by May Sage
“Blue and gray, I say,” Finn protested.
"Spoken like a true Ravenclaw."
He grimaced. "So, your Slytherin ass wants to go green and silver?"
She smirked. "Green and blue pair well. You can have the lounge. I'll have my colors in the office." Then after a pause, "We haven't discussed who's taking the master bedroom," she noted casually, and somewhat indifferently, no doubt because she knew what he would say.
"You have it. You're paying twenty thousand more than me."
She rolled her eyes. "Come on, we're not making this about money."
"All right. You have it, because you love the clawfoot bathtub, and I have no preference."
She smiled up at him, and shifted to lay her head on his shoulder. "You spoil me."
"I know."
Chapter 10
Anna woke up to an ominous message from Lucy.
"I have your mission. Call me!"
She groaned, before stretching and sitting up on her bed. Always one for ripping the Band-Aid off, Anna called immediately.
"All right, hit me, I'm ready. How bad is it?"
The woman laughed on the other end of the line. "Don't hide your enthusiasm!"
"Dudette, you're scheduling two weddings in three weeks. We all know it's going to take sweat and blood."
"Touché. The two Cs," she said, referring to Carter and Cassie, "had dinner with Trick and me yesterday and we worked out the kinks, so to speak. We tried to play on everyone's strengths. As a designer, we figured you could help with our wedding registry?"
Anna blinked. "You mean, the stuff that you want people to buy you?"
Lucy replied, "Yep. I mean, maybe we'll add a couple of things ourselves, but as you said, we're going to have our asses on fire for the next few weeks. Going shopping and saving stuff is time-consuming. If you don't mind doing it, it'll be a huge weight off our shoulders. Trick and I just moved in a new place—you've seen it, it's mostly empty. We have the essentials, but no coat rack, or occasional table, or plants...Cassie and Carter are going to move soon. Their apartments are cool, but they want somewhere bigger, with a spare bedroom for when they start popping out kids, you know. We all have friends and relatives who don't know what to buy us; a small list with ten items on each one will probably help them out."
Kids. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that all her friends were proper adults. She was just a year younger than Lucy but Anna considered herself and Finn overgrown kids—the very thought of raising a mini-human being gave her hives.
"All right, I can do that. It's probably going to be easy. I'm going to spend some time in home decor stores in any case."
Lucy gasped. "Oh? So, what, you're moving out of the Johnsons' place? Or just redecorating? God know that house needs it."
"Moving," she replied, smiling from ear to ear. "Finn and I are going to buy our own apartment."
Lucy was silent for a beat, but Anna was too enthusiastic to notice.
"We just discussed it in passing a couple of days ago; next thing you know, we viewed a place and it was love at first sight, really. A penthouse in Madison, awesome view, gorgeous rooms, beautiful bathrooms, a fireplace..."
"You're buying a place. With Finn."
Anna shrugged, although Lucy wouldn't see it. "So what? We already live together."
"There's a big difference."
Was there?
"Neither of us could afford something half as amazing by ourselves. Besides, I'd hate living alone."
"Are you still going to date Amelia's friend tonight?"
Now, she grew defensive. "Sure. Why wouldn't I?"
"Okay, so hear me out. Say it works out with Mr. Doctor. You start dating, and in a few months, or a year, you want to start a life with him, live with him, maybe even marry him. But you've bought a place, made a huge financial commitment, with another guy."
Anna actually paused, because like it or not, Lucy had a point there.
"I don't...look, I've been single forever. Literally. I mean, I totally had fun with hotties at conventions but I've never had a relationship. I'm not going to put my life on hold because things might work out with a total stranger. I want out of this house. A place with my name on it."
"But it'll also have Finn's. I mean, Trick and I bought together, and Carter and Cassie are also buying together. But we're marrying each other. I really don't think you've stopped and considered what you're doing with Finn. If you're truly certain that you want to stay in a completely platonic relationship with him, this is a dumb move. But honestly, your willingness to make that commitment, in a couple of days, without seeing anything wrong with it, suggests that you, and Finn, want more with each other."
"We're just..."
"Friends, I know."
Anna could practically see Lucy roll her eyes. "You've said it, and often."
