Finn gradually let himself get involved. The song's melody wrapped around them, and everything else faded away. The deadline, the worry, and especially the spreadsheet he had been staring at twenty minutes ago. He loosened up, his movements becoming more natural as Elena's hand rested on his shoulder.
"See?" she said. "Not so terrible."
Her face was close to his now, close enough that he could see the light in her brown eyes. She smelled like coffee and something floral. Her shampoo, maybe. When she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze, something primal stirred in him at the reminder of how much smaller she was, how easily he could span her waist with his hands.
He found his hand settling there, tentative at first, then more confident as they moved together. The way she had to look up at him made him feel protective and hungry all at once. The music swelled, and Elena let her head tip back, a smile forming.
A new song started, another Alanis track, “Hands Clean”. Elena looked up at Finn with skepticism. “Finn, I’m afraid I need to deliver some tragic news. I don’t think you will ever find a club that exclusively plays Alanis Morissette.”
Finn smiled down at her. “That’s okay. I was never much of a clubber anyway.”
His eyes remained locked on hers, and his hands remained locked on her waist. Somehow, their proximity had shrunken. He had never had a moment quite like this with any of his former supervisors. Although none of them looked quite like Elena. Not even close. This was dangerous. Elena was fifteen years older than him. His supervisor. She held an important position and had a twelve-year-old son to provide for. All validand logical reasons to end whatever this was right now. But Finn found himself unable to stop it. He didn’t want to stop it.
As they swayed, the lyrics of this new song pierced the bubble that had formed around them. Alanis sang about a secret relationship with a younger man. Just as he was realizing this, he noticed a new look in Elena’s eyes. She also realized what the song was about.
The bubble had fully evaporated at this point. Elena stepped back, breaking contact. "I should probably go," she said, her voice high. "It's getting late, and I need to pick up Miguel from the sitter."
Finn blinked. "Oh. Right. Of course."
"This was—" she struggled to find the right words, "—fun. A good break. But, you know. Responsibilities."
"Elena," Finn started, then stopped. "I'm sorry if I?—"
"No, no," she cut him off. "Nothing to be sorry for. Just... late. And Miguel. You know."
She reached for her bluetooth speaker and turned it off. The awkwardness hung between them. Elena busied herself gathering her things, not meeting his eyes.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she said loudly. "Lots to do, right?"
Finn nodded, his face neutral again. "Right. Tomorrow."
Chapter Ten
ELENA
Elena arrived early the next morning, hoping to arrive before Finn. Last night could only be a onetime thing, she told herself. But when she got into bed last night, it was all she could think about. How his hands felt around her waist. How she had to crane her neck to look up at him. How she felt wrapped up by him. None of that mattered, though. It couldn’t happen again.
When she opened the door to the lab, Finn was already at his desktop.Why did he always have to be early? "Good morning," she said, the greeting sounding rehearsed.
"Morning," he replied. "I've been reviewing the dataset from yesterday. We now have ten patients on the new protocol.”
Elena nodded, hanging her jacket. "Good. That's... good." The silence that followed was tense. Things were just starting to get comfortable between them, probably too comfortable. But now it felt like they were back at square one. "Coffee?" she offered, gesturing to the pot she'd started brewing.
"I've already had a cup, but thank you.”
Elena poured herself a cup, noticing how her hand trembled slightly. She took a sip and nearly choked—it was very hot. "We have two new patients starting today," Finn said, still not looking directly at her. "I've sent you their information."
"Great, thank you." She set her mug down. Another silence. Elena found herself staring at her screen, unable to focus on work. She thought back to the song that Finn played last night, the second one. It had a deceptively fun vibe, but it was about a secret fling between an older woman and a younger man. She wondered if he played that song on purpose, or if it was just his phone shuffling to the next Alanis song.
Is that what he wanted? A secret casual hookup with an older woman? It didn’t seem like him, but whenever she thought she was beginning to understand Finn Cochrane, he found another way to surprise her. What if he wanted more than that? And why did she feel butterflies in her stomach when she asked herself that question? None of these questions mattered because she couldn’t allow any of it to happen.
"I’ve also set up their scheduling for all of their appointments for the next thirty days,” Finn continued, keeping his eyes on his screen.
"Perfect," Elena murmured distractedly, "That's exactly what we need." Though she hadn’t processed a single word that he had just said.
Finn turned to look at her. "Elena," he began, then hesitated.
Her head snapped up at the use of her first name. Finn was already staring at her.
