Harper

Chapter Thirty Two: Lunch dates

"See you tomorrow girls" I call grabbing my backpack and throwing it over my shoulder in the changing rooms.

"Wait... Ted" Bonnie calls.

I turn back around as all eleven of the girls look to me "are you not coming out tonight with us all...it's pre game night...we always do dinner together"

I smile awkwardly.

I was about to ruin our ritual "um....no" I confess.

Kira throws her towel at me, Sanja too and the grunts and groans make me feel shit "I just have to get home and if I don't go now I won't get back in time"

Avery sidles up beside me topless as she runs the towel through her wet hair, and my eyes instantly go to the ceiling as I try and look anywhere else but her perky little breasts.

"Why do you need to go home is something wrong" she asks concerned.

I slowly lower my eyes back down to hers as she places the towel around her shoulders, which falls over her breasts and covers them. Phew.

"Nothings wrong.I just have this overwhelming need to tell Harper something, to ask her something and I don't feel like I can wait another second" I confess.

"Ooh what is it" Avery asks bumping my arm with hers with a smile. "Are you about to get hitched or something" she asks jovially.

"No...that perhaps would be moving at lightening speed with my track record. No I want her to know that I'm not going anywhere, things have been so perfect. I'm not sure what I thought would happen if I let myself just be happy...but I want Harper to be my girlfriend. I have to go tell her that right now before I back out and let myself freak out about it" I say nervously running my hands down my arms.

"Well she's not going to say no" Avery says looking me up and down, and her fingers reach out and poke me in the flesh exposed by the cropped t shirt I was wearing, her eyes running down me before she looked straight back into my eyes "because you look fit as fuck right now Nomikos"

I laugh as she grins cheekily "call me later if she says no...my night is perfectly free.." and she winks and struts off back to her locker. 

***
"So..." Mama asks "where are you off to" she asks holding Wren in her arms beside the front door.

"Ethan has asked me to go out" I say fixing my hair by the mirror.

Mama frowns "Harper ...you're going on a date?" She questions.

I turn instantly "no" I state firmly "oh no it's not a date mama...it's just lunch and then he's gone, he's going back to Utah and he really wanted to hang out before he went"

"Oh Harper" mama says.

I put my earrings in and look to her concerned "you don't think that's what this is" I ask and she shrugs and places Wren down on her play mat and hands her a toy.

"Harper...Ethan is madly in love with you...he talks about you a lot, he is always asking how he can help or assist you and Wren, he thinks about you like you are his sweetheart" she explains with a worried frown line appearing on her brow.

I feel myself begin to panic a little as she takes my hands "Harper he will always, always consider it a date, when the girl he adores comes out with him, whether you do or not...he's not spending time with a friend like you are him, he's spending it with his potential future"