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Then there’s silence, her breathing the only noise.
Weirdly enough, it’s not awkward. If I close my eyes, I can picture her and her beautiful smile.
“So, what’s up?” She sounds tired.
“Not much. I wanted to check on you after your text.”
“I'm all good, but thanks anyway.” Her voice has softened as if she’s smiling.
Why does the idea of making her smile make me so happy?
“I need to know you guys are okay.”
“That’s sweet of you.” A loud bang sounds through the line. “Sorry, hang on. I’m taking you with me into the kitchen.” This time a clang. “All right, I’m here. So what are you doing today? Anything fun on your day off?”
More noise comes through the line, and I shake my head but smile. What on earth is she doing? Is she trying to take the kitchen apart to make a post-workout snack? Harper seems like she could be the kind of person who’d clang and bang doing that.
She gasps. “Oh shit. Can you hang on a second? I spilled something.”
“Sure.”
“Thanks. I’ll be right back.”
The first time I met her, she was outgoing and friendly. Funny, and so damn sexy. I was drawn to her from the moment I laid eyes on her. And she wasn’t trying to seduce me, which was a plus in my book.
That same attraction was back when I saw her again, but then disbelief and shock took over with the pregnancy news. At the beginning, it was hard to digest, but spending more time with her and getting to know her the last few weeks has helped me shake off that feeling.
My mom and dad have had one motto they drilled into us—and hundreds if not thousands of students over the years—a million times. “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”
That sentiment is part of the reason why I got as far as I did with my swimming career. It has kept me from dwelling on things I can’t change anyway. Now, it has helped me accept this new life change so I can make sure my attention is on what’s most important, that Harper and our baby are healthy and have everything they need.
Some people might take longer to get used to such a monumental change, but once I’ve considered all the variables and choices there are, I adapted and focused on the future.
In our case, Harper has already made the decision for me since she’s keeping the baby.
Am I happy about that? Yes.
I thought about it long and hard. Lying awake at night in bed, or all the times my mind jumped to the news during training sessions.
Is the situation ideal? Not really.
But now I can work on Harper and me. Continue to get to know her better. Maybe she’ll visit again? Or I can visit her?
If we want to make this work between us, it has to go both ways. I’m here to explore that spark that’s undeniable there.
I will do whatever I can to be as involved in her life, in this pregnancy, as I can.
Whatever it takes.
“Ryan? Are you still there?” Harper’s out of breath. “Sorry, that took longer than I expected. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting all this time.”
“No worries. Everything all right?” I pull the blanket back and get out of bed, stretching my arm up in the air as I walk to the window. The winter sky is blue which is a rare sight. Not as beautiful as Harper’s blue eyes, but nice to look at, nonetheless.
“Yeah. I spilled some milk and wanted to wipe it, which was of course the perfect moment for Bacon to jump on the counter and dump the rest of the bowl.”
“Bacon, huh? That guy sounds like trouble.”
Harper chuckles. “He is. But he’s the only friend I have here, so trouble it is.” She groans. “Ugh. Ignore what I said. I sound like a crazy cat lady.”
