A Brush with Love(27)

“Harper promised us one night out a week for senior year since she’ll be abandoning us for some out-of-town residency,” Indira said, pinching Harper’s cheek.

“Let’s go to Fat Louie’s Brewery,” Thu said, finishing off her wine.

Harper eyed her friend. “You hate the beer there. We could do Sunny Point Pub.”

“Nah, Fat Louie’s is great,” Thu responded, avoiding everyone’s eyes as she gathered her things. “Let’s go.”





CHAPTER 12





DAN

“I’m sure they’ll show soon,” Alex said, checking his phone again.

Dan nodded and took a swig of his beer, eyes fixed on the door. When Alex first mentioned Thu’s invite to “bump into them” at the bar, Dan had jumped at the idea. But as each second ticked by, Dan’s choice to surprise Harper felt a little less sweet, and a lot more stalkery.

Dan stood, deciding to sneak out while he could still save face, and turned to tell Alex he’d see him at home. Thu’s voice cut him off.

“Well, isn’t this a small world,” she said, leading her group of friends, all but one dressed in scrubs, toward the table.

Dan’s eyes flew to Harper to gauge her reaction.

She stopped in her tracks, eyes going wide, and gripped Thu’s shoulder. Dan watched her lips twitch as she hissed something into her friend’s ear. Thu turned to look at her and offered an innocent shrug. Harper’s cheeks reddened.

“What are the chances?” Thu said loudly. Harper shot her an angry glare before closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. When she opened them, she looked a bit more composed and gave Dan a soft smile.

“Mind if we join you?” Thu said to Dan and Alex as the women hopped up on the bar stools around the long table. Dan felt an over-the-top rush of excitement when Harper took the seat next to him.

“I guess you weren’t wrong when you called us meddling,” one of the friends whispered to Harper before reaching out a hand to Dan. “Hi, I’m Indira. I’ve Facebook stalked you thoroughly.”

Dan’s eyes widened, and he glanced at Harper, who buried her head in her hands. He busted out laughing.

“Dan. Nice to meet you.”

“And I’m Lizzie. I focused more on your Instagram,” the red-headed friend not wearing scrubs said, giving him a wave.

Dan felt his face heat, and he gave them both a smile. “That was probably extremely boring research.”

“I think we were disappointed with how little there was to see,” Lizzie said.

“Yeah, I don’t post that often.”

“Well, yeah, but more so, we were hoping you were really into something like swimming or underwear modeling. Just something that showed a bit … more,” Lizzie said, her eyes flicking over him.

Dan’s mouth hung open before he burst out laughing again. He looked over at Harper, who stared up at the ceiling with a pleading look in her eyes. Lizzie and Indira turned their attention to Alex, who only had eyes for Thu.

Dan risked a friendly pat to Harper’s shoulder. She looked at him, her face so miserable, he couldn’t decide if he wanted to laugh or hug her to his chest. Probably both.

Instead, he slid his half-full beer in front of her. She offered a weak smile before grabbing the bottle and taking a huge gulp.

Dan stood. “Do you want something different to drink?” he asked.

“You might as well bring me another one of these,” Harper said, giving the beer a tiny shake before taking another swig.

“You got it.”

Harper reached for her purse, but he stopped her. “On me.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he turned to the others at the table. “Ladies, can I get you something to drink?”

“I’ll take a lager,” Indira said.

“Same,” Lizzie added.

Dan turned to Thu, but she was too engrossed in her conversation with Alex to notice his question.

“Get her a cider or something sweet,” Indira said, nodding at Thu.

Dan rapped his knuckles on the table and nodded, then walked to the bar.

Waiting on the drinks, he turned to look at the group. Thu and Alex were leaning toward each other, talking and smiling, while Lizzie and Indira were locked in an animated conversation, saying something that made them both laugh. Dan couldn’t see Harper’s face, but he could tell by the tilt of her head that she was bouncing between the conversations and other noises in the room, never focusing on one thing for too long. Her body always seemed to hum with energy, her mind pulled in a hundred different directions. Dan wondered what it’d feel like to be the sole focus of her attention, what the magnitude of that energy would do to a person.

Drinks in hand, he moved back to the group and set the bottles on the table. He took his seat and Harper smiled at him, her shoulders less tense with an empty bottle in front of her. Dan hooked his foot at the base of her barstool and turned her seat gently so their knees touched. The contact felt like an electric current.

“This place is cool,” he said. “I’ve never been here before.”

“It’s Harper’s favorite,” Lizzie chimed in. “She always makes us come here instead of any of the thousands of fun bars in Philly.”