“What?” Aveena questions.
“Well, that didn’t take long.” My first instinct is to slip my hand into my bag and pull out the hairbrush-shaped alcohol flask Lacey made me buy. We used it to sneak booze into a concert a few months back.
I filled it with tequila from my parents’ stash when they weren’t looking. I judge myself for trying to drink my pain away from the moment I uncap the bottom.
And if the look on Aveena’s face is any clue?
She’s judging me, too.
I make up some excuse about needing a drink since we’re going to be spending the night with Brie, and she doesn’t argue.
Meanwhile, I’m dying inside.
Vee parks the car in Finn’s circular driveway, her disapproval for my drinking habits stamped across her forehead. Next thing I know, I’m leading the way to Finn’s backyard. He texted me that they were out on the trampoline.
Aveena follows suit, her footsteps hesitant and slow, but all I can think about is losing myself into Finn’s arms. I want him to take me to his room, strip me naked, and fuck the guilt out of me. I want him to save me, the way I saved him that night on the bridge. Finn Richards is the hill I want to die on, to hell with the consequences.
We turn the corner to see Finn, Brie, Lacey, Xavier, Axel, and Theo hanging out on the trampoline. The boys are chugging beers while Lacey and Brie giggle like five-year-olds. No surprise there—I could smell weed all the way from the driveway.
Finn’s eyes flare when he notices me.
“Ladies, just in time,” Axel comments as we approach them.
Finn doesn’t give me a chance to come to him, immediately pushing to his feet to meet us by the pool. My lungs shrink in size and capacity when he stops inches away from me and leans forward to whisper in my ear, “I believe we have a deal to get back to.”
I don’t know what the hell it is about his voice, but shivers erupt all over my body, my heart rate quadrupling as his breath brushes against my earlobe.
Shit, I can’t leave Vee.
I shoot a glance toward Aveena as soon as he pulls away. I expect the look in my best friend’s eyes to be ridden with panic, conveying a clear “don’t you dare leave me” but find a rather accepting grin on her face.
“Go,” she encourages.
I assess her features for a moment, a grateful smile on my face as I ponder my next move. But Finn’s heard more than enough, capturing my hand into his and taking off in the direction of his house.
I’m not sure how we wind up in his bedroom, but I embrace my shrouded thoughts, my hands flying to his hair when Finn’s mouth crashes against mine.
Fuck. To. The. Yes.
I shriek when my back hits his mattress with a thud, and Finn laughs, climbing on top of me to muffle my shock with a hot kiss. We never once talk about what’s going to happen, grasping at each other’s clothes desperately. It’s been a whole week since the last time we were alone, and it shows.
Our shirts are the first to go, but his cock begs to be freed, protruding from his pants. I shift my hips against his, eating up his groans when his thumb grazes my nipple over my bra.
He’s about to fling my bra over my head when his phone rings. This isn’t the first time someone’s called him while we were doing the deed. He’s never let that stop us before, so you can imagine my surprise when he releases an irritated groan and disconnects from my mouth.
He looks like he’s in pain, like it kills him to do this, as he exhales. “I have to take it.”
I’m shocked, to put it mildly, but tell myself this call has to be important for him to leave me hanging.
“I’ll be right back.” He anchors torturous kisses up and down my neck.
He’s quick to grab his phone on the nightstand and exit the room. His footsteps sound down the stairs. Red flag, my brain screams. Why wouldn’t he just pick up the phone in front of me? Why would he need to go downstairs?
My doubts retreat to the back of my brain when I spot a dusty wooden box neatly placed on Finn’s desk. It looks old, a visible crack embedded in the lid. I’m willing to bet it hasn’t been opened in years.
It’s calling my name, tempting me to take a peek. You’d think I would have learned my lesson after sneaking into Finn’s mom’s office last summer, but nope, I still move off the bed and make a beeline for the mysterious box. I open it, expecting to find, well, anything but this.
In the box are letters.