Sam LaRose, Author

Obviously, this is being posted a day late.

This is because I did not draw a prompt yesterday. Instead, I was playing in someone else’s sandbox. I don’t want to say who’s (but it should be obvious if you’ve been paying ANY ATTENTION to me lately…).

There is a certain sadness when you create a character that you can never truly “use”. Pietr Ivanov is that character for me. Harper Wyatt is great too. And I suppose, technically, if I jumped down a rabbit hole of research, I’d be able to twist these characters into something far enough away from my inspiration, and put them into their own world…but, frankly, I don’t think I want to.

One, I don’t want to learn that much about Hockey. Second, I already have too many projects on my plate. I want to put out Mora’s book by the end of the year, you know? And yet…I’m only about half-way through the first course of editing. Sigh.

Anyway, I thought I’d share an in-obvious piece of what I’ve been working on. Some background info though: Harper is a non-binary person who typically uses They/Them Pronouns, except when alone with Pietr. He refers to her as girlfriend (with her permission), and she has told him he makes her feel more feminine. Thus, She/Her feels more natural when they are alone. Also, Harper is large. I’ve been thinking a lot about fatphobia in romance and body positivity, so I wanted to also write a plus-size character. Pietr is a Russian immigrant who plays hockey for an NFL team, so remember to read the accent. The accent makes it better. 😉 He definitely likes a hefty person and identifies as cismale pansexual. Harper hasn’t really given me a sexual identity as of yet, but most likely just identifies as queer.

Where this blurb picks up is after Pietr has returned from a set of away games and he had given her an I Love You via text. She told him he preferred her first time to be in-person. (Before you get mad, I can’t spoil something you’ll never read all of!)

If you like it, be sure to drop a comment!

Day 12: Untitled Sandbox Borrowing.

“I can’t believe you made me wait eighteen extra hours to see you.”

“You got in at eleven o’clock last night.” Harper groaned as he hoisted her over his shoulder. “You probably didn’t even get back to your apartment until, what? One AM?”

“I told you to let yourself in. You have key now.” He patted her bottom. “Have you stopped eating? Or am I stronger? You feel lighter.”

“I…may have lost a few pounds over the last couple weeks.”

“Why?” He dropped her into the middle of the bed. He pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it aside.

She shrugged. “Mostly I think it’s stress, but I’m definitely getting more exercise.”

“Sex did this? …Okay, no more sex.” He threw his hands in the air, turning to walk away. “We will go watch Baking Show on couch instead. Make you hungry for cake—”

Harper laughed, getting off the bed to wrap her arms around his waist. “Get back here. I haven’t seen you for almost a week.” She pressed a kiss to the back of his shoulder. “You’ve got a giant bruise on your side. Does it hurt?”

“Just a little.” He let her raise his elbow while she bent over to brush her lips gently at the black and blue mark. “I was too cocky and took an elbow.”

“Did you give it back?” She asked. She pressed her forehead against his back, tightening her arms around his waist. Harper gently coaxed him around, back to the bed.

“I think I did, but I have no proof.”

“Pietr?” Her lips pressed down his spine as she pushed him onto the bed. She got up behind him, straddling him. Her fingers dug into his shoulders in gentle circles while she kissed his back.

“Da?”

“I love you.”

“Is cruel to say that to the back of my head for first time.”

She let go of him, slipping to his side. He turned, wrapping his leg around her waist and tugging her closer. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He caught her lips, sweet at first –then quickly turned hungry. His hand moved under her shirt and he was surprised to find bare skin. He grinned. “No binder? No bra? What have you done with my Harper?”

“I figured you were just going to take it off me, so why bother?”

“Is safer. You shouldn’t do anything too strenuous in your binder. I read safety suggestions. Could be dangerous to fuck with one on.”