“Are you sure these are your pants? Because I know I am not as skinny as you.”

“Yeah, they’re mine. They look real good on you. So does the shirt.” Shane smiles.

“Thank you.”

“You aren’t mad that I pulled you in are you?” Shane asks sheepishly.

“Pissed.” Harper says with a laugh.

It takes Shane a moment to realize that Harper is joking. “I kinda forgot you still had to go to the airport.”

“It’s ok. It was fun.” Harper smiles reassuringly at her.

“I’m glad.” Shane says trying to relax. She realizes she is a little nervous standing alone in the hallway with this beautiful ***** woman.

“Well I’m really glad that I came over tonight. I’ve had a great time. And your friends are all really great. Thank you.”

“I’m glad we bumped into you at the store.”

“Me too.” Harper looks at her cell phone. “I should really get going.”

“Yeah, ok.” Shane says standing up from the wall.

“I’ll get these back to you.” Harper says motioning to the borrowed clothes as she starts to make her way to the front door.

“Oh no problem.” Shane says the first thing that pops into her mind. All she can think is ‘please don’t leave.’

“Say goodbye for me again.” Harper says as they reach the door.

“I will.” Shane says reaching in front of Harper to open the door. As Harper steps out the door Shane says, “Have a good time with your friend.”

“Thanks, we usually have fun when we get together. It’s not very often that we get to see each other. So we try and make the most of it when we do.” Harper says pausing on the front porch.

“When was the last time you saw her?” Shane asks feeling her jealousy perking up again.

“About a year ago at her wedding.”

“That’s a long time.” Shane says dragging out the conversation.

“Yeah, it is but that’s how it seems to go when you get older. Everyone spreads out and you see them on rare occasions. Lucky for me her husband was nice enough to buy her a ticket out here for her birthday.”

Shane’s jealousy subsides when she hears the word husband. “Cool.”

“Ok, I’m off. I’ll drop your clothes off soon.”

“Sounds good.” Shane contains her smile to a half smile instead of the beaming one her body wants to release.

“And thanks again for dinner and the swim.” Harper chuckles when she says swim.

“Any time.” Shane says waving to Harper as she steps off the last porch step. “Drive safe.”

“I will. Goodnight.” Harper says with a quick wave as she starts off to her car.

“Goodnight.” Shane leans against the doorframe and sighs deeply.

Shane goes back to the kitchen and finishes tidying up. Jenny walks in a few minutes later as Shane is wiping down the counters.

“There you are.” Jenny says having wondered where she’s been for so long. “You ok?”

She’s gotten good at sensing Shane’s moods.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Shane says rinsing out the sponge and putting it away. “What’s up?”

“Just wanted to check if Carmen had called yet.” Jenny says picking up the phone. She doesn’t hear the voice mail beeps when she turns it on. “Too early still.”

Shane smiles at Jenny, “You know that I am really happy for you right? Ya know, with the whole Carmen thing.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jenny smiles at her. “And I’m sorry if I was out of line before. I hope I didn’t say anything bad in front of Harper, I know you like her.” Jenny says innocently.

“I don’t like her.” Shane tries not to sound as defensive as she feels.

“Ok.” Jenny let’s it go. “Let’s go back to our party. Come on.” She reaches for Shane’s arm and pulls her out the door.

***