Page 82 of Best Friends, Tennessee

It felt enormous, but also as simple as anything.

Truer than anything I’d ever said.

I felt him sigh against me. “I love you more than I even knew, Ori.”

I couldn’t stop myself from dozing off next to him. I slept more deeply than I had in a long time, dreamlessly and peacefully.

14

FINN

Everything is good when you’ve got a cock inside you. At least… if it’s his.

Is it too soon for a round two?

I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning, feeling like I’d somehow cracked a code I’d been trying to break for years.

He was with me. Ori’s warm weight was still right here in my bed, closer than he’d ever been. Light had just started to filter through the curtains in my bedroom, and he was sleeping peacefully, the gentle light falling over his hair and bringing out its rich brown color.

When had we everstoppedbeing close? How had I ever let it get so bad? This morning was all the proof I needed that I’d been an idiot for ever letting myself believe we might not be friends again.

Right now, it felt like there was no way we could be anything but this close.

I grabbed my phone and quietly looked over my schedule for the day. I didn’t want to get out of this bed, but I had horses to feed over at the ranch and three massage clients today.

I slipped out of bed as quietly as I could, trying not to disturb Ori. I got into the bathroom and checked the mirror, a deep blush forming on my cheeks.

I had not one butthreedark marks on my neck.

Very visible ones.

Ori had given me freakinghickeysthe night before.

I ran my fingertips over the spots, smiling despite the fact that I had no way to hide the damned things. I was like a teenager again, sneaking around with a burning secret.

These? No big deal. My best friend gave them to me.

Screw it. I hopped in the shower for a quick rinse before gearing up for the ranch. In the kitchen, I set out a coffee mug and a little note for Ori—as if he hadn’t been staying here for weeks now and knew perfectly well how to feed himself here.

The ranch was clear and bright by the time I arrived. I spent an hour with the horses. Pippa and Hopper were particularly happy to see me this morning, and I gave them plenty of love. Around the perimeter of the ranch, all of the trees were in full spring green now, and birds flitted from tree to tree, tweeting up a storm.

The world had thawed. And maybe this was all I needed—waking up feeling like I had Ori back in my life again, a ranch that felt like home, and massage clients on deck that I felt like I was actually making progress on.

I didn’t need things with Ori to be permanent.

I didn’t need all of my video uploads to go viral online or make me boatloads of money.

I had it so good, all around me, when I really paid attention. And I was never going to let things change between me and Ori again.

I watched Pippa chewing her hay for another minute before heading off. My first clients of the day were some of my easiest ones, and the day felt like a breeze for the first time in a while. As usual, my last stop of the day was Mason, in the early afternoon. By the time I pulled back toward his big house, I was still buzzing from the night before.

I pulled out my phone before I went inside, and my heart did a little jump when I saw I had a text from Ori.

>>Ori: How do you have this many squirrels in your yard? It’s like a 24/7 squirrel rave out here.

I smiled and jotted out a text back.

>>Finn: Your lips to God’s ears, sweetheart. Don’t even get me started.

---