by BWWM Club
She had to clear her thoughts and she had to get out of the apartment. Not that she thought Finn would check to make sure she really did have plans, but she had to admit it was a little because she wasn’t sure she would say no if he asked her out again. She called her best friend Kim not expecting much but for once her best friend had a weekend off. They decided to do a morning session of Bikram yoga followed by a late lunch. Courtney dressed in yoga pants and a sports bra but packed a sundress that she knew didn’t wrinkle easily and some comfy sandals in her gym bag.
When Court saw Kim they squealed and hugged like teenage girls. Although she considered Kim as her best friend, they didn’t talk every single day. She was often times clueless about what was going on in her friend’s life. They were both always so busy but when they got together it was like no time had passed. Bikram was hot and difficult and they didn’t have much opportunity to chat until lunch.
“So how is Ralph?” Courtney asked Kim.
“Ralph? Yeah that didn’t work out. He was more of a diva than I am. I do have a date Wednesday with this man I met at a function though,” Kim said shrugging, avoiding looking Court in the eye.
“I’m sorry Kim. I had high hopes for Ralph. Tell me about this guy though,” Court replied.
“I will… just after Wednesday okay?”
Court laughed. That meant her friend really liked this one. Kim laughed along with her friend. They knew one another too well.
“Okay Court, so tell me. How is the job going?” Kim said mainly to change the subject of her love life.
“It’s going great,” Courtney said slowly before filling her friend in about the day she spent with Darren Foster.
“Courtney,” Kim started to protest.
“No. No. I'm keeping it professional. I can’t help that he is really nice to look at,” she added with a laugh.
“I know Courtney but remember Professor Jones. I’m just saying, be careful.”
Courtney waved her friend off, she didn’t want to be reminded of her college crush.
“Besides, I work for the dragon lady, I barely even see him.”
Kim recognized the awkward moment and to shift the mood back raised her glass.
“Here's to you,” she said clinking her glass of Merlot to Courtney’s.
“So, tell me what else has been going on,” she said.
“There’s not much to report but I do have a new neighbor,” she said off handedly. “Do you remember Mrs. Kelly from upstairs? Well, she moved out and her grandson moved in. He's annoying, he's loud, and he thinks he's funny when he's really not. But he's an amazing artist and okay, he's a little funny, not to mention gorgeous but like white boy gorgeous, not exactly my type.”
Kim laughed.
“What?” Courtney demanded.
“Well it sounds like he’s your type,” Kim said. “Your eyes get all sparkly when you mention him.”
“Oh hush,” Court said finishing her drink.
After lunch, the two friends went and got manicures, pedicures, facials and massages. The two of them talked about everything from work, politics, Kim’s date, Court’s neighbor, her new boss, what the outing meant, men, even the possibilities of aliens living in New York. It was a perfect day and Courtney was glad she had a friend like Kim that she could confide in and have fun with.
A few hours later, on the train back to her apartment, Courtney pondered Kim’s words. Did her eyes really get all sparkly when she said Finn’s name? She admitted she was attracted to him, and lately hearing him tinkering upstairs was more comforting than annoying. They did have a great time the other night. He really wasn’t as arrogant as she had first suspected. She thought about something Kim had said, about taking chances. Kim was right of course, Court was always attracted to men that were no good for her while rejecting anything that could be real. But Finn was nothing like any man she had ever dated before. What did they really have in common? Still there was something about him. So when she ran into him at the mailbox when she got home she impulsively asked him out for drinks.
“Yeah, that sounds great. I haven’t eaten yet what about you?”
Courtney hadn’t realized how hungry she was until he mentioned it.
“Yeah, I could go for something,” she said shyly.
“Let me go change. I’ll be right down,” Finn said.
Forty minutes later, they were enjoying gourmet burgers at a spot Finn chose. The conversation was excellent and Courtney found herself warming up to Finn. She wasn’t sure if it was the burgers, the drinks, the good company, or a combination of all three. They decided to walk home since it was such a nice night out. Courtney didn’t object since she was wearing sandals and not heels. Somewhere along the route home, Court found her hand in Finn’s. It didn’t feel awkward at all. So when Finn walked her to her door, Courtney kissed him shyly. Finn grasped her face with both hands and increased the pressure of the kiss. He traced his tongue along the curve of her lips and then drew her in deeper. She was out of breath. Courtney pulled away and smiled at Finn.
“See you tomorrow?” she asked.
“I can’t wait,” he replied with a grin.
The next morning, Courtney awoke with a smile on her face. She had dreamt about Finn, it was a pleasant dream. When she went into the kitchen to get Prada’s salmon and eggs the first thing she saw was the bouquet of roses from Darren. She sighed. Darren made sense, but she wanted Finn. She found herself comparing Darren to Finn, something she knew she really shouldn’t do but couldn’t help. For one thing she could bring Darren home to her parents. What would they say if she showed up with Finn? Not that her parents were racist, in fact they were very progressive. It was less about race and more about his place in life. She could argue that Finn was a fantastic artist but she could hear her father now.
