Chasing Us (Dark Love 2)

They all turn around to look at me. Finn’s face lights up as he runs over and grabs me, lifting me high in the air as if I were light as a feather.

“Charlie, are you kidding me? Is it really you?”

“In the flesh.” I grin.

“How… why?”

“We need to have a long chat. When are you off?”

“In about two hours… I’ll pick you up, say, around three?”

“It’s a date.”

Smiling, I say goodbye and head back into town.

Exactly two hours later, the doorbell rings. I couldn’t have run any faster, Lex and my dad scolding me for almost tripping down the stairs. As I open the door, I’m met with a goofy grin belonging to my childhood best friend, Finn Rodriguez.

“Hey, girl.” Finn wraps his arms around me. I miss his suffocating hugs, although I don’t miss his man sweat.

“Mark, Alex,” he nods.

Oh, he called him Alex. Lex doesn’t correct him. In fact, Lex smiles at him, which is weird. Am I missing something here? Mr. She’s-mine-and-no-one-can-touch-her-including-that-Rodriguez-kid?

“You wanna grab a bite to eat?” Finn asks, eyeing Lex.

“Sure, let’s go.” I kiss Lex goodbye, and thank God he understands I need some alone time with Finn. Last night when I raised the topic, I thought he would go crazy demanding he be there, but much to my surprise, he shrugged it off and said to have fun. Have fun? Okay, seriously, something was up with the universe.

As we sit in the local coffee shop, I know there’s no better time than now to let it all out in the open.

“Go, ask me your million questions,” I say while shoving the most appetizing chocolate cake into my mouth.

“I have no questions. You broke it off with Julian, and you’re back together with Lex.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s the main… wait, did you just call him ‘Lex’?”

He shuffles his feet but laughs it off. “Sorry, I heard you call him that once, and it must have stuck.”

“When did I call him that?” I ask, confused.

“Must have been Jen, then, I don’t know. Anyway, so Alex and you are back together.”

“Don’t you want to know what happened?”

“Charlie, I’m a guy, we don’t care for sordid details. Unless it’s dirty, but since I look at you like a sister, that’s just plain wrong. Actually, it’s just plain wrong that I called you a sister when we did it twice.”

“Foot-in-mouth disease, welcome to my world.” I chuckle.

“Okay, so what I mean is, if you’re happy, Charlie, then that’s all that matters.”

“I’m pregnant, Finn,” I blurt out.

He almost spits out his strawberry milkshake. His face reddens and his eyes go hard. Shit, did I just ruin our happy reunion?

“Don’t tell me you’re with him because of that?”

“Finn, really, do you think I was raised in the 1950s?”

He remains silent, and I allow him a moment to let it sink in.