I waited until I saw her exiting the building before getting out of my car. Her steps faltered for a moment as she crossed the parking lot, undoubtedly noticing my car sitting next to hers. As I stepped around the front of my vehicle, she gave me a small nod and put her stuff on her passenger’s seat before walking over to me.
“Nico,” she said softly, yet her expression was filled with a look of questioning and hesitation. “What are you doing out here?”
I shifted my weight on my feet and tucked my hands into the front pocket of my hoodie. “I was waiting for you.”
Harper stared at me for a moment as she wrapped her arms around herself to block out the cool evening breeze. “Why?”
Her cheeks were tinted pink and wisps of her blonde hair blew across her face. Instinctively, I reached out and brushed them away, tucking them behind her ears. I heard the sharp intake of her breath as the tips of my fingers grazed her soft skin. Harper’s eyes bounced back and forth between my own.
I shrugged as I pulled my hand away. “I don’t know. I just felt like I needed to after I saw you earlier.”
Her expression softened and she took a hesitant step closer to me. She lifted her hand to cup the side of my face and her gaze dropped to my lips as she gently touched the cut in my lip.
“I didn’t like seeing you fight tonight,” she breathed, her voice barely audible. Her touch was tender and her gaze collided with mine as she lifted her eyes. “What happened out there? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I told her, reaching up to wrap my hand around her wrist. I meant to pull her away from my face, but instead I found myself wanting to pull her closer. “Just normal stuff that happens on the ice.”
Her throat bobbed. “I get that. I’m not a stranger to watching the fights. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Her words slid through my veins, warming my body as they flowed from her lips. I stared down at her, the corners of my mouth twitching. “I didn’t know you cared.”
“I never said I cared,” she grumbled as I dropped my hand away from her wrist. “That doesn’t mean that I want to see something bad happen to you.”
A smirk slid onto my face. “I don’t know, Harper. That kind of sounds like you might care.” I lifted my hand up, holding my thumb and forefinger apart half an inch. “Even if it’s only this much.”
Harper dropped her hand away from my face and I instantly felt her absence. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “You can tell yourself whatever you need to if it will help you sleep better at night.”
You would help me sleep better at night.
“I don’t know about sleep, but it might help me play better.”
She stared at me for a moment before her face cracked. Her eyes crinkled at the sides and her laughter danced across my eardrums. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, and I found myself completely captivated by her. Holding my breath, I smiled and watched her as she shook her head at me.
“You’re something else, I’ll give you that.” She smiled back at me as her laughter dissipated.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her and I couldn’t stop the words as they rolled off my tongue.
“Go to dinner with me.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “What?”
Fuck.
My jaw clenched and I wanted to suck the words back in. It was too late. I couldn’t take them back now and I had to roll with it.
“I want to take you out to dinner. No strings attached. Just two friends having dinner.”
Harper angled her head to the side as she lifted an eyebrow. “Oh. Are we friends now?” Her tone was light and a ghost of a smile played on her lips.
I nodded. “The best of friends.”
“Well, in that case, I suppose it would be rude of me to say no.” She smiled at me as she shifted her weight on her feet. “Just dinner.”
“I just want to feed you. Nothing more.” I paused. “Not physically feed you, although I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
She stared at me, her eyes dropping to my mouth before meeting my gaze again. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that and just let you buy me dinner.”
Laughter rumbled in my chest and I didn’t bother to let myself feel embarrassed. “Get in my car,” I told her as I stepped away and made my way to the driver’s side. “I know of a place nearby.”
“What about my car?”
I glanced over at her from where I was standing, noting the distance between us. “Would you feel better if we drove separately?”
Harper nodded. “Don’t want you to get any ideas,” she admitted with a wink.
“I would never,” I scoffed, attempting to feign innocence.
“Yeah, right.” She pulled open her door. “You lead the way and I’ll follow.”
I smiled to myself as I got into my car. I lied when I said I knew of a place nearby. I hadn’t thought that far in advance, but I wasn’t going to let her down now. Getting her to agree to go to dinner with me was half the battle.
And it was the half I had just won.
CHAPTER SEVEN
HARPER
I eyed Nico skeptically as we walked to the front doors of the restaurant. When he said that he knew of a place nearby, I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. This place wasn’t nearly as close as I imagined. I thought he would take us somewhere within a five-minute drive but instead he had me driving closer to twenty minutes from the stadium, in the complete opposite direction of my apartment.
“What is this place?” I asked him as I looked up at the white sign above. All it said was Dare and it gave nothing away from the outside. It was a brick building with blacked out windows and simply had a black door in the front. “Is this even a restaurant?”
It suddenly dawned on me that I really didn’t know Nico Cirone. For all I knew, he could be a serial killer, leading me closer to my death.
“Of course it’s a restaurant,” he said over his shoulder, as he was now a few steps ahead of me. “What else would it possibly be?
He stopped and slowly pulled the door open, stepping to the side for me to walk past him. It was dark inside and I hesitated, pausing my steps as I looked up at him.
“Your secret murder house or something.”
Nico raised an eyebrow. “My what?”
I shrugged, still lingering outside the door. “You know, the place where you bring the girls you seduce to kill them.”
His face cracked and the sound of his laughter vibrated inside my soul. He flattened his palm over his chest as he momentarily tipped his head back. My mouth grew dry and I swallowed hard, feeling the heat creep across my face. The way he was laughing was doing something to my body that I loved and hated at the same time.
“Jesus, Harper. What kind of a person do you think I am?” He stopped laughing and a smile lingered on his perfect lips as he raised a suspicious eyebrow. “You give me too much credit. I usually just kill them where I find them and dump their body somewhere along the drive home.”
Mischief danced in his eyes as I widened mine, attempting to appear shocked.
Nico laughed again and shook his head as he reached out and wrapped his hand around my wrist. “I’m kidding,” he said as he pulled me in the direction of the door. “Come on. We’re going to be late.”