Page 26 of Your Two Lips
“It applies … cliche or not.”
I wanted Emily in every way possible. But if I let her, she would break me. We had to stay friends.
17
EMILY
I pulledinto Finn’s driveway, still reeling from last night. I couldn’t believe him. I was finally ready to work on my sex game, and the first step was dating. Finn made it clear he wasn’t interested, so I moved on. Regrettably.
It wouldn’t be Evan, but Finn didn’t need to know that. If he wanted to tell me what to do, he better stick to pointers about biking. Bring it on. I could use a hard training day.
Emboldened by my resolve, I unlatched my bike, donned my helmet with self-righteous confidence, and pedaled back to the garage. Finn walked out, wiping his hands on a rag. No sign of Rex today.
“Hey, I wasn’t sure you’d come.” He tucked the rag in his pocket.
My expression didn’t waver. I had nothing to be ashamed of. “I need the practice. Let’s make it a tough one today.”
“Emily, I ….” He shifted on his feet. “I’m …” He blew out a breath.
“Let me help you. You say, ‘Emily, I was wrong to butt into your love life. It won’t happen again.’ And then I say, ‘Thank you, Finn. I realize you were trying to warn me off a bad date.’”
His eyes sharpened. “What happened? Did he hurt you?”
“What? No. Nothing like that. He laughed and flirted and even asked a few questions about me.” I rolled my eyes before I could help it. “He let me know he was open to some co-naked gymnastics for dessert.” Finn’s nostrils flared. “I told him I would rather have the chocolate lava cake, and the conversation was a little stilted after that.”
He huffed out a breath and his eyes softened, small creases forming at the edges. “I’m sorry you were disappointed.”
“I …” Now it was my turn to stumble. My cheeks burned. “I don’t have a lot of dating experience. I had to start somewhere.” The gravel below my feet was suddenly fascinating. “That guy Lucas mentioned, Joel.”
Finn nodded.
“We were together a long time. Turns out, I was not the girl for him, and he was not a particularly good person. I got hurt when things were already difficult for me. I haven’t dated since.”
Finn held my gaze. “Evan doesn’t date.”
“Well, he was the first one to ask. Hopefully, there will be others.” I stood taller and pulled my shoulders back.
He shifted away, running his fingers through his hair.
My self-righteous confidence returned, though it was less about Finn this time. “I’m twenty-seven years old. I should have been having sexy flings for years, not hunkered down with a man who, as it turns out, didn’t love me after all.”
“Sexy flings are not that great.” He paused. “That day at the brewery. Tom mentioned a woman and me.” I noticed he didn’t use the sugar mama insult.
“She was married.” His eyes held a question. I was surprised, but he didn’t need judgment from me. He was his own worst judge.
“I found out she was married at the same time her husband found out about me. That was not an accident. I was part of a plan. Her husband had been cheating, and she wanted to show him she could do it too. She usedmeto make a point about fidelity if you can believe that.”
“That’s rough.” I frowned.
He shook his head. “I never would have been with her had I known. I’m not that guy.” He looked out across the road to the fields beyond. “Only Alex and Dan know the truth.”
“Finn—”
“For longer than I am proud of, I played the flirt and good-time game like Lucas and Evan. It’s not always a good time.”
“We’ve all done things we wish had been different.”
His shoulders relaxed, and some tension left his jaw. “That guy, Joel, I doubt he deserved you. Evan definitely doesn’t.”
