When he reentered the kitchen, he headed straight to the fridge. “What can I get you to drink? A beer? An energy drink?” He pushed something around on a shelf. “Looks like we have some orange juice left.”
“Water’s fine, thanks.”
He closed the door of the fridge and pulled two glasses from a cupboard above the sink, filled them from the tap, and set them on the table. Then he rummaged in the pantry beside the fridge and pulled out a jumbo-size bag of chips, setting it on the table beside the bag of sandwiches.
Nodding to a chair, he said, “Don’t wait for me, babe. I wouldn’t want you to faint from hunger with lunch in easy reach.”
I narrowed my eyes at the mischief tipping up the corner of his mouth. My stomach chose that moment to let loose a cascading series of rumbles and gurgles that filled the kitchen. He snorted a laugh and slid across the floor on his stocking feet to pull two plates from the cupboard, setting one in front of the chair he’d indicated. The guy was such a big goof.
“Like I said, Chess. Dig in before you die of starvation.”
“You’re hilarious.”
“I’m not the one packing around a lion inside me clamoring to be fed.”
Wrinkling my nose in his direction, I sat at the table and reached for the bag of sandwiches. Even though my stomach had been the one making all the noise, Finn attacked his cheesesteak, devouring half of it before I’d swallowed three bites of my turkey sub.
When he put his sandwich down for a drink of water, I gestured at the remains and said, “Looks like I’m not the only one who needed lunch.”
He tore open the bag of chips and shook a pile onto his plate. “Sorry.” The tops of his cheeks took on a ruddy hue. “My mom’s always calling me out to slow down, but in this house, you get conditioned to eat up before it’s gone.” For the next few minutes, he made a point of eating one chip at a time.
“Where are your roommates? At least two of them are home, yeah?”
“Danny has Sundays off from his job.” With a smirk, he added, “I imagine your best friend is studying in Callahan’s room with him.”
“And we’re studying in yours?” The thought of being alone with him in a room with a bed in it left me a little breathless.
His eyes dipped to my mouth. “That’s not a problem, is it?” With a blink his eyes found mine. “I mean, we can study down here, but we’ll be interrupted and distracted, probably more than once.”
I was already distracted, and we hadn’t finished lunch.
Sliding my tongue over my lips, I said, “Probably better to study without interruptions or distractions.”
When his gaze strayed to my mouth again, my skin flashed hot, and I seriously wondered what I’d been thinking when I dressed in layers for the day.
Needing a detour from the direction my thoughts had gone, I picked up my sandwich and filled my mouth with turkey and Italian sausage sub goodness. Finn’s eyes remained on my mouth. I stilled in mid-chew as he lifted his hand to my face to gently brush something from the corner of my lip.
I blinked, and he said, “A shred of lettuce escaped.”
The ghost of his touch rippled over my skin, and I did my damnedest not to let him see my response. The fleeting dimple in the side of his cheek told me I hadn’t kept that to myself. Swallowing my bite of sandwich, I said, “Thanks.”
A secret smile revealed that dimple again as he turned his attention to the remnants of his sub. We finished our meal in a charged silence broken only by sideways glances and heated cheeks (mine) and little grins (his). It was like sitting near my sixth-grade crush in the school cafeteria all over again.
As Finn cleaned up the kitchen after lunch—he insisted I didn’t need to help with sliding plates and glasses into the dishwasher—Danny wandered into the kitchen, rubbing a hand over his chest. “Hey, you bought lunch? Didja pick up any extra?” Doing a double-take, he said, “Hey, Chessly. I didn’t see you there.” Returning his attention to Finn, he repeated, “Didja bring home any extra?”
“Sorry, dude. You’re on your own.” Finn smirked then lunged for the bag containing the monster cookies we’d left on the table.
“Story of my life this weekend,” Danny grumbled as he wandered over to the fridge.
Chuckling at his friend, Finn caught my hand in his and led me from the kitchen. In my experience study partners didn’t hold hands, but Finn’s warm, calloused hand engulfing mine felt so exactly right I couldn’t protest.
“Behave up there, kids,” Danny called after us. “My room shares a wall with yours, Finnegan.”
Even while holding a bag of cookies, Finn managed to flip Danny the bird and kept walking, his long-legged stride forcing me to double-time to keep up as we crossed the living room to the stairs. At least he slowed down as we climbed up the steps to the second story of the house. Stopping outside a door opposite the bathroom, he motioned for me to go ahead of him into his room.
I didn’t know what I expected when I entered his private domain, but the perfectly made up king bed and the tidy floor surprised me. Of course a man his size would need a big bed. A squeak of a giggle escaped me as I thought about him trying to fit his tall, broad frame into a narrow dorm bed. The fresh scent of clean laundry and Finn’s woodsy cologne, which left me a bit light-headed whenever he moved in close, permeated the air. It was all I could do to stop myself from sucking in a massive noseful and savoring it inside me for a minute.
My backpack sat on the floor beside his desk in the corner on the same wall as the door. His books were stacked neatly on top of the desk, but short of me sitting on his lap on the lone chair tucked beneath it, there was nowhere for me to work.
