The Key to my HeART

17 Puppy Love

H A R P E R

The next two weeks flew by in a haze of puppy love. Despite Lexi and Tyler's fears, Max didn't completely change between home and school. To his adoring fan club's surprise, he acted like a proper boyfriend at school. He left cute little notes in my locker and walked me to class when he could. During gym class, Krystal wished me luck. She seemed skeptical of his change but didn't say anything outright. I think she wanted to spare my feelings. Chance ignored me, though I caught him staring a few times as Max and I chatted in front of our lockers, holding hands. My normal life continued as it always had, but now I had a boyfriend and that was kind of thrilling.

I found I didn't have much time for Fortress Siege. I played some nights, but mostly I wanted to spend my time with Max. He posed for some of my sketches and would watch, intrigued as I played around with digital manipulations on my computer. He tried to get me to post my artwork online or make a website, but I still couldn't bring myself to expose my inner workings like that. His encouragement made me feel like I could someday though and not be totally shunned by the artist community. I just wasn't ready to take the leap and share my work outside my circle of friends and family.

When we weren't playing around with my work, we spent plenty of time, sometimes with Josh, at his house playing with Beretta. I grew to love the dog and her slobber. I slept better, my nights with bouts of insomnia all but disappeared. I was so relaxed and happy, my normal stressors didn't bother me. Everything felt perfect.

One Friday after school Max went to hang out with Zane. I had Lexi and Tyler over for a long-overdue movie night. There wasn't a home game, so Lexi didn't have marching band either. We had the whole night to ourselves. As much as I loved spending my free time with Max, I missed my friends. They made their presence known as soon as they came in.

"It was so nice of you to grace us with your presence," Lexi quipped.

We sat in the basement together, pizza and soda set out on the coffee table. Lexi had brought candy and Tyler brought popcorn. I'd probably wake up with a million pimples from all the greasy food, but tradition was tradition and it dictated junk food. Lots of it. My parents left us to our own devices on movie night, though I could hear them watching their own movie upstairs.

"Don't be sour she has a shiny new boyfriend." Tyler sat in my gaming recliner, feet already propped up. "It's exhausting work sucking face with Max Draven."

Lexi and I huddled under a blanket together on the couch. I had the movie all ready to go. I just had to press play. However, I apparently had to put up with my best friends complaining about my love life. I let them, with only a few murderous thoughts running through my head.

"Completely exhausting I'm sure," Lexi said. "I'm not sure how she manages school, homework, artwork, and a boyfriend. There simply aren't enough hours in the day to accommodate Harper Wilson and her busy, on-the-go lifestyle. It's no wonder she has no time for us. She's a marvel this one."

"One." I held up my pointer finger. "I do not suck face. We actually haven't even kissed. Two, if I was spending my time with Chance, neither of you would be complaining."

"If you were dating Chance he wouldn't also be living at your house." Tyler reached for a slice of pizza. The cheese hung on for dear life, trying to stay connected to the rest of the pizza. By the time he separated the cheese half of it had slid off onto the next slice anyway. He grumbled and just took both.

"And you haven't kissed?" Lexi raised her eyebrow. "Really? I find that somewhat suspect. We are talking about Max Draven here. He's not exactly known for his chaste outlook on life."

"I want my first kiss to be perfect and walking his dog and being at school isn't perfect. He's respected my boundaries and you two should as well."