Page 68 of Hound Dog
He wasn’t wrong.
I was lucky.
But sometimes in moments like these, that wasn’t what I needed to hear.
“I can’t just donothing,” Finn said. “You’re crying.”
I shrugged. “It’ll stop soon.”
“Haylee,” he whispered, and when I looked over, his arms were outstretched. An invitation. “I give good hugs.”
I remember.
“Finn…” I started to say.
“Friendshug, too, you know?”
Friends. “Is that what we are?”
He shrugged, arms still comically outstretched, just waiting for me to fall into them. “Well, we’re not coworkers. We’re not partners. We’re not neighbors. We’re not… enemies?” The last was a question and he paused, awaiting my answer.
Slowly I shook my head, the tears slowing as this new conversation distracted me from my sorrow. “No, we’re not enemies.”
The initial anger I’d felt when I first saw him had been slowly dissipating over the last few days.
That wasn’t to say I was happy or thrilled with how things played out six years ago, but I was beginning to see his point. And in some ways, he was right. It did make me more special… the fact that he didn’t sleep with me. Even though I thought I was ready to lose my virginity and felt so violated by him not showing up.
“So, that leaves…. friends,” he said. “And friends hug each other. Especially when one is sad.”
I nodded and, with a little sniffle, stepped into his arms, closing my eyes as they wrapped around me.
His chest was a wall of firm muscle, and he smelled like a mixture of deodorant and pine.
I sighed into him as one final tear fell and saturated the cotton of his shirt.
“We can be avoca-bros,” he joked.
I laughed, my mood lifting already. “We’re having an avo-cuddle.”
“See?” he asked. “I told you I give good hugs. They’re magical. Life altering.”
I shook my head with a chuckle, cheek still pressed into him. “You’re so humble, you know that?”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Your hugs are pretty good, too. I mean, not as good asmine, of course.” I could hear the grin in his voice.
“Hey Finn… kiss my Hass.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Finn
We madeit back to Maple Grove after the long hike. As I stopped at the first red light on Main Street, my stomach growled.
“Any chance you’re up for some pizza?”
“Oh my God,yes. Should we bring the dogs home first?”
I shook my head. “Nah. They have an outdoor section and Nick will bring out some water for them.”
