Anything Goes on a Friday Night (21 page)

Finn waited for me to gather all of my things and put my backpack on. I walked toward the door, and he followed beside me. I chewed on the inside of my cheek as we made our way down the hall.

Say something.

Break the silence, Finn.

“I’m excited for tonight,” he said, bringing his mouth close to my ear.

I shivered. “Me too.” My voice came out strained. My face turned red when I saw the satisfied smile on his face. “What?”

“I’m the cause of those goose bumps on your arm. I hope those are good and not because you’re scared of me.”

I looked down at my arm and laughed. “They’re good.”

I was disappointed when I realized we were at my next class’s door.
How did we get here so fast?
I was so lost in how Finn was affecting me that it was like I just floated there.

“See you tonight, Ellie.”

I nodded because that was all I could do. The space between us was thicker, and the yearning was stronger than ever. I wondered what would happen when we finally closed the small gap between us. It terrified me in a good and exhilarating way.

“Yeah, tonight.” I smiled.

F
INN WAS RUNNING LATE.
Jane and Tryston were already over, and the spaghetti Jane and I were cooking was done. Finn said they kept getting customers even after they closed, so it pushed cleaning up the shop back.

I was a nervous wreck.

Do I hold his hand or wait for him to make the first move?
God, everything was going to be so confusing. I hadn’t even told Tryston and Jane. I figured Finn would want to tell them together.

I was excited too. I was happy that we were finally going to try
us
.

I used two fingers to pry open the blinds and peek outside for the twelfth time in the past hour. The last text I’d gotten from Finn was that his phone was going dead.

“Let’s just go ahead and eat. He can just warm his up.” Tryston got up from the couch and went into the kitchen with Jane.

I sat on the couch and rested my chin on my palm. “I’ll wait.”

IT WAS MIDNIGHT AND
still no Finn. I was scared something bad had happened to him. I tried calling him and texting him, but there was no answer. I looked over at Jane who was lying on the couch next to Tryston. Tryston was asleep, but Jane was staying up with me while I waited.

“I think I’m gonna go try to find him. It’s not like Finn to just not contact us like this.” I stood and started toward the door. I slid on my Toms and grabbed my keys off the hook.

“I’m sure he’s fine. Maybe he caught up with some of his other friends or something. Finn can be spacey like that.”

I frowned. What Jane and Tryston didn’t know was that when Finn and I decided to officially be a couple earlier today, he’d told me he’d see me tonight, and we’d talk more about everything. He’d told me he was coming after he cleaned up the shop.

“I need to make sure he’s okay. I’ll call you if something goes wrong, okay?”

Jane nodded and rubbed her tired eyes. “Just be careful.”

I drove to Finn’s uncle’s shop first. He wasn’t there. I drove to the Stump and asked if anyone had seen him; none of them had. After I drove past his house and saw no sign of his truck, I was in full panic mode.

Bad things didn’t happen in our small town, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t. Anything could happen, and it was a Friday night: my own personal doomsday. I was about to go to the police station just to make sure he hadn’t been in a wreck that no one knew about. I honestly didn’t know what else to do.

I had turned toward the highway where the station was when lights flashed in my rearview mirror. I saw Finn’s truck. I pulled onto the shoulder and threw the gear into park, turned off the engine, and burst from my car. To say I was fuming was an understatement.

Finn got out of his truck slowly, but I didn’t change my speed as I advanced toward him. I stopped in front of him, looking up.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I shouted, shoving his shoulder with my hand. “Where have you been?” Tears filled my eyes. I had been worried sick. Finn didn’t just not answer texts like he had tonight unless he was pissed at you.

“My phone is complete trash! But before I explain anything, you need to calm down!”

“Calm down? I just lost one of my friends to suicide, and all I could think about was what if you had a wreck or something! Excuse the hell out of me, but I was worried! Sorry, but I’m not sorry, Finn!”

“I was going to call you, but then I got busy. My uncle needed me to help him with some stuff at his house. I got so busy; I didn’t even think to call. I’m sorry, Ellie. I was about to come over to explain what happened when I saw you driving. Where were you headed anyway?”

I didn’t want to admit that I was freaking out enough to go to the police station.

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. I was just looking for you.” I wiped at my tears. I was an emotional mess. “I’m going home to let Tryston and Jane know you’re alive.”

Finn laughed. “Seriously? Ellie, I’m fine.”

