Seeing Harper at practice yesterday had be a surprise, but a good one.

When I saw Josh running towards her, I ran as fast as my feet could carry me to knock him out of the way. There was no thinking when I held her in my arms, I was just relieved that her and the baby hadn't been hurt.

Now I'm heading to her apartment to pick her up like I had promised her I would.

When I reached her apartment complex I stepped out of my spotless, white Corvette.

Once I approached her door, I gave it three swift knocks.

I heard her shuffling behind the door before she eventually opened the door, her face slightly flushed and a smile on her beautiful face.

She opened the door wider allowing me to come in.

"Give me a minute, I just have to take my vitamins before we leave," she said over her shoulder.

"Take your time, we have little while before we have to be there."

I watched her as she slipped the gummies into her mouth. There weren't a lot, so it didn't take any time at all.

Harper walked over to where her camera bag was laying on her couch, picked it up and threw it over her shoulder.

"Alright, I'm ready to go," she said her smile still intact.

I let her go before me, slipping my hand on the small of her back. She locked her door and then we made our way out to my car.

When she saw my car she stopped dead in her tracks. "Woah," she said, eyes wide.

She looked at me with her jaw slightly ajar, "Dude, this is so freaking cool."

Dude. Ouch.

For a moment I feel like I'd been put in the friend zone, but the I remember that my baby is growing inside her, and I smile cheekily.

Definitely not in the friend zone.

I looked back at Harper who still stood in awe at the sight of my car.

"Maybe sometime you could drive it," I said casually.

She looked back at me as if I had two heads. "You mean you would actually let me drive your car?" she asked unconvinced.

I nodded.

"On one condition," I said with a smirk.

She looked at me, making a motion for me to continue.

I looked at her, a grin forming in my lips, "Go on a date with me."

For a moment she seems baffled. She then looks at the ground, biting her lip in thought. "Yes," she said.

A full blown smile appeared on my face. We then got into the car. Harper reached forward and turned the radio on.

She bobbed her head to the music singing softly. She has a beautiful voice. I listened to her intently, while keeping my focus on the road.

All of a sudden she stops singing.

"You know I still haven't told my parents I'm pregnant," she said shaking her head, looking as if she were about to combust with laughter.

I smiled at her, "I still haven't said anything to my parents either."

"Do you think we could do that after practice?" she asked, looking at me.

I nodded my head, "I think that would be a good idea."

I really hope her dad didn't kill me.

"Hey you don't have any older brothers I need to worry about, do you?" I asked jokingly, though I was definitely not joking.

She laughed, "No, I'm an only child, what about you?" she asked, and I mentally wiped the sweat off my forehead.

"I have two younger sisters," I said smiling at the thought of them.

"How old are they?"

"Fifteen and five."

"There's a big age gap between all of you," she said shocked.

I nodded my head.

"My parents were really young when they had me, so they waited awhile before having another one. Then my sister was such a handful, that she made them wait even longer before even thinking about having another kid," she laughed.

When we reached the stadium we both got out of the car, Harper grabbing her camera equipment while I grabbed my bag of clothes and football pads.

We entered the stadium and went out seperate ways.

***

Practice was the same as always, except now it seems a little more fun. I take any chance I have to sneak a look at Harper. Most of the time when I look at her, her face is up to the camera, one eye squinted, her bottom lip captured by her teeth.

But sometimes I catch her looking at me, and that gives me hope. Hope that one day, when things are more calm, we could be more that whatever we are now.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I've become somewhat attached to her. She's the only women I've ever been with intimately, not for lack of opportunity, but simply because I was so focused with my studies and football to care about girls.

Even when my career took off, football was my number one priority. Now Harper and the baby have become my number one priority.

I know what it's like to have a dead beat dad, I'm not going to let my own child grow up without a father, because it's not a good feeling.

"Are you ready," Harper says bringing me back from my thoughts.

I look down at her, a smile immediately coming to my face. I nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

We walked side by side, our hands occasionally brushing against each other's.

I opened the passenger door to my car and helped Harper get in, jogging around to my side and starting the engine.

"Where do you want to go first?" I asked, "Your parents or my mom."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"What's wrong," I asked, my brows furrowed. She looked back up at me hesitantly, not sure whether to answer or not.

"It's nothing, really it's dumb."

I gave her a look. How can anything she say be dumb. I narrowed my eyes at her, "Harper anything you have to say will never be dumb."

She looks back up to, worry written all over her face. "Will she like me?" She whispers so softly, I almost don't hear it.

