Page 18 of In the Net
Shit. The last time Mackenzie saw me and Harper together, we were pretending to be on a date. Now she’s seeing us walking down the hallway at a distance, as if we were total strangers.
Even if this doesn’t tip Mackenzie off that we were faking it back at the cocktail bar, she’s sure as shit going to conclude that the date didn’t go anywhere. Something I’m sure she’ll get immense satisfaction taunting Harper over.
And if there’s anything I don’t want Mackenzie to have, it’s satisfaction. Especially when it comes at the expense of someone who’s a better person than her in every way—even if Harper is a pain in my ass.
I close the distance between me and Harper with a couple long strides. When I reach her, I wrap my arm around her shoulders, tucking her against my side.
Her head whips to my direction. When she sees it’s me, she tenses. Deep furrows dig into her forehead, a mixture of surprise and chagrin at the contact. I feel her trying to pull away, but I curl my arm, clasping my hand to her shoulder to keep her close.
“Play along,” I whisper from one side of my mouth while I tilt the other side into a playful looking grin, like I’m naturallysneaking up on a girl I just had a really good date with and surprising her.
Suddenly, I realize how damn good my hand feels gripping the curve of her shoulder. Too damn good. The sleeves on her t-shirt are short, and my pinky is brushing against her exposed skin. The soft warmth makes me imagine what it would feel like if the pads of all my fingers were pressing onto her bare shoulder. I quickly chase the thought away.
Harper spots her cousin ahead of us. Recognition lights up in her eyes, and she gives me a shallow, conspiratorial nod.
An inexplicable feeling—I’d almost call it giddiness if the thought wasn’t so ridiculous—buoys inside me.
There’s something about sharing a lie and putting on an act with Harper that I find far too amusing.
Maybe it’s the sheer ridiculousness of the idea that she and I wouldeverdate. We both know how absurd the idea is, so trying to fool someone into thinking it’s the truth is like a kind of inside joke that only the two of us can truly appreciate.
Mackenzie walks in our direction.
“Laugh,” I whisper to Harper. “Pretend I just said something flirty.”
For a split second, a revolted look passes over Harper’s face, like a waiter just set the most disgusting dish of food she’s ever seen in front of her at a restaurant. I have to clench my chest to keep from laughing.
But to her credit, she quickly recovers her composure and does it.
She laughs, a light, playful noise that sounds far too sweet in my ears.
The thought of making her laugh like that for real pops into my mind, and I don’t hate it.
“Well, look at you two.” Mackenzie announces her presence with a prim, showy sweetness more artificial than corn syrup.
I meet her passive-aggressive smile with a broad grin of my own. I pull Harper closer, using the excuse to slide my hand just an inch and a half down her arm. More of my hand is pressing against her skin. I don’t hate that, either.
“Hey there, Mack,” I beam. I’ve never used that nickname with her before, but when a look of distaste hardens her expression, I realize that it’s going to be my regular way of addressing her from now on.
She tries to look pleasant again, her gaze ricocheting between the two of us. “Well, it looks like that date went well.”
I bounce my eyebrow suggestively. “Oh, it went well, alright,” I answer, tossing a salacious look to Harper. “Verywell.”
Harper’s already tight smile becomes so taut I worry her lips will snap. I can only imagine the things she’s holding back from saying to me, and that thought only makes my smile wider and more genuine.
A shade of envy passes over Mackenzie’s face. I can tell that Harper takes a petty satisfaction in it. I don’t blame her.
In fact, I don’t blame her so much, that I decide to give Mackenzie a little more to be envious of.
“And I have a feeling that our date tonight is also going to go,” I dip my head closer to Harper, lowering my voice to a growl, “very,verywell.”
Harper gives me a sharp, furtive nudge to the side with her elbow. I bite my inner lip to keep from laughing.
“Well, as you can see, Mackenzie, we have a busy day ahead of us?—”
I interrupt Harper by interjecting with a low rumble, “Very busy.”
Another sharp stab of Harper’s elbow into my side, but the blush that rises to her pale cheeks is more than worth the pain.
