Page 33 of Finn

In a rush of words, I say, “I haven’t said anything because I’m going to dinner with a player.”

She appears to be stunned but recovers quickly. “You are?” she asks. “Is he a Thunder player?”

I snort. “Yes, of course. I wouldn’t hang out with the enemy.”

That makes her laugh.

“As for who it is,” I go on, “it’s Finn.”

“Finn? As in Finn Norath?”

I roll my eyes. “Are there any other Finns on the team?”

“No.” We come to a stop at a red light, and, peering over at me curiously, she says, “It’s just that I didn’t realize you two knew each other well enough to be going out to dinner.”

Ha, if she only knew how well we know each other—like in the biblical sense.

“Well, we do,” I say.

“And it’s definitely not a date?” she double-checks.

“Nope, not a date.”

“Hmmm…”

The light turns green, and we continue on our way to the arena.

I can see the wheels turning in Ellie’s head as she drives. I really need to give her more info, or she may figure out that more is going on here than meets the eye.

Clearing my throat, I tell her, “Okay, here’s the deal. Finn kind of saved me at Boots one night a couple of weeks ago. That’s when we got to know each other a little better.”

“Wow, no way. What happened?” she asks.

I fill her in on the details of the obnoxious Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum incident and how Finn scared them off. I also share that we stayed at Boots after closing for a short while.

I’m honest about everything, but I leave out that I went back to his house with him. Of course, I also don’t tell her that we had mind-blowing sex.

Thankfully, Ellie and I arrive at the arena, and she’s distracted with finding a parking spot.

We do, and once she cuts the engine, she turns to me and says, “Okay, so, I think this is fantastic, Sammie. Finn is such a great guy. He’s superhot, too, right?” Pausing, she raises a brow.

I know she’s waiting for my response, but I have to be careful here. I mean, I do think he’s superhot. Clearly, since that’s part of why I slept with him. But I can’t give that away.

I instead answer with a measured “Yeah, he is kind of good-looking.”

“Pfft,” she snorts. “That’s an understatement, and you know it.”

I just shrug.

But Ellie’s not done.

Excitement building, she says, “Maybe something will develop between you two. You know, you guys would make the cutestcouple. Ohh, and if you were together, we could go out on double dates. Nils and Finn are such good friends, and you and I are too.” She lets out a little squeal. “Damn, Sammie, it’d be so perfect.”

I put my hand on her forearm to calm her down. “Ellie,” I say. “Finn is just going to be my friend, okay? I’m sorry, but I really have no time for love.”

She pshaws. “Stop it, Sammie. Just stop. You say that all the time. And you know what? You could easily make time. Look at me and Nils.”

I wish I could tell her everything, like how I don’t deserve the kind of happiness she’s found with Nils. But I can’t share the reason. She’d probably end up hating me for what I’ve done. Or maybe more so for what I should, or should not, have done, looking back at the circumstances of that fateful night.

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