“You know what we’re fighting over.” My tone is low and hard. My heart beats furiously in my chest. We’ve never talked about it like this before. If our friendship were an egg, my comment is the first tiny crack in its shell.
“Yes,” she breathes the word. “I do.”
“And what do you think about that?”
She opens her mouth and closes it, then does the same thing once more. “I think—”
“You two back here sharing secrets?” Finn appears behind Lennon. I’d been so immersed in our conversation I didn’t see him coming.
“Nope.” The word shoots from Lennon’s mouth like a rocket. She turns around to face him, and now her back is to me. “We were chatting about how beautiful this place is.”
Finn frowns down at her. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“Finn Jeffries, don’t you call me a liar.”
“Lying make you nervous, Lennon.” Finn looks pointedly down at one of her hands. She looks down too and lets out a little growl of frustration.
Finn chuckles and tucks his hands in his pockets. “See you in the house, Miss L. I like your haircut, by the way.”
He saunters away, and I watch Lennon stare after him. Stepping back, I nudge her aside and press the button to close the trunk.
“What did I miss?” I ask.
She looks at me with a question in her eyes. “Huh?”
I nod at her hand, which is curled around the handle of the grocery bag. “Something about Finn and your hand?” It’s childish, but I feel left out.
“Finn says I have a tell when I’m nervous. Two of my fingers rub together.” She lifts her arm, the paper bag rustling, and shows me what she means.
I nod. “Got it.”
So, I haven’t been left out after all. I just haven’t been paying close enough attention. Not like Finn has, apparently.
“Come on.” Lennon elbows me lightly.
She walks a foot in front of me. For the next fifteen seconds that we are alone, I study her. She has a steady, even gait, and her hair that once bounced around her back now stops at her shoulder blades. She climbs the stairs, giving me a great view of her backside. Today she’s wearing cut-offs, and her ass tips side to side as she climbs to the landing. I’m on the verge of telling her she has a mighty fine ass, but something inside me stops me. I hate that fucking inner voice, the one that says that’s something Finn would do, not me. As if we have our roles to play, and we can’t step outside them.
We walk into the cabin, and any chance I had to compliment her in a way that would take her by surprise goes up in smoke.
* * *
“I don’t thinkthere’s anything better than cold fried chicken.” Finn leans back in his Adirondack chair and places one hand behind his head. After a day of hard manual labor, a few beers and greasy food has made him tired. He’s not the only one. It’s early in the evening, but I could go to sleep right now under this sky that’s still a dull blue. It was Lennon’s idea to eat outside.
“I can think of a hundred other things that taste better,” Laine says, holding up the skin she peeled from her chicken. She jiggles it in the air, and I have to admit, seeing it like that makes it look less appealing than it did about ten minutes ago.
Lennon laughs. “Laine is used to the finer things in life.”
Laine nods. “And I’m not sorry about that either.”
“If your car represents your life, I’d say you’re probably in a nice spot.” Finn’s eyes are closed, and he keeps them closed while he speaks.
“It’s my parents who’ve made it nice. Not me.” Laine reaches down, grabbing a small stick from the ground and using it to draw squiggles in the dirt. “I’ve been driving Lennon’s car all week. It needs a key to open the door.Andto start it.” She laughs quietly. “And I loved it.”
“What?” Lennon’s mouth hangs open. “Seriously?”
“It made me think. Where would I be without my parents? Without their support? Financially, I mean. What would I have done with my life if it had been up to me?” Laine shrugs, dropping her stick on the ground and looking up.
“Your life is up to you, Laine. You can do anything.” Lennon leans forward, placing her hand on Laine’s knee. “We can move out of your apartment and into some shithole. We can share my car and you can do whatever it is you feel you missed out on doing.”
