I don’t know why the hell those words slipped out, but it’s like my mouth formed the sentence before my brain had the chance to approve it first.Willow, Willow, Willow.Always there, always infiltrating my thoughts.
Harrison tilts his head to the side and cocks an eyebrow. “Willow Alder? You’ve been hanging out with her a lot lately.”
“Not really,” I retort, shaking my head at him. “I’ve just been helping get her shop ready.”
“When I texted you last night, she was at your house for dinner…again.”
She’s been over to my house quite a few times this last week for dinner, among other things. I knew once we crossed that line, there was no going back, but now I can’t seem to move in any direction other than hers.
“There’s something going on between the two of you, isn’t there?”
My eyes flash to his and I shake my head immediately, the lie bitter on my tongue before I even speak the words. “No, we’re just friends.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, I feel them settle between us, heavy and unconvincing. Harrison isn’t stupid. He’s known me long enough to see right through my lies.
Harrison flattens his lips. “Did you guys sleep together?”
Shit. I haven’t talked to a single soul about anything that’s been going on between Willow and me. Aside from Harrison, my other best friend is her damn brother. I don’t even know how the hell I would approach that conversation with him. I run my tongue across my top teeth, choosing not to respond, which is enough of an answer for him.
“Thought so,” he snorts. “You know those ‘just friends’ situations where the lines get blurred don’t really work out well, right?”
“I mean, they do if the lines don’t get blurred.”
Harrison levels his gaze on mine. “Listen, I am all for not forming emotional attachments, but just be careful. It’s Willow, and you know her brothers will bury you if you hurt her.”
My throat bobs as I swallow hard and lift my hand to scratch at the back of my neck. “Yeah, I know.”
“They don’t know about the two of you, do they?”
“Fuck no,” I admit, swiftly shaking my head as we both turn away from the ice. “I don’t—am I supposed to say something to Noah? It’s just casual and nothing more. I mean, she meanssomething to me, but that doesn't mean it’s something he really needs to know about, right?”
Harrison scratches at his chin as we step outside into the bright sunlight. The cold hits us immediately — that sharp, crisp kind of chill that bites at your skin even through layers. The parking lot is glazed with a thin layer of frost, every car glittering under the pale morning light.
“I mean, this is Noah we're talking about.” Harrison lets out a soft laugh. “Didn’t he punch that guy she was dating in high school?”
My eyes widen as I stare back at him. Harrison didn’t even go to our school, but now that he brings it up, I do remember Noah telling him about it one night when we were all hanging out.
“Oh yeah,” I pause, grimacing as I remember it all too well. “I don’t remember his name, but he was a fucking tool.”
Willow dated some guy who was a year older than her during her freshman year of high school. He was dating this other girl that Willow didn’t know about, and when the truth came out, Noah knocked him on his ass.
“You should tell him,” Harrison says with a shrug, as if it’s a simple decision. “This could get really messy if you don’t. And plus, you already slept with her, so it’s not like you’re asking for permission or something. You’re just informing him of the situation.”
“You know he’s going to be pissed, right?”
Harrison purses his lips and nods slowly. “Yeah, I know. But think about how much worse it will be if you keep it a secret.”
I clench my jaw and swallow hard, raking a hand through my hair as I stare out at the parking lot. “Even though this is just casual?”
“I don’t know what to tell you, man.” Harrison sighs in defeat. “Sure, it’s casual. Sure, it might stay that way, but he’s your best friend. There’s always a chance he could find out.”He pauses, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “What’s Willow think?”
Shoving my hands into the front pockets of my jeans, I mull over his words. “It’s not something we’ve talked about.”
Hell, there isn’t much talking at all when the two of us are alone.
Her hair spilling across my pillow, fanning out like a halo around the top of her head, flashes through my mind. The sound of her laughter. The way she whispers my name rolls like a breathless prayer when I settle between her legs. The way she curls into me, her even breath against my bare chest like that’s exactly where she belongs.
“Maybe start there,” Harrison suggests, lifting a shoulder as we step away from the front of the building and make our way to both of our vehicles. “See what she has to say and then decide.”
