Sweet Carolina Girls Part 14

Harper grinned, "What do you mean? I'm in the parking lot of the lab. Where are you?"

"I'm on your back deck painting and drinking a Mojito."

"I don't have the stuff to make Mojitos," Harper thought out loud.

"Well, you do now," Lauren chuckled.

"I guess you're staying for dinner?" Harper said, in her most seductive voice.

"There are steaks and salads in the fridge and the potatoes are in the oven." Lauren was feeling proud of herself.

"You sound like you have everything covered. Should I bring anything?" Harper started the car.

"An appet.i.te."

Harper laughed, "Well, you can believe I have one of those, but it isn't food I'm craving."

She heard Lauren laugh on the other end of the phone. "I think I have that covered, too."

Harper drove home and was met at the door by a beautiful woman, a loyal dog and a Mojito. Life was good. Lauren had been painting a picture of Harper's backyard with Jasper running through it. Harper couldn't tell from the canvas, but was sure it would be wonderful in the end. After dinner was done and the dishes were washed and put away the two women retired to the couch, where they watched TV huddled under a blanket and talked until time to go to bed.

After making love, they lay in each other's arms face to face. Harper couldn't believe this was happening. It was too easy. Something had to go wrong. She smiled at Lauren, "This is too good to be true."

Lauren pinched her b.u.t.t producing a yelp from Harper. "I just wanted you to know you weren't dreaming," Lauren grinned.

Harper laughed and then turned serious, "This has been the best three days of my life, but we've been isolated. What happens tomorrow when we have to go to practice?"

Harper could see Lauren giving this some thought, before she said, "I don't think we should rub this in Shelby's face. Softball is the one thing she does outside of her job. You know she played in college. I don't want to take that away from her."

Harper hadn't known that about Shelby. "Do you think I should quit?" She asked Lauren.

"No, they need you, but they don't need me, so I will step back...at least until Shelby's had time to adjust to us."

Harper thought this was probably a good idea, although it meant spending time away from Lauren. She knew Shelby needed to heal and their friends needed time to adjust to the new dynamic. She also still had in the back of her mind that Shelby could make life difficult for her and she had at least two years and a doctorate to get through before she could leave UC. Lauren and Shelby still had six years of life to dismantle. Harper prayed silently the divorce would go well.

They decided to play it by ear. Lauren would not go to practice, but would call Jane to explain why and make herself available, if needed. There was a team function, the annual season kickoff party, after the first game on Thursday. They would wait to see how things were going before deciding whether to go. Harper didn't want to cause a rift in the team either. She liked them and wanted them to like her, but for the first time in her life, if she had to choose between a lover and softball, the lover would win hands down. No questions asked. Harper had fallen madly in love with the pretty blonde, in her arms, and she didn't intend to let go anytime soon.

Work went by quickly on Tuesday. Harper was so busy she didn't eat lunch. She got several texts from Lauren over the day. Lauren was back at her studio. She had taken Jasper with her, so Harper could go straight to practice from work. Lauren would meet Harper at the house, after practice, if that was alright? Harper sent a text back that Jasper had to be home by dark, adding a little smiley face.

Lauren said she had wanted to date Harper, but so far they were doing the normal, lesbian move in with each other until the fire wears off, thing. Harper may have had only one female lover before, but she had been around enough lesbians to recognize the behavior. Right now she couldn't imagine spending a night alone, without Lauren. She hoped it wouldn't happen anytime soon.

Harper ran into Abby in the parking lot at the field first. Abby looked her up and down and grinned at her, "You have been getting laid, a lot, from the look on your face."

Harper stiffened, "Does it show?"

"Well, it probably wouldn't be so obvious, if you took that s.h.i.+t eating grin off your face," Abby answered, laughing at Harper's predicament.

"s.h.i.+t, I knew this was a bad idea. Lauren made me come," Harper said. "I don't want to rub this in Shelby's face."

