The Guy Named Harrison: Book One

9

Carrie held Wilson as Harrison showed her around. He was the cutest thing. Harrison's house was beautiful. He had marble countertops in the kitchen. There were leather couches in the living room. Next to the tv in the living room was his trophy case full of awards. He had three bedrooms upstairs and Wilson had several beds throughout the house. Downstairs was full of workout equipment. Behind the elliptical, was a chalkboard that he used to keep track of his workouts.

Carrie followed him back upstairs, still holding Wilson. "Harrison, I'm stealing your dog."

He just laughed. "I don't know about that. Maybe I'll steal Gary."

"Not gonna happen hotshot."

She set Wilson down for the first time since she stepped foot in the house as Harrison made his way into the kitchen. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Dinner? It's only 4:00."

"I eat early because I have a protein snack before I go to bed. Then its workouts in the morning."

"You and your routines," she teased.

"Hey, its the life of a professional athlete."

Carrie leaned against the counter as Wilson came running back in the kitchen with one of his toys. It was a horse. When he chewed it, it squeaked. "Hold a grudge much?"

"What do you mean?"

She stole the toy from Wilson and held it up. It was an all white horse with a orange mane and tail. "Doesn't this look a lot like the Denver Broncos mascot? That's the team you lost to two years ago in the Super Bowl right?"

He started laughing. "Oh yeah. Wilson found that at the pet store. I never noticed it until now." Harrison leaned down to pet Wilson. "Somebody knows what's right."

Carrie tossed the toy back on the floor. "Do you ever get tired of your routines?"

"Not really. I love them because for me, the best part of being a professional football player is that I stay in shape. I like working out because I love the challenge. I challenge myself to do more reps each day, or to add more weight and do the same amount of reps."

Wilson tickled his leg with the toy. "So can I make you one of my favorite meals?"

"Go for it," she answered as she knelt down to play with Wilson.

❺❾

A half hour later dinner was ready. Harrison made Salmon with broccoli. "These are great for your body."

He brought over two plates to the kitchen table. "I've never had salmon before."

"You'll like it. Trust me."

She tried the salmon and was surprised at how good it was. "This is amazing."

"Mix this with some broccoli and there you go, a great nutritious dinner."

Harrison watched as she devoured the salmon. "I guess I won't be getting you to go out for ice cream anytime soon?"

"It depends," he answered. "On what I have the next day, and how quickly I can work the calories off."

Carrie actually admired his dedication. Dedication to eat right and take care of his body to boost his performance on the field.

❺❾

After the two of them cleaned up following a delicious meal, they crashed on the couch. Harrison sat on one end while she sat on the other and they rested their legs on each other.

She was checking her schedule for the rest of the week, when he sent her a text message. Carrie opened iMessage and saw it was one of those games everyone played.

He was watching her. "Come on, try it."

"Fine."

The two of them played iMessage pool. Carrie was winning with only one of her solid colored balls left while he had three striped. He shot at one of his stripes and missed. That left the cue ball right behind the 8 ball which was behind her green ball she needed to get in.

Carrie attempted to ricochet the 8 ball off the green ball to push it into the hole. That didn't work out as planned. Since the 8 ball was the last one to be shot in, the game didn't show the trajectory of the 8 ball until it was the last one on the table. Carrie didn't line it up right. Instead of hitting the green ball like she'd planned, the 8 ball rolled past it into the hole. She lost the game.

Harrison laughed so hard as her face reddened. "I can't believe you did that."

"Shut up."

He kept laughing. "That's hilarious."

Carrie started another game. This time she managed not to touch the 8 ball until the very end of the game when she hit it in for the win.

"Take that."

"Best of three?"

"Let's go."

They played another game which Carrie won. "Best of five?"

"No."

He pouted and she couldn't stop herself from crawling over onto his lap. "Somebody's mad they lost," she teased in her most childish voice.

Instead of arguing with her, Harrison leaned in for a kiss. As they kissed, she straddled him and wrapped her arms around him as he placed a hand on her cheek and the small of her back.

As their lips parted, he leaned his forehead against hers. "Carrie, I love you."

"Je t'aime."

He looked into hers eyes as he realized for the first time tonight what that meant. "I love you too," she told him. "And yes, that's 'I love you' in French."

Harrison tipped to the side and kissed her again as Wilson tried to jump up on the couch. As they kissed once more, he couldn't help but think, I'm so lucky.