Page 47 of Jump Start

I smirked; we already did get on each other’s nerves.

“I know that we already do, and I appreciate you even putting this idea in Chris’s head, but what do you think?” Her face was hopeful, yet full of questions.

I considered my answer carefully, pausing and moving a few beats closer to her on the couch.

I picked up her hand.

“Harps, the way I see it, I am away a lot of the year. You’ve just been coming with me a bit this time around. You would be in the office, in your own space, and if you wanted, I would give you space at work too. I am fine with it. I don’t see a problem.” I concluded by grabbing her hand and placing it on my lap. She took a deep breath in and let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing and the apprehension on her face seemed to lessen.

“We just didn’t have the best start. I guess I’m afraid of it going back to that, for some reason. Even though you’ve not given me any reason to think that.”

I knew where she was coming from, but if anything, I felt more myself with her than I had with anyone in my life. She was a balm for my insecurities. Because of her, I saw things I never thought possible slowly forming in my future. Maybe I should tell her that.

“Harps, I know the start of us was a little rough, and I will always accept the full fault for that. But I want you to know, I’ve never been so sure of anyone the way I am of you. You make me feel loved and you make me laugh and there’s no one else I’d rather have roast me on a day-to-day basis. I love you.”

Her face became briefly unreadable, but I could see the glassiness in her eyes. She smiled and wiped a shy tear from her cheek.

“That’s all I needed to hear. I love you too.” I felt relieved that I could give her the validation she sought. I was not the most articulate bloke, but I thought I knew how to make her happy.

I would never stop trying.

I kissed her softly, which slowly progressed to something a little more heated. She led me towards my bedroom and the shower. I was certainly feeling like the luckiest bloke in the world.

***

Both of our alarms went off at the same time, waking me from a deep sleep. I was okay at mornings, but Harper was absolutely not.

I hopped up out of bed and turned on the bedside light, which was met with a “What the fuck is wrong with you?” fromher side of my bed. Another rough start. Not uncommon.

I continued to brush my teeth and eventually trudged down to the kitchen to make my smoothie. If the sound of the blender didn’t wake her up, then nothing would.

Twenty-four

Harper

Iwassort of awake, but not particularly functioning when I heard Thomas use the blender. I had no idea how he was able to stomach so much this early in the morning. I was a coffee-and-eat-at-ten-a.m. type of person, and to be honest, I was barely a person in the morning.

Thomas had left his bedside lamp on, which I appreciated, as he had very thick shutters that blocked out every single shred of light. This was usually a welcome feature on the weekend, but today, I had two important meetings. One where I was going to drop my resignation on my current boss out of seemingly nowhere, and two where I would accept a new job.

I was excited. Thomas had successfully dulled the anxieties I had about us working together, and he had even shared a little more of how he felt about me, which was always a nice thing to hear from someone you were in a relationship with.

After doing my morning skincare routine, hair, and minimal makeup, I made my way out to the kitchen where Thomas was sitting at the island bench, reading something on his phone, smoothie beside him.

“Morning, my beautiful princess,” he said, barely able to get the words out of his mouth.

I laughed. “Do not call me that again, ever.”

Desperate for coffee, I searched for my favourite mug and noticed he already had it sitting out on the bench, alongside my oat milk.

“Please refrain from all conversions for another five minutes.” I looked up at him as I poured the oat milk into the frother, and he raised his hands above his head in surrender.

All jokes aside, it was an absolute pleasure to wake up and see Thomas in the morning. Most of our mornings together had been at races, and he would be suited and gone well before me.

I watched the milk swirl around the frothing machine and took a breath in to catch the earthy tones of the strongest coffee pod Thomas had as it dripped into my mug.

As I poured the milk, I attempted to make a pattern in the froth, a leftover skill from my early years as a barista. I warmed my hands on either side of the mug and took a long, glorious sip.

It ran down my throat, igniting a spark in my brain. I smiled at the smirking race car driver in front of me. “Good morning, Thomas. Thank you for getting my favourite mug out.”

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