Being Harrison Bloom’s Girl

There would be nothing more to it than that.

Leigh wasn’t sure if she had convinced herself, but she did feel better as she cooked dinner for herself and Hana and settled down to sort out her schedule for the next week.

Then she steeled herself and made herself check her emails and her text messages.

There was nothing from Harrison.

Leigh told herself that she was relieved about that, but the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and the weight that seemed to settle into her heart – neither felt like relief.

They felt like loss – the kind of loss she wasn’t ready to think about, or process.

So Leigh didn’t, and was blessed by a distraction – a letter from Carl.

“Well, now,” said Leigh, and Hana looked up.

“Prince Charming?”

Leigh chuckled.

“Nope. My ex from before that. He’s a bit of a jerk. Went off to discover himself in Southeast Asia and Central America. Those poor souls, what did they ever do to deserve it?”

“Sounds like a gem. What’s up with him?”

Leigh skimmed the email quickly.

“He’s back and wants to reconnect.”

“Struck out with all the lovely ladies he hoped to bang and is back and ready to charm your pants off. Literally, if he picked up any spells,” translated Hana.

Hana had no patience for men who tried to find themselves anywhere in East or Southeast Asia. She considered it an insult to her ancestors, and to the women she considered her kin and sisters.

“Accurate. And he has now been,” said Leigh, slowly, tapping keys quickly and precisely, “told exactly where he can get off. There, that makes me feel a lot better. I don’t care if it’s petty.”

Hana grinned.

“You are better. I like Emily. Now, shall we get some work done?”

Leigh nodded.

“Emily likes you, too. And yes, let’s get some work done. Moping is over. Now we work,” declared Leigh, and she meant it.

She really did.

It wasn’t her fault if life had other plans, was it?

Leigh took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Roger – no, thought Leigh, Professor Hutton – opened the door, wearing his usual outfit, plus mismatched socks and no shoes.

Leigh looked at his feet and tried to keep a straight face, but the stress of the last week seemed to catch up with her and bubble out as nearly hysterical giggles.

Roger looked at her, completely bewildered, until he finally glanced down at his feet and smiled ruefully.

“This might not put me in much of a favorable light, but I knew they were mismatched.”

Leigh just looked at him and grinned.

“I can’t find the pair for either of them, so I wear them together. I believe it makes me look quite dashing, in fact. I expect I’ll set a trend that will catch on across campus. Now, do come in. I’m being inhospitable – and after all the help you’ve given me.”

Leigh smiled as she walked in, and closed the door behind her.

She looked around. The quarters did look different now. There were new bookshelves, and books were slowly going up on them, though there were still quite a few stacks of books on the floor.

“It’s still a mess,” said Roger, apologetically.

But Leigh shook her head.

“It looks nice, actually. Comforting. You do need a few plants, though. Plants give life to a space. Makes it a real living space. I’ve almost brought that little plant back to life.”

Roger gave an exaggerated shudder.

“You do know that I have at least a shelf’s worth of horror books. I don’t think I want them to get any ideas that they’re alive.”

Leigh smiled again, feeling lighter than she had in ages.

“I brought fruits. And my paper. I’m afraid I need some more help with it. Not the kind you can’t give without unduly affecting the grade, but just some direction. And a few explanations. I’ve been reading and a few precedents, to me, seem to contradict each other. I’m beginning to realize that Criminal Law is very different from the kind of corporate fraud and so on that I was used to.”

Roger grinned, his whole face lighting up, as if she had brought up his most favorite topic in the world. He ushered her to the table, which was already covered in notepads and reference books – he had apparently been doing some research for a book – and Leigh was soon, despite herself, both charmed and intrigued.

Finally, she sat back and nodded.

“So, basically, you’re saying that none of it is ever going to make sense because while it’s all supposed to be objective, the very notion of precedents carrying such legal weight makes it subjective because precedents are set by people.”

Roger sat back, following suit, and grinned as if she were his favorite pupil.

“That’s right. You’ve got it, exactly. Now do you understand?”

“Not in the slightest,” Leigh told him, making him laugh again.

“Oh, I don’t understand why so many people told me that teaching was so taxing. It’s great fun.”

Leigh chuckled.

“It’s no trouble for you because all the girls have decided that you’re the hunk of the year.”

She could’ve bitten her tongue off.

What on earth was she thinking?

“I am?”

He looked genuinely bewildered.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have… I overstepped, in many ways. I shouldn’t have come to your quarters at all, I suppose. I’m intruding in so many… I’m so sorry.”

Roger looked even more bewildered. He ran his fingers through his hair, and the urge she felt to do the same caught her by surprise. How would his hair feel?

She had absolutely no business even thinking that.

“Well, if you overstepped, so did I. I’ve been treating you as a colleague and friend, I suppose. I’m new to this. Teaching isn’t what I do. I don’t think it’s all that inappropriate for you to be here, though, is it? It can’t be. Lots of professors tutor their students. I don’t think it’s anything wrong. Is it?”

He looked so cute and ruffled that Leigh wanted to run her hands through his hair again, and ruffle it.

“I guess it’s not, as long as you don’t give me any preferential treatment. Though,” went on Leigh, “some ice cream wouldn’t go amiss. There should be some in your freezer, if I know anything of your eating habits. And I do know a little bit.”

Roger chuckled.

“There is. Of course there is. Cookies and cream, obviously, because that is the king of blended flavors. Though vanilla is right up there.”

As Leigh enjoyed her ice cream with Roger, Harrison paced his condo.

The plants were withering. Were they really, or was it his imagination? Had they realized, too, that Leigh was gone?

She was gone.

Because he had pushed her too much, too far. And he hadn’t understood her.

How could it be?

How could it be that he didn’t understand Leigh? His Leigh! He had always understood her.

They had always understood each other.

How had they lost each other so thoroughly?

Pacing wasn’t helping. Everything in the condo reminded him of her.

Maybe he should get a new place.

What made it even worse was that Martha and Samuel were back home. He would have to see them.

Things had been difficult of late.

He had no idea what he was supposed to do.

Harrison was not used to being at a loss, but at a loss he was.

Without Leigh, it felt like he forever would be. Leigh had left him.

She was gone.