“That wasn’t a question,” Harmony whispered, realizing just how close they’d gotten as he smiled against her lips.
“Does it have to be?” he whispered back, pressing a tender kiss to the corner of her mouth.
“Kind of,” she answered, her voice hardly more than a breathless gasp as he kissed her again.
“Will you have brunch with me?”
“Okay,” she said, smiling softly as his kissed the tip of her nose. “I guess it’s a date, then.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted it to be.”
Chapter Twenty
Waking up the next morning, Harmony slid out of bed, her stomach fluttering nervously as she padded to the shower. “A date. I can’t believe I have a date. A real date. Oh … crap, what do I wear?” Twisting the knobs to turn on the water, she stripped her pajamas off and dropped them hastily in the middle of the bathroom floor before stepping under the spray.
“Even Turner was never really a date. It was like hanging with a friend. And Xander ... totally not just a friend. Oh my God, this is like my first date,” she muttered, turning her back to the spray. “What kind of nerd am I, going on my first real date right now? Like I’m twelve or something. Jeez, I’m old enough to vote, for goodness sake! What the heck am I going to wear?”
Lathering her hair with her favorite raspberry-scented shampoo, Harmony reminded herself that Xander had seen her covered in sweat, dressed in everything from sparkling spandex to soaked and torn sweat pants in training. “Well, that does make things easier,” she muttered, leaning back to rinse the suds from her hair. “Barely.”
By the time she was stepping out of the shower, Harmony had talked herself into her usual calm, cheerful attitude. “It’s gonna be fine, it’s just a date,” she reminded herself, wrapping a towel around her body as she walked back to her bedroom. “And if Cameron can get married, then surely I can go on a date, right? Knowing that horrible things can happen does not guarantee them happening, so I just need to get over myself and stop being paranoid.”
Stepping into the closet, she slid hangers along the rack, discarding dresses, tops, skirts. Frustrated, Harmony threw her hands into the air and groaned. “Okay, this cannot possibly be this hard. Let’s just make this simple. It may be my first real date, but it’s not like I’m some kind of socially awkward, acne crusted teenager. I can do this. I can. So the best way to figure it out is …” Trailing off, Harmony rolled her eyes as an obvious answer occurred to her. “Okay. What would Whitney do?”
Closing her eyes, Harmony imagined her pushy friend, with her sassy cheer and undeniable charm. “Okay, I got it.” Stepping forward, she opened her eyes and reached for a sundress that was casual but also sexy – too sexy for Harmony’s usually cautious nature. In fact, she was a bit embarrassed to notice that the dress still had a tag hanging from one side. Swallowing the lump of nervousness that had grown in her throat, she slipped the dress from the hanger and carefully tore the tag from the turquoise colored fabric.
“And accessories. She’d never let me out of the house without accessories, of course.”
Finally, Harmony left her apartment building, excitement and nervousness warring in the pit of her stomach. She wore the turquoise dress with a wide brown leather belt fastened just below her breasts; the simple hem of the skirt tickled slightly around her knees as she walked, and the heels of her brown leather boots clicked cheerfully along the pavement. Turquoise beads graced one slender wrist, and a woven necklace of brown leather and turquoise beads circled her throat.
Sliding into the Xterra and starting the engine, she turned to lift her cell phone from the brown leather handbag she’d chosen. Activating the screen, she keyed in a quick text to Xander: I’m leaving my place now. Still meeting at the diner? She let her head drop back against the headrest as she waited for his reply, smiling.
“Hmm,” she murmured to herself. “Harmony Kingsley, on a date.”
The phone chimed, vibrating gently in her hand, and she looked down to see Xander’s reply on the screen: I’m actually headed there right now. See you soon.
He was waiting on a bench outside of the diner when Harmony pulled into the parking lot, dressed simply in worn blue jeans and a black button-down shirt. Catching sight of the bright yellow Xterra, he waved, rising from the bench and walking over to her as she slipped into a parking space.
“Hey there, pretty girl,” he said, smiling down at her as she pushed the car door open and slid out of the car.
“Pretty girl?” Harmony teased. “My goodness, have you forgotten my name already?”
“Never! I don’t forget the pretty ones,” Xander teased back with a wink. “And you? You are unforgettable.”
Shaking her head, Harmony laughed. “You say that like I haven’t seen the beauty queens you work with,” she said.
“Ha, divas, all of them,” he laughed, watching her drop her phone and keys into her handbag. Once she’d tucked it under her arm, her took her hand, leading her gently away from the car and toward the diner.
“Divas, are they?” Harmony asked, pretending to be horrified. “All of them? You poor thing, that must be so terrible for you!”
“Well, I get by,” Xander answered, stepping away to hold the door open for her.
“I bet you do,” Harmony laughed, stepping through the door and leading the way to her favorite booth.
“Hey, Harmony,” a waitress said, giggling as she stopped at their table. Trying desperately not to stare at Xander, she focused on Harmony as she said, “I haven’t seen you in here in a while!”
