Best Friends, Tennessee (Hard Spot Saloon #1)

17. Ori

17

ORI

If being wrong about everything feels this damn good, sign me the fuck up, every time.

“Yes. Milkshake duty. I’m on it,” I told Dani the moment she told me where I was needed, giving her a warm smile.

No matter what I did today, I’d be floating on air.

It still didn’t feel real.

How could Finn want me? Truly want me, in the one way I thought would never be possible?

Maybe all along, I hadn’t been avoiding commitment—I’d just never met someone who could compare to the person who fully knew me.

The one person I’d run from, stupidly, trying to chase a hollow dream.

I might never feel like I fully deserved Finn.

But I’d do whatever it took to make sure he knew how much he meant to me.

He’d broken down the last of my walls today, ripping it right out of me.

I was scared. And I also knew I was going to do it anyway.

Finn had sat down at the counter across from me, which also happened to be conveniently close to Mary Ellen’s booth, behind him. As I made milkshake after milkshake, Finn started to help, taking them out to whoever ordered them, defaulting back to the job we’d both had working here as teenagers.

Every fucking time I looked at him I smiled.

Even when I wasn’t looking at him, I was smiling. I’d pick up a ticket of custom milkshakes and be smiling, even though a rush like this would usually mean a mountain of stress.

Dani noticed about half an hour later, giving me a sidelong glance as we both caught up on dishes.

“You’re weirding me out,” she said. “I need to go swap with Mom for Olivia duty soon, but you have to tell me what’s going on with you first.”

“I’m just having a good day,” I said. “Something has to be going on for me to be happy?”

“Did Thomas’ Miami friends offer you a free condo there or something?” Dani said.

“What? No. God, no.”

Dani turned to peek out of the kitchen door, looking over at Finn. I glanced at him, too, and saw him smiling at nothing, looking down at the counter and tracing his fingertips over the surface mindlessly.

“Okay, something is up,” Dani said.

“Hey, guys,” Thomas said, pushing past us carrying an empty tray. “Mary Ellen is asking for you both, by the way. Said you guys know how she likes her strawberries cut?”

I smiled. “I’ll come cut them the Mary Ellen way. Give me a sec.”

When we finished in the back a couple of minutes later, I made my way out to the front and found my dad and Finn standing next to one another, behind the counter.

I glanced over at Finn, looking down to find him with strawberries on a cutting board.

He was slicing them diagonally, just like Mary Ellen always wanted.

“Finn, are you…”

“Hey,” he said, looking up at me.

When our eyes met, I swore it felt like I’d just been away from him for weeks and we were reuniting.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this happy to be around someone. Anyone.

Holy hell, I’m in deep.

“You’re cutting those for her even though you don’t even work here?”

“Hey, Finn’s always allowed behind the counter here,” Dad said.

“Thought I’d help you get ahead, and I know how she likes ‘em cut,” Finn said, carefully slicing them even though he’d never been one to enjoy finicky, detailed cooking of any sort.

Without thinking, I leaned over and pressed a kiss to Finn’s lips.

Some part of my brain lagged behind, idly wondering if I shouldn’t have done it. But I couldn’t give a damn.

When I broke away from the kiss I leaned back, and Finn lifted an eyebrow at me.

Reality caught up slowly.

I turned to see Danielle, looking at me with wide eyes, as if I’d just turned into an alien right in front of her.

“ Oh? ” she said pointedly, stopping dead in her tracks even though Danielle usually was in perpetual motion around the diner.

“What is it?” Dad asked. He was so busy cooking a trio of grilled cheese sandwiches and a couple of burgers that he hadn’t even noticed.

When I looked at Thomas, he was grinning at me like a maniac.

“Ori, I swear to God,” Danielle said. “What’s going on with you two today?”

“I’m… I’m sort of in love with Finn,” I said.

“ Hah ,” Thomas said, clapping his hands together. “Knew it. Fucking knew it.”

Dad didn’t even look up from the grill. “Yes, kiddo. We all love Finn. Now get Mary Ellen those strawberries or she’s going to hop behind the counter.”

When I looked back at Finn he had the most serene expression I’d ever seen on his face.

He looked at me like I’d just hung the stars.

He leaned in, wrapping an arm around me, pressing a kiss to my lips with far more flourish than I had.

Dad noticed, this time.

Half of the diner also seemed to notice, because I heard Mary Ellen’s signature gasp all the way from here.

“Boys!” she called out.

“Oh, she’s going to flip,” Dani said from next to me.

But Mary Ellen had a different idea. “Hold that pose, boys, right there,” she was saying as she got up, hobbling her way over. “I need a picture of that.”

Finn kept his arms around me as she snapped a couple of photos, and I started laughing against Finn’s lips.

“Well, that’s not how I expected you to thank him for cutting the strawberries,” Dad said, scratching his head.

“I fucking love you guys,” Dani said, coming in to give each of us hugs. “You finally worked things out. Good God.”

“Looks like they did more than just working it out!” Dad called out, and even Mary Ellen laughed from across the counter.

“I love you,” Finn told me. “You’re really okay with doing that? In front of everyone? They’re going to, uh, expect things, Ori, you know that? Like, long-term things?”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “I think I want to try. Maybe I really fucking want to.”

“Lovebirds, we’ve still got plenty of tickets to finish,” Dad warned us from over by the grill. “I’ll expect a love story later, but for now, get back to work, kid.”

I still couldn’t keep a smile off of my face as I went back to coffee and milkshake duty. Finn went out to give Mary Ellen her strawberries and she caught him up in a conversation about her grandson, who had apparently recently come out as gay.

For the longest time, I couldn’t imagine introducing any guy to my parents. Couldn’t imagine being serious enough with anyone to get to a point where it would even happen.

But with Finn, I’d acted on instinct.