Abby looked at Harper, more serious now, "What's wrong with you two being happy? Lauren hasn't been happy in years. Shelby made her bed, now she'll lie in it."

Harper squirmed, "Yeah, but you guys have been friends a long time. I don't want to cause any problems."

Abby was compa.s.sionate, but honest, "Shelby and Lauren met us as a package. Our loyalties are to both of them not individually. Now they're not a couple, and though I hope sides won't be taken, they will be. That would have happened, if you were here or not."

"You keep saying that, but it's human nature to blame someone else and I have a feeling Shelby and at least Julie are blaming me." Harper was not one who enjoyed controversy and here she was in a lesbian drama without even trying.

"s.h.i.+t yeah, Shelby blames you. Of course she does. If she didn't, she'd have to admit it was her fault. I wouldn't worry, she's a big girl, she'll be okay. Besides you're a better player than she is, so we'd kick her off first," Abby laughed, "to h.e.l.l with loyalty, we want to win."

The two women laughed, as they made their way onto the field. Shelby showed up, apologizing for being tardy, after they were already taking infield. Because practice went by so fast, with the sun's waning pressuring them to hurry, Harper had no personal interaction with Shelby. She left practice quickly, one to avoid Shelby, and two to get home to Lauren. A great wave of relief washed over her when she was able to escape without any confrontations.

Lauren had grilled chicken breast prepared when she got home. Not only was she beautiful, but she could cook. Harper showered before dinner and smiled when she saw the overnight bag in the corner of the bedroom and the new toothbrush in the holder on the sink. She came downstairs and kissed Lauren so pa.s.sionately they almost didn't make it to the dinner table, but Lauren insisted they eat while the food was hot. After dinner they watched a Duke Basketball game, which Duke won, much to Lauren's displeasure. She was a Carolina fan through and through.

They were just getting in bed when Lauren's phone rang. She looked at the caller I.D. and screwed up her face in a frown. She pressed the answer b.u.t.ton and put the receiver to her ear. Harper knew it was Shelby on the other end.

Lauren said, into the phone, "h.e.l.lo." She paused, listening.

"Yes, that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Six o'clock...okay, bye."

Harper waited for Lauren to talk. Lauren hung up the phone and snuggled into Harper's side.

"Shelby wants to talk. She's ready for me to get my things out of the house and settle up our lives together," Lauren said into Harper's neck Harper hugged Lauren closer, "How do you feel about that?"

Lauren said in a smoky, s.e.xy voice, "I'll show you."

Lauren a.s.sured Harper that she wasn't looking back. She a.s.sured her until they pa.s.sed out, spent and satisfied. Harper fell asleep, with Lauren spooned into her body, knowing without a doubt where Lauren stood on the Shelby issue. They were done.

Wednesday dawned cold and wet. Harper left Jasper in the bed with Lauren. The three of them were settling into a routine. Harper went to work; Lauren and Jasper spent the day together. They sent texts back and forth throughout the day, Lauren reminding Harper she had to meet Shelby at six. When she got home, Harper was surprised at how empty the house felt without Lauren there to meet her. She made herself some dinner and sat down at the table. She brought some work home to keep busy while Lauren was with Shelby. She didn't want to think about what was happening over there.

By nine o'clock, she was growing anxious. She put away her work and answered email. Grandma wanted to know if she was coming for Easter Sunday. Harper hadn't made any plans yet, she wanted to talk to Lauren first. She put Grandma off for another day. J.R. checked in to make sure she was coming to the game on Sat.u.r.day. She said yes, and apologized for not calling. She'd been busy, she said, adding a winking smiley face. She shot Jackie an email saying only, "d.y.k.e drama continues, but I got the girl." She hoped she had, but was really starting to worry when Lauren finally walked through the door.

She looked tired and had a box in her arms, which Harper took from her.

Lauren collapsed on the couch still in her coat. "Oh my G.o.d, I am so drained."

