by Tess Keeler
I moved to start the water, even putting bubble bath in as a relaxing touch.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get petals or candles ready,” I whispered to her as her soft hands slid underneath my white sleeveless shirt.
Her smile was sexy, and I felt intoxicated by the way she was looking at me. “It’s okay, Nix. This is perfect.”
We undressed each other as the tub filled up with warm, bubbly water, kissing as each article was tossed onto my bathroom floor.
After she pulled her long hair into a bun, I stepped in first, helping her once I was steady. We sat together, her body between my legs and her back against my chest.
Playing with the bubbles, I moved them over and away from covering her breasts several times, her soft laugh and nuzzling back into me made me blissful.
My hands moved to her shoulders, massaging gently as she tilted her head forward.
I smoothed my fingers over the soft skin of her shoulders to trace down her arms and into the water.
“This is nice,” I breathed into her neck, my hands moving to squeeze right above her knees.
She nodded as her head leaned back onto my chest. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady; she seemed content in my arms.
“Harper?” I whispered, feeling the powerful emotion building in my chest. A soft hum answered me, and I started planting gentle kisses along her neck and over the length of her shoulders. “I love you.”
“I love you, Nixon.”
Our last day in Tulsa went by incredibly fast. We ended up at the Gathering Place with Bella and Mason, and I had to admit, it was super cool. Mason was staying the night and flying to Colorado the next day to meet the buses. I knew he was dreading going home since it was the first time he had since his breakup with Pierson. Being a good friend, I convinced him to “keep me company on the flight”. He obliged.
He was staying in my brother, Drew’s, old room, which was on the same side of the stairs as Bella’s room. Even though, at the moment, everyone was piled in my room to watch a movie. But it didn’t matter as long as I had Harper curled into me. It was nice to have them all in my space. We almost felt slightly normal.
Man, I really wasn’t ready for our stretch of days to end.
Bella went to bed first, then Mason retired to his room to give us privacy. I was thankful, too. I wasn’t sure when mine and Harper’s schedules would overlap again.
We both got comfortable— me in my boxers and her in only her panties, and we curled up together under my thick blanket.
Her large breasts were pressed against my side and her head was on my chest. Her right knee bent up and rested over my legs and I could never put into words the way that simple gesture felt—at least well enough to do it justice.
My arm that wasn’t underneath her was caressing her forearm draped over my torso. I rested my cheek against her head lightly, and I sighed.
“Everything okay, Nix?” she asked, her voice soft in the mostly silent room.
I shook my head. “I’m not ready to be away from you again, that’s all.” It was an admission that painted red over my cheeks, but I didn’t want to ever be anything but honest with her.
“I understand,” she answered, reaching up to touch my face. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
Lightly, I grazed her hand on my face. “Remind me where you’re off to after tomorrow?”
“I have a blackberry farm willing to accommodate me in return for a post. I’m pretty sure it was in Tennessee. I think I’ll do it for the experience of being in Memphis and Nashville for a while.”
I wanted to ask her to abandon that idea and come with me. To tell her that the mere thought of being away from her was ripping me in two.
But, I could never ask her to give up her job. Ever. I bit back my lip as her hand fell from my face and onto my chest, her fingers dancing over the small amount of hair I had there.
“I love Nashville.” Shakily releasing a breath to compose myself, I tried to pretend to be fine. “How long is a while?”
She smiled at me, her eyes studying my face. “I’m not sure, honestly.”
“Oh,” I nodded, trying to think of my upcoming tour route. “I’m going the opposite way.”
Her bottom lip stuck out in a genuine pout, “Really? That makes me sad.”
“I’ll be on the east coast in a few weeks, I head that way after my Texas shows.” I tried to reassure us both.
“I hope I run into you.”
I let the back of my fingers caress her face, “You know it’s not that simple anymore; I can’t just be away from you with no plan on when I get to see you next.”
She shifted against me, her eyebrows lifted in curiosity, “How do you suggest we plan?”
“I don’t know. Maybe once you leave Nashville, regardless if you have another job or not, we will just communicate and see what will work.”
Her lips pursed as she nodded, the sadness in her eyes still there. “How long are you capable of doing long distance for before it starts to really bother you?”
“Harper, I’m crazy about you. I’ll make this work.” I felt my whole demeanor get serious, and I wanted her to know just how serious I was about her— about us.
Her eyelashes fluttered. “I’m crazy about you, too.”
We let the silence purge us of the pain thinking of distance was bound to bring. I wanted to enjoy our last night of quality time while we had it.
“My birthday is October 13th, I’ll be in Austin for it. Maybe we can figure out how you can come.”
“I would love that.” There was that smile I loved. “Are you twenty this year?”
With a nod, I answer her, “I am. Blake told me after he found out we were talking that you’re older than me, but that’s never mattered.”
Our thoughts seemed to be sufficiently distracted from the impending distance. “I’m glad because I’ve got a few years on you. I just turned 24 in May. May 26th to be exact.”
May 26th— noted.
“You’re four years and five months older than me,” I stated, touching her chin with my fingers.
She lifted her eyebrow at me playfully. “Still doesn’t bother you?”
