Harper’s brow wrinkled. “No, you don’t.”
“I don’t?”
“It’s a furlough day tomorrow and Friday. We have off.”
“No … that’s next week.”
Harper stared at him for a beat before jolting up so fast it made Dan jump. She clutched at his arm. “What? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, we—”
She didn’t wait for him to get the words out. She scrambled off the bed and fumbled for clothes as she moved into the hall. Dan felt waves of nervous energy radiating off her body as he followed her.
Harper kneeled on the floor, ripping through her backpack. She pulled out her laptop and agenda, then tore through the pages. Dan’s stomach sank at the look of wide-eyed horror plastered on her face.
“Fuck!”
Dan moved toward her, but she lurched to her feet and moved around the apartment with ridiculous speed, grabbing a notebook here, a textbook there. Dan’s post-sex brain was having trouble keeping up.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Her voice was shrill and frantic as she dropped her things on the table, ripping open textbooks and scouring over them with manic eyes.
A sense of helplessness filled Dan as he tried to figure out what was happening. What he needed to do. Angry blotches were spreading along her neck, and her hands clawed at the collar of her T-shirt. He moved to her and placed a hand on her back, hoping to soothe her. She flinched away.
“God, what? What do you want?”
Dan’s head jerked back at the venom in her voice.
“Harper, what’s going on?”
“I fucked up. That’s what’s going on.” Her chest was heaving and her voice sounded tight. Dan moved to touch her again but thought better of it, his hand hovering in no-man’s-land between them. She stared at his limb like she wanted to rip it off.
“I’ve been so fucking distracted by you, I didn’t even know what week it was,” she said, jabbing a finger toward him. “I have a huge exam tomorrow and I thought I had another week to prepare.” She snatched her things off the table and moved to her room. “I’m so fucking stupid!” The words were emphasized by her slamming the door.
Dan froze with indecision. He could hear sobbing gasps coming from behind the door. His gut told him to give her space, but his chest ached to fix things. He couldn’t leave knowing how upset she was. If she decided she wanted him, he needed to be there, ready to take care of her.
Her words buzzed in his ears, poking at his insecurities.
Was this his fault? Was he holding her back? Did he fuck this up too?
Dan wasn’t sure how long he stood rooted to the spot, torn between the desire to barge into her room and demand a way to fix it, and common sense that told him to leave the apartment altogether. He eventually grabbed his own backpack and settled onto the couch, flipping through his notes and trying to study for tomorrow.
* * *
Dan jolted awake to a heavy pressing on his groin. He blinked rapidly as Judy came into focus, kneading happily at his junk. He pushed her away, and she curled her toddler-sized body next to him on the couch, purring happily. Judy loved him in the most aggressive way a cat could.
Dan scrubbed his hands over his face and tried to get his bearings. He didn’t know at what point he’d fallen asleep while he waited for Harper to emerge from her room. He’d tried to coax her out with promises of food and coffee, but she’d gone from snapping at him to leave her alone to total radio silence. He’d never felt quite as useless as this, sensing the anxiety raging in her and being helpless to bring her out of it.
Looking around, the sunshine streaming in through the window made his heart stutter to a stop, then pick up at a punishing pace. Morning was not a good thing.
Checking his watch, Dan scrambled to his feet. He knocked on Harper’s bedroom door, but when she didn’t respond, he pushed in.
Harper sat at her desk, her torso draped over textbooks and a mountain of scattered papers. His stomach sank even deeper as he tried to think of the best way to handle this.
“Harper?” He moved his hand up and down her back, then gave her a gentle shake. She shot upright.
Anxiety rimmed her puffy eyes, and red blotches still clung to her cheeks. She shot him a wild look, and the situation must have shown on his face because she bolted from her chair before he could say anything.
“Shit. Please tell me it isn’t morning. Please.”
“Harper, you need to calm down. Everything will be okay.”
“What. Time. Is. It,” she gritted out through her teeth, rushing around the room.