Page 19 of The Moment Promised

Kissing my best friend shouldn’t feel so…good. My best friend’s lips shouldn’t have the power to light my insides on fire, to make me feel something I’ve never felt before.

I try to act like nothing happened. Like I haven’t dropped ten degrees without Finn’s touch. “I swear, Finn, this will be the last birthday you ever have.” Or maybe I’m the one who won’t see their next birthday because I’m pretty sure I’m having a heart attack.

“We’ll see, love,” he says easily, completely unaffected by what just happened.

Maybe I’m the weird one for feeling as if my world has turned sideways from something as trivial as a kiss. But it didn’t feel like just any kiss between friends.

“Congratulations, you two.” Pete winks at Finn.

Never have I ever thought I’d be stealing from the Walkers’ liquor cabinet, but life is a funny thing sometimes.

This could look bad without context…with my mom being addicted to this stuff and all.

Being a good friend apparently entails stealing your best friend’s parents’ liquor, while they distract said parents.

“Oh shit,” Finn curses from the living room after something shatters.

If all is going to plan, he “accidentally” knocked over the ceramic vase on the TV stand.

“Finn!” Jill’s voice is clipped.

I flinch, hating the idea of causing Finn’s parents’ stress. But as it turns out, this is how the birthday boy wanted to end the night, and I’m in no position to turn down his wishes after my “I want to have fun” proclamation.

“I’ll go grab the broom,” Burt says.

I hear shuffling, like someone just got off the couch. “I’ll get it!” Finn says, suspiciously rushed.

I try to focus on the task at hand. The vodka is just out of reach, almost as if the Walkers didn’t want their kid to get into it.

Ironic.

Footsteps near awfully fast and my entire body freezes as I stand in front of the forbidden cabinet.

“How’s it going?” Finn whispers.

I jolt, startled by his presence in the kitchen.

“Can’t. Reach.” I struggle on my tippy toes.

He easily reaches past me, grabbing the alcohol as he peeks over his shoulder. He puts the bottle in my sweatpants. The glass is cold against the skin between my stomach and pelvis.

I pull my hoodie down to cover the bulge and stick my hands in the pockets, trying desperately to hold the bottle in place so it doesn’t fall down my pant leg.

His proximity mixes with the adrenaline from what we’re doing, causing my eyes to drop to a dangerous place. His lips.

Where mine were only thirty minutes ago.

To him, kissing me was just a way to make the fake proposal more believable so I’d feel even more embarrassed. I wonder if he realizes it was my first kiss.

I take a step back from him, but my spine meets the bottles of wine displayed on a lower shelf, causing the entire structure to wobble. I squeeze eyes tight, expecting the Walkers’ collection of alcohol to shatter against my skull.

Before any of that can happen, Finn stills the cabinet with his hands, caging me in between his arms.

We’re closer than before. His chest is against mine, rising and falling together, in perfect synchronicity. Like a perfectly balanced poem, falling on the same note, rhyming on the same vowels.

It’s as if we’re stuck in a trance. Both of us are unmoving, as if we want to linger in this moment a little while longer. “Are you coming with the broom?” Jill calls. I hear her get off the couch, her footsteps getting closer.

I push past Finn, walking toward the back door in a hurry. “I’ll meet you out there,” I whisper.

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