glass twirled between her fingers, her gaze far off and a look on her face that he could only categorize as melancholy.
When he’d come downstairs, clean-shaven and newly showered and dressed, he didn’t want to break her spell. So he indulged himself and just watched for a moment.
He still couldn’t get over what a beautiful woman she’d become. Not surprised, but certainly delighted. There was nothing girlish about her now, but the quality that had first drawn him to her remained. An innocence about her, a healthy dose of pleasantness that at that time in his life had been so lacking in the people he knew. Hell, it still was lacking. Except for Gran.
Definitely a glass-is-half-full person, Liz had straddled the fine line between being incredibly nice and giving, and letting people walk all over her . He’d never thought that balance was possible, and often bristled through life rather than being taken for a chump, but Liz pulled it off.
As she came out of the past, she met his eyes and gave him a deep, “I’m glad I’m here” smile, which he speedily returned.
“No. Not deep thinking. Just remembering.” She didn’t say what she’d been remembering, but he knew.
“That was a pretty intense night. Quite a first date.” He approached her, looked at her wine glass again, and decided to get himself a beer. From the kitchen he could still hear her reply.
“I didn’t know I could get that carried away with someone I’d just met. I didn’t realize it was physically possible to get that turned on that soon.”
Finn ’s grip tightened on the beer bottle as her words washed over him. “I didn’t either,” he admitted as he reentered the living room to find her settled on the couch. He plunked down beside her as she let out a laugh of disbelief.
“Come on. No way will you make me believe you didn’t get that randy that soon with the girls you dated. You’d been sexually active for six years.”
He frowned. “I never should have told you I’d lost it at four teen. You wouldn’t let go of that.”
“Well I didn’t know it that night. You didn’t tell me that till later.” She took a small sip from her wine and watched as he took a satisfying gulp from his bottle of Bud. “What do you mean ‘I wouldn’t let go of that’?”
“I mean that the idea that I had so much more experience than you both scared you and excited you.” He stayed on his side of the couch, but stretched out his legs, still encased in denim, but cleaner jeans than he’d had on in the barn. She had her legs crossed, her tan and shapely calves poking out from the bottom of her skirt. The left one was crossed on top of her right, and she gently swung that leg, causing her sandal to slide slightly down her foot, so that it was dangling from just her toes. Finn found himself hoping the damn thing would just fall off already. What, was he becoming a foot fetishist now?
“Yes, I guess it did. It was obvious, even from that first night, that you knew what you were doing more than any boy I’d dated before.” There was a small smile on her lips and he imagined she was being drawn back to that long ago night on a couch right in this same spot. The smile disappeared and her brow furrowed. “But you’re right. Knowing you’d ‘done it’ for so long…” her voice trailed off.
“What, Liz?” his voice was gentle, coaxing. What made a frown, however slight, cross her open face?
“Every time you’d drop me off after I’d shut you down again, I’d panic that tomorrow I’d get the call. The ‘sorry this isn’t going to work out’ call.” Her voice was light, and the small smile returned to her mouth, but didn’t reach her eyes. And there was still that damn furrowed brow.
“And then you did. G et the call,” he said quietly.
“Yes.” Her shoulders shrugged, as if her next words would be light, but he could read her. Always too sweet to let other people know she was hurting.
“Liz,” he waited until she
When he’d come downstairs, clean-shaven and newly showered and dressed, he didn’t want to break her spell. So he indulged himself and just watched for a moment.
He still couldn’t get over what a beautiful woman she’d become. Not surprised, but certainly delighted. There was nothing girlish about her now, but the quality that had first drawn him to her remained. An innocence about her, a healthy dose of pleasantness that at that time in his life had been so lacking in the people he knew. Hell, it still was lacking. Except for Gran.
Definitely a glass-is-half-full person, Liz had straddled the fine line between being incredibly nice and giving, and letting people walk all over her . He’d never thought that balance was possible, and often bristled through life rather than being taken for a chump, but Liz pulled it off.
As she came out of the past, she met his eyes and gave him a deep, “I’m glad I’m here” smile, which he speedily returned.
“No. Not deep thinking. Just remembering.” She didn’t say what she’d been remembering, but he knew.
“That was a pretty intense night. Quite a first date.” He approached her, looked at her wine glass again, and decided to get himself a beer. From the kitchen he could still hear her reply.
“I didn’t know I could get that carried away with someone I’d just met. I didn’t realize it was physically possible to get that turned on that soon.”
Finn ’s grip tightened on the beer bottle as her words washed over him. “I didn’t either,” he admitted as he reentered the living room to find her settled on the couch. He plunked down beside her as she let out a laugh of disbelief.
“Come on. No way will you make me believe you didn’t get that randy that soon with the girls you dated. You’d been sexually active for six years.”
He frowned. “I never should have told you I’d lost it at four teen. You wouldn’t let go of that.”
“Well I didn’t know it that night. You didn’t tell me that till later.” She took a small sip from her wine and watched as he took a satisfying gulp from his bottle of Bud. “What do you mean ‘I wouldn’t let go of that’?”
“I mean that the idea that I had so much more experience than you both scared you and excited you.” He stayed on his side of the couch, but stretched out his legs, still encased in denim, but cleaner jeans than he’d had on in the barn. She had her legs crossed, her tan and shapely calves poking out from the bottom of her skirt. The left one was crossed on top of her right, and she gently swung that leg, causing her sandal to slide slightly down her foot, so that it was dangling from just her toes. Finn found himself hoping the damn thing would just fall off already. What, was he becoming a foot fetishist now?
“Yes, I guess it did. It was obvious, even from that first night, that you knew what you were doing more than any boy I’d dated before.” There was a small smile on her lips and he imagined she was being drawn back to that long ago night on a couch right in this same spot. The smile disappeared and her brow furrowed. “But you’re right. Knowing you’d ‘done it’ for so long…” her voice trailed off.
“What, Liz?” his voice was gentle, coaxing. What made a frown, however slight, cross her open face?
“Every time you’d drop me off after I’d shut you down again, I’d panic that tomorrow I’d get the call. The ‘sorry this isn’t going to work out’ call.” Her voice was light, and the small smile returned to her mouth, but didn’t reach her eyes. And there was still that damn furrowed brow.
“And then you did. G et the call,” he said quietly.
“Yes.” Her shoulders shrugged, as if her next words would be light, but he could read her. Always too sweet to let other people know she was hurting.
“Liz,” he waited until she
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