Page 48 of Don't Puck His Best Friend
I stop walking, and then she turns to me.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
I step forward. “Don’t be sorry. But, uh, to answer your question, no.”
“No?”
I shake my head. “No. I haven’t dated anyone in a while, and so I’m rusty.”
She rolls her eyes at that.
“I’m not trying to pull anything, just being myself.”
“Yourself?”
I nod, reaching for her. “This isn’t just an act, Harper. To be honest, I didn’t want to go on the double date. Sirus had to drag me, but I’m so happy that I did.”
“You are?”
I nod. God, she’s giving me a hard time. “Hell yeah, I am.” I lift my hands. “Look at us.” She looks around and smiles. “Look at me.” Her eyes meet mine, and I smile back. “I like you, Harper.”
She smiles shyly. It’s so cute that my heart jumps. I observe her in my jacket. It’s basically swallowing her whole.
“It’s cold,” I say.
She nods, biting her bottom lip. “Yeah.”
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
She walks close to my side, and I wrap my arm around her shoulders. She looks up at me with approval. Her blue eyes gleaming, and I grin, observing her content expression.
At her car, there’s a pause—that quiet space where either one of us could step back, say thanks for coffee, and drive away. Or we could step forward into whatever this is becoming.
I don’t know what happened back there, but I hope she sees I’m not wasting her time. I pull her closer to me and lean down while lifting her chin.
The kiss is unhurried but certain, my hands finding her hair, her arms slipping around my waist. She tastes like the vanilla from her latte and something uniquely her that I’m already starting to crave. When we finally break apart, she’s smiling in a way that makes warmth settle in my chest.
“I had a really good time,” she says, and there’s nothing performative about it. Just honest pleasure at having spent the morning with me.
“Me too. And I meant what I said.”
She presses her lips together, looking at my shirt. Then she whispers, “I like you, too.”
A smile spreads across my face, and I catch her eyes watching me closely. “I’m happy to hear that the feelings mutual.”
She nods and gets into her car, waving once before pulling out of the parking spot. I stand there a moment longer, hands in my pockets, watching her disappear around the corner.
I head to my truck and get in, smiling at her confession.
22
The Last Time
Harper
It’salmostelevenwhenmy phone buzzes against my nightstand, the sound cutting through the quiet of my room like a warning I should probably heed. I glance at the screen and my stomach drops.
Liam.
