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HARLEY
Her phone buzzed right before her last morning class began. She sneaked a look to see it was a bank alert. Another large amount had been deposited into her checking account by her father. Not being in the mood to deal with it, and not just because her professor had begun his lecture, she tucked her phone back into her bag, this time with the volume off.
School had her stressed out, and adding in the nonsense going on with Spencer, she had no time to deal with her parents. But she had sent them an email when she and Spencer were planning on moving in together, just to make them aware that she would soon be moving.
She did her best to concentrate on the lecture, but her mind kept wandering to her parents. Her curiosity was getting the best of her. It wasn’t her birthday or Christmas. There was no reason for a gift. Harley made sure her recorder was on and did her best to take notes during class. So many things were changing, and on top of everything else, she had to figure out where she was going to live. Staying in the apartment with Zane and Lily was not an option.
When class was over, she headed to the library to do some studying. But first, she checked her emails. Just like she thought, there was one from her parents. It explained that since she was going to be moving, they had sent her some money for a moving company. Because that’s what her parents would do. She, on the other hand, would pack the boxes herself, borrow someone’s car or rent a van and move everything herself.
Mystery solved. That’s what the money was about. Just another reason to toss some cash her way and feel satisfied about their good deed, their version of love.
Harley was used to the way they showed love, even if it was disappointing. She expected nothing less. Of course, she appreciated that they’d taken a second to send her money to help, and she would put it to good use towards moving or even the security deposit on a new place, once she found one. And she would text her mom later to say thanks. Money was nice, but what she had always craved was for them to be physically present in her life.
There was no point dwelling on that now. She didn’t even have a plan for where she was going to live yet. Maybe she hadn’t done much apartment searching because she was holding out hope that her and Spencer would reconcile.
But what if they didn’t?
If she had to rent a place on her own, she was pretty sure she could afford it easily with what she was paying towards rent with Lily now. After all, she’d probably get some cute little studio apartment close to school and work. That would eliminate the need for a car, bus pass, or spending money on a ride share. The problem was, she didn’t want to get a place by herself.
Since she wasn’t getting any studying done, she opened her bank app and stared at her account balances. Looking at the balance in the savings account that she had been putting money aside from her paychecks, she decided she had plenty to pay the first and last month’s rent on a decent apartment. How did she know that without looking at any studio apartments yet? Because she knew what she and Spencer would need when they signed the lease together, and she had plenty with room to spare for incidentals.
Suddenly she was overwhelmed with thoughts of Spencer. When she imagined studying for her master’s degree, she never imagined she’d be trying to jump start her single life as well.
Shaking the depressing mood off, she had to stay positive—somewhat. She had to believe that everything would work out. But then again, maybe she needed a backup plan. She couldn’t live with Lily and Zane forever, even if the rent would be cheaper now that it would be split three ways.
She could increase her hours at both jobs and find some fancy loft uptown. She could be comfortable and on her own. But even the thought of an expensive loft didn’t make her happy. And forget about designer labels. She hadn’t gone clothes shopping since Spencer had shut her out. Was she losing her high-end tastes? Or was she simply missing the one thing that wasn’t included in that loft— Spencer.
Being separated from Spencer left her feeling dejected with no end in sight.
Harley had worked so hard for years to not be labeled a trust-fund princess, and she had succeeded. She worked two jobs to earn enough to buy whatever she wanted and still live comfortably. But what was her end game? She was sitting here working her ass off to make something amazing out of herself so she would never need her parents’ money. And she was still miserable.
She only had two choices, stay with Zane and Lily and have a very minimal rent payment, or start studio apartment hunting.
But she missed Spencer. This was supposed to be their big moment, moving into their new apartment. Her heart was breaking, and no money or fancy loft uptown could ever fix that.
THE REST OF HER AFTERNOON was long, her hand hurt from taking notes, and her phone was full of lecture recordings that she needed to review tonight. Her plan was to order a pizza and eat her way through her nightly lecture review. That seemed to be a new study routine for her.
She missed sitting with Spencer while she studied. Eating pizza, with a hockey game on in the background, she’d snuggle up against him while reviewing her notes.
Her heart sunk at those memories.
The weather this afternoon was unusually beautiful for early February. The sun was out, breaking up the gloomy, overcast days that were typical this time of year. And even though a few flurries fell, it was nice enough to not be completely bundled up like a snowman. This mild weather wouldn’t last long; meteorologists were already predicting dropping temps by the weekend.
As she exited her last class for the day, Harley decided to take a stroll into town. It was relaxing to be out in the brisk air, with the sun warming her face. Even the random flurries made her smile. She had some time to waste before her shift at the bookstore this afternoon.
She strolled down Main Street, admiring the shop windows. She loved how town was so peaceful and quaint even in late afternoon. As she passed window after window decorated in red and pink hearts and baby cupids, she was harshly reminded that Valentine’s Day was approaching.
This February fourteenth was supposed to have been magical. For once, her life had been perfect. Harley had had everything she could ask for. Life had been good, and for once, it had all come easily. She was supposed to have the love of her life to celebrate with.
She was reminded how her happiness came to be, thanks to Valentine’s Day. Last February fourteenth had started off rocky, but thanks to her friend, her rock, the man that held her heart, the day ended perfectly.
Last year at this time she was still with Isaac. For the first time in their relationship, he had planned a romantic dinner date at a restaurant they had never been to before, unlike their typical dinner which was always at the same places. But even the romantic gesture didn’t make up for the fact that he didn’t want an equal; he wanted a woman who would dress to impress his business associates and stand quietly behind him.
Harley was not one to silently wait to be spoken to. This was not the olden days. And most importantly, no one told her what to wear.
She looked down at her leather jacket, leopard scarf, tight black jeans, and knee-high black boots. Isaac would’ve frowned upon this outfit. The jeans too tight, and the scarf too loud. But this was her.
That night was the moment that she knew she wasn’t in love with Isaac; she was in love with Spencer.
She should’ve seen all the signs leading up to Isaac’s lame Valentine’s day proposal, but he was stable and that was number one on her list, she’d been blind to the fact that their partnership lacked one important factor—love.
Breaking things off with Isaac was easy, and the best thing she’d ever done. Well, second best. The best thing she’d ever done was run to Spencer that night, confess her feelings, and admit that Spencer had her heart all along.
And the rest was history.
Her heart sank. It really was history. Her stomach hurt; she missed Spencer. She missed his hugs, his kisses, and his sweet face.
Looking across the street at the cafe where they’d finally confessed their love for one another, she considered calling him and asking him to meet her there for lunch. Maybe if they were there together they could talk things out.
But she thought about what Zane had said about doing this face-to-face. It was possible that inviting Spencer to lunch wasn’t her best move. It gave him an opportunity to not answer her message, or not show up. She needed to just appear at his door again, not giving him a chance to turn her down.
If that was what she needed to do, she’d do it. Harley wanted to fight for him, and she wasn’t one to back down. The only thing she wanted was Spencer.
She entered the bakery not far from the cafe and ordered a coffee and a cupcake. Sitting down at a table, she felt motivated to fight for Spencer, and she became lost in her thoughts of how exactly she was going to make that happen. Now she just needed an opportunity.
