RILEY’S DREAMS WERE quiet, peaceful; they were nothing like the stress and the torture and the raw anxiety of life. Harrison wasn’t in them, either, and neither was anyone else. She was alone in her own world of words and lettings that shone and shimmered across a brilliant pastel sky. She could stay here forever, she thought, and never be unhappy.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
She woke up with a gasp and shot straight out of bed. When she glanced at the clock, it read 2am. Who the hell wanted Jessica’s attention at two in the damn morning?
“Jess?”
There was no answer.
The sound of banging came again, and then she heard his voice: “Riley! Are you in there?”
“Shit,” she whispered.
She tugged an overcoat over her thin PJs and tied it around her waist with a soft velvet belt; Jessica had always had a fantastic fashion sense. Cautiously, she moved to the door and pressed a hand over the knob. “What do you want?”
“Let me in... please?”
Riley had never heard such a desperate tone in Harrison’s voice before, and before she could even think about it, she opened the door. She stepped back as soon as she did, and she folded her arms across her body in a protective gesture. “What do you want?” She said it more softly this time.
“I know everything.” He took in some deep breaths; he looked exhausted, like he had run here from across town. “Owen told me about the pregnancy. I was just at your parents’ place, I told Jeff everything. About the pregnancy, about what we might have. My feelings for you. All of it.”
Oh god... I’m so dead, Riley thought. I’m so dead. “Why would you–”
“Let me finish.”
“No! No, you can’t just–”
Harrison grabbed her by the face and kissed her. Hard. He held onto her as tightly as he could without hurting her and cupped her face in his hands. His breathing was still unsteady as he drew back and locked eyes with her, his Adam’s apple shifting with a hard swallow. “Riley... please. I know this must be a shock to you, but you have to know how much I care about you. I didn’t come here because I’m angry with you, I came here because I love you.”
Riley was absolutely speechless as she stared at him, and her jaw went slack; she had no idea what to say.
“I understand...why you did what you did. But will you let me take you home so I can make things right?”
“If you don’t go with him, I swear to god, I will.” Jessica stood in the hallway with her arms crossed, a big grin on her face.
Riley put her hands over her mouth and laughed despite herself. Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall as she took one of Harrison’s hands. She was uncertain and afraid, but he seemed so sincere and so concerned; how could she not give him a chance? Jessica’s words from earlier rang in her mind, and she nodded slowly. “Okay... I’ll come with you... only if you mean every word you just said.”
“I mean every word...and there’s a lot more I want to tell you, Riley. A lot more.”
––––––––
“YOUR PARENTS JUST...abandoned you?” Riley couldn’t believe what Harrison was telling her as they sat in his living room and sipped French wine. He’d just told her about his childhood and his drug-addicted parents, and her heart was in tatters for him. “Did you ever have a stable home? Ever?”
“No.” He shook his head, one arm draped over Riley’s shoulders. “I hopped from one foster home to another; I think the longest I stayed in one place was two years.”
“That’s awful... ”
He nodded. “Yeah... ” He pulled her closer so that he could kiss her between the eyes. “I have something to show you, though. I think you’ll love it.”
Fingers entwining with Harrison’s, she followed him slowly, going past the kitchen and past his bedroom. He took her into a room she’d never seen before, one that was virtually empty aside from a few odds and ends. She turned in a slow circle, then gave him a questioning glance.
“This is going to be the baby’s room...if you decide to move in with me.”
Her jaw dropped for the second time that night, and she stared at him as though he’d just lost his mind. “What?”
“You heard me. I want you to move in with me...and I want this to be the baby’s room. This...” He moved closer to her and took her shoulders. “This is important to me. More important to me than my work. There is a living child inside of you, and whether it’s mine or not, I–”
“It’s yours,” she blurted out before she could stop herself. “The baby, it’s yours. There’s only ever been you, Harrison. I can promise you that.” The tears she’d been holding back for so long before were starting to fall. “I’m sorry I ran out on you all those times, I was just so scared. Before Brad, there was this other asshole, Nate. And he cheated on me so many times. And then after Brad, I finally just stopped trying to...” She sniffled and wiped at her face, laughing without humor.
“Hey... hey... come here...” He folded his arms around her and tugged her gently into a tight embrace. “I’ve got you... I’ve got you, and I’m not letting you go.” His mouth brushed along her ear and across her cheek. Eventually, it found her mouth, and she kissed him back in return. Those slow, genuine kisses made her legs feel like Jell-O, and she melted into him with a happy little moan. While her fears were still there, they weren’t as prominent. And with every kiss that Harrison gave to her, she opened herself up to him more and more.
Without any warning, Riley felt Harrison lift her into his arms, and she let out a squeak of excited joy. She kissed him over and over as he carried her out of the office and into his room. Her limbs were wrapped around him so tightly that she almost began to wonder where she started and he began.
Soon, they were up against the office wall, and clothes were falling away to the floor in every direction. Riley cupped her hands around Harrison’s face and stared at him, studying his features as though she expected them to change at any moment. When all he did was smile at her and stare back, she took their kiss to dizzying heights; both of them growled and moaned and panted, and Riley clutched her thighs tight around Harrison’s hips. She pulled herself in as close as she could and sucked in a sharp gasp when she felt his rigid member fill her to the core. No man had ever been able to fill her the same way that Harrison did, and she found herself clinging to him tightly with both arms and legs.
“I need you,” she whispered against his ear. “I think...I love you, Harrison.”
The softness of his gasp, that little noise of surprise that came with it, made Riley’s heart jump. And when he whispered back to her, “I think I love you, too.” Her eyes glimmered with tears of joy.