Harper sat the box on the table. "Is everything okay?"

Lauren patted the couch beside her and when Harper sat down she wrapped her arms around Harper, saying, "Kiss me."

Harper complied. She helped get Lauren out of her coat, hung it up in the closet and came back to the room where Lauren was taking off her shoes.

"You know, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was so happy to see the dogs. I'm really going to miss them, but Shelby said I could come get them whenever I want to. Of course Shelby isn't happy about how things ended, but she seems to be handling it well. She's going to buy me out of my half of the house and we split up the furniture. I think it's going to be okay. She even said I should come back and join the team."

Harper was ecstatic to hear Shelby was being amicable. She had hoped that things would go well and it sounded like Lauren was relieved too.

"So are you going to come back and play?" Harper asked.

"No, not yet. Let me come with you to the game tomorrow. I'll sit in the stands and go to the party afterward. If everything goes well, then maybe." Lauren was still cautious.

Harper agreed that was wise. She glanced at the table, "Hey, what's in the box?"

"Some art gla.s.s pieces, I didn't want to leave them to the movers." Lauren said. "I'm going to go over while Shelby is at work and pack up the rest of my things, and then have the movers take it to the studio."

Harper was ready for the conversation about Shelby to end and was glad when Lauren said she was hungry. The snacked and went to bed. Lauren was physically and emotionally exhausted. For the first time since they started sleeping together they just held each other and went to sleep. That was fine with Harper. Just holding Lauren was good enough for her.

Thursday morning Harper packed her ball bag and uniform into the Hummer. There would be no time to come home. The game started at six. She was excited to play in her first league game. She would now have a chance to check out the compet.i.tion. Harper was a compet.i.tor no matter what she was playing and she liked to win. When Lauren sent a text saying she would be in the stands with the kids and husbands, Harper had to laugh. She watched the clock tick by slowly until it was time to change and leave for the game.

Harper arrived at the park, which was filling with families of all shapes and sizes. Evidently softball was a draw in Chapman's Mill, too. She had wondered if softball would be as popular here, as it was in Oklahoma, after all, the Softball Hall of Fame was in Oklahoma City. It appeared from the crowd that it was. She found the Tarr Barr girls warming up on the field. Slowly the entire team trickled in. Harper smiled back at Shelby, who managed a weak smile when she walked up. At least she was making an effort; Harper had to give her that.

The game was tied, in the bottom of the seventh, twelve all. Both teams were hitting well and fielding pretty good, for a first game. Shelby stood on third base, with two outs and Harper up to bat. Jane signaled time out, calling Harper up the line to her. Shelby joined them in the huddle.

"Harper, this field is deeper than the one we practice on. Can you still get it out of here?" She didn't wait for Harper to answer and went on, "We score here and we go home. We don't score and we have to go through their third, fourth and fifth hitters. Our next batters are not likely to score. Whatever you do, I don't want them to have a play on the ball, okay. Let's end it here."

Harper walked back to the plate, glancing into the stands. She saw Lauren standing with the rest of the fans, cheering. Harper winked at Lauren. Lauren showed her most wicked grin and winked back. It only took one pitch. Harper pasted the ball over the left field fence with room to spare. She was the hero of the moment and it felt good. She was actually looking forward to the party afterward. She met Lauren in the parking lot and without thinking picked her up and twirled her around. Lauren kissed her and hugged her neck.

They heard her voice before they saw her, "You two really do make a lovely couple."

It was Shelby. She brushed by and went to her car. Lauren looked at Harper with her hand over her mouth, but she was grinning under her fingers. She shrugged, raising her eyebrows and said, "Oops." Harper smiled back at her, Shelby was going to have to get over it. Lauren had, it seemed.

Lauren followed Harper to the house. Harper wanted to shower and change. Lauren, who wasn't going to drink, would drive them to the party, because she wanted Harper to have a good time. They were later than they wanted to be.