“Why would it? I like that you’re a little older than me,” I said with a soft laugh.
“Why is that?” she asked, her face shifting into amusement.
I flashed her my most charming smile before answering her, “I’ve always had a preference for older women.”
A beautiful laugh fell from her lips, her eyebrows moving towards her forehead, “Oh yeah?”
I chewed on my lip a moment, stifling a smile from taking over my attempt to be serious before I moved in to kiss her. Gently at first, but as soon as I felt her lips part against mine I knew I was a goner. My hands caressed over her stomach to her hip so I could pull her closer to me. The intensity between us was escalating by the second, and her lips had fallen to my neck as we tried to catch our breaths. My head was spinning, completely lost in how badly I wanted her entirely. I heard myself gasp as I rolled her over, my body slipping between her thighs. And as we explored each other, I couldn’t help but relish how it felt to be with her like this.
Saying goodbye was always difficult, especially when Bella started crying— she always did. Hugging her as tightly as I could, I fought back my own tears. Leaving her behind was the hardest part about leaving Tulsa.
“I’ll see you soon, Bella. We’ll figure it out.” I tried to soothe us both with my words. The truth was, I wasn’t sure when I could get back— not before the holidays, at least.
“I know,” she whimpered, and I pulled back to look at her. “I’m going to miss you. Both of you.” Her brown eyes flashed up at Harper, and I rubbed her hair before hugging her once more.
Bella released me to wrap her arms around Harper, and I think watching their goodbye was almost harder than saying goodbye myself. They exchanged numbers and Harper told her to text her anytime. It was moments like this that made me fall in
love with Harper a little bit more.
Asher was dropping Mason, Harper, and I off at the airport and I knew my sadness was more obvious than normal because Harper kept squeezing my hand like she knew I needed it. And I did.
We all said bye to Asher and reluctantly made our way through the airport process. All of us dreading some part of separating: Mason possibly seeing Pierson when we got to Colorado, and Harper and I because, well, long distance was difficult and painful. And I had a sinking feeling it was going to be even more so now.
At least I got some time with her before her flight to KC boarded. Mason waited at our gate, always silently giving us alone time together. I really appreciated him for it.
“Last call for flight 5965 to Dallas/Fort Worth.”
I had walked her to the boarding line, and I held her hand until I had to let go.
“I love you, Nixon. We’ll see each other soon.” She touched my face, her eyes trying to hide sadness to make it easier on me. I lost it.
Tears had fallen over my cheeks, and I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her through my pain.
“I love you, too,” I breathed once the kiss broke. Her own tears had spilled over her cheeks, and I wiped them with my thumbs. “You land at 3 PM, right? Please text me to let me know you get everywhere safely?”
“I promise I will.” She nodded, and I kissed her again.
The attendant cleared their throat and insisted she had to board now.
My heart was cracking as I watched her walk away from me, looking back once to blow me a kiss before disappearing as she turned the corner of the corridor.
I stood there, pathetic and alone until her plane moved to take off. I pulled my phone out and checked the time, I had ten minutes until my own plane began to board, but I still felt like I could barely push on with the huge gaping hole left in my chest.
Turning to watch her plane take off, I heard my name from where I had just walked.
Harper was standing there, her backpack still on her back.
“Is it okay that I changed my mind?”
1
Make You Mine
CHAPTER TWELVE
Harper
I had been on more plane rides in the last week than I had in my whole life, but it had been worth the time and money spent to meet Nixon’s family. Going to Colorado felt right, and I was thankful he accepted my sudden change of mind. Maybe he was already used to my constant spontaneity, or maybe he wanted to be with me too. Mason, being the sweetheart he was, traded me his first class seat for my economy last minute seat. Even though I told him that he shouldn’t.
It wasn’t even two hours to Denver. The time saved was rejuvenating when I was used to spending days at a time on the road getting somewhere new. Flying was nice, especially when I spent it cuddled up with my boyfriend—why not enjoy all the benefits of our now public relationship?
Mason and I moved to the baggage claim while the fans waiting for him lined up for pictures. He handled them with grace, as he always did, but Mason couldn’t help himself as he griped.
“They’re behaving,” I muttered back to him, grunting as I pulled Nixon’s bag off of the belt.
The way his eyebrows climbed up his face was something I wouldn’t forget. He was looking back and forth between me and the fans, and then he pointed, the blonde curls piled on top of his head bouncing slightly. “’S that so? The one that was just holding his hand for a picture and the one that is currently kissing his face are behaving? Blimey.” Shaking his head, he joined me with his own bag. Still in the same eye roll he started with, he grabbed my wrist gently with his free hand and whispered, “Just watch them for a second.”
I did.
They had their phones up, and they were either videoing him or taking shots of him as he moved from person to person. He was grinning, but it was more stressed than natural. He had a radio station interview in an hour, and I knew that Blake was already on his ass about it. The fans didn’t know that—well, that his manager was a time crunching asshole. I’m sure they were aware of his guest appearances. They giggled together and even tried to get more shots after the originals.