I was starting to think my instinct was what worked best with him, every time.

From the moment we left the diner we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. Finn’s hand was glued to my knee in the car, and even as we walked up to the house, he kept an arm around my waist, like he was afraid I’d float away like a balloon.

We were beyond words when we got inside, kissing each other and pulling off every clothing item until we made it to Finn’s bed.

In all my life, I’d never felt more natural with someone. We didn’t question what we wanted to do—we just let our bodies take over, like we were making up for lost time.

By the time his hand made it to my cock it had already been aching for him. His mouth was on me a minute later, and we took turns sucking each other off like we were in a competition for who gave the best blow job.

And then we did it all again, an hour later.

…And then we did it again, late into the evening, after we’d shared a couple of beers, watched a movie on the couch together, and had a good dinner.

We fell asleep late, tangled in each other’s arms, naked and totally fucking spent after making each other come three times each.

Through it all, we didn’t stop to talk about the past, the future, or anything but how much we cared about each other. How much we wanted to do to each other. I didn’t worry about getting too committed or too serious, because this was Finn . I already felt more deeply about him than anyone in the world.

After it all, truly, I knew one thing for certain: I did belong.

After a long, deep sleep I woke up to the smell of bacon, maple syrup, and coffee, emanating from the kitchen like the scent of heaven itself. I got up and walked down the hall, the hardwood floor cool under my feet.

“All right, we already have to call this whole thing off,” I told Finn, seeing him taking a piece of French toast out of a pan. “You’re too perfect. I can’t handle it.”

“Morning,” he said, walking over to me and planting a kiss on my lips. “I know you’ve got to be at the diner in a few hours. I wanted to make some stuff when I got back from feeding the horses.”

“This isn’t just some stuff , it’s a feast,” I said. “Do you need to see any clients today?”

“I have two, in the late afternoon. I’m free until then.”

I went to throw on a pair of sweatpants and came back to eat Finn’s elaborate meal. I still felt like I was in some dream world, like this was a vacation instead of my actual life. He told me about how one of his favorite horses at Minton Ranch, Maisie, was doing a cute little hop this morning when he’d arrived, and I told him I’d be happy to come meet them sometime.

“You want to come see the horses?” Finn asked. “Hot damn. You really are turning over a new leaf on Tennessee, aren’t you?”

“Honestly, I would have liked seeing the horses anytime,” I said, looking up at him from under my lashes. “I’m going to admit something to you.”

“Juicy secret?”

“Well, you know I always thought Mason wanted to fuck you,” I told him. “And… in retrospect, I think I might have been a little…”

Finn’s face brightened into a smile. “Holy shit, Ori, were you jealous? ”

“Maybe.”

“Wow.”

“I wouldn’t have known it at the time, but maybe I was jealous. Mason just belongs in Tennessee, like you do. He’s a country boy, even if he’s not always rocking quite as many cowboy-style clothes as you.”

“So you didn’t want to come around the ranch?”

I pulled in a slow breath. “It’s just that I felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere around here. You and Mason, getting along so well even if he didn’t want to fuck you. You being here for my parents and for Olivia’s birth. Not to mention that everyone around town has always thought you’re the golden boy, whether it was in football or in the damn diner.”

“I didn’t know you felt it that strongly.”

I shook my head. “I numbed myself to it, while I was away,” I said. “But goddamn, Finn, I just wished I could snap my fingers and be more like you. I always kind of did.”

He shook his head. “No way. You were always more confident than me. Confident in how different you were.”

“Have you ever heard the phrase fake it ‘til you make it? Yeah. That was me.”

Finn swallowed. “Well, then I wish I could have been there for you, too,” he said softly. “I wish we both hadn’t been so goddamned stubborn.”

I puffed out a laugh. “Tell me about it.”

I was lost in thought for a minute, finishing off the rest of my French toast.

“All right,” Finn said. “Going forward, I’m just going to tell you how I feel, no matter what. Starting now. Ori, I think you’re really fucking hot when you lick maple syrup off your finger.”

I hummed, smiling at him. “You like when I lick things off of your finger, too.”

“God, I still can’t believe I made you do that, right after you got back to town.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “You didn’t just make me do it, trust me. I wanted to.”

“In the spirit of honesty, that’s hotter than fucking hell.”

After cleaning up, I got dressed and came back out.

“Well,” I said. “In the same spirit of honesty, I’ll tell you that I was secretly going to try to visit that art museum in Sable Valley today. I was afraid to bring it up because I’m telling you Finn, I don’t feel like I’m settling if I stay in Tennessee anymore.”

He looked surprised. “Are you sure about that? Because I heard you spout off about how shitty this place is for so long.”

“I know. And I feel awful about that,” I said. “I do still like the city, but… I was looking for it to fix my life, and that’s not something it’s ever going to do. Nothing in my life is going to be good if I stay closed off like that.”

Finn nodded, reading my face, clearly trying to figure out if he believed me.

“I want to try,” I told him softly.

It was all I wanted with everything, here.

I wanted to try with Finn.

To try with Tennessee, now.

To try to live in a way that felt right, not just in the way I’d been so dead set on when I was a powerless teenager.

“All right,” Finn finally said. “Full honesty: I support you trying. And even if you decide you hate me and hate Tennessee all over again, it’ll be worth it.”

“I could never fucking hate you,” I said, closing the gap between us and squeezing him as tight as I could. “Not possible. And as far as Tennessee goes, I’m going to give it my all, for once. Not with one foot out the door.”

When I pulled back to kiss Finn, I was shocked when I saw a stray tear falling down his cheek.

“I’m fine,” Finn said, wiping it away and taking a shaky breath in. “I just never thought I’d hear you say that.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he told me.

I swallowed. “So. Want to come check out this art museum with me?”