Page 28 of It's Just You

“Welcome,” Finn mumbled, but he didn’t look up at me at all. Instead, he seemed to find the pavement truly fascinating.

“Finn, I…” I hesitated. How could I put this? I didn’t want things to keep going like this. It had been nice to feel like I had another friend, even if it had only been briefly. “I’m sorry,” I finally said.

“What for?” He still avoided looking at me. “If anything, I’m the one who needed to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. So…” With those words, he turned to walk away, and it felt like my heart was clenching.

I reached out before I even thought about what I was doing, catching his elbow. “Finn, wait. Please.” My voice sounded so pitiful, even to me.

Finn finally looked up, though his gaze was trained on a spot somewhere around my collarbone instead of my eyes. “Yeah?” Maybe I was imagining the hope in his voice, but it tugged at me anyway. I didn’t want him to walk away with things like this, so awkward and fraught with misunderstandings.

“I shouldn’t have been so… I don’t know. I like talking to you. I like you. Yeah, the flirting got a little over the top, but I… I miss it,” I confessed, blushing furiously.

He blinked, and he met my eyes at last. “What?”

It was like I’d reduced him to only being able to manage one-syllable answers, much like the rest of our meal had been. He seemed so afraid to say something wrong that he wasn’t saying much at all, and that just made everything that much more difficult.

“I want you to be able to talk freely with me,” I told him.

He turned back to face me, no longer poised to walk away.

Relief flooded me. He was listening. He was actually listening. Maybe I hadn’t fucked all of this up beyond redemption. “So I’m sorry,” I went on. “I didn’t mean for you to change your behavior like that.”

Finn nibbled on his bottom lip, and he looked so lost and helpless that I wanted to reach out and give him a hug. I hadn’t seen him like this before, and I didn’t like it. His confidence usually radiated from him and had since the first time we’d met. That was what I associated with him. Knowing I was the one who’d cast shade on his light was an uncomfortable feeling. “I didn’t. I was just trying not to offend you.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t want it like…” Like what? I couldn’t even figure out what to say. I couldn’t dictate how he did or didn’t act. “Just be yourself, okay? Even if that means flirting. I’d rather have the flirtatious Finn back than the one who looks like I just kicked his puppy.”

He frowned at me. “I’m not sure there even is a Finn under all the flirting,” he mumbled. “It’s just… who I am?” He hesitated. “Okay, no, not really. Well, yes, part of me is, but part of me just likes you, too. So I guess I just overdid it?”

“I’d rather you overdo it than not be yourself with me,” I said softly.

“Oh, we can certainly overdo it.” Finn batted his eyelashes, but his snorting made it anything but sexy.

I rolled my eyes. “Just…” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Come hiking with me.” The words burst out before I even realized what I was saying.

Finn blinked at me. “I— What?” He looked like I’d suddenly started speaking Mandarin — or flirting back, for that matter.

“Hiking. You. Me. Just a little bit of walking. Lots of time to annoy me. Uh, I mean, talk to me and flirt with me a little if you want?” I tried.

Finn snorted again, but his wary stance softened. Good. He was finally relaxing around me again. “Time to annoy you? Sounds like an opportunity I can’t pass up, but be warned: I am not an outdoors kind of guy.”

“At least I’m not asking you to go camping with me,” I pointed out. “It could be much worse.”

“Well, yes. You carrying me up some kind of mountain to sleep on the ground doesn’t sound like my kind of fun.”

“Well, we’d have sleeping bags…” He eyed me. “All right, no sleeping bags. Duly noted.” I grinned at him. “Though it’d probably be fun watching you try to pitch a tent.”

“I’ll show you—” Finn bit his lip, cutting off his own words. “Nope. Not going there. See, I can be a really good boy.” His eyes sparkled. “Do I get a reward now?”

“You’re unbelievable.” But deep inside, I was happy he was back to the way he’d been before. And now, having seen his other side — how silent and subdued he’d gotten — I very much preferred this flirty side. At least I could laugh about it. “But no. No rewards. Rewards come after hiking.” I paused, blushing hard. “I mean…”

Fuck. How had I just walked into that? Hell, I’d even set myself up for it.

“Consider me signed up. Can’t wait to see what kind of rewards I’ll get. Ice cream again? Coffee? Maybe even some cake? See, I can keep this PG.”

Wow, he’d actually managed to keep that from being sexual. “Cake. Maybe. Or I’ll get you another ice cream and cake if you’re a really good boy.”

I needed to watch my tongue. Good boy? He wasn’t a dog. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with me?

“Deal. When? What do you need me to wear?” He was nearly bouncing on his feet, looking excited as hell. It was hilarious, considering I hadn’t thought he’d actually be interested at all in going hiking.

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