Not A Temporary Love | Finley & Harlyn #1

Chapter 22

Harlyn

"I adore Amelia. Can I steal her?" I ask.

"You're supposed to be studying," Finley reminds me from his desk chair. His furious typing has hardly stopped in nearly an hour.

"Right. Sorry," I whisper and turn back to the notebook in front of me. But it's all gobbledygook. I've read all of this a thousand times. What I need to do is work on my dissertation proposal. I'm due to meet with my professors about it soon, and I have three ideas and no real opinion on which to do.

I roll over on the carpet and stare at the ceiling. The last week has been simultaneously the best and hardest week I've had in months. Finley and I have been finding time here and there to be together just the two of us. And it's getting more and more normal to hug him or kiss him without feeling like I'm pushing it on him. He's been just as affectionate toward me which helps. A lot. And usually, when we're alone, we don't talk a whole lot. We cuddle. We kiss. We study. And the time we're apart, we text.

But it's still not easy. And it's even harder when we're with Max. Finley has an excuse to smile at me with puppy dog eyes. Max won't really question that. But I have to basically ignore Finley so I don't lunge at him and kiss him every chance I get.

In short, I'm pathetic and have no self control.

Elly hasn't been around as much, which is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, she can't see my crush face out in full force around Finley. On the other hand, I haven't had a chance to talk to her about anything. Finley. Everything she told me after we picked them up from the party. I stayed the night in her room and talked to her Saturday morning. I told Finley I'd talk to her. But it's been a week and a half. Next week Kent starts exams, and Elly's been working on a big final group project and studying. And she has plans with her dad and Francesca and Polly almost every day. The only time I'm going to see her is this Saturday when we're finally showing Finley and Max some of our favorite beaches. But we aren't going to be alone. And then she has Francesca's birthday party after. I'm not going to tell her as we're walking home.

So, I've had a lot of time to stew and think about what she told me and how I'm going to tell her about Finley. And all of that is on top of still trying to figure out what in the hell it all means. The only thing I'm still certain of is that I like Finley. A lot. (He called me sweetheart offhand a few days ago, and I think I giggled in giddiness.) But I'm really starting to realize how much putting everyone else first has kept me from figuring all of this out sooner.

Luckily, I have Finley. He's been so patient with me. Too patient. And his house has become a sanctuary for the two of us. And I've fallen head over heels for Amelia.

"I just can't get over how nice she is."

Finley laughs, stops typing, and swivels around to look at me. "You're distracted today."

"Yeah. Sorry," I say, gazing up at him where he's peeking over the top of his chair. His hair frames his face in curtains, casting funny shadows over his eyes. "Just ignore me."

"No, it's ok." He slides off his chair and settles cross legged next to me on the floor. "I can take a break. Continue your raving about Amelia."

"That's all, I guess," I say, staring up at the ceiling again. "She's just super sweet."

"I know. I'm lucky." He pauses. "I mean, so is Max. Your family is amazing."

I roll my head to look at him. "Can you imagine if you had been put in our house? And Max was put in yours?"

"Wow," he says, eyebrows shooting up. "That would have been interesting."

"I probably would have kissed you a lot sooner," I admit.