Chapter 36: Movies and Chill?
Justin’s POV
I leaned my forehead against the steering wheel and laughed. "Shit."
Harper looked at me, her brows knitting together. "What?"
"I actually stood up to my dad." The words sounded unreal even as I said them. For twenty-three years I had swallowed every insult, every unfair comparison, every quiet reminder thati was never enough. Tonight I had finally snapped, and the strangest part was that I couldn’t bring myself to regret a single word of it.
I looked over at Harper. "And you."
She blinked. "What about me?"
"You were incredible."
A faint blush crept onto her cheeks. "I wasn’t."
"You absolutely were." I turned toward her fully. "You walked into a room full of people who wanted to make you feel small, and somehow they ended up looking smaller than you."
She laughed softly. "I was terrified. tho"
"I couldn’t tell."
"Oh, trust me." She pressed a hand against her chest. "My heart was trying to escape my body and it was beating so loud."
I chuckled. "I sincerely thought you were going to cry."
"So did I." She looked out through the windshield. "But then she mentioned my mom." Her smile disappeared. "I couldn’t just sit there." She looked back at me. "And I definitely couldn’t sit there while they treated you the way they were treating you." Her voice softened. "Justin, I’ve heard the gossip about you. I’ve seen people talk and day nasty things about you. But watching your own family do it right in front of you..." She shook her head slowly. " That was really heartbreaking."
Something tightened painfully inside my chest. Nobody had ever said that to me before. Nobody had ever looked at my family and simply named what I had been pretending wasn’t there. She had, without me explaining it, without me asking her to.
"My grandma already loves you," I said quietly, trying to change the subject.
"I love her too. And your grandpa." She said with a smile on her face.
"They’re amazing."
"They really are."
"I wish I saw them more." I nodded slowly. "We should kidnap them one day. Take them out for dinner, just us, no family politics, no Vanessa, no Dad and no wicked witch of the west."
Her smile widened. "I’d genuinely like that."
"So would they."
Silence settled between us, comfortable and easy in a way that still caught me off guard sometimes. I studied her for a moment, looking at her soft face. The soft blue dress. The loose waves in her hair. The tiny crease between her brows whenever she was thinking too hard about something.
She was beautiful. Not because of the dress or the makeup or the way Daniel’s team had prepared her for the evening. Because she had walked into a battlefield tonight and somehow walked out with her kindness completely intact and I loved that about her.
"My little badass," I said.
She looked at me. "Your what?"
"My little badass."
She laughed. "When exactly did I become that?"
"Honestly? I’m not sure." I reached over and gently hooked one finger beneath the delicate chain resting against her neck. Not enough to pull her closer, just enough to keep her from looking away. "You’ve changed."
She tilted her head. "Is that a good thing?"
"The best thing." I smiled. "The girl who cried because Ethan embarrassed her just completely dismantled Vanessa Hayes at her own dinner table."
She burst out laughing. "I was angry. I couldn’t help it."
"I noticed."
"You should’ve seen your face."
"Oh, I saw yours." She covered her face with both hands. "I cannot believe I asked if she wanted to kiss her own stepbrother."
I laughed so hard I had to lean back against my seat. "Harper."
"What?"
"You absolutely broke her."
"Good."
I looked at her then. Really looked at her. My laughter slowly faded. She lowered her hands from her face and our eyes met and neither of us spoke. The truck suddenly felt very quiet. My heartbeat refused to cooperate the way I needed it to.
I had kissed her before. Outside the hospital. At school. For photographs. For the contract. But every single one of those kisses had belonged to the arrangement. This one would belong to me.
I reached up slowly and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She didn’t move. Didn’t pull away. Didn’t even blink.
"Justin?"
My name had never sounded softer.
"I need to thank you," I said.
"You already did."
"No." I shook my head. "I really haven’t." She frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
I leaned closer. "So many people have stood beside me because they wanted something. Maybe a little favor or my name. My reputation. My future." I smiled sadly. "but you stood beside me because someone was hurting me."
Her eyes softened immediately. "Of course I did."
Three words. Spoken so simply, like there had never been another option. That was it. That was the exact moment I knew I was completely in trouble.
I closed the distance between us qucikly.
This kiss was nothing like the others we have had. Now, there were no cameras, no teammates, no audience, no pretending. Just her and her soft lips.
My hand cupped her cheek gently as my lips met hers, slow and careful, She kissed me back, tentatively at first, then with a little more confidence. A quiet moan escaped her, barely louder than a breath, and every sane thought I had disappeared instantly.
We finally pulled apart, trying so hard to cath her breath. She looked dazed. Honestly, I probably looked worse. I rested my forehead lightly against hers, placing small kisses along her cheek bones.
"I’ve wanted to do that for a long time."
"Really?" She gasped, lifting up her eyes to meet mine
"I’m getting tired of fake kisses." My thumb brushed gently across her cheek. "I wanted one that was actually true and mine."
She looked at me for a long moment. Then gave the smallest nod. "So kiss me again."
I didn’t need to be told twice.
I grabbed her chin, pulling her closer to me. The second kiss was unhurried. My fingers slipped into her hair, pulling her more to me. Her fingers found the front of my jacket, clutching the fabric like a life line.
After what felty like hours, we finally broke apart, neither of us spoke. We just sat there smiling like complete idiots.
A laugh escaped my lips. "What?" she asked. "I think we forgot about the movie." I glanced at the dashboard clock, then toward the road leading back to her neighborhood. "It’s almost midnight." Her smile faded slightly. "Emma and Noah are probably asleep. I can’t wake everyone up just to let me in."
I thought for a moment. "You could stay at my place." Her eyebrows lifted. I quickly added, "We’ll order popcorn and actually watch a movie." She narrowed her eyes playfully. "Are we?" I smirked. "I mean, I paid good money for that television." She laughed. "Fine. Movies." "Movies," I agreed.
Twenty minutes later the elevator doors slid shut behind us. The ride up was strangely quiet. Harper stood in front of me, facing the mirrored doors. From where I stood I could see the gentle curve of her shoulders, the elegant line of her back beneath the blue fabric of her dress.
Beautiful. Absolutely, dangerously beautiful.
Before I could think better of it, my fingertips found the small of her back. Just a gentle touch,drawing tiny circles on her back. She drew in a tiny breath.
"Justin."
My name rolled off her tongue so softly, sending sparks down my body. I closed my eyes for half a second.
This girl is going to be the absolute death of me.
The elevator chimed. The doors slid open. Neither of us moved immediately.
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