The Long Day Is Over

"One of these days I am actually going to get on that plane and come to see you." Harper stated Roman, who she had on speaker phone on the phone while she cleaned in the apartment. Her trip to Nashville had been cancelled last minute due to a switch in schedules at the hospital that required her to take an extra two shifts during the time she was supposed to have been gone.

Roman laughed and told her, "It's okay, gives me some more time to learn how to make a few more meals, clean the apartment a little more. You know, prepare to at least somewhat impress you."

Harper grinned to herself as she fluffed a couch cushion and she told him, "You already impress me, so you don't have to try so hard."

"See I was taught that when a woman says something like that you most definitely have to try." Roman told her, and Harper looked up and over at the door when the bell rang. Her brow lifted and Roman asked her, "You gonna get that?"

"Probably just Brad, he forgets his keys all the time." Harper stated with a shrug of her shoulders as she picked up the second couch cushion.

She dropped the pillow when she heard Roman's voice float through the door, "I think you should answer it."

Grabbing her phone from the coffee table Harper headed to the door and she pulled it open and asked him, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Roman let out a laugh and he pulled his phone away from his ear to hang up from their call, before he shoved his phone into the pocket of his jeans and he told her, "You couldn't come to me, and I have some down time, so I thought I would come to you."

"Seriously?" Harper asked him with a smile on her face, her voice raised slightly in the way that Roman had learned it did when she got excited.

He nodded his head and he told her, "Three whole days this time."

So she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him square on the mouth and Roman smiled against her lips as he dropped his bag to the ground and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up off of the ground and spinning her around. Once he set her down Harper whipped around to face the door and as it shut before she could stop it she exclaimed, "Oh crap!"

"What?" He asked her, brow lifted.

Harper turned around to face him, cheeks flushed and she asked, "What would you say if I said we just locked ourselves out and my brother doesn't get home for another three hours?"

"I would say I'm starving, let's go find somewhere to eat." Roman told her with a smile, laughing as she linked their arms together and lead him out of the apartment.

They opted to hail a cab, because only in San Francisco would it be raining in January, and once they were in the cab Roman shrugged out of his leather jacket, and then he asked her, "Leather or zip-up?"

Harper's brow raised, "Huh?"

"You don't have a jacket." Roman pointed out, eyeing her outfit with amusement.

"Zip-up, might not be as large on me." Harper told him with a smile.

So as she slipped into his zip-up sweater and he pulled his jacket back on he asked her, "Where are we going anyway?"

"There's this really amazing taco place a few blocks over. Like best ever." Harper informed him as they got comfortable again in the backseat of the cab.

Harper leaned into Roman's side, head on his shoulder as he said, "That's good, I can't take you anywhere fancy looking like that."

Her brow raised and she reached down and pinched his jean clad thigh, asking him, "What's wrong with how I look?"

He didn't answer, all he did was lean down and turn enough that he could kiss her lips gently. After a moment they pulled apart and the cab stopped by the curb in front of a long strip of buildings. So Roman pulled his wallet from his bag at his feet to pay for their cab and then he got out of the cab, held the door open and closed it behind Harper.

She lead him into the little building nestled between a book shop and that same medical supply store they had visited the first time Roman had come to San Francisco. They stood in line, and the moment they both put their orders in and paid and as they stood to wait for their meal they were interrupted by someone asking, "Harper?"

She turned and Roman followed to find a short, brunette male with a smile on his face in front of him. Roman glanced at Harper, who smiled politely at the guy and said, "Hey..."

He glanced between she and Roman and asked, "How's it going?"

"Good." She kept her answer short, and then she glanced at Roman and he noticed the way she shifted just a little bit closer to him so he reached down and slipped his hand into hers and she was glad when a tray was slid their way so she got to say, "We should get going."

"Yeah, see you around." Harper grabbed the tray from the server behind the counter and started to walk away before mystery man could finish his sentence, and Roman followed her to a table in the corner.

Once they sat down he asked her curiously, "What was that all about?"

She glanced at her food and she twisted the paper cover to her straw between two fingers. Finally, she looked up and she smiled gently and asked, "Do you remember me telling you about the last guy I went out with?"

"The one that said you were one date material?" Roman asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded and told him, "That would be the one."

"That was him?" Roman asked, and when again she nodded he stifled a laugh. Harper this time raised her eyebrow and so he explained, "I can't believe you went out with that guy."

"What's wrong with him? He was sort of nice!" She told him with a smile.

