
Let them say what they want to my face.” I curled my hand into a fist, but Harte laid his fingers over mine.
“Don’t lower yourself to their level. When I was active, I learned that the players who got into fights always did it to overcompensate for their weaknesses or to hide an inadequacy. But you don’t have that problem. You’re perfect—more than I ever imagined as a lover.”
Words I might’ve once dismissed as cheesy now gave me a ridiculous warm and fuzzy feeling.
“I know I’m your first, so you have nothing to compare to, but—”
“No,” Harte interrupted me. “I’m not looking to compare. Two years ago, when I was still active, I thought I had feelings for another man, but I can’t imagine anyone giving me more pleasure than you.”
Instantly jealous, I had to know. “Who was he?”
Harte shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It was nothing, and he never noticed me.”
“Devlin Summers?” I continued, ignoring what he said. “Was it him?”
“Jet, come on. Dev and Brody are my friends, and they’re married. And the answer is no, never.”
I pushed my plate away and pulled him into my arms. “Thinking of you with anyone else…I can’t. You’re mine.”
Evidently shocked, Harte’s eyes glittered, and his breath came in short pants. “Don’t you think this is fast—too fast? We only met two weeks ago.”
I tangled my fingers in his blond hair to make sure he couldn’t get away.
“So what? I’m thirty-six years old, not some teenager who falls in and out of love every week.
I might not be the kind of guy who says pretty words”—I brushed my lips to his, and we clung together for a brief moment—“but your heart slipped right into mine, and it’s staying put. ”
“I dunno. That sounded pretty fucking nice to me. And you know, it’s funny, but with us taking steps to come out to people, I learned something about myself.”
“Yeah?” I asked, stroking his hair. “What’s that?”
“I’m not that same person who once settled for second best. I deserve someone who cares for me and is going to put me first in their life.
Like I’ll put them first in mine. And that the road everyone travels isn’t necessarily the one I should walk.
As long as the path leads me in the right direction for me.
” He took my face between his palms and kissed me.
“And now it has. It led me to you, Jet.”
A smile beamed from his face, matching mine. I kissed him back.
“You mean, to us.”