Page 79 of Sweatpants & Sweet Tea

I had no sense of how long our last encounter had lasted. It felt like both the blink of an eye and an eternity. When we came, we came together, and then I held him as he lay on top of me, absorbing the weight of his body. The last thing I remember saying to him before I fell back to sleep was reminding him that I hated goodbyes.

When I woke up this morning, he was gone. The sheets were cold beside me. Even though I knew his reason for leaving was because he had to teach his classes, I still felt lonely waking up alone.

Even now, as I drove across the bridge to the island, my chest ached thinking about him. I missed him, and I hadn’t even left yet. I missed the feeling of being in his arms. I missed the way he looked at me and touched me. I missed his eyes, his smile, his laugh, his musky scent, and his deep voice.

Last night was beautiful, intimate, and special. I told myself that I wouldn’t allow any regret for spending my last few nights with Harlan. But there was definitely a price I had to pay for it. If I hadn’t been sure before, I knew now I loved Harlan Mitchell. I was in love with him.

At first, I was certain our connection was based on lust, that it was physical, and that my borderline obsession with him was pheromone-based. I thought friend-zoning him these past few weeks would make it easier to leave him. I was an idiot. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Every time we had sex, it was good. But last night, there was more to it than that. I loved him, and my body knew that before I’d even admitted it to myself. Now that we knew each other on a deeper level, we were more in sync, more in tune, and more intimate than I’d ever been with another human being and feared would ever be again.

A tear slid down my face as my phone rang, cutting through my inner turmoil. I reached into the console to grab it before it woke Aunt Rhonda. Unfortunately, my clumsy fingers weren’t able to turn the ringer off before her eyes fluttered open. She glanced around the truck's cabin, looking confused as she took in her surroundings.

I managed to silence it and set it back down, hoping she would drift back off to sleep.

“We’re already back in Firefly?” Aunt Rhonda asked as we passed Abernathy Manor.

“Yep.”

“I must have crashed out.”

“You need the sleep.” No one ever got good sleep in a hospital. Aunt Rhonda complained, more than once, about just falling asleep when a nurse would come in, flip on the lights to take her blood pressure, or give her medication.

“I’m just so happy to sleep in my own bed.” She sighed as her heavy eyes closed once again.

Thankfully, the rest of the drive was uneventful. There were no calls to disturb Aunt Rhonda’s rest. As we pulled up to the farmhouse, I saw Harlan standing on the porch, his hands in his pockets. My heart jumped into my throat.

What was he doing here?

He knew Aunt Rhonda hadn’t wanted anyone to know when she was coming home. I’d made that clear to him.

Was he here for me?

I wasn’t leaving until the day after tomorrow, and I’d made it clear I hated goodbyes.

Also, no one knew about us, so was he trying to blow that?

“It looks like I have a welcome party.” Aunt Rhonda sat up a little straighter.

“I only told Harlan,” I said, sounding a little more defensive than I’d planned to.

Her brows rose, indicating she didn’t believe me.

“I promise,” I assured her.

By the time I shut the engine off, Harlan was already down the steps of the porch. When Aunt Rhonda opened her door, he was standing on the other side of it.

“Well, hello there! Are you my welcome party?”

“It looks like it.” Harlan smiled. “I just wanted to make sure that you got inside okay.”

Aunt Rhonda patted Harlan’s cheek. “What a good boy you are.”

As Harlan assisted Aunt Rhonda up the steps, I grabbed her bags from the back. She’d amassed quite a collection of stuffed animals, cards, and various other gifts during her stay.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” Harlan asked.

“Oh, no, the couch. I want to watch my shows.”

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