Coffee and Spice | Harvey | Stardew Valley

-10-

I know immediately that Alex will do what Harvey asked. Because it's just granting a simple request in his eyes. That closed door doesn't hold any significance to him, especially not in this context. He wouldn't think twice about why Harvey would want a barrier that separates us from the rest of the world, encasing us in near total darkness. He hadn't seen the shift of decision in Harvey's eyes as he had looked at me.

The only question was, what decision had Harvey made?

I know what that closed door would mean to me: privacy, no witnesses, just the two of us. A recipe for disaster. So why had Harvey wanted it? He could have just dropped off the box in his arms and left without another word, but instead he was pushing the limits of our unspoken boundaries. Was he that determined to lead us down a path that we both knew we couldn't follow?

These threads of questions are swarming in my head at once, too quick to unravel for further comprehension. Harvey still does not look away. Not even when the resounding echo of the door slamming shut rattles my awareness. The already limited light becomes even more diluted, and the skeletal remains of the building are reduced to a world of blacks and grays. Harvey is barely visible standing in the center of the room, still holding the box. Watching me like my thoughts are imprinted on my skin for him to read.

After what feels like a lifetime pinned under the weight of his gaze, I force myself to talk. To dismantle the tension connecting us like a taut line. "I didn't know you were helping move boxes today, too."

I try to talk quietly, but my voice sounds too loud in the empty building. My diversion seems to work though. Harvey blinks and glances down at the box in his hands as if he has forgotten it's there. The breaking of our eye contact gives me a chance to recollect myself.

"These are the materials from my office that I told you about. Emily said that you would be here, so I thought I would save you the trip."

His voice is casual, as if we're discussing the weather. As he speaks, he crosses the room close to where I'm standing to set down the box on top of the growing pile in the corner. My stomach flutters at his proximity. When he straightens again, his face is aligned with one of the slants of light coming through the holes in the ceiling. It reflects off his glasses, blocking his eyes from my view. "I wouldn't have walked in if I had known that you would be...preoccupied."

"He's just a friend." I hate the pleading note in my words. It makes me sound defensive, which I have no reason to be.

"Well, he was definitely being friendly," Harvey counters, sounding more gritty than before.

His indirect acknowledgment of what we both know - that he caught me kissing someone else and that it bothered him - sends a flare of anger lancing through me. I straighten to my full height and step towards him, forgetting my vow to keep my distance.

"No offense, Harvey, but it's not really any of your business," I snap, glaring up at him. "We're friends, remember?"

The implication is clear in my phrasing. Harvey had told me that he wanted to be friends, which would only lead me to assume that anything outside of those parameters was off limits. With us having no explicit romantic or sexual ties to each other, I could kiss whomever I wanted as far as I was concerned.

"And as your friend," he said, enunciating each word carefully as if trying to control his temper. "I'm just trying to give you some advice."

"Oh?" I laugh darkly and raise my eyebrows at him. "And what advice would that be?"

Suddenly he's coming towards me in the dark. I'm not expecting it, still caught up in a deluge of emotions, so I don't react until his chest is almost brushing up against mine. I stumble backwards in surprise, my heart squeezing painfully in my chest at his advancement, at the warm, familiar scent that wraps around me. The back of my thighs hit the edge of the empty table behind me, effectively trapping me, but he stops just before we touch again.