Following My Sister's Rules

Chapter 12

To say that I was smitten with Harper would be a gross understatement.  From the second I stepped outside to find her leaning against her car in all her gorgeous glory, there was nothing I could do to stop the pounding of my heart. She was beautiful--there was no denying that--but there was something else about her.  She radiated this confidence that I had never known a girl to have.  Sure, I know plenty of confident girls, but this was a whole different level.  She was so comfortable in her own skin, I pitied the girls who had to compete with her for attention. Everything about her embodied perfection.  From the soft waves of her brown hair to the mile long legs emerging from her little black dress, the site of her alone was enough to leave my mouth watering.  This was no normal lust though.  I found myself wanting to know her as a person.  There was something about her, and I was dying to figure it out.  I wanted to uncover all her secrets and bask in the glow that she left in her wake.

We had been mindlessly driving around downtown LA with no particular direction before she finally just decided to get on the highway.  The top was down and the wind was blowing her hair all over the place, so at a red light, I watched as she wrapped an elastic around her locks and exposed her swan-like neck.  The newly exposed skin did something to my heart rate, and I felt this fluttering I had never felt before.  I tore my eyes away before a different body part reacted to her actions.  Not before I noticed her slight smirk, though.  I had clearly been caught staring.  Again.

"So."  She finally broke the comfortable silence.  "Do you have any preferences as to what we do with the afternoon?"  She glanced over at me before switching lanes.

"Naw.  Anything is fine."  I told her.  "It's just nice to get out.  I have been pretty bedridden lately, and when I could get up, it was all funeral related."

"Understandable."  She nodded.   "How's the leg feeling, by the way?  I saw the X-rays.  That was a pretty brutal break.  I'm surprised you're up and moving, honestly.  Most people have pretty limited mobility after a knee replacement, and yours was far worse than the typical old lady surgery."

I just shrugged.  "The pain's not so bad.  I had an incident that was horrible the other day, but other than that, it's just a dull ache.  I play football, I'm used to aches and pains."  I told her.

"You play football?  I guess that makes sense."

"How so?"

She just scoffed.  "Please.  You are the picture perfect model of high school football, practically the poster child.  You have the build, the looks, the personality.  There's no doubt in my mind that you're a football player."

"Was a football player."  I corrected her.

She frowned, and I felt a pain shoot through me.  I hated that I was the one who put that look on her face.  She was far too beautiful to look sad.  "What do you mean?"

I glared down at my leg, the angry feelings returning.  "It means I'm not exactly going to be playing football anymore."

"It's not like it won't heal though, Max."  She told me, placing a hand on my thigh.  My body tensed at her touch. It felt like sparks of electricity were soaring through me, and I was powerless to stop them.  I couldn't help but wonder if she felt it the same way I did.  Is that why she kept coming around?  Was it possible that she liked me too?  I was beginning to think I was crazy, but she got to me in a way no one ever had in the past.  I had liked Bianca, and liked Audrey, but I hadn't felt this with them. Just looking at Harper made me lose my breath, and it scared the hell out of me.

"Yeah, I know that, but I'm a senior.  This is my last season to show colleges what I've got.  It's okay though, maybe I can find something else that I'm good at."  I grinned at her, trying to cover up my displeasure with the situation.