by Susan Renee
“Olivia.” He welcomes me to the conversation. “How was your day?”
“Mr. Kellan.” I nod professionally in case anyone exiting the building hears our conversation. Abby smirks at my clear avoidance of affection towards Finn. “My day was great. Very productive, Sir, thank you for asking.”
Except for this one email…
“Glad to hear it.” Finn grins. “I was just walking a client out and ran into Ms. Sheridan here. Seems she’s had quite a day and is looking forward to a night on the town with her best friend. I really am sorry to hear, Abby,” he says quietly.
I’m confused and a little caught off guard. “What’s wrong, Abby? Bad day?”
“Meh. It was a day. Long story short, I met Trent for lunch, and we broke up. He’s just working too many weird hours at the hospital for his internship to have the time for a relationship. I can’t blame him, but the sex was good, so there’s that.”
Finn and I both laugh, even though inside her statement makes me feel awkward. Finn and I haven’t crossed that bridge yet, and I worry that eventually he won’t be so patient.
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that, Abs. I know you liked him.”
Abby purses her lips and shakes her head nonchalantly. “Really if all I can say about the guy after all this time was that he was good in the sack, I guess it’s not really meant to be. There are other fish in the sea. Anyway, I’m just ready to throw a couple back with my bestie and dance the night away with a nice steady buzz.”
“I’m all for that, Girl! Let’s get this weekend started.” Abby and I lock arms and prepare to stroll together down the street.
“You ladies be safe tonight. Have fun.” He’s staring at me with need in his eyes that makes me feel guilty for leaving him alone on the street.
“See you later, Mr. Kellan.” I say to him in my best sexy voice before smiling and walking away with Abby. I’m ready for a little R and R after all my work these past few weeks. It’s time to cut loose on the dance floor with my BFF and drown my worries in a few glasses of wine…or a Raspberry Long Island Iced Tea, my drink of choice.
9
We quickly run home to drop our bags and change our clothes. Abby and I plan to spend the evening at the House of Blues since we got wind that our favorite sexy celebrity, Adam Levine, is doing a not-so surprise performance with Maroon 5. He must be friends with the owner of the club or something; Maroon 5 doesn’t usually perform in such small venues, but Abby was lucky enough to score tickets through someone at work. Together Abby and I know every single song Adam does and are familiar with just about every picture you can conjure up on the internet of him. I’m surprised we don’t have posters of him plastered all over our bedrooms like teenage girls; but seriously, he’s hot. Hotter than hot even. I can’t wait to cut loose on the dance floor and dance the night away with my best friend. We haven’t had a proper girl’s night out since I started working.
Knowing I’m not going to be with Finn tonight, I pick out a flirty black halter dress that makes me feel like I’m wearing nothing. It’s comfortable and will keep me cool in the heat of the dance floor. The dress isn’t something I would wear around Finn, mostly because my leg scars aren’t hidden very well in this dress since it’s shorter than what I would usually wear; but tonight I don’t give a damn. The venue will be dark, and since I’m already sort of committed to someone, I don’t have to worry about impressing a guy. Tonight is about me and Abby relaxing together at a well-deserved Girls Night. I pull my hair up into a ponytail and choose some fun hoop earrings. I don’t need any other accessories knowing how much I’m sure to sweat tonight.
Finn: Have fun tonight. Stay SAFE.
I smile reading a quick text from Finn. He’s always thinking about me. I swipe my phone and shoot him a quick reply.
Me: We will. Promise. Plans tonight?
Finn: Visiting with Toby for a bit and then having a quick drink with some of my college buddies in town.
Me: Ah. Don’t drink and drive. And don’t hit on any hot girls.
Finn: Nobody holds a candle to you, Beautiful.
“Ready to go, Liv?” Abby asks me coming down the hallway into the living room. She is dressed in red capris pants and a black strapless halter top with black pumps. Her skin is covered in her favorite strawberry lotion that I recognize not because of the obvious smell but because of the glittery sparkles emanating from her neck and shoulders. She looks ridiculously sexy with her long chocolate brown hair also pulled up in a ponytail with silver dangle earrings. She’s wearing a leather snap bracelet with diamond-like studs all over it. She looks hot, and she knows it. I smile at her knowingly.
