Ma was clattering around in the kitchen, and I glanced at the door, hoping she didn’t choose that moment to come back. Harper exhaled, side-eyeing me.
Interaction at last.
After around thirty seconds, she lowered the book onto the table, staring straight forward, and replied. “Maybe I’m just a slow reader?”
Rolling my eyes, I noticed the closed physics book next to her mug. What was it about science that interested her so much? I thought the subject was as dull as fuck.
Leaning over, I plucked it off the table and flicked through it. “What’s so good about physics? You learning how to cook meth, Heisenberg?”
Harper’s nose wrinkled as she mimicked a smirk. “That would be chemistry, dumbass.” I knew that. Aside from acing all three sciences, Breaking Bad was one of my favorite shows. Everyone remembered Walter White was aChemistryTeacher before he became a badass. I only said it to rile her, and it worked, sort of. I hated that I still hadn’t gotten any eye contact from her.
Banging the exercise book down on the table, I drew a deep breath into my lungs, my jaw then tightening in irritation. I could feel myself getting annoyed,and losing my temper with her would only make things worse. “Could you at least look at me?”
She stiffened and inhaled, lifting her head but keeping her gaze fixed forward.
As I said, being ignored had always been a bugbear of mine, possibly due to my mother’s abandonment. Harper’s silence dragged across my nerves like sandpaper, but I knew I needed to keep my cool. Losing my shit would only escalate the tension between us.
I could hear Ma now whistling in the kitchen and knew we could be interrupted at any point, so I decided to do what I did best.
“Look at me,” I said gruffly, in a commanding voice. And that did the trick. Harper twisted her legs out from under the table and faced me, her hands falling demurely into her lap.
“What?” she huffed, clearly still pissed.
“Do you trust me?” I asked, stifling a grin at the sudden outrage on her face.
“What type of question is that?”
I narrowed my eyes, my expression stating I meant business. “Do you?”
She shrugged her narrow shoulders. “It depends.”
“On what?”
“If you're asking if I trust you with women, then the answer would be a resounding no,” Harper grunted moodily, lifting her chin prissily.
“Here we go again. You’re such a fucking cry-baby.”
“And you’re a fuck-boy who can’t keep it in his pants.”
She was such a complex package of sweet and sour; I couldn’t help but grin. She was also the most gorgeous creature to walk the planet, and the fact that she didn’t realize that added to her allure.
Harper’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the smirk for?” She rasped moodily.
“You. You’re cute when you’re trying to look pissed off.” My words made her expression soften slightly.
“Iampissed off.”
“Look, nothing happened with Court—ney.” Thankfully, I managed to elongate the other girl's shortened name so as not to piss Harper off even more. “At least, not recently.”
She finally faced me fully, but her words hit me like a blindside tackle. “Did she really suck you off in the school bathroom?”
“Where the fuck did that come from?” I hated that hurt expression and knew I needed to move on.
“Did she?”
I rolled my shoulders, “That wasagesago. It’s in the past, and who cares anyway? It’s the future you should be thinking about.”
“What do you mean?” Harper asked, gnawing on her bottom lip, her eyes wide.
