30 Days of Domestic Fluff Challenge
DAY 7
Story: The Boss and I
Pairing: Harper Miller/Dominic Johnson
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"Remind me again why we are doing this?" Dominic asked as he tried to catch his breath. Harper was jogging ahead of him, not even showing a hint of fatigue. She had suggested that they should go running and he stupidly agreed to do it because he wanted to spend time with her before she leaves for the press tour of her new book. She was going to be gone for a whole month and the thought of not being near her made him emotional. And so there he was, jogging with his girlfriend or at least trying to.
"To get some fresh air." She answered not even pausing to look back at him. Part of him was glad she didn't so she wouldn't see his pathetic state.
The sun was setting and Harper chose to jog at the park near his apartment. The first round was alright, the second one not so much. Now at their third, his lungs were burning for air and his grey shirt soaked through. He had been fit once but after he graduated college, the endless hours working at the firm rendered his muscles useless. He wasn't fat. He was just "soft" as Harper liked to call him.
He had always been nicknamed the "Soft Giant" by his friends due to his sappy tendencies. Now he actually looked the part.
Dating Harper seemed like a dream. For him, she had always been someone unattainable. Close but always out of reach. He spent years of his life pining over her but always left unnoticed.
That's what he got for falling for a woman four years his senior. When he first met her, he had just turned eighteen. She was the older sister of his friend and she just seemed like she was the coolest person. She was smart, witty and always had something interesting to say. Plus it didn't help that she was drop dead gorgeous. He never saw a redhead without thinking about her.
But circumstances were complicated back then. She didn't feel the same way and had rejected his advances. Ten years later, they find each other again and this time they were both willing to make things work.
"We could still get fresh air without jogging." He grumbled.
Harper stopped on her tracks and laughed. "Oh come on. It's not that bad." She turned to face him and couldn't help but laugh again. He really was having a hard time. "Besides, you could use the exercise." She moved closer but Dominic took a step back.
"It would be best for you not to touch me. I'm all sweaty."
Harper rolled her eyes, wrapped her arms around his waist and grinned widely while holding him close, her body completely pressed against his. "I don't care."
Dominic often found himself wondering how he got so lucky. Why did the universe align the stars so he would meet this amazing woman? He resigned to the fact all those years ago that she would never give him a chance. Why would she? He was too young back then to have anything to offer her aside from his adoration and devotion. And yet here she was, clinging onto him with a playful glint in her eyes.
Dominic sighed, exhausted but grateful that he was the one jogging with her that afternoon. "Let's keep on going." He said as he toyed with her ponytail with his fingers. In the golden afternoon sunlight, it looked like he was touching fire. "But promise me we'll get McDonald's after."
Harper laughed as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his nose. "Deal."
