Page 72 of Double Dared
So I went upstairs, shut myself in my room, and stared at the ceiling as certainty slowly built up in me. This was it. This was the end of the road, and I really wasn’t supposed to be so surprised. I’d always known that the road was short and unfinished, that it went to a cliff, and that the bridge had never even been planned. It was entirely my fault for imagining that, once I reached the cliff’s edge, I’d have wings big enough to fly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
harrison
I foldedthe checkered picnic blanket and placed it at the bottom of the basket, then began filling the basket with preserves, buns, and cups, leaving enough room for a thermos of coffee that would sit on top.
The morning sunlight slanted through the window in the kitchen, warming up my bare feet on the tiled floor.
When the key turned in the lock, a smile tugged on the corners of my lips. He’d been gone all day yesterday, busy with the midterms, so I’d used the day to catch up on my own workload, but I had missed him.
I’d missed him like crazy.
Cuddling Taylor on the sofa was so much more exciting than writing pages upon pages of essays.
The door opened and shut, and then the keys touched the wooden surface of the dresser in the hallway. His footsteps were quiet and slow as he walked over to the kitchen.
I could feel his gaze on the back of my head when he stopped in the doorway. My shoulders and head moved in the rhythm of Pink Floyd’s “Learning to Fly,” and I half expected him to come over, put his hands on my hips, and dance with me. There was never a time Taylor didn’t want to dance. It was what I adored about him so much.
Except, he stood there, watching me. As the song began to fade, I covered the basket with a kitchen towel and turned to look at him. Dark hair framed his long, elegant face, and his gaze locked on my eyes. “Hey, handsome,” I said. “Don’t I get a kiss?”
Taylor lifted a corner of his lips, stood in the doorway with his arms crossed on his chest, then moved one foot in front of the other and stepped into the kitchen.
He walked over to me, tucking his hands into his pockets, and paused a moment before his lips touched mine. He looked into my eyes, held my gaze for a long, long time, holding his breath for a while, then blinked once. When he kissed me, his hands reached for my hips, and he held on to me for several long seconds, lips moving softly over mine.
When he pulled his head back, he wore a mysterious smile I couldn’t quite decipher. “Hi,” he said.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
He nodded slowly, then shook his head. “I need to tell you something.”
“Something nice?” I asked, but there was a tingle of anxiety deep in my stomach.
“I think so,” Taylor said. “Hope so.”
“Go on,” I said.
He took a step back and made his smile a little brighter, a little more encouraging. Okay. Good news, then. “Emma and Michael broke up,” he said.
I stared at him. For a moment, maybe longer, I didn’t know what those words meant. I didn’t know who those people were, what they were up to, and why he would be telling me. But then, like a splash of cold water, the realization came over me. “What?” I whispered.
He looked so calm, so composed. So relaxed. “It’s not good,” he said simply. “He hurt her feelings. They had a fight about it in public. Apparently, he cheated with her best friend.”
“Are you kidding me?” I asked. But it wasn’t like Taylor to joke like this. I had nothing to say. The truth was too terrible to talk about. Even discussing it behind Emma’s back felt like stabbing her with a dagger. “Taylor…”
But Taylor lifted those fine, expressive eyebrows of his, and his eyes glimmered brightly. “It’s your chance, Harrison.”
My brow furrowed into a frown.
But he didn’t let me say anything. “I know she needs you. She lost her boyfriend and her best friend in the same breath. You should be there. To think, all of this was for nothing.” He cracked a laugh. “But it was good fun.”
I shook my head. What did that even mean? “Taylor.”
“Hey,” he said. “You’re getting the girl, Harrison.”
I licked my lips. Part of me leaped with excitement that there still was a chance. I hated that part of myself. “But…but.”
“But what?” He laughed. “What are you waiting for?”
