Page 58 of Finn

Since my head is buried in my phone, I almost miss the stop. I jump up at the last second and pull the cord, hurrying down the aisle to exit out into the crisp, twilight air. Cold wind barrels down the street, so I hunker down in the hood, turtling to try to stay warm. Garbage rolls down the street and sidewalks. A trashcan must have been upended and no one has cleaned it up yet. I avoid a hamburger wrapper and stand at the junction between the public sidewalk and the short slabs of concrete that lead up to Jax and Finn’s house. A light is on inside, and a figure moves. Jax’s shorter, stockier build stands out from his brother’s.

Before I realize it, I’m walking up the steps and standing in the spotlight of their harsh yellow porch lamp. I knock, and Max barks on the other side of the door, the sound menacing. It makes me smile, but it falls off my face when Jax whips open the door.

He tilts his head to the side, and I give him a short wave as he pushes the storm door. I catch it with my foot. “I just um...”Fuck.I start to backtrack, wondering what the hell I’m even doing here. Jax barely even likes me, and his brother has probably woken up from this flirtation and realized I’m not worth it.

Jax steps back, and no matter what I tell myself, I’m drawn inside. Maxie jumps at my feet, and I lean down to run my fingers through his short coat. He licks my hands and paws at me, and I smile even through the heaviness weighing my heart down. After a moment, I stand, chancing a look at the moody brother. My bravado doesn’t hold up after that. I turn away, but not before seeing the frown on his face and the way he’s staring right through me.

I want to spill my guts to him, but I hold back because saying everything out loud will only make me feel like a loser, and obviously, no one needs that. I’m already at his fucking house...uninvited. A girl can only take so much depressing shit a day.

“Can I?” I gesture toward the stairs, hoping he’ll understand what I want.

“Yeah,” Jax says, swallowing. “Take the mutt, would you? He’s a pain in my ass.”

I smile at that then walk up the steps, calling for Max to follow. He bounds up next to me, then nudges Finn’s door open and jumps right onto his twisted sheets. Leaving the light off, I head right in and lie down on his pillow. It still smells like him. And me. A mixture that puts a genuine smile on my face.

Max rolls over, kicking me with his paw. I place my hand on his belly and easily fall asleep far sooner than I have been in my own bed.

The next morning is a wake-up call of acting without thinking.

Maxie wiggles out from underneath my hand, and I blink awake. The sunlight streaming through the curtains practically blinds me so I roll over, stretching. Then, it all hits me with a raging inferno of embarrassment. Shit. I spent the night in Finn’s bed—without him. Escaping out the window instead of going downstairs to face Jax sounds like a damn good idea at this point. I can only imagine the thoughts running through his head.Who the hell is this girl, and why the hell is she all up in my brother’s business?

I groan and sit up while running my hand through my hair. A yawn rips through me a second later, and I stifle it so I don’t bring any more unwanted attention to myself. At some point in the middle of the night, I must have toed my shoes off, so I force my heels back into them and head toward Finn’s bathroom. There, I splash water on my face and use his mouthwash so I don’t embarrass myself further if I happen to see Jax this morning. When I’m almost—but not entirely—presentable, I tiptoe down the wooden steps.

Max comes running to me as soon as I hit the bottom step. I can’t just shoo him away so I bend to pat the happy dog on the head. Before I can sneak out afterward, movement catches my attention from the corner of my eye. “Morning,” Jax says gruffly.

I take a sobering breath and straighten. “Hey. I’m sorry about—”

He shakes his head, cutting me off. “I made breakfast. If you want some...”

I blink. Okay, that wasn’t exactly the response I predicted. He takes in my reaction with a smirk before turning and moving into the kitchen. I peek at Max whose tail is going a hundred miles a minute. “He made me breakfast,” I whisper.

As if the dog can understand what I’m saying, he licks my hand and then runs into the kitchen himself. I follow after the sweet little thing, my heart already warming. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to tell Cole about their dog. He wasn’t in the mood to hear anything about Finn the last time we discussed him, so I kept my mouth shut. But I know for a damn fact that Cole would be losing his shit in front of a dog. He’s always been an animal lover—same as me.

I walk toward the kitchen when Jax emerges with two bowls. He sets them down at the folding table in the formal dining room-turned-office, which apparently now serves a dual purpose as an eating space. I walk over and peer into the bowl, sneering at the tan mush. “You made me...oatmeal?”

Shrugging, he says, “I put brown sugar in yours.” As if that’s supposed to make it a hundred percent edible.

“No protein powder?” I chuckle.

He pauses his descent into a chair across from me and points over his shoulder toward the kitchen. “I got plenty if you want some.”

I make a gagging sound, and he smiles before plopping down fully. I follow suit, frowning at the porridge-like substance. I’ve never actually eaten porridge either, but I do know my fairy tales, and I’m pretty sure the last person to eat someone else’s porridge got in trouble. However, I’m not about to turn down a friendship offering, if that’s what this is. I shovel a spoonful into my mouth. Jax watches me, so I make sure to stifle my reaction. By the time I swallow, I realize there was nothing to suppress. My eyes widen. “This isn’t half bad.”

It’s his turn to make a gagging sound. “Yours probably tastes like pure sugar.”

He’s not wrong, and I’m sincerely happy about that fact.

Maxie lays at my feet, propping his head on the top of my shoe. I sneak a look down and smile.

Jax follows my gaze. “He hasn’t known what to do with himself with you two gone.”

My heart wrenches. I shove another spoonful of oatmeal into my mouth so I don’t have to answer.

After a few moments, Jax tries again. “You didn’t come back to work at the gym.”

I glance up, brow furrowing. “Did you want me to?”

“We gave you a job,” he supplies. “People are asking about shit, and I don’t know what to tell them.”

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