“You look like a smokin’ hot, newly single sexy lady, Abby Bryn Sheridan.” I wink at her.
“Damn right I do, Olivia. Let’s see if I can’t find myself a few good men to flirt with tonight.”
I shake my head, laughing at the overzealousness that is my roommate and gesture for her to lead the way.
I don’t take my keys since I don’t have pockets to put them in, but Abby slides her apartment key off of her keychain and into her pocket along with both of our IDs and credit cards. Within twenty-five minutes, we are showing our tickets to the bouncer of the House of Blues and treating ourselves to our first drinks of the evening. We both go for Long Island Iced Teas, a regular for Abby, raspberry for me. We watch the opening act for Maroon 5 while sitting at a table as close to the stage as we can get. Whoever the band is, they’re great! They provide an excited energy to the crowd which is growing larger and larger by the minute. I wonder for a second what the maximum capacity of this place is. People on the dance floor are packing in pretty tight. We finish our appetizer along with our second round of drinks when the opening band finishes their set. With a fifteen-minute intermission between bands, we head out to the dance floor to warm up to the tunes that are being played through the speakers. At least we will be assured a great spot when our favorite leading man comes out.
Because of the long span between lunch and the appetizer I just consumed, I’m feeling blissfully buzzed. Not so much that I don’t know what’s going on around me, but enough to not care at all what anyone thinks. I’m in a happy place, getting my groove on with Abby. I can’t remember the last time we enjoyed ourselves this much. We are all smiles and laughs and giggles while out on the dance floor.
Suddenly the crowd reaches a roaring volume, signaling the entrance of our favorite sexy man, Adam Levine. Oh my God, he looks deliciously hot! He’s wearing a pair of jeans ripped in all the right places and a grey t-shirt. Watching him walk on stage in that outfit makes me immediately remember what Finn had worn on our first date. In his ripped jeans and a black t-shirt, I remember thinking he looked yummy as well. Adam’s arms filled with tattoos, though, give off the bad boy image that I imagine makes every girl like me swoon.
Finn doesn’t need tattoos to make me swoon.
Stop thinking about Finn! You’re here to let go and enjoy yourself.
Abby bumps into me as she starts jumping up and down to the opening chords of “Payphone”. I immediately smile and lean my head back while I jump around and dance as well. It feels so good to let go and dance my day away.
“Payphone” transitions right into “Lucky Strike”, which again has us dancing like wild animals as we enjoy moving with the group of people around us. We continue through Abby’s favorite song “Harder to Breathe”, and by the time the song is done, Abby and I both are tired and very hot so we make a beeline for the bar to refill our drinks and take a short break so we can continue our fun. After two Long Islands, I know I need to not order a third without a glass of water first. I down my water with Abby, and we both decide on shots for the rest of the night so we won’t have to carry our glasses around the club. We click our Washington Apple shots together and smile.
“To sisters before misters…or however that goes!” Abby shouts over the music.
“Hahaha! Chicks before dicks!” I shout back at her.
; “Amen! Holes before poles, Liv!”
We toast and shoot back our drinks, almost spitting them out we are laughing so hard. I love hanging out with this girl. “Hey I love this song; let’s go. I want to see how close we can get,” I say to Abby. “Somebody To Love” is one of my favorite songs, and I have to dance some more, especially as good as this buzz is making me feel. I close my eyes as I become hypnotized to the beat of the music and focus on the lyrics. This song makes me think of Finn every time I hear it, which is at least during every morning run since it’s on my workout playlist.
My body sways to the beat of the music as I move my hands up my neck and into my hair until my hands are high above my head, and I’m in a happy place or tipsy bliss, all by myself, entranced by the words Adam is singing about falling in love and never being the same.
Ain’t that the truth!
The second verse starts as I feel one of the guys nearby slide his hand around my waist and pull me towards him. A giggle escapes me as our bodies move to the pulse of the music. He can dance and move my body with such strength and fluidity. Abby and I have been dancing with a group of people off and on all evening, so I have no idea which one of them is dancing with me now, but I close my eyes and allow myself to dream that I’m tied up in Finn’s body dancing to my favorite song.
