- Chapter 7
Liz could feel the effects of the alcohol taking a hold of her now. She wrapped herself in a towel and put her hair in another one. In her haste to explore the condo and get in the shower, Liz had forgotten to grab some clean clothes out of her bag. The thought of putting her bloody clothes back on was not appealing, so she decided to go grab her clean ones.
She peeked out of the door and looked into the living room. Not seeing Harrison anywhere, Liz darted to the front door to grab some of her clothes.
“So are you alright?” Harrison said from the chair in the corner of the room.
“Yes. It looks worse than it is.”
“I doubt it.” Harrison moved from his chair and closer to Liz. He began examining her face. Then pulled her arm up and looked at the cuts on it.
“Really. I’m fine.” Liz offered. Suddenly realizing she is standing there wrapped in a towel with Harrison touching her.
“Liz. You don’t look fine. In fact, you look like you should go to a hospital.” Harrison says with such a sense of finality; Liz actually thought he was going to force her into his car and take her to a hospital himself.
“Let me grab some clean clothes. I’ll tell you what happened. No hospital needed.”
Harrison gently placed his hand on her cheek. His touch, combined with the look on his face, sent electricity throughout Liz’s body. He looked so worried. He looked genuinely perplexed to be looking at such an injury on her face.
“Do you have clothes? Bella has some here.”
“Yes, I have some” Liz reached down to her bag and began to pillage through her roughly packed belongings.
Harrison took in a deep breath. Liz had her ass only inches away from him. He took another step back so he could fully enjoy the view. Amazed that he had never really noticed what a knock out Liz was before. Oh, he noticed that she was smart and sensible, but man oh man he hadn’t noticed this figure she had.
His cock began to rise to attention as he imagined sliding inside that ass of hers. Oh, it had been such a long time since he had been with a woman. Instantly, he moved farther back away from her and back to his chair. Harrison didn’t want Liz to see how excited he was just by watching her bend over.
“Be right back?” Liz said as she grabbed her clothes and headed back into the bathroom.
When she returns, it is apparent she, in fact, is alright. Her face is full of smiles, and she is eager to clear up what she is sure Harrison thinks was some horrible attack on her.
“So are you ready to tell me what happened?” he asked.
Liz went into the whole story about Matt and the club. She told Harrison about the girl in her apartment and the makeup being thrown all over the floor. Finally, she explained how the picture fell and cut her face and arm. Throughout the story, Liz was somehow able to look at Harrison and talk like they were old friends.
The normal rush of red had not filled her cheeks again.
Liz was seated on the couch and wearing some old shorts and a white t-shirt. Her wet hair dripped gingerly onto the shirt since she did not take the time to dry it.
Throughout Liz’s story, Harrison could not take his eyes off of her. She was stunning. Even sitting there with bruises and bloodshot eyes, he was enthralled with her. How she told the story of this horrible boyfriend. How she was not histrionic about everything, he did. Liz was matter a fact about the whole situation.
Harrison could not help but watch her hair drip onto the white t-shirt she was wearing. The wet area of the shirt spreading down from her shoulders, and he was sure if she kept talking soon that entire shirt would be see thru soon.
“Wait. So why didn’t you leave this guy before this?” Harrison pulled himself out of his t-shirt daze and blurted out his question. Honestly unable to figure out why a girl like Liz was even with such a loser.
“Sometimes you just don’t have a choice,” Liz said, in a matter of fact voice.
“You always have a choice.” Harrison offered.
“Well someone like Bella, she has choices. I don’t have choices.” Liz could feel Harrison’s gaze honing in on her eyes, and she felt compelled to look away.
“Why? Why don’t you have a choice?” He was baffled by this statement. Everyone has a choice.
“I don’t have a family. I pay my tuition with my two jobs. I needed a place to stay. Matt was that place.”
“So you have no one that cares about you?” Harrison looked baffled.
“Yep. Just me, myself and I.” At this Liz stood up. “You don’t have to worry though. I can find another place to stay now that you are home.”
Liz started to walk away, but Harrison grabbed her arm.
“No.,” he said as he stood from his chair. Now standing face to face with Liz. “You will stay here.”
“It’s ok Mr. Wellington. I was just going to stay because you were gone. I can go.” Liz was looking at the ground again. It was hard to keep looking into his blue eyes and not turn into a total puddle of sexual emotions.
“It’s Harrison, call me Harrison; and No. You are staying. It’s the middle of the night.”
Maybe it was the look in his eyes. Maybe it was the way he kept holding onto her hand after he stood up. But something about that moment sent tears welling up into Liz’s eyes again. Her tough exterior crumbled and her knees gave way as the emotion of the night hit her again.
Harrison quickly wrapped one of his arms around her waist and steadied her.
“It’s ok.” He said as Liz wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
It had been years since she had truly felt safe with someone. Here Harrison was, strong, sexy, caring. He was worried about her and cared about her wellbeing. After the night, she had just had all she could do was hug him.