5. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
Finley
“We have some news.”
Lou’s dad saying this at the long oak dinner table almost knocks me out of my chair. News? The last time he had news, we heard about cancer and plans for chemo. His demeanor appears different though, as he weaves Betsey’s fingers through his in his lap.
“Dad?” Lou’s shaky whisper catches my ear, but no one seems to notice.
“Your mother and I bought an RV.” His gaze passes over all of us as a server steps in to clear our plates.
“That’s…” Cass looks at everyone. “That’s all?”
“Not all. In Texas, we loved having a change of scenery. All things considered, it was nice to be somewhere new to us. Travel a tad. So we got to talking ’bout how we want to spend our retired years coming up, and we have a plan. With the RV, we hope to tour the US. Maybe some of Canada too.”
“Well, dear,” Betsey says to him, “there’s another part to that.”
“Oh, yes. Downsizing. Because we intend to live full time in the RV, we want to sell the house. We’ve had many good memories there. Many. But your mom and I have plans for the future, and we think it makes sense to sell.”
The rest of our group seems to exhale at once, and murmurs of wow and congratulations bubble up. Betsey and Dave assure Cass and her wife that they don’t want to go too far for too long and always want to be available for a grandkid visit. They also mention that if one of us wants the house, they’re happy to keep the property in the family. Nothing will happen until early next year when Dave finishes work, but they wanted to share their vision for their retired years.
While everyone else asks the parents about specifics—where they want to go first, what kind of RV they purchased—Lou remains quiet. She nods along, gives a wan smile here and there, but she doesn’t seem like her normal, cheery self.
On the walk back to the villa, Cass turns to the rest of us. “I wanna stop by the library before they close. Anyone want me to pick up a book for them?”
“I’ll come with,” Mel says. “Need something juicy for pool time tomorrow.”
“I’m beat, baby,” Carmen tells Cass. “See you in the room, okay?”
“Anybody down to check out the whiskey bar?” Aaron asks the already dispersing group. “Bueller?”
“Sounds neat.” Betsey turns to her son. “Count me in. One drink only, though. You know I’m a lightweight.”
“You kids have fun,” Dave says with a wave. “I’ll be on the deck stargazing for a while.”
“Finn, whiskey?” Aaron points at me.
“Sure,” I say. In the darkness, with our path lit by the stars and moon above, I search for Luna. Her silhouette glides far to my left, where the water meets the shore. “Let me ask Lou. Meet you there.”
When I reach the end of the boardwalk, I slip off my shoes and my feet sink into the night-chilled sand. Lou might be craving alone time, but I ought to check. I want to check.
“Hey, your mom and brother went for a nightcap at the bar. The one with over a hundred kinds of whiskey. I think I’ll go. You interested?”
“No, thanks.” She swipes at her face and turns to me, her cheeks glistening against the glow of the moon.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It doesn’t look like it, but I’m relieved.”
“Yeah. Get what you mean.” I dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, the tide coming up to kiss our toes in tandem. “I could talk to your dad about using the phrase We have some news .”
“Please.” Lou sniffles through her laugh.
“C’mere.”
She crumples into my arms, and without my embrace, she might collapse to the ground. Lou doesn’t break down with body-racking sobs, though. She just relies on me for support. For strength. Occasionally, I’ll beat myself up for not knowing what to say to Luna, but this feels like an unspoken language between us. Our mere presence is everything the other person needs.
When she pulls back, she tucks a stray tendril of hair behind her ear and wipes at her cheeks again. “Sorry.”
“Stop apologizing for stuff you shouldn’t apologize for.”
“I don’t understand why I’m so upset. He’s healthy. They’re both healthy, and that’s all that matters. Ugh, and I was such a jerk at dinner.”
She steps into dry sand, kicking an area flat to sit on.
“You are many things, Luna Moore,” I say, following her lead and finding a place next to her, “but a jerk is never one of them.”
“I didn’t ask them questions,” she says, pulling her knees in so the slit of her skirt rides up to her thigh. “I should have been excited for them, given them hugs. And I was so caught up in myself that I failed to even pretend to celebrate this new chapter of theirs.”
“Everyone went through the same thing you did, whether you noticed or not. The same worry. You got a bit more affected by it, that’s all.”
“And the house stuff. I…” She picks at one of her fingernails. “Cass and Carmen bought their dream home last year, so they probably don’t want it. Aaron and Melissa don’t plan to have kids, so they likely won’t need that kind of space. That leaves me or you. You could, but even if I wanted to buy the property from them, I couldn’t.”
