“I know, baby. Let me just enjoy you for a while first. Can we please do that?”
She let out an audible sigh which I knew was a sign of acquiescence. “See you at practice, hardheaded.”
I laughed when Harper ended the call. Her hanging up on me didn’t dampen my mood. Nothing could. I was wearing her down. I shoved my phone in my pocket as I headed out of my bedroom. When I made it back to the kitchen, my brother was wrapping up breakfast. It was perfect that he liked to cook, because it was something I never cared for.
“Why don’t you look miserable as hell? Did you get some pussy?”
“Man, what?”
“Don’t try to lie your way out of it. Why the hell are you smiling? You don’t smile.”
“What the hell do you mean? I smile.”
“Yeah, that fake ass medication induced smile. I’m talking about this shit eating grin you’re wearing. You fucked Harper.”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about, but you should seek help. Therapy works wonders, Bro. I swear.”
“Your soft ass would never kiss and tell. I respect it, but it’s on now.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s bringing Cameron to basketball practice this morning.”
“So, you put in a little work over there. I see you,” he teased.
“Bitch, where’s the sausage?” I asked, shoving past him to get to the stove.
I removed the lid on the pot and was pleased to find that Jase made cheese eggs and chicken sausage. We didn’t exactlyeat healthily, but we liked to stay away from pork and carbs. It helped me to not have to work out so much and kept my numbers in check. I wasn’t a health nut just because I was a doctor, but I did consider myself health conscious.
My dad was the perfect example of what living a healthy lifestyle looked like. Well, that was until he had his heart attack. I still felt like his conniving ex-wife had something to do with that. He wasn’t concerned about it, so who was I to push the issue? For a man in his sixties, my dad still looked like he was about fifteen years younger. You couldn’t pay me to tell him that though. He’d already married and divorced a woman who was my sister’s age. I didn’t need him thinking he could pull another young girl. He barely made it out of the last marriage alive.
“Don’t think I’m not on to you, bitch,” Jase said as he picked up a sausage and bit into it.
“I’m not hiding. You know what my goal is.”
“Just be careful,” he said, pointing at me with his sausage before leaving the room.
I just shook my head. I knew what he was thinking. Jase was right to be concerned because my obsession with Harper never waned. Still, I had never felt better, mentally. All I wanted now was my woman back in my life.
Between the kids yelling, the whistle, and their shoes squeaking on the floor as they tripped over their own feet, the gym was as loud as usual when I walked in. It always felt nostalgic to come to the court. My mom made sure we were well rounded, so we all had a sport. Jase and I chose basketball.
We were actually pretty good, and both ended up with partial scholarships. It put some distance between Harper and me when she got into a school in South Florida. The plan had been for Jase and me to take care of her and pay her tuition. I had already put aside enough money to cover her first year of school.
She finished school a year after us and was lucky enough to receive a full ride. As salty as I was about her not coming to live with us, I was proud of her. We made it work by putting a lot of miles on our cars and racking up all kinds of frequent flyer miles. I stayed monogamous throughout college only to fuck up right at the end. I would never forgive myself for what I did that night.
Usually, coming to the gym gave me that comforting feeling of being home. This time, it was different. This time, she was here. Harper was right in front of me, on her feet with her arms folded tight across her chest. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a tight bun. The black leggings clung to the deep curve of her ass, making me wish I brought a coat to tie around her waist. The oversized sweatshirt did little to hide the softest part of her.
She must have felt my eyes on her because her posture turned slightly until she spotted me. For a moment, everything in the room faded away. All I could focus on was the feeling of her soft, warm body wrapped around me, moaning my name in my ear and further twisting up my thoughts. Harper felt even better than I remembered. Time had been a thief, but I planned to reclaim every single second of my time with her.
When our eyes met, something unrecognizable passed between us. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was, either panic or regret. It didn’t matter; both were to be expected after last night. My feet didn’t stop moving until I was next to her.
“Relax, champ,” I said as I moved up and took a seat on the row right behind her. I wanted to be close enough to be present, but far enough away to give her a little space.
“He better not get hurt, JoJo.”
“You were a boxer, and you’re worried about him getting hurt playing basketball?”
“Yes, I am, because that’s my baby.”
“And you were my baby, but I learned to let you do what you had to do to grow.”
