“It’s been fun. Yours?”
“Better now that I’m with you.”
“Cheesy.”
JJ laughs and takes my hand. “Come over.”
He brings me towards the boys. Finn glances down at our fingers entwined, and he smiles, which catches me by surprise.
“Hey, guys,” I say, greeting them all.
“’Sup, Ivy.” Cal grins.
JJ tugs me to his side and kisses my forehead in front of them. My eyes flick to Finn, who is staring back at us with a conflicted expression.
“I’m gonna go grab a soft drink,” Joel says.
“I’ll come with you,” Cal dismisses himself, too.
Finn stands in front of us, and I swallow slowly. “You good, Finn?” I ask.
“Yeah.” He shoves his hands into his pockets. “Just getting used to being here and not drinking. It’s definitely harder than I thought it would be.”
“I’m proud of you,” I smile.
“We all vowed we wouldn’t drink tonight,” JJ says as I turn to look at him. “And we’d keep an eye on each other. We want Finn here, so we decided we’d do it together.”
My lips widen into a grin. “You guys are cute.”
“We did say we’d stay in together tonight,” JJ continues. “But Finn said he wanted to prove to himself that he can be out and enjoy his time.”
“Yeah.” Finn claps his hands together. “I guess it’s baby steps.”
“Well, you have the best support system around,” I say sincerely.
“Agreed,” JJ adds.
I beam up at JJ as he squeezes my sides.
“I’m happy you guys are happy. Cherish her, man. She deserves it.”
Then, before I know it, JJ is bundling us into a three-way hug. “I love you, man,” JJ exhales, and Finn chuckles.
“I love you both.”
“I love you, too, Finn.”
My eyes close, and I take a quick breath. Maybe this will be okay in the end. It seemed impossible at first, but I know it’ll work out.
I glance at JJ. “Could you give me a moment with Finn?”
“Sure,” he says without hesitation and leans down to kiss my temple.
Finn flicks his gaze to me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I purse my lips. “I wanted to tell you that I read your letter.”
His green eyes glass over with sudden emotion. “You did?”