“An artist?” he would say. “And how is an artist supposed to support you? What if you have children?”
And her mother’s concerns, as she shook her head with a melancholy frown as she held Court’s hands.
“Why make things even more difficult Courtney? Life is hard enough without being with someone so different. There is a nice man from church I want you to meet.”
She dismissed her negative thoughts and texted Finn asking if he would be up for a movie.
Chapter 3
The next few weeks Courtney and Finn got to know each other better. He taught her how to use the blowtorch and she jumped with joy as she welded a tiny piece of sheet metal onto one of Finn’s pieces. They spent nights talking for hours on the steps between their apartments and Courtney found herself falling for Finn. Hard. Kim was the only one she confided in and her friend encouraged her to follow her heart and not do what was expected. He shared with her his love of poetry and she introduced him to her love of sci-fi movies. It was comfortable with him. It felt easy. He helped her move her couch so she could paint her living room wall, something she had been wanting to do for almost a year. They were spirited with one another, silly things like smearing paint on her cheek, or stealing her fries. They spent countless hours laughing at nothing in particular. Courtney even allowed him to take her for a ride on his motorcycle. She was terrified of course but with Finn she felt safe.
Things at work were going extremely well. After sitting in on several meetings she was assigned to head her first design project. Part of the firm’s duties to clients were to design the interior of their buildings as well. Darren had made the announcement at the staff meeting. Jeanie was her co-project manager. Jeanie had pursed her lips but said congratulations like everyone else. Court wasn’t sure that she meant it. Things with Darren on the other hand were different. Not bad but rather confusing. Not that Darren was unprofessional but he had requested that she fill in as his assistant on several occasions. This got her the evil death stare from Jeanie. She was sure she thought she was after her job. He also invited her to have lunch on several occasions, usually after one of the meetings. While he was funny and charming he wasn’t the same
Darren that she had seen that day in Philly. He was more reserved and never tried to make physical contact. And if Courtney was honest with herself she was secretly relieved. Things would be problematical otherwise.
And another complication was definitely not something she needed. Things with Finn were going great but as much as Courtney enjoyed her time with him, she was reluctant to talk about him to her circle of friends. So when they asked about her personal life, she quickly changed the subject. What was harder was finding new excuses for why she didn’t want to be introduced to anyone new. She wish she could just tell them she wasn’t interested because she had met an amazing man but the fact was she was scared. She didn’t know what the reaction would be, that she, top of her class, miss ten year plan, was dating a Caucasian struggling artist who rode a bike and didn’t believe in bank accounts.
In the meantime, she decided she would just have fun and go with the flow. She loved the time she spent with Finn, looked forward to coming home and either cooking together or grabbing dinner. Their lazy weekends at the park, Finn sketching while Court lay against him reading. He had even gotten the stamp of approval from Prada who loved nothing more than to sit on his lap while they watched Netflix, even batting Courtney with her paw if she snuggled too close.
Many times they almost took their relationship to the next level. One night, no longer content with just kissing, they tentatively explored one another’s body with their hands. Courtney loved the kisses Finn planted on her collarbone while his hands grazed her breasts lightly. She straddled his lap and he cupped her ass with his hands pulling her closer into him. She could feel his cock grow hard beneath her. The ringing of the doorbell brought them back to their senses. The poor delivery guy had no idea why Finn scowled at him when he answered the door.
A few weeks into dating, they had an awkward moment when they ran into Alicia, one of Courtney’s friends.
Courtney saw her first and tried to look away but it was too late, she was spotted. Alicia looked surprised to see Courtney out on what appeared to be a date and held her hand up in greeting. But when her gaze shifted to Finn her jaw dropped slightly. As she came to their table she looked at Finn like he might be an alien before saying hello with a forced smile.
Finn recovered first.
“Hello,” he said sticking out his hand in greeting.
“Hello,” Alicia said shaking it tentatively.
She turned to Courtney.
“Hey Court. I haven’t seen you in a few weeks,” she glanced at Finn. “I guess you’ve been busy,” she said emphasizing the word busy.
“This is my friend Finn. Finn. Alicia. Alicia. Finn,” Courtney said.
Courtney looked at Finn who looked away quickly.
“Nice to meet you,” Alicia said. “And how do you know Court?” she asked in a saccharin voice.
Bitch, Courtney thought. Before Finn could answer Courtney answered for him.
“He lives upstairs from me,” she said.
Again she glanced at Finn. He didn’t look away this time, but there was something she couldn’t place in his eyes.
“I see. I thought you might’ve been one of the architects at Courtney’s firm,” Alicia said offhandedly.
Finn laughed. “Hardly. I’m an artist.”
“Oh really? I’m a collector. Where have I seen your work?” Alicia questioned.
“I haven’t had an exhibit of my own but I mostly sell my pieces to private collectors.”
“Oh. I see. So what do you really do?” Alicia asked.
Thankfully, Alicia’s boyfriend had more tact than she did.
“Hey Court,” he said kissing her cheek. “Hi. I’m Nigel,” he said and stuck out his hand to shake Finn’s.