“You think it’s funny? Finn, we had no idea! If you didn’t want me to think the worst, you could’ve called!” I shoved his shoulder again.

He rubbed his shoulder and smirked. “Would you stop shoving my shoulder?”

I crossed my arms and huffed. “I can’t believe you’re smiling right now. And were you really at your uncle’s?”

He nodded. “Yes, Ellie. I was at my uncle’s. I feel terrible that I worried you and didn’t show up. I’m sorry.”

I stared up at him, letting out a heavy sigh and nodded. “Okay. Sorry for freaking out.”

“Am I still invited over?”

I laughed. “I guess so.”

Finn followed me to my house. When we got in, we saw Jane and Tryston sound asleep on the couch. And now that I knew Finn was okay, I was getting extremely tired.

I leaned against the counter while I watched Finn get a glass of water. I yawned, and he smiled at me over his shoulder.

“Sleepy?”

I nodded. “Yeah, sorry. I know we had planned on talking about stuff tonight, but I may have to go to bed.”

“How about we talk while I sit with you until you fall asleep?”

A sleepy smile spread across my face. “Okay.”

I went to the bathroom and changed into sweats and a hoodie. When I came into my room, Finn had my blankets pulled back and my pillow lying flat instead of propped up on the headboard. He was sitting on the edge of my bed with a huge smile on his face. He patted the spot next to him.

I put my dirty clothes in the hamper near my closet then climbed into bed. I went to cover myself, but Finn grabbed the covers before I could and covered me.

“You don’t have to do that, ya know,” I yawned again.

“Of course I do. You’re mine to spoil now.”

I wanted to tell him how much I loved hearing him call me his, but it was probably too soon. I didn’t want to scare him away by being creepy on our first official day of dating.

“Are you sure about this?” My eyes started drooping shut, but I forced them open to look at Finn.

He sat down on the bed next to me and started playing with my hair. It was a little strange at first for Finn to be so close and touching me, but it felt too perfect to question further. We fit somehow.

He chuckled quietly. “Sure about what?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

He smiled down at me. “If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have written you that cheesy letter. Which I’m super embarrassed about, by the way. I wanted to ask you out face-to-face, but I also wanted to see that adorable smile you get when I do something dumb.”

My eyes closed, and I smiled.

“The letter was perfect. It was completely, 100% you. Don’t ever change.”

I felt his lips press gently against my temple. The warmth of them made my whole body tingle.

“Sleep tight, Ellie. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I felt the edge of the bed rise and knew he had gotten up. I snuggled deeper into my covers and pillow, falling right to sleep.

I
WOKE UP AND STRETCHED
before sitting up. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the time. It was almost noon. I could hear talking down the hall and Jane laughing. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and hair, and then went into the kitchen where Finn was busily cooking breakfast.

Everyone turned when they heard my footsteps on the wooden floor. I smiled. “Morning.
Errr,
I mean afternoon.”

Jane squealed and launched her opens arms at me. She hugged me tight. “Finally! You and Finn are finally a couple? You should’ve told me!” She hugged me tighter and then let me go.

I blushed and smiled at Finn who was grinning while he flipped the pancakes. “Yeah, I was going to tell you, but I wanted to wait until Finn was ready. Apparently, he was.”

Finn nodded. “I was the moment I asked you. I figured you would’ve told them already.” He looked at me over his shoulder and then went back to cooking.

I shrugged and smiled. I walked over to the counter next to Finn and leaned against it. “You didn’t tell me you could cook. This all looks amazing!”

“I’m full of surprises,” he said in a teasing tone and then motioned to the cabinet behind me. “Grab me a plate.”

I reached up to do that, causing the hem of my hoodie to rise. When I turned around to hand the plate to Finn, I caught him checking me out. I smiled and blushed a little.

“Here.”

He cleared his throat and looked at the plate. “Thanks.” He started putting pancakes on it.

We all sat down to eat when he was done cooking. Finn moved his chair until it was right next to mine. I smiled at him when he handed me the syrup.

“Ummm, you think that’s enough?” he asked, watching me drench my pancakes.

I laughed and added some more until I basically had pancake soup. I set the bottle down and scooted it toward him. “Now it’s enough.”

“That’s disgusting,” he chuckled.

I shrugged, got a huge forkful, and shoved it in my mouth. “Mmmm.” I swallowed and took a drink of my milk. “To each his own, Finn.”