Anything Goes on a Friday Night (22 page)

He laughed. “I guess so.”

“So, the river?” Tryston asked Finn. “Is that still the plan?”

“Yeah, as long as the girls are up for it.” Finn looked at me and Jane.

I smiled and looked at Jane. “Sounds good to me.”

“It’s cold, but I’m all for it. Sounds like fun.” She kissed Tryston’s cheek when he put his arm around her shoulders.

I kept eating. The pancakes were heaven.

I GRABBED ONTO THE
rope Finn and Tryston had hung from a tree branch. I paused. I loved this kind of shit. You know, the daring, thrill-seeking, heart-racing kind of shit that would get you hurt and possibly killed. I longed to jump out of an airplane, but I couldn’t bring myself to swing from a rope and hurl myself into the muddy river.

The truth was, I feared snakes.
What if those nasty monsters were down there waiting to attack?
I gripped the rope tighter. I could do this. They’d swim away. I started to swing and screamed, digging my heels into the mud to stop myself.

I looked at Jane, Finn, and Tryston who were cracking up. They were all shivering.

“I can’t!” I was laughing too.

“Come on! Yes, you can! What are you so afraid of?” Finn shouted from the water. “I’m in here! We all are. Just do it already!”

I nodded and backed up, holding the rope tightly. I took a few deep breaths, started to swing, but dragged my heels in the dirt again. They all started cracking up again. It wasn’t just the snakes that bothered me; it was also cold. Like 42 degrees cold and here we were, jumping into the river like a bunch of idiots.

“But there are snakes!” I shouted, looking over the edge of the riverbank.

“It’s winter, you idiot! They aren’t in here! Well, except the snakes that are freezing in mine and Finn’s pants!” Tryston said through laughter.

I started cracking up. Of course Tryston would say something like that. I looked at Finn when he started talking.

“Come on, Ellie. Just do it! We’re all in the water, and we’re fine. Cold, but fine.”

I bit my bottom lip. “Okay.”

I held the rope, walked back as far as I could go, then jumped up, pulled my knees to my chest, and screamed the entire way over the river. I let myself drop once I was far enough out and held my breath as I went under the freezing water.

I came up chattering as I swam toward Finn. Thankfully, the current wasn’t too bad. Once I made it to Finn, I planted my feet in the muddy bottom and held onto his arm to steady myself against the current.

“T-t-t-that wasn’t s-s-so bad,” I said through chattering teeth. “God, it’s c-c-cold!”

“L-let’s go b-b-back to the c-c-car!” Jane said.

We made our way out of the water and into my car. We cranked the heat. My car was going to be soaked, but I didn’t care. This was too much fun. Finn was driving because I was shivering so badly that I couldn’t.

We made it back to my house and all took turns changing into dry clothes. Afterwards, I put all of our wet stuff into the washing machine. It was getting dark outside, and Tryston was trying to find a movie for us all to watch.

“Want me to order pizza?” I asked, replying to my dad’s text that I was fine and hanging out with friends.

I looked up at Finn, Tryston, and Jane who were all nodding. I stepped into the hallway to order.

“It’ll be ready in twenty minutes, so in a few, I’ll go get it,” I said when I came back into the living room.

“I’ll come with,” Finn said immediately.

ON OUR WAY TO
get the pizza, Finn reached over and held my hand for the first time. I moved my fingers to get a comfortable hold and smiled. I looked over at him as he turned up the radio. He smiled but kept his eyes on the road.

I looked at our hands and sighed contentedly. Holding Finn’s hand was more than just our skin touching and his bones tangled with mine. Finn made me feel cared for. I felt protected with him. He was one of the few people in my life right now that I trusted with my entire being, and as scary as that was for me because I knew the pain of someone breaking that trust, I believed he would never do anything to disappoint me.

We waited in line until it was our turn. I smiled at the girl behind the counter. She looked familiar, like someone I’d seen from school in Kerrville.

“Can I help you?” she asked, looking at Finn, and then at me.

“Yeah, order for Elena Johnson,” I smiled when Finn’s hand found mine again.

“Your total is $36.87. Cash or credit?”

“Cas—”

“I’ll pay with a debit card,” Finn said, interrupting me.

I scrunched my nose. “No, I’ll pay.”

“No.” He laughed and tried to hand the cashier his card, but I grabbed it before she could take it.

I held it behind my back while Finn tried to get it from me. We were both laughing and holding up the line, but I didn’t care. I was paying for it, dammit. I stuck his card down my shirt, in my bra. He bit his lip and shook his head.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said with a smirk.

