by J. Bengtsson
“Jake’s not like that,” Casey said, in defense of her soon-to-be husband.
“Not now. But before he met you, Jake was no saint. And Kyle, good god, he was a pimp short of man-whore.”
“Wow, way to lighten the mood,” Casey said, grinning. “Was there a point to slut-shaming our men?”
“Not really,” I admitted, smiling. “But it felt good.”
The three of us laughed together as we made our way back to the VIP area.
“You do realize that all you did back there was light his flame, right?” Kenzie asked.
“And there are probably dozens of women waiting to blow it out.”
“Emma!” a male voice called out.
My breath quickened. A revved up, tingling sensation spread through me in response to those two syllables. Oh, shit, my rusty engine was turning over again. At least Finn could start one thing up. I eagerly sought out the owner of the voice. Kenzie and Casey spun around too, seemingly surprised that a human male knew my name.
“Hey,” Finn panted, as he came to a halt in front of me. Either he’d sprinted like a track star to be by my side or he was in particularly bad physical condition. I took in his rather jarring appearance. He was wearing a blinking headband wrapped around his hat and had multiple glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets rolled up his arms. In his hand was a flashing plastic drink cup with a long, glowing handle. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Have you been here a while?”
“Just…um… a couple of hours.”
“Just a couple of hours?” he repeated. “Apparently you lost my number, then.”
“She was just about to call you,” Kenzie said.
Yes. Good thinking, Kenzie. I nodded in agreement.
“Right, just about to… um… call you.”
Finn cocked his head and raised a single eyebrow.
Casey stepped in. “Hi, I’m Casey, and this is Kenzie.”
Kenzie waved, and for some reason, her ridiculous greeting made me giggle. I slapped her on the arm and we both started laughing in earnest. I wasn’t usually so playful, but Finn’s presence made me giddy in a way I hadn’t anticipated.
I wasn’t paying attention to the words or the niceties the three were exchanging because I had more pressing issues to deal with – mainly whether or not Finn had magically grown hotter in the last few hours. Maybe it was just the alcohol heightening my senses, but had his body always been that tall and solid? Wait a minute! When did he grow a dimple in his right cheek? And his eyes, had they always twinkled like that or was the incessant blinking making them sparkle?
Huh. Was this really the same guy I’d picked up on the side of the road? It made perfect sense now. No wonder I stopped. Suddenly I felt so much better about my near-death experience. Mom would totally understand why I’d put my life in peril. I mean, look at him.
“Right, Emma?” Kenzie asked. Apparently the three of them had been having an in-depth conversation without me.
I nodded absently, having no idea what I’d just been asked.
“You’re very blinky tonight,” I said, addressing Finn directly.
A smile lit up his already bright face. “Well, thank you.”
“You look like you were dipped into Disney’s Electrical Parade.”
Finn’s laughter shook me from my daze. Was this really possible? Did a guy actually find me amusing? I guess there was a first for everything.
“That’s exactly the look I was going for,” he answered, running his eyes over me. “And you’re looking fine tonight as well.”
We stared at each other, not speaking. The heat between us threatened to set us both on fire. The sounds of the others were muffled as I fought the primal instinct to jump his bones on the spot. What the hell was in those cocktails?
“I, uh, I still owe you a drink.” He stumbled a bit on the words.
I just smiled and nodded, never taking my eyes off him.
“So we’ll just be leaving,” Kenzie said, backing away from our two-person play with a big smile on her face. “Casey, can you help me with that thing I forgot to do?”
“Of course,” she replied, in an exaggerated way, jamming her thumb in Kenzie’s direction. “She always forgets… the thing. Uh, Emma?”
I was staring at Finn with blinders on.
“Emma?” This time Casey snapped her fingers in front of me. “Text us when you want to go, okay?”
I nodded. So did Finn. Our eyes were locked. If they’d left, I couldn’t tell you. I was fixed on Finn and ready to push him behind a stage and have my way with him. This was really, really not me… at all.
“I can’t believe I found you,” he said, finally breaking the silence. His hand reached out and touched my arm. The contact sent shivers to the tips of my toes. “I’ve been looking everywhere.”
“Well, FYI, I’d never be where you just came from.” I gestured to his blinking body.
“Is it too much? I was just trying to impress you. When they were handing out the bling, I was like, load me up ‘cuz I know this girl who’s totally going to dig this shit’.”
“The only part of your get up I’m jonesing for is that drink in your hand.”
“Say no more. Follow me.”
We navigated our way through crowds of people. I was having trouble staying with him as stoned zombies pushed among us.
Finn stopped suddenly, and I ran into his back. “My god. Is he banging her? On a porta-potty?”
I followed his stunned gaze to see a couple going at it, smashed up against the portable toilet facilities. She was wearing an American flag tank top, and her denim shorts were bunched down around her cowboy boots. “Now there’s an uncomplicated girl,” I said, laughing out loud at the absurdity of it all.
“God bless her,” Finn added, nodding as his head bobbed to their thrusts.
