Out of Bounds [h.s. au]

Chapter 23

"Nope. Sorry to say, but those are packed away."

"Bugger."

I laughed again, feeling the tension dissipate from the few minutes of talking to Harry. He always knew how to make me feel at ease, and I was eternally grateful for that and for him.

"Goodnight, Harry," I said.

"Goodnight, my love. See you in the morning."

*

The next couple days seemed to fly by, but not without discomfort. Harry had to work Monday evening, and as soon as he got home he notified me that he saw two of the men that James had been seen with at Mikado's the night he'd come home drunk, but James wasn't with them this time. He also said that he'd asked Brian about the man that had been with Justine - the man who'd handed me the divorce papers. Brian apparently was able to put two and two together. He said a blonde had come in a couple weeks ago, and he thought she'd looked familiar, but couldn't place her. After Harry described her, Brian remembered Justine from our night at the bar. He said this time she was with a tall, dark-haired man who kept buying her drinks until they both stumbled out of the bar. He hadn't known if they had come together, or if they'd only just met then. He then said that just a few days later, he recognized the man again when he came in with the lunch crowd. He was with a couple other men, all dressed in suits, seemingly having a business lunch.

I wasn't sure yet what all of this meant, but in talking with Harry, we both gathered that one of the men at that luncheon must have been James. And that these other men were either colleagues or clients of his. I wondered silently if one of them was Nelson Whitcomb, James's boss. I still didn't know who this mystery man was, however, and how Justine fit into all of this.

On Tuesday morning, I met Harry outside of Sociology class, circles under my eyes from being sleep deprived. I had tossed and turned the entire night after ending our phone call. Looking like he hadn't gotten much more sleep than I had, without a word Harry pulled me to him and kissed me. I sighed as I leaned into him, letting his arms and lips give me the comfort I craved.

"Give me a break," I heard a voice declare behind me. I didn't even bother to turn around. I knew it was one of the mean girls. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of even a glance in her direction.

Harry rubbed my back as he gazed into my eyes. I could sense he was proud of me for not putting up a fight. He had been right all along. They weren't worth it. He was worth it. He was all I needed.

Professor Crawford gave us another free day to work on our papers. Harry and I were essentially finished with ours, so we spent the period discussing plans for Thanksgiving. We hadn't really discussed it prior, except for a brief mention that night when I'd confessed my love for him. And back then, it had seemed that I might still be with James at this point, and Harry was going to give me some time to think things through. All of that had changed, and I was now on my own living with Penny.

Because Thanksgiving is obviously an American holiday, I asked Harry if he had ever celebrated. He said he had, usually with friends. The previous year Zack and Alison, whom he'd been dating at the time, had gone home to their prospective families, so he'd spent the day watching parades and Christmas movies at home by himself. The thought of him doing that gutted me, so I promised I would give him a proper Thanksgiving, even if it just ended up being us two.

When class was over, I followed Harry outside. I could feel Leslie and Charice behind me, but again I didn't turn around. Just as I stepped through the doorway, I saw Liz standing with her arms crossed. I fought the urge to say or do something, even just roll my eyes, but I kept my cool and took Harry's hand as we continued to walk down the sidewalk.