I Never Let You Go (I Never 3)

Lauren holds out her hand for me to go first. I walk into the cage and look back at her over my shoulder. Lauren is leaning forward against the fence with her arms raised above her head. The slightest sliver of skin is showing between her shirt and jeans. Is this part of her plan to distract me?

“Let’s see what you got, hotshot,” she taunts.

I point the bat in at her direction and smile at her before turning to face the machine. I press the button indicating I’m ready and assume the position.

The ball shoots out of the machine and flies right past me, hitting the area behind me with a loud whoosh. Lauren laughs softly. I glare at her, and she quickly covers her mouth. I shake it off and retake my position.

Three more balls pass without making contact with my bat.

I can now hear her howling with laughter. I hold the bat in position and focus on the ball. The machine release the ball, and I follow it till it’s in front of me and swing—and another miss. “Damnit!”

I exit the cage to see Lauren standing there with her arms and ankles crossed with a smug smile on her face.

“Oh, what like this is so easy. Let me see you do better.”

“With pleasure.” I want to pull her into me and kiss that smirk right off her face and show her better pleasure than hitting baseballs.

Lauren enters the cage and hits the button. She holds the bat in position and shakes her ass slightly, just enough for me to notice.

Clink.

Clink.

Clink.

Clink.

Clink.

Damn, she hit every ball that came at her. She swings the bat in a circle before planting it on the ground in bet

ween her feet. She leans over on it and teases, “You were saying?”

“Oh, it is on, babe.” I accentuate each word. I don’t miss the way she stares at my mouth when I call her babe. We have slowly fallen into our old banter, but I’m still not sure where we stand. She didn’t slap me though when I called her babe, so I think it’s about time I find out what this is happening between us.

We spent the next hour alternating our time in the batting cage. Finn eventually hit the ball and proudly did a victory dance, which I will give it to him, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut eventually. The ride back to my house from the batting cages is silent but not awkward. Finn pulls into my driveway and shuts off the engine. Ever the gentleman as he proved tonight, he hops out of the truck and runs around to my door before I can open it.

I link my arm through his without thinking and rest my head against his arm as he escorts me to my front door. The air has been thick between us all evening as we fell into our old ways. His hand goes to the small of my back as we take the stairs. I feel the loss of his touch as I step forward as I insert the key in the front door.

I glance over my shoulder and find him standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking down at the porch. “Do you maybe want to come in?”

His head pops up, and he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. Is he as shocked as I am that I just invited him inside? I mean, friends ask each other over their houses. Why are my palms sweaty suddenly? Will Finn think I mean more than just to hang out more? Do I want us just to hang out? All I know is that tonight was nice hanging out with him, and it felt as though no time had passed minus the touching and the kissing. I’m not sure I’m ready for him to say goodbye just yet. I can admit that I’ve missed this, him, us.

“Lo, what is this?” Finn motions his hand between us.

His question, which I knew he would eventually ask, catches me off guard. My shoulders instantly tense, just like they did when he approached me at the wedding. My throat goes dry, unsure of how to answer. I slowly spin to face him, and when our eyes meet, I see they are full of vulnerability just as they were when he asked me to marry him.

“I want—” He stops and runs his fingers through this hair. “You know what? Never mind what I want.” His voice is quiet as he takes a step closer. “What do you want?”

He tucks a stray hair behind my ear—a move so simple, yet natural for us.

My gaze drops from his eyes to his lips. It would be so easy to grab the back of his neck and pull his lips to mine. “I…I…” The words “I want you” are on the tip of my tongue, but I’m scared. The vision of Finn walking away in the airport is enough for me to settle on “I…I don’t know,” instead.

He exhales loudly and grips the back of his neck as he takes a step backward. This is different than last time, Lauren, I tell myself over and over. You both aren’t the same people anymore. “Lauren, I know exactly what I want, and when you figure out what you want, call me. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. Until then…”

Finn takes one step forward and then another before he is standing right in front of me, and his lips press against mine. This kiss is gentle, but I can feel it from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and everywhere in between.

I want to grip his shirt and deepen the kiss—to know what Finn tastes like after all these years, but he breaks the kiss first. He places a quick kiss against my forehead. “I’ll be seeing you, Lo.”