"Gillian, I want this one!" Harper yells from across the showroom floor.
Gillian walks over and puts her hands on her hips as she looks down at Harper who is sprawled out on what looks to be a super comfortable loveseat. "You can be such a child sometimes. Must you yell so loudly in a place of business? Everyone is staring at us."
Harper rolls her eyes. "They are not. You're over-exaggerating. Now come sit down and tell me this isn't the most comfortable one so far." She pulls on hemline of of Gillian's top which earns her a glare. Then she pouts her lips and frowns.
"You're lucky we're in public, Jace." Gillian says as she sits down next to Harper. She hates to admit it when Harper is right but of all the chairs and living room sets that they have looked at and sat on today, and it has been a very long day indeed, this one is the most comfortable one of all. "It'll do." She says.
Harper smiles. "Do you honestly like it or are you just agreeing because you're tired of shopping with me?"
"Yes, I do honestly like it. But I'm also very tired, Harper. We have been at this for hours now. Didn't you tell me that Skylar was expecting you to have inflatable furniture anyway? You should have just gotten that." Gillian says.
"Well, that's exactly why I really wanted to surprise her with something nicer. She's gonna flip out when she sees this instead." Harper laughs.
Gillian reaches over to the side table of the display where all the pricing is listed. She finds the price of the loveseat and her eyes widen. "Well, something nicer will certainly cost you a whole lot more than the one-hundred and forty dollars that Amazon was advertising." She hands the pricing list to Harper before getting up.
"What?! Holy shit. I can't afford this. It's over three hundred dollars more than I wanted to spend." Harper sighs and gets up. Then she puts her hands in her pockets and frowns at Gillian. "Let's just get out of here. Are you hungry? I'll buy dinner. I'll even splurge and get us an appetizer." She tries to joke to make herself feel better.
Gillian studies her for a moment. Then she walks over to the sales person standing a few feet away. He has been following them around the store hoping for a sale and Gillian knows that she is about to make his day. "Sir, we'll take that one." She points over towards the loveseat by where Harper is still standing. "I understand that you are doing a special with free delivery right now? How soon will we be able to get it?"
Harper's eyes widen when she hears Gillian and she walks quickly over to where she and the man is standing. "Wait! Sorry mister, my friend here is mistaken. We aren't actually interested." She grabs Gillian's arm and pulls her off to the side. "What are you doing? I just told you that I can't afford it."
"Harper, you've been looking for days now and this has been the only thing that you have even come remotely close to liking. We are getting it. I will give you whatever you are short and you can just pay me back when you have it." Gillian states hoping that Harper does not continue to argue with her.
"Gillian, I can't let you do that..." Harper say.
Gillian does not back down. "Harper, look. I know where you live and I know where you work. Also, I know that you probably won't get another good night's sleep until you have paid me back. Because that is just the kind of person you are. So just let me do this for you. Please."
Harper sighs. Every time she thinks that she can find a way to keep from falling for Gillian, the woman does something incredibly sweet making her more likable than before and it is really starting to drive her crazy.
Gillian does not wait for an answer. She takes a hold of Harper's arm and pulls her back over to where the man is still standing, trying to look as if he has not been listening to their whole conversation. "We'll take it."
***
"You could've at least let me buy dinner after everything you've done for me today. Now I feel even worse than I did before." Harper says as she frowns into her plate of pasta.
Gillian puts her fork down and brings her napkin up to wipe her mouth. Then she looks over at Harper who is now just pushing the tortellini in her plate around in her disappointment. She sighs. "Harper, look at me." She waits for a second and when Harper finally looks up, she gently puts her napkin on the table. "So, tell me something. If it was Skylar who was in the furniture store with you today and she offered to help you, would you have taken her money?"
"In a heartbeat, but that's different." Harper says.
"How is it different?" Gillian asks.
"Gillian, because she's not my boss." Harper states though she knows it is a very lame excuse.
Gillian shakes her head. "Okay. So, I'm just your boss, now? So, when it is convenient for you and you want to do something to help me, we're good friends. But when I want to do something to help you, I'm just your boss?" She tries but has a difficult time hiding the fact that she is hurt by Harper's statement.
Harper shakes her head vehemently "No, no, no. Gillian, that's not what I meant."
Gillian raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Then please, tell me what you really mean."
"I'm sorry." Harper sighs. "I'm just embarrassed, okay? Skylar knows that I'm a hot mess. Borrowing money from her isn't that big a deal to me. But it is if I borrow it from you because I don't want you to think any less of me." Harper finally admits.
Gillian blinks a few times and then shakes her head completely bewildered. "First of all, I'm offended that you think that I would ever think any less of you for any reason at all, but especially this. And second, you are hardly a mess. You moved here with nothing but three boxes of your things and your car. You've been working any and all odd jobs that have been thrown your way in order to make ends meet. Why in the world would you ever think that you are a mess? Harper, everything you've done and the person that you are is nothing short of amazing. And it is incredibly admirable."
