“I’m good,” Dan said, and he noticed her shoulders soften. Alex shrugged and the group left to play.
An awkward silence hovered between Dan and Harper, both looking around in opposite directions.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, leaving the table.
He walked to shelves in the corner, scanning and pushing through discarded boxes and pieces until he found what he was looking for. He walked back to the table with what he hoped would be a decent icebreaker.
“Jenga?” Harper asked, arching an eyebrow as he stacked up the wooden tower.
“Get-to-Know-You Jenga,” Dan said. “Every successful piece removed means you get to ask the other person a question.”
Harper eyed him for a moment before nodding and taking a sip of her beer.
“Ladies first.”
She slid out a block near the top and tapped it on the table, staring at Dan. His heart hammered against his chest.
“Do you have any siblings?” she asked.
“No, I’m an only child. Do you?”
“You have to take a block before I answer a question,” she said, smiling at him.
He pulled a brick out a few rows below hers. “How old were you when you had your first kiss?”
Surprise flashed across her face. She shot him an embarrassed grin. “Eighteen. I was late to the game.”
“Were you not allowed to date in high school?”
“I was,” she said, running the Jenga piece through her fingers. “I just never thought about it. And then I turned eighteen and was like ‘oh wait, this is probably something I should do before going off to college,’ or whatever. It’s stupid.”
Dan didn’t think anything about her was stupid; he wanted to learn every arbitrary detail she kept so close to her chest.
“And you asked me two, so I get a bonus.” She pulled out another piece. “What do you do to work out?”
Dan’s head pulled back with a smile. “Who says I work out?”
Harper’s eyes traveled down his body before returning to his face and giving him a skeptical look. His blood heated and he ducked his head with a laugh. He liked seeing her inch out of her shell.
“I really don’t do that much,” he said, running a hand across the back of his neck. “I like to run, and I lift weights once or twice a week.”
“Running?” she said with a wince, giving a dramatic shudder before grinning at him. Dan laughed.
“What’s your bonus question?”
“Umm…” She studied him for a minute. “First scar and how you got it.”
Dan lifted his chin and pointed at the thin sliver running beneath it. “Street hockey when I was eight.”
Harper leaned forward for a better look, and Dan felt the heat of her breath on his throat. She reached up and traced it, the pad of her finger barely touching his skin and leaving a scorched path in its wake. He swallowed.
“If you squint hard enough, it kind of looks like a shark fin,” she said, dropping her hand. He immediately missed her touch.
“Fits my dangerous personality and bad-boy charm.”
“Ha! Yeah right,” she said, pressing her thumb once more against the spot with a laugh. “You’re as soft as they come.”
Dan sputtered at her in mock outrage. Harper dropped her head to her hand and giggled at his indignation.
“It’s your turn,” she said after she caught her breath, gesturing at the game. Dan plucked out a block.
“How do you like your coffee?”
“With my oxygen,” Harper responded, already pulling out the next piece. “Favorite flavor of ice cream?”
“Peanut butter chocolate chip. Yours?” He pulled out a piece and watched the tower sway for a second.
“Strawberry.”
“Wow, you actually have an answer for a favorite things question?”
“I try not to mess around when it comes to food.”
“I’d like to take you out for ice cream sometime,” Dan said, his eyes wandering to her lips as he imagined the cool taste of strawberries on them.
Harper looked down, tucked her hair behind her ears, and let out a giggle. “It wasn’t your turn to ask another question.”
“It was more of a statement.”
Dan reached out, gently placing his hand over hers where it rested on the table. She glanced up at him through her lashes, her big brown eyes warming him, making him feel like he’d stepped into the sunshine after months of clouds, every cell hungry for more light and heat.
“Should we get one more drink?” Harper asked, breaking the tension and looking at their empty bottles.