Page 95 of Redeeming Harmony

He laughed. “Positive.”

“I didn’t even notice.” She gnawed at her bottom lip. One pussy eating from Nathan, and she was falling back into old habits, just like that. “I’m so sorry. I should have paid more attention and -”

“Stop,” he said. “Everything you did and said was perfect, Harper. The reason you didn’t notice was because when you came, your pussy squeezed me so fucking tight, I couldn’t help but come with you.”

“Simultaneous orgasms?” she said. “Fancy. That’s gotta get us a square on casual sex bingo, right?”

“Probably,” he said with another laugh.

They laid quietly for a while. Harper knew she needed to get up and go home, but Nathan’s bed was so lovely. Much more comfortable than her twin at home. She’d occasionally spent the night with her casual sex partners, but it felt a little too dangerous to do that with Nathan. Not when her heart kept trying to convince her that maybe she could do better -be better- at a relationship with him.

“I should go,” she said.

His arm tightened around her waist. “It’s late. Too dangerous for you to be out alone.”

“It’s not even eleven, and it’s Harmony Falls,” she said.

“You should stay,” he said. “Friends have sleepovers, right?”

He made a good point. “I mean… yeah, they do.”

“Great. Then we’ll have a friend's sleepover. I’ll even let you braid my hair if you want.”

She laughed. “Tempting, but no.”

Katy Purry jumped up on the bed, purring loudly. She made herself comfortable on Harper’s hip, and Nathan said, “Well, it’s settled now. You’re staying the night.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Uh-huh. Everyone knows it’s a rule that you can’t disturb a sleeping cat,” he said.

“That’s true. I heard it’s eight years bad luck if you do.”

“Twelve,” Nathan said solemnly. “Do you want to risk that?”

“No,” she said. “I guess you’re stuck with me for the night.”

He kissed the back of her neck. “I guess I am. You ready to sleep, or do you want to watch something on Hulu?”

“I’m pretty tired,” she said. “And I’ll have to get up early to go home and shower before my shift at the coffee shop at eight. You good with going to sleep?”

“I am.” He nuzzled her neck again. “Night, gorgeous.”

“Night, Nathan.”

* * *

Her stomach a stewof nerves and excitement, Harper walked into the vet clinic. It was only half an hour until closing time, but the clinic still had a few clients in the foyer.

A woman with long dark hair and a pretty face sat in the row of chairs closest to the swinging door that led to the clinic treatment area. Her nervous energy, tear-stained cheeks, and tissue clutched in her hand made Harper’s stomach ache for her.

Harper vaguely recognized an older couple, who were holding hands and sitting in the chairs by the front doors. The woman had an empty pink leash in her free hand.

The clinic’s receptionist Fatima, her peach coloured hijab a gorgeous contrast against her brown skin, checked out a client. The client’s cat perched on his shoulder like a furry bird, studying the foyer as his owner paid.

The other receptionist, Brooklyn, was on the phone and typing on the computer, the phone held to her ear with one slim shoulder while her fingers raced over the keyboard.

Harper wandered closer to the end of the counter, where Laila spoke with a kid who looked to be in his early teens. He held a cream coloured carrier in one hand, and an orange tomcat with a notched ear and a pissed-off look stared at Harper through the bars.

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