“Everyone does,” I assured.
“Yeah.” She laughed a little. “But mine includes this thing with a guy I haven’t met before. I like him. Like a lot and I don’t know what to do about it. It’s only right that you know and understand. Whatever’s between you and me I want to give it a proper shot. But I need to get some closure with him.”
I swallowed because that was the most perfect opening one could ask for. When I opened my mouth to speak, Naomi continued,
“It’s never my intention to string someone along. I’d understand if you would prefer to wait until I figured my stuff out before pursuing a relationship. Or maybe not wait and move on.”
“I don’t—”
“But I do need you to know that I’m serious about you.” She looked determined. “I’m not going to avoid you again—”
“Naomi…” I held up my hand. She frowned at the suddenness of my words. “Sorry. I’ve been trying to tell you something. To confess. And the longer it takes, the more nervous I get.”
“Oh, jeez, I’m talking your ear off. Great impression on a potential partner, I’m sure. Never letting you get a word in edgewise,” she said, sarcastically as she closed one eye in embarrassment.
“You’re fine. And if anyone could be the perfect partner, it’d be you.”
“Well…” Her voice went high-pitched.
“You would be.” My fingernails dug into my palm as I confessed, “I wish I’d been able to meet you that night. Then I could prove it to you for sure. That was supposed to be our beginning.”
Naomi frowned. “Excuse me?”
I forced myself to march forward. There was no taking this back now. “You were nervous as hell. I’m sure I was too; I just didn’t say it in the message thread. I was probably trying to be brave for you or some macho shit like that.”
I wasn’t supposed to curse during this confession. Henrik had stressed that part, but when I was nervous, it slipped out. I hoped she wouldn’t hold it against me.
Naomi crossed her arms over her chest. “Finn, I’m confused.”
“Last year, you and I were going on our first date. We still only knew each other as Chai and MidQuest. We agreed to keep it that way until we came face-to-face.”
She stared blankly at me for what felt like ages before finally pointing at me. “You’re MidQuest?”
I nodded, my jaw tight with fear.
She touched her chest. “My MidQuest?”
Despite still panicking, my heart warmed at the use of her possessive. “Yes, Naomi. Your MidQuest.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Naomi
Mythroattightened.Istared at Finn, trying to piece together his words. A thousand questions flooded my brain, all overlapping so quickly that I didn’t know where to start.
“Do you need space?” He moved away from the door, indicating I could leave if I wanted. “Time? Something to drink?”
I shook my head, still speechless as I battled with conflicting emotions. Finn stared, waiting for an answer I couldn’t yet voice. He’d never looked so nervous. Stoicism had never been so far away. I felt bad for leaving him hanging but couldn’t get my mouth to work.
“After the accident,” he tried to continue in a shaky tone. “When I stopped responding, I was in the hospital, asleep for days because of a brain injury.”
I nodded. MidQuest told me that much. Nothing too detailed. He said there was an accident, and he’d been unconscious. I didn’t push him because it didn’t feel like my place. Going through it once seemed traumatizing enough.
“When I woke up, I didn’t remember anything about my life. Everything was gone.” He cleared his throat, struggling to continue. “Since then, I’ve recovered a little. Nothing of true substance. Just things to do with feelings and muscle memory.”
“You didn’t remember me?” I asked in a low voice. “Anything about us?”
“No.” His shoulders sagged. “My family tried to restore my phone and got most of the old apps back. I had the history of our chat. Our thread was saved, and I read through it to catch up. I watched some of the old streams hoping they would trigger memories. Nothing came of it though.”
