Page 65 of The Moment Promised

“It’s selfish, but…I hope you never go back home,” she says, head hanging in shame.

I smile. A big, happy smile that only happens occasionally. I hug her and whisper, “I kind of never want to leave.”

“It’s just always been my dad and me. I don’t have any siblings or many friends, and sometimes I just feel so…alone. Like no onegetsme. Do you know what I mean?”

I do. I know exactly what she means.

“You guys ever been tubing before?” Charlie calls from his boat. Finn and I are sharing the tube in the water tied to the back of the boat. We lay on our stomachs. The cool water engulfs my toes.

“This will be my first time,” I say, white knuckling the handle. We haven’t even started yet.

“My parents used to take me,” Finn says. He places his hand over mine and squeezes.

“I think Finnegan is going to fly off first.” Chloe comes up behind Charlie, saying between bites of her sandwich, “Don’t worry…we’ll go easy on you.” She gives her dad a wink.

“You ready?” Charlie walks over to the driver’s seat. It looks much different than the boats in the Keys, I guess because this one is meant for a calm lake rather than the roaring sea.

Finn and I nod, and then the boat is dragging us along the waves from the motor. Charlie drives straight for a while, to get to an opening away from any docks, so he can go in circles. Each bump we fly over sprays water in my face. My eyes are squeezed shut but I’m laughing hysterically.

“You having a good time over there, Miller?” Finn yells despite him being right next to me since the boat and splashing is so loud.

I swallow a splash of water when I scream, “Yeah!”

Finn’s chuckle is drowned out by my yelp because now Charlie turns the boat in a tight circle. I hold on as tight as I can. My muscles strain and my body slides to the left and I’m going to fall?—

Charlie cuts the other way. The motion slides me back to my place in the center of the tube right when Finn’s hand leaves itsplace on top of mine. I turn my head and watch him fly off and sink below the surface.

Charlie slows down, both him and his daughter are laughing. So am I.

Finn points a finger to Charlie. “There was no way I could’ve held on with that maneuver.” Chloe howls, and Finn continues, “Come on man, you’re making me look bad in front of a pretty girl.” He pulls himself back on the tube, rocking us so much we almost tip and fall into the water.

We each take turns, and when Chloe and I go together, we are screaming and laughing so much, the boys on the boat smile wide at the show. We both hold on so tight I’m almost positive my fingers will fall off, but neither of us let go.

Finn pulls out his phone to take a video. I hear him say to Charlie, “Don’t go easy on them.”

And then I can’t tell if we are going in circles or infinity signs or if Charlie just invented a new shape, but Chloe and I fly off the tube at the same time. I smack the water, my nostrils burn from not plugging them, and I almost lose my bottoms.

When I break the surface Chloe and I laugh so hard I have to hold onto the tube to keep from drowning.

Later into the day we’re all wrapped up in towels, rocking on the boat. The sky is purple as the sun sets. I glance around at our group of four, sitting in comfortable silence with faint smiles on our face, and I feel for the first time like I’m truly a part of something. It’s bittersweet to be so at home here. While I’ve had the sense of family through Finn and his parents, I always felt like the outsider, no matter how much they included me. I was neveroneof them. But for some strange reason, being here with Charlie and Chloe, I feel like I’m a part of something. Like I finally belong.

But as much as my heart is here in Authensville, my mother is back home in the Keys, and whether I like it or not, I’m eventually going to have to go home.

I can already feel my heart breaking when we leave. Not only do I love it here, but once we’re back home, whatever happens between Finn and I…it’ll be like it never did. The agreement of our fling will be over and left at a roadside stop, not coming home with us.

16

It’s nice, you know,” Finn says gently stroking my hair.

I press my index finger into the shadow of his dimple, and my stomach flip flops. “What’s that?” I ask.

I am wrapped like a burrito into the plush comforter, meanwhile Finn lays on the bed with nothing shielding him from the cold.

Charlie, much like Finn, keeps the air too cold. And on top of that, Finn cracked open the window in our bedroom—for the time being—and it’s a whopping fifty-eight degrees outside.

“Seeing you so happy.” The mattress dips when he whispers in my ear.

“Can you tell?” I respond absentmindedly, too distracted by the eight-pack staring back at me.

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