I didn’t respond as we both got into our respective vehicles.
For a moment, I stared at the dashboard as I brought the car to life. The screen to my right let me know my cell phone was connected. I had one unread text.
While I didn’t recognize the number, I hit the screen, asking my car to read it to me.
“Message from ###-###-####. Name the time and place.”
I furrowed my brow. What kind of text was that?
Lifting my phone, I read the text message. It wasn’t so much a message, but a response.
From me:
“FIN,GREAT TO SEE YOU. LET’S CATCH UP.”
From the unknown number:
“NAME THE TIME AND THE PLACE.”
He didn’t only giveme his number, but he shared my number with him.
I looked up. Fin’s truck was gone from the parking space. Tossing my phone back into my tote, I laid my head back on the soft seat and tried to reason with mytraitorous memories. It seemed to me that I should be recalling the way he ghosted me. I should be remembering the nights I waited for him to call or text.
Why, instead, was I recalling more favorable things about Fin Graham?
Nearly fourteen yearsago
“Oh,Fin is going to freak the fuck out when he sees you,” Emma said, standing behind me as we both gazed into the full-length mirror. She ran her hands over my long curls, the ones she’d worked so hard to create. Crystal combs held the sides up, leaving small spirals dangling near my cheeks. Diamond studs matching the diamond solitaire necklace glistened. Both were my high school graduation gifts from Dad and Daphne.
I smoothed the skirt of my dress. “You don’t think it’s too short, do you?” The red satin dress came to my midthighs. The neckline required a strapless bra, and my heels were dangerously high for a Delta Tau Delta fraternity New Year’s Eve dance.
“Are you kidding?” my friend asked. “You’re gorgeous. Fin will want to screw you as soon as he sees you.”
I turned, meeting Emma’s gaze. “We still haven’t…gone all the way.”
She opened her eyes wide. “It’s been what, like a year?”
“Almost six months,” I corrected. “We’ve done a lot, well, like everything else. This dance feels like prom. Like tonight will be the night.” My cheeks warmed. “Fin reserved a hotel room for after the dance.”
“Thank God I won’t have to hear the two of you through these thin walls.” Emma reached for my shoulders and turned me toward her. “Just because he reserved a room doesn’t mean you have to go all the way. You don’t owe it to him.”
I wiggled my shoulders, looking directly into her eyes. “I want to. I want it to be Fin. I’ve never felt like this before.” I tried to tame my smile. “He doesn’t know who my dad is or what he does. Fin loves football, but it seems like he might love me too. For me.” I sighed. “Does that make sense? The guys in high school all knew who I was. It would have been a notch in their belt to take Reid Hubbard’s only daughter’s virginity. Fin…he’s different.”
Emma’s cheeks rose as her smile softened. “Fuck all the guys back at your high school. You’re Vee Hubbard. You don’t have to be Reid Hubbard’s daughter.”
My gaze again went to the mirror. I scanned my chestnut hair down my red dress, to my legs, and the high heels. “I’m twenty years old. I think I’m ready.”
Emma smirked. “Make Fin work for it. Don’t be so willing.”
I giggled at memories. “He’s been working for it. I promise.”
“Oh, details.”
I shook my head, the small curls swaying near my face. “Not yet.” God knew that Emma had shared too many details with me. “I need to savor them a little longer.”
“Oral?” she asked.
“I’m not saying.” Despite my stand, warmth filled my cheeks at the memory of Fin going down on me. He’d done that more than a few times before I braved going down on him. His size was a problem. In books it sounded good, but in reality, I had to use my hands to surround him. Even without experience, I had the sensation of being the one girl who could make the great Fin Graham come apart.