I tried not to feel jealous as all these cute girls hung off of him, pressing themselves against him, and grabbing his face. It was difficult not to feel the burn in my chest. I moved my hand slightly to squeeze Mason’s, my eyes lifting as I turned my head back to him. I felt like I was frowning, but I didn’t know what face I was wearing honestly.
“It doesn’t mean anything, right?” I asked, hoping he would reassure me.
“Blimey, no,” he waved me off, not letting go of my innocent embrace. “He doesn’t let any of the attention faze him, and he hasn’t since I’ve met him.”
Nixon finally met my gaze, his eyes falling to our connected grasp. His eyebrows lowered and I let our hands fall apart slowly. I wasn’t trying to create insecurities in him. Rosie cultivated enough of that before me. Mason didn’t notice why, nor did he care. His phone had gone off, and he immediately reached for the ding in his pocket. It was our time to explore his stomping grounds, so I’m sure his family was already blowing up his phone. Everly and her boyfriend. I wondered if he would see his ex—Pierce, I think. Would Nixon and I meet him, too?
My boyfriend was doing his usual apologies with his hand politely raising in a wave as he made his way toward us. The way he tangled our fingers together was almost possessive, and I knew his mind was racing about Rosie and his previous photographer. I would have to explain later. I squeezed his hand back as we walked through the crowded airport to the car waiting for us. I’m surprised it stuck around to take us to our destination.
After dropping everything off in our hotel rooms, Nixon freshened up. He avoided talking to me about Mason; he didn’t have time, but the tension was there. We were off again. Everything seemed to fly by after we left the hotel room. I stood next to Blake at the radio station while Mason took candid pictures of the interview, and then I sat outside as the three of them spoke about what would happen next with the day. Nixon had another interview, and then he could enjoy the night before tomorrow’s show.
I spent some time interacting with my followers on Instagram before I joined the men walking out the door. We were moving on to the next place.
“Is it weird to be staying in a hotel instead of going home?” I asked Mason while Nixon got situated in his second seat of the day. Surprisingly, it was only one in the afternoon.
Mason was playing with his camera, but I got bored of watching him fiddle with it. I was memorizing the way Nixon’s cheeks lifted as he smiled, his laugh echoing throughout the room. It made my heart flip in my chest. I hadn’t had nearly enough time with him since the plane ride. I couldn’t wait for him to be free of his obligations.
“Bloody hell, no. Chances of seeing my ex are higher if I go home.” He scoffed, “No thanks.”
I laughed a little before I looked at him again, “Aren’t we going there after this?”
“Yes, but strength in numbers,” he said, matter-of-fact.
“Ready, Mason?” Blake barked.
I’m not sure what Nixon saw in Blake. Since I had been around, I hadn’t seen him do or say anything kind to his musician. I didn’t know if he was only acting like this because we had put more stress on him or if he was naturally like that while working.
“Yes, sir,” Mason mocked, and I tried not to smile. It didn’t work.
A common interest the interviewers had was me. Nixon was always so cool, taking every question and answering honestly but privately. He would look toward me sometimes, smiling. I always returned it, my beating heart refusing to relax. I listened to every word he spoke like it was gospel, until finally, he was released from the room and his work duties.
“We’ve got a long day tomorrow,” Blake reminded him as we grouped around a different car than him, barely hiding from the crowd roaring around the corner.
Nixon nodded before letting me slide in after Mason. I was sandwiched pretty tightly betwee
n them, my wide hips to blame. I tried to make the best of it, leaning my head against my boyfriend’s shoulder as Mason gave the driver the address. We were in Downtown Denver, surrounded by tall buildings and busy traffic. I had always enjoyed Denver’s aesthetic: a huge, trendy city surrounded by the solace of mountains. People were nice. Smoke was nice. I sighed as everything blurred by.
“Where are we going again?” I asked Mason. Maybe I had been around there at some point.
“Westminster. ’S a suburb.”
I nodded, the name not really ringing any bells.
“How far is that from Boulder?” I asked.
“30ish minutes,” he replied, shrugging. “Maybe.”
Boulder was my favorite part of the Denver area. I looked up at Nixon, who was fairly quiet, “Have you ever been to Boulder, babe?”
Looking down at me the best he could, he replied, “Once. I tried a coffee shop there, but it was forever ago.”
Our hands were joined on my thigh. I applied pressure to his grip and smiled up at him, reading his gaze. He was never this quiet. He couldn’t still be thinking about it, right? The gesture was nothing.
“They have some good coffee shops,” I agreed.
He mirrored my smile, “I take it you’ve been in Boulder?”
I nodded against him, thinking back to all the fun I had in the small college town. “Grace and I loved escaping to Boulder. We’d always hike this one trail into the mountain during the day and find college parties to crash in the evening. The last part was always her idea.” I rolled my eyes.
“Sounds about right.”
I laughed at the way his words deadpanned. I thought about kissing him, but Mason interrupted me, “I used to go to the University of Colorado in Boulder. For a few semesters at least…” He scoffed a little, at himself.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked. “I’m surprised we didn’t cross paths.” Considering his past of partying. He had told me nearly all of it. Hell, he was still a little troublemaker.
