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Things could be different with Finn…
“No,” I growl into the empty room as indescribable pain shoots through me.
I refuse to lead him down a road of misery. I’m broken.
But he said you’re his.
“People say a lot of things in the throes of passion,” I respond to the voice in the back of my mind as I grab my small overnight bag off the bed before heading right back out the door. I send up a silent prayer of thanks that I never unpacked, choosing to head directly to the bar instead of spending any time getting comfortable in my room.
I make quick work of checking out of the hotel room and climbing back into my car, pointing it toward Magnolia. I just need to get home and forget all about last night. Then things can go back to normal. I don’t regret one moment of the time we shared last night. But one-night stands happen, and that’s all this can be. Besides, I’ll never see Finn again. He’s headed home to see his family, and it’s time for me to head back to real life. Being with me will bring him nothing but misery. Once I get home, last night will become nothing more than a fond memory.
Just as I’m getting into my car, my cell phone rings. I don’t even need to pull out my phone to check who’s calling, knowing there’s only one person who would dare call me this early in the morning. I open the car door quickly, tossing my bag into the back seat before answering the call on the fourth ring.
“Did you enjoy your night?” Peyton asks.
Peyton was my roommate throughout college. It was rocky at first, which was understandable. We were two very opinionated females thrust into a 12X19 square-feet dorm room because we came from neighboring towns and the school believed it would help make our transition to college life easier. Well, it didn’t, but after Peyton’s high school sweetheart, Jules, dumped her, we discovered we had a lot more in common than we thought. The rest is history.
When I told her I was moving back to Magnolia after graduation, she was all too willing to join me. She wanted to be close enough to her family to visit for the holidays, or in case an emergency popped up, but far enough away that they couldn’t come knocking on her door without calling first. I really should’ve thought about that before coming back here. If I had, I could very well have avoided this entire conversation.
“I take it by your silence that it was indeed a good night.”
“The best.” I laugh softly, a smile spreading across my face as I’m reminded once again of the night I spent with Finn and the way my body heats at the memory. “I’m pretty sure you aren’t only calling me to ask about my night.”
“Guilty as charged.”
“What do you want, Peyton?” I question as I climb into the car, pointing it toward home.
“I’m hungry,” she whines. “Could you pretty please stop at The Sugar Spot and get me something?”
The Sugar Spot is Peyton’s favorite bakery in her hometown of Birch Cove, only twenty miles away from Magnolia and right on my way home. You’d think after starting her own bakery, she’d learn how to make her own version of the Tennessee Mountain Apple Stack Cake, but she swears it’d never taste the same. Whenever I’m coming anywhere near Birch Cove, Peyton always begs me to stop and grab a slice for her.
“I have a sneaking suspicion you convinced me to head to Chattanooga just so I’d make a stop for you on my way home.”
“Me?” she responds in mock horror. “I’d never do something so manipulative.”
“Yes, you would,” I deadpan, knowing Peyton would do anything humanly possible to get a slice of her favorite cake. “And you’re lucky I love you and I’m hungry. I’ll bring it by the shop on my way back into town.”
“Thank you!” she squeals, giving me a mental picture of her jumping up and down, clapping her hands like a little girl. “Text when you get close, and I’ll have your coffee ready for you because Lord knows you need it. You’re cranky.”
“Wouldn’t you be if your demanding best friend called you at,” I pause, glancing down at the digital clock on my dashboard, “seven-thirty in the morning to ask you to get her a baked good? You could probably make it yourself if you tried.”
“It’s not the same, Mari, and you know it!” she shouts before taking a deep breath. “Damn, I thought you’d be slightly more agreeable after getting laid. You got laid, didn’t you?”
“Goodbye, Peyway.”
“I fucking hate when you call me that. The least you can do is come up with a nickname that isn’t the same as our favorite Asian fast-food restaurant in college,” she grumbles, her irritation with the silly nickname I gave her one drunken night in college clear in her voice.
“I know,” I respond before ending the call.
The last thing I want to do is have a conversation with Peyton about Finn. She’d want details and answers to questions that I don’t know the answer to. Thankfully, I’ll never have to find out because I’ll never see him again.
Tennessee is a decent-sized state, and he could’ve been traveling anywhere. I never told him anything more than my first name. Marissa is a common enough first name, and I never told him where I lived. That’s something I never do, especially with a random hookup. I’m not stupid. You never give out your personal information unless you want to end up in a body bag.
Why the fuck am I stressing about this?This was a one-night stand—an unbelievable one-night stand—but this was never meant to go beyond that.
Then why does it feel like my life will never be the same?
CHAPTERSIX
