His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 182: Serious Relationship Questions

** Harper **

A few questions and a few drinks down the road, Harper was quickly making new friends with the finance girls.

After the incident back on the cruise ship with Eli, it was hard not to suspect that their unlucky neighbors would at least take this convenient opportunity to ask a few embarrassing questions, or probe a bit wickedly into the hidden relationship that almost resulted in them losing their rooms. But to Harper’s relief, the two seemed genuinely interested in juicy gossips without any malicious intentions, and she found herself frequently entertained by Zoe’s fangirl curiosity toward the celebrity doppelganger:

"So neither of you have ever seen a Lauenstein movie? For real? You honestly didn’t start dating this guy because you are secretly a big fan too?"

"I can’t believe he hasn’t been asked for signatures or selfies when he just walks down the street ... I mean, look at that face! How did he make it this far without being mistaken for my dream idol even once!"

"Oh, and is his hair just naturally like that, or does he use hair products to get that particular texture? I swear, it’s precisely the same as Lauenstein’s latest style on the posters!"

"What about abs? Does he have a six pack too?"

"..."

Though of course, as time went by and the rest of the table — which grew steadily larger with Lindsey and the others joining in — became more involved in the Q&A, the conversations started turning more into the bachelorette party type:

"So this venture project was officially how everything began? Who asked who out first?"

"Where was the first date? Is he a movie theater type of guy or a dinner and wine type of guy?"

"But you two have known each other for years before, right? Was there really no secret feelings all along? No hidden history that you didn’t tell anyone about?"

"Have you met his parents yet?"

The question about parents gave Harper an instinctive pause. Fortunately, the conversation carried itself forward immediately without waiting for her to reply — was it that type of serious relationship, if parents were always involved? did he know her ring size? did they ever talk about kids?

A million topics flowed by quickly, as well as the alcohol. By the end of the night, when everyone finally had enough servings of gossips and contentedly started dispersing back to their rooms, Harper had more than definitely satisfied her urge to share those personal relationship anecdotes ... and was more than definitely tipsy.

"That was a lot more intense than I expected!" she muttered to herself as she returned to the cruise cabins, fumbling for the keys to her room. "Crazy questions ... Seriously, even kids? Would anyone really consider these topics before engagement? Big discussions like that might totally scare off the other person!"

Especially Eli, she added in her mind. Harper knew that she herself had always liked kids, and she’d talk any day about raising cute babies with her future dear husband. But Eli? Given his family and how he grew up as a child ... she couldn’t imagine how positively he might think of the same conversation. Wouldn’t he be turned off by the mere idea of it? How would one even go about discussing such a sensitive topic with him?

A wave of dizziness hit Harper’s head as she mulled over that thought. Ugh, right, alcohol and seasickness and future-baby-life-goal-planning apparently didn’t go all that well together. She sighed and squeezed her temple, rubbing her eyes to try to focus her blurry vision on the difficult door lock that refused to open despite her best effort.

"Geez, Harper. How much did you drink?" A firm grip landed on her shoulder, and she didn’t realize until then that she was swaying on her feet. Long fingers plucked away the keys in her hand and nimbly opened the door for her, making it look all too easy.

Harper blinked at the hazy figure in front of her. "... Eli?" Oh, how did he suddenly show up at such a convenient time? Wasn’t she just thinking about asking him some important questions? "Ah, right ... How many kids do you want?"

Eli: "... ???"

~ ~

** Eli **

The evening reception had been hypnotizingly dull. Per Harper’s request, Eli spent the entire time dutifully conversing with various managers from both Sterling and Miracles, making sure that all business was going as expected without the slightest glitch. During the four long hours, he tried his best to only spare occasional glances at his girl, who seemed to be enjoying herself with a handful of her coworkers. Sans the suitcase jackass, thank God.

He couldn’t wait to get back to her again. They hadn’t had much chance to talk since the lavender farm, and he already missed her after half an evening’s break. But by the time the gathering was over and he finally caught up with her at her door ... Why did she look so positively drunk? And what the hell did she mean by that random question that popped out of nowhere?

"How many whats?" Eli asked in puzzlement, nudging the tipsy girl gently into her room and shutting the door behind them. He must’ve heard it wrong. Surely she was asking if he wanted another beer or—

"Kids. You know, the cute little things that pop out after you have sex?" Harper stumbled on her feet a little before managing to get through the narrow entrance and plopping down on the nearest chair. "I mean, at least I think they’re cute, especially when they are small and huggable like puppies."

Eli: "..."

"And I personally don’t mind the process of making them either, I think it’s nice," Harper added with a bit of a slur. "Well, as long as the older kids don’t grow up too fast and start asking about the noise coming from their future sibling’s making process ... That would just be plain awkward and should be avoided."

Eli: "..."

Hang on, just how drunk was this girl, and what kind of peculiar ideas had she been hiding in that pretty head of hers?