The two of us just stood there and watched, mesmerized. And we weren’t the only ones. A crowd of people circled around the couple, cheering on the two like prizefighters in the ring. They went at it for an impressively long period of time, seemingly unfazed by their audience until the woman hit a crescendo and screamed out in ecstasy. Finn, looking sufficiently impressed, took a sip of his drink and then bent down and reflected, “It’s times like these I’m proud to be American.”
My eyes fluttered over him. Damn, he was adorable.
“You ready, or should we wait and see if she’s got one more in her?” Finn asked.
“Nah, I’m predicting she’s a one-hit wonder. Let’s get out of here.”
He held his hand out to me.
I didn’t do hand holding. Not that I’d really had the opportunity, but still. It always seemed so gooey and sweet.
He immediately picked up on my apprehension. “So I don’t lose you to the dark side.”
I continued to stare at his hand like an idiot. What did it matter if I took it? It wasn’t like one hundred years of the feminist movement would be shattered if I accepted. Finn smiled at me like my inner conflict amused him. This was ridiculous. What the hell was the big deal? To the dark side! I slipped my hand in his; and of course his palm, like the rest of him, was hot and sweaty. Oh, lord. I was so out of my element. Just go with it, Emma.
Finn led me to an open-air bar and snagged us a little table, pulling the chair out for me like a gentleman. After ordering our drinks, he took the seat opposite me. We held each other’s stare until, suddenly, I felt suspiciously short of breath.
“Sooo, first off, I’ve got to thank you. What you did today… I still can’t believe it. It’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
Taken off guard by his sincerity, I could do nothing but nod. He must have had a shitty upbringing if that was the best thing he could remember.
“And secondly, I’m really happy you agreed to have a drink with me. I didn’t think you would.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. You seemed, uh… done with me.”
“Done with you?” I question
ed.
“Like I’d worn out my welcome.”
Yep. That was probably how I’d come off to him. I definitely needed to work harder on first impressions. Jake was right.
“Well, you didn’t. I wanted to call you, but…”
“I get it. You’ve obviously got plans this weekend.”
“No, that’s not it. The truth is, you scare me a little bit.”
“Me?” His eyes widened. “I promise, Emma, what you see with me is what you get.”
“That’s actually the part that scares me.”
Finn leaned back in his chair seeming confused, if not a little offended.
“It’s not you… or I guess maybe it is. You’re not my type at all…”
“Yeah, I spent the day in your world,” he said, studying his drink. “I’m pretty sure I know what your type is.”
“My world?”
“Behind the VIP tents? Where all the rich people hang? You can’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Obviously, I wasn’t making myself clear. “I’m not rich, Finn, just connected. I work a normal job, and when I said you weren’t my type, I didn’t mean it as an insult but as a compliment. I’m a very careful person. Predictable. You strike me as someone who is the complete opposite of that; yet for some reason, I’m having trouble looking at you without drooling.”
Finn blinked back his reply. I’d just provided him with probably the most honest, cringe-worthy explanation possible, and the minute the words left my mouth I regretted them. I’d laid all my cards on the table for him to play whatever way he saw fit. I could only imagine what was running through his mind. Now that he knew I was an easy mark, would he take advantage of my weakness for his own benefit?
“Sorry, but if you’re predictable, then I’ve been hanging out with the wrong people all my life,” Finn said, grinning. “And since we’re being brutally honest with each other, even though we’ve known each other for a total of about an hour, I’ve spent the better part of the day chasing after you. And when I say that, I mean I’ve circled the entire festival twenty times. I wish you had just called me because it would have saved me so much exercise.”
“The way you came up to me panting makes me think you could use a little more cardio in your life,” I said, grinning. “And just so you know, my honesty comes from the alcohol. But even sober, I still thought you were a hot, greasy mess.”
“I’m flattered,” he said, rubbing his jaw with his fingers. “I think. And surprised.”
“Why does it surprise you?”
“Well, you’re just…” Finn looked me up and down, as if something about me genuinely intrigued him. He was about to finish his sentence when the waitress brought our drinks. He paid, never taking his eyes off me. And when she left he completed the thought: “fierce.”
I nearly fell from my chair. Of all the words to choose, Finn picked that one. I felt a churning of emotion well up deep within my belly. My hand rested on my heart for a split second before I cleared my throat and replied. “Why did you use that word?”
He could clearly see my emotion and attempted to backtrack. “Did I say something wrong? I meant it as a compliment.”
“I know.” I smiled at him. “I just… I like it. Thank you.”
Finn relaxed upon seeing my smile, but he was still obviously confused by my reaction. How could I explain to him that I’d been called ‘fierce’ before, during a time in my life when I felt anything but?
He raised his glass. “Here’s to a girl with connections.”
“And to a guy who knows how to get grease stains off his jeans… oh, and to good porta-potty sex.”
“I’ll drink to that,” he said, as he clunked his plastic against mine and grinned. I smiled back. I was, once again, feeling the heat.
Needing a distraction, I asked, “So, did you have fun today?”
“‘Fun’ is not the right word for what I’ve been having.” He held up his wristband. “Do you have any idea what this baby does?”
“I have a pretty good idea.”
“It’s like I’ve spent the day in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, and I have a storage unit filled with gold to prove it.”
