Chapter Six

Harvey

Harvey watched the door anxiously waiting for her to appear. He really hoped she hadn't changed her mind. He felt fidgety, and sat picking at a beer mat tearing bits of cardboard off. The door opened, and he sat up straight but it wasn't Jane. It was Pam returning to the bar after going outside to smoke a cigarette. He'd told her so many times how bad they were for her health but she continued to ignore his advice. He shook his head in disapproval.

Gus came over to his table with some lemony cleaning spray and a cloth. He sprayed and wiped Harvey's table, and asked if he could get him a drink. 'I'll have a beer please,' Harvey asked peering past Gus when the door opened again. It was Jane, she hadn't stood him up. She waved when she spotted him. He felt his heart beat faster in his chest as she made her way over to his table.

'Okay, but you gotta go easy Doc. I've had strict orders from Mayor Lewis about limiting your drinking.'

'Hold up a second! Lewis said what?'

'Hello Harvey, you look nice,' Jane said which diverted his attention from what Gus had said. She looked beautiful. She was wearing skinny jeans and a white blouse. Around her neck she wore a thin gold chain, and had tied her red hair in to a braid that trailed down her back.

'You look amazing Jane.' He stood up and pulled the chair out for her.

'Aren't you the gentleman,' Jane laughed as she sat down. He liked her smile; her whole face lit up when she smiled. 'Could I have a beer please,' Jane asked Gus who was still hanging around.

'Two beers,' Harvey added and suddenly remembered what Gus had said. He frowned at the other man, and then returned to his seat opposite Jane. It wasn't the time to get in to an argument., he was on a date afterall. 'You really do look amazing Jane.'

Jane blushed. 'Thank you. It's a new blouse, I caught the bus in to the city and I felt like I was there all day. I'm not really big on clothes shopping, so it took me a while to choose something I liked.'

'It's a lovely top.' He complimented having another look.

Gus returned with their beers and said, 'Don't shoot the messenger Doc,' as he placed the bottles on the table. Harvey frowned again.

'What was that about?' Jane asked giving Harvey a questioning look.

'Nothing, it's just Lewis being his usual busy body self.' He shrugged, 'So does anything on the menu take your fancy? It's my treat remember.' He tried not to let the message Gus had relayed to him bother him, but he was peeved.

Jane picked up the menu and studied the food choices. 'I'll have a cheeseburger; I've yet to try one.' She put her menu down and took a sip of her beer. Unlike him she didn't appear to be nervous at all.

He already knew what meal he was having, it was one of his favourites, an all day breakfast. He went over to the bar and placed their order with Gus and then returned to his seat. Whilst they waited for their meals they got to know each other better. Jane told Harvey about her life before moving to the farm.

'The biggest highlight of my day was having my name called in Starbucks when my coffee was ready to collect. Working in that office was dull, and every day was the same boring routing. That's why I love it out here. On the farm I'm my own boss and I like it that way. How about you, have you always lived and worked here?

Harvey took a drink of his beer and thought about how much he wanted to share with Jane. 'I used to live in another town, about fifty miles from here. It was where I grew up, where my parents still have a house.' He took another drink, the last gulp and emptied the bottle. He waved to Gus but the bartender seemed not to notice.

Jane asked, 'What happened? Why did you move so far from home?' She held his gaze.

Harvey took a moment before he said, 'I was young and thought I was in love. She got pregnant but didn't want to keep the baby.' He paused, and tried getting Gus' attention again without success. 'Uh, what is up with that guy?'

'It's ok, I'll get us another beer.' Jane told him. He watched her ordering their drinks, and saw Gus glance his way whilst he and Jane were in conversation. When she returned with the beers she looked slightly annoyed but said, 'I think I'll have diet coke after this to pace myself, what do you say?'

Harvey frowned. 'I think I'm leaving!' He stood up to leave but at that moment their food arrived, and his all day breakfast looked too good to leave so he sat back down. 'I'll be having words with Lewis tomorrow.

'Calm down Harvey, we're meant to be on a date... remember?' she said looking around the room, probably to see if anyone was looking. 'I do think it's over the top, but it just shows they care about you Harvey.' She put some salt on her French fries.

He sighed and tucked in to his meal. 'I'm sorry – what were we talking about?' he asked her.

She smiled and wiped her mouth with her napkin. She'd taken a bite of her cheeseburger and had ketchup at the corner of her lips. She swallowed and said, 'You were telling me about before you moved here. You got a girl pregnant.' She grinned.