I should’ve asked him to come.
I contemplate the thought of Finn seeing me dancing with another guy when the hand that was holding my waist is joined by another. Both hands slide smoothly down my stomach to my thighs and back up lifting the skirt of my dress just a tad on the ascent. At the same time, I feel warm soft lips touch the left side of my neck, my favorite spot. Before I realize what I’m doing, I lean my head back against the man behind me.
Am I too drunk?
Olivia, you’re drunk; this needs to stop.
Open your eyes, Olivia!
Someone is touching you, and it’s not Finn.
He’s not here, remember?
I open my eyes immediately in alarm and catch Abby’s knowing smirk looking back at me as she dances beside me. She knows exactly what I’m thinking. She raises an eyebrow at me and chuckles. I frown in confusion.
Why isn’t Abby telling me to stop?
She’s drunker than I am for sure.
I whip my body around to see who I’m dancing with and nearly fall over dizzy from the quick movement matched with a little too much alcohol. I’m caught by the same strong arms that were just holding me a moment ago. I look up and come face to face with Finn, who literally takes my breath away. “What are you doi….” I start to ask but Finn captures my mouth with his own in the hottest kiss I’ve ever had…in a room full of people…smashing their bodies into one another.
Finn…
We kiss like two crazy animals while Adam sings of wanting to touch somebody and wanting to dance the night away. I’m so turned on and buzzed that I couldn’t care less what anyone thinks of us at the moment. We haven’t moved. Well, okay, we are moving…to the beat of the song, making out on the dance floor. Finn’s tongue immediately wants access to the inside of my mouth, and I grant it willingly, wanting to taste him. I can taste the whiskey he’s obviously been drinking. His kiss is warm and inviting and then hard, almost forceful, as he kisses me like it’s the last kiss we will ever share. I kiss him back with just as much fervor.
Whoa!
Finn breaks our kiss and rests his forehead on mine, breathing hard. I look up at him, into his beautiful eyes, and for one second worry about what a sweaty smelly mess I must be.
Damnit! My scars in this dress…
I gasp lightly, as lightly as I can when I’m damn near drunk, and begin to tug my skirt down. The concerned look on my face and a frantic hand moving through my hair must speak volumes.
“Stop it, Olivia. Stop worrying; you’re stunning.” He reads my mind. Finn takes a deep breath as he holds me next to him. “And fuck, you smell so good…like sweat, and perfume, and sweetness, and you.”
I’m not sure I even can blush given the amount of alcohol already in my system, but he makes me smile, nonetheless. Finn sweeps my sweat-ridden hair from my face that had fallen out of my ponytail and trails his fingers down my cheek.
“I think of you every time I hear this song, so I couldn’t let you dance to it by yourself.” Finn cups my face in his hands for a moment and slowly presses his lips to my forehead before moving one hand to the small of my back. His hands are big enough that it feels like any moment now he’s going to cup my ass, but he doesn’t. His other hand is on the back of my head, tangling into my hair so that my forehead remains attached to his. He pulls me as close to his body as he can and closes his eyes.
“Dance with me,” he whispers. The volume of our surroundings is deafening, but as I stand in front of Finn watching him, I can hear every word.
Here we are, on the middle of a dance floor in the Boston House of Blues having our very own little romantic moment. You know what I find very attractive in a guy? One who sings and has no problem singing to me, which is exactly what Finn is doing as he holds me on the dance floor. He finishes the entire song, singing the lyrics in my ear, as we move together. I smell him. I feel him. I listen to him as he sings softly to me, never breaking eye contact. Maybe he’s thinking I can’t hear him above the sound of the band singing, but unequivocally, I hear every word he sings to me. He isn’t just singing a song. He’s speaking to me, speaking to my heart, right here in the middle of a crowded pub.
And I am hearing every word.
Every. Damn. Word.
He loves me.
He’s falling for me.
I’m falling for you, too, Finn.
