It was a few days before Nick and Harper would see each other again. AJ and Rochelle made a plan so they would get a chance to. They decided to have a little before baby comes bash.
“Dude, finally, she’s been here for like an hour now” was the first thing AJ said to Nick when he walked in.
“Seriously” Nick looked around to make sure no one heard him.
“Relax, let’s get you something to drink and we’ll go find her” AJ informed him
“No AJ, I don’t want to rush this and scare the girl”
“So, you’re not going to talk to her?”
“Not yet, I think you are the one that needs to relax”
Nick grabbed a drink and walked away from AJ. He saw Howie and Brain out back and went to go talk to them. As he was talking with the guys, he secretly tried to look around for where Harper was. Finally, he spotted her over by the outdoor bar and grill, talking to some guy and girl Nick didn’t know.
She was very beautiful. The one thing that was the most different about her was her hair color. Back then it used to be blonde, but now it was a light pink. He liked it though, he liked that she was different. She had it pulled up in a messy bun. Harper was wearing a long floral print dress.
Nick pulled himself back to the conversation with the guys before anyone noticed that he was staring at her.
Harper noticed from the corner of her eye though. She noticed Nick as soon as he walked out to the back patio. Knowing that she wouldn’t have the confidence to just walk up to him and start talking to him, she went back to her conversation as well.
It had been an hour since Nick had gotten there and AJ noticed that he still hadn’t said anything to Harper. He tried to make a plan with his wife. After they decided what to do, Ro went to get Harper, while AJ walked over to Nick.
Nick wasn’t Naïve, he knew what the two were up to.
“Hey, buddy, you think you could help me with something inside?” AJ asked Nick.
“You are horrible at this, just so you know” Nick informed his friend who tried to look as innocent as he could.
“I have no idea what you are talking about” AJ stated and walked off. He looked back to make sure Nick was following him.
When they went in the house Rochelle and Harper were refilling food.
“Hey, sweatheart, can I steel you for a minute, someone wanted to talk to you?” AJ said to his wife.
“Oh, of course dear, you two don’t mind taking care of this do you?” Rochelle looked between Nick and Harper.
Nick refrained from rolling his as not to let Harper see and give her the wrong idea, but he made a mental note to tell both of them to never try acting.
After they walked out the door Nick laughed a little.
Harper looked at him funny.
“Those two are something else” Nick commented.
“You’re telling me” Harper replied, but nick wasn’t sure what she meant by that. He wondered if she also knew what they were up to.
“So, what can I do?” Nick asked walking over to the counter.
“I can handle this myself, I’m sure you have lots of people you want to talk to” Harper told him. Was she brushing him off? Nick decided to try a little flirting and see where it got him.
“What if I wanna talk to you?” Nick stated.
She looked up at him a little surprised but quickly looked back down at what she was doing.
“I guess” Harper just shrugged her shoulders. Nick didn’t know how to take that.
Harper kept busying herself with the food, trying to avoid eye contact with Nick.
Nick walked around the counter to help her with the food anyways. He refilled the bowls with the chips and pretzels, got out more dip, and when he turned around to grab something he was face to face with Harper.
Well more like face to top of her head as he was almost a foot taller than her. She looked up at him. Harper couldn’t help but notice his blue eyes.
Nick moved a little closer.
Harper was unsure about what he was going to do, but he reached out and grabbed a bowl from the counter behind her. Their bodies almost touching. He smiled at her as he backed up and turned around.
“I like your hair” Nick said as he kept doing what he was doing.
“Thank you” Harper managed to say.
After Nick had turned around she took a deep breath. She could still smell his cologne.
“I never had the nerve to dye my hair, unlike AJ, plus I’m sure people probably would have thought I was copying him” Nick tried to make conversation.
“I don’t think I could picture you with anything other than blonde hair” Harper laughed. Nick liked seeing her smile and laugh.
“So you’re saying I wouldn’t look good with neon green hair?” Nick said pretending to be a little offended.