I look continue to look down at her. Her eyes not meeting mine, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "Harper she's going to love you," I say softly.

"How do you know?" she asks still refusing to meet my gaze.

I clasp her chin in between my thumb, forcing her to look at my face.

Because I d-

"How could she not?"

-on't know how she couldn't.

She looks directly into my eyes, looking for a sign that I'm lying.

"Let's go to my parents first," she says finally breaking the silence.

I nodded. When we were both settled into my car I began to have my own doubts, though I never voiced them to her.

She gave me her parents address and I plugged it into the GPS, and we drove in a comforting silence all the way there.

When we eventually made it into the driveway of what used to be where Harper lived, my brain had figured out a million different reasons why we shouldn't do this. But then there was the two best reasons why I should sitting right next to me.

As if Harper sensed my hesitance, she turned to me. "Don't worry, my parents have been asking for grandkids since I was old enough to understand the process of making them," she laughed.

I gave her a wide smile, my nerves easing a substantial amount.

We exited the car, heading towards the front door.

I placed my hand on the small of her back as she lead me up the stairs on her porch.

Harper knocked on the door, not a moment later her mom opened the door with a wide smile on her face.

She looked confused for a moment when she noticed me, but brushed it off.

She embraced Harper in a hug, "Hello dear, why didn't you call and tell us you were coming over."

Harper looked back at me, then back at her mother, "It was a spur of the moment decision."

Her mother smiled at her, "Well come in, come in."

"Dad's here right," Harper asks, her brows furrowed.

We sit on the love seat opposite of the couch her mother had sat down on.

"Yes honey, he's just upstairs in his study." She twisted her body towards the staircase, "Reuben, Harper's here!" her mother yelled.

Immediately we hear footsteps tapping against the wooden steps. When her dad comes into view, he smiles warmly at his daughter, walking straight towards her. Though when his eyes meet mine, his expression morphs from confusion to recognition, and his feet become glued to the ground.

"Harper?" he says, eyes still looking at me.

"Yeah dad?" Harper asked, her tone amused.

"Myles Cruz is in our living room," he said but is sounds more like a question.

Harper has a cheeky smirk on her face, "I know dad."

I stand up, feeling as though I should properly introduce myself. "Hello, Mr. Riley, it's nice to meet you," I say extending my hand for a shake.

Mr. Riley still stands starstruck staring at me.

"You'll have to excuse him, he's a huge football fan," Harper says, the smirk still in her face.

Mr. Riley seems to finally awake from his daze, clearing his throat, "Please, call me Reuben."

I'm not so sure you'll want me to, here in a minute.

I look at Harper, she nods understanding what I'm trying to communicate.

"Dad, you might want to sit down for this," she said with a slight chuckle.

He looks confused, but does as he's told, sitting next to his wife, throwing an arm around her and kissing the side of her head.

"I'm pregnant," she said, and it startles me how easily she said it.

But what startles me even more is when her mom jumps out of her seat and yells, "Hallelujah, thank you Jesus. I though I was never gonna have grandkids!"

I blink rapidly, trying to figure out if I'm really seeing this or not. Her dad didn't have nearly the reaction, but I could see the tips of his lips quirk up watching his wife.

"That still doesn't explain why he's here," her father said confused.

Is he serious?

Harper gives him a deadpan look. "Maybe because he's the dad?" she says sarcastically. I'm on the verge of laughing out loud if this family continues with their craziness.

They look at her with a serious face before they let out loud laughs. Her dad wipes and imaginary tear from his eye as he continues to chuckle, "Yeah, ok. Why is he really here."

And that's when I lost it. I couldn't suppress my urge to laugh any longer. When I look over at Harper she had an annoyed look on her face, but I could see her lips turned slightly at the edges, as if she were suppressing a smile.

I took my arm and placed it behind her back, bringing her into my chest. Still chuckling to myself, but I guess she felt the vibrations of my body because next thing I know she slapped my chest, but not very hard.

I kissed he top of her head and let her out of my embrace. We looked back at her parents who now wore baffled looks on their faces.

"He really is your baby daddy," said her mom.

Harper threw her hands up, "This is what I've been trying to tell you," she said exasperated, falling back onto the love seat.

"Well," Reubens starts, "congratulations," he said with a smile.

We exchange hugs and continue to talk, and sometime during the night we decide to play board games.

This family was picture perfect. Fiona and Reuben were in love and happy. Harper has recently graduated college and found herself an amazing job. And their home was beautiful.

But I knew that my mother's reaction wouldn't be nearly as good as this.

____________________________________

😂