He shrugged. “It’s the cheap stuff, but everyone should have something bubbly to celebrate with. Take this and go tell Harper we’re all excited for her.”
Fuck. I wasn’t an emotional guy, but goddamn, I’d won the friends lottery. They were more family than friends at this point, and I was more thankful than I could ever express that I had them in my corner—first helping me with Rory and now this.
“Thanks, guys.”
“Now get outta here before we kick you out,” Sam teased.
They didn’t need to tell me twice. I grabbed the bottle of champagne from Liam and ran out the door.
As I walked up the steps to Harper’s front door, mynerves kicked in. The last time I’d seen her in person, I’d damn near kissed her.
And she had no idea how desperately I wished I had.
I raised my fist to knock, but hesitated when I caught a glimpse through the small window next to the door. Harper was in the living room with her roommates. Rachel had her arms wrapped around Harper in a tight hug while Talia popped open a bottle of something that sent foam spilling over onto the carpet. Ayanna was dancing around playing air violin with dramatic flourishes that had Harper doubling over with laughter.
I stood frozen, watching them. Harper’s face was flushed with happiness, her red curls wild around her face, her smile so bright it made my chest ache. This was her moment—a triumph she’d worked incredibly hard for, with people who’d supported her musical dreams from the beginning.
I stepped back from the door, clutching the champagne bottle in my hand. I couldn’t interrupt her celebration. Not right now. She deserved this moment with her friends. She deserved to have this pure joy untainted by the complications that always seemed to swirl around us.
Tomorrow I’d find a way to congratulate her properly. But tonight, I’d let her have her moment in the spotlight. She’d earned it.
And when the time was right, I’d tell her exactly how I felt. No more wasted time, no more misunderstandings. Just the truth, complicated as it might be.
Because some complications were worth facing head-on. And Harper Tinsley was definitely one of them.
THIRTY-TWO
I couldn’t sleep, and it had nothing to do with the euphoria of making it into the fellowship.
My roommates had thrown me an impromptu celebration after I’d shared the news with them, complete with champagne and Rachel’s homemade cupcakes, but even that hadn’t quieted the buzzing under my skin.
The clock on my nightstand read 1:17 a.m. I’d been trying to sleep for almost an hour. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Drew’s face. I felt the phantom touch of his fingers on my cheek and the gentle way his thumb brushed across my bottom lip. I could still feel the electricity that had sparked between us right before Rory had started crying.
And I was positively tortured by all the what-ifs.
What if she hadn’t woken up? What would have happened? Would he have closed the distance between us and kissed me like I was now sure I wanted him to?
I tossed my pillow across the room in frustration, watching it bounce off my dresser and knock over a framed photo. I was acting like a lovesick teenager, obsessing over aboy instead of celebrating the biggest achievement of my musical career.
Except Drew wasn’t just any boy. And this was so much more complicated because ofwhohe was.
God, if my parents found out, they’d lose their shit.
I flopped back onto my bed, grabbing my phone from the nightstand. I’d been fighting the urge to text him for hours. What would I even say?Hey, just wondering if you were also thinking about how we almost kissed yesterday?
My thumb hovered over the messaging app. This was ridiculous.
The fact that I couldn’t stop fantasizing about his hands in my hair or his lips on mine was just temporary insanity.
But what if it wasn’t?
Before I could talk myself out of it, I texted him.
Me
Are you awake?
I hit send before I could overthink it, then immediately regretted it. It was after one in the morning. He was probably fast asleep like any normal person would be. Or maybe he was up with Rory. Either way, he’d see my pathetic middle-of-the-night text and?—
