Page 65 of Can't Help Falling

Kylie laughed. “I’m not sure barbecue is a food group, but sure, I’m game.”

Tyler shoved his hands in his pockets and led the way, pointing out the canal as they went, the changing neighborhoods, talking about Brooklyn, about nothing at all.

TURNEDOUT, MARYDIDwant Kylie to continue working at the shop even after the Christmas rush. So, it was in mid-January that Kylie ended up taking Fin up on the offer to stay over for the night.

It was a Friday, and Fin had been by Fresh to help reorganize after the New Year, showing off just a little for Kylie. Ty was at a game that was going late and wasn’t going to be home until around one. Fin figured she could either wait for Ty to come home to his house, stewing in that sock maniac’s golden energy all night, or she could retreat to her own turf and not have to worry about it.

Since Fin had seen the videos of Tyler dancing, since the sock incident, she’d been avoiding being alone with him.

Because she had a problem. A major problem.

She kinda, sorta, maybe just a little bit had feelings for him.

And she had no freaking idea what to do about it.

She’d never experienced this before. He’d texted her the other day to invite her to a women’s soccer game with him and Kylie in February and it had taken Fin an hour to craft a text back.

An hour.

And all the text had said was Sounds fun, let me check my schedule.

So, of course, two days later, he’d called to ask her if she’d checked her schedule yet. But she hadn’t answered the phone. She’d been on the way to meet a client, saw it was Ty calling and just jammed the phone back into her bag. Then, even worse, she’d held her breath through listening to the entire voice mail.

She barely recognized herself! She was suddenly swamped with sympathy for all the lovesick clients she’d ever worked with before. Having feelings for someone was the pits. She felt like one of those shivering chihuahuas in turtlenecks whenever she thought of him, totally unprepared for life on this planet. Worst of all, every third thought was about him. It was a nauseating combination of exhausting and exhilarating.

She was constantly remembering something he’d said, or wondering what he was up to or what he’d think about something she’d heard on the news...ugh. How mortifying.

She hadn’t, however, let herself watch those YouTube videos again. Those things were potent and had screwed up her life for a month. The last thing this stupid crush needed was fuel.

Which was why she didn’t want to wait on his couch for him to come home from work, rumpled and tired and friendly. She didn’t want him to slip off her socks and give her new ones. She didn’t want to see whether he’d sit on the armchair or on the couch right next to her this time. She didn’t want to find out what his end-of-the-day scent was. Whether he would still smell like deodorant, or if he’d be a little sweaty, a little musty. She wasn’t sure which she was rooting for.

Wait! She wasn’t rooting for either.

Which was why Kylie was currently snoozing in Fin’s guest room. In the morning, she’d walk Ky down to the sidewalk and hand her off to Tyler with a wave and a smile. Problem solved.

But when the morning rolled around, Fin really didn’t feel like the problem was solved. She hadn’t slept well and was already sucking down a cup of coffee on her couch when Kylie emerged from the guest room, scratching at her messy hair and stumbling to the bathroom.

“You’re up early.”

“Yeah, Ty already texted me this morning. Woke me up.”

“What’d he say?” Fin hoped she sounded casual.

“Oh. That he was bringing bagels over.” She squinted at the clock on the wall. “He should be here in about ten minutes.”

“Here? As in my house?”

Kylie’s eyebrows raised. “Yeah. He’s picking me up and bringing bagels for breakfast.”

“Okay.” Fin forced herself to remain sitting, holding her mug of coffee and looking as serene as possible. What she really wanted to do was run in a tight circle with her arms waving over her head, but somehow she thought she might lose some of Kylie’s respect if she did that.

“It’s probably a good thing he’s bringing food,” Kylie said lightly, peering into Fin’s kitchen. “Since you don’t use your kitchen as a kitchen.”

“Hey!” Fin argued. “I microwave popcorn in there!”

Kylie laughed. “I’m gonna get dressed.”

As soon as she’d left the room, Fin rose, surveying her space. It was clean, as she’d done a thorough wipe-down of dust only three days ago. She’d also vacuumed and mopped. But it wasn’t the neatest it had ever been. A stack of journals skewed haphazardly on her bookshelf from where she’d been leafing through them. Her lampshade was askew, a pile of unfolded laundry melted halfway off an armchair and two dirty cereal bowls sat stolidly on her coffee table.

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