“You’re seriously getting ready right now?” Harrison’s deep voice from the other side of the door made me shiver.
“I’ll just be a few minutes and then you can rinse off,” I called, pretending to be oblivious to his displeasure.
He mumbled something inaudible.
After quickly washing up, I slipped into my black dress, fluffed out my hair and applied some minimal makeup.
When I emerged from the bathroom, Harrison was seated in the small chair, a stack of clothes on his lap.
He glanced up at me, cocking an eyebrow.
“If you’re wearing that, then Idefinitelyhave to go.”
“Is that your way of saying I look alright?” I smiled and pretended his words hadn’t just set fire to my entire body. What had he meant by that, exactly? Did he think I looked good? He had never so much as given me a compliment before, leadingme to assume I was so far from his usual type that he barely registered me as a woman. But now, with the way his eyes dragged slowly over me as he stood, I was starting to second guess that.
“If this is how you clean up, you really should have landed a guy by now. They must be idiots,” was all he said as he brushed by me and closed the bathroom door. When the sound of the shower came on, I let out a breath and allowed myself to look as flustered as I felt.
Why the hell did my body have to respond to him like that? This whole ordeal would be a lot more convenient if I didn’t find every physical thing about him so damn appealing. And was he right? Were all the men I dated idiots? I sure liked to think so, but after all these mediocre experiences, part of me wondered if I might be the problem.
Harrison emerged a few minutes later wearing black jeans and a buttoned up short sleeve black shirt.
“You clean up nice, too,” I said. The understatement of the century. He looked perfect. His hair was down, falling in loose waves just above his shoulders. His tattoo sleeves peeked out from his shirt, making me recall the one time I had tried to ask him about them, many months ago.
“I couldn’t even tell you how many tattoos I have, let alone what they all mean,” he had bit out with a glare. I had never made the mistake of asking again.
He sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.”
“Not until you turn your attitude around.”
“My attitude is fine?—”
“Nope.” I stood up and pointed a finger at him. “What did we just talk about, while watching the most beautiful sunset that probably has ever graced this earth?”
Harrison eyed me warily. “I said I’d try harder to enjoy this.”
“Exactly. I appreciate you opening up to me, and rest assured that you came to the right person. Because nobody knows fun like me. Just remember that tonight, nobody cares about us. Are we silly tourists? Of course we are. Butno one cares! The only person who will remember you from tonight is you. Doesn’t that make you want to make this worthwhile? We’re going to have fun. Say it with me.”
“We’re going to have fun.” Although there was no sarcasm in his voice, the word “fun” falling from Harrison’s lips almost made me want to burst into laughter. I felt bad that he was so uncomfortable, but considering he usually wanted to make me crawl inside my own skin, this power shift was a welcome change.
“Now, let’s go see if the guys are ready.”
“I’m sure that was an empty invitation. They don’t want to go out with us.”
A knock came on our door and I threw Harrison a knowing smile before walking over and swinging it open. The trio of guys stood there, each with their hair slicked back and wearing a festive shirt.
“Can’t believe you ditched us for a private room,” Mark said.
“Yeah. Not cool,” added Will.
“You lot ready to go?” Nigel asked with a grin.
“They make me feel geriatric,”Harrison grimaced as he set down the shot glass Nigel had insisted we take. “If they try to shove any more alcohol down my throat, I’m going to have to start tossing it over my shoulder when they aren’t looking.”
I laughed, enjoying the slight buzz. “You’re an amateur,” I leaned in closer to him to whisper. He smelledgood. “I’ve only been taking a sip and setting them back on the bar.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You trying to keep your wits about you while we all get plastered?” He questioned me, a smile playing on his lips.
“Please, I’m half your size.” Feeling brave, I poked his muscle. “You’d already be dragging me home if I tried to keep up.”