“Yeah, I stay pretty busy these days,” Harmony laughed easily, meeting the chocolate eyes of the waitress before turning to look at her menu. “I got a new job, working with this charmer.”
The waitress flushed, glancing over at Xander before turning her focus back to Harmony. “I know,” she said. “I saw you guys last week on the show.”
“You watch wrestling?” Harmony asked, surprised.
“Sometimes. I used to watch it with my dad,” the girl replied. “You look great out there, both of you.”
“Thanks, Mari,” Harmony laughed, reaching out to lightly touch Mari’s forearm.
“No problem. What can I get you two?”
“You know what, can we have a few minutes before we order?”
“Sure,” Mari said, grinning. “I’ve got to refill some coffees, so I’ll just be right back. Can I bring you guys some drinks?” Looking from Harmony to Xander, she blushed slightly before turning back to Harmony.
“I’ll just have water, please,” Harmony said. Xander ordered coffee, and as Mari slipped away from the table, Harmony picked a menu from the edge of the table and unfolded it to look inside. “You know what you want to eat, Xander?”
Waiting until she’d looked up, Xander smiled slowly. “Eggs and bacon, of course. Man food, and thank goodness this place serves breakfast all day. What about you?”
“Same thing I usually eat for breakfast,” Harmony laughed, pointing to a spot on her menu. “Yogurt, toast, fruit.”
“No wonder you’re so tiny!” Xander teased, reaching over the table to circle her wrist with his fingers.
“As opposed to being huge like you? Definitely would have made gymnastics more challenging!” Harmony reached for a bundle of silverware, ripping the paper napkin holder and unfolding the napkin to access her straw.
“I guess it would have,” Xander replied. “Besides, I like it that you’re tiny.”
“Why?” Harmony asked, looking up curiously as she twisted the paper away from the straw in her hand.
Xander leaned back against the booth, sighing. “This is where I’m going to blow the whole date,” he said. “Because that, my dear, is a trick question.”
“Oh, is it?” Propping her elbows on the edge of the table, Harmony rested her chin in her hands, watching as Xander smiled.
“It is,” he said. “Because if I say I like that you’re tiny because it’s cute, then you’ll think I
don’t see you as womanly. And if I say it’s because it appeals to the masculine wiring that makes us want to feel like a protector, then I’m either too old-fashioned and chauvinistic or I’m just moving too fast. Either way, there’s not a good answer. So I’ll say ‘I like it that you’re tiny, simply because I do.’ How’s that?”
“Very clever. And vague while still making me feel like my question has been answered. My, my, Mr. Harrison, that may have been downright political,” Harmony grinned approvingly. “But I’ll go ahead and ease your fears … I don’t do trick questions. I’m pretty easy to please, honestly. Just be straight with me, and that’s all I’m asking.”
Nodding quietly, Xander waited until the waitress had settled their drinks on the table and taken their orders. As she walked away, he leaned closer to Harmony and said, “I think I can handle that. So, do we do that cheesy first-date stuff now? Tell me about your hobbies and your favorite food?”
“Haha, I’ll pass. I wouldn’t know what to do anyway, I don’t exactly date a lot. How about we play a little game instead? Whitney says it’s fun, and I always wanted to try it.”
Sipping his coffee, Xander watched Harmony over the rim of the heavy mug in his hands. “Is this game legal to play in a public diner?” he asked. “Because we have to be really careful now. AWG frowns upon bad press, my dear.”
Laughing, Harmony rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s legal, silly. What kind of girl do you think I am? Or that Whitney is?”
“Alright, then,” he said, winking as he settled the steaming mug back on the table. “How do we play this little game?”
“Okay. First, you have to tell me something about you, anything you want to tell. The point is that you can’t just tell me something stupid, though.”
“Oh, I see,” he grinned. “So what you’re saying is, this is the perfect time for me to tell you all my deepest, darkest secrets?”
“No!” Harmony laughed. “Not really huge things, it can be something little. But it has to be something that matters to you a little. It should be something that I need to know.”
“Alright, I think I can do that then. And then you’ll go?”
“And then I’ll go,” she answered with a nod.
Reaching over the table, Xander took her hand, his thumb sweeping little circles along the back of her hand as he watched her thoughtfully. “I … Hmm. Okay, I am allergic to bees.”
“Good to know,” Harmony answered, leaning back to allow the waitress to arrange their plates on the table. “No dates to bee farms. Okay, my turn. Umm, I hate when guys give girls flowers.”
“You do? Why?” Lifting a piece of bacon from his plate, Xander took a bite, watching Harmony curiously as he chewed.
“It’s clichéd, I guess.” Shrugging, she poked at the triangle of toast on one side of her plate. “It’s like, everyone does that. And it’s always roses, so maybe it just bothers me that it’s not really individual.”
“Okay, I can see where you’d see that.”
