You’re Mine by Penny Brooks

Chapter 199 Easton

"Hey there." A random girl tries to touch my arm, I recoil and shake my head as if to say, not in this lifetime, but I'm saved by my girl as she slides up next to me and glares.

The girl walks off, nearly falling in her flip-flops and impaling herself on a bike rack in all her haste to get away.

"Damn, you didn't even have to say anything." I hold Harper close. "I've developed a really good resting bitch face since dating you." Harper looks ready to pat herself on the back. "Anyway, how was orientation?" She's wearing the cutest little jean shorts and crop top showing off her curvy body, and damn, I'm not normally a fan of cowboy boots, but I literally see her in nothing else but them and want to slam her against the nearest building and peel her clothes from her body.

"Hey." She snaps her fingers. "Eyes up here!"

"Hmm?" I blink. "What?"

"Men,' she mutters. "Yes, I'm in boots. Yes, my shorts are short." She turns around, showing near ass cheek. "Yes, you can fuck me later but right now, tell me about orientation!"

She stomps one of the boots, endearing her to me even more as I smirk at her little scowl. "Okay, okay, it was intense, but I'm really excited about being here. I think I'll be challenged, and so far, the professors seem really cool."

"Good." She grabs my hand.

I squeeze hers back as we start walking down the sidewalk.

College so was not what I thought it would be. So far, freshman

orientation takes up all of our time-we're in different majors, so we still see each other every day, but it's an adjustment after basically living together all summer.

Her parents would be dumb-dumbs if they didn't know that we were in the same room whenever we were at the lake house. Add that into the fact that her mom and dad went on their very first overseas trip since their honeymoon for a month, and yeah, it's not like Harper stayed at her house the entire time.

Between my house and hers, it was basically like an intro into adulthood and possibly living together, so when it came time to figure stuff out for college, I just said fuck it and asked her to live with me.

Her parents, I think, were so thankful they didn't have to pay for her housing that they were at least a bit okay with it. I may have lied a bit and said she'd be in the other room and that we'd be sharing with one other person who I've yet to actually meet, but I figured worst-case scenario, we'd find some sad freshman who needed to catch a break, let them live with us, and all would work out.

I kissed the back of her hand. "Should we go make dinner?" "Lwas thinking Italian."

"Nice choice." I stopped walking. "Shit, I need to go get groceries. Damn, I keep forgetting they don't magically appear in our fridge."

"No, the grocery fairy, aka your mom, does not, in fact, live in our fridge." Harper laughs. "But I did actually stop off and grab some stuff just in case you wanted to stay in tonight. One of the only Italian dishes I know involves noodles, sauce, and a whole bunch of..." She laughs. "Meat." "Oh, does it?" Fuck how am I already turned on over food? "That's... wonderful."

"Yup." She looks ready to skip in front of me. She tugs my hand harder. "And for dessert, I bought whipped cream..."

"Where do we put that?" I ask dumbly.

She throws her head back and laughs, then sobers and says, "Wherever you want."

I groan. "How am I so turned on right now?"

"When are you not?" she asks. "And we're only a few minutes away from the apartment.'

"Mmm." I nod in agreement, staring at her boots again. "You should cook in just those."

"And you'll do what? Watch?"

"Supervise, duh." I shrug and spin her around. "I'll make sure you're doing a good job, and every time you drop something, I'll slap your ass, think of it as both reward and punishment.' I pull her against me and kiss her nose. "Tell me you're wet for me right now just thinking about a wooden spoon coming down on your ass."

She wiggles against me, her cheeks going red. "People are staring."

I laugh. "Let them stare. Let them be jealous."

"Jealous, huh?" She teases. "Of how horny we are for each other?"

"That..." I pull her tighter. "And how much we love each other, how much it

shows, and how fucking thankful I am that I stumbled across a mystery girl and decided to make her mine."

"Just took you a hot minute." She pats my head. "Didn't it?"

"I should have known; I whisper. "I would know you anywhere now." "Even in the dark?"

"Yup!"

"You sure?"

I prove it hours later when we decide to reenact the whole moment--I mean, of course, it's our small kitchen, so I know she's there, but as I see her silhouette, I think to myself how fucking grateful I am that she's here with me and how awesome it is that she's not just my other half but my best friend.

Most guys don't get this lucky. Then again, most guys aren't dating Harper Quinn.

"Love you," I whisper hours later when we're in bed, and she's naked across me.

"Love you too," she answers back with a yawn. "Love you so much."