“No, I would say maybe a light blue” Harper replied and laughed some more.
They were all done with the food and decided to go back outside with everyone.
“Do you want something to drink?” Nick asked as they went over to the outside bar.
“Just a water thank you” Harper replied. Nick grabbed one for her and one for himself. He handed it to her.
“Not in the mood to drink?” He asked.
Harper hesitated a little before answering.
“No, I don’t drink, like at all” She answered.
“Cool, nothing wrong with that. I don’t like to drink much anymore, shouldn’t really anyways” Nick told her.
She nodded her head in response.
It came to an awkward silence. Neither one of them really knowing what to say.
“Hey” Brian said as he went to get a water.
“Hey Brian” Harper said before nick.
“Oh, hey Harper, how have you been?”
“I’ve been good, thank you for asking”
“So, Nick, do you know why has AJ been watching you like a hawk?” Brian asked.
Nick did a quick side glance and could see Harper had a puzzled look on her face. v “Uh, I have now idea” was all Nick could come up with as a reply. He was really hoping that he hadn’t started getting red in the face.
“Right….ill talk to you later” Brian looked at Nick funny then waved at Harper before walking away.
Nick gave a weak smile to Harper and she just raised an eyebrow.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the restroom” Harper said excusing herself from the awkward situation.
Ok this is getting just a little weird harper thought to herself. She knew she needed to talk to Rochelle, something was up with her and AJ. When she walked in the house she saw Brian talking with AJ and Rochelle, the immediately stopped when they saw her.
“Uh, Ro can I talk to you for a minute?” Harper asked and then looked at the guys. They understood the cue and went back outside. AJ probably should have stayed but she didn’t want to be rude to Brian.
“What’s up?” Rochelle asked trying to sound innocent. She started fidgeting with the food on the counter.
“What are you and AJ up to?”
Rochelle looked up like a deer caught in headlights.
“What are you talking about?” Ro was a really bad liar.
“I’m not stupid” Harper stated putting her hands on her hips. Ro looked at Harper funny.
“Are you and AJ seriously trying to set me up with Nick Carter?” Harper exclaimed. Ro’s mouth dropped open a little but she quickly closed it.
“Why on earth would you think that?” Ro started fidgeting with the food again.
“I just said that I’m not stupid” Harper repeated herself.
“Well…I wouldn’t exactly say that we are setting you two up, it’s kind of more like a little nudge to see what happens” Ro finished the sentence like she was trying to diffuse a bomb. Really hoping her friend wouldn’t freak out.
Harper looked up at the ceiling and let out a heavy sigh. Since she saw Nick the other day she had been contemplating if she still liked him. Trying so hard to deny it, Harper knew she did, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to get involved with him. His track record with women wasn’t the greatest.
Rochelle had a nervous look on her face cause Harper hadn’t said anything yet.
“I…I’m not sure it’s the greatest idea Ro” Harper said hesitantly.
“But he likes you” The words flew out of Rochelle’s mouth before she could stop herself. Ro covered her mouth.
Harper stood up straight and looked at her friend.
“What?” Harper said.
“uh…that um… I really shouldn’t have said that, oh crap, AJ’s gonna kill me” Rochelle stuttered through her words.
Harper looked out the door and through the crowd, seeing Nick. He liked her. Nick Carter liked her. There was no way.
“Seriously?” Harper asked looking back to her friend. Ro shook her head yes.
“But I wasn’t supposed to tell you, please don’t let AJ know I told you” Ro pleaded.
“Oh, I won’t tell him, but I am definitely going to find a way to use this to mess with him” Harper stated.
They both saw AJ coming back inside.
“How’s it going?” AJ asked when he came in.
“I am in love with Nick Carter!” Harper exclaimed. Making AJ’s jaw drop.
“Oh really” Harper heard a voice behind her. Her hands flew to her mouth. She was afraid to turn around.
Chapter End Notes:
Who do you think is behind Harper? Stay tuned to find out! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think! Thank you for reading!