“And what’s worse, at least to me anyway, is that most guys who give a girl flowers are giving her the same thing he has always bought for every other girl,” Harmony said. “It makes it look like the girl is interchangeable, because no matter what girl a guy is with, he’s still gonna get the same roses he bought for every other girl on Valentine’s Day. The whole flowers, thing, it’s generic.”
“Hmm, that is definitely something I needed to know,” Xander winked, digging his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans. “Hang on, I have to call off the flower squad that was supposed to fill your apartment with roses.”
Laughing, Harmony bit carefully into a ripe, red strawberry. “You joke, but I just mean that when a guy makes a romantic gesture to a girl, it should be individual to the girl, and that lasting gestures are much better. Flowers just die and fall apart and it makes a mess, and if you forget to change the water it stinks really bad.”
“Fair enough. So what do I get you then, if we make it to Valentine’s Day?”
“A card,” Harmony said, smiling widely, her eyes lighting with anticipation. “I keep those – the good ones anyway. I guess I kind of collect them.”
“That’s cute,” Xander laughed. “Okay, my turn. I am a major movie buff. I have this huge built-in shelf in my house and it’s like a library, but DVDs instead of books.”
“For real?”
“Yep, it covers a full wall in the den,” Xander said, laughing again as he finished the last of his bacon. “You’re welcome to come see it one day if you want.”
“That would be cool ... one day,” Harmony agreed, laughing. “Sounds like you definitely have a lot of movies. Any ones a girl would like?”
“You might be surprised,” he said with a wink. “Your turn.”
“Okay, let’s see. Oh, here’s something! I am recently completely obsessed with candles. My apartment is full of them, thanks to my sister-in-law, Cass. She’s my older brother’s wife, and she gave me a ton of them when I moved into my apartment.”
“Means, the place probably smells like a flower garden full of fruit baskets, huh?”
“Yep,” Harmony nodded. “And I love it. But now I can’t stop buying them.” Finishing her toast, Harmony picked up her spoon and lifted a scoop of yogurt from the little glass in front of her. “Your turn.”
“Alright. You know how most kids are afraid of the monster in the closet?” Xander leaned forward, lowering his voice as if he were sharing a protected secret. Waiting until Harmony had nodded, her eyes sparkling with repressed laughter, he went on. “I wasn’t scared of a monster.”
“I was,” Harmony answered dryly. “I didn’t find out till I was twelve that the monster under my bed was usually my brother Drew. You didn’t have a monster?”
“Nope,” Xander said, shaking his head. “But I was terrified of dragons.”
“You’re kidding me. Is that where the dragon thing came from? And the flame tattoos and stuff?”
“Yep. I don’t know what it was, but I watched this one movie when I was a kid – I don’t remember the name of it, but there was this huge dragon in it and I was completely terrified. And after that, I would dream about that dragon all the time. It would come out from wherever I was in the dream and breathe fire all over me, and my arms would be on fire, and when I’d flap them – freaking out, of course – then I’d turn into a dragon and start flying away.”
Harmony dropped her face into her hands, laughing. “I’m sorry,” she giggled helplessly. “I can’t help it. That is maybe the cutest thing I have ever heard. Because,” she gasped, struggling to contain her laughter, “Now you’ve grown up, and your arms are on fire, and … and, Xander … you’re a dragon!” Dissolving into helpless giggles, Harmony reached for Xander’s hand, dabbing her napkin beneath her eyes.
“Well, you know what they say,” he said quietly, winking at her across the table. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“I can’t believe you got me passes to do this!” Whitney exclaimed, her blue eyes wide and sparkling with excitement as she wandered through the hallways with Harmony.
“It’s nothing, really,” Harmony laughed. “I can’t do it all the time, but I thought you’d like to see.”
“Of course! I love seeing the way things work behind the scenes! But there is something I want to know that being here won’t tell me,” Whitney teased, bumping her elbow lightly against Harmony’s side as they walked. They were backstage at the arena for that week’s AWG show, wandering together, talking until the time came for Harmony to dress for her first match.
“Oh? What’s that?” Harmony laughed, knowing exactly what Whitney was asking.
Whitney groaned. “Are you seriously going to torture me? How was your date?”
“It was good; we had a lot of fun together,” Harmony said, nodding slightly as she steered Whitney around a corner and down another seemingly endless hallway. “He’s been texting me, just chatting about stuff.”
“No phone calls?”
“Well, we both stay pretty busy with training,” Harmony shrugged. “Like you and me, I guess. I’m working and he’s working, so we don’t always end up having a lot of time. I mean, it’s no different than us, going days sometimes without talking.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Whitney agreed. “Although, we don’t go that long very often, huh?”
“Well, he’s still helping Bethany with Laney and the baby, too, so there’s that. I think once I’m settled into the rhythm of AWG and he’s got a little less on his plate, we might see more of each other then. Right now, I’m good with things going really slow.”
Wrestling Harmony (The Kingsley Series) Page 15