Page 73 of Wild Flower

“Give me the releases,” I say, pulling out a pen. “But you’re not telling Becca I signed these as a way to pressure her. Got it? If she says no, it’s done.”

Finn nods as I sign the paperwork for both photoshoots and push it back to him. “Thanks, man.”

“Good.” I nod. “Now let’s talk about the stick that’s been up your butt the last few days.”

“Excuse me?” Finn frowns, tucking his laptop and the photo releases away.

“I see you flinch every time Becca introduces me to someone as her boyfriend and not you,” I say point blank. “But it’s not personal, it’s a survival instinct. When she’s ready to introduce both of us, she will.”

“Easy for you to say,” he grumbles.

“You think meeting her parents was easy?” I ask. “They were disgruntled enough by my existence. How do you think they’d react to their precious daughter dating both of us?”

“At least you got the opportunity.”

“Trust me, you’ll get plenty of opportunity in the future when I’m not around anymore,” I toss back flippantly.

“What the hell does that mean?” Finn’s face gets serious, then he lowers his voice. “Is the cancer back? Did you go see the doctor? Is it serious?”

“No,” I say quickly. “I haven’t gone to the doctor.” I shouldn’t have said anything—even as a joke—this is exactly what I hate about people knowing. “But yes, it will come back eventually,” I grind out. “And when it eats my insides like tiny maggots, you can have Becca all to yourself. Okay?”

“That’s not what I want,” Finn asserts. “It’s not about wanting Becca without you.”

“Well, it’s how it will end up,” I grumble.

“Have you told her?”

“Fuck no.” I take a sip of my coffee before pointing at his disgruntled face. “I’m sick of people looking at me like that, and I don’t want her to do the same.”

“It’s called caring about you,” Finn says, moving into my personal space and lowering his voice. “And she does. Becca will want to know.”

“Well, you better not tell her. It’s not your secret to tell.”

“I wasn’t going to.” Finn glares at me. “But you—”

“Mind your own shit, Finn,” I snap, pushing my coffee away and moving to get up. “I’ll tell her when I have to tell her.”

“But if you’re not going to the doctor,” Finn points out, “how will you even know when that is?”

“You’re starting to sound like my sister,” I warn, “and not in a good way.” I stride over to the trash and toss my coffee. Finn slings his laptop bag over his shoulder and hurries to catch up as I exit onto the boardwalk.

“We’re all in this relationship, you realize,” Finn says, as I pick up speed. “All of us. That includes you and me.”

“Stop over analyzing everything, Finn, and just have fun.” I toss off my sandals and walk onto the sand next to the boardwalk.

“Is that all this is for you? Fun?” Finn runs after me with his shoes still on.

“It will stop being fun the second you throw the cancer card in the middle of it. Trust me, I’ve been through that already and it stops everything in its tracks.”

Finn grabs my elbow, turning me to face him. “I know about it and I’m not running away.”

“Yeah,” I nod, trying to twist my elbow from his grip, but he doesn’t let up. “You’re not running away, but you’re also not laying off the righteous lectures. It’s my life, and I’m allowed to live it however I want.”

Finn pulls me forward into a hug. It’s aggressive and way too sentimental for all the anger raging under my skin. “Fuck off, man,” I hiss, but he doesn’t let me go. In fact, his arms clamp down tighter. “I’m not kidding, you’re starting to piss me off!”

“Good,” Finn replies. “Maybe if you’re angry enough you’ll actually fight for your life.”

“I’m seriously going to punch you.”

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