Oh, wow. Hot Henley Harrison is touching my butt.
“It seems surface level so I’m going to have you put this on it for twenty minutes.” He shuffled items around, and a blast of ice cold touched my skin. I bucked, almost smacking my head into his, but he gently held me down with his massive hands. “Shit, I should’ve counted down or something.”
“Yeah!” I grabbed the blankets and wrapped myself tight.
Finding another heavy comforter, he positioned it over me with an odd expression on his face. It was almost like he was fighting off a smile. He was enjoying this.
“Is my misery amusing to you?” I snapped.
The cheerful expression evaporated, and he sat on the other love seat about ten feet away. He narrowed his eyes, and his wicked mouth flattened. “Absolutely not.”
“Then why the smirk, huh?”
He gave me another long look, first studying my hairline and then moving down and stopping on my mouth. He grinned again, and the startling difference between smiling Harrison and grumpy Harrison was too much for me to take. Why did he have to be so good-looking? It wasn’t fair to my brain. Or my hormones. My pulse raced, and my face heated. I’d about had it with my next-door neighbor.
I shot him my best angry scowl. “Stop laughing at me.”
“I’m not, I swear. I’m thinking about your tattoo.”
He knows about my… oh, snap.
“It’s on the other hip.” I lifted a defiant chin. “You didn’t see it.”
“I know. I was disappointed.”
Finding a coaster on the side table, I tossed it at his face and then huffed out a frustrated breath when it landed three feet to the right of him. “I told you that under stressful circumstances, buddy, so it’s off-limits to bring up. You don’t get to mention it ever.”
“Don’t think it works like that, Becca.”
He continued smiling, and I was struck by how much I liked it on his face. The way his lips curved up slightly on each side, the distinctive laugh lines around his mouth showcasing his lips, and even the way his eyes lit up and made him seem happier. Harrison didn’t smile often, but when he did, it was a sight.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.
Shoot. He caught me staring at him like a lunatic.
“You have a great smile. I was thinking about how nice it looks on you. It isn’t something I’ve seen a lot. But to be fair, I don’t really see you so you could smile all the time, and I’d have no idea. I’m not the smile police.”
Stop talking. Just shut your mouth.
My filter was officially broken. The longer he stared at me, his smile growing more by the second, the more words escaped without my permission. “You’re a handsome man, you know this, but the smile makes you even more handsome.”
Oh my goodness, shut up. Stop talking. Stop opening your mouth.
His grin deepened for a second before he went back to his normal, unfazed expression, leaving me feeling like the most awkward person in school. It was like that time when I was a freshman and confessed my crush to the popular guy and the entire school heard it. They called me Ten C for at least a year.
TheTen Chaser. The girl flirting way out of her league.
Why did Harrison usually look so bored and annoyed? The expression wasn’tResting Bitch Facelike the girls talked about. Instead, it wasResting Unamused Face. RUF. He definitely had a RUF whenever I talked, and even though it bothered me, I admired my own cleverness. I snorted at the thought, and avoiding further embarrassment, I buried myself into the blanket and covered my face. I could live here forever now. Piece of cake.
“Is there a reason you shoved your head into the blanket?” His tone held a hint of amusement.
“Not one I’d like to share with you.” White-hot flames of embarrassment crept up my body.
I needed to shift the direction of our conversation, move it away from how I said he was handsome with a smile.Yikes, was I like those creepy men who always told women to smile more?No. I couldn’t be. But I did tell him he had a nice smile. No, that was different. Phew.
Content with the fact I wasn’t creepy, I changed the subject to a safer area. “Thanks for helping me with… the injury. Injuries, actually. Dang, two times within twenty-four hours.”
With his gaze on me, he let out a deep chuckle. “You’re welcome. Both times.”
