Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Finch
“Hey.” Frankie poked her head in, her golden hair spilling over her shoulder. “You got a sec?”
I cleared my throat, the sight of her giving me vivid flashbacks from the yacht party. The things she’d unlocked in me . . . The things I was hoping to unlock in her . . .
I cleared my throat and grabbed my radio, clipping it onto my baggy pants pocket. “You ready to walk home?”
Walking her back to the Salty Dog had become my favorite part of the day. I didn’t take time to go for wandering walks by the water of my own volition, let alone find them fun. But with Frankie, we never seemed to run out of things to talk about. She knew a little bit about everything, from the history of sourdough to the filming of Bridgerton and everything in between. It was the best twenty minutes of my day.
“Actually, there are some teenagers who’ve locked themselves in the toilets by the Peacock,” she said, hooking her thumb over her shoulder. “I think they’re trying to pull an all-nighter at the zoo.”
“Of course they are,” I said with a sigh.
“Is that a regular thing?”
“Happens at least once a year.” I headed out the door, giving Frankie’s hand a tug as I went. “Come on.”
These fuckers were eating into my walking Frankie home time and I didn’t appreciate it.
Frankie trailed after me as I stormed back through the zoo. “Is there protocol for kids hiding in bathrooms?”
“Yes,” I muttered, walking faster. “It’s called the Finch has been up all night with a baby macaw and has zero fucks left to give protocol.”
Frankie chuckled as she hustled after me toward the Peckish Peacock. “I could just radio one of the keepers if you?—”
“Nah, we’ve got this, Goldilocks,” I said, reaching the bathroom door and pounding on it. “Hey, dickwads!” I shouted and heard the ridiculous laughter of two teenage boys. “Get the fuck out of there.”
No one replied, but I could clearly hear them. I balled up my fists, ready to pummel down the door. I had to be back here to feed Frankie, Cranky, Benny in an hour and I didn’t want to miss my walk with human Frankie because two teenagers were playing Night at the Museum.
I was about to punch my fist through the door when Frankie put a hand on my shoulder. “Give me your radio.”
I arched a brow at her but did as she requested. She took the radio and switched it over to another frequency so my siblings wouldn’t hear. She pushed in the button, the loud beep echoing through the brick and tiled space. “Peacock to Security.”
She passed me the radio, the scratching crackle really selling our ruse. I took a few steps away, bemused as she egged me on to speak.
“Security, go ahead.”
She snatched the radio back. “Hey, the restaurant is all closed up for the night,” she said. “I thought I heard something in the bathroom, but it was nothing.” A wave of victorious whispers swept out the bathroom window.
I lifted my hands up in a “What are you doing?” gesture, but Frankie ignored my confusion. She wandered over to the power box outside the restaurant window and opened it. She winked at me, and my heart jumped into my throat as she lifted the radio back to her mouth. “I’m going to go ahead and cut the power so you can go in and fumigate for those spiders.”
My smile widened as she flipped the power switch and the teens inside gasped.
I took the radio back and said, “Roger. Yeah, those wolf spiders have taken over that toilet block. Can’t see the tiles the way they carpet the floor by sunset.”
Frankie bit her lips together to keep from laughing. I wandered over to the back wall of the toilet block as Frankie skittered her fingernails over the paneling.
“Shit.”
“Fuck.”
The teens inside chorused. We heard one of the stalls opening, and I grabbed Frankie by the crook of her arm to pull her into the bushes with me, holding a finger to my lips. Within a few heartbeats, the delinquents had fled toward the front entrance.
“That was brilliant, Goldilocks,” I said, looking down at Frankie, who beamed up at me.
It was only then I realized the position we were in. She leaned against the back wall, my hands placed against the paneling on either side of her head. I caged her in with my arms as Frankie’s eyes dipped to my mouth, and I could tell she was thinking of that drunken kiss. Did she want me to kiss her? All it would take is for me to lean down . . .
“Finch!”
I scrunched my face. “What, Mom?”
“Why were there two boys fleeing for their lives through the zoo?” She raced around the corner. “And why are you using the other frequency for radio—oh!”