Harper started taking her uniform off in the laundry room. Lauren had her own key by now and came in through the front door. She found a half-naked Harper in the laundry room. She started kissing Harper as soon as she reached her.

"Baby, I'm sweaty and stinky," Harper said, though she wasn't really resisting.

"I don't care," Lauren said, breathlessly, shoving her hand into the front of Harper's pants. "You looked so hot on the field; your a.s.s fits in those pants like a glove."

"I'm glad you approve," Harper said, picking Lauren up and putting her down on top of the dryer. Harper was turned on too, by the game and the woman she was now undressing in front of her. She yanked Lauren's pants and the way s.e.xy underwear off and onto the floor. She pulled Lauren to the edge of the drier so she could reach between her legs. Lauren desperately clawed at her s.h.i.+rt b.u.t.tons finally throwing the s.h.i.+rt over Harper's head to the floor. Harper unsnapped Lauren's bra freeing her nipples, already hard and seeking Harper's mouth.

Harper's face was level with Lauren's b.r.e.a.s.t.s and she took full advantage of her vantage point. Her mouth stayed busy while her right hand worked between Lauren's legs. Lauren laid her head back against the cabinet over the appliances and bore down on Harper's hand as she banged her right there on the dryer.

Her hands on Harper's shoulders for leverage, Lauren screamed out, "Oh, my f.u.c.king G.o.d!"

They were the last to arrive at the Tarr Barr. Harper knew everyone would know what they had been doing, because she could see that Lauren was glowing and a.s.sumed she was too. From the slaps on the back and winks from her teammates it was obvious she had been correct. A long banquet table had been set up in the center of the playroom. The poker tables had been pushed off to the side. They sat at the opposite end of the table from Shelby.

Jane made a speech about the team and how much she enjoyed coaching and sponsoring every year. Then the buffet opened up with eastern North Carolina specialties, from Barbecue to peeled shrimp. The teammates laughed and joked for two hours then, it being a school night, soon dispersed to their homes. Harper was holding Lauren's hand as they walked through the parking lot, laughing. It wasn't until they reached the Tahoe that Harper saw Shelby.

Lauren didn't see her until Harper froze. She followed Harper's gaze to Shelby.

Lauren became very serious, "What do you want, Shelby?"

"I just need to know two things and then I'll leave you alone. First, if Harper hadn't come along, would we still be together?"

"No," was all Lauren said.

"Second, that is your Tahoe at Harper's every night, isn't it?"

Lauren was incensed, "Are you stalking me?"

"I guess that's my answer." Shelby left them alone. She never said another thing, just got in her car and drove away.

Lauren said, optimistically, "G.o.d, I hope that is the end of that."

Harper hoped so, too.

Chapter Seventeen.

On Friday morning Harper asked Lauren to go on a real date with her. She would pick Lauren up at the studio at seven tonight and she needed to dress for dinner. When she got to work she asked people in the lab for suggestions for a date, which included a romantic dinner. They gave her so many suggestions she turned to the internet and found the Ferrell House, a five star restaurant in a romantic farmhouse setting with dining rooms furnished with antiques and art. The restaurant was located in the original historic Ferrell homestead in Pineboro, not far away. She was lucky to be able to make a reservation for two.

She saw Shelby, in the hall, coming back from lunch. They simply nodded at each other. Good, Harper thought. She could play it that way. Harper could understand how Shelby felt. Now that she had Lauren, it would tear her apart to lose her and it would kill her to have to watch her with someone else. She wasn't sure she was as strong as Shelby.

When Harper got home from work, she took care of Jasper's needs then showered quickly. She was careful with her makeup and wore more than usual, but she wanted to look as pretty as possible for Lauren. She put on her s.e.xiest black underwear, but decided no on the matching bra.

