I'll Never Stop, page 13
“I’m pretty sure we’ve already covered all that,” she said with a snort.
“Does that mean I’m not getting lucky tonight?” I joked.
“Depends.”
“Depends on what?” I asked.
“On how well this date is going to be.”
“Oh, princess. Don’t you worry about that. It’ll be epic.”
“Well, then I guess the sex will be epic too.”
“No doubt about that,” I told her before I kissed her long and hard and headed out.
Then I had to call in a few favors. Thankfully, they all came through.
At five minutes to seven, I showed up at her door.
She opened it, and I didn’t bother to fight my smile. In fact, I was as pleased as ever.
“You’re early,” she said with a wide smile of her own.
“I see you liked the shirt,” I told her as I saw her take in what mine said. She threw her head back and laughed, and it was the nicest sound in the world.
I had known maybe two things about Eliza back in high school—her name and that she was what we used to call a nerd. Basically, she was studious and liked to read, and we labeled anyone like that a nerd. I had spent all of two seconds checking out the notebooks James had found, really only caring about her crush on me. But I’d happened to glance at her bookshelf during breakfast, and some of the books brought back a memory. One of the girls had spent plenty of time searching through her pages, making comments about things she wrote.
“Looks like you have competition, Finn,” she said with a mocking laugh. “Girl might love Harry Potter as much as you. How does it feel to compete against a fictional character?” I made some dumb comment back about how nothing and no one compared to me. And that was it. I’d forgotten it until her books sparked that little thought.
On her bookshelf, along with plenty of other books, was the complete Harry Potter collection. And yes, that was one series even I had read, though it came later for me. Looking back now, I wonder if I’d done it based on that passing comment. Because why, out of every book in the world there was to read, did I pick that one?
It must have meant something to me, and by the looks of it, plus my memory, it meant something to Eliza too.
“I’m not sure where we’re going, but I have a feeling I’m going to like it,” she told me as we stepped out, her smile still full and her eyes still focused on my shirt.
I’d had it couriered to her place the minute my friend had finished making them. Hers was one of those “I’m with stupid” shirts except stupid was crossed out, and on top was written, “Muggle.” The kicker, though? Underneath, in smaller writing was, “(Well, stupid too.)” My shirt had almost the same thing, except it said, “I’m stupid” with the stupid crossed out and “Muggle” written on top, as well as “(Well, stupid too.)” underneath.
“If you like the shirts, you’ll love the place,” I told her.
“Where’d you find these anyway?” she asked.
“I had them made,” I told her as we got in the car.
“What? You came up with this? Hold up…does this mean you’ve read Harry Potter?”
“Potterhead here and proud,” I replied.
“Definitely a Slytherin,” she teased.
We talked more about Harry Potter on the way to our date, and she was so distracted and in awe at the fact I’d read the books that she didn’t even notice where we were until I’d parked.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked as we walked out, her giddiness almost contagious. “Isn’t the park closed?”
“Not for us,” I told her.
“What?” she asked, looking at me as though she couldn’t believe who I was.
“I have a friend,” I said with a shrug.
“I like your friend. Tell him I said thank you.”
“We haven’t even made it inside yet,” I pointed out with a chuckle as I grabbed her hand, pulling her toward me.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s already one of the best dates I’ve ever had.”
“Then wait until we get inside. It’ll be even better,” I told her with a wink. Letting go of her hand, I slip my arm around her shoulders and tuck her into my side, kissing her hair. I heard her sigh. It was a good feeling.
I’d done a gig with the park before and ended up helping some of the employees. In return, they’d done this for me. The Harry Potter part was open for us, complete with Eliza getting her own wand, drinking butterbeer, and going on all the rides. A special dinner made just for us was set up at a table with the mountains as our backdrop and lights from the park all around us.
It was just as special for me as it was for her, but watching her childlike joy, her pure happiness as we experienced it together, was better than any day at the park, no matter how exclusive.
She had made this day perfect for me. Her. Nothing else.
“Did I say the sex would be epic?” she asked after we finished dessert. “I take it back. Epic doesn’t cover how good it’ll be.”
“Does that mean you liked our first date?” I asked her.
“Liked doesn’t cut it. This was…I don’t have the words to tell you how amazing today has been. Thank you, Finn.”
“I’d do anything to keep making you smile like that,” I told her. And it was the truth. “Anything.”
“Just keep being you,” she said. “This you.”
“This is me,” I assured her. “But don’t worry, princess. I’ll make sure you believe that one day. Hopefully, sooner than later.”
“I know you will,” she told me with a nod. And just to make sure I understood how much she truly believed in me and in her words, she repeated them. “I know you will.”
Eliza
FINN SQUASHED ANY doubts I had about him slowly, day by day.
“How’d you know I liked Harry Potter?” I asked him after the first date to top all first dates.
“I observed,” he stated like it was no big deal. It was a big deal. He hadn’t just taken me to a nice place and called it a day. He had thought about something I’d really like and put a lot of effort into making it happen.