“If you think you’d like it, tell them.”
“Maybe I’m getting sentimental over my childhood home. Doesn’t matter, though, because I am so far from being able to afford a house.”
“Doubt Dave and Betsey would play hardball with you.”
“That’s not the point.” With an exasperated sigh, she leans into me, resting her head on my shoulder. I freeze, never wanting her to move.
“I don’t know if I want the house or not,” she continues, “but I wish my job was in a place where I could. To be successful enough to go to my parents and make a big grown-up decision like that. The option would be nice.”
“Work going okay?”
One of her shoulders hikes up. “It’s not buy-a-house okay.”
Seeing her miserable like this rips something inside me. If she looked at me right now and said she wanted the moon, I’d weave a rope long enough to lasso it for her. Lou didn’t let her family see this messy side of her at dinner, but she’s letting me witness it. I want to do whatever will make her happy.
“If it means that much to you, I’ll buy the house for you.”
“Funny.”
“Not joking.” Her lack of response, just the sound of her breath, makes me clear my throat. “Doesn’t solve you wanting to purchase it yourself. But if you have strong feelings about it, we’ll figure something out.”
“That’s…Finn, that’s really, really sweet.”
When I turn to look at her, chin resting on my shoulder and eyes searching my own, I feel like I’m falling. Lou’s always been close, but not like we are in this moment. Only once before has she gotten so close that I could breathe her in or lick the freckle on her left cheek.
And she gets closer.
She presses her lips to mine in a way that’s familiar yet electric. Oh, I’ve missed this. Lou kisses sweet and slow at first, but her hand around my neck and her mouth parting so our tongues can play send a message of more, more . She tastes like honey and daydreams. My palm skates to the back of her head, and I yearn to get tangled up with her in knots. Without breaking contact, she shifts onto my lap, straddling me and grinding into my aching cock. I’d love to let her ride me into the earth. Fuck, Tanner is a lucky man.
“Shit,” I say into her mouth. “Wait.”
She withdraws, breathless, her lips swollen and glistening in the dim light of the night. I give her a moment to remember she has a boyfriend, to push me away, and to question why I thought it was okay to kiss her when she’s dating someone else. I’m asking myself that too.
She stitches her brows together. “What?”
“I don’t want to be the other man.”
“Oh, right. Yeah. Um…” Lou looks like she’s on the edge of saying something more. Her expression is tentative and curious, so I give her time to keep talking. Instead, she covers her mouth with her hands in a tender gesture, feeling the place my lips just were.
I clear my throat. “Maybe you could, uh, get off me?”
Lou peels herself away in an instant, my body yearning for closeness again the moment I lose her. She takes a spot next to me, her hair still mussed, as she brushes sand off her shins and knees. I’d be lying if my dick didn’t twitch at the thought of making those knees dirtier.
“I, uh, I don’t know what I was thinking.” Her words come out in a rush as she finger-combs her tresses, tucking some errant pieces behind her ear.
“To be fair, I kissed you back.”
She looks at me with a grateful smile, then chews on her bottom lip.
“Everything okay, Lou?” I ask.
“Got carried away.”
So carried away that she was thrusting her hips in rhythm with mine and clinging to my face like we depended on each other for air. This was more than some kiss in a bar on a dare with her friends. It was heat and want. Desire for me. Where did that deep yearning come from?
“Please don’t tell anyone,” she pleads.
“What, that I took advantage of you on the beach?”
“You didn’t take advantage of me.” She nudges me with her elbow. “But we should keep this between us.”
“Sure.” I scour for a lame excuse to sound like I haven’t been dying for this moment again, or that her mouth on mine three years ago hadn’t fueled some of my dirtiest daydreams. “You’re my best friend’s little sister. I just don’t know what came over me.”
“No?” She gives me a curious look, and fuck if that doesn’t make me want to do everything again. Yank her right back onto me so I can help her feel good in every way possible. Taste her till she moans my name to the stars. Bury myself inside her over and over.
This is bad news. I can’t get involved with my best friend’s little sister. From here on out, if I’m with Luna, I need a chaperone. No more alone time with her.
“Well, if you want,” she goes on, “we can both forget it ever happened.”
“Sure.” My response comes out strangled because the words are a dagger to my chest. “Sure.”
Forget it ever happened. I almost laugh. It’s the right thing to do for the sake of my friendship with her, with her brother, and with my found family. I can play pretend.
But never in a million years will I forget what it’s like to kiss Luna Moore.