Harper's Rules 1 & 2

Chapter 6: Jake

A/N: Mature content (sigh).

"Shit..." I cursed under my breath at the sight ahead of me. The way Harper walked up the sidewalks away from her dorm room gave me an entirely new meaning of the word 'thankful.'

My mouth dried as I thanked every God I'd ever heard or read about that blessed me with today's pleasant Southern California weather. The sunset colors that painted the sky weren't what I was thankful for, but I sure appreciated a temperature warm enough that I got a full view of Harper as she approached.

With soft clicks, she walked in a short, tight, black dress that hugged every curve and dip in her gorgeous body. Her breasts bounced with each step of the black high heels that elongated her already long and slender legs, her hips shifted with a natural, wavelike sway, and she carried herself with steadied shoulders and small chin lifted up high.

My mouth dried at how a few random strands of her long, straight blonde hair blew up from behind her shoulders. I rubbed one hand over my jaw to make sure it was still attached because, at this point, I had no idea. My tongue flicked out on its own and wet my dry lips.

When her eyes met mine, they sparkled the more I gaped at her like a lovesick -

No, not that again Jake. Bury that shit for later.

More than once over the past two weeks, I'd gotten dangerously close to blurting out my feelings to Harper. They felt stronger after sex, stongest when I held her afterwards, and had only got stronger the more I acknowledged them then locked them back down.

My tortured reality was I now thought about Harper when she wasn't here, even stupid shit like how excited I was when she texted me that she got an 87 on her latest exam to how I knew exactly where to take her on our date in two weeks. I still fucked her hard in celebration over her exam score, then gazed at the back of her head like a highschool crush.

Fuck, bad analogy. She was my high school crush.

With painful beats, my heart jackhammered in my chest like it wanted to spring out of my dress shirt as Harper closed the distance between us. Her eyes looked electric from the dark makeup she'd applied around them, all her freckles were covered, and her lips wore just a light, pale pink something that actually wasn't sticky when I leaned down and kissed her gently.

"You look..." My eyes appreciated the deep V-cut in her dress' neckline. From far away only a sliver of her skin flashed but I got a downward view straight between her breasts when she almost pressed against me. "Edible."

My hand met my forehead before she answered me.

What the fuck, Jake? Edible?

Harper never needed compliments, since her confidence radiated from within her. She still deserved them, so I corrected myself, "I mean, beautifully edible."

"Like a fruit basket arrangement?" Her nose crinkled adorably.

No, fuck, not that word Jake.

One of her hands swatted my chest as she leaned her head back. "Behave Jake," she warned me as I lowered my hand from my forehead. She dipped her chin down and her eyes flashed at me from under her thick, black-painted lashes. "Or even better, don't."

It's like she fucking reads my mind sometimes.

Before I assured her past the way my lips curled up at the ends, her eyes dragged over my black suit. She'd seen me wear it after the past few home games but my skin warmed at the appreciation that sparkled in her gaze.