"I don't know." Harper cannot help but smile at Gillian's compliment. "I guess I just really want you to like me?"
Gillian laughs. "Well, I think that I've already proved to you that I like you. I did just buy you dinner. I've spent my whole day furniture shopping with you and I invited you over here again. You probably know by now that I don't invite just anyone into my home."
Harper's heart flutters at Gillian's comment and she smiles widely. "Well, I would really like to stay on your good list. So, I'd appreciate any other tips that you may have for me."
"That doesn't take much. Maybe just don't cheat on me and then take off with my friend's wife and you should be in a pretty good place." Gillian picks her fork up again and begins picking at her salad.
Harper chuckles. "Okay, yikes. I'm going to assume that you're actually starting to really get over this since you can joke about it."
Gillian just smirks. "I guess so."
"Anyway, all joking aside, thank you again. I'm super excited that I now have both a TV and a couch. I'm ready for that movie-marathon-sleepover thing that we talked about. Just let me know whenever you're ready." Harper secretly wishes that it'll be sooner rather than later because just the thought of sleeping next to Gillian again has her heart fluttering.
Gillian thinks about it for a moment. She made Harper feel so bad earlier that maybe this is what she needs to do to reassure her. "I thought we were going to do that over here? We can do it tonight if you want. If you can help me set up the television and DVD player in my bedroom, we can watch it in there. I'd rather be in bed than on the couch because I can almost guarantee that I will fall asleep before you do. I wouldn't want you to have to carry me to bed." She says jokingly.
Completely surprised, Harper tries not to stutter when she answers. "Oh, yeah. I can do tonight. And I should be able to move your TV and get it set up. I mean, how hard can that be?" She says as she is immediately smiling uncontrollably again.
Gillian nods. "Alright, well, let me clean this up and jump in the shower really quickly. You're welcome to take one too, if you want. I'll get you something to change into since I highly doubt that you want to go to sleep in those tight things you call pants."
Harper laughs. "A shower would be nice and I will take something to change into unless you're okay with me sleeping in my underwear." Harper blushes when she says that but she continues her thought. "I can do the dishes. You should go take a shower first. I will set up everything else up after I'm finished cleaning up."
Gillian's thoughts are still on Harper sleeping in her underwear when she sees that Harper is looking at her for a response. "Oh, yes. I'll go take a shower first." And It will have to be a cold one if she does not get her mind out of the gutter. "You can put the television on the dresser. We should be able to see it from the bed. There's a power strip behind the vanity."
"Perfect." And after Gillian walks away, Harper takes a deep breath and collects their dishes. As she is washing them, she tries to push away all of her negative thoughts about how this sleepover could potentially be disastrous for her, but at the same time, she does not allow herself to get too excited. Just because Gillian was in love with another woman certainly does not mean that she could ever be interested in her. They are friends. Very good friends and she will just have to keep reminding herself of that fact.
When Gillian comes out of the bathroom, Harper is just finishing up with the television and DVD player. Gillian is drying her hair and when she is finished, she hangs the wet towel on a hook behind her door. She walks back into the bathroom and returns with a clean towel for Harper.
Harper is staring at Gillian with wide eyes when she takes the the towel from her. "I didn't know that your hair is naturally curly."
"Oh." Gillian says shyly. "It's because I always straighten it. I don't like it like this."
Harper is baffled. "What, why? It looks really good. You should definitely wear it curly more often. And before you roll your eyes at me, I mean it. I like it a lot." She adds a nod and a huge smile for emphasis.
Gillian manages a smile. "Thank you, but I think it looks better straightened."
Harper shrugs. "If you say so."
"I do. Now, go jump in the shower. I'll grab something for you to wear and leave it on the counter for you."
"I really just need a pair of pajama bottoms, shorts if you have some. I have a tank top underneath this shirt. I can just wear that to sleep."
When Harper emerges from the bathroom, Gillian is already sitting in bed and the menu screen for Raiders of the Lost Ark is displayed on the television. "I hope that it's okay with you that I took the liberty of choosing Indiana Jones for our first movie marathon."
Harper smiles. Gillian said that this was their first movie marathon which implies there will be another and just the thought of that makes her giddy. "Of course, I love this one." Harper pulls all of her hair to the side and braids it into a side ponytail before turning off the bathroom light and walking over to the side of the bed that is currently unoccupied. She pulls back the covers and sits down. When she pulls herself into the bed, Gillian points the remote and starts the film.
Thirty minutes into the film, Gillian turns her lamp off and scoots lower onto the bed to make herself more comfortable. She takes her pillow and turns her body so that she can watch the movie laying down.
