Page 34 of A Brush with Love
Harper clucked her tongue and wagged a finger at him. “Nope. It’s mine,” she said, her smile turning lazy from the mixture of laughter and drinks.
She pulled out a piece and the tower swayed dangerously. It didn’t fall.
“How old were you when you lost your virginity?”
Dan choked on a sip of beer. When he caught his breath, he gaped at her wicked grin for a moment before laughing.
“Liquid courage, huh?” he teased, tilting his head toward her drink.
Harper shrugged.
“I was sixteen,” he said, pulling at the collar of his shirt. The bar was about fifty degrees warmer than it had been a minute ago.
“How was it?” she asked, her eyes exploring his face. Dan felt his whole body come alive under her gaze.
“Isn’t it my turn?”
Harper arched an eyebrow and plucked out another piece. “How was it?”
“Okay… that’s cheating, but whatever.” Dan ran a hand through his hair, unable to hide his embarrassed grin. He knew he was blushing. “I was a horny teenage boy. It was awesome. I was awesome. Rave reviews. Best twenty-eight seconds ever.”
Harper laughed so hard she snorted, then slapped her hands over her face. Dan couldn’t resist joining in.
“Okay, your turn. Age. Rating. All the good stuff.” Dan pulled out two more pieces.
Harper tried to steady her face, but giggles kept slipping out. “I was eighteen. Big year for me.”
“Clearly. So? How was it?”
Harper took a breath and blew it out, still smiling at him. She reached out, grasping his hand in both of hers. He didn’t know what she was doing, but he couldn’t stop staring at the points where their skin met.
She lifted his hand, looking at it closely. Then, without warning, she jerked it forward, toppling the remaining pieces of the Jenga tower. She laughed even harder.
Dan’s jaw hit the floor. He was about to give her hell forcheating, when a bulky frat guy stumbled into her back, jolting her forward.
“Watch where you’re going, man,” Dan said, placing a hand on her arm. The guy gave a drunken laugh and turned back to his group.
The brewery was filling up with a rowdier late-night crowd. Dan saw the moment Harper became aware of the swarms of bodies surrounding them. A spark of panic ignited in her eyes as her gaze darted around the room. Her smile dropped and her cheeks lost their rosiness, a light sheen of sweat replacing it almost instantly. He watched as she sucked in a gulp of air that seemed to get stuck in her throat. She tugged at the collar of her scrub top then turned to the table, trying to fix the game with shaky hands. Dan placed his palm on her back.
“Do you want to go outside? Maybe get some air?”
Harper’s gaze shot to his and she nodded, panic flooding her features. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
They grabbed their coats and Dan maneuvered them through the bar, never taking his hand from Harper’s back. He didn’t understand why a small tremor hummed through her, or where the panic came from, but he wanted to help relieve it.
When they got outside, Harper stepped away from his touch and leaned against the brick building. She sucked in a huge breath, then another, before closing her eyes against the wind.
Dan stared at her. The tension in her body slowly uncoiled, muscle by muscle, the worried creases between her eyebrows relaxed, and the tight line of her lips eventually softened.
“You okay?” He took a step toward her and her eyes flashed open, landing on him. She gave him a soft smile, slow and sweet like honey. The movement of those full lips captivated him completely.
Something caught her attention, and she pulled her eyes awayfrom him. Looking up, she let out a soft coo of excitement. “It’s snowing,” she said in hushed awe.
With her head tilted back, she moved away from the wall and turned slowly, watching the flakes fall around them.
Dan’s heart gave an uncomfortable squeeze. He felt too much at once. It shouldn’t make sense that the sight of her spinning in the snow made him feel like he’d been hit by a truck. It shouldn’t feel good to be dizzy with thoughts of her.
But somehow it did—like all the weird turns his life had made were to lead him to this spot on the sidewalk so he could watch Harper drop her guard and enjoy the snow.
