Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
It was no use. The little Toyota crossover was too small to easily get her over the center console and into my lap without some serious maneuvering, and I wasn’t about to give up her mouth long enough to do it.
Her hands on my skin and mine in her hair would have to be enough as the kiss grew desperate and wet.
I’m not sure how long we would’ve stayed there if my phone hadn’t started ringing and broken the silence like a gunshot.
I pulled away, making Harper whimper as she chased my mouth with hers. As her teeth bit down on my bottom lip, I almost decided to ignore the call. I probably would’ve, if the phone hadn’t just kept ringing and ringing.
Harper sat dazedly as I leaned back and pulled the phone out of my pocket.
“What?” I answered, watching as her eyes slowly sobered.
“Where you at?” Cian asked. “We still grabbing lunch?”
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Where’d you go?”
“Five minutes,” I said before hanging up.
“I did it again,” Harper said in disbelief, looking around at the fogged windows.
“Won’t be the last time,” I replied, waiting for her to look at me again.
“Yes, it will,” she said with a huff, throwing open the door.
Jesus, the woman was hot as fire and then cold as a wet blanket within the space of a minute. I felt like I was getting whiplash.
“What the hell?” I asked, following her out. “Harper!”
“This isn’t happening again,” she said, flicking her finger between the two of us. “It shouldn’t have happened the first time.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because!”
“Yeah, that explains nothing.”
“You know why,” she said, lowering her voice. “You know exactly why.”
I could tell that she believed I knew what she was talking about, but honest to God, I had no fucking clue what she was getting at. We were like lightning together, and we were already friends. I couldn’t see any reason not to see where things went.
“You’re gonna have to spell it out for me, Harp,” I said, reaching for her.
I frowned in confusion when she stepped out of reach.
“Lou.”
It felt like my mind glitched for a moment.
“What does Lou have to do with anything?”
Harper made the little noise in the back of her throat that I’d thought was so cute before but now just frustrated me.
“Everyone knows, Bas,” she said quietly.
“I clearly don’t.”
“You’re in love with her.”
I barely kept my jaw from dropping open. “I’m what?”
“Anyone with eyes can see it, okay?”
“What the hell, Harper?”
“I mean, Frankie wouldn’t even talk to me after the party. I still haven’t heard from her.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And I get it. That’s her best friend, and I just showed up and—”
“I’m not in love with Lou.”
“Yeah, okay,” she said flatly.
“I wouldn’t be callin’ you all weekend and kissin’ you if I was in love with Lou.”
“It’s messy,” Harper said apologetically. “Everyone assumed that you and her would—”
“I don’t give a shit what everyone assumes.”
“Well, I do,” she replied stubbornly. “I’m already an outsider, and now everyone’s talking.”
“Everyone can mind their own fucking business.”
“You know that’s not how it works.”
“I can’t believe you think I’d be fucking around with you while I was in love with someone else,” I sputtered. “Jesus.”
“Look, whatever it is—” She shook her head. “I don’t want to get into the middle of it.”
“There’s nothin’ to get in the middle of. For fuck’s sake.”
“It’s been longer than five minutes, and I’m fuckin’ starvin’,” Cian called as he stomped toward us. “What the hell are you doing out here?”
He jerked to a stop when he realized Harper was there.
“Oh. Uh. Hey, Harp.”
“Hey Cian,” she said. “I need to bring these keys to my dad. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Harper,” I called. She kept walking.
I wasn’t going to fucking chase her.
“Sorry, man,” Cian said with a wince. “I wasn’t trying to interrupt.”
“What the fuck have people been saying about Harper?” I barked, turning to look at him.
“Nothing much,” he hedged. “Noel saw you guys at the party and told Gray because he was looking for Harp. Someone must’ve overheard, and it spread around that you guys hooked up.”
“Why the fuck would anyone care?”
“Well, just with Lou and everything.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered, pressing my fingers against the headache that was forming between my eyes.
“It was surprising, is all.” He shrugged. “It’ll blow over.”
“You’re my best friend—” I started.
“Thanks, bud. You’re my best friend, too.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Well, you are.”
“What the hell do you think is going on between me and Lou?”
“No fuckin’ clue,” he said easily. “That’s your deal.”
I wanted to hit something.
“So, every time I told you it wasn’t fucking like that, you just what? Didn’t believe me?”
“Come on, man,” he said, glancing toward his truck. “I just want a burrito.”
“We’re friends.”
“Cool. Burrito?”
I didn’t want to go anywhere. Harper was going to have to come back for the Toyota at some point, and the urge to sit my ass on the hood and wait was strong. But I also knew that she probably wouldn’t come out if she thought I was still there, and I did have an actual job that I was supposed to be doing. If I didn’t have that Dyna done by the time Dragon came to see the finished product, I’d have some explaining to do.