8. Harper
CHAPTER EIGHT
HARPER
“I can’t believe Felix will be sleeping two doors down from me.” I close my bedroom door and sit next to Tyler on the edge of my bed, gasping when he drapes my legs over his lap.
He isn’t acting any different than normal, yet I still can’t get over this new body of his.
The sleeves of his polo shirt are stretched tight around his biceps.
Each time we hug, I’m met with a wall of solid muscle.
He’s a man, not a boy anymore, and I feel tiny beside him.
I’ve been tongue-tied around him for the last week because he’s so damn beautiful.
The way he grins at me makes me hot inside.
Tyler’s hand remains on my thigh, his thumb stroking back and forth as his other hand twirls my hair. Goosebumps rise over my skin. A shiver travels to the top of my inner thighs. I pray he doesn’t realize the effect he’s having on me.
Earlier in the day, Cindy was talking about sex.
About me and Tyler having sex. The thought of us together hasn’t left my mind.
I want to feel his lips on me and his hands beneath my clothes.
What would he sound like? What would he feel like inside me?
My bed is a four-poster queen with silk curtains on all four sides.
It would be so easy to draw the curtains shut right now and let Tyler undress me.
But I can’t. I won’t. What on earth is happening to me?
I’ve never had an issue with temptation until now.
This last week, I’ve thought about sex non-stop.
I’ve touched myself to the thought of Tyler every day, sometimes twice a day.
The worst part is that sometimes when I reach my peak, Felix enters my mind, spiraling my climax to greater heights.
I moaned too loud in my room yesterday and my mother called out, concerned I’d hurt myself. Never have I been so embarrassed.
“You okay, Harp?” Something smug sits within Tyler’s smile as he asks the question.
“I’m frustrated.” I focus on the anger that Felix fills me with, using it as a distraction from Tyler’s touch. “What if Felix brings girls back here? The last thing I want is to hear him having sex. Seeing it has scarred me for life.”
Tyler laughs, his voice deep and handsome and not at all what I need to hear right now. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about walking in on Felix.”
“Because I was traumatized. I’ve been trying to block it from my mind.”
The real answer is I’m horrified over how I reacted during the encounter. The dagger didn’t land deep in the girl’s arm. She can’t be overly injured. But she could tell someone what I did to her. Why hasn’t Felix told anyone?
“I can’t believe my father is going along with this,” I continue. “How is he okay with Felix living with us?”
“From the way your mother was talking when I arrived, it sounds like he’s just as unhappy about this arrangement as you are.”
I think back to the fight I had with my parents earlier this evening when they dropped the Felix news on me.
Not once in my life have I had an argument with my parents.
Dad is strict with me and is an intimidating man.
That’s how he’s become so powerful and respected in his career.
He’s taught me discipline and determination, and I love him for it.
He can be very harsh, but his praise is also equally as strong.
Mom sacrificed her career to be a stay-at-home mom and has only recently gone back to painting. My parents dote on me and have given me every opportunity to pursue my dreams. I owe them everything and it feels so wrong to be in disagreement with them.
I kept pacing Dad’s office, trembling with rage as I begged my mother to rethink her decision.
Dad was silently fuming in his armchair the entire time, drinking hard liquor and unhappy with my mother.
When I told him to talk some sense into her, he sighed and told me the decision is final and that I will stop questioning them.
“Maybe I can try speaking with Dad again,” I say.
“Harper?” My father’s voice shocks me, along with the knocking on my door. I instantly slide away from Tyler, knowing Dad wouldn’t approve of the way he was holding me.
“Come in,” I call out.
The door opens with both my parents on the other side. Dad has an arm wrapped around Mom’s shoulders. The same arm lowers and locks around her waist, pulling her closer. I groan quietly at the intimacy, both of them wearing silk bathrobes. They’ve had make-up sex.
Gross.
“Your mother and I would like to speak with you,” Dad says the words in a stern voice, though he doesn’t sound angry. “Things got heated between all of us earlier in the office. We’d like to apologize and have a calm conversation. Tyler, can you please give us privacy.”
“Sure.” Tyler stands from my bed. “I’ll see what Felix is up to.”
As soon as the three of us are alone, I tuck my legs beneath me and sigh, trying to keep a level temper. “How can you let Felix live here?” I say to Dad. “You hate him as much as I do.”
“I don’t hate anyone. I don’t approve of Felix, but your mother needs this. She’s my wife and I will always support what she needs.”
“What about what your daughter needs? You know this is the most important year of my dance education. I have the lead role in Swan Lake . Ballet companies will be selecting dancers from this performance. I can’t afford any distractions.”
“Honey, you’re the best ballerina at your school,” Mom says. “I’m sure you won’t have any issues. One day when you have your own kids, you’ll understand why I’m doing this. A mother has unconditional love for her children?—”
“But Felix isn’t your child.” Anger gets the best of me, and my voice rises.
“I’m doing this for Felix’s mother. Lenore was like a sister to me. Please try to understand. Put yourself in my shoes. Imagine if one day, God forbid, Tyler passes away and leaves children behind. You’d do everything in your power to take care of those children for him.”
I groan, frustrated because I understand her point. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Tyler. “But Felix has a father. It’s Josh’s responsibility to take care of his children. Not yours.”
“Honey, I know this is difficult for you to understand. I’m sorry if you can’t accept my choices, but your father and I are not changing our minds. Felix will be living with us and you will need to accept him into this family.”
“I’m not accepting him.”
“You will,” my father warns, keeping my mother close in his arms. “Speaking of family, I know things are tense in this household at the moment. Your mother and I have decided the four of us need an escape from the city. Josh has offered us the beach house. We’ll leave for the Hamptons tomorrow morning and spend the next two weeks there. It will give us the reset we all need.”
My eyes flare at the thought of being stuck in even closer proximity to Felix. “I can’t take two weeks off from my life. I’ll lose the lead in Swan Lake . You two have work. Mom, your exhibition opens soon.”
“Everything you’ve mentioned can be done remotely,” Mom says. “I want to place distance between Felix and his friends. I’ll have his teachers email me his work. We’ve spoken with your ballet teachers and they expect you to maintain your practice while you’re away.”
That doesn’t make sense. Last year, a ballerina lost her position because she needed to travel for three days to attend a funeral. My technique will suffer if I’m not at the academy for two weeks. This little “family vacation” will lead to me losing my role.
“My god. I hate you right now,” I shout, standing from my bed. “I hate both of you.”
“Harper,” my father scolds. “Lower your voice. What has gotten into you? How dare you disrespect your mother and me.”
“I won’t lower my voice. Get out of my bedroom. I don’t want to speak with either one of you right now.” I slam the door in their faces and lock it, barely believing what I’m doing .
I’m shaking. My skin feels like it’s burning. This isn’t me. I never yell at my parents.I’ve never spoken to them this poorly. But I’m so furious at them and it’s all because of Felix.
This is the effect he has on me. I hate it. I hate Felix and how he’s intruding on my life.