I Never Let You Go (I Never 3)

“Oh yeah.” I begin to drive. My hands tighten their grip o

n the steering wheel as I turn onto my mother’s street.

I can feel my sister’s eyes on me. I nibble on my lip, nervous about facing her.

“Something’s up with you. You seem…” I glance over at her as she takes me in. “Different. You had a goofy look on your face a moment ago like you were somewhere far away from here.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I try to admit, but my voice cracks. I have no doubt my sister knows I’m lying since she already admitted that she knows how bad I am at it, but she doesn’t push the topic.

Why am I so nervous about telling her that Finn and I are friends again? She seems to be the biggest supporter of ours. I guess I’ve just been scared of what this is, what it could mean, and where it might lead.

It’s not the thought of Finn and me being friends again that scares me—we were best friends for fuck’s sake. It’s what that friendship once led to before that terrifies me. Being friends with Finn Reynolds once led straight to heartbreak, and the thought of going down that road again should have me running in the opposite direction, not wondering and waiting for his next text message to appear.

I pull into Mom’s driveway and turn the car off but make no move to get out of the vehicle. Kate goes to open the door, and I reach for her arm to stop her. She turns back to me, confused.

“So, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Of course, at that very moment, my phone vibrates from the cup holder between us, Finn’s name on bright display.

My eyes slowly lift to Kate’s face, her eyes wide at the name recognition. We both stare at it as if it were too hot to touch and lunge for it at the same time. Kate is one second faster. Slowly turning toward me with raised eyebrows, she holds my phone out, facing me. Why couldn’t that text message have waited just a few moments or till after I had told her, or be from anyone but him? Yep, fate is definitely cruel.

“Does it have anything to do with why Finn Reynolds is texting you…” My mouth is dry. She turns the phone back in her direction, unlocks my phone, and scrolls through an endless number of texts. “A lot?”

“I..I..” I nervously stutter and look down at my lap.

“Hey.” Kate sets my phone down, reaches over the center console, and places her hand over mine. “I was just kidding. Are you and Finn really talking again?”

I nod. “Yeah, it’s a long story. I mean, we keep running into each other since he’s been back, but he was at home waiting for me the night we found out Ky and Dani were expecting.”

Kate’s eyes nearly come out of her head. “No, not like that, you perv.” I shove her arm, and she throws her head back laughing and even snorts.

“He was drunk and slept on the couch. And then we spent the morning talking, and I don’t know, I just felt this pull. So I gave him my number. And here we are.” So that was a little more than the CliffsNotes, but I know she wants to know all the details.

Kate observes me. “Are you okay with this?” I know what she is really asking. After all, we have been through, am I okay with having Finn back in my life.

“Yeah.” I place my hand back on top of hers. “I think I am.”

She looks up at Mom’s house. Honestly, I kind of forgot we were sitting in front of her house for a minute, lost in conversation with my sister. Then she nods with a smile on her face, and I am nervous as to what is about to come out of it next.

“So how about after dinner we go back to my house and have a good old-fashioned sleepover. Crack open a bottle of wine and whiskey, and you can tell me how all of this came to be.” I squeeze her hand and smile, nodding. “Now come on, I can see Mom creeping out the living room window, probably wondering what’s taking so long.”

We both laugh and make our way into the house with a weight lifted from my shoulders.

The front door opens as I’m setting the table.

“Sorry, we’re late. We would have been here sooner if someone didn’t have to pee on the short ride over here,” Kyler says, helping Dani out of her jacket and laying it over the couch.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I feel like all these babies do is make me pee.” She places her hand over her stomach.

“It’s not the only thing they make you do,” Kyler whispers in her ear loudly. I’m sure I was not meant to hear that, but I look up in time to see them share a look. Yep, I wasn’t supposed to hear that.

“Hey, Laur, where’s Mom?” Ky asks.

I tilt my head toward the kitchen. “She’s in there with Kate putting the finishing touches on dinner.”

I go back to setting the table when I catch Dani standing next to me with one arm leaning on the table, the other rubbing her belly.

How long can I stay silent until she says whatever she wants to say?