"He looks like a tool." Roman stated and she let out a laugh.

He watched her with a smile as she nearly snorted as she laughed, and then she covered her mouth for a moment before she calmed down and told him, "He is a tool."

Roman chuckled, and he told her, "You re something else."

"Yeah, I've been told that before... you know... my mom seems to think so." Harper told him with a grin.

After their lunch and the change of weather Harper and Roman decided to walk back to the apartment, and she was thankful to find the door unlocked. Brad was packing a bag in the kitchen. Harper's brow raised and Brad's brow raised back at her at the sight of Roman as they walked in the door.

He stated, "I guess it's a good thing that I have to take off for work, you know, since he's here and all."

Harper rolled her eyes and asked, "Am I allowed to know where you're off to?"

"Somewhere far away and exciting. I'll bring you back tequila." Brad told her with a grin and Harper let out a laugh.

"Yeah, Mexico is far away. Be safe." She told him, ruffling his hair as she walked past him.

Brad looked at Roman before he glanced at Harper and then he looked back at Roman to tell him, "You'll probably be gone before I get back but please, don't let her eat crap food the whole time you're here."

Harper tossed a hard candy from the bowl by the fridge at Brad, who caught it, unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. She rolled her eyes and told him, "See you later doofus."

"Back at ya." Brad stated, waving behind him as he left the apartment.

Once they were alone again Harper asked Roman, "So... three whole days this time... what are we gonna do?"

Roman grinned, "Sleep in, for starters."

Harper groaned, "Oh God yes."

He approached her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her back into his chest before he said, "And maybe go out on a really fancy date at least once."

"That could be nice." She mused as he pressed a gentle kiss to her neck.

"And maybe spend some time at the beach." Harper let out a giggle at that and in response Roman nipped softly at her shoulder.

She explained her laughter to him, "Only you would ask about the beach in almost February."

"It's like sixty-five degrees, that's perfect to just go hang out." Roman told her, and she smiled.

"If you say so. If you really want to, we can go." Harper promised him.

"Good, and I'm taking you out tonight somewhere fancy, I did my research this time." Roman told her and she smiled at his comment.

He laughed when she pulled away from him and headed down the hall as she said, "Well, then I guess we'd better squeeze a nap in real quick."

"You almost ready?" Roman asked through the closed bathroom door as he stood in Harper's bedroom, hours after they settled in for a rather long nap.

"Am I dressed okay?" She asked as she pulled the door open. Roman took a good look at her outfit and he smiled, so Harper smiled to herself as she asked him, "A smile. Okay... a smile is good... right?"

He nodded his head and reached out to wrap both of his arms around her, with his palms on her back he pulled her closer to him and he told her, "You look beautiful."

Harper smiled up at him and then she leaned up to kiss him quickly before she dropped back down to the balls of her feet before she slipped out from around him and headed to the door. Roman followed her and once they were on the sidewalk outside of the apartment building Harper told him, "This is the fanciest you'll ever get me, by the way."

He took a not so subtle look at her and smiled before he told her, "I like this."

She rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around his back, hand on his side, as she tucked herself into his side as they located Brad's car in the apartment parking lot. Roman got into the passengar seat and he plugged the address for the restaurant into Google Maps on his phone and got ready to navigate their way while Harper readjusted her seat and the mirrors.

She wasn't surprised to pull into a parking lot of a restaurant she had only been to once before, mostly due to its prices, and as they walked into the building Roman asked her, "Have you ever been here before?"

She nodded her head and told him, "Once with John and Bristol last year. It's good."

"Good, there's only so much you can go on based off of online reviews." Roman told her with a smile and Harper let out a chuckle.

The perky brunette behind the front counter who greeted them nearly gave Harper a headache, "Hi there, how can I help you?"

"We have a reservation, Josi." Roman told her, and he watched as she stared at him for a moment so, being used to it, he spelled out his last name for her.

"Oh, sure, right there. Okay, follow me."

So they did, and once they were seated at a two person booth by a window Harper looked at Roman and asked, "There's no way someone is actually naturally that perky... is there?"

He let out a laugh and shrugged his shoulders, "She was pretty chipper."

"Psychotically so." Harper stated with a nod of her head as she opened her menu, and Roman had to take a moment to chuckle before he could do the same. Once they had ordered their dinner Harper looked over at Roman and she told him, "I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too."

"And I meant what I said; one of these days I am actually going to get out to Nashville to see you." Harper assured him, and he smiled and nodded. She paused, as if unsure of whether or not she should even say it.

