Page 54 of Finn

“Great.” I’m pumped now, too, as I tell her, “There’s a local fisherman who sells freshly caught salmon down the road from here. We’ll stop by his place and pick up some before we return to the cabin.”

“Sounds yummy,” she says.

I eye her seriously as I share, “Tonight will be my turn to return the favor and cook you up a hopefully amazing salmon feast.”

“Deal,” she replies. “And for the record, I’m sure dinner will be amazing. I think this whole day is going to be fun.”

“I think it will be too,” I agree.

Our hands are so close on the table, so I take a chance and place mine over hers.

It’s just that I need to touch her right now.

To my surprise, she doesn’t slide her hand out from under mine.

We just stay as we are.

And it feels so fucking good.

Sammie

This day I’m spending with Finn is turning out to be everything I hoped it would be and more.

It started out with a good breakfast. And then, when he put his hand over mine at the table, it felt so right that I couldn’t pull away.

I thought about it.

I did.

But I just didn’t want to.

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel that need to punish myself.

Instead, I just enjoyed Finn’s touch, his warmth, and the simple intimacy of the gesture.

We didn’t look at each other; we both just stared down at our hands. At one point, he stroked my index finger with his, just once. And then he stopped and gave me a little squeeze.

That was it.

So simple, but I think it said a lot.

After Finn had lifted his hand from mine, he stood up and, touching my exposed shoulder, which instantly lit my skin on fire, he said softly, “I’m going to go take a shower. Are you good with us leaving in about an hour?”

“Yes,” I squeaked out. “I’m going to shower too. I’ll be ready by then.”

I held my breath until he left the kitchen, then I blew it out in one long gasp. I was all over the place emotionally, and my body was on fire.

I loaded that stupid dishwasher so quickly, it wasn’t even funny, then raced upstairs and took a cold shower.

Well, not ice-cold, but enough to calm me down.

Once it was time to leave, I was back to being composed.

Finn seemed normal too.

And we’ve been great since then.

His tour has been fantastic so far.

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