The Harper Series

Chapter 6

Book 1 Chapter 6

Are you some kind of special?

Matt

“You did what? Please tell me you didn’t do that,” Markus said.

Mason had a puzzled expression on his face.

I stood in the kitchen, regretting calling my i***t cousins.

“Are you some kind of special, Matt? Who the hell kisses someone and leaves?” Markus asked.

“I was at a loss for words,” I said.

Markus and Mason turned their heads and looked at me sideways.

“What?” I asked.

Markus rolled his eyes. “You don’t kiss someone, then leave. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Okay, smartass, what do you suggest?” I asked.

“I suggest you get your s**t together and don’t act like a tool. Grandpa Nash would pull that s**t. Oh, wait, he did,” Markus said.

“You know way too much about Grandpa Nash,” I said.

“It helps when your ma drags you to visit family,” Markus said.

“My ma dragged me out to the boonies,” Mason said.

“Did Aunt Luna try to recreate Children of the Corn starring one kid? Oh, she re-titled it Child of the Corn,” Markus said.

“No, dumbass. Ma thought it would benefit me,” Mason said.

“Can we discuss Mason’s lack of social skills later?” I asked.

Markus and Mason stared at me.

“Matthew, you screwed up. Let me ask you a question. Do you like Nora?” Markus asked me.

“Yeah, Nora has all these incredible qualities. Not even Sadie had Nora’s qualities,” I said.

“Did you enjoy the kiss?” Markus asked.

“I’ve kissed no one that way. The kiss was amazing,” I said.

“Then go back and tell Nora. Don’t play with her head,” Markus told me.

“I wouldn’t do that. However, I don’t want to sabotage something. I haven’t had this kind of feeling for anyone in forever. Nora isn’t like most women. She has a personality where you can spend hours talking to her. Nora’s friendly, funny, and cares about people. Even with the home life she endured, she never lost her kindness,” I said.

Markus and Mason furrowed their brows.

“How does someone deal with issues and still care about others?” I asked.

“Because Nora has always been that way. Her dad is an asshole and treated Nora terribly,” Mason told me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“When we dated, Nora’s dad would treat her like she was useless. He would tell her she wouldn’t amount to anything. That no one would love someone like her,” Mason said.

“He’s an asshole,” Markus said.

“Imagine hearing that repeatedly, then guys reinforcing it. Even I made Nora choose and treated her like s**t because she didn’t pick me,” Mason said.

“Yeah, you deserve your ass beat for that,” I said.

“There’s no need since Payton already did,” Mason said.

“Okay, you don’t want to screw this chance up, which we have established. Then take it slow with Nora. Give her a reason she deserves love,” Markus said.

I nodded. I wanted a chance with Nora. I had one and didn’t want to blow it. Hopefully, she feels the same way.

*****

Nora

I spent most of the day and evening working on the house. I watched the videos and followed the steps. It wasn’t difficult once I understood what to do. I could do this. I was proud of myself. My dad didn’t know what he was saying. I could do things.

I went upstairs, showered, then changed into my pajamas. Tomorrow, I’ll pick up plumbing items. I noticed the bath sink faucet leaking and needed to replace it. Plus, I didn’t want a high water bill.

The following day, I woke up and dressed. Since I didn’t have a coffee maker, I stopped for a coffee before work. I stood in line, waiting. I looked at the sign, figuring out what I wanted.

“I suggest a coffee with French Vanilla creamer,” someone said in my ear.

I c****d my head slightly as Matthew gazed at me.

“Why French Vanilla?”

“Because it’s sweet but not overpowering.” Matthew gave me a slight smile.

“I see. So, it takes the bitterness away but still leaves the coffee taste.”

“I think so.”

I faced Matthew. I put my hands together and interlocked my fingers. “Does it confuse the taste buds? Because my taste buds have a distinct taste and hate when I mess with them.” I gave Matthew a look.

“Not if the creamer improves the taste.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

“I wouldn’t want the creamer to evaporate, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth. It would disappoint me.”

“If you give the creamer a chance, you’ll find out it won’t evaporate. You’ll enjoy it.”

A smile curled upon Matthew’s lips.

“I’ll try it.” I sighed.

“It won’t disappoint you.”

