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“Shut up.” I hide my face behind my hair and return to stocking the shelf.
“Sukie and Harlem sittin’ in a tree—” Juniper starts to sing, only to have Sage cut her off.
“Jesus Christ, Juniper. What are we, twelve?”
I bite my bottom lip, part in frustration, part embarrassment.
Sage hops down off the stool and walks up to me. “Ignore that heifer, Sukie.” She playfully shoves Juniper out of the way.
I try to hide my embarrassment and curse myself for getting worked up. It’s just that Harlem evokes something in me. Something I’ve never felt before.
“Hey.” Sage touches my arm. I pause what I’m doing and cut my eyes to her. Her face has gone from smiling and playful to one of concern. “We were only teasing. I’m sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable.”
I shake my head. “It’s fine. You guys were only teasing, and I’m being too sensitive,” I say softly.
“No, it’s not fine. And though it was not our intent, we embarrassed you. I’m sorry, Sukie.”
I give Sage and Juniper a small smile. And as I look at them and the sincerity written all over both their faces, I know they truly are my friends. It’s been so long since I have experienced true friendship, I forgot what it was like. And something tells me I can really trust them.
This is why I suddenly blurt out, “I like Harlem. I like him so much. He keeps me up at night. I like him so much that he’s the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I close my eyes at night. I like him so much he even invades my dreams. I like the man so much that whenever I’m around him, I suddenly lose my ability to speak. The man won’t get out of my head. It’s ridiculous because the guy is rude, grumpy, and the most intense person I have ever met. I like him so much it’s driving me crazy!” Filled with frustration, I practically shout the last part.
I look up to find Juniper and Sage staring at me with their mouths agape.
“Sorry,” I mumble. “I…I don’t know where that came from.”
A few beats of awkward silence pass, and I regret my little outburst. That is until Juniper speaks. “Exactly what kind of dreams are we talking about? The naked kind?” She winks.
“Jesus,” Sage mutters, shaking her head.
Juniper shrugs. “What? It’s a valid question.”
“You’re crazy,” I tell Juniper as I break down the cardboard box I just unloaded.
“That’s not a no,” she points out. I catch Sage elbow Juniper’s side from the corner of my eye. “Be good.”
I can’t help but giggle at their banter.
“You know, you never did tell us what went down between you and Harlem that night. He was hurt trying to help me,” Sage points out.
The incident she’s referring to is the night I saw Sage being kidnapped. It’s the same night I found Harlem’s nearly lifeless body in a dumpster in the alley behind her and Juniper’s salon. That was the night I had met Harlem.
Sure, I had seen all of the Raven men around Salem, but I had never actually spoken to any of them. When I found Harlem, he was in bad shape. The men who took Sage thought they had killed him. Luckily, I hid in my car outside Belladonna’s and saw what had happened. I helped Harlem out of the dumpster and somehow got him in my vehicle. I also remember wanting to take him to the hospital, but he had instructed me to take him to the Raven’s clubhouse. It turns out the club was well-equipped to take care of the injuries Harlem had sustained. Then I stayed with Harlem the entire night while the rest of the club was out looking for Sage.
“Nothing happened. He was in and out of consciousness most of the night. Mostly out.” I don’t tell Sage and Juniper how I held Harlem’s hand while he lay in the bed, unconscious from the pain meds he had been given.
I think back to that night when I was sitting beside his bed, and I watched his face as he tried to fight through the pain, even in sleep. I reached out and placed my hand in his. And the moment my skin touched his, his entire body relaxed. It was as if a sense of calm had washed over the both of us. I don’t know how long I sat there before I fell asleep.
I was still sitting in the chair, slumped over, with my head resting on the bed beside Harlem’s leg, when I woke up and opened my eyes. I looked up and found Harlem awake. His intense gaze was on my face, and we still held hands. I was too scared to speak, but he didn’t either. After what seemed like an eternity, he slipped his hand from mine, and what he’d done next had all the air rushing from my body. Harlem ran his finger across my cheek and over my bottom lip, all without saying a single word. A second later, he was out again.
I’ve since convinced myself he was drugged up; he didn’t know what he was doing, and he probably doesn’t remember either.
“Nothing?” Juniper asks, looking bummed.
“Nothing,” I confirm.
“Then what’s with the heavy tension between you two? It’s so thick you could cut it with a knife. That and Harlem looks like he wants to throttle you whenever you are within arm’s reach.”
I blink at Juniper. “No, he doesn’t.”
