Page 22 of Honey Sunshine

Flopping down onto the bed after taking a quick shower and changing, I reach for my phone on the nightstand. I can’t help but smile when I see Harvey already texted me not once but three times. Snuggling into my blanket, I open his texts.

Harvey

Hey, wanted to check if you got home safely.

Honey, it’s been two hours. Are you ok?

I’m calling the police if I don’t hear from you in thirty minutes.

I chuckle at his last text. God, he can be so endearing. You’d think I actually meant something to him.

I quickly send a reply before I have the police banging on my door. Knowing Harvey, he means every word.

Me

Sorry, sorry. Got home not long ago. I just showered and am finally in bed now.

Harvey

Everything ok?

Yeah, though I can’t say the same about Austin and the killer hangover he’ll have tomorrow. He’ll probably be out until noon.

Do you want me to cancel tomorrow?

No way! We’ve been practicing all week for this, and I’m not going back on my promise! Anyway, what’s up? Is this some sort of booty call?

I see the typing dots go on and off, on and off. I smile at the screen, curious to see what he’ll say.

Harvey

Do you want it to be?

I know he doesn’t really mean it. This is just playful banter—the kind we’ve fallen into so easily. I pick up the couples’ ring Harvey gave me from my nightstand. The metal feels smooth against my skin as I slip it onto my finger, caressing the cool red stone. I press my lips together, memories of our time at his place flickering through my mind—his touch, his laugh, the way he looked at me like I was all that mattered in the world. His lips on mine...

Me

Sure ;)

Not a second later, my phone rings, the suddenness making me burst out laughing.There’s no escaping this giddy feeling spreading through me. It’s like I’ve been caught in the inevitable pull of gravity, helpless against falling for him.

“Harvey...” I answer with a smile already in my voice.

“Guess you really do want that booty call,” he says, his tone laced with amusement.

I roll my eyes, though he can’t see it. “Maybe,” I tease, twirling the ring around my finger.

His laugh on the other end makes my heart skip.

“Maybe?” Harvey’s voice is playful, but there’s a hint of something else in it, something that makes my stomach flip. “You sure about that? You sure you don’t want me to come over and finish what we started?”

I pause, leaning back against the pillows, letting the silence linger for a moment. My thumb absentmindedly rubs the red stone on the ring again. I know we’re nothing. This situationship is just to return the favor for Harvey stepping in to save me from an awkward situation with my ex, but I swear sometimes I forget it’s just that and not the beginning of some romance story. I can’t help wanting just a little bit more, though...

“What if I do want that?” I say softly, my voice losing some of its teasing edge.

He’s quiet for a beat, and then I hear him sigh, almost as if he’s trying to decide what to say next. “You don’t make this easy, you know that?”

I smile at the ceiling, knowing exactly what he means. The lines are blurring between us when this is supposed to be a professional relationship. “Where’s the fun in easy?”

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