His Naughty Lessons
Chapter 99: Rounding Bases

Chapter 99: Rounding Bases

** Eli **

Eli watched the girl in front of him laugh so merrily without a care in the world, and he felt his own lips curve up in genuine contentment. Her bright spirits always seemed to spread so easily, making him perk up with her no matter when or where.

Ever since that revelation hit him on Saturday, Eli had been pondering this specialness of her, this mysterious pull between them that never failed to affect him whenever she was around. He wasn’t an idiot, and at this point, it’d be a lie not to admit that his attraction to her was going deeper than expected. It wasn’t merely physical anymore, either. When his phone buzzed with her text half an hour ago, there was only one explanation to why his day suddenly brightened like a new sun had risen — he had started to grow attached.

And fuck if that wasn’t something he didn’t know how to deal with. Since when had he ever done "attachment"? With Harper out of all people?

Thankfully, he didn’t get much time to process the shock and alarm, because as soon as he got to reading Harper’s text, his focus immediately changed to how strange it was that she had asked to meet up for lunch with such short notice. Without even thinking twice, he canceled his meeting at noon to come see her right away, and he didn’t regret it a single bit when it was uneventfully proven to be an overreaction. It couldn’t have been more worth it to see her like this, smiling and full of energetic chatter, even if all she needed from him was an excuse to escape a work lunch.

So Eli decided yet again that he would worry about that alarming epiphany later. Because right now, with her standing in front of him and that familiar feeling of perfect ease surrounding them like a comfortable blanket, he couldn’t bring himself to dwell on those complicated thoughts and ruin the moment.

The line moved quickly enough while they talked, and they soon got their orders. "Want to sit down in the shade?" Harper pointed to a park bench under a big oak tree not far from them. "It’s nice out here, though the sun is getting a bit hot."

Eli nodded. As they made their way toward the bench, he squinted up against that hot sun, and a thought came to his mind. He fished out his phone and typed up a quick message.

"So. Future Vision, huh?" Harper dusted the park bench with a napkin, not noticing what Eli had been doing behind her back. "My weekly dose of surprises are getting better and better! I’ve been hearing about the company for years, but I’d never dream of working with them ... How did you manage to lure such a big fish?"

Eli chuckled with a casual shrug. "Fish of all sizes like money, I suppose?" He put away his phone and joined her on the bench. "Though to be honest, I think inviting them to Hawaii might’ve been the biggest help in the persuasion process. Technical consultants don’t seem to get a chance to leave their office desks very often ... You should’ve seen how excited they looked when we offered the trip as part of their sign-on bonus."

"Oh trust me, you should’ve seen how excited all my coworkers looked when they heard the news too. All they talk about these days is what to choose for that team building weekend event." Harper glanced up at him curiously as she drizzled the spicy peanut dressing over her food. "Did Future Vision join in the fun of suggesting an agenda for the weekend as well? In our office, just about every activity imaginable on earth has already been proposed and thoroughly discussed."

Ah, now that was a loaded question. "Of course they did, and so did the Sterling Trust team." Eli couldn’t help a smirk as the gleam in Harper’s eyes reminded him of just the right proposal he had overheard this morning. "I think one of the top contenders at the moment" — he drawled for dramatic effect — "is a volleyball tournament on the beach, where minimum clothing is required for the entire playoff."

"..."

He had to try hard to keep a straight expression — that look on Harper’s face was too golden. "But of course," he added, "there’s no way I’d agree to it, since I have an invested interest in keeping certain views for my eyes only."

Back a few weeks ago, the girl in front of him would have blushed at such a tease. But today, she surprised him with a confident grin. "Precisely my thought," she agreed. "Some of the top contenders on our side involve booking the flights earlier and tagging on this weekend to get the most out of the trip, but I thought I’d rather stay here for that baseball game on Saturday and get some better personal time ... for my eyes only as well." She returned him a suggestive smirk that matched his own. "Guess how many bases we’ll be rounding this time?"

... Damn. Eli couldn’t help a wide smile stretching across his cheeks — this new version of this bold girl, he could never have enough.

The conversation slowly steered into a less risqué direction as they dug into their food, continuing to chat idly about the upcoming trip and Hawaii. When they were done, almost an hour had passed, and the sun had climbed up in the meantime to its zenith.

"Beach is definitely a good idea though," Harper concluded when she tucked the empty takeout box away, pulling her hair behind her and tying it into a messy yet sexy bun. "If it’s already so hot in Davenshire, I can’t imagine the heat on a tropical island! I’ll surely be having my fair share of Hawaiian shaved ice every day while we’re there—"

She paused when a young man in a cafe uniform walked up to Eli and, upon the latter’s gesture, handed her a colorful paper bowl.

"... What?" Harper gaped at what now sat in her lap, though Eli knew exactly what was in the bowl — hand rolled Thai ice cream with strawberry and lemon sorbet, topped with sliced mango and taro mochi.

"Not Hawaiian shaved ice, but hopefully it helps with the heat and completes your Thai takeout." He gave her a smile when her big round eyes turned to him.

"When did you— Ohhh you sneaky smartass." Harper obviously realized then when he had managed to order the dessert behind her back. The surprise on her face turned into a soft smile. Then it turned into ... a sly smirk? "Want to share it with me?" she offered, and she scooped up a spoonful of rolled lemon sorbet, holding it right to his lips.

... In a park at the center of downtown, at the busiest lunch hour when everyone was rushing by all around them.

It was Eli’s turn to widen his eyes. When he met her glimmering gaze, the familiar feeling that had been tugging at the edge of his mind all week was suddenly back, striking him with an impulse to suggest a completely different activity for the entire weekend on their trip.

And when he took her offer, closing his lips around the spoon in her hand ... It was the sweetest ice cream he had ever tasted.