23. The ultimate wing woman

TWENTY-THREE

THE ULTIMATE WING WOMAN

SHEP

“Is this actually necessary?” Wes calls out from his room.

“Yes, so shut up and put on a suit,” I bark back at him while putting the finishing touches on my secret project that’s taken over our dining table.

The last few days have been gone by in a blur. I finally got to talk to Harlow at the rec center the other day and she seemed different. Not a bad different, just different .

It hasn’t helped that every time we’ve been in the middle of a conversation we’ve been interrupted. One time it was Pierce who showed up during a practice, another time her phone rang and she had to run off. I’m trying not to get frustrated, but I’m also getting impatient. Every day that I see her, my feelings for her grow.

Lennon has kept me in the loop about things, but she also won’t give me any clear answers regarding how Harlow feels.

In our small talk though, Harlow did apologize for how she acted in her car the night we went to my parents. I was somewhat shocked but I’ve also noticed a softness to her lately that I’m not familiar with.

“Alright, alright. I’m dressed, what’s the deal?” Wes whines as he walks out of his room. His eyebrows raise and he looks between the table and me. “What the hell is going on?”

A deep laugh rumbles out of me. “I told you. I have a plan if you’d just trust me.”

“Right, but this doesn’t really give me any answers.”

As he finishes his sentence, there’s a knock on the door. I give him a knowing grin and head to answer it before he can.

“Dude, seriously. What the hell is?—”

“Hi,” Lennon interrupts him and walks through our front door. Wes goes silent and his jaw slowly falls down.

“Lennon,” he states. “What are you doing here?”

She walks towards him, her dress trailing behind her, then stops in front of the dining table near him.

“Well,” she starts, “Shep here told me that you were disappointed we couldn’t go to this formal together, so he told me to get ready and meet him early at your house. So, here I am.”

They both turn and look at me, waiting for further explanation.

“Right, so because Lennon is helping me out and Wes, you mentioned you didn’t love the idea, I wanted to do something to make things right.” I point at the set up and it clicks in their minds.

With help from Mom, I got the dining table set up to look like a private restaurant setting. She helped me find the stuff to put on it and then I took care of the rest. I thought the least I could do was give Wes the opportunity to see Lennon dressed up and have this date.

“You did this?” Wes asks, raising his eyebrows. Lennon giggles next to him.

“That’s correct,” I head to my room and grab my keys. “The food is in the oven. I’ve got to go do something else before tonight, but I thought you could bring Lennon to the Chi Kappa house for me?”

“Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.” Wes goes to pull out the chair for Lennon then comes over to me after she sits down. “Thank you,” he whispers. I just smile back at him.

“Lennon, if Dahlia gets to be too much, Wes can put her in my room. I figured there wasn’t a need for formal introductions since Harlow probably told you about her. She doesn’t know you’re here though, right?”

“That’s correct! To both of your comments.” She smiles at me then looks at Wes again.

That’s my cue.

“Alright, see you guys at formal.”

I’m on my way to Mom and Dad’s when I get a call from an unknown number.

“Hello?”

There’s a few seconds of silence before I finally hear the voice that makes me lose all sense.

“ Shep?”

It’s my girl.

“Harlow, is everything okay?” I want to ask how she got my number, but that doesn’t feel important right now.

“Um, I’m not sure. Are you in Everson?”

Her voice sounds shaky and I really hope it isn’t because of Beckett somehow.

“I’m heading to my parents’ right now, why? Is everything okay?”

“Oh, wait. Right now?”

“Yes?”

“Shit.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Before she can answer, I turn the corner coming up on the driveway and am beyond shocked to see a gray Bronco there.

“Are you at my parent’s house?” I ask in disbelief.

“Surprise?”

I see her walk out the front door then she pulls the phone away and hangs up. I hop out of my truck and head towards her.

“What’re you doing here? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” I lightly grab her by the sides of her arms and instinctively look her over.

She lightly giggles and it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.

“Shep, I’m fine,” she says before swatting my hand away playfully. “Though I didn’t expect to run into you here. You caught me.”

She turns and makes her way back into the house like she lives here. Did I miss something?

“Momma Fords!” Harlow calls out, causing the strangest feeling to course through my body. “He’s here.”

“Oh goodness!” The voice of my mom rings out from farther down the hall.

When we turn into the living room, I see that apparently I’m the one intruding at my own house. It looks like Harlow and Mom were having tea or something.

“Can someone explain to me what’s going on?” I raise my eyebrows, looking between the two women who both seem to be going behind my back.

“That’s why I was calling you.” Harlow sits back down next to my mom on the couch. “I’ve been talking to your mom and her friend, Robin, about,” she stops for a second and chews on her bottom lip, “the stuff you’re worried about.”