I wanted to tell him I believed in him right then and there, but so many years of hate and mistrust couldn’t be undone in one evening…no matter how much I wished it could.
And it didn’t stop there. None of our other dates were as grand as that, but they were all relevant, well-thought-out, and more importantly, special and fun.
One night, he’d shown up with popcorn, a ton of snacks, slushies, and sodas in his arms. A couple of guys with him set up a movie projector and reclining chairs in my backyard.
“I wanted to do the whole cliché movie date, but I didn’t want to share you,” he told me after I picked my jaw up off the floor. “Also, I couldn’t find a theater showing Harry Potter.”
My jaw might have hit the floor again after that.
One day, he’d taken me to a night market, which was basically a large space with a ton of food trucks and other food stands.
“You’re not one of those stereotypical girls who survives on a salad. I know you like food, and I thought you could sample it all here.”
“You won’t judge?” I asked, but I knew he wouldn’t anyway.
“Only if you don’t share,” he teased.
“Get your own,” I told him with a chuckle.
“Nah, I’d rather eat you.” When I raised an eyebrow in response, he put his hands up and said, “Did I say you? I mean, that too,” he said with a wink, “but I meant, I’d rather eat yours. Yours, of course.”
“Of course,” I repeated with mock sarcasm.
Another day, he’d told me to dress like I was going to the gym. “What is this? That whole couples that work out together, stay together thing?”
“We get plenty of working out already,” he told me, and I blushed. We did do that. Our sex life was off the charts.
I hadn’t had a ton of partners, but they were all guys I had dated and not any one-night stands, which meant I could count my partners on one hand. But none of them held a candle to Finn. The way he moved, the way we moved together in sync was truly something special. Like we were made for each other. But above all that, it was the way he took care of me. Sexually, he always made sure I was satisfied. I wasn’t sure how many people could boast about their other halves being that considerate. But aside from that, I got the feeling he was always in awe to be with me. Even when the sex was rough, I still felt cherished as though he was trying to prove I was right in giving my body to him…giving him control over me.
It did wonders for my ego; I can tell you that. Finn, the guy who had once snubbed me, now wanted to make sure I didn’t snub him. He chipped away at that vulnerability inside me with each day.
“So, what are we going to do?” I asked after we’d entered a small gym. Just as I finished my question, a guy popped into the room. He was a beautiful guy, ruggedly handsome, built like Finn, but he didn’t compare to him. No one ever would.
He and Finn greeted each other before he introduced me to his friend, who was apparently a self-defense instructor.
“I don’t get it,” I admitted after we’d said our hellos. “I have you,” I pointed out.
“You might not always have me.” I didn’t like that. I didn’t like it at all. But I didn’t say anything to let him know.
“Then I’ll have a different bodyguard.”
“True, but you need to know how to defend yourself,” he told me. “It’s a good thing to be able to trust others or admit you need help, but sometimes, you don’t have that luxury. I would feel a lot more comfortable if I knew you were equipped to handle yourself.”
“Oh?” I asked. “This is about you, huh?”
“I care about you, Eliza. More than I have the right to. Which means I think about the times I’m not there. So far, you’ve been fine in this life, but there may come a day you’re not. My girl will know how to take care of that situation with or without me.”
My girl…swoon.
“Alright,” I told him, and we got to work. It was surprisingly fun and empowering.
“You’re so freaking hot,” he kept telling me when I got a move down. It felt good to know I could rely on myself. Apparently, Finn knew me better than even I did because I would never have thought to take these classes. I never would have thought I’d like the power I felt after them. Oh, and I’d already had a few since. Finn had signed me up for regular classes, and he came with me to each one, being the willing assailant every time.
“You know, you could have just admitted you like kinky sex,” I told him one of the times.
“Never really been into it before, but now…oh yeah, definitely considering it. Role-play tonight?” he teased.
As you can tell, our bantering didn’t end. Neither did our work schedule. His sexual innuendos didn’t go away either. I just no longer hated them.
Being with Finn practically every day, spending time with him at work and then in our private life…I didn’t mind it. I didn’t mind it at all. He took every raw and painful emotion that I felt toward him and eradicated them with each smile directed at me, with each thoughtful gesture, with each compliment. He was pushing my troublesome memories to the dark recesses of my brain.
Soon…very soon…they’d be buried so deep they’d never resurface. And my heart? My heart would once again be his.
Finn
I WAS FALLING for Eliza. How could I not? She was something else. Maybe I’d even started falling for her before we had begun dating. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more it became a real possibility.
My line of work didn’t make it easy to date. I did, but it just wasn’t high on my priority list. So I stuck to getting laid, random hookups, friends with benefits, those types of things. It worked for me, and I honestly had no interest in changing it. I wasn’t looking to get serious with anyone, not even with Eliza.
I could tell myself I wanted to possess her body because she was hot, and I was a dude. And yeah, that was one-hundred-percent true. But let’s be honest. I knew, realistically, that I wouldn’t be able to have casual sex with a girl like Eliza and have us part ways. She wasn’t the casual sex type, plus I saw her on a daily basis.