And what I wish Finn could see is the irony of this situation. I know in this moment, with me in his arms, he’s speaking to my heart; but what he doesn’t know is that I could just as easily be singing these exact same words to him.
Finn opens his eyes and meets my gaze. Our bodies are still so close to each other that I can feel every breath he takes. His lips part, and he slowly licks his bottom lip. I can feel that Finn wants to kiss me again, so I close my eyes and wait for our lips to connect, for that sure to be sweet taste of him - it never happens. I frown slightly and open my eyes to see Finn still staring at me with such intensity. I almost mistake his expression for a pained one. His lips are parted and basically touching mine without actually kissing me. I can feel his heavy breath against mine.
“Olivia, do you have any idea what you do to me?”
No, Finn. It’s what you do to me.
“I could say the same to you,” I breathe. “I’m so happy to see you here, but…why are you here, Mr. Stalker?” I tease Finn when the song ends. “Did you follow me here?”
Finn chuckles and wraps his arms around me tightly as he kisses the top of my head.
“No, I promise I didn’t follow you here. Some of the guys wanted to catch the concert tonight and grab a drink. I’ve known about it for a while but didn’t want to say anything because, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t score another ticket to bring you with me. I know your infatuation with Mr. Levine,” he teased me back.
Touche.
“Anyway, once you told me that Abby got tickets, I didn’t want to tell you I was coming and make you feel like you had to change your plans. So I told the guys I needed to hang out near the back so you and Abby could have your space and have fun without feeling like I was smothering you or that I didn’t trust you.”
“Oh. That’s very sweet, but you didn’t have to do that; I’m sure Abby would’ve understood.”
“It’s okay, really. I got my show, and it was better than any concert I could’ve attended,” Finn says, smirking at me.
“You were spying on me?”
“No. Not at all, but seeing you relax and have fun with your best friend, the smiles on your face, your laugh. You didn’t even know I was here, and I loved it. I can’t not watch you when you’re near me, and I can’t not dance with you when one of my favorite s
ongs is playing either. That’s what you do to me, Olivia.”
I smile at Finn lovingly and kiss him quickly just as Abby approaches the both of us.
“Hey Finneus! I believe we girls made a deal tonight…hoes before bros!” Abby shouts, clearly a little more wasted than I expected. She obviously had an extra shot or two while Finn and I were dancing. We both laugh at her.
Finn’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise at Abby’s exclamation. “Yeah I know, I know,” Finn relents. “I’m on my way out, actually. I just didn’t want to leave without saying hello and goodbye to this beautiful girl right here. She’s a catch, ya know.” Finn’s eyes lower and slowly trail up my body. I don’t worry too much about him seeing the scars on my thigh. It’s plenty dark in here.
“Damn straight! You better not forget it either, Finnegan.”
“Okay, I guess this means maybe we’re done, too,” I say giggling again at Abby for calling Finn anything but his actual name. At least Abby is a funny drunk.
“Finn, would you mind getting a glass of water for my beautiful, sexy, and now very drunk friend? I would rather she didn’t throw up all over our cab on the way home.”
“Yeah, sure. And you won’t have to worry about a cab. My car is outside with the valet. I’m happy to take you home. It’s safer for both of you.”
“Uh, no offense or anything, but if you’ve been drinking too it’s safer for all of us to take a cab.”
“I appreciate the concern, Liv, but it’s okay. I only had one drink, and it was over an hour ago. I drank two glasses of water while watching you just to calm my body down. I’m good; I promise. I would never, ever drive drunk.”
I put my palm on Finn’s cheek and look into his eyes with sincere appreciation. He is always so quick to take care of my needs, or in this case, the needs of my best friend.
“Thank you, Finneus.” I smirk at him, and we both laugh. Abby drinks her glass of water while Finn goes out to retrieve his car from the valet. We walk out into the fresh air that doesn’t feel that fresh given it’s a warm summer evening. Humidity is definitely settling in for the night. I get Abby into the backseat of Finn’s car where she leans against the driver side door and closes her eyes. Finn helps me into the front seat, and we take off for our apartment building.