“Not alone you’re not,” Hayley yelled over the music.
“I’m fine,” I said as I stood, and the unmistakable sound of a grunt came from behind me when I quickly took a step back from the short stool I’d been on.
My body locked up and face pinched as embarrassment flooded my veins.
A chorus of “Heys!” came from our table, and I turned to see which one of our friends I’d backed into.
“I’m so sorr—” My words cut off when I looked up at him.
Not a friend of mine. I would have remembered having a friend like him.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my words drowning in the music.
His lips tilted up in a crooked smile that was too perfect to be real. “No harm done,” he said in a deep, fluid voice.
I’m positive my mouth was open as I continued to stare at him, not moving. His eyes quickly ran over my body, and his smile turned into more of a smirk before one of our friends said something and his head shot up to look at them.
I blinked rapidly and took a step away from him. Keeping my eyes trained on the dark floor, I tried to remember what I’d been doing before he’d walked up. Outside. I wanted fresh air. I wanted to look at him again. No, walk outside, Harlow. Walk outside.
I’d only taken two steps when I heard my sister’s voice above the music. “Somebody take Harlow outside.”
I turned to glare at her. “I’m not a dog.”
Walking away from the tables, I pushed through the mass of people standing near the front doors of the building, and breathed in a deep lungful of clean air.
“They’re just looking out for you.”
I turned and looked up at the same guy I’d just stepped on.
“A girl who looks like you shouldn’t be out here alone.”
“Because of guys like you?” I challenged, raising an eyebrow, but there was a teasing hint to my tone.
That crooked smile was back, and he laughed softly as he leaned up against the wall next to me, close enough that our arms were touching. “Considering they asked me to come out here with you, I sure as hell hope not.”
My face fell. “I don’t need you to be my keeper; I’m just getting some air.”
He bent down so that his dark eyes were directly in front of mine, the intensity in them pinning me to the wall. “And I never said I didn’t want to be the one to come out here with you.”
My pulse thrummed quickly at his admission, and my body warmed under his stare. I felt myself inching toward him, and my breaths deepened from his nearness. My eyes bounced over his face and body, taking him in more clearly now that we were outside in the glow from the setting sun. The fitted gray Henley shirt that stopped just below where his low-slung jeans began showed a lean, muscular build to his tall frame. His flawless, tan skin drew me toward his dark eyes, which I somehow knew would tell me everything, without him ever saying a word.
My eyes fell to his lips, and I caught myself wanting to know how they would feel against my skin. Let them come to you. Hayley’s words ghosted through my mind, and I cleared my throat and looked away before I could do something stupid, like ask if I could feel his lips on mine.
I needed to find a flaw, and I needed to focus on it so I wouldn’t start thinking this guy had been created by the gods for no purpose other than to make girls like me drool and forget how to have normal conversations. Ridiculous hormones—1, Harlow—0.
“So, uh, you’re obviously not from around here.”
“Obviously?” he asked, humor lacing through the word.
Well, you’re gorgeous and I’ve never seen you. So, yes, obviously. I held back an eye roll and internally groaned at how I was already messing this up. “Um, I just meant I’ve never seen you before, but then again, everyone else seemed to know you, so I could be wrong.”
“Knox Alexander,” he said, and stretched out his hand for me to take. “And you weren’t wrong. I’m actually from Thatch, so a few hours from here.”
“And somehow you’re already friends with everyone even though I’m just meeting you?”
He nodded in the direction of the building. “Sara is my sister. She’s been here in Seattle for about a year now, and knows some of them from school. I’ve hung out with everyone a few times this summer. Now tell me why I haven’t met you before tonight . . . and why I still don’t have your name.”
I bit back a smile. “My name is Harlow. I’m Hayley’s sister.”
His brow pinched together. “Twins?” he asked, and I laughed at his honest question. It was one we got asked a lot.
“Uh, no. Not even close, but I’ll take that as a compliment. Anyway, I’ve been grounded since school let out a month ago, but that finally let up.”
Knox’s face fell, and I could tell he was replaying my words in his head. “Wait, how old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
He just stared at me, not saying anything while a conflicted look crossed his face.
“Why?” I asked, drawing the word out. “How old did you think I was?”
There was a pause before he mumbled, “Not fifteen.”
“How old are you?”