“Oh?” Confusion floods my mind, followed swiftly by equal amounts of relief at the mention of this specific friend of Mom’s.

“Your mom gave me your number, which I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to get.” Harlow looks down and I glance over at my mom who winks at me. Again, I can’t believe it’s my own mother who’s playing the ultimate wing woman here.

“Riiight…” I say before sitting down in one of the chairs opposite them. “So, what were you calling to tell me? About these meetups?” I bend down and pick up one of the small sandwiches on the table, then lean back in the chair. These two have some serious explaining to do.

“I think I’ll let you two talk,” Mom interrupts, then stands and gathers the empty plates before heading into the kitchen.

Harlow takes a breath, steadying herself and smiling as Mom leaves the room. “The first night I came over, you know how your mom and I talked in the hall?

I nod my head in response while chewing on the sandwich.

“Well, she told me something that helped me see things a little differently. Then I ran into her last weekend downtown and she gave me her number plus Robin’s.”

Harlow picks at the frayed edges of her jean shorts. Of course she’s wearing the outfit that seems to be more like her uniform. Taking in her appearance, I forget we’re talking about something serious and blurt out, “What’re those shoes called?”

Harlow shakes her head in confusion. “My shoes? They’re called Doc Martens. Why?” She gives me a puzzled look.

“You just always wear them. I like them. I remember we had an event at the fraternity house a year ago and you showed up wearing them, with some big flannel or something. I like the way you dress,” I confess plainly.

Her eyes get so wide it looks like they could pop out of her head. “I didn’t think anyone really noticed me that night,” she mumbles.

“Oh, well…I did.” I realize I’m taking over the conversation that she was trying to have with me so I try to get back on track. “Anyways, let’s cut to the chase. How long have you been meeting up with my mom?”

She smiles. “We started this week. I wanted to tell you, but I’ve been busy with practice, class, and now therapy, all while also trying to deal with people.” She rolls her eyes. “But I just wanted to thank you, and I’m going to try and put some distance between Beckett and I.”

My mouth falls open some. I have so many questions. God, I have so many questions, but if I’ve learned anything with Harlow, it’s to let her set the pace. However, my mouth works faster than my brain and before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “Baby, that’s great.” The realization of what I’ve said comes as a soft red flush takes over Harlow’s cheeks. “I mean—Harlow, that’s great.”

She doesn’t call attention to my words, which I’m grateful for. We continue talking about what she’s been up to without her going into great detail. I notice a new light in her eyes and it makes me want to reach over this table and kiss her. The urge to do it has always been there, but before it was with the idea that maybe I could give her some of my own happiness. At this moment though, I want to kiss her to absorb whatever has her in this good mood.

“What were you coming here for?” She breaks my train of thought.

“Oh, I just had a suit here I needed to pick up for tonight.” I’m glad she mentioned it, because I probably would have forgotten with everything that’s happened in the last half hour. “You’re still going with Beckett?” I hold onto a shred of hope that maybe she’ll say no, but unfortunately that isn’t her answer.

“I am, but after tonight I’m going to try and talk to him.” She smiles softly then stands up, gathering her things. “I actually need to head out to go get ready. Lennon ditched me for something and now I have to get dressed and do my hair and makeup on my own.”

My stomach drops wondering if I should tell Harlow about Lennon and I. She was so open and honest with me and I don’t want her to feel like I’m hiding something from her. I also don’t want to ruin this moment by her getting upset. Shit.

I decide to not tell her and instead give her a different truth. Stepping towards her, I reach my hand up near her face pausing to make sure she’s okay with me touching her. She nods her head softly and I tuck a strand of her hair that’s fallen from her bun behind her ear. I hold my hand in place around the side of her cheek, before running my thumb over her bottom lip.

My heart is pounding and, damn, do I want to take that plump lip between my teeth and suck on it.

“You’re going to be beautiful. I wish it was me who got to accompany you tonight,” I whisper.

She leans into my touch then gently moves my hand off her face. It doesn’t hurt my feelings. I’m sure she’s still getting used to touch that isn’t harmful.

“Thank you. I just have to see this through with Beckett. It’ll be okay. I think it helps knowing you’ll be around. If it makes you feel any better, in my mind I’m getting ready for you tonight.”

My eyes widen and all Shep systems shut down. She’s never talked to me like this before and I don’t think I know how to handle the Harlow that actually acknowledges our chemistry.

Before I can try and play into it, she calls out to my mom that she’s leaving and then smiles at me before walking out the front door. After just a few seconds, Mom pops her head out from the doorway and gives me a look.

“What?” I counter.

“How’re you going to explain you showing up to formal with her best friend after that ?” She cocks her head to the side with her eyebrows raised.

I scoff and head to my old room to grab my suit. I don’t know, but I really hope it doesn’t backfire.