He felt his cheeks going warm. 'It wasn't like that! I was in love. She didn't want to keep the baby and I didn't have any say in the matter.' He picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. 'I left not long after she told me she'd terminated the pregnancy. That was ten years ago, and I've been here ever since.'

'Oh wow, sorry for prying Harvey. That must have been tough.' She took another bite of her burger and the tomato slipped out and landed on her plate with a splat sound. 'Ooops!'

'It's in the past,' he said his eyes focused on the sausage he was cutting up, 'so what about you? Any exciting adventures, ever jilt a guy at the altar?' He said as he brought a piece of sausage up to his mouth. While he chewed, he thought about what he'd told her. Had he said too much?

Jane cheekily dipped her French fry in the blob of ketchup that was on Harvey's plate. He pretended to frown but then smiled and waited for her to spill her secrets. 'Actually, I was almost married once but it wasn't him that got jilted. He was my high school sweetheart, and I was twenty one and like you I was in love. The arrangements were made, my dad had paid for my dress and my mom paid for the flowers. The flowers were beautiful, white lilies which are my favourite variety. On the day of our wedding, after I'd walked up the aisle, he said he couldn't go through with it and he left me standing there holding my bouquet.

Harvey was dumbfounded. 'He left you at the altar! What kind of asshole leaves their bride to be at the altar! You must have felt devastated.'

Jane shrugged and said, 'I was distraught at the time, but I guess it's life, and it wasn't meant to be. Maybe I had a lucky escape. It's his loss.'

'Yes, and my gain.' Harvey said and then realised what he'd said and felt stupid. He took another drink of his beer.

Jane seemed amused but didn't comment, and instead chose to ask, 'So umm... how long have you had Asthma? Have you had it since you were a child?'

Harvey sighed. His asthma was the bane of his life, always there, never letting him catch a break. 'No, I was pretty healthy as a boy. I did sports, soccer when I was about eight or nine years old and then lacrosse when I attended medical school.

'Oh, wow... I never pictured you as in to sports.' Jane's eyes lit up.

Harvey laughed. 'It was a while ago, and I'm so unfit nowadays I can barely keep up with the women at keep-fit.' He drank more beer, and wondered whether he should have admitted to being unfit.

'So...?' Jane asked smiling.

'Oh, umm... Three years a go there was an incident in the mines. Three teenagers had ventured in on a dare and to drink liqueur without getting caught by Mom and Dad. There had been an earthquake two weeks prior and unbeknownst to anyone it had caused structural damage to the beams that supported the tunnel walls within the mines.

'Oh my gosh, were they trapped? Did they survive?' Jane asked anxiously.

'One of the kids came running to the clinic crying. He was initially incoherent, talking nonsense. Maru wasn't working at the clinic then, Pam was. She helped out now and then just like Maru does now. She was able to calm him down and got him to explain what had happened.' He paused to catch his breath and then continued. 'I grabbed my medical bag and called on Lewis and Pierre. The three of us headed up to the mines. I went ahead of them. I could hear screaming, and so I shouted back to Pierre to call an ambulance. Lewis stayed near the entrance to the mines. I found the other two boys, one was already dead crushed by rocks and the other had a broken leg, the femur was protruding through the skin.'

'Poor kids, and so sad that one boy died. You were brave going in after them. Did you managed to get the boy with the broken leg out?'

'Yes, but not right away. I cleaned and set his leg as well as I could in those conditions. As we were leaving the ceiling came down and trapped us in the cavern. There was a cloud of coal dust that got on to my lungs. It was awful, and for the next five days I had no choice but to breathe it in. The rescue service eventually got to us, but the coal dust had permanently damaged by lungs and as a consequence I developed asthma.'

'Oh, well as awful as that is... it's better to be alive with asthma than be dead Harvey. You are a hero, and so brave. You saved that boys life.'

He blushed. 'Thanks, I was just doing my job. Come on, shall I get the bill and then we can go for a walk. Anyway, I doubt Gus will serve me another beer. I'm definitely having words with the Mayor tomorrow.'

Jane

They held hands as they walked together through the town. It was dark and a cold autumnal breeze was blowing. She shivered and watched as Harvey removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. She thanked him for his kind gesture. She had never been offered a man's jacket before. Her ex-fiancé, the man that had jilted her at the altar wasn't the romantic type. His name was Jack. The only romantic thing they ever did was share a bag of chips whilst watching a football game. After they went their separate ways, after the tears stopped falling she wondered what she saw in him. She expected it was just a habit, they had been together so long that the natural progression seemed obvious... they should get married. Harvey took her hand again and she felt a tingle go up her arm. His hand was warm.

