Her heart and stomach sank as disappointment curled itself around her spine and yanked on her whole body. Kissing Finn wasn’t supposed to feel like she was kissing her brother. Kissing Finn was supposed to feel like breathing for the first time after holding your breath, or opening the window to the first day of spring after a long, dark winter.
He stared her down, still cupping her face. “This isn’t right.”
Tears welled behind her eyelids. Had she placed so much importance, so much pressure on kissing him that she’d neglected to account for the fact they might just not be a good match? She shook her head. It wasn’t right. Their chemistry had been off the chart. Every time he touched her, sparks flitted across her skin.
She’d heard women talking in the bathroom about his bedroom prowess, and she sure as shit knew she wasn’t a bad kisser. So what the hell was wrong?
Brushing a thumb over her lips he leaned toward her, dotting a kiss on her forehead. “We’re gonna call that the warm up, the pre-game.”
Her throat tightened. “You’re just gonna ignore that disaster?”
He nodded, draping his arm across the back of the bench. “I am. We’re both in our heads too much about it. We’ve built it up to being this vast, life altering moment. Sometimes there’s just no choirs of angels, or fireworks when people kiss and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean they aren’t meant to be together.”
But what if it meant exactly that, that they weren’t supposed to be together?
Chapter 16
Finnegan
Maybe they weren’t supposed to be together. Molly had threatened bodily harm if Finn didn’t let her pay for her half of the bill. As always, she’d written “Math” in the tip line, scrawled a total and her signature, and hopped up off the seat like it had morphed into a cactus and was jabbing at her ass cheeks.
He led her out of the restaurant, but she raced ahead to push the door before he could open it for her. Huh. It was going to be like that, was it? Two could play at that game.
Sure, one single asshole in high school had ruined Molly’s outlook on his entire gender when she was sixteen. And yeah, Mrs. Morrison had made sure Finn hadn’t grown up into some asshole, sexist mansplainer, but in some ways, he was pretty traditional. And he couldn’t wait for Molly to be his girl.
His gut clenched. Would she ever let herself?
“We’ll talk tomorrow.” She tossed a wave over her shoulder but didn’t look back as she strode across the parking lot to her car. He sprinted to catch up – hard to do with a stomach full of grease and milkshake, but he was determined not to let her leave on such a bum note.
If she left with things the way they were, there was no guarantee she’d ever let him kiss her for real, or take her on a proper date. Tiny drops of rain fell on his head and clothes as he reached out to grab her arm.
She spun to him, palms facing him. “This isn’t a good idea, Finn.”
“Why?” He stepped toward her, but the gap between them was still too wide. “Because we had one average kiss that didn’t make you jizz your pants?”
“I just can’t. Because of Will, Finn. He’s in both our heads.” She took a step closer, placing her hand on Finn’s chest. “He’s in our hearts, too.”
The drops of rain grew heavier, weaving their way into her hair and trickling down her face, even still, he could tell she was crying. He’d seen Molly Morrison cry precisely once before – when her cheating, asshole boyfriend broke her heart.
“Maybe he has too much power over us, Molly. Have you considered that? Maybe we need to get him out of our heads for once.” Their night wasn’t ending with Finn inadvertently making her cry, even if he had to crawl through fire to make her smile again. “I know there’s no such thing as a second chance at a first kiss, but I want you to promise you’ll let me kiss you again.”
She shrugged, pulling her lip between her teeth. “Maybe we just won’t work.” She hesitated, brushing her soaking hair from her face as rain fell from her nose. “Maybe we waited too long.”
The hell they wouldn’t work. He grabbed her wrist just as she turned toward her car and pulled her to him. She landed against his chest with a thud, but before she could react, he snaked his hand up the column of her neck and into her wet hair.
“Finn…”
His mouth covered hers before she’d even taken a breath after saying his name. Rain pelted their heads and clothes. She melted against him, her muscles softening. Her fingers curled around the open collar of his shirt and tugged him forward until her back hit the driver’s side window of her car.
Hungry growls pierced the sound of the rain pouring around them. Their tongues battled in a fierce, frantic dance, but they still weren’t close enough. He cupped her ass and picked her up, bracing her against the car and sliding his hands along her thighs to wrap her legs around his waist.
She leaned back as he ran his hands back along her legs and sank his fingers into her plush ass cheeks drawing a moan from her. He wanted all of her. Wild child, bi-sexual, badass, confident, outspoken, goddess. He wanted it all.
Dragging his teeth along the column of her neck he pressed the bulge in his pants against her. It wasn’t awkward anymore. He ached to strip her naked and worship her from head to toe and back again.
She tugged his hair so his head snapped back and he snarled at the distance she’d put between them. “Down boy.”
“Not a fucking chance.” He pushed his cock against her again and she wiggled her hips with a small growl of her own.
