Chapter 10
Harrison
Standing in front of this beautiful girl after all these weeks is surreal. Maybe it’s the regular flirting, or the panty fetish fantasies of her, but I feel as though I know her. But that’s impossible. My curiosity gets the best of me. Feeling foolish, I ask, “Have we met?”
“Yes. Spectacularly.” She beams up at me with laughter in her beautiful eyes.
Shit. That sounds ominous. My shocked expression must have her taking a step back, because the giggling stops and the look on her face appears serious now.
Reaching out, she lays a hand on my good arm. “I was with you in the ER. When all of this happened.” She taps the cast on my injured arm lightly.
My mouth instantly goes dry. “Are you serious?” I’ve been too nervous to approach her at the hospital. Then, with one look, I finally decide tonight is the night, and all the while I’d already met her. I push down the lump in my throat. Hell, she must think I’m a real loser that I can’t remember meeting her before.
Her cheeks flush an adorable pink. “Yes.”
I’m almost certain by the way she’s biting down on that plump lower lip that I completely humiliated myself.
“Damn. It was that bad, huh?”
“You were cute.” Her eyes again twinkle as she grins back at me. God, this woman. Her smile. It could rival the sun. “Don’t worry. It’s not your fault. They had to give you a sedating medication in order to set your fracture. Versed causes temporary amnesia.”
“Well, that’s the only way I’d forget finally meeting you. I swear,” I blurt. Get it together, Harrison. This behavior might be worse than admitting you can’t remember meeting. You’re acting like a seventeen-year-old getting introduced to a celebrity crush.
She’s blushing again. Hell, I could eat this girl up. Her and her big beautiful—
“Are your eyes blue? Or blue-green?”
She laughs. “That’s almost word for word what you asked me in the ER.”
“Really? Boy, I’m a one-trick pony, huh?” I run my palm over my face, feeling more than a little self-conscious over having met her and not recalling one word. I can feel my cheeks redden. “Was there anything important I said I should know about?” I chuckle nervously.
Her face instantly falls.
Holy crap.
“Jesus. What?”
Moving her hand from my arm to my chest, she leans in. “You asked me what color my panties were.”
What the hell?
All of the color drains from my face. “Shit, I’m sorry.” I anxiously shift from foot to foot. What the hell is wrong with me? I’m such a colossal fuck up. “I’m surprised you’re still talking to me after that.” How on earth do I possibly explain that without sounding any creepier than I’ve already come off?
She shrugs her shoulders playfully. “Nah, I’ve heard worse.” She grins. “Everyone’s secrets come out when they’re under the influence.” She laughs.
“So, you know mine now,” I tease.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” She asks, seeming completely oblivious.
A Bruno Mars song begins to play, and I hope I can use the opportunity to get her to stay a few moments longer. Here goes nothing. I mean, I can’t possibly embarrass myself any worse than I did in the ER, right? “I’ll tell you if you dance with me before you go.” I must be nuts for this girl. I hate to dance. Even when all of my limbs are working normally.
Again, she bites down contemplatively on her plump, bottom lip before leaning to the side to peer around me. Following her line of sight, I find one of her friends nodding in her direction and stand a little taller.
“Okay, one dance. But I really have to go after that.”
I reach for her hand with my free one, reveling in the sensation. It feels so soft entwined with mine. Natural, even. As Bruno Mars sings about his girl being amazing just the way she is, I try to pull her close to me, but my damn cast is in the way. But this incredible woman doesn’t miss a beat. She lifts her arms, draping her hands around the back of my neck as she sways with me to the music. It’s an upbeat tune, so I appreciate the closeness. I was worried I’d have to dance awkwardly in front of her while attempting to get to know her a little. We probably wouldn’t have gotten far, given I look ridiculous dancing with this damn sling on. “What’s your name?”
She shakes her head, her gorgeous brown locks tumbling about her shoulders. “Harlow.”
“Harlow,” I whisper into her hair as I pull her even closer. “Did you tell me that already?”
“No. You didn’t seem to care what my real name was.”
Pulling back, I playfully cringe as I wait for her to explain.
“You kept calling me your mermaid.”
“Sheesh. That stuff really is truth serum.” What the hell didn’t I tell her? My face heats with mortification.
Harlow pulls back far enough to look into my eyes, and I freeze. Nervousness settles into my very bones as I take in her sweet smile. What the hell is happening to me? The way this woman makes me feel is dangerous.
“Why would you call me that?” She slides one hand down from the back of my neck to rest it on my chest. The heat of her touch feeling as if she’s branding me. “Your mermaid?”
Dropping my good hand to her forearm, I trace the lines of the tattoo I’ve admired from afar for weeks. “When the sun hits your ink, it reminds me of the silvery scales of a mermaid. I don’t know. It just stuck.”
A rosy blush paints the balls of her cheeks, and I have to fight not leaning in to kiss her. “I like that.”
Relief washes over me. She could’ve easily thought I was crazy. Still in disbelief at my good fortune, I drop my mouth to the shell of her ear and breathe her in. “You do?”
I feel a soft nod against my chin as I catch Matthew observing us out of the corner of my eye. He’s watching us like a proud poppa on his son’s wedding day. For fuck’s sake. I chuckle at his ridiculous expression.
“What?” Harlow asks, staring up at me, our faces so close it’d only take bending my head by half an inch and those lips would finally be all mine.
“Nothing. My little brother is just gloating.”
With this, she pulls back to find Matthew staring. “That’s your brother?” She sounds shocked.
“Yes.”
“Wow. You two look nothing alike.”
“Nope.”
“Well, both devastatingly handsome. But otherwise—”
“You think I’m handsome?”
She quirks a brow at me. “Harrison, Big Ron probably thinks you’re hot. Don’t play dumb.”
I stand taller, a chuckle sneaking out at her quick wit. The song comes to an end far too quickly, and I nearly beg her to stay for one more. Yet she’s already pulling from my embrace. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”
“Me too.”
“Are you working early tomorrow?”
Her eyes flick back up to mine, a knowing smile dancing behind them. “Yes. But not at the hospital.”
“Oh. You have another job? You work too hard.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” she mutters. “I’m in the National Guard. It’s my drill weekend.”
Fuck. I think I’m in love. I stand blinking wordlessly at her for a few moments until I come out with, “Are you serious? You’re amazing.”
She pats me on the chest before walking toward her friends. “You’re good for my ego, Harrison.” She looks as if she’s about to say goodbye when she spins on her heel, leaning in to me. “So, the dance is over.”
I lift a questioning brow at her.
“You said you’d tell me your secret if I danced with you.”
Placing my hand over my heart, I try to act appalled. “And here I thought you wanted to dance with me. Yet it was all a ploy.”
She gives me a devilish smirk, and I know after tonight I’ll never be the same. This stunning woman is even better than I imagined. So fun and flirty. A responsible, hard worker. And selfless. I would’ve never imagined she was in the National Guard.
Pulling her back into my body one last time, I nuzzle her ear and decide to go for broke. I can’t believe I’m telling her this. I chuckle nervously. “I’ve been dreaming about you. Okay, fantasizing about you since the very first time I saw you walk into work.” She doesn’t attempt to leave. Or pull away from me in disgust.
Yet .
“And in these visions, you appear in different color panties each night.”