Harper looks over at Gillian. "You're not going to sleep, are you? We haven't even gotten to the good part."
"No, but I am very tired." Gillian says.
"Gillian, you're not supposed to sleep during a movie marathon." Harper whines. "Look how hot Marion is in this part. You don't want to miss it."
"I'm not into brunettes, Harp. She's not even my type." Gillian says as she feels a yawn coming on.
Harper grins. Gillian just used her nickname so endearingly and she said that she is not into brunettes. Two more points for Harper Jace! "Well Indy is quite the looker, also..."
Gillian turns around so that she is facing Harper. "I'm pretty sure you know by now that he really isn't my type either." Gillian laughs. "So, there isn't much eye candy in this one that is really holding my attention."
"But you picked this one, woman! And that actress is super hot. You're crazy if you don't think so." Harper turns back towards the screen but can still feel Gillian's eyes on her.
Gillian considers Harper's last statement and wonders if Harper could be bisexual. She knows that her previous relationship was with a man but they've never really talked about any other relationships nor has she mentioned other potential love interests. She turns back towards the screen when she hears the woman's voice come on so that she can decide again. "She is pretty, I suppose. But women with light hair usually have lighter eyes and I think that their eyes are what always gets me." The she lays back down and does not move again.
Harper thinks about Gillian's comment about eyes. Then she thinks back to the night she saw Danielle and how the woman had the long, beautiful, strawberry-blonde hair, and the most gorgeous hazel-green eyes. Her heart tightens with jealousy at the thought of it but she shakes herself out of it. Then she thinks about Gillian's chocolate brown eyes and how they brighten when she smiles. "Yeah..." Harper says softly. "I like pretty eyes, too."
After another twenty minutes or so later, Gillian turns away from the television so that the light from the screen is not in her face.
Harper sees that Gillian is actually sleeping now and leans down so that she can try to get her attention. "Hey, let's get you straightened out so that you don't sleep in this weird position all night."
Gillian mumbles something that is completely incoherent before she pushes herself up to let Harper move her pillow back to where the headboard is. Then she lays back down and turns towards Harper with her arms up by her face.
Harper gets up and turns both the DVD player and the television off before sliding back into the bed. She fluffs her pillow and lays down facing Gillian. When Harper's eyes finally adjusts to the darkness and she can see the other woman's face, she frowns. This woman is going to be so much trouble for her, she just knows it. Of all the people in Seattle for her to fall for, she is falling for one of her only friends. Not to mention, the woman who is also her employer. She reaches over and moves a stray curl that has fallen onto Gillian's face and then puts her hand back down on the bed so that their fingertips are barely touching, but not enough to where it will wake Gillian. Her last thought before closing her eyes is how very inconvenient all of this is going to be.
The next morning when Harper wakes up, she almost forgets where she is. She can feel a hand on her bare stomach and realizes when she can also feel a warm body right up against her back, that she is currently the little spoon to Gillian's big spoon. She reaches for Gillian's hand and gently holds it for awhile trying to enjoy the moment before she slowly removes it and slides out of bed as quietly as she can. She grabs her jeans and changes quickly before going into the living room to grab her jacket, phone, and keys.
Harper is just about out the door when she thinks of something else she needs to do. First, she starts a pot of coffee for Gillian and leaves a note for her right next to it. Then she tiptoes her way back into the bathroom, careful not to wake Gillian. It takes her a couple minutes to find what she is looking for and when she does, she takes it and quietly exits the bedroom. Afterwards, she goes back to where she left the note and adds something else to it before she leaves the apartment.
On her way home, she dials Skylar's number. As expected, Skylar does not answer so she leaves her friend a message. "Hey Sky, please call me back as soon as you get this. I really need to talk to you. I'm in so much trouble."
When Gillian's alarm goes off and she wakes up, the first thing she notices is that Harper is gone. She pulls herself out of bed and walks into the living room area. "Harper?" She says. When there is no reply, she walks into the kitchen and sees that Harper has made her a pot of coffee and has left her a note. She pulls a mug from the cabinet above and pours herself a cup. She takes a sip of it before she picks up the note to read it.
"Gillian--I didn't want to wake you because I know that you were really tired last night. I have some errands to run today before Skylar gets here later in the week. I'll text you later.
P.S. I swear that one of these days, we will watch a movie from beginning to end. I will never give up until we do.
P.P.S. I may or may not have taken your hair straightener hostage. If you want it back, you can come and retrieve it at my place. Ransom: A signed I.O.U by Gillian Gainer stating that she will wear her natural, curly hair for an entire day when she hangs out with Harper Jace."
Gillian tries to get angry at Harper but she finds it very difficult. Instead, she just shakes her head and smiles as she takes another drink of her coffee.