“Not like you were going to tell her that she had to move with you tonight or it was over. I don’t know. Ignore me. I’m just talking without knowing what I’m talking about,” he said.
“Right now, you really are,” I told him. “And I would appreciate it if you would not say anything to Harper about this if you chance to see her. I’m not sure when I’m going to talk to her about it, and I don’t want it to be what we talk about when we’re fishing, okay?”
“That’s fair, though I thought she said you only talk about work anyway?” Nick asked. I gave him a look and he laughed.
“I’m kidding, kidding, geez, calm down,” he said. “Anyway, give me a call with what you’re going to do with your weekend, and we’ll see if we can make some time to put the lines in the water.”
“Sounds good to me,” I told him.
We parted ways, and before I even started the car, I called Harper. I wasn’t going to bring up the move or the promotion, but I did have other things on my mind, and I wanted to know if she wanted to join.
“I’m going to be making dinner at my place tonight, and I hoped you might want to come over and have some,” I said.
“Hmmmm, okay,” she replied. “I had to check my overly booked calendar, but I think I can make time to come see you for dinner.”
“Just dinner?” I asked. “I know it’s a little early on, but I was hoping you might spend the night. I figured that might decide what you pack in your bag to bring with?”
“It just might. Alright, why don’t you give me like twenty minutes, and I’ll put something together. Then you’re going to need to give me the address to your place, because I’ve not stalked you to the point I know where you live yet. Unlike you,” she said.
“You had to tell me where you lived so I could give you a ride home!” I told her. “Anyway, I would rather have you as a captive audience all night. I’m going to the store to grab a few things for dinner, then I’m coming by your place to pick you up, so be ready.”
“Captive audience? Sounds kinky. I might need to add a few more things to the bag,” she said.
I chuckled and wrapped up the conversation, forgetting all about Texas and the promotion offer I was given that day. All I cared about right now was getting to see my girl. It had been a long day at the office, and I was ready to just hold her in my arms when we were on the couch that night.
Of course, I had a feeling with telling her I wanted her to spend the night, there was a good chance we would have some sexy time, too. And that would be nice. It had been so long since I had a sex life, it felt remarkable to have one again. And the fact that it was with someone like Harper was just amazing.
I hardly knew what to do with myself during the day. She was on my mind practically all day, every day, and all I wanted to do was talk to her. Or about her, for that matter.
But, personal lives weren’t really things that I talked about with my patients, and I wasn’t going to talk about much beyond what was happening at the office with the other staff members. Nick was the only exception to that rule, considering the fact he and I were as close as we were.
Harper was ready and waiting by the time I made it to her place, and she happily skipped down the walkway and hopped into the car with a smile on her face.
“You caught me just in time,” she said. “I was about ready to decide I was having cereal for dinner again and pouring myself a bowl. I don’t know what I would have done if you called and I had a full bowl of cereal in front of me.”
“Sounds like a real tragedy was averted with the phone call,” I said. “Glad I could be of service.
“Hope you like my cooking. It’s not going to be as good as yours, but still,” I continued.
“I already had your cooking. You made breakfast, remember?” she asked.
“Eggs and toast is hardly cooking for someone. If that was all I had to do to get credit for a date, you better believe that all my dates would take place before nine in the morning,” I said.
She smirked. “I have seen people fuck up toast before, and if you had done that, I don’t know if this would work. That was a risk you took there, that’s for sure.”
“Not as big as the risk I’m taking tonight. You went with lasagna, but I’m about to whip up some surf and turf.” I winked.
“Surf and turf? And what is the occasion for that?” she asked with wide eyes.
“Having Harper over for dinner,” I said. She blushed, and I beamed to myself. I loved that I had the ability to still make her blush, even with all the flirting we had been doing with each other lately. She would flush as red as a tomato if I said just the right thing, and it always made me feel giddy doing it.
The more I could make her feel good about herself with me, the more she would want to stay. It was something I had learned from a dating coach long before, and I was putting it out there now. I wanted to find the right time to talk to her about the move, but I also didn’t want to lose the relationship with her.
I had no idea if she would be willing to go with me, and I wasn’t even sure I had the guts to ask her to do it. But, I did know that the more I made her feel secure with me, the more she would be willing to go for something long distance or move with me.
It was the kind of material that long relationships were built on. That’s how my coach always put it to me, and I had to admit, it did make sense. If she knew that I wanted her no matter what – and that I was in this for the long haul – it would be a lot easier for me to tell her that there was a change in my life.
I didn’t want her to run off with someone else, and I didn’t want her to think that she had to break up with me because I was leaving. On the other hand, I didn’t want her to think she had to go with me, either. I knew she had her mother here, and I wasn’t going to tear the two of them apart.