Chapter Fifteen
“I think so.” Harper closed her eyes to gather herself, and when she opened them, she reluctantly said, “Yes, but probably not this fast.”
“Fuck.” Charlie shimmied back up after nearly having her lips on Harper’s breasts until their faces were level. She rested her head in her palm, mirroring Harper’s position once again.
“Exactly.” Harper wanted to pull away and put her walls back up, but she didn’t. She couldn’t.
“Can I ask you a question?” When Harper nodded, Charlie said, “What changed? I feel like there’s been an attraction between us from the beginning, yet you always kept me at a distance.
And then, you told me all about your wife and how you didn’t date.
But it felt like today, no, yesterday something shifted. ”
Harper sighed because it was difficult to articulate the full gamut of the emotional roller coaster she’d been riding.
“My brother- and mother-in-law have been trying to convince me to open up to the idea of dating the last couple of years or so, but I always tell them I’ll think about it and don’t.
But Ellie said some things to me that…” She shrugged.
“I don’t know. Resonated. Like, how can I think I only have room in my heart for one person?
As we talked, it was like a light switch flipped inside me, and everything Andrew and his mom have been telling me finally clicked. ”
“I’m glad,” Charlie said as she took Harper’s hand and brought it to her lips.
“Me too, but I think we should go slow. I would love nothing more than to get us both naked on this secluded stretch of beach, but at the same time, that thought terrifies me.” Saying it was physically painful, but she knew time was what she needed to make sure her heart, mind, and libido were all in the same place.
While her body had gotten caught up in the moment and still ached, her brain was tugging on the reins.
“I don’t want to move too fast and panic.
The last thing I want to do is hurt you. ”
Charlie’s face softened. “We can go as slow as you need. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
Harper’s body relaxed. The relief flooding her veins was like warm honey, leaving sweet relief in its path. “Thank you.” She sagged farther onto the sand until her head lay on her bicep.
Charlie brushed the hair off her forehead, and the sweetness of the gesture made Harper ache in a different way.
“What do you think about a day date?”
Charlie rolled onto her stomach and placed her chin on the backs of her hands. “What’d you have in mind?”
“Maybe breakfast one morning? I can’t do tomorrow because I’m at the clinic, but the day after, I’m free.
” Harper didn’t know why she was so nervous.
It seemed clear Charlie wanted to date her, but something about directly asking her on a real date felt scarier than these ambiguous outings that could have just been hangouts between friends.
Until the kissing had started anyway.
“I’d love that. Breakfast is my favorite meal.
Sometimes I even have breakfast for dinner.
Though honestly, my desire to see you has had me foregoing waffles or omelets for dinner in favor of coming to the bar instead.
I’ve been both drinking more and eating a lot more unhealthy foods lately.
” Charlie’s smile grew brighter as she said, “Not that I mind.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I don’t want to contribute to your delinquency.”
“I still drink a lot less here than I did in New York. That was just the life. The job was stressful as fuck, and drinking and drugs went with it.” Charlie’s eyes went wide as she quickly added, “I never really got into the Wall Street drug scene, thankfully. That was more the finance bros. I hung with them enough that I was well liked, but when they offered me something illegal, I’d take it and toss it the first chance I got. ”
“Wow. I thought that whole drug thing was played up for the movies.” Harper felt a little sick at the life Charlie used to live.
“It’s definitely portrayed as a bigger issue in the movies, but it’s still there.
Though I didn’t succumb, I did drink a lot more than was healthy.
That was just a given. We all had bottles in our desks and would go out just before the bars closed to celebrate a win.
” She grimaced and shook her head. “The more distance I have from that place, the more I can see that getting out of that shit was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. ”
Harper had always been the good one. She never broke the rules; she always studied and got good grades. It was odd to think of Charlie as being a part of the party scene, but she hadn’t known her back then. Which wasn’t a bad thing. But she was also grateful to know her now.
Harper looked to the horizon. “We’ve missed the sunset.” She gestured with her chin.
Charlie looked out but brought her gaze back to Harper’s. “I’m sure it was beautiful, but I don’t regret our timing. The green flash can wait for another day. And the sky is beautiful still.” She pointed without looking at the pinks and oranges streaking along the horizon.
“Beautiful,” Harper said, not looking either.