“Congratulations is what your brother meant to say,” Aubrey said as she shot daggers at Chance. “And good luck.”
“Good luck,” Chance grunted.
Adele
We stayed at Chance and Aubrey’s way later than expected not walking back until after my usual bedtime.
“It’s a nice neighborhood,” Finn said, looking around like he was seeing it for the first time. “Quiet, family friendly, lots of trees and landscaping so it feels suburban, but also close to the beach.”
“Yep.”
“I don’t care for New York. Everyone is rushing from place to place, the weather is awful, it smells.” He shook his head. “I’m surprised you want to give this up.”
He held the door open for me and we walked in to find kitty waiting for us.
“Says the guy who lives in LA.”
“I have to live close to the field.”
“And if you didn’t? Where would you live?”
“Haven’t given it a lot of thought until recently, but this place seems pretty hard to beat.”
I couldn’t picture Finn living in this neighborhood for all the money in the world, but he wasn’t wrong – it would be hard to beat.
“Well, you can’t help who you fall in love with, right? I mean you moved across the world for someone. I’m just moving across the country.”
His lips twisted into a stoic and thoughtful smile at my words. “I suppose you’re right. Home is where the heart is or whatever the cheesy line is.”
“Home isn’t a place. It’s a feeling,” I said, hands over my heart, in the most dramatic voice I could muster.
Finn smirked. “Home is whatever the fuck you make it.”
“Did you read that on a motivational poster?”
“No, I made that one up myself.”
“You should stick to your day job.”
Finn motioned to the TV. “You wanna watch something?”
“I should get to bed. I have to get to the office early tomorrow.”
“Right, the job.”
I laughed. He had no sense of a nine to five. “What about you? Shouldn’t you be training with the team or something?”
“I’ll start back next week. I’d planned to be off for the past two weeks for the honeymoon anyway.”
“Right.”
He shuffled awkwardly. “Well, good night then.”
“’Night, Finn.”
I showered, put on leggings and a tank top, and sat on my bed to comb out my hair. The faint sound of the TV called to me. I wasn’t really tired, and I knew getting into bed would only result in tossing and turning knowing Finn was on the other side.
Standing and taking a deep breath, I opened my door and walked out with the intention of telling him I was up for a little TV. What could it hurt?
Finn had removed his shirt and changed into a pair of blue workout shorts. My gaze snagged on his bare chest leaned back so casually on my couch, right at home.
“Hey.” He shot a surprised smile my way. “Did you change your mind?”
My pulse quickened and I swallowed. “No, uh, just wanted to grab some water.”
A flicker of disappointment crossed his face before he shrugged. I hustled to grab a bottle of water and went back to my room and locked the door – this time to keep myself inside.
I worked late on Wednesday trying to get everything in order before my day off on Friday. I’d also begun to think about my eventual departure and spent a few hours typing up notes and comments for my replacement. I would probably have months to prepare, but I was planning for the worst. Or best.
The house was empty when I walked in aside from kitty who paraded to the door to greet me showing off a brand-new collar. It matched all of her other pink and shiny garb. It made me wonder if he’d had it all along or if he’d bought it today. The image of Finn wondering the aisles and looking over the kitty supplies made me smile.
He wasn’t here now though. Another date maybe. I hadn’t asked how the last one went, but I was still curious.
I changed into comfy clothes, grabbed my leftover lunch, and had just sat down in front of the TV when the front door opened.
“I found the downfall of your charming town,” he said, rushing in with hands full and kicking the door closed behind him. “It took nearly thirty minutes to grab takeaway. The whole town had the same idea.”
I stood and walked to the counter where he set the bags.
“You got Chinese?”
He shrugged, taking containers out of the bags. “Chance said it was your favorite and you’re going to be out of town this weekend.”
“Wow.” I eyed the many containers – way too much for two people. The smell made my mouth water. “Thank you.”
A head bob and a smile were his only response. Oh so cool and casual like it was nothing. Maybe it was to him.
I grabbed plates and silverware and we sat down together.
“What are you watching?” Finn asked and then took a big bite. He moaned as he chewed.
“Good, right? Totally worth the thirty-minute wait.”
He nodded.
“I was watching Bear Grylls, but we can change it. What do you want to watch?” I handed him the remote.
“Are you some sort of super fan? Your DVR is filled with this and a dozen other survival shows.”
I blushed and tried to think through my recorded shows. Oh God, how embarrassing. Everyone knows a person’s DVR and web history are the most private of things.
He stared at me and I realized I hadn’t given him an answer. “I think they’re fascinating. Bear Grylls especially. He’s not afraid of anything.”
“I doubt that.”
“Seriously. He’s jumping out of planes, climbing up mountains, and rappelling down cliffs. And don’t even get me started on the animals he encounters.” I shuddered at the thought of being out there and coming face to face with a wolf or poisonous snake. No thank you.
“Have you ever gone skydiving?”
I shook my head.
“Rock climbing?”
Another shake.
“I’m guessing rappelling is also a no then.”
“Have you ever done any of those?”
“I’ve been rock climbing a bunch of times. Never jumped out of a plane.”
My gaze fell to his hands. Long fingers, nice but a little rough. Yeah, I could picture him climbing the side of a mountain. Finn seemed like just the type of guy that would be good at that.
Actually, Finn was the type of guy who was probably good at whatever he put his mind to. Chance was like that too. It was obnoxious in a sibling; on Finn it was… attractive.
It’s not like I walked around with blinders on. I knew he was attractive, it’s just this was the first time I admitted to myself that I was attracted to him. Not just objectively in that way that you could understand how others found someone appealing but didn’t yourself find them so. Like Jason Momoa. He was attractive, but I wasn’t drawn to him because some part of me realized that he wasn’t my type. I was never going to be the girl for him — drinking beer and throwing axes while our wild children scaled the walls around us.
Just like I was never going to be the type of girl who stood beside Finn while he snapped selfies drinking umbrella drinks or attended parties with the most fabulous of Los Angeles. Finn was all wrong for me. I wasn’t his type. But now… when he was sitting on my couch eating take out, I could almost pretend it wasn’t so ludicrous.