Lies Inside (7 page)

“It’s all settled. We’ll leave on Saturday morning. Since Jack and Lucy will be going with us this year, I’ve arranged to rent the house down the beach from Aiden’s family.” Claire was stroking her son’s hair as they all sat at the breakfast table. “I’ve already squared it all with Lane. I think he’s grateful for the break.”

“It’ll be great, Mom. Thanks.” She patted his shoulder and went over to grab some more coffee.

“Will we have time to go into the city? The suit I had last year has a hole in it.” Rylan started to look a little worried as she pleaded.

“No, but that’s what they have overnight shipping for, dear. We’ll just get online after school and pick a few delicious things out.” Rylan let out a happy sigh.

That’s when Finn felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He grabbed it and answered, trying to stop himself from laughing at his mother’s zealous shopping habits.

“Hell...o?”

“Finn, it’s Dr. Pine.”

“Oh, hi.” Finn excused himself from the table and went out to the living room.

“I came in early this morning to make sure your results were in.”

He took a deep breath as he sat on the couch. “So, what’s the verdict?”

“Everything came back negative. You seem to be as healthy as a horse.”

Every fiber in his body sighed with relief. “Thank you, so much.”

“Not a problem. If you have any questions, really, don’t hesitate to call.”

“I will. Thank you.”

He turned off his phone as he let his head fall back on the couch.
Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you, God.

Finn had no idea how long he’d been sitting there when his mother came to find him. “You’ll be late, honey. You better get going.”

“Thanks, Mom.” He got up and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her in a bear hug.

“Okay?” she said, looking a little confused.

He let her go. “Can’t I hug my mother?”

“Yes, of course you can. It’s just...”

“Love you, Mom, but I better go.”

He heard her say, “I love you, too,” as he grabbed his bag and raced out the door.

Finn and Lucy couldn’t stop cuddling up to each other all through lunch. He was so funny, making her favorite kind of jokes at Jack’s expense, of course. Lucy hadn’t seen that side of Finn in such a long time. She fell so much more in love with him that day.

Before they knew it, they were on their way to the beach house Saturday morning. They had been texting Aiden the whole ride down. Every twenty minutes, he wanted to know exactly where they were. When they arrived at the house, Finn and Lucy threw their bags in the entryway and ran holding hands out to the beach to meet Aiden.

Lucy saw a man who had the same stature as her Finn but with light blond hair cropped lazily above his ears. Clad only in swim trunks and flip flops, he seemed to be tan, everywhere.

Finn extended his hand once Aiden stopped in front of them. Aiden grabbed him and pulled him in for one of those man type hugs, one hand shaking and the other patting on the back.

“And this must be Lucy.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Aiden.”

He yanked her in for a hug, and she felt every muscle of his torso flex against her. After a few seconds, Finn pulled her back.

“Remember, my girlfriend.”

“Right, right. It’s just, that picture never did her justice.”

“You’ve seen pictures of me?”

“Well, just the one really. You didn’t tell her?”

“No.” Finn gave Aiden a stern look, which meant she had to know more.

“It’s not a big deal, Finn. Most guys carry a picture of their childhood sweetheart in their wallets for how long? Five years?”

Finn’s cheeks turned bright pink. Lucy put her hand on his face, cupping his cheek. “You’ve been carrying a picture of me all these years.”

He glared at Aiden before answering. “Yes.”

She gave him a soft kiss. “That’s really sweet.”

She saw Finn and Aiden exchange looks. “See. No worries. Plus, I have tons more stuff to embarrass you about. We have a whole week, remember?”

Aiden was right. He had lots of embarrassing stories about Finn. Most of them were just as embarrassing to Aiden. They had some interesting times at school. Lucy wondered if this whole time he’d been home, he’d been going through some sort of withdrawal. Being around Aiden again seemed to snap him out of it.

Finn was even becoming a little more frisky. One night on the beach, Lucy swore if they’d had a condom, they would have done it right there. She stopped them though before it got too far. But the feeling of his hands on her breasts, his thumbs rubbing her nipples, the ache between her thighs, was almost enough to send her straight to heaven. Then she felt him for the first time. All of him, and he was just as she had suspected, a very big boy. Lucy didn’t know how all of him was going to fit into little her, but the thought gave her chills and sent waves of excitement through her at the same time.

The week went by in a blur of surfing, swimming, eating, sunbathing, laughing, loving, kissing, and a little sleeping. Friday night arrived, and Finn sat by a fire on the beach with Aiden.

“You are one lucky man, my friend. Lucy is sweet and funny, not to mention smoking hot.”

Finn grinned as he watched Lucy from a distance talking to Jack on the beach. “I am, aren’t I.”