Harper had one vice, expensive designer clothes. She didn't have a lot, but the ones she had were top of the line. Tonight she chose her black, silk Armani suit with full leg, high waist pants and tunic length mandarin collar jacket. She wore her form fitting Armani tank top with the s.e.xy cut out detail on the back. She felt comfortable and elegant, a hard combination to find sometimes.

Harper checked the clock; she was running out of time. She grabbed a black purse for her personal items and checked her makeup, in the mirror. She dabbed some perfume on her neck and wrists and was at the front door running a hair remover on her jacket when Max pulled up at six fifteen, in a s.h.i.+ny black town car. She had called him earlier in the day and asked him to bring his best ride. He was happy to hear the blonde lady was back in her life. Harper kissed Jasper and headed out for her date.

Max's taxi wasn't the only arrangement she had made on this night. In addition to the dinner reservations and the taxi, Harper called Chita and got the scoop on the clubs. Chita recommended Blue Nights in Durham. It was a member's only club, but Chita said she would be there and get them in. She thought Lauren had a members.h.i.+p, but it could have been under Shelby's name. Harper didn't care if Shelby and Lauren had gone to the club; she figured they'd been a lot of places she and Lauren would go.

When Lauren opened the garage door at the studio, after Harper called to let her know she was there, Harper was dazzled. Lauren had on a navy blue sleeveless dress, with one strap in the middle of her chest that split and connected behind her neck. It had an empire waist and short hem that combined with her matching pumps showed leg for days. A necklace of large colorful beads accented her neckline and she looked so beautiful even Max whistled. Harper got out to let Lauren in the backseat and kissed her on the cheek as she pa.s.sed.

"It's good to see you back with my friend here. She was not happy when you were gone," Max said.

Lauren smiled and squeezed Harper's hand. They drove to Pineboro, with Max doing most of the talking. Lauren and Harper smiled and laughed at his non-stop gabbing. Lauren was surprised and delighted that they were at the Ferrell House. She had loved this place, when she and her family visited years ago, but had not been back in sometime. This made Harper smile inside. Evidently, she picked a place Shelby never took Lauren. Score one for the home team.

They were seated at a romantic table for two, in the corner, by the long wall of windows that looked out onto the lawn. Harper and Lauren enjoyed a four-course meal with complimentary wines, recommended by the steward. They talked about anything and everything. Harper and Lauren could talk for hours and never grow tired of each other. When they were silent their eyes were speaking loudly and clearly. Anyone watching knew these two were seriously romantically involved.

Harper was beginning to feel like she had known Lauren forever, maybe in a former life. They finished each other's sentences. Lauren knew what Harper was thinking before she said it. They fit together like a glove. If Harper had dreamed up a lover, she could never have dreamed of someone she felt so in tune with. Lauren was Harper's missing piece. Harper's mother had given her the book, The Missing Piece, when she was younger, and now she truly understood what Shel Silverstein was saying.

Harper also realized that the walls she had up, to keep anyone from getting too close, were crumbling brick by brick as she sat across from Lauren, absorbed in her grin and dimples. Lauren talked about the new feeling of expression she was feeling in her art. The light was filtering back into her hues and tones. Lauren found new joy in the world around her, like she had been wearing dark gla.s.ses for too long. She was even fascinated by the many layers of gold in Jasper's coat.

"Have you ever really looked at his fur? I've had a hard time capturing the way it glows in the sunlight," Lauren said sipping her wine.

"I've always wanted to try and dye my hair like that, with all the layers of blonde, but I'm not sure that orange-gold layer on top would look too good," Harper laughed.

"It's just, I feel...I feel so free," Lauren said and then leaned in to the center of the table, "Thank you for helping me find my way back to me. I'm not all the way there yet, but I'm well on my way."

Harper held Lauren's hand, "I'm happy I could help you with that, but I think you were finding your own way back before I came along."

"You know what else," Lauren whispered with that crooked smile that made Harper weak in the knees, "the s.e.x is mind blowing."