Later that night, unable to settle and intent on hedging her bets, Molly submitted two more applications for other local summer internships.
With shaky fingers she sent a screenshot of the “Thank you for your application” screens to Finn with a message that said,Hey friend. Adulting is hard. Now we wait. Thanks for the kick in the butt to shoot my shot.
She cringed at the triteness in her words, but the suffocating need to fix what she might have broken by almost kissing him engulfed her with every breath. She needed them to be okay. She couldn’t lose him just because she led with her clit… and her heart, instead of her brain.Fuck it all to hell.It wasn’t her fault he was so freakin’ hot.
She stared at the screen like her eyes might pierce through the phone and show her his face. The three dots taunted her for a few seconds before words appeared.
Finn:I’m proud of you. You deserve it. You needed to give yourself the chance.
The knot in her chest eased a little. It was nice, sure. But where was his grand declaration of his love for her? Her phone vibrated again.
Finn:I want to make one thing crystal clear, though, because it seems you’re not getting my subtle hints and it’s time to be not subtle.
Her chest tightened and her stomach lurched like she was cresting the top of a rollercoaster, preparing for the freefall.
Molly:What’s that?
Finn:Well, if you’d give me a freakin’ minute to type, you’d know…
Despite the tension, she couldn’t help laughing.
Molly:Are you typing the Magna Carta?
Finn:Fuck this.
The phone rang in her hand and a picture of Finn appeared on her screen. His helmet was slanted off his head, he was chewing on his mouth guard and beads of sweat dripped from his hair and the tip of his nose. Hot damn he was delicious. When she didn’t pick up, he texted her again.
Finn:Pick up, MoMo.
He called again. She scrunched up her face and hit the red button. Was this where everything changed? Was he going to tell her he needed to be responsible and they had to somehow roll back whatever feelings were oozing toward each other? Or was he going to say screw it, ‘let’s fuck around and find out?’
Which did she want it to be?
Finn:Molly, pick up the goddamn phone.
On the third try she picked up. “Hey.” Her voice was croaky and caught on the sharp edges in her throat.
“I don’t want to be friends with you, Molly Morrison.”
Her heart stopped beating. She didn’t blink, or breathe, or even move.
“I want all of you.”
He wanted more, too. She blew out a hard breath.
“But how?” Her voice was barely a whisper, as though her brother might somehow hear if they were too loud.
“If you want to try, we’ll figure it out.”
Chapter 15
Finnegan
Droplets of sweat trickled down Finn’s forehead and seeped into his eyes. He blinked to clear his vision and squirted cold water into his mouth before dousing his face. His legs burned after his shift, and he was grateful for the reprieve of sitting on the bench for a few minutes before his next shift on the ice.
The ref’s shrill whistle blew, stopping play. Alabama Mustang’s player Jeremy Lewis had bagged himself a penalty from a skirmish with Snow Pirate Johnny White and was bickering with the referee. From the consternation painted across Jeremy’s face, he felt as though he was the one who had been wronged. When it came to JW, he probably was.
While the heated discussion on the ice continued, the Kiss Cam appeared on the jumbotron. Finn gnawed on his mouth guard, popping it off his teeth and hooking it around his cheek as an old dude, no younger than eighty-five macked hard on the giggling, elderly woman beside him.
