Falling For Her Enemy [Book #5]

Chapter 5

Harper's POV
"Relax, Harps," Olive said, trying to reassure me. I was doing fine until I actually saw Miles. Curly haired, adorable smile, glasses wearing Miles. He was standing over by the bar, bopping his head to the music. "You have nothing to worry about. You look good."

"I know I look good," I replied. I was wearing a cute yellow bikini that complimented my skin and tattoos well. I had a decent body, too. "That's not what I'm worried about. I mean, what if Miles doesn't like me?"

"Miles wouldn't have agreed to the date if he didn't like you, Harps," Hayden said.

I nodded my head in understanding. That made sense. If he wasn't interested, then he would have said no. But then again, if he liked me, then why wait all this long time? Unless he wasn't sure I liked him back. All these thoughts were going through my head. It was overwhelming.

I took a breath like I've seen my brother Declan do so many times before when he's anxious about something. I did the exercise a few times, counting to five in my head until I felt myself begin to calm.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Olive hugged me. "You got this." 

I gave her a small smile and walked over to the bar. Miles looked up, a blush immediately blossoming on his cheeks when he saw me. 

It made my own cheeks redden. "Hey."

"Hey. You look really good."

"Thank you." I'm not usually this shy. But I've had a crush on Miles for a while. I could have told him I liked him a long time ago, but every time I tried to, I'd end up bringing up art instead.

Miles was wearing a plain white tee with a red Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts and a black necklace. He was looking everywhere but at me, visibly as nervous as me. So, to ease our nervousness, I took his hand and pulled him closer to the bonfire where everyone was talking and dancing.

Since he'd left his drink, he kept fidgeting with his hands. Smiling, I took his hands and placed them on my hips. He took a breath. "Wow, I uh haven't done this in quite a while."

"What? Dancing?" I questioned with a slight tilt of my head.

He shook his head and said, "Dating. Especially with a girl as pretty as you."

I chuckled and averted my gaze so he couldn't see my face redden like a tomato. I caught my brother and my best friend grinning over at us, and I mouthed a, "Shut up."

When I brought my gaze back to Miles, he was smiling and staring at me. "What?"

"Nothing. You're just really pretty. I mean, you have the prettiest green eyes."

"Thanks," I muttered, my mind flashing to the interaction I had with Landon at the juice bar.

"I never realized how-"

"If you say anything about how green my eyes are, I'm going to puke."

"Actually, I was going to comment on your freckles. They remind me of constellations."

Now annoyed, I quickly changed the subject. The last person I wanted to be thinking about was that asshole. I cleared my throat. "I need a drink. I'll be back."

"Oh, okay."

I didn't mean to come off inconsiderate. I appreciated the compliment. I did. Gosh, leave it up to Landon Avery to ruin my mood even without physically being here.

When I reached the bar, I ordered a beer. In seconds, a blue solo cup was placed in front of me. I thanked the bartender and took a sip of the drink.

Olive appeared by my side, wondering what happened. I told her that Miles was a good guy, but there was something missing. Something I needed from him that he wasn't giving me.

"But you've had a crush on him for months."

"I know," I replied with a sigh. I wasn't sure what had happened. Perhaps I had created this image of what it would be like when we finally interacted. But the chemistry's not there. We had more chemistry when he didn't know I had a crush on him.

"Well, the date just started. Give him a chance. Maybe you'll feel that spark you're missing."

Maybe.

I returned to Miles. He and I danced, and after some time, things started to loosen up for us. We were comfortable and less awkward around each other. We ended up talking about all sorts of things. My love for plants and flowers, his love for art. We even talked about our plans after we graduate.

We were so immersed in our conversation that we decided to move away from the bonfire and relax on the sand near the ocean. I was laughing at some joke he made when I caught him staring at my lips. My heart thumped, and I met his eyes.

"Harper?"

"Yeah?" I was breathless, the sound of my beating heart loud in my ears. The crashing of the waves, the beauty of the moonlight, the way Miles was looking at me. I ignored that feeling inside of me telling me something was missing. Because to me, this was perfect. Miles was perfect.

He leaned in closer. "Can I ki-"

The collective gasp from the crowd caused me to tear my gaze from my date. I heard shouting, one of the angry voices sounding very much like my brother. I shot to my feet when I spotted who my brother was yelling at.

When the hell did he get here? Better yet, why the hell is he here? 

I excused myself, rushing out an apology as I rushed in to stop my brother from fighting at our parents' benefit. I saw all of the phones immediately being taken out to record.

Landon and Hayden were going back and forth, Olive trying to grab Hayden's arm and pull him away while the guys with Landon kept trying to get their friend to calm down.

Hayden's getting ready to go viral... again. I grunted out in frustration as I stepped in between my brother and Landon. I shoved Landon back, cursing at him. "Why the fuck are you here? Leave!"

Landon didn't even look at me. He wiped the blood from his mouth, I'm assuming from when Hayden hit him. I don't even know what happened, but knowing these two, it probably didn't take much to provoke them.

Landon spit in the sand, coughing up a laugh. "Do you always need your baby sister to fight your battles for you, huh, Isaacs?"

I shoved Landon again. "Didn't I say leave? Get the fuck out!"

Landon's eyes finally met mine. Hatred was all I saw in them. I thought he was going to make some snarky, rude ass comment like he always does. But instead he and his friends turned and left.

I turned to my brother. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Damn it," he growled, rubbing his bruised hand. "I was fucking handling it. You didn't need to get involved."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Are you seriously mad at me? It's not my fault you two dickheads don't know how to act at a public event."

"I need some fucking weed," Hayden said with a huff as he started storming off to his car.

My eyes rolled. "What even happened?" I asked Olive.

She seemed just as annoyed with the situation as I was. "Hayden told Landon and his friends they weren't welcome, and then shit hit the fan."

I nodded, not surprised. "Of course."

Olive nodded in agreement before leaving to catch up with my brother. Having forgotten all about Miles, he stood before me wide-eyed and concerned. "Uh, do you need a hug?"

I gave him a small smile, finding his attempt to comfort me adorable. "Sure." His arms snaked around my waist, while mine wrapped around his neck.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking down at me.

"I am now," I told him with a nod, before finishing where we started and kissing him.