Page 73 of Where We Belong

“Three!”

I launch myself to my right, expecting Finn to do the same on his own side, but instead, I feel him throw himself on top of me and push me out of the way as we start rolling away from the track. A millisecond later, my hair is blown all over the place as the train crosses the exact place we were just lying in, horn tooting again.

“Oh my god,” I shout, forcing my eyes open to find Finn sprawled on top of me, his green eyes bright like morning sunlight, his breaths now coming as fast as mine.

And then, I burst out laughing.

Snow has made its way into my coat, my jeans are thoroughly soaked, and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard as I do now. Finn joins me, and soon we both have tears streaming down our cheeks.

“I can’t believe you made me do this,” I say, my belly hurting from all the laughter.

“You should’ve seen your face.”

“A-asshole,” I get out.

It’s a long time after the train has come and gone that we finally start to catch our breaths. Only then do I fully realize Finn is lying on top of me, our bodies entangled, his face only a few inches above mine, close enough that I can feel the soft puffs of air on my nose and mouth.

“See? You did it,” he says, a grand smile on his lips.

“Yeah, and I almost died.”

“But you didn’t. That’s what matters.”

And as I nod, I realize he has a point. I did do it. Faced my fear. Came close to death, and made it on the other side.

And felt as alive as I ever have in the process.

“Thank you,” I say sincerely, unable to stop myself from glancing down at his mouth. Just once.

His eyes search mine, pink lips parted in a soft exhale. With the snow and the light sky surrounding him, he looks almost angelic, something I know for a fact he’s the opposite of.

“Of course,” he says, and I don’t miss the way his gaze also drops to my lips. I lick them, feeling like destroying the space between us and tasting him again, even just this once.

But that would be a terrible idea. My heart is too fragile for that, no matter how much I like to pretend otherwise. So I use all the self-control I can muster and softly push him off me, then get to my feet.

“All right, daredevil. What next?”

He blinks, as if taken aback, then sits up and grins. “Thought you’d never ask.”

Chapter 27

Finn

“I’mdrained,”Lexiesays,slumped against the window of my passenger seat, her eyes half closed. Outside, the sky is a lavender canvas, turning darker by the minute.

“Is my lifestyle too exhausting for you, Crabby?” I ask.

“Your lifestyle? Like you let yourself fall backward from roofs into the snow all the time?”

“You need to be precise. It was from ashed’s roof.”

I feel her gaze on me, but I keep my attention on the road ahead. We’re almost at the farm, where I’ll drop Lexie off before heading back home.

After our adventure on the train tracks a few days ago, I’ve invited Lexie along on a couple of weird activities, including, yes, dropping backward from my parents’ backyard shed into the thick, fluffy snow, the way I used to do with Aaron when we were kids. We also went jumping from the highest diving board at the public pool—an easy one for Lex, but much harder for me—and hiking one of Vermont’s steepest mountains, all of those activities interspersed into the few free spots in Lexie’s schedule. That girl is always busy, whether because of work or because of practice. Mom said she’s one of the best coaches the gym has ever had, and if she puts the same amount of effort and dedication into it that she does with her own training, then I have no doubt about it.

“Shed or not, it was high,” Lexie says.

“And I bet you’d love to do it again.”

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