Page 26 of Finn's Solace

Something soft and wet pressed against my cheek, pulling my attention away from Finn. When I turned to look, there was nothing there, but when I glanced back at Finn, he was gone, and so were the others. I was alone in the dark.

"Finn? Finn!"

The cold and wet sensation returned, and I jerked upright, making Greta fall to the floor with a screech.

"Shit, sorry, girl!" I picked her up, and she rubbed her head against my hand as I tried to get my breathing under control. That had been a vivid dream. No...not a dream. It was a memory, one I'd forgotten or buried away when I'd thought I'd been too late and the others were dead. When I'd thoughtFinnwas dead.

I checked the time on my phone and realized it was almost midnight. I couldn't sleep yet, though. I had a date to plan, and another promise to keep. I was going to show Finn all the constellations I could find.

Finn

I got a text Sunday morning from Levi saying he'd pick me up for our date at six thirty tonight. I was still not quite awake, which was why I almost sent a message asking him how heknew my address before remembering Greta had visited me all week while he was at work, and if she knew where I lived, so did he.

The idea of spending the whole day waiting for our date didn't sound the least bit fun, especially when I could feel my dads' eyes on me all through breakfast. They clearly had questions, but they were trying to be 'good' and not bombard me with them.

I didn't mind, honestly. I liked how interested they were. I liked knowing they cared, and that they would tell me if they thought I was making a mistake.

"Oh, don't make dinner for me tonight, please," I said as I was finishing up, and Dad grinned. Papa shot him a warning look, and he tried to tamp it down, which made me smile.

"You have plans?" Dad asked, failing in his act of appearing unfazed. He was practically buzzing with excitement.

I nodded, then just because I was having fun, I added, "A date."

Dad's eyes went wide, but it was Papa who spoke, which was a surprise. "With Levi?"

"Yeah," I agreed, then decided I might as well tell them the rest of it. I'd told Penny and Dean last night because I'd been feeling a little gushy, but for once they'd kept it to themselves. "He's my mate."

They took five whole seconds to absorb this news. Then they were both around the counter and sandwiching me in a tight hug.

"That's amazing, Finn. We're so happy for you!" Dad exclaimed before squeezing me again. He pressed a kiss on top of my head, making his blond hair fall into my face.

"When are you bringing Levi over to meet us?"

Oh wow, nope. We werenotgoing there.

My head filled with amusement, and I mentally scowled at my basilisk side. He was such a little shit.

"Not anytime soon. Now let me go, you two."

Dad huffed as Papa chuckled, but they let me go, and I dragged in a deep breath, adding a touch of drama just because.

"Is this your first date?" Dad asked as he returned to the other side and resumed working on the dishes. Papa joined him, and I debated making a run for it, but going back to my room would mean obsessing over tonight's date, so this was the lesser of the two evils.

"No, that was yesterday."

Dad raised a brow, and he didn't have to say a word for me to guess what he wanted. So I told them about our date, and they seemed to enjoy the retelling almost as much as I'd enjoyed the date itself. I imagined some of it was because they'd once had a similar date when they were first going out. It was where Dad had revealed to Papa that he was a mage, back when he used to work at The Happy Place. It was what had given me the idea in the first place. Dad had told us that story a million times.

"I'm glad you both had a good time," Papa said, and I smiled. Yeah, so was I.

"Do you know what you're doing tonight?"

I shook my head, and Dad clapped his hands. "Ooh, a mystery date! That could be fun."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

Dad watched me for a minute, then nodded to himself. "Okay, since it isn't until this evening, how about you make yourself useful until then?"

"Huh?"

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