Page 117 of Finn Rhodes Forever

I wasn’t.

“Are we walking?” I asked.

“Nope.” He stepped over to where two bikes leaned against the wall of the bar.

A surprised laugh ripped out of me. It was my old bike from when we were teenagers. I used to store it in Finn’s parents’ shed in their backyard beside Finn’s bike, and when Finn left, I didn’t bother taking it out. I hadn’t ridden it since. After over a decade in a dirty old shed, it should have been rusty and grimy, but it looked preserved in a time capsule. My gaze roamed the midnight-blue frame, speckled with stars, and I reached out to trace one of the brake lines, smooth and untouched by age. The seat was different. There was a new basket on the front.

“How…?” I frowned.

Finn crossed his arms, watching with a tentative grin. “I replaced the brakes and got you a new seat. And I fixed a few other things.”

His bike stood beside mine, cleaned up just as nicely.

“And you added a basket.”

His head dipped, pleased and a little embarrassed. His bashful, boyish expression made my heart stammer.

“I couldn’t resist. Almost added a few sparkly streamers on the side to piss you off.”

I chuckled, reaching out to run the pad of my finger over the wicker basket. Butterflies whipped around in my stomach and chest as I scraped my teeth over my bottom lip.

“Do you like it?” he asked in a low voice.

I shot him a silent nod, smiling.

His eyes turned soft like velvet, and my stomach flopped. “Good.”

Before I could overthink it, Finn was on his bike, slowly meandering down the sidewalk while I scrambled to catch up. The first push of the peddle woke something up in me, a sparking energy in my stomach that made me smile as we rode through the streets of Queen’s Cove to the marina. We leaned our bikes at the top of the marina and headed down to the tiny fish and chips shack, busy with summer tourists.

After we ordered and received our food, we carried it up to the bikes.

“Let’s eat at the beach,” Finn suggested.

“Which one?”

His gaze lifted and behind his eyes, I saw something hesitant and hoping. “Castle.”

A beat passed between us. Castle Beach wasn’t known to tourists. It wasn’t on a map, it wasn’t on Google, and locals didn’t post it on Instagram. Even Miri knew better than to spill the beans about it. Boaters couldn’t access the beach due to signage about underwater rocks. The highway access was nearly impossible to find unless you knew what to search for, but Finn and I knew another way via a back road.

As kids and teenagers, we used to go there all the time. We used to watch the sunset and build bonfires. I remembered sitting there wondering if he liked melike that.

“Race you.” I held his gaze while the challenge lingered in the air. The corner of his mouth turned up and he lifted one eyebrow.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Mhm.” I rolled my lips to hide my smile. My stomach danced with excitement. That thing that woke up in me earlier? It sat up, yawned, and stretched. Blinked the sleep out of its eyes. I smiled wider, wiggling my eyebrows. “Unless you’re worried I’ll kick your ass, like when we hike.”

He let out a bark of laughter. “Morgan, you’re trying to rile me up.”

“What if I am?” I tried to take the food from him to place in the basket but he tucked it in the backpack he had brought, waving me off.

“I’ll carry it.” He did the zip up before straightening and regarding me. “Alright, you’re on. Get ready to dry your tears.”

I smiled so hard my face hurt. “Never.”

We agreed to ride at a casual pace until Main Street and the traffic were behind us. We picked up speed, passing houses, the elementary school, the mechanic, our parents’ houses.

We reached the back road to Castle Beach, slipping through a short path, bumping over the gravel until we reached the pavement.

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