I think I used wanting to have sex with her as an excuse to get closer to her.
And then I had to admit I wanted more with her.
And here we were…more.
Fuck…well, yeah, the way she did that was unparalleled to anything else I’d experienced. I mean, damn. The girl knew how to move, knew how to work me, and she also knew how to let me work her. She was the perfect mix of control and vulnerability in the bedroom. She took charge sometimes, which definitely turned me on, but then she also relinquished herself to me, surrendering her body.
But as great as the sex was, it didn’t compare to Eliza herself. The way she laughed, all in, amusement shining through her; the way she puckered her lips when she was upset or frustrated; the way she gave back to people less fortunate than her; and the way she tackled every job, task, or situation presented to her with the utmost professionalism and with determination. I could keep going, but let’s face it, she was one of a kind. And she made me feel like maybe I was too. She didn’t look at me with the hate I deserved. She didn’t look at me with pity for losing my family so young. She didn’t look at me like I was beneath her because I was her bodyguard. She looked at me with awe. She looked at me with, dare I say it…love.
It was a great feeling.
And every day, I felt her walls crumbling. I knew she’d soon admit that love I was sure I saw reflected in her eyes.
I’d learned so much about her as well. I’d learned her quirks while being with her every day. I knew she squinted when she was reading something far away even though she didn’t need glasses, I knew she made funny faces when touching up her makeup, I knew she liked to get “easy ice” with her soft drinks, and many other things. But she hadn’t exactly been forthcoming about deeper things before. Like her childhood, how she was a perpetual tomboy until high school—that was thanks to me, apparently. I felt a bottomless shame when I figured that piece out. She would have been perfect in any form. I tried to tell her that, but she didn’t believe me. I couldn’t blame her. Look what I’d done to her when she was average looking versus how I treated her when she wasn’t. That part was purely coincidental. I loved looking at her, I did. But like I said before, that was a bonus. It was her, just her, that had me listing all the great things about her. I learned a great deal more about college, about her best friends, and everything between.
I knew her friends were the once-in-a-lifetime kind, and truth be told, I was sort of envious that I didn’t have a lifelong friend or two like that. But I was happy they were there for her when she needed them most. So it was no surprise when we arrived at her place after a long day of work one Friday to see them camped out on her front step.
“Holy shit!” Eliza yelled, followed by a scream that could only be classified as something akin to a banshee. The three ran toward each other, barreling more like it, until they managed a group hug.
“What are you guys doing here?” she asked.
“We were both due for a visit,” her friend Sam, whom I had vaguely remembered from high school when Eliza showed me her picture before, told her.
“Only took us like what, two months to finally get free and make it here,” Anna added.
“But better late than never,” Eliza said. “I can’t believe it. Best surprise. How long are you staying?”
“My flight is at two on Sunday, and Anna’s is at two thirty, but we’ll just go to the airport together.”
“Shit, that really only gives us this evening and tomorrow,” Eliza said. “Damn, girls, we got a lot to do in a short amount of time.”
“Hells yeah,” Sam exclaimed. “But first,” she said, nodding her head in my direction.
“Finn!” Eliza yelled excitedly even though I was right behind her by this point, having walked toward them while they were talking. “You already know Sam, but just in case, Sam, Finn, Finn, Sam.” She looked at me with skepticism but held out her hand anyway.
“Yep, I remember him. Good seeing you again, Finn.”
“I doubt that,” I told her honestly. “But if you allow me, I’ll prove to you that it is good seeing me again while you’re here.”
She raised her brows as if to say, we’ll see.
“And this is Anna, Anna, Finn.”
“Uh-huh,” she said as she held out her hand as well. I shook it and told her it was nice meeting her.
“Let’s go,” Eliza said as she went to help the girls grab their suitcases.
“I got this. Go inside and enjoy. I’ll put them in the guest bedrooms, yeah?” I asked.
“Yes, please. Thanks, Finn,” she said and gave me a quick peck on the cheek as we all followed her inside.
I heard Eliza ask them how long they’d been sitting outside as I made my way to the first guest bedroom. I was done setting both suitcases down within minutes. So, I honestly didn’t know how they did it because I was sure they didn’t even have time to answer Eliza’s question, not to mention I didn’t even hear them.
“We have to talk,” Sam said, catching me off guard when she cornered me in the hallway outside the second guest bedroom.
I could handle myself, and I sure as hell could take them—not that I would, since they were women, and I was a gentleman. But suddenly, I was two feet tall, ready to undergo an interrogation by the two people who mattered most to the woman I lov…er, cared very deeply for.
“Listen, Finn,” Anna started. “You broke our girl. You hurt her and humiliated her for no reason other than to get a quick laugh. You and your cronies didn’t care what that did to her, or that she looks in the mirror sometimes and still doesn’t see who and what she’s become. Lasting effects, buddy.”
“But we have also seen a change in her these past few months, even before you all became this thing, whatever it is you are.”
