Reagan's Readings

Chapter Seventeen

The kiss in itself wasn't the longest or the most passionate, but I'll be damned if I didn't feel it all the way down to my toes. My brain was only just starting to compute the situation and deciding what to do next (most likely go in for the kill) when I felt Yoshi pull away. I made a sound in the back of my throat in protest and opened my eyes, ready to tell him to bring his face back to mine when he shook his head at me and gestured towards the door.

"We're going to be having company in a second," he said, somewhat distantly, which came across as funny to me seeing as he just had his mouth on mine. I looked towards the door just as someone came into view. 

Ah. The distance in his voice suddenly made sense. 

Harper opened the door to the shop and stepped in. My thoughts were pretty evenly divided between what the hell just happened with Yoshi and what the hell is she doing here at this point.

"Rae!" she said animatedly, grinning widely at me. 

I smiled softly in return, standing up to greet her. 

"Hey, Harp. What are you doing here?"

Harper face turned a shade darker as she stared down at her shoes and glanced at me through her lashes. Between the expression she was wearing and Yoshi's still quiet demeanor, I could guess fairly well what she was doing here. 

I felt trapped. I was in a lose-lose situation. Harper was on one side of a line, beautiful and radiant as ever - still every bit the girl I had once loved. However, Yoshi was standing strong on the other side as somebody I didn't know I wanted and as a presence I had come enjoy and crave. 

Breaking my thoughts, I felt a hand graze my elbow and I withdrew from the confines of my head. 

It was Yoshi. 

"Hey," he said gently. "Why don't you two go grab a coffee or something. It's been a slow day, I can manage this place on my own for a little while."

I hesitated. What was he trying to do? Was this a trick?

He shook his head, almost imperceptibly, signaling that he was answering my question.

If it wasn't a trick, why would he want Harper and I to be alone together? Especially after we just kissed?

He answered aloud this time, in a way that didn't give away the thoughts I was having to Harper. 

"I think some time alone to talk is just what you guys need, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, Rae," Harper spoke from behind me, her hand grabbing mine. 

"Give up a teeny bit of that responsibility for an hour and come get coffee with me," she teased gently. 

Did I really have a choice at this point?

"Okay," I responded, still unsure. "Call me if you need anything, Yoshi."

He nodded and shooed us out the door. 

Once we were away from the shop, being around Harper felt just like old times. She hadn't let go of my hand since we left, and I hadn't made any moves to release hers either. Part of me still had butterflies at her touch. 

We reached Starbucks, and she bounced up to the counter to order our coffees. I didn't have the heart to tell her my order wasn't the same as it used to be, and graciously accepted my old favorite drink as she offered it up to me. 

"Thank you," I said, blowing at the steam rising from it.

She shrugged it off and beamed at me from across our table.