Page 69 of A Brush with Love
They stared at each other, the moment heating to the point of combustion. Harper could feel the fire of his touch all over her body, even while his hands were balled into fists at his sides.
A loud knock on her door made them both jump.
“I didn’t hear your intercom buzz,” Dan said, turning narrowed eyes in the direction of the front door.
She glanced at the clock and groaned. “That’ll be my friends. We study on Sundays and Lizzie brings us baked goods. They have my spare key.”
With her hangover just gaining momentum, the last thing she wanted to deal with was their line of questioning at Dan leaving still in his suit.
“I’ll get out of here then,” Dan said, rubbing a hand over his forehead.
Harper stepped around him, and he followed her to the door. She took a deep breath before opening it.
Thu, Indira, and Lizzie stood clustered in the doorway, plastic bags of food in their hands. In the span of the world’s longest second, all three of their jaws dropped as they noticed Dan standing behind her.
“Bye, Harps. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Dan leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Ladies.” He greeted them with a nod, maneuvering past their frozen bodies to escape down the hall.
The four women stood there staring at each other, before Indira broke the silence.
“Told you he’d see that half bush.”
CHAPTER 23
HARPER
Harper’s hungover stomach lurched as she stared at the cinnamon rolls Lizzie had brought over. She pushed her plate away and rubbed her temples before risking a glance at her friends. Lizzie looked the worst, green and slack-jawed, a cloud of alcohol fumes almost visible around her as she sprawled out on the couch. Thu looked only marginally better, wearing oversize sunglasses and taking tentative sips from her coffee.
Indira was a shiny contrast to the group, her eyes fresh, luscious curls pinned back on one side. Her straight spine and clasped hands made it obvious that an interrogation would happen before any studying took place. Harper slow-blinked at her perky smile.
“How are you not hungover?” she asked in utter disbelief. Indira’s olive skin was literally glowing. It wasn’t right.
Indira made a show of flipping her hair. “Well, it’s this amazing new energy drink called self-control. You just make sure you have a tiny bit before you start drinking andpoof”—she clapped her hands together, making them all jump and groan—“you wake up hangover-free. Patent pending.”
Harper rolled her eyes and turned to her laptop. “Does it have any negative interactions with your preachy pills? I know you’d be devastated if those stopped working.”
She scrolled through her clinic schedule for the upcoming week, anxiety leaking into her stomach and her pulse thrumming in her fingertips as she thought of all the things she needed to get done, all the things she’d been neglecting.
Indira cleared her throat and steepled her fingers on the table. “So first things first. Are you okay?”
Harper felt the weight of their eyes pressing on her. Memories from last night scratched at her throat, but she pushed them away. She didn’t want to talk about it. She wanted to pretend it never happened.
“I’m fine. I just don’t like crowds.” Thu scoffed at Harper’s understatement.
“The Jeff thing was super fucked up, though. I’m sorry he was even there. Invite has always just been word of mouth,” Indira said.
“Yeah, well, he showed his whole ass last night, didn’t he?” Harper said, pursing her lips at the memory. Unfortunately, her friends knew all too well the unique and visceral pain that came with being called a bitch.
“And then Dan was there to hand it to him,” Indira added with a smile.
“Yeah, and if he didn’t get the message from that, I think I’ll just have to let Dr. Ren know what a sexist little asshole Callowhill has applying to OS residencies. She’s pretty tapped in to the admissions community and might have a thing or two to say to program directors,” Harper told them casually.
“You devious little genius,” Thu said, before taking another swig of coffee. “I fucking love that.”
Harper pursed her lips to try to hide her smile.
“So, you’re sure you’re okay?” Indira pressed, eyeing her.
“Fine. I promise,” Harper mumbled, looking over a clinical competency criterion that was due next week. Her palms itched as her to-do list grew.
