13. Margo
THIRTEEN
MARGO
“I’m here.” I kick off my shoes in Katarina’s foyer and head down the hall in my socks. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Are you sorry?” Katarina asks when I walk into her kitchen. “Or did you have a good time with the hot paramedic?”
I give her a sly grin. “You looked at my location, didn’t you?”
“Of course I looked at your location. You didn’t answer my texts, and I wanted to make sure you were alive.”
“My little creep. That’s why I love you: you’d storm into a stranger’s apartment if I disappeared for more than twenty-four hours.”
“Mhm.” She points to the barstool at the island. “Sit and spill. You were with him all night?”
“And today.” I sit and relax on the cushioned leather. I’m so tired and sore. Everything hurts and I desperately want to curl up in bed, but I told Kat I’d be here for dinner tonight, and I don’t want to skip out on our plans. “We left the bar after you all did, but not before he told me he’s Jeremy’s dad.”
“ What ?” Kat cracks open a bottle of wine and lifts it in my direction. I nod, and she pours two servings. “Are you serious?”
“Yup. That didn’t stop me from sleeping with him, though, so I’m not sure what it says about me. Probably that I have daddy issues.” I laugh and knock my glass against hers. “He’s a good guy. He even cooked me breakfast this morning. But the best part? He made me laugh, and we had fun.”
“You need to back up. You didn’t realize who he was before we sat with them at the bar?”
“Nope. I haven’t met him. I think I saw him in passing once, but nothing long enough that would’ve given me any indication of who he was. Finding out he’s my ex’s dad didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.”
“Holy shit, Margo. How was it?” Kat asks, sitting beside me. “Give me all the details.”
“It was…” I bite my lower lip and hold back a smile.
There are too many adjectives I want to use, and it’s silly to admit how fluttery my heart has been since last night.
I’m not sure how to describe it all, if we’re being honest.
Nice is too much of an understatement and out of this world feels more on point.
It was horny and hot and by far the kinkiest encounter I’ve ever had with a man, but there was something deep, something special buried under the sexual component.
Finn and I really got to know each other. Over breakfast. When he put me in the tub and washed my hair, telling me what it was like being a solo parent. After, when he dried me off and warmed me up back in his bed, showing off photos of all the cool places he’s run and how lucky he feels to go out and breathe fresh air every morning.
It was like I’d known him for years.
I thought our goodbye would be awkward, some weird song and dance we did around each other as I put on my skirt and boots and he handed me my beanie, but it wasn’t. He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head, thanking me for a night he won’t forget.
I’m sure as hell not going to forget it either.
I can still feel his fingers running up my thigh. The heat of his mouth on my neck and the sound of his laughter ringing in my ear. He’s imprinted himself on me, and the tiniest part of me wishes I could wind the clock back and forget him. Wishes I’d never met him, because I don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to move on from something that was never mine to have.
I could’ve broken the rules and asked for his number, but we did exactly what we decided we would do. As soon as the streets cleared and the plows came through, I climbed into an Uber and gave him a salute, caught off guard when I glanced out the window and found him watching my car drive away, his hands shoved in his pocket and the twist of a frown on his mouth.
Everything happens for a reason, and I’m beginning to wonder if Finn was the universe’s gift to me. A clean slate and a friendly reminder of all the good things in the world with his kind heart and gentle soul.
And his filthy fucking mouth.
I shiver and know my vibrator is going to be a sad substitute for his fingers and cock.
“Wonderful,” I finally land on. “It was wonderful. He was wonderful. If we weren’t at different places in our lives, maybe it could’ve been something.”
“Why can’t it be something?” Kat takes a sip of wine and assesses me. “You’re not eighteen, Margo. You have your shit figured out, and you’re more mature than a lot of other women in the world.”
“I am, but I’m only twenty-four. He’s forty. That’s almost a lifetime older than me, and I just got out of a shitty relationship. I don’t think the best idea is to dive into another one with the guy’s dad .”
“See? You’re self-aware, which is a very mature thing to be.”
I laugh. “It was sex, Kat. I don’t need to romanticize every interaction I have with a man and make it a bigger deal than it really is. Finn and I fucked. We had a good time together, and that’s it. End of story.”
“Out of all the guys you’ve been with, where does he rank?”
“Top of the list,” I say with no hesitation. “He makes everyone else seem like… boys .”
“I’m so damn jealous. I had to listen to his friend talk about fifteen different kinds of plant species.” When I give her a weird look, she snorts. “He has a green thumb. His living room is covered in plants, apparently, and I got a lesson on which time of year produces the best sunlight for various growing patterns. The drive was eight minutes, Margo. My brain was going to explode.”
“Wow.” I rest my chin on the palm of my hand and smile. “You know a lot about the guy you spent half a second with.”
“He was fine. He walked me to the door of the building and waited in the cold until I was upstairs.” She waves me off. “But we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you. Does Finn live alone?”
“Yup. In a nice brownstone not far from here. I’d been there a few times with Jeremy, but obviously didn’t make the connection. He’s financially independent. Friendly with Jeremy’s mom, but not in love with her. An athlete who’s a damn fast runner, and an overall good guy.”
“You are blushing .” Kat pinches my cheek, and I laugh again. “You had a lot of fun with him, didn’t you?”
“I did. And I mean besides the sex. One-night stands are supposed to be awkward, you know? There’s always that uncomfortable moment where you have to politely tell them to put on their clothes without seeming like a bitch. And on the flip side, if you ask them to hang around, you’ll come off as needy and go against everything you agreed on. This was very… adult. We weren’t fumbling around or making small talk neither of us cared about.”
“And you don’t want to see him again,” she says.
“It’s not that I don’t want to see him. I just don’t think there’s anything there. Sure, there’s a physical attraction, but the dude works in a hospital. He doesn’t want to hear about the homework I give my kids or when the next Scholastic Book Fair is.”
“Fuck.” Katarina sighs. “I loved the Book Fair.”
“Why do you think I’m a teacher? That was the highlight of my childhood.” I swirl my drink and shrug. “I appreciated the time Finn and I had together, but it’s in the past now, and that’s okay.”
“Well, you have my support if you decide to bang him again.” She reaches for me and squeezes my hand. “And that hickey you have on your neck is gnarly, my friend.”
I touch the warm skin and shake my head. “He was… possessive. But a good possessive. I might have egged him on a little by asking if he would know how to take care of me, and I’m happy to report he did.”
“That’s my girl. Gosh, it’s good to see you happy. We both know Jeremy wasn’t a forever thing, but you haven’t smiled like this… ever, I don’t think.”
She’s probably right, and she’s known me since I moved to the city four years ago. We met on Bumble BFF, both looking for someone who liked to eat copious amounts of food and sit on the couch with a good book.
It’s funny; I came to Chicago for a job, but I ended up finding my best friend.
I can’t my imagine life without Kat in it, and I thank my lucky stars every day I decided to meet up with her at a neighborhood farmers’ market. Without her, I’d be lost and sad, and life is too short to be either of those things.
“Maybe the Christmas cheer is rubbing off on me,” I tease, finishing off my wine. “I was promised chocolate chip cookies, but I’m sitting here empty-handed. Something is wrong with this picture.”
Kat bops my nose and jumps up, kissing my cheek. “Don’t underestimate how much the Christmas gods of fate want things to go their way.”
I grin and join her at the counter to roll out the dough, holding back the urge to tell her I kind of hope seeing Finn again is how things are supposed to go.