“Yes, I do,” Larissa replied. “And can you put your arm around me while we watch later?”
“I can do that.” Harlow laughed softly.
“Then, we’ll cuddle and say goodnight at our bedroom doors or something,” Larissa suggested.
“That sounds pretty perfect to me,” she said.
CHAPTER 29
“You didn’t kiss her?” Aggie asked.
“God, no, Aggie,” she replied and locked her car. “We didn’t kiss.”
“Why the hell not? You’ve been basically dating but not since you were twenty-two years old.”
“Because it was our first date, and we’re technically living together right now. It was an amazing date, and we held hands and cuddled on the couch. It was great. When we got tired, we walked down the hall together, and we… hugged.”
“Youhuggedthe girl?”
“Aggie!”
“What? She’s waited so long, Larissa.”
“You’ve never been Harlow’s number one fan. Why are you trying to get her kissed now?”
“I wasn’t her number one fan because I watched her go from girlfriend to girlfriend, when she was in love withyou. Yeah, I’d never officially confirmed that by talking to her, but it was obvious to everyone but you. She broke hearts, Larissa. And normally, that would’ve been fine. Relationships don’t always work out. But she knew she had feelings for you and still dated other women. I wanted her to knock that off and stop being a coward. I wanted her to tell you. I felt like if she finally did, you’d wake the hell up and realize that life can be more than scienceand books. You… You know I think you deserve more than that. I want you to get done with school, yeah, but not if it’s making you miserable; not if you don’t want that. I just want you to be so happy. And I’ve always thought Harlow could do that if she only told you. Now that she has, and you feel the same way, I guess I just don’t get why you’d hold back.”
Larissa stopped next to the door and decided to finish the call out there since it was possible that Samantha was right inside.
“We’re not holding back. We’re just not rushing ahead. I know it probably feels like we’ve known each other forever, so we should be able to jump into bed because that’s really the only thing we haven’t shared, but I don’t want to rush this. I only just figured out how I feel. I know she’s been there a lot longer, but she wasn’t ready for a kiss last night, either. It was Harlow’s idea to hug at the end of the night, Aggie. You’ve got to respect our process.”
“It’s a relationship, Larissa, not a scientific study, but you’re right. I get it. I guess I just got excited thinking that my sister has a girlfriend, and I know that girlfriend is loyal and kind and loves the shit out of her.”
“Mama, what’sshit?”
“Ah, fuck,” Aggie said.
“Was that Nathan?” Larissa laughed.
“Yes, the boys are in the car with us. Henry’s driving us to dinner, and I forgot for a moment where I was.”
“What’sfuck?” Junior asked.
Larissa laughed louder and replied, “Well, this one you can’t blame me for. Oh, and thanks for telling me that your husband and children are hearing about my love life.”
“It’s not a love life yet. It sounds like a life with a lame ending to a first date. Kiss the girl, Larissa.”
“I will. I will. God, go to your dinner already,” she said. “I have to go anyway. I’ve got another interview.”
“So, you’ll get to see her soon, huh?”
“No, actually. Harlow had to go to her new apartment. There was some problem with the transfer of the security deposit, so they needed her to run over an actual check. She’s skipping this one so that she doesn’t lose the apartment.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll let you go, but since you’ll see her later tonight, I expect an update on the whole kiss thing soon.”
“Bye, Aggie,” she said and hung up on her sister.
Then, she walked inside the building, where she saw Samantha sitting at the desk, staring at her computer.
