MORE THAN TEAMMATES | AJ BRIMSON

Two years ago, Harper Reid and AJ Brimson were never together.

That was the problem.

They were best friends who blurred every line without ever crossing the final one. Late-night phone calls became drives home after training. Movie nights ended with Harper's legs thrown across AJ's lap. Arguments carried far too much jealousy for two people who insisted they were only friends.

Everyone around them could see it.

Harper and AJ were the only ones stubborn enough to pretend they couldn't.

Until one night changed everything.

Alone in a kitchen after a party, years of almost became seconds away from finally. His hand found her waist. Hers curled into his shirt. AJ told her to ask him to move.

She didn't.

They never got the chance to find out what came next.

Three days later, Harper saw AJ with another woman. Hurt and too proud to ask for an explanation, she took an opportunity away from the Gold Coast and left behind the Titans, her closest friends and the man she'd convinced herself had never wanted her in the first place.

Now Harper is coming home.

She's older. She's established herself as one of the NRLW's best. And pulling on Titans colours again should feel like the easiest decision she's ever made.

Except AJ is still there.

So are the teammates who remember exactly what they were like together.

And when Harper walks back into the club after two years away, she quickly discovers that time hasn't erased nearly as much as she'd hoped.

Because AJ still knows exactly how to get under her skin.

Harper still knows when he's entered a room without having to look.

And the chemistry they never dealt with?

That's only gotten worse.

This time, though, they aren't twenty-three and hiding behind friendship.

There are careers, teammates, cameras, exes and two entire Titans squads close enough to notice every lingering stare.

And there are things Harper still doesn't know.

Like why AJ came to her house the night