I stuck my tongue out at him and handed the girl some cash.

“You’re a piece of work, Ellie.” He took the pizza boxes when the cashier handed them to him, and we headed back out to my car.

Finn took me through Sonic to get us all Route 44 drinks, because they were the best and because he was still mad that I’d paid for the pizza. He said it was the least he could do. On our way back to my house, Finn turned down the radio and looked at me for a second before looking back at the road.

“You haven’t changed your mind about us, have you?”

I frowned at him. “No way! Why would you think that?”

He laughed. “I’m just making sure.”

“Okay, but why do you need to make sure?”

His lips formed a cocky grin, which I found incredibly sexy. “Because, Ellie, I plan on spoiling the hell out of you, kissing you like crazy, and being the best damn thing that has ever happened to you. But before I pour my whole self into this relationship, I just want to make sure you’re ready.”

My heart sped up, and my cheeks felt warm. “I am.”

He laughed. “Good.”

WE MADE IT BACK
to my house, but as soon as we walked in, we walked right back out. Tryston and Jane were in the middle of a hot make-out session on my couch. Finn and I sat in my driveway and put the pizza box in between us.

“Can’t those two save that for when we’re not all together? It’s awkward.” Finn opened the pizza box and handed me a slice.

“Thanks.” I took it and smiled before taking a bite. “And apparently they can’t.” I laughed.

“Apparently.” He smiled and took a bite of his pizza.

“So, I guess the movie is out. How long should we stay out here?”

He shrugged. “Forever.”

We both laughed.

“Do you have to go home tonight?” I asked him and took a drink.

“Sadly, yeah. My mom will freak out. Speaking of my mom, she wants to meet you. I don’t really know how you two have never met, since we’ve been friends for a while now.”

I smiled, but it faded. I was excited about meeting his parents, but how could I ever introduce him to mine? My family was so dysfunctional, and I didn’t want to scare him away. My smile returned when I looked at him.

“I’d love to meet your parents,” I answered before taking another bite.

“My step-dad is okay. You have to get used to him. He’s really loud and says whatever he’s thinking. My real dad is quiet, but he’s nice. And my mom… Well, I’m a momma’s boy, so she gets crazy when it comes to me and my brother.”

“Your brother?”
How have I known Finn all this time but never knew he had a brother?

“Yeah. Tyler. He’s off at college and has been for the past two years. We don’t really talk much. We lack things in common, and he’s busy with his own life.”

I laughed coldly. “Sounds like me and my brother.”

“Wait, you have a brother too?”

I nodded.
Guess we’d never shared this information with each other
. Neither of us ever talked about our family. I wondered if his was as dysfunctional as mine.

“His name is Kyle. He moved about a year before my parents got a divorce. My grandpa is sick, and he moved to help him.”

I left out the part where he and my mom fought constantly. It was so bad that finally, he, my mom, and Dad thought it’d be best if he moved in with Grandpa. Grandpa was sick and did need help, so it was a win-win situation for everyone. Everyone except for me. I missed Kyle, even if all we did was fight like siblings do. And now we never talked. He just left and forgot about me.

“You’re sad,” Finn said, stating the obvious.

“It’s no big deal. I’m okay. Really. Things don’t have to be perfect all the time. It’s life. I just wish things could calm down and stop getting worse.” That was the first time I semi-opened up about my personal life with Finn. He knew about Channing, but aside from that, there were deeper wounds I’d probably never bare to with. The sting of everything hurt so badly that I’d never want Finn to ever have to hurt for me. I liked that he didn’t know everything. I could just be me without all of the broken pieces around him.

“What do you mean?”

I shrugged and closed the pizza box. I pulled my jacket tighter around me and put my hands in my pockets after adjusting the beanie on my head.

“Don’t really want to talk about it. Forget I said what I did. Please?”

He nodded. “Okay, but if you ever want to talk about it I—”

“I don’t,” I said quickly cutting him off.

His forehead creased as he looked at me. “But if you ever do, I’m here.”

“I know.”

We both turned when we heard the door open. Jane and Tryston came out, both blushing.

“Sorry you walked in on that. We just got… Ummm… Caught up in the moment,” Jane giggled.

Tryston put his arm around her shoulders and smiled. “Where’s the pizza?”

Finn and I both looked at the pizza box between us and then back at them. Finn smiled at me as Tryston and Jane sat down with us on the concrete and started eating. We spent the next few hours in the cold night air laughing and talking about our future plans after high school. Jane wanted to be a meteorologist; Tryston had no idea, Finn a welder, and I wanted to be a teacher.