Larissa leaned against the counter after Harlow basically placed her there.
“Don’t fall over,” she ordered.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Larissa mock-saluted her, and it was so damn cute, Harlow just wanted to kiss her. Instead, she poured her a glass of water and watched her drink it in front of her. Then, she walked her back to her bedroom and watched her kick off her socks and pants. When the pants fell to the floor, Harlow turned away. They’d never seen each other naked, and while she’d seen Larissa in a bathing suit, she’d never seen her in her underwear.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
Harlow turned around to see that Larissa had put on a new shirt but was still only in her panties.
“Do you need to pee and brush your teeth and stuff?”
“Oh, yeah.” Larissa laughed.
“I’ll wait out here. Yell if you need me.”
Harlow sat on Larissa’s bed and waited a few minutes for her to reemerge from the bathroom.
“You know something?”
“I probably know a few somethings,” she teased as Larissa sat down next to her and rested her head against her shoulder.
“You’re the best.”
“I am?”
“You make me better, I think.”
“How do I do that, exactly?”
“You push me. No one else does that. Maybe my mean sister, but she’s my sister, you know? I need it sometimes. I should thank you more for that.”
“Okay. Well, how about we just get you to bed tonight, and you can thank me another time?”
“Do I do that for you?”
“What?”
“Push you? Make you better? I don’t think I do.”
“You do,” Harlow replied.
“But how?”
“You really want to talk about thisnow?”
“Yes.”
Harlow sighed and said, “You challenge me to be better all the time. You want me to be the best version of myself that I can be. Hell, you’re the one who made me apply for the job I have now, even though I didn’t think I would get it and wasn’t really qualified for it. I only went to that damn interview because you drove my nervous ass there.”
“You were shaking. I didn’t want you driving while you were shaking.”
“I really wanted it, but I was scared to admit it. Now, it’s been a while, and I’m not the biggest fan of my job anymore, but it pays the bills, and I wouldn’t have it in the first place if you hadn’t pushed me. So, yeah, you make me better. And I’ll give you more examples, if you want, when there’s a chance you’ll actually remember us having this conversation. Deal?”
“Okay,” Larissa replied, sounding tired.
“Come on. Let’s get you to bed. I’ll put a trash can here just in case you need it later, okay?”
