The Guy Named Harrison: Book One

42

While Harrison took a shower, Carrie sat in the hot tub checking her email. The hot tub was abnormally far away from his pool, but that was due to the fact it could be enclosed for the winter. Harrison put the temporary walls up and connected it to the house almost like a sunroom.

Harrison's play against the Lions yesterday was all over the Internet. It was one of the funniest things she'd ever seen in football. First, because Harrison popped the guy from behind after knocking the ball out. And that he straight up mocked the guy after his 48 yard fumble return. Just as everyone predicted, it was number 1 on SportsCenter's Not Top 10.

Carrie was even curious to see if something like this ever happened before. It happened once. Most of the other celebration fails were players dropping the ball before crossing the goal line. She watched it again and laughed. That receiver was never ever going to live that down.

The sliding door opened, to reveal Harrison walking out wearing only a pair of swim trunks. "What are you laughing at?" He asked.

"That play you made yesterday. It's hilarious."

"That's exactly why you don't celebrate early in the NFL. Because that happens."

He slid into the hot tub next to her with his phone in hand. "I just knew he was going to do it. And I get it if you want to celebrate. That's a part of football. That would've been a huge play if I didn't stop him. But save it for the end zone. After you cross it."

Harrison sat across from her and checked his phone. Sure enough, the whole thing was still blowing up all over Instagram. Hundreds of fans tagged him in photos and videos of it. He couldn't help but laugh at some of their comments.

Having Instagram gave him the ability to connect with his fans. There were often so many tagged photos of him, that he didn't have a chance to go through them all. But most of the pictures were of him playing, anything that he signed for fans, and pictures that he'd taken with fans. The little boy that gave him the Pinewood Derby car a few days ago tagged him in another picture. And this time he was able to respond.

He posted the picture he and Carrie took before the game yesterday a few hours ago. It was already up to over 300 thousand likes.

"Excuse me?"

Harrison looked up with a smile creeping across his lips. He knew where this was going. Often times, Carrie would look at pictures fans took of him on Instagram. And most of them were of him meeting fans.

She sometimes got a little jealous.

"Honey, I don't think so."

He held his hand out and she immediately handed him her phone. When he smiled, he was rewarded with a punch to the arm.

It was a picture he took with a girl during the Panthers Fan Fest to begin preseason. And the caption was, 'all mine.'

"Quit laughing."

Harrison looked at another one. It was taken after practice a few days ago and it was captioned, 'my favorite boy gets it done again.'

Another one. 'Forever bae.'

And another one. 'My husband.'

The smile stretched even wider when he looked up to see her with her arms crossed over her chest. "It's not funny. Seriously Harrison," she complained.

He started to laugh. She looked like she was going to punch him again. Harrison set her phone on the deck, and crossed the hot tub. He unfolded her arms and wrapped them around his own neck.

"I think jealous Carrie is pretty funny."

"I don't."

Harrison gave her one of his lopsided grins. "How about I make you jealous?" She asked. "Luke's pretty attractive. And I don't think he'd mind taking your place for a few days."

"Don't even start." He knew that she and Luke could definitely conspire to pull off something like that.

"Then stop teasing me."

He playfully rolled his eyes. "Fine."

With a smile now present across her face, Carrie leaned in for a kiss. It was a passionate kiss. She felt his hands on her hips, while her own fingers found their way through his knotty hair. He deepened the kiss, and she found her hands sliding down his muscular back, under the water, and to untie his swim trunks.