Chapter 6 When His Lips Touched Mine.
Harper's POV,
The third period started and I could feel everyone watching me differently now.
Jessica kept leaning over to explain plays, like we were suddenly best friends. Brittany was asking me about Joel's team, all giggly and excited. Even Ashley seemed more relaxed, laughing every time I made a comment about the refs.
I pulled out my phone because I needed to see what people were saying. The photo I'd posted earlier had over 3000 likes and 200 comments already.
As I scrolled through, I found myself shrinking with every line… regretting why I even started.
‘Is that Crew Lawson???’
‘OMG she moved on FAST.’
‘Wait, isn't this Joel's ex? Messy af.’
‘Dating his rival? This girl is SAVAGE.’
‘Joel must be losing his mind right now.’
My hands were jittery, but I couldn’t stop scrolling even though I wanted to. It was as if there was a magnet under my thumb, pulling me down the screen.
"Girl, what are you doing?" Jessica grabbed my phone right out of my hand.
"First rule of dating a hockey player. Never, and I mean NEVER read the comments."
"Hey!" I reached for it but she held it away from me.
"I'm serious. You'll drive yourself crazy." She handed it back.
"People are going to say you're a gold digger, a puck bunny, doing it for revenge, doing it for attention. They're going to pick apart every single thing you do. But as long as YOU know why you're here? Screw them."
I shoved my phone back in my pocket. She was right, but still, easier said than done.
Down on the ice, Crew stole the puck from a Colorado player and took off. He was fast, weaving through defenders like they weren't even there. He took a shot and the goalie barely saved it.
"Your man is on fire tonight," Ashley said, grabbing my arm. "Did you see that? Two points already."
"He's not my—" I started but Brittany interrupted me.
"Oh PLEASE. He scored a goal and pointed at you. That's basically a marriage proposal in hockey language." She was bouncing in her seat.
"I'm living for this. Jessica, are you seeing this?"
"Absolutely," Jessica said into her drink, smiling.
My face felt hot. "You guys are reading way too much into this."
"Sure we are," all three of them said at the same time, which made me want to sink into my seat and disappear.
The game was almost over.
Five minutes left and the Titans were up by two. Everyone was on their feet, the energy in the whole arena was insane.
Every time the Titans touched the puck, the crowd went wild.
….
A few minutes later,
As everyone began catching their breath between plays, the noise died down, the lights dimmed slightly and music started playing in the arena.
Oh no.
I knew what was coming.
I'd been to enough games with Joel to recognize the kiss cam music. That cheesy romantic song they always played while the camera panned around looking for couples.
"Oh my God, kiss cam!" Brittany squealed. "I love this part!"
The camera started moving through the crowd. A young couple in the lower bowl kissed and everyone cheered. An older couple near center ice kissed and people gave them a standing ovation.
The camera kept moving and I tried to make myself smaller in my seat. Maybe if I didn't look at it, it wouldn't find us.
"Harper," Jessica said next to me. "The camera's coming this way."
"I know," I said through my teeth.
And then boom, there we were. Me and Crew on the jumbotron, my face taking up like half the screen. I looked terrified as fuck.
The crowd started chanting "KISS! KISS! KISS!"
I turned to look at Crew and he was already watching me, still and quiet, as if he was waiting for me to make the first move.
This was it.
The moment where we either made this look real or everyone saw right through us.
Without much thinking, I reached up, grabbed the front of his jacket, and pulled him to me.
His eyes went wide for just a second before my lips crashed into his.
I felt him freeze up in surprise and for a horrible moment I thought I'd miscalculated everything. But then his hand came up to cup my jaw and he kissed me back.
And oh God.
The moment his lips touched mine, everything else just disappeared. The crowd, the cameras, the fifteen thousand people watching us. Gone. All of it.
He kissed me slowly, like we had all the time in the world. Like we weren't sitting in a hockey arena with everyone staring at us. His lips were soft and warm and he tasted like mint gum and something else that made me want to pull him closer.
I was still gripping his jacket, which I used to drag him even closer to me. His thumb brushed across my cheekbone and that one touch made my entire body light up.
Four seconds. Maybe five. But it felt like forever.
When we broke apart, his eyes were dark and searching mine. Like he was trying to figure out if I'd just felt what he felt.
I had. That was the entire problem.
The crowd was going absolutely insane.
People were on their feet, shouting, fists punching the air as beer sloshed out of plastic cups.
Jessica was wolf-whistling so loud my ears hurt. Brittany was screaming something I couldn't even make out over the noise.
I forced myself to smile and wave at the camera like this was totally normal. Like I kissed men in front of thousands of people all the time.
Crew opened his mouth like he was going to say something but I cut him off.
