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We both laughed.
“Tell Gary I’m coming over,” I said.
“I will. What’s your favorite meal?”
“Anything with pesto,” I told him. “I don’t care what it is. I fucking love pesto.”
“Okay. And Juliet, you’re amazing. You know that, right? You’re freaking amazing.”
So are you, I thought, but I didn’t say it. I wanted to tell him in person instead.
SEVENTEEN
Finn
I had given Juliet the security code for the front door so she could let herself in. I didn’t like that she was driving to see me in her ancient, messed-up car, but if I insisted on coming to Portland to get her, the weekend would be off, and there was no way I would risk it. I settled for getting her to agree to text me when she left so that if she didn’t turn up in time, I could go looking for her in roadside ditches.
At dinnertime on Friday, she messaged me.
Juliet: Leaving now, setting up my GPS. What’s the address to your pussy palace?
Finn: 436 Sexual Genius Avenue. First glass-walled mansion on the left.
Juliet: The one that smells like massage oil and used tissues?
Finn: No, that’s my neighbor. Mine is the one with the condom delivery truck out front.
Then I texted her the correct address. I didn’t tell her that I had, in fact, gone out and bought a brand-new box of condoms, which were now stashed in my en suite bathroom. Doing that made me feel oddly like I was getting my hopes up, even though this weekend was Juliet’s idea. I was never sure exactly what she would do. Maybe she only wanted to eat pesto and watch TV.
This was a hookup. I knew that, and her bawdy joke over text was her way of reminding me. We’re just fooling around here. Nothing serious. Still, my place was tidy, my kitchen stocked, and Gary was happy in his dog bed after a long walk. To burn off my nervous energy, I turned to the leak under the sink in my guest bathroom, watching YouTube videos and then attacking the problem.
I was finishing up when my security app pinged that the front door was opening. I heard the telltale sound of Gary’s claws clicking on the tile in the front hall as he greeted her. Gary was the worst guard dog in the world, but that wasn’t why I’d adopted him in the first place.
I extracted myself from under the sink. Downstairs, I heard Juliet talking to Gary in a dopey voice that only the best people use with dogs. Her voice traveled to the kitchen, where she knew the treats were kept in a jar on the counter.
“You’re a good boy,” I heard her say. “Such a good boy. Yes, I’m happy to see you, too.”
Gary’s nails clicked in an excited dance, then went still when she gave him the treat. I leaned against the counter, listening, not feeling the need to announce myself yet. I savored the moment, the pleasure of hearing Juliet in my house, her ease and familiarity. She knew I was here, but she wasn’t in a hurry, either. She was taking her time.
When Gary had settled, I heard her leave the kitchen and pause. I knew she was wondering whether I was downstairs or up. “Finn?” she asked.
“Up here,” I said.
I didn’t move as she climbed the stairs. When she came to the door, I felt a wild beat of excitement when our gazes met. Our position—me at the counter, Juliet in the doorway—was just like the moment we’d first met in the kitchen at my old house. It was years later, and I was no longer a pop star, and she was no longer the girl with the red hair. But still, in that moment, I had the crazy idea that this was a do-over. That I could make this moment what it should have been in the first place.
She looked me up and down in a way similar to how that long-ago girl had. She was wearing loose jeans that sat low on her hips and a Fleetwood Mac T-shirt, her blond hair down in tousled waves around her shoulders. She was so hot she made me speechless. I was getting used to it.
“Huh,” she said as she assessed me and took in the tool box and the open cupboard under the sink. “The sexy plumber look.”
I glanced down at myself. I was wearing old cargo shorts and a sleeveless shirt. “Does this work for you?” I asked her.
She crossed her arms over her chest. I knew exactly what those breasts looked like, how they fit in my hands. I hadn’t tasted them yet, but I planned to. “Oddly, yes, it does,” she admitted.
The moment hung in the balance, as delicate as glass. I thought of the girl that night saying, Kick me out in the rain, Finn! I thought of her saying, See you never.
So I did what I should have done that night, even though it was the wrong time back then, because I had been leaving and she’d had a boyfriend who was cheating in the room down the hall. It would have been crazy, but I should have done it anyway, and I had known it every minute since.
I did it now. Without another word, I walked toward her and caged her against the doorway, my arms on either side of her head. I pressed closer, and her expression flared with surprise. Just as the look in her eyes changed to molten heat, I kissed her.
