Seventeen

Nat and Sam were on my case. Like literally. They had been privy to everything going on with Harper and wanted to know about every decision I made regarding him.

But I was reluctant to tell them that he had asked me out on a date. But then again, I didn't want to hide anything from them.

It was a futile battle. After I reached home, it took me a few minutes worth of debate with myself, and before I knew it, I had already called them on a conference call.

"What did you say when he asked you out?" Nat asked.

"Yeah, what did you say?" Sam asked.

"I said yes." 

There was a moment of silence. Silence of consideration and musing and after that came the debate. The debate was about whether saying yes to Harper was a good idea. A debate I had been having with myself and a debate in which I needed more clarity. A clarity only my best friends could give me.

Nat gave me all the possible reasons why giving another chance to Harper was a bad idea. She listed the points I had in my mind and some more. I had always been on the vulnerable side in anything remotely related to Harper. He could hurt me, like he had done so many times before, without any remorse, and I would be left standing with my shattered pride because that was what Harper hurt the most, my pride. His words were brutal and said with such sincerity that I found myself believing them.

Whereas, Sam listed all the reasons why I should go out on a date with him. For as long as I could remember, I had been judging Harper for the way he played with girls and used them, but even after knowing him for so many years, I had no idea who Harper was. I doubted anyone did. He had gone to great lengths to stalk me and make me listen to him. 

He wasn't exactly proposing marriage, he was just asking me out on a date. There was no commitment. It was just two people going out and having fun with each other. And I could do that with Harper. I could go out and have fun with him and it was just a one-time thing. I knew Harper wasn't ready for a relationship and I doubted that he had even considered even being in one with me.

I could do one date.

And everything aside, I wanted to go out with him. I did and Sam pointed out that, in the end, that was what mattered. I could just go out and see how things go. 

Despite everything he said and did, I still wanted to go out with him. There must be seriously something wrong with me.

I had gone from hating the boy to considering going out with him on a date, in a matter of weeks. I couldn't explain how this was happening, just that it somehow felt right. Something in my gut told me that giving him a chance would work in my favor. There was some kind of pull I felt towards him which was so hard to describe. I doubted anyone would believe how I felt about this whole situation.

I was thinking about going out with him just because my gut said so, and I had a good feeling about it.

I had all the pros and cons in my mind now. I wasn't going to carry myself on a platter for him. I was going to keep my emotions and feelings out of it, and then face him, without all the prejudices I had against him.

I had already given him my answer and it wasn't like me to back out of anything.

Everything seemed to work out for Harper. The universe worked in favor of him, it seemed. He had asked me at the bakery on Friday and our date was supposed to be on Sunday night.

Are we still on for Sunday?

So, when I received a text message from an unknown number, I had no doubts in my mind. 

I didn't ask who it was. I didn't ask how he got my number. I just saved his number on my phone and replied with a short message. Yes.

We had arranged for Harper to pick me up from Sam's house, simply because I didn't want to face the many questions my parents would ask me. I had permission to spend the night at Sam's house, even though it was a school night. 

Everything had worked out. Sunday was supposed to be my date. And Harper was going to pick me up at Samantha's house. It was perfect.

But that didn't mean I wasn't nervous. I was nervous as hell. And till the very last minute. There was just something about Harper that always put me on edge and kept me up on my toes.

Natalie worked her magic on me while Sam munched on popcorn and watched me getting all dolled up. 

Samantha wanted me to go for a dress but Nat was against it and I agreed with her. A dress was way more intimate for me.

Nat chose a peach boat-neck top with flowers imprinted on it. She paired it with faded skin tight blue jeans and belle flats. It was a perfect look for me. My makeup was minimal and my hair was pulled back in an elegant ponytail at the back of my head. I looked cute and girly at the same time. 

It didn't take long for me to get ready or I was just shot with nerves so much, that I didn't know how much time had passed. 

I didn't know why I was nervous. I kept repeating in my head that it was just a date. I had gone on dates before and this night was going to be, more or less, platonic. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sam scrambled off the bed when the doorbell rang and ran downstairs to open the door to let Harper in.

Nat put both of her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. "You look beautiful. Just don't do what I wouldn't do." 