He must have sensed something because he asked her, "What?"

She sighed and then she smiled gently and said, "Well... I have a break between the end of my internship and the start of residency... maybe I could visit for a while then, you know, make up for all the time that you've had to come to me."

"You don't have to make up for anything Harper, I like visiting you." Roman told her as he reached across the table to grab her hand. He gave it a squeeze and when she smiled at his words he added quickly, "But for the record I'll never turn down you coming to see me. How long are we talking?"

She didn't want to be too forward and tell him that she had two months between them so she told him, "It would depend. But it could be for a while."

"I'd love that."

"And, I also have a little break in my schedule, for sure, in March. I don't know what your schedule is like but maybe I could come then too." Harper told him with a smile.

She laughed when he immediately pulled his phone from his pocket and pulled up his schedule, so Harper did the same thing. It was almost amusing to find that they were both organized and color coded, though Roman admitted to her, "We just recieved ours like this, it's easier to keep games and practices separated."

Harper smiled, "I spent an hour and a half on mine."

Roman let out a chuckle and he added, "And I know for a fact that you have a day planner too. You are far more organized than I am."

She shrugged and then she looked down at her schedule and smiled, asking him, "So... the yellow is home games right?"

He nodded his head, "Yellow is home games, navy are away, and the two light blues are practices; optional and not."

So she studied his schedule and hers, trying to match them up in hopes that they would have at least a few matching days together. She smiled as she asked, "So this whole week you're in Nashville?"

"Yup. Why?" He asked her.

"Well I have a week and a half break... you have a week of home games..." Harper stated, trailing off as she looked up at him with a soft smile.

He grinned over at her, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"You think Nashville can handle me for a few days in March?" Harper asked him with a smile.

"Would you stay the whole week?" He asked her, the words tumbling out before he really even thought about what he had asked.

She smiled as his cheeks flushed and she asked him, "Do you want me to?"

"Of course I do, but only if you really can." He was fumbling through his words and it made her smile again.

"Well, you better get ready for a 7 day house guest then." Harper informed him.

"I'm already counting down the days."

Nearly two hours later they found themselves back in the car but this time Harper drove without the help of GPS or Google Maps. She wasn't driving anywhere near the area Roman had learned that she lived in, and his confusion peaked when she pulled up to a curb by a long slope of tall grass, just beyond that, far below where they were parked was the ocean.

So she got out of the car, and he followed, and as they carefully started down the path that eventually morphed into sand Harper told him, "You wanted to see the ocean."

The street light by where they had parked the car did little to light up the beach below, but the moon was just enough that they could still see where they were going as it bounced off of the water. Once they got close enough to the water Harper dropped onto her butt in the sand and unlaced her ballerina flats, setting them beside her as she stretched her legs out with her feet ready for the tide. Roman followed suit, rolling his dress pants up to his knees and stuffing his socks into his shoes.

He leaned back against his palms in the sand and looked up at the sky and he had to admit after a minute, "It's a lot colder than I expected."

Harper let out a laugh and she told him, "It's the fog. Get's you every time."

Still, despite both of them wearing goosebumps on their skin they sat where they were and they watched the tide roll in, just barely touching their toes. Roman glanced at Harper and he asked her, "So, you're one of those won't go in the ocean but will stick their toes in it?"

She laughed, "You remember that conversation?"

He nodded, "I remember most of everything that you've told me. I have a very good memory."

"That's cute." Harper told him and she laughed when he tackled her back onto the sand, and he got comfortable laying over her before he tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned down to kiss her lips softly.

Harper wrapped an arm around his shoulders, hand pressed firmly against his shoulder blade as his tongue ran across her bottom lip. The tide rolled in, reaching up to their knees, just in the exact moment when things were getting a little too much for a public place no matter how dark it was outside, so they both jumped up and Harper let out a squeal and then a laugh, and Roman couldn't help but laugh with her.

One of her shoes had been carried back into the water with the tide and so Roman, ever the gentleman, stepped into the freezing water to grab it for her, and she carried both shoes, one soaked, up to the car. She put them on the floor in the backseat and as she got into the front seat she wondered out loud, "I wonder if it really is illegal to drive barefoot or not."

Roman chuckled and told her, "I could drive."

She smiled over at him and pulled away from the curb as she said, "I like living on the edge."

He couldn't help but laugh. There really wasn't a single thing about her that he didn't love.