Page 89 of Give Me a Reason

“What are you doing?” I asked, but Finn’s mouth was moving over my neck, and it never failed to give me goose bumps.

He lifted his head. “I would think that would be obvious.”

“We can’t. It’s early, and Ireland’s here.”

“I know.”

I wanted to ask when are you going to talk to her, but I couldn’t. It was like I was afraid to call him out on it. Maybe it was hard for him because of his history, but I hated lying to my friend.

All I knew was that it would be worse if we continued to keep it from her.

I reluctantly pulled my lips from his. “We should go back. Ireland might be looking for me.”

His forehead rested against mine. “I had to kiss you.”

I smiled. “I’m not complaining.”

He kissed me once, twice, before finally pulling away. “I need to go back out for my set.”

“You go first.”

Finn nodded as he pulled away from me, his hand on the doorknob. “I love you.”

Warmth spread through me, reminding me why we were doing this. I didn’t want to push him. It was good that he was admitting his feelings for me, and we were giving it a real shot. “Love you too.”

Then he opened the door and was gone. I waited a few seconds and started counting to one hundred, but I lost my spot a few times. Then I felt like I needed to be out there before Ireland started looking for me. I opened the door and stepped out, almost running into Ireland.

Ireland’s eyes widened. “Why were you and Finn in a closet together?”

“What?” I asked, trying to buy some time to come up with an explanation.

“I just saw Finn walk out of this door a few seconds ago. He said he needed a minute to himself. But why would you be in there too?”

I flushed, unsure what to say. “Finn said he’d talk to you, but he kept putting it off.”

“What are you talking about? Are you seeing each other?”

I looked around, but Finn was already gone. He was probably getting ready for his second set. “We are.”

“And you sneak around and screw on his breaks?” she asked, her words coming faster.

“No. We usually wait until he’s done for the night, and I’m on my break. But it’s not like that. At least not anymore.”

“You’re letting my brother use you? You know that, right? He’s never dated anyone seriously.” Ireland’s words rose in volume, and I looked around to make sure no one was nearby.

“That’s not what this is,” I said, a sick feeling in my stomach.

“Then you’re kidding yourself.”

“We love each other.” It sounded lame to my own ears.

“You keep telling yourself that. If you’d asked me, I would have told you he wasn’t capable of being a boyfriend. He’ll never get married. He’s not what you want.”

“I think he’s changed.”

“People don’t change. I need to get back out there. Gia trusted us to handle the job, and you’re fucking my brother in the closet.”

That was a little loud.

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