During the middle of the movie, they were both out. He was awoken by Gary and Wilson trying to jump up on the couch. Then it him it was midnight. Lucky for both he and Carrie, neither of them had to work tomorrow.

He slowly sat up while being carful not to wake Carrie. Holding her bridal style, Harrison carried her upstairs and into his bedroom as the dogs followed.

Gary and Wilson both jumped up on the bed as he pulled back the covers and set Carrie down. Harrison fixed the pillow behind her head and covered her up. As Gary snuggled against his mother's side, Harrison gave her a gentle kiss.

"Goodnight sweetheart."

That was when she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Close those eyes beautiful."

She blushed. "Such a flirt."

He pressed another gentle kiss to her lips. "Night Carrie."

"Where are you going?"

"To bed."

"Stay here."

Carrie made room for him as he crawled under the covers. "If you say so."

"Where else would you go? I'm in your bed."

Harrison shrugged. "One of the other rooms or the couch."

She placed a hand on his back and pulled him closer. "You're staying here."

"That's an opportunity I'd love to take."

Carrie giggled. "I love you."

He placed another gentle kiss on her lips. "I love you more."

She narrowed her eyes. "I don't know hotshot. I love you pretty f**king much."

"Damn girl. I didn't know that could come out of you."

A huge smile crossed Carrie's face. "I seem to amaze you."

"You always amaze me," he told her, while resting his head on his hand.

"You should see me on my bad days. When I'm trying and trying to come up with the words for my latest article and I just can't figure anything out. I cuss like a sailor."

Harrison laughed. "You're not going to have anymore bad days now that I'm here. I'm going to be here to help you through it, and I have a punching bag downstairs."

That got her to laugh. "I'm so in love with you." As soon as she said that, Carrie knew it was true. They'd only known each other for about three weeks, but to Carrie, it felt like years. She was truly in love with the guy named Harrison. And she felt the longtime commitment to him that she never felt with anyone else before.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

Carrie put a hand on his cheek and slowly traced his beard with the tips of her fingers. "You."

"And what about me?"

"That I'm happy I got transferred."

He chuckled. "I'm very happy you got transferred."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek gently. "Goodnight hotshot."

Carrie then threw an arm across his body and snuggled into his chest where he could feel her breaths against his neck. Harrison wrapped her up in both his arms while resting his chin on the pillow just above her head. "Goodnight Carrie."

❺❾

The next morning, Carrie woke to Gary and Wilson laying in Harrison's vacant spot. "Wilson, where's your daddy?"

But Carrie didn't even have to ask where her boyfriend was. He was down in the basement working out. That's exactly where she found him.

He was doing the bench press when she slipped her hands under the bar to spot him. Harrison almost dropped the bar with 290 pounds on it when he saw her. "Morning sweetheart."

Harrison placed the bar back in its rack and sat up. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good," she answered. "What about you?"

"Really good," he told her while adding one of his lopsided grins. He wouldn't admit it right away, but it was the best he'd slept in a long time.

Carrie leaned against the bar of weights. "Why don't we go get some breakfast then you can finish your workout?"

"Sounds like a deal."

❺❾

While Carrie was drinking her second cup of coffee as Harrison made breakfast, she was once again checking her email. That was when she dropped the mug on the table with a loud thud.

Harrison immediately spun around to see Carrie staring at her phone with her hand clasped over her mouth. "What?"

She didn't answer right away and he made his way over to the kitchen table. "What's wrong?"

Carrie handed him the phone. Harrison did a double take when he read the email. Alex was granted parole. He would be released in only a few weeks. And what was even more shocking, he was signing a deal with the Buffalo Bills. The problem Harrison had with it, other than him being released from jail, was that he was offered a deal that quickly.

She looked up at him. "What the heck?"

He simply shook his head. "It's messed up."

Harrison was quite glad they played the Bills. They played the Bills at home during week 2. It would only be a month before he could take care of things.