Mom stopped short when she saw the compromising position Frankie and I were in. But this wasn’t just some random girl I was caught in the bushes with. This was meant to be my girlfriend. I decided not to ricochet away from Frankie and instead slung my arm around her shoulders and guided her toward Mom.
“I was about to walk Frankie home, and we were just shooing away some last-minute stragglers,” I said.
Mom put her hands on her hips. “You mean terrorizing them?”
I shrugged. “I wanted to punch my way in.” I dropped a kiss to Frankie’s head. “But Frankie’s idea had more finesse.”
Frankie’s cheeks reddened in response to my chaste kiss. I loved the way I could fluster her. Even more, I loved the way she flustered me. I didn’t think it was even possible anymore, but here she was, making me feel like I’d never kissed a girl before, giddy and uninhibited.
“You two are just so cute,” Mom said, her anger quickly morphing into something sweeter.
“And on that note,” I said, dropping my hand to the small of Frankie’s back. “We’ll be on our way.” I passed Mom my radio. “I’ll be back in an hour to feed Frankie, the bird.”
“I can do it,” Mom cut in, practically bounding after us. “Why don’t you two go have dinner or something? There’s a new seafood place on the western wharf?”
“It’s fine, Mom?—”
“How many years have I been doing this, Goldfinch?” Mom reprimanded.
I rolled my eyes, already knowing I was in a losing battle. “A century?”
She frowned and folded her arms tightly. “I know how to crop feed a macaw. I was the one who taught you how to do it. The diets are all written on the whiteboard. I’m sure I can manage.”
“She’s just not been gaining weight like I want her to and?—”
“And you’ll be back to feed her again in five hours anyway,” Mom said pointedly. “I’ve got this one. Go have dinner.” I opened my mouth to protest again, and Mom looked at Frankie, switching tact. “Frankie, would you give me one minute to speak with my daughter? Thank you.”
“Oof,” Frankie murmured from the corner of her mouth. “Good luck.”
I chuckled as she stepped out of my hold and wandered halfway down the path toward the front entrance.
“Mom,” I started.
“No.” Mom pointed a scolding finger at me. “A girl like her doesn’t come around every day, Finch.” She waved at Frankie, who was very pointedly inspecting the trees instead of watching us. “She deserves your attention. If you’re too addicted to your job, you’re going to miss out on something exceptional. Don’t screw this up.”
“First you want me to have a relationship, now you want me to be better at it,” I growled. “When will it be enough for you?”
Mom stood her ground, channeling her patented CEO boss bitch energy. “You know I’m right.”
“Will you just leave this alone?”
Mom narrowed her eyes, clearly unwilling to leave it alone. “You’re going to work yourself to death.”
“I am very happy with my workload, thanks, boss, baby macaws aside. Maybe talk to Dove about that one.”
“I don’t want to see you lose her just because?—”
“Whether I lose her or not is none of your business,” I insisted. “And believe me, I know how special she is.”
Mom’s eyes softened at that. “Good.”
I scrubbed my hand down my face, instantly regretting saying that. I was making all of this worse for myself. The lies would eventually catch up with us. But instead of admitting the truth to my overbearing mother, I just said, “Can I go walk my girlfriend home now?”
“And have dinner with her, yes,” Mom said with a winning smile. She cupped my cheek. “I like how happy you are with her. The way you look at her . . . it’s beautiful, honey.”
“Gross,” I muttered, and Mom laughed as I walked away. “Oh, and Finch?—”
I looked over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Bring Frankie to Sunday dinner,” she said.
I clenched my jaw through a smile. My mother was the most meddlesome person I knew. But if Frankie and I were really dating, why wouldn’t I want to bring her to family dinner?
“Of course,” I gritted out.
I charged off toward Frankie, thinking about how screwed I was. But the second I caught up to her and we headed off on our evening walk, I instantly felt better. Frankie was like a soothing balm to my anxieties. She always made me feel better just by existing. At some point, I’d have to tell my mom the truth, but right then I just wanted to enjoy walking by Frankie’s side.