I smiled and hugged her. She patted me on the back. "I love you, okay? Go now. He's waiting for you."

"Aren't you coming downstairs?" 

"I have to gather all my makeup supplies before Samantha sees this mess and never lets me in her house again." Nat giggled. 

I looked around and sure enough, the room was a mess. Clothes and makeup were strewn everywhere.

I giggled. "I wonder how Samantha controlled herself all this time." 

She laughed. "I know, right? Have a good time."

I looked at her and with as much sincerity as I could manage, thanked her.

"Hey, you don't thank me, now get your ass downstairs and have a good time."

I hugged her again and walked out of the room and towards the stairs, which would lead me towards my date.

I took a deep breath and slowly climbed down the stairs. 

Harper was sitting casually in the living room and Sam was sitting across from him, keeping him company. They looked weird sitting in the same room. Opposites, they didn't even know what to say to each other, which explained the silence in the room.

Samantha's parents had gone out of town for business, so we didn't have to worry about them knowing about my date with Harper.

Harper looked cool and calm as ever. He looked in control as he always did, and I envied him. He had on a grey V-neck with his leather jacket, black jeans, and combat boots. It looked as if someone had sucked all the color out of him and splattered it on me. 

His eyes landed on me as soon as I entered the room and I could feel those green orbs lighting up. His eyes raked me up and down in appreciation and I felt myself blush under his gaze. All the nervousness was gone, all that mattered at the moment was him.

"Ok, so, um, this isn't awkward at all." Samantha chuckled.

Seriously, this is how she chooses to break the ice.

Her cheeks tinged red when both mine and Harper's eyes landed on her.

"Um, I'm just going to go. Have fun you too." She squeaked while running a nervous hand through her hair and taking one step at a time to get out of the room.

The tension between us was stronger than ever when Sam was out of the room. He took definitive pleasure in raking his eyes up and down my figure again and I hoped that he liked what he saw.

"Say something." That didn't sound like my voice at all. It sounded like I was in the middle of a hot make-out session. My voice was all breathy and strained. 

This weird power Harper had over me was the only thing that unsettled me. Okay, so there were a lot of things that unsettled me when it came to Harper but this physical attraction, I had towards him, seriously took the cake.

He took a slow step towards me and took my hand in his. A strange kind of sensation shot up through my arm where my skin touched his and heat spread through my body. I liked this sensation. A lot. I wondered if this was a good thing.

"You look beautiful." He was sincere when he said those words. I could tell, because standing in front of me, right now, wasn't the coolest cucumber and the hottest boy in the school, he was a vulnerable boy who wasn't sure how I would react to such a bold declaration from him. This was as far as he was going to go, to let me know that he was taking things between us seriously and I appreciated the thought.

I don't think I needed to say anything because my cheeks heated up even more and I was sure I probably looked like a tomato right now. I was at a loss for words and my response delighted him, I could see in his eyes and by the way his shoulder muscles visibly relaxed.

He bent forward slowly and I was afraid he was going to kiss me. Despite the physical tension between us, I wasn't sure I was ready for that. Yes, we had kissed before and I had enjoyed every minute of it, but a lot of things had happened between us since then and I wasn't sure if kissing was going to make our situation healthy.

"I think we should go because your friends are standing at the bottom of the staircase, listening in on us." He whispered in my ear. His breath fanned my ear lobe, sending shivers down my spine. 

He took an abrupt step back and smiled at me. A smile that would have buckled my knees and helped me land on the floor, if I hadn't heard the thundering of two pairs of footsteps rushing up the staircase. Probably Natalie and Samantha.

I giggled. I knew that they were going to listen in on me and Harper but I wasn't counting on Harper to know about it. Like I said, he was a man in control.

He laced our fingers together and spent a minute just looking at them. It was strange, the way he looked at our hands, as if he was studying a specimen under the microscope. His face was set in concentration, his brows furrowed as he examined the way our hands fit together, his large and callused, mine small and soft.

He snapped out of his trance without me having to interrupt his musings and then looked at me with a large smile on his face.

"So, are you ready for tonight?"

I just nodded. Words failed me.