Cruel Heart

PART 11

"There's no way that's true!" Mia exclaimed through a chorus of giggles. The sun had set by now, casting dark shadows of night along the city.

They'd wandered from Twyla's into the heart of Central Park, talking for what felt like hours as the night crept by.

Dinner was amazing. Perhaps the most delicious meal she'd ever had!

Harlan nodded. His smile cut through the dark like diamonds. "It so is!" he countered with a laugh.

Mia leaned back on the bench, trying to bite back her smile. "You were arrested for stealing a goat from the zoo when you were 16?" she affirmed. There was no way. He had to be lying.

Harlan threw his head back with a laugh. "It was three goats, Fray. And yes, it's true."

Mia shook her head. "No way."

Harlan laughed again. "Look it up," he suggested.

Mia did just that. She whipped out her phone and opend Google. With partly frozen fingers, she typed in Harlan's name and 'goat theft, New York.'

"Oh shit," she breathed. Sure enough, it was true. A fit of giggles ran down her chest as she read the article.

He really did steal three goats.

"Okay," Mia said with a shake of her head. "Why..." She laughed. "Why would you need three goats?" she asked. A pretty valid question.

Harlan chuckled. "The short answer? I was wasted."

Mia laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she smiled this much. Her cheeks were starting to hurt. "Wow. Okay, so you win. The craziest thing I've done doesn't even come close to that," she confessed with a smile.

Harlan grinned back. "Well what is the craziest thing you've ever done?" he asked.

Mia shook her head. "Right, no way. It's too embarrassing."

Harlan nudged her with a smirk. "I doubt that, Fray."

Mia sat back. She sighed. "Okay," she said finally. "The craziest thing I've ever done?" Mia ran her eyes through the air, skimming down the mental pages of memories and lucid flashbacks.

Bingo.

There it was.

Mia laughed nervously. "When I was 13 I wanted a lip piercing..."

Harlan's eyes widened as he leaned in. She could see his smile already starting to take shape.

"My Dad said no so I did it by myself with a sewing needle," she continued. "It ended up getting so infected that I couldn't talk for five days."

Harlan burst out in laughter, the deep chuckles pouring from his throat like liquid gold.

Mia shook her head with a soft smile.

He really was the most incredible man she'd ever met.

"I gotta say, I think you win, Fray," he admitted with a wink.

Mia giggled. "Definitely not. Goats beat botched piercing any day," she countered.

Harlan's smile lit up the entire park. "Let's call it a draw, then," he offered.

Mia nodded. Her cheeks stung from all the smiles. "Deal."

They made their way from the park benches back up to Twyla's. From there they wandered back to the office building where Harlan and Mia would part.

Her heart had already begun to ache at the thought.

"So, uh." Mia cleared her throat as they halted outside of the building's front lobby. "I go this way," she said, pointing her frozen fingers uptown.