“Ass, you don’t have to be so dramatic about my name. Only my family gets to call me Tess.”
“A week, please?”
“What about Kara and that group. Hell, they made fun of me in public last night.”
“I don’t care about them. I grew up with all of them in this small town. Yes, it’s true my dad and Kara’s dad have always pushed us together. It’s not going to happen. She came home all graduated from college and ready to be with me. I’ve told her no.”
“I’m broken, Finn,” I whisper, hanging my head low.
“I’ve seen all of you. Your leg doesn’t mean a damn thing to me.”
“It’s more than the prosthetic. I’ve had my heart broken and life destroyed and I’m not quite sure I’m willing to put it all out there ever again for a repeat story.”
“A week. I want a week to get to know Tess-uh and I want you to know me.”
“First thing first, stop with the name shit. One week. That’s it. No Kara.”
“Deal.”
“Deal?” I ask.
“It’s a deal because I’m not letting you back out of it.”
“Whatever,” I say rolling my eyes and going for the passenger door.
Immediately, I notice it’s completely piled up with coolers, life jackets and a bag.
Pointing to the mess, I ask, “Where am I supposed to sit?”
“In the middle,” Finn replies, as he grabs my hand and starts dragging me to the driver’s side.
“You asshole. Where did Wes sit on the way here?”
Finn keeps dragging me and just laughs.
“I’m not losing one minute of this week. I came prepared.”
“So, you are telling me that Wes sat on your lap on the drive down here?”
“No, I’m telling you that I’ve fucking died day after day with the thought of never kissing you again.”
Finn wastes no time after his sentence and swoops down on me. He hesitates one second, almost pulling back from his decision, and I decide to jump for it. Standing on my tippy toes, I reach up and graze his lips. They feel and taste the same they did the other night. My hands grab his long, shaggy hair, as I press harder to his lips. Finn opens up and again I jump first, gliding my tongue into his mouth. I feel his hands roaming down my back and finally settling on my ass. His grips tighten, as he pulls me towards him, eliminating all air between us. A honking horn and some catcalls finally pull me to my senses. Looking up, I see Will’s truck pulling back into the parking lot and Scarlett hanging out the back hollering her approval.
“Get a room,” Will pipes up.
He pulls in right next to us, and I can see the smiling faces of all four of the idiots in the truck. So obvious this was a complete setup.
“So, everyone was in on this?” I ask.
“Kinda,” Tommie answers.
“Kinda, how?”
“Well, Wes texted us the plan earlier this AM. I told them I was only leaving you alone with Finn for twenty minutes because I didn’t want anyone to get killed,” Tommie explains.
Scarlett and Wes are smiling like fools who just won the lottery in the backseat with sweet victory plastered all over their face.
“Don’t get too excited, it’s just a week.”