“I take it you two are getting pretty close.”

“Yep. If you call what we did on the beach last night close.”

“Have you, you know...yet?”

“No, not yet, but soon.”

“You think you’re ready, I mean, after everything?”

Finn tore his gaze away from Lucy and focused on Aiden. “You promised not to bring that up.”

“I know. I’m not lecturing. I just think Lucy has the right to know.”

“I’ll tell her...” Finn swallowed hard. “Someday. Don’t worry. I got myself tested. Everything came back negative. I’m clean.”

“We can thank God for that at least.” He picked up a stick and started poking the fire. “You really going to go through with it then?”

“Yes, I think I’m ready.”

“When’s the special night?”

“I figure when we get home tomorrow night. Mom and Dad are staying down here another few days for some conference, and her dad is conducting a deposition in DC until Monday.”

“S’mores!” Rylan yelled, dragging armfuls of food next to the fire. Lucy came over and went to sit in between Finn’s legs. Happy to comply with Rylan’s demands, they started roasting marshmallows and eating chocolate.

Finn was extremely nervous. It was the first night that he and Lucy would have the chance to be alone, all night, together in his room. They’d been home for only a few hours, but Rylan and Jack took off to parts unknown as soon as they hit the door. That left Finn, alone, in his room with Lucy and nothing to stop them.

Finn had opened the box of condoms and put them in the nightstand drawer when Lucy went into the bathroom to slip into something more comfortable. He stripped down to his boxers as he waited for her to appear.

The bathroom door slowly opened to reveal the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. Lucy walked in wearing a lilac tank top and a pair of boy shorts. She looked so amazing with her auburn hair wafting around her shoulders. He could instantly feel the blood pooling in the lower half of his body. His excitement eclipsed his nervousness as he stood to meet her.

He held her in his arms for a moment before he started trailing kisses across her collarbone. Her fingertips stroked lightly up and down his ribcage as she let out a few soft moans. He pulled at the hem of her tank top, urging it over her head. She got it over her shoulders and threw it on the floor with ease. There wasn’t a hint of hesitation. She brought his hand to her lips and pressed a soft kiss on his palm before placing it on her breast. He massaged it softly as she began to tug on her lower lip.

He moved her over to lay her down on the bed. He crawled on top of her with every intention of kissing his way down her entire body. He started at her lips, then made it to her neck, and then down to her breast. Her back arched, and she let out a loud moan as his tongue made contact with her taut nipple. The noises she made were making his loose boxers suddenly very tight.

This feels good. This feels good. This feels good. This feels good. This feels good. This feels good. This feels sooooooooo good.

The moment felt completely right. Happiness surged throughout his body while the smile never left his lips as they caressed her body.

Her fingers threaded through his hair as moan after moan escaped her. He went to switch to the other breast as she yanked his hair and brought his lips to hers.

That’s when it all came flooding back in one split second. Finn pulled himself off her and started breathing heavily. He could feel the monstrous feelings that he’d locked away break free, eating away anything good about the moment. He could hardly breathe. He ran into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him on a very confused and frightened Lucy.

“Finn? What is it? Please. Did I do something wrong?”

“No...No.” It came out in sobs. He was crying so hard and he couldn’t stop.

“Please, Finn, let me in. Whatever it is, let me help you.”

He couldn’t let her see him like that. “Give me a few minutes.” He fell down to the floor, the sobs coming in uncontrollable waves. He tried to catch his breath. He knew he needed to calm himself down. It was at that moment that the horrible truth of the matter set in. It was time to tell Lucy the truth.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been in there when he opened the door. Lucy was sitting on the floor, wearing only his t-shirt and her underwear. Her puffy, red eyes were full of worry as she sought out his own. He pulled her to her feet and into his arms. That was it. He needed his safe place.

“Can we just sleep? I promise, I’ll explain, but right now, I just need to sleep in your arms.”

“Anything.”

She led him over to the bed and threw back the covers. She got in first then Finn slid in, placing his head on her chest, his arm draped over her stomach. She didn’t say a word, she just held onto him as they both fell asleep in each other’s arms.

The sound of her heartbeat was like a beautiful lullaby. Soft and strong. It rang through his head, drawing Finn out of his slumber. He looked over at the clock. It was only four thirty. He slid out of her embrace and dragged his exhausted self over to his desk.

He knew once she woke up she would have a million questions. He didn’t know how he could possibly answer them all. That was when he decided. He would write it all down. He pulled out a stack of paper. He was sure he would have to go through more than one draft. He began writing.

My dearest Lucy,

Last night should have been the most amazing night of our lives...