Courtney was grateful.
“Anyway, good seeing you Court. Nice meeting you, Finn was it?” Alicia said haughtily.
“Likewise” Finn mumbled.
The evening was pretty much a wrap after that. Courtney wasn’t sure what to say but she was angry at Alicia for trying to dismiss Finn as irrelevant. Yet she didn’t stand up for him either. He was a talented artist. She had introduced him as her neighbor. Wasn’t that worse than what Alicia had done? So why didn’t she introduce him as her boyfriend? The truth was she was embarrassed, not of him, but of what her friends would think. She knew that Alicia would soon spread the news, this made her nervous. Which was silly because despite the obvious, Finn wasn’t that different from Nigel. They were both easy going and funny. She laughed more with Finn than she had in the past few months. They were both extremely intelligent but where Nigel had excelled in business and worked at the NYSE, Finn chose to be an artist. He was just as ambitious, just about his art. If Court could change one thing about him it would be his chosen profession. But was it really so bad to chase your dreams? She really didn’t know why Nigel was a part of the equation anyway. She only compared them because Nigel was the epitome of the kind of man everyone wished she would end up with. Finn was on the other side of the spectrum.
The next week passed, Finn seemed his old self again but seemed deep in thought on many occasions. When Courtney would question him, he would smile, kiss her and reassure her that everything was fine. But that Friday night, after Finn and Courtney had returned from seeing a new movie at the theater he hit her with a question that she had been dreading.
“So, what’s going on with us?” he asked.
“We’re having fun. Why complicate that?” she responded.
“I really like you Court, but I have to know this is going somewhere.”
“Can’t we just take it one day at a time?” Court said putting her hand on his chest.
“Yes, but I want more Courtney. I want to wake up and make you waffles,” he said as a way of an explanation.
“You can make me waffles?” she said softly.
“Is there someone else?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I just, I’m not ready for anything serious.”
“Nothing serious. I see,” Finn said.
“Are you coming in?” she asked.
“No I’m kind of tired. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. Court watched him disappear up the stairs. Sighing, she closed the door softly, her stomach in knots.
*****
Courtney diced strawberries and pineapples and put on the coffee pot, her mind on Finn and last night’s conversation. Prada swirled around her ankle before heading off to do Prada things. And then she decided. She liked how she felt with Finn. So, for once in her life she would throw caution to the wind and take a chance. Ten minutes later she knocked on Finn’s door.
“You said something about waffles?” she asked biting her lip. “I bought fruit and coffee.”
Finn gave her his winning smirk and held the door open. She ducked under his arm and made her way to the kitchen. She was thankful that her back was turned to him so that she had the chance to compose herself. No matter how many times she saw him she couldn’t help but be blown away, the man just exuded sexiness. Today his hair looked dark, still wet from the shower. He wore a simple gray tank top that showed off his muscular arms and his tattoos, and a pair of blue and gray flannel pajama pants that made her imagination run wild. She almost jumped when she felt his hand on her shoulder.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi,” Court said softly.
Finn pulled her to him. His kiss tasted like minty toothpaste. Courtney shivered as he ran his hands down her arms. She parted her lips allowing him deeper access. He obliged and darted his tongue in her mouth. The kiss started sweet but built to passionate. Finn picked Courtney up and sat her on his counter. He leaned into her, wrapping one arm firmly around her hips while the other hand lightly brushed her spine causing her to moan in pleasure. She ran her hands along his chiseled chest, wanting to touch every inch of him. Her hands found the waist of his pants and suddenly she stiffened.
“Whoa. Good morning,” was all she could splutter.
> Finn understood and backed away slightly.
“I believe I promised you waffles,” he said to alleviate the tension.
Courtney hopped off the counter.
“What can I do to help?” she asked.
“You can put the bacon in the oven,” Finn suggested.
“The oven?” she asked wrinkling her nose.
Finn chuckled.
“I promise once you have had bacon in the oven you will never go back to frying it again,” he said.
While Courtney prepped the bacon, Finn started on the waffles. Courtney was impressed. He even had a waffle maker, she had assumed they would be toasting store bought but Finn impressed her with his culinary prowess. He then began preparing the eggs.
“No wait. I like just egg whites,” she protested.
“Not in this kitchen. We do things the southern way. We even use…gasp… real butter,” he joked.
The bacon, eggs, and waffles were cooked. Courtney plated for both of them, adding her impromptu fruit salad while Finn brought a carafe of orange juice to join their coffee. They sat at the small table enjoying their food while Courtney’s thoughts drifted to their kiss. She bit her lip. Heat rising to her cheeks, she blushed.
“What?” Finn asked studying her closely.
“I was just thinking about that good morning kiss,” she said surprising herself with her boldness.
“I was thinking about that too,” Finn said his voice suddenly husky.
They ate in silence, both taking small glances at one another when they thought the other wasn’t looking. Courtney felt very hot, or it could’ve been the two cups of coffee she had drank, mostly to prolong the moment.