Don't lie to me

(Asher) Harlow walked through the clubhouse without looking back at me. I followed, but my leg made it impossible to move the way I wanted. She headed straight toward our section and disappeared inside before I reached her. Whatever happened while she was gone had scared her. I knew the difference between Harlow being angry and Harlow trying to hide something. She'd barely argued with me on the phone after spending the evening doing exactly that. Then she'd come through the gates looking like she wanted to get inside as fast as possible. I wasn't buying her story. When I reached our bedroom, she was taking off her earrings. Her purse was already on the dresser, and she'd kicked off her shoes. She glanced at me through the mirror before looking away. I closed the door behind me. "What happened?" "I already answered you." "No, you didn't." She removed the other earring. "I went out. I had a couple drinks. I came home." "Earlier than you planned." "Maybe I got bored." I watched her put the earrings away. That answer might've worked if I hadn't heard her voice when she called. Something had changed between the bar and the drive home. She knew I could tell. "Look at me." She turned. "What?" "Did somebody bother you?" "No." "Did somebody follow you?" "No." "Did somebody touch you?" Her eyes went straight to mine. "No." I believed that answer. Harlow would've been furious if someone had put their hands on her. This wasn't anger. Whatever she was hiding had gotten under her skin another way. "Then tell me what happened." "Nothing happened." I walked toward her. She watched me come closer. "You need to stop doing that." "Doing what?" "Trying to drag answers out of me because you decided something must be wrong." "I didn't decide anything." She crossed her arms. "You're interrogating me." "I'm asking my old lady why she came home acting different." "I'm tired." "Bullshit." Her eyes narrowed. "Don't call me a liar." "Then don't lie to me." She grabbed the dress she'd worn earlier and headed toward the bathroom. I reached for her before remembering my leg wasn't going to let me move fast enough. She noticed. Of course she f*****g noticed. "Don't." She stopped. "I didn't do anything." "You were about to." Her mouth curved. There she was. The fact that she could still find amusement in my injury should've annoyed me. Instead, seeing some of her usual attitude return made me feel better. I wasn't telling her that. "You really need to stop looking at my leg every time you want to escape a conversation." "It works." "For now." She smiled. "I know." I pointed toward the bed. "Sit." Her smile disappeared. "No." "Harlow." "I'm not one of your prospects." "I know exactly who you are." "Then stop ordering me around." I moved closer until I was standing in front of her. She could've walked away, but this time she didn't. Her eyes stayed on mine while I took the dress from her hand and put it aside. I wanted her attention. "You're my old lady." "I'm aware." "And when something scares you, I want to know." Her face changed. "Nothing scared me." That was it. I hadn't said she was scared before. Harlow looked away, and I knew I'd found the part she didn't want me touching. I wasn't interested in forcing her to talk before she was ready. But I wasn't going to pretend I hadn't noticed either. "Okay." She looked back at me. "Okay?" "You don't want to tell me, don't." Her eyebrows lifted. "That's surprisingly reasonable." "Don't get excited." She laughed. I put my hand around her waist and brought her closer. She came without fighting me, which told me more than anything she'd said since getting home. I didn't ask another question. If she wanted to talk, she knew where I was. "You smell like a bar." "That's romantic." "Wasn't trying to be." She put her hands against my chest. "You missed me." "I enjoyed the peace." "Liar." I looked down at her. "Careful." "Or what?" That question again. Harlow loved asking it because right now she thought she knew the answer. My leg had given her confidence she didn't normally have. She was going to be unbearable by the time I could move properly again. I moved my hand lower on her back. Her eyes changed. "Still think this leg makes me useless?" "I never said useless." "You've been acting like it." "Maybe I enjoy having an advantage." "I noticed." She smiled. I wanted to kiss that smile off her face, so I did. Harlow grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer before I could decide how far I wanted to take it. She could complain about my control all day, but she never had a problem showing me what she wanted. That was one of the things I loved about her. I ended the kiss before she expected me to. She frowned. "Why did you stop?" "Because I wanted to." "That's rude." "You'll survive." She tried to pull me back. I didn't let her. "Now who's playing games?" "I haven't started playing with you yet." Harlow stared at me. Something passed across her face before she covered it with another smile. She liked that answer more than she wanted me to know. I stored that away for later. I moved back and sat on the bed before my leg made the decision for me. Harlow noticed that too, but she didn't make another joke. Instead, she disappeared into the bathroom to change. A few minutes later, she came back wearing one of my shirts. She climbed into bed beside me. I looked at her. "Thought you weren't tired." "I changed my mind." "Apparently." She reached over and switched off the lamp. "Goodnight, Asher." "Goodnight." She moved against me and rested her head on my chest. I put an arm around her without mentioning how quickly she'd come to me after spending the night fighting for her independence. Something had happened at that bar. I was certain of it. I wasn't going to force the answer out of her. But I was going to find out.