Page 45 of It's Just You

13

Finn

Of course Kane’sbike was in the driveway and Sam’s car wasn’t.

I took a deep breath, staring at the front of their house then at the bundle of clothing I had on the passenger seat next to me. I needed to just drop off the clothes then get out. It was easy enough. But what I’d done to Kane hadn’t been fair at all. He’d trusted me so implicitly, and I’d rejected him without even thinking. He deserved an apology and an explanation, too.

More than even that, I found myself missing spending time with Kane. Sam was fun, but with Kane, there was something deeper, something I missed now that it was gone. Fuck, when had this gotten so complicated?

I liked flirting, having different men, and enjoying my life. Sure, I wouldn’t turn down Mr. Right if I found him, but I firmly believed in sampling a lot of goods before settling on the best one. Which apparently made me the complete opposite of Kane, who’d said he never did that. I couldn’t imagine not kissing or touching for a long time, which made us complete opposites. I craved touch, while he seemed to be timid about it.

It had to be a sad, lonely life, especially since I knew how much pressure he was under from his dad’s illness, his job, and worrying about Sam. Without the relief of another person around to fool around with… Well, I wouldn’t be able to do it.

Now I felt even worse, if that was even possible. Damn. I should’ve talked to him first, maybe let him explain what was going on in his head — or maybe I should’ve just explained to him why my first impulse had been to up and run. I’d been so afraid of getting hurt that I’d forgotten my reaction could hurt him too.

I ran a hand through my hair, then fixed it again. There was no need to look like I’d just crawled out of bed at four in the afternoon. I didn’t want to scare Kane away, though he probably wouldn’t mind too much if I was a little messy. After all, he’d seen me after I’d taken off my helmet when I’d been on his bike.

Memories of clinging to his body, so hard and strong and sexy, assaulted me, making my mouth water. He had to be fit for his job, and getting to grip his body tight had more than assured me that he was just that.

I finally got out of the car and went to the front door with the bag in hand, and in front of me stood Kane and Sam’s mother. Damn. I hadn’t expected to see her. I’d prepared some bullshit excuse for Sam if he’d been home, but not for Kane’s mom.

“Hey, Finn! Nice seeing you again.” Before I could even react, she pulled me into a hug, embracing me tightly.

“Hey, Mrs. Stiles. Thank you. It’s good seeing you again too. How are you?” I took a deep breath when she released me, because I’d started to feel claustrophobic. I definitely wasn’t used to this kind of motherly hug.

“Oh, I’m fine, as always.” She waved my question off, but she didn’t look fine at all. Lines wrinkled the skin around her eyes and lips, telling me about sleepless nights and worries. “Sam’s not here, though.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to Kane, if he’s around?” I swallowed. Would she accept it, or would she ask some awkward questions?

She hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Sure, come on in. He’s up in his room. He had an early shift today.”

“Oh, do you think he’s sleeping? I don’t want to wake him.” Why hadn’t I considered that? If he had to get up really early, he might be napping. I should’ve at least texted to let him know I planned to come over, not just drop by unannounced. But with me being completely off for the next few weeks, I simply hadn’t thought about his work.

Sometimes I really was an idiot, wasn’t I? A self-centered, shallow idiot.

Thankfully, Kane’s mother interrupted my thoughts. “Come inside. Just go up to his room and knock if the door’s closed, but he doesn’t usually nap. If he is, you can come by later if you want.” She smiled gently at me. “And I’m sure he wouldn’t mind being woken up by you anyway.” Before I could even figure out what she meant with those words, she added, “Upstairs, second door on the right.”

I nodded and thanked her, heading upstairs. I knocked tentatively on the door, fidgeting.

A few seconds later, I heard Kane’s voice. “Come in.”

So he wasn’t asleep. Good.

Bad.

No, it was good. I had to do this.

Clutching the bag of clothes and shoes in my hand — my excuse for being there — I opened the door and stuck my head inside.

Kane’s head jerked up. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a laptop on his lap. He wasn’t wearing a t-shirt, and a blanket was pulled up to his waist.

Oh, god, was he even wearing pants? My mouth suddenly got very, very dry, and all thoughts about having a level-headed, serious conversation went out the window. What the fuck? How… I couldn’t even find words. Strong, sexy, tattooed, vulnerable… God help me, I was so fucked.

“I—” I stopped.

“You can come in if you want.” Kane seemed to do better than me.

Well, I was clothed, after all.

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