They crossed the bridge, which creaked under their weight. It seemed sturdy enough but the creaking unnerved her. They passed Eliott's cabin. She could see a light flickering in the window and wondered if he was up writing poetry. Harvey kicked off his shoes and she did the same, leaving them lined up next to each other on the wooden walk way. As she stepped on to the beach the sand felt soft but cold beneath her feet. She playfully kicked some sand on to Harvey's jeans and ran away.

'Hey, come back!' he shouted and set off after her. She giggled as he chased her along the beach and screamed when he caught her. She tripped and they both fell on to the sand laughing. Jane was on her back and Harvey landed next to her.

'Caught you,' Harvey said as he moved over to Jane and brushed sand from her cheek with his hand. 'Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?' he asked.

She felt slightly nervous but excited at the same time. 'You said I looked amazing, but I won't mind hearing you say it.' She felt breathless, his face was so close to hers.

'You are the most beautiful woman I have ever encountered', he said then tilted her face towards his and planted his lips on hers. She groaned with pleasure and placed her hands on the sides of his face. He moved his mouth to her cheek, then to her jaw line, and then to her neck planting kisses.

It felt so good, she closed her eyes enjoying the sensation. 'Oh Harvey, that's so nice.' He moved his hand under her blouse, and slipped his fingers under bra. 'Harvey!' she exclaimed in surprise as his fingertips touched her nipple.

He sat up and said, ' I'm sorry, is it too fast? Should I stop?' She didn't answer, instead she pulled him by his shirt collar with both hands back down towards her and kissed him, her tongue slipped in to his mouth and he cried out with pleasure. Realising he needed to breathe she released him from the kiss. 'Wow, where did that come from?' he gasped for air and then returned his hand to her breast. He moved his mouth to her nipple and sucked on it, flicking his tongue across it. It was pleasure overload but she needed more. She could feel his erection against her groin and needed to feel him. She moved her hands down to his jeans and undid his belt buckle. Reaching in to his underpants she grasped hold of his manhood and tugged at it gently. He almost crumpled on top of her moaning out with pleasure as she moved her hand up and down.

'Oh fuck,' he cried out. He sat back and undid her jeans; he slid them down her legs and pulled them over her ankles. He discarded them and returned to remove her panties. She bit her lip as he slid them down her legs and tossed them on top of her jeans.

'Harvey, please... I want you... I need you,' she begged and he leaned his body down towards hers. Slipping in between her thighs he entered her and she cried out, 'ahhhh,' as she felt his thickness.

Harvey

He kissed her and continued to play with her nipples. She wrapped her legs around his waist pulling him in deeper. He began thrusting, slow and gentle at first but increased the pace as his need for her grew. Her vagina felt silky. Her fingers were in his hair tugging at the strands. He looked in to her eyes as he reached the pivotal moment; his body shuddered as he ejaculated in to her. Moments later he heard her cry out as her orgasm followed.

'Oh, Harvey... that was amazing!' she said panting. She was laying half naked in the sand.

He couldn't breathe. He had to find his inhaler. Where was it? He frantically searched the pockets of his jeans. He started patting the ground thinking it might be under the sand. His chest was tight and he was panicking. He didn't usually panic but not knowing where his inhaler was had made him anxious. He felt light headed and couldn't think straight.

'Harvey! Look at me!' but he couldn't. He couldn't focus, he couldn't breathe. His airways were closing and his wheeze was loud and raspy. 'Harvey, open your mouth and breathe.' Jane had his inhaler, and had placed it to his lips. He breathed in and then snatched the inhaler from her hand and breathed in more until he felt his airways opening up again.

'Harvey should I call you an ambulance?' she asked pulling on her jeans. She was still wearing his jacket and he realised his inhaler must have been in one of the pockets. He shook his head, he didn't want to go to hospital.

He pulled up his own jeans and then brushed the sand off his legs. He helped Jane to her feet and pulled her in to a hug. He didn't want to let go, partly because she was supporting him, but mainly because he never wanted to let her go. 'You are amazing Jane! I'm sorry. ' He kissed her forehead.

'Let's get you home Harvey,' she said and pulled him by the hand to where they'd left their shoes. He noticed the light was still on in Elliott's cabin, and hoped he wouldn't be featured in his next poem.