“Let’s see,” she said, missing his hand when he pulled it away, “I went to the gym for a quick two-hour workout, then got breakfast with an old friend. Afterward, we went to the art museum and discussed the merits of impressionism, then finished off with ice-skating at City Hall. I had just pulled out some homemade cookies before you picked me up.”
Dan shot her a look. “Really?”
“No. I stayed in my pajamas and studied all day.” Harper was rewarded with the richness of his laugh, like hot chocolate warming her insides.
“Ah, so you live up to your nonstop studying reputation?”
Harper shrugged. “I do other stuff too.”
“Like what?”
“Like getting tricked into seeing a guy at a bar, or being talked into dates at grocery stores.” She shot him a teasing smile.
Dan fumbled for words, and Harper decided she liked watching him squirm.
“The thing last night was not my idea,” he said, a blush forming on his cheeks. “Thu orchestrated that, telling Alex what a good idea it was. By the time she was done working her magic, he and I both thought it was the best plan we’d ever heard.” He jammed his hands into his pockets and Harper wanted to reach in and thread her fingers through his. “I’m sorry. I hope … I don’t know, I hope I didn’t cross a line with that.”
“Hey,” she said, tilting her head to meet his eyes, “don’t ever tell Thu this, but I’m glad she’s so sneaky.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Otherwise, I might never have known how good I am at Jenga.”
Dan laughed again and reached an arm around her shoulder, giving her a light squeeze that flooded Harper with warmth and want.
He unhooked his arm as they entered the grocery store, and they searched through the carts for two that had all four wheels attached. The store was undeniably grimy, but the food was cheap, and when every dollar in your bank account technically belonged to the government via student loans, there was little room to complain.
“So, what’s first on your list?” Dan asked as they moved through the store.
“I’m a big fan of snacks,” Harper said, gesturing toward the bright boxes of processed foods filling the first aisle they turned down. “I try to let the junk food speak to me, not the other way around.” She tossed a box of crackers into her cart.
“And what does the junk food say?”
She picked up a package of Oreos and held them in front of her mouth. “It says, ‘Pick me, Harper. I’ll make you feel so good. You’ll love the way I taste.’”
Dan’s eyes flew open and Harper cringed. She’d meant for it to sound goofy. It objectively did not.
“Do all of your snacks talk dirty to you?” Amusement danced across his stupid gorgeous face.
Oh God, not the dimple.
“Just the Oreos,” she said, turning away from that lopsided smile before she licked it off him. “They’re the sluts of the cupboard. It’s a well-known fact.”
Dan laughed, and they continued to weave through the aisles. The universal awkward silence of two nervous people swelled between them, and Harper scrambled for a topic.
“So … how was school this week?” Wow. Scintillating.
Dan gave a noncommittal shrug. “This week was better than most, I’d say.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
Dan didn’t say anything. His eyes locked with hers for a long, meaningful pause before sweeping down her body, and back to her face. He raised his eyebrows, the light in his eyes doing strange things to her heart.
Time paused with his look. Her mouth went dry, her limbs heavy with the need to move closer to him. In that space between seconds, she wanted to run her fingers through his hair and press her hands against his chest while dragging her lips along his jaw. She’d never had such a desperate physical reaction to someone in her life. It was terrifying to feel so out of control. But in that moment, Harper kind of loved it.
Before she could give in and bridge the distance between them, a woman pushed a screaming child into the aisle, talking into her cell phone over the wailing. Time began ticking again.
Harper pushed her cart into the next aisle without waiting, working to remove the cotton from her head and regain normal function in her hands and feet. She tried to suck in a few steadying breaths. It didn’t help.
“I heard something about you the other day,” Dan said, rolling his cart next to hers.
She squinted one eye at him. “Uh-oh. What was it?”