Elise felt herself drifting somewhere else entirely. Her mind was on Harper climbing that stupid cliff. To the way Elise’s body had felt when she’d seen her, like she was looking a great white shark dead in the eye, and then to Harper walking across the beach like nothing was amiss as her linen shirt clung to her stomach, to her perfect breasts.
She blinked.
The confessional had ended. The screen had gone dark.
“Fantastic,” Elise muttered to herself, dragging a hand down her face. She inhaled hard, breathing in air that smelled like lemon peels and salt. She quickly tapped the next video before her brain could zone out. She promised herself she’d concentrate this time.
Jamie appeared on the screen. She was sitting cross-legged on the chair. Her dark hair, the side that wasn’t shaved, fell onto her shoulder. She was dressed in a white tank top. Wait, was that a stain on the bottom right-hand corner? Elise squinted. Yes, it was. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Hopefully, it would go unnoticed.
Katy’s voice came through first. “So, why did you decide to enter the show?”
Jamie twirled a silver ring around her middle finger. Elise could just make out that it was a skull. No. Two skulls with their noses touching. “Honestly?” Jamie asked. “Mostly boredom and curiosity.” Her grin was more crooked than a boxer’s nose after too many punches. “I like putting myself in situations that are unexpected. I’ve always chased experiences. Life’s too short to sit on the sidelines.”
Katy’s voice came again. “So, if you could describe yourself using only one word, would it be impulsive or adventurous?”
“Can it be both?” she asked, smiling again. “I love adrenaline. Always have. I’ve gone skydiving, bungee jumping, paragliding, you name it. But I’m also the type of person who will be up at three a.m. and take the subway for fun. Even entering this show was a last-minute decision. But I want to be here.” She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. “Honestly, I came here to annoy people a little bit. Make them laugh.” She then sat back and stretched out her arms, and Elise could see three more tattoos. A six-legged octopus, a mermaid’s tail attached to a lion’s front half, and what looked like an incomplete heart. “If Megan is into that, we’ll click. It’s still early days.”
CRACK!
A branch snapped somewhere behind Elise. She yelped so hard her knees jerked, and her iPad went flying to the ground.Jamie’s voice came out muffled through the speaker, but Elise wasn’t listening because suddenly Harper appeared from behind one of the lemon trees.
Seriously. Couldn’t Elise catch a break?
She stood up and snatched her iPad from the ground. “What the hell are you doing?” she snapped, only realizing once the words were out that she’d said them multiple times today already. And all three times, the question had been directed at Harper. “All I want is some peace and quiet. Is that really too much to ask? How did you even—”
But before Elise could finish her sentence, Harper stepped closer. Too close, in fact. Close enough that Elise could smell the faint tang of sunscreen on her skin. Close enough that she could make out the tiny links of Harper’s gold necklace, each one catching the sunlight, and the miniature compass pendant that rose and fell with each of her breaths. Close enough that Elise could even see her heartbeat pulsing at a spot on her tanned neck.
“What are you—”
But she couldn’t get anything out because then Harper lifted a palm to Elise’s cheek and, well, whatever happened after that was a complete mystery.
Chapter Thirteen
Elise’s breath tasted like cherry ChapStick. Which was a knock on memory’s door. After ten years, Harper hadn’t forgotten what Elise’s lips had tasted like that night around the fire.
Her hands moved. One slid to the back of Elise’s neck, fingers threading into her curls. She tugged just enough to make Elise gasp softly against her mouth and let the other drift down Elise’s spine, skimming each warm ridge before finally gripping her waist to pull her in closer.
Elise met her halfway. Harper should’ve been surprised that Elise wasn’t jerking back and telling her to fuck off, but she wasn’t. Elise wanted this as badly as Harper did. She could tell by the way Elise had looked at her barely two minutes ago when Harper had surprised her by showing up in the garden. As soon as Harper had cupped Elise’s cheek, the invisible wall between them that Elise had erected all those years ago had finally come crumbling down.
Harper had felt it physically. Elise’s body had given way. She’d leaned into Harper like her legs were threatening to buckle. But Harper had held her upright. She was the kickstand to Elise’s toppling bicycle.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” Harper said, completely dismissing the other night. In fact, she preferred not to think about it. This was exactly how she had imagined their kiss would feel after all those years. Not Elise jerking back so fast, acting like she had been electrocuted. Not telling Harper to go when all she had wanted to do was to stay.
“Shh, before my brain realizes this is a mistake,” Elise said.
“It’s not a mistake, Elise.”
But Elise barely let her finish her thoughts. She caught Harper’s bottom lip between her teeth and then released it. She did this again. And again. Over and over. It wasn’t long before tongues touched. Breaths hitched. Lips slid over lips like magnets with nothing else to attach to.
Harper swore she could feel Elise’s heartbeat thrumming against her. It was fast and chaotic, just like the kiss. Then, suddenly, Harper pulled back just a fraction. “Do you want me to stop?” she whispered so softly she wondered if the words had even made it out of her mouth. Then she wondered why she was even asking them in the first place. Clearly, Harper most certainly did not want to stop. She found herself adding, “I don’t want to, but I will if you want me to.”
“Shh,” Elise said again, but this time she didn’t kiss Harper right back. First, she traced a finger along Harper’s exposed neckline, and then she moved closer until her lips hovered over Harper’s and whispered, “I think we should go back to my place.”
Harper’s entire body erupted in goosebumps. Without even saying yes, fantastic idea, she caught Elise’s hand in hers and laced their fingers.
Together they ran back up the stone steps. When they reached the pool, it was thankfully half-hidden by two olive trees. The contestants didn’t even notice; they were too enamored with Megan. Harper led Elise toward a narrow path that the villa staff used to bypass the pool and followed it down another steep set of stairs.
Two minutes later they reached Elise’s crew house.