“You can trust me, Finley. You’ll see.”
He tugs my ponytail, a simple tease, but the places it sends my mind are anything but simple.I can’t want you like this. How do other people handle Zach Briggs and his disorienting earnestness?
“Let me see what torture you have in store for me.” My fingers plant on top of the paper and slide it closer. The stomach fizz returns when I see the words he’s written across the top of the page.
He hasn’t included anything outrageous. My heart swells. He’s taking this seriously. I’m determined to go through the activities on my list and give him what he asked. He’s going to become a seriously serious person by the end of our deal.
“There’s karaoke twice.”
A wrinkle forms between his eyes as he holds back a smile. “It’s essential for your program.”
“My program?” I raise an eyebrow.
He hums his agreement. “The Finley Harris Happiness Project.”
“Okay.” My tongue clicks as I consider a description of what he wants to accomplish. He claims he wants to see how the other half lives, but I suspect he wants to prove something to whoever doubts him. I’ve been seeing my desire reflected back at me. “The Zach Briggs Survival Project.”
Zach tips his head back, laughing. “It has a nice ring,” he says when his laughter subsides. “No objection to my name for yours? I think it’s better than the other names I had in mind.”
“What other names?”
Zach tosses me a mock-innocent look, wide eyes and parted mouth. I pinch his side, and he twists away from me.
“What other names, Zach?”
I lunge again shifting half out of my seat, which sends him half out of his to escape me.
He holds up his hands, palms facing me. “Okay, okay.”
My finger draws a circle in the air, the universal sign to speed it up.
“Crack Finley Harris.”
“Like crackopen?”
“No, your calm veneer,” Zach clarifies, “but your way works too.”
I point a finger at him. “You saidnames.”
“The Indoctrination of Finley Harris to the Zach Briggs Approach to Life.” He lets out a chuckle. “It’s a little long.”
I roll my eyes. “Good luck. I’munindoctrinatable.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” he says, putting on his baseball cap backward. It’s unfair how such a simple move can send my stomach into a tizzy.
Even though there’s no chance of anything romantic happening between us—for a whole host of reasons—I might have a little crush. Helpless, really.
And it’s this silly little crush that has me looking forward to checking off every experience on our lists.
7
Zach
“You have got tobe shitting me!” The voice booms too loudly, like a ball from a cannon.
The woman across the gym walks toward Finley, her short black hair that barely reaches her collarbone sways as she approaches. She bounces with each step, more energetic than me. And that’s saying something.
“Finley Harris, did you bringZach Briggsto my gym?”
