His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 218: What If

** Eli **

Tyler tipped back the whiskey bottle and emptied the rest of it. Thankfully, the liquor didn’t seem to be making him angrier at the current conversation — on the contrary, it appeared to have helped him think quite logically, since the topic they were currently discussing was something that Eli himself had never even considered before.

To Eli, being with Harper had always felt easy. Natural, perfect, right. He might’ve had many doubts in the past two months, from feelings to responsibilities and everything in between, but never once had those doubts included this flawless sense of ease. Despite the four years out of touch, she still felt as close to him as ever, as if they had merely hit a pause button the day they last saw each other at his graduation. Now that time had resumed its flow again, everything simply came back and slipped right into its original track, in the same way it was always supposed to be.

But that was because he never knew about the part where Harper had been intentionally ignoring his calls. Or intentionally shunning him out of her life.

"I didn’t try to—" he tried to argue, and paused. He wasn’t sure which word he wanted to use. Seduce her? Mislead her? Manipulate her? He didn’t like the sound of any of the above, and the thought of them being a possibility of what could be happening made his skin crawl.

"Not suggesting that you did anything on purpose." Tyler stared idly at the empty bottle in his hand. "But you know what you’re good at, Eli. Even if you didn’t try, just look at yourself — the package is still there. Remember the days when you said that you couldn’t simply walk across the dance floor without hot chicks falling into your lap? Do you really expect it to be much of a challenge to charm a wide-eyed girl like Harper with what you’ve got?"

Eli couldn’t find a solid counterargument to that. frёewebηovel.cѳm

"I hope you’ll give that some serious thought." Tyler exhaled deeply as he got up from his seat. "I don’t want to sound mean, but I just can’t help imagining what would have happened if Harper had picked someone else when she was looking for ’help’. If she is doomed to fall for someone in such a theatrical way, it would’ve been much better if the guy was at least a good match for her."

Knowing that he had mercilessly killed the conversation at this point, he saw himself out.

~ ~

Eli stared at the closed door for a long time, then turned to the cellar and pulled out another bottle of scotch.

Tyler was mean indeed. But he wasn’t wrong. Every word of what he said was a sharp sting that not only hurt, but also spoke true. Of course Eli knew he wasn’t a good match for Harper — that was the whole reason why he had torn himself to pieces for weeks, trying to keep his distance, trying to warn her. But when she shattered his guard over and over again during those blissful two weeks in Hawaii, he had started believing in a glimpse of hope. He had started believing that there might actually be something good left in him, something that she saw and wholeheartedly fell for.

But like Tyler said, how could her attitude toward him change so drastically within a mere few weeks? How could she suddenly see him as someone desirable, when she hadn’t wanted to even speak to him for years?

Eli poured himself a full glass of amber liquid and took a long sip. The thought that all of this might have happened because of his "natural skills" with women made him nauseous. He despised manipulation, and he could never, ever do that to the girl he cared so much for. But what if Tyler was right, and he had unknowingly taken advantage of Harper’s innocent inexperience? What if he had abused the trust she placed in him and made her fall for someone she otherwise never would?

That possibly was too much for him to bear. His hands were turning cold, and he downed his drink, coughing as the burn hit him in a choking surge. The sensation was a welcome distraction, though it did nothing to chase away the coldness settling in his chest.

And what if, like her brother said, Harper was doomed to be attracted to whoever she asked for help from at the very beginning? What if it could have been anyone, and it was simply an unfortunate mistake that she had picked this old friend?

If her judgment had been clouded by the novelty, by the thrill ... then none of it ever had anything to do with it being him.

Ironically, after all the doubts and excuses he had told himself during those early weeks of "lessons", Eli felt like he had never been as clear about his own feelings as today. He was in love with Harper. Not because of those lessons, not because of the thrill of a pretense. Simply because she was herself. Even if they would no longer be intimate someday, or even if she would stop talking to him again, he would still love her, because the smiles and sunshine she had brought into his life had already become a part of his soul, in a way that he knew no one else could ever replace.

But if that feeling wasn’t mutual ... If what she felt hadn’t been true to her heart because of his carelessness, or if it could have been anyone else in his place ...

Eli poured himself another glass of scotch, his hand trembling slightly.

Harper deserved all the best things in this world. He had never questioned that. She deserved to be with someone who she truly wanted, who she truly loved without being swayed or blinded by any pretenses or false impressions. Someone who was her right match and worthy of her in every way. And if that person wasn’t him ...

Then he needed to face that reality and fix it for her.