“Wow, you have been busy.”
“You have no idea.”
Another long staring session ensued. We were saying more without words than we were saying with.
Finn cleared his voice. “So do you really have a normal job?”
“I’m a nurse.”
“A nurse? Really?”
“Not as glamorous as you hoped, I’m sure.”
“Well, you know, it’s just another piece of the puzzle that is you.”
“Says the guy who came to a music festival alone. What’s up with that?”
“I was going to go with my roommate, Richie, but he decided to become a prostitute last minute and totally flaked on me.”
“A prostitute?” I asked, choking back a laugh.
“That’s right,” he grinned, choosing not to elaborate. “Damn, I wish my nurses looked like you. I might have been more inclined to stay in the hospital.”
Instantly, my stomach knotted. Was he sick?
Finn, catching the worried expression on my face, rushed to explain. “Oh, no, nothing like that, thank god. I have kind of a dangerous job, and get hurt more than I probably should.”
“What do you do?”
“Guess.” He grinned, leaning back. His strapping chest was distracting my thinking process. Would he mind if I just did a quick little cop-a-feel under that shirt of his? Focus, Emma… on his profession.
“You’re a cop.”
“No.”
“A firefighter?”
“No.”
“Okay, wait, let me think. I got it. You’re a mechanic.”
“If I was a mechanic, I wouldn’t have needed a ride this morning. And besides, how is being a mechanic dangerous?”
“I don’t know, I guess you could get crushed under a car or something?”
“Actually, now you’re getting warmer.”
“You have a job where you get crushed under cars?” I asked, confused.
“No, but I get hit by them… for a living.”
“You’re a stuntman.”
“Ding, ding, ding,” he said, confirming my guess.
“You’re joking?”
“Afraid not.”
Rarely did people surprise me. Finn was the exception to that rule. “I’ve never met anyone who does that.”
“It’s a hard field to break into and even harder to find work once you’re in it.”
“I imagine you have to travel a lot.”
“Yeah. When I was first establishing myself, I was gone most of the time. Now it’s maybe fifty-fifty. I try to look for things in LA, though, since I hate living out of a suitcase all the time.”
“You don’t seem overly thrilled with your profession.”
Finn looked down at his drink. I saw the hesitation in his response. “Lately, I’ve been second guessing what I do. I’ve been thinking of getting out of it. The thing is, I’m an actor; or at least, that’s what I call myself. It’s just getting harder to find parts. I’m getting to the point now where I’m tired of the uncertainty. I want to move on from all of it, I think. I don’t know. Maybe I don’t. I’m a little indecisive, as you can tell.”
“What would you do otherwise?”
“Well, see, that’s the tricky part. I don’t know yet.”
“Have you been in any TV or movies I’ve seen?”
“That depends. How do you feel about gory slasher horror films?”
“Not a fan.”
“Then no. I haven’t been in anything you’ve seen.”
“And so instead of acting, you now basically get hurt for a living?”
“No, I keep actual actors from getting hurt, and try not to get myself killed in the process.”
“Have you ever been set on fire?”
“In training, but not on film. I’m agile
, so my specialty is jumps, free running, aerial, that sort of thing.”
“How did you go from acting to being a stuntman?”
Finn shrugged, grinning. “Well, you know, it was between that and porn.”
Gulping back my surprise, I swallowed too fast and nearly choked on my drink. Finn had to hand me a napkin. “Let me guess, your roommate, the prostitute, is also an actor?”
Finn clapped for me. “Now you’re catching on.”
“So you’re telling me there are no other viable options out there for young actors other than to die a fiery death or sell yourselves to the highest bidder? Whatever happened to waiting tables?”
“Oh, I’ve been a waiter, don’t you worry, but I was looking for a more rewarding career.”
“Uh huh, I can see where being a porn star would be incredibly fulfilling.”
“That’s what I was thinking – sort of a win-win,” he teased. “But then I found out that the porn flicks I was being offered had no females in them, and I wasn’t quite desperate enough for that. So now I’m jumping between buildings and getting hit by cars. So, much better.”
If I could hand-pick a more opposite person from myself, Finn would be the one. I shook my head in awe. “You’re crazy. Have you always been a daredevil?”
“Yeah, I like adventure. I take it you don’t?”
“No, I don’t have a death wish.”
“Neither do I. But living my life without some heart-pounding excitement would be too boring for words.”
Raising my hand, I confessed. “That’s me.”
“I don’t believe that. You might just be the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”
I smiled and shrugged. “Believe what you will.”
Finn suddenly stood up. “Come on.”
“What? Where are we going?”
“On an adventure… and bring your drink.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me from my chair.
“I don’t like adventure.”
“Only because you’ve never experienced Finn-related adventure.”
The confident smile on his face swayed me to trust him. Why not? I’d already laid my life on the line for him multiple times today, and he hadn’t killed me yet. I followed him through the fairgrounds, my heart pounding in anticipation. For whatever reason, I felt wildly alive as we strolled through the fairgrounds hand in hand like an actual couple. I was surprised at how comfortable I was with the whole thing. I’d spent my life avoiding such situations, but now I couldn’t remember why. This felt amazing.