But, because the goddess of hormones decided she hadn’t suffered enough that evening, “Crash Into Me” by Dave Matthews Band started blaring through her speakers. She jerked so hard, coffee sloshed from her mug, and she dug a toe into Judy’s side, making the cat flee dramatically. Perfect timing for the world’s swooniest song.
Everything felt instantly more intimate and claustrophobic with the sultry music. Harper would go to battle arguing it was one of the most romantic songs ever written, and she often whined to her friends that her biggest regret in life was not losing her virginity to it, but now was not the moment for any additional sensuality.
She glanced at Dan, hoping he hadn’t noticed the song or her reaction, but he gave her an amused smile.
“Do you listen to this un-ironically?”
Her brows snapped together. “What?”
“This song. Isn’t it a little … cliché? Like every cheesy, late nineties sex scene has this playing in the background.”
Her jaw dropped. “This is an amazing song!” She was borderline yelling.
He bit back a smile. “Isn’t it about stalking?”
“That was a silly interpretation of it,” she said, waving him off.
“You think Dave Matthews misinterpreted his own song?”
“Yes! Well … no. I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter what he says it’s about. You can’t listen to it and not get all … melty.” She trailed off, not able to meet his eyes.
“Melty,” he repeated, that dimple taunting her.
She nodded. Glancing at him, she saw heat in his eyes. The soft acoustic melody continued around them, and Harper desperately tried to get more air into her empty lungs. She took another sip of coffee, glancing around the cramped kitchen.
“Well, come here,” he said, taking her mug and setting it on the counter, then turning back to hold her hands in his.
“W-what?”
He took a step closer, lacing their fingers on one hand and wrapping his other arm loosely behind her.
“You can’t listen to a melty song and not dance to it, can you?” he said, swaying them gently.
Harper couldn’t think of a response and decided that wide-eyed shock was better than trusting her voice. She wasn’t sure her spine could feel any stiffer. Every nerve in her body had rerouted itself to the point where his hand rested on her lower back.
“Is my dancing that bad?” he asked after a moment, destroying her with a boyish grin.
“What?”
“You look very afraid.”
Harper let out a too-loud laugh and tried to force her shoulders to relax.
Harper and Dan weren’t pressed against each other, a few inches still separated their bodies, but that somehow made it worse. She felt the proximity of his chest, the strength of his arm around her, the heat of his skin, and it was like a battle of energy waged between their dangerously close limbs.
Her muscles strained with every sway and rock of their bodies, wanting more than just this taste of his nearness. Her heart pounded against her chest like it wanted to break free of her and lodge itself firmly next to his.
Dan started humming the melody, making Harper want to lay her ear at the base of his throat and feel the vibrations.
“Who’s cliché now?” she said, the words almost a whisper. She looked up at him and he narrowed his eyes in response.
“The song may have some merit,” he said with a shrug. “Tell me what you like about it.”
Harper shrugged back. “It feels kind of raw,” she said after a moment, nibbling on her bottom lip. “It’s strange and haunting but also … fun? It makes me want to want someone that badly. It feels like romance.”
Having no firsthand experience at actual romance, just awkward dates and lackluster sex, this was a guess. But, if it was anything like whatever the hell was unfolding in her kitchen, romance felt like drowning.
Dan’s gaze flashed with hunger, but it disappeared quickly. He moved them toward the kitchen doorway, maneuvering the tight space with smooth steps. She felt his chest rise and fall with each inhale, almost meeting hers.
Shaky and overwhelmed, Harper squeezed her eyes shut. Anxiety screamed for it to end, while another fragment of her mind begged for more.
Dan’s body gravitated closer.
Closer.
So close that if either of them breathed, they would touch.
His hand skimmed from the base of her spine to lightly grip at the side of her hip, and heat followed the path, settling low in her belly.
For a single moment, he squeezed her tightly against him, his fingers pressing fire into her hip.