"That should make the highlight reel," I said. My voice came out steadier than I expected.
He stared at me for a second. "Yeah… you're right. It definitely should."
The game picked up again, but my focus didn’t. Every pass, every cheer, every light felt distant compared to the memory of his mouth on mine, the warmth of his hand on my skin, the spark that still wouldn’t fade.
Truth is, that kiss wasn’t supposed to mean anything… but apparently, it looked like it did.
After a while, the Titans won three to one.
The whole arena erupted. Players skated around celebrating and tapping their sticks on the boards.
Crew looked up at our section one more time before heading to the locker room and as soon as our eyes met, my stomach did that stupid flipping thing again.
I pulled out my phone before I could overthink it and snapped a photo of the celebrating players.
Posted it to Instagram with the caption "Nothing like a win." adding three heart emojis.
Maya said to control the narrative. So that's what I was doing.
"Come on," Jessica said, standing up and stretching. "We wait for them by the locker room. That's where all the fun gossip happens anyway."
I grabbed my purse and followed her. The other women were already heading down to the lower level where there was a small waiting area with benches and chairs.
Other wives and girlfriends were there too, all dressed up and talking about the game.
I sat down next to Ashley and tried to act normal. Like I was totally fine and not internally freaking out about kissing Crew Lawson in front of fifteen thousand people.
"HOLY SHIT!" Brittany practically fell into the seat next to me, shoving her phone in my face. "Harper. HARPER. Look at this!" she yelled, tapping my lap for attention.
“The kiss, it's already gone viral. Twitter is losing it right now."
I took her phone with shaky hands. And to my surprise, she was right. The kiss cam footage was everywhere. Someone had even made it into a gif.
The comments were coming in so fast I couldn't even read them all.
"Let me see," Ashley leaned over to look.
"Oh my God, look at his face when you pull him in. He looks like he just got struck by lightning."
"In a good way though," Brittany added quickly. "In a very, ver-yyy good way."
Jessica sat down on my other side and handed me a water bottle. "Drink this. You look like you're about to pass out."
I took it because my mouth was dry and I still felt like I was running out of oxygen.
"So," Jessica said, leaning forward with that too-sweet smile she used whenever she smelled gossip.
"Was that your first kiss with him?”
"What?"
"With Crew. First kiss?" She was watching me way too carefully. "Because that did NOT look like two people who've been dating for a month.”
I opened the water bottle just to have something to do with my hands. "We've kissed before."
"Not like that you haven't," Brittany said, fanning herself with her hand. "Girl, that was totally intense! I felt like I was intruding and I wasn't even involved."
"It was for the cameras," I said, but even I could hear how defensive I sounded.
Jessica raised one perfect eyebrow. "Sure it was."
Before I could respond, the locker room doors opened and players started coming out.
They were all showered and dressed in suits now, looking nothing like the guys who'd just spent an hour beating each other up on the ice.
Their voices reached me before they did.
Down the hallway, I could hear them overlapping in a mess of laughter and mock insults. Someone shoved someone else, a bottle clinked against the wall, and I could practically smell the sweat and adrenaline before they even turned the corner.
"LAWSON'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!"
"About TIME, man!"
"She's way too good for you, bro!"
And then Crew walked out.
My breath literally caught in my throat. He was wearing a dark gray suit with no tie and his hair was still damp from the shower. He was looking unfairly gorgeous.
The kind that got my brain completely short circuited.
His teammates were still giving him shit but he ignored all of them as his eyes scanned the waiting area until they found me.
He walked over and I stood up.
We just stood there for a second, facing each other. Neither of us said anything about the kiss. In fact, neither of us said anything at all.
"Ready to go?" he finally asked.
"Yeah."
He didn't take my hand this time. Didn't put his arm around me. Just turned and started walking toward the exit and I followed him.
"Nice meeting you, Harper!" Jessica called out behind us. "See you at the next game!"
I waved but I couldn't get any words out. My throat felt too tight.
Crew pushed open the door that led to the parking lot and I saw them immediately.
Photographers. At least twenty of them. Maybe more. All crowded around the exit with cameras and phones up, waiting.
Way more than when we'd arrived.
Someone had definitely tipped them off.
Crew stopped so suddenly I almost walked right into his back.
"Stay close," he said quietly without turning around. "Don't answer any questions. Just walk."
My heart started racing and this time it had nothing to do with kissing. This was real panic. Because this wasn't part of the plan.
There were too many cameras, too many people, too much attention happening way too fast.
Crew turned his head to look back at me. "Harper. Do you trust me?"
I didn't. I barely knew him. But I nodded anyway because what other choice did I have?
He reached back and grabbed my hand. His grip was firm and warm.
Then he pushed open the door and we walked straight into chaos.