Page 92 of Seeing Harper

“What are you thinking?” Summer asked.

“That I’m mated. We’re mated. Do you really think we’re mated?”

“Yes. And you should tell him as soon a possible.”

“It’s obviously an accident. What if he’s upset?”

“Anybody would be a lucky male to have you at their side.”

“But what if he’s actually found someone else. I told you he said as much when we went out for pizza after he helped me at the Bigsby’s.”

“So? Maybe he just thought she might suffice, but if he knows you’re definitely it, especially after what the both of you shared and what he told you about how he felt about you in high school, he’ll drop her like a hot potato and be right beside you.”

“Hot potato?”

“Sorry. Been binging on 80’s sitcoms while you were away.”

“You were bored.”

“Very bored.”

Harper closed her eyes and took a big gulp of her pina colada.

“You need to talk to him.”

“I know. But I’m afraid because it obviously was an accident. If I don’t mention it, it won’t be weird if it’s not what he wanted.”

“No. He’s going to suffer if the mating occurred. And the fates are never wrong. If they’ve decided that you belong together and got tired of waiting, maybe they stepped in.”

“I’m not sure he felt what I did, though. He was planning to hide it and keep it to ourselves, and was even rushing me to get dressed after before somebody caught us.”

Summer looked at Harper, her expression critical. “For him to care all these years, that’s what you said, right?”

“Yes, it’s what he said.”

“For him to care all these years and never take action. Never let you know or even make an effort to be around you. That is kind of weird. Maybe he wasn’t feeling exactly what you did and just didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

Harper sat quietly for a second, going over their conversations in her head. “He did do this one thing he confessed to.”

“Confessed? That sounds interesting.”

Harper looked at Summer. “You have to promise not to get mad.”

“Why would I get mad? Clay’s part of our Pride and all, but it’s not like I ever dated him or anything.”

“No, but he’s kind of the reason that you didn’t date at all.”

Summer’s entire expression went flat. “What? How is that even possible?”

“He said that it drove him nuts that the guys would talk about me, or us in the locker room. About what they thought of me, or us, and what they wanted to do, and just guy shit. They talked about everybody. But when they talked about me, he couldn’t take it because he didn’t want me to be with anyone but him. So he threatened them all with death if they even looked in my direction. Then he felt bad because I was always at home and he didn’t want me to be lonely, so he threatened them the same way over you because you were my best friend and we could be home together and nobody would ever spend time with me or touch me.”

Summer sat quietly on her float. Then she screamed as long and loud as she could.

Basilio came running, Renata came running. Harper was shocked, and Summer just kept screaming. Until she ran out of breath.

“What the hell was that about?” Basilio shouted.

“Anger! I’m going to kill Clay!”