I shook my head, knowing Matthew wasn’t talking about coffee. I ordered a coffee with French vanilla creamer. The barista made it, handing it to me. I sipped it, surprised by the taste. You remove the bitterness, keeping the coffee taste. Matthew ordered a coffee with the same creamer.

“How is it?” Matthew sipped his coffee.

“It’s not bad. You can taste the slight sweetness, but it doesn’t overpower the coffee.” I sipped my coffee.

“See, I told you.”

We left the coffee shop and walked out to the parking lot.

“Thanks for the suggestion. I have to get to work.”

“No problem. What are you doing after work?”

“I have a date with YouTube to replace a bath faucet.”

“Did you need help?”

“I wouldn’t mind. I don’t need to break a pipe.”

Matthew chuckled. “I’ll stop by after work and help you.”

“Okay.” I walked away as a smile curled upon my lips.

*****

Matt

I worked on a car, fixing the issue with the belts. I didn’t understand why people didn’t maintain their vehicles better than they do. Afterward, I replaced the brakes and calipers.

I finished up and let Beau know.

“I finished the last car.”

“Good, because there’s a transmission job tomorrow.”

“Let me guess. The trans needs an overhaul.”

“And belts.”

It’s a minimum four-hour job unless it takes longer. I didn’t mind since the jobs paid well, and Beau had reasonable pricing. He didn’t gouge like most auto repair shops.

I left after finishing my work. I went home and took a shower. When I saw Nora, I didn’t want to appear as a grease monkey. After washing up, I dressed and left, grabbing my toolbox on my way out.

I knocked on the side door to Nora’s house. She opened it, and I entered. We went upstairs to the bathroom. I set the toolbox down, crawling into the cabinet. I turned off the shut-offs to the supply lines, then grabbed a pair of channel locks and unhooked the lines. I unscrewed and removed the old faucet.

I installed the new faucet on the sink, connecting new supply lines. I wrapped Teflon tape around the ends before reconnecting the lines. As I tightened the lines, the pipes rumbled. I craned my head, seeing a drip from the shut-off.

Then the pipes rattled. My eyes widened as I hurried out of the cabinet. The shut-off handles shot out as a pipe sprayed water, soaking me.

“Matthew!” Nora was getting soaked.

“Hang on!” I ran downstairs to the basement. I shut off the main.

I ran back to the bathroom and entered as Nora stood there, soaking wet. She gave me a look, and we started laughing.

“You look like a drowned rat.”

“So do you.” Nora laughed.

We laughed as Nora left the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later with towels. I dried off my face and hair as Nora looked at the bathroom.

“So much for changing a faucet.”

“Let me go home and change. I’ll check to see if I have any shut-off handles to replace the broken ones.”

“Okay.”

I went home, changed into dry clothes, and searched for shut-off handles. I found them and returned to fix the bath sink. I repaired the handles, hooked up the faucet, then went downstairs to turn on the main. I returned and turned on the faucet while Nora mopped up the water.

“Now I have water.”

“It takes time, but repairs will get done.”

Nora stopped mopping. “Thank you for helping me. It’s nice to have someone help you.”

I walked over to Nora. “You deserve help.”

Nora smiled, making me smile. “Did you eat dinner?”

“No, I came home and showered. I didn’t want to look like a grease monkey.”

Nora giggled. “There’s nothing wrong with a grease monkey. Britt called me Betty Crocker because I like to bake.”

“Betty Crocker isn’t bad. Maybe you can be my Betty Crocker and bake me a cake.”

Nora’s cheeks turned a faint pink.

“Only if I get to call you Grease Monkey.”

“Deal.” I held out my hand, and Nora shook it. Our hands lingered. “I want to kiss you again.” I gazed at Nora.

“I think I want you to kiss me.”

I pulled Nora to me, licked my lips, then leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. I deepened the kiss as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I pulled her closer to me, closing any gaps between us. This kiss felt right.

We broke from our kiss. I placed my forehead against hers. “I wanted to kiss you again.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to scare you.”

“I thought you regretted the first kiss.”

I chuckled as Nora laughed.

“How about we see what happens? Let’s start with a date.”

“A date sounds good.”

“Okay.”

“How about I order pizza as a thank you for helping me?”

“A pizza sounds good.”

Nora pulled away and left to order a pizza. I finished cleaning up the bathroom. I had a good feeling about things.