she’d meant to, “for not letting me chicken out and for not forcing me to stay in longer.”
Finn slid the mugs into the cupboard, then took a couple of steps back and shrugged.
“Forcing you?” His brow pulled down in a small frown. “Have I ever forced you to do anything?”
No. Of course he hadn’t. Liam probably would have forced her a bit, and there was no way Ronan would have waited all that time for her to get her toes wet, but Finn…
Finn was different. He might not always agree with her, but he always seemed to know when to push her and when to hold back and give her space to do things her own way on her own time. That wasn’t to say they didn’t butt heads every once in a while, but even when they did, it never turned spiteful or mean, because beneath it all, they really liked each other. And though she’d never labeled him as such before, if she was completely honest, Finn was the best friend she’d ever had.
Didn’t mean she wouldn’t get a dig in when she could, though.
“Well,” she said, pushing her best accusatory tone, “there was that time you made me play that Apollo Creed video game with you for thirty-six thousand hours.”
His deep rolling laugh filled her with the same little burst of joy it always did, only more so this time because she was the one who’d made him laugh.
“Okay, first off,” he said, “Apollo Creed died in
Rocky IV;
we were playing Apollo 2, the game
you
picked because it has that kick-ass chick in it. And, second, you barely made it to Sector Selwyn before you bailed.”
“Whatever. My point is you still forced me.”
His wide grin was the same damn one she’d seen countless times, so why now did it feel like it was warming her from the inside out?
“You’re right,” he conceded. “I’m sorry. I never should have held that gun to your head; that was very, very wrong of me.”
“See, normally I’d tell you that being a smart-ass like that only canceled out the apology, but I’m going to let it slide this time because I’m so tired.”
“I’m sure you are.” It was funny how his voice could go from teasing to soothing even though his smile stayed the same.
“And because, seriously”—Jessie inhaled a deep breath and nodded slowly—“thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
As drained as she was, Jessie could have easily curled up in the tenderness in his eyes and the gentle cadence of his voice, which was exactly why she forced herself to look away.
Most nights they’d each grab a book and settle into their spots in the great room, but not tonight. Tonight she just wanted to crawl into bed and try to wrap her head around not only what she’d done but also around the fact she could still feel Finn’s hand around hers, strong and steady.
“Right, then,” she said, tapping her fingers lightly against her thighs. “I think I’ll go to bed.”
“Yeah,” Finn muttered. “I think I’ll join you.”
They both froze for a second, Jessie’s smirk making Finn blush as he fumbled his way around his gaffe.
“In walking down the stairs to our separate bedrooms.”
Still smiling, she went first, not saying a word until they got down to the family quarters.
“ ’Night, Finn.” She’d just pushed open her door when his voice stopped her.
“Jess.”
“Hmm?” When she turned, he was standing at the bottom of the stairs, leaning back against the railing, his hands jammed down in his pockets.
“Look,” he said. “No matter what, we’re going to do this.”
Every muscle in Jessie’s body started to tighten again as she sucked her lips in behind her teeth and waited for the “but” to come.
It didn’t. At least not in the way she expected.
“You’ve always made it pretty clear you never wanted to talk about why you don’t go in the water, and we’ve never pushed, because…well…none of us have ever been any good at the whole ‘sharing’ thing.”
“Really?” she teased. “I’d hardly noticed.”
His
Finn slid the mugs into the cupboard, then took a couple of steps back and shrugged.
“Forcing you?” His brow pulled down in a small frown. “Have I ever forced you to do anything?”
No. Of course he hadn’t. Liam probably would have forced her a bit, and there was no way Ronan would have waited all that time for her to get her toes wet, but Finn…
Finn was different. He might not always agree with her, but he always seemed to know when to push her and when to hold back and give her space to do things her own way on her own time. That wasn’t to say they didn’t butt heads every once in a while, but even when they did, it never turned spiteful or mean, because beneath it all, they really liked each other. And though she’d never labeled him as such before, if she was completely honest, Finn was the best friend she’d ever had.
Didn’t mean she wouldn’t get a dig in when she could, though.
“Well,” she said, pushing her best accusatory tone, “there was that time you made me play that Apollo Creed video game with you for thirty-six thousand hours.”
His deep rolling laugh filled her with the same little burst of joy it always did, only more so this time because she was the one who’d made him laugh.
“Okay, first off,” he said, “Apollo Creed died in
Rocky IV;
we were playing Apollo 2, the game
you
picked because it has that kick-ass chick in it. And, second, you barely made it to Sector Selwyn before you bailed.”
“Whatever. My point is you still forced me.”
His wide grin was the same damn one she’d seen countless times, so why now did it feel like it was warming her from the inside out?
“You’re right,” he conceded. “I’m sorry. I never should have held that gun to your head; that was very, very wrong of me.”
“See, normally I’d tell you that being a smart-ass like that only canceled out the apology, but I’m going to let it slide this time because I’m so tired.”
“I’m sure you are.” It was funny how his voice could go from teasing to soothing even though his smile stayed the same.
“And because, seriously”—Jessie inhaled a deep breath and nodded slowly—“thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
As drained as she was, Jessie could have easily curled up in the tenderness in his eyes and the gentle cadence of his voice, which was exactly why she forced herself to look away.
Most nights they’d each grab a book and settle into their spots in the great room, but not tonight. Tonight she just wanted to crawl into bed and try to wrap her head around not only what she’d done but also around the fact she could still feel Finn’s hand around hers, strong and steady.
“Right, then,” she said, tapping her fingers lightly against her thighs. “I think I’ll go to bed.”
“Yeah,” Finn muttered. “I think I’ll join you.”
They both froze for a second, Jessie’s smirk making Finn blush as he fumbled his way around his gaffe.
“In walking down the stairs to our separate bedrooms.”
Still smiling, she went first, not saying a word until they got down to the family quarters.
“ ’Night, Finn.” She’d just pushed open her door when his voice stopped her.
“Jess.”
“Hmm?” When she turned, he was standing at the bottom of the stairs, leaning back against the railing, his hands jammed down in his pockets.
“Look,” he said. “No matter what, we’re going to do this.”
Every muscle in Jessie’s body started to tighten again as she sucked her lips in behind her teeth and waited for the “but” to come.
It didn’t. At least not in the way she expected.
“You’ve always made it pretty clear you never wanted to talk about why you don’t go in the water, and we’ve never pushed, because…well…none of us have ever been any good at the whole ‘sharing’ thing.”
“Really?” she teased. “I’d hardly noticed.”
His
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