"Then why won't you take our word for it? It's possible for men and women to be friends!"
"It is. It's also possible for friends to be in love with each other and be too chickenshit to admit it." She sighed. "Look, it's none of my business. I'll butt out. Seriously. You're an adult, and it's your decision. Just tell me you're going to think about what I said."
Anna was already thinking about it. Lucy's words were too reasonable for her to completely dismiss her out of hand. She was willing to make that commitment with Finn, although buying the apartment would mean not being able to afford another place for a decade or more. And the very thought of falling in love with anyone and wanting to move away seemed ridiculous to her.
Did she love Finn? The answer was yes, of course she did. Was she in love with him? She'd always said no. Even back when it had been a lie.
Of course she'd had a crush on the guy, the beautiful, funny jock who was an asshole to everyone, but kind and thoughtful toward her. As a teen, she'd had many, many fantasies about him. But she'd hidden it, and eventually, grown out of it. And a good thing, too. Nothing was worth losing their friendship. She didn't even know who she would have become, had it not been for her relationship with the man. It defined her; he defined her. And she also defined him.
"You're my anchor," he'd told her. It was more than that, though—it felt like they were the flip side of the same coin.
Anna cleared her throat. "Thanks. I will think things though."
"Good. Now, about the wedding registry. Our place has a lot of red and dark wood, so if you could just avoid cold colors..."
Anna grasped the change of subject with both hands and ran with it, discussing vases, tables, footstools, and rugs for the next half an hour.
Chapter 11
There was nothing wrong with Taylor Murphy, damn him. Nothing. He was gorgeous—possibly as attractive as Finn. Golden skin from his Mexican ancestors, green eyes from his Irish ones, a delightful mouth. The guy was a surgeon, so she bet he was good with his fingers too.
So why the fuck was she just making geek jokes and asking about his halo killstreaks, effectively friend-zoning him as hard as she could?
Anna knew that she'd drop her knickers faster than lightning if there was an opportunity, but she really, truly had no interest in more. That's when she got it—what Finn had said, what Anna had hinted at.
She didn't want a relationship. The house was the nail in the coffin, proving it. She didn't want a boyfriend, or a husband, because she had one. A platonic one, but he still checked all of the relationship boxes. Hell, the man even bought her chocolate, wine, and tampons that time of the month.
Fuck.
"Wow, you look like you've seen a ghost. Something I said?"
She shook her head and forced a smile. "Nope, I'm all good."
She was a disaster.
What now? They finished a pleasant meal, and she insisted on paying the check, all the while realizing that she never did so whenever she and Finn ate out. It was just another way of making sure the men understood she wasn't really interested in dating them in the traditional sense.
Triple fuck.
"You're home ear
ly," Finn said when she walked in, before nine.
She hadn't even stayed out a couple of hours.
"How did it go?" he asked pleasantly.
She snorted. "Do you really want to know?"
He shrugged. "You're back now—tells me all I need to know anyway."
Asshole. "It was great, actually. Taylor is smart, funny, plays Halo, and..."
"Hang on, you were right. I don't actually want to know."
She laughed humorlessly, all the while cursing Lucy.
Because what good did it do to admit to herself that she was in love with her best friend, when the guy had never been, and would never be into her? Finn dated cheerleader types. Or fucked, as he'd pointed out. The closest thing that he'd ever done to flirting with her was that weird thing in her bathroom the previous day. Watching her from head to toe like he liked what he saw.
"Do I have something on my face?"
"Will you go to the wedding with me?" she blurted out.
Finn's eyes widened in surprise.
"I mean, you're going to your brother's wedding, I'm going to the wedding. Let's go together. I don't want to turn up by myself."
"Was that what the dating has been about?"
She shrugged. "Maybe? Cassie is younger than me, Lucy barely older. They're both, like, adulting. So are most of their friends—our friends. I feel like I'm stuck in high school emotionally."
Finn got to his feet, strode to her and took both of her hands. "Don't let anyone make you feel inadequate. You're smart, successful, and beautiful. You pay your bills, taxes, and give to charity."
"I don't feel inadequate, I feel like I'm stuck ten steps behind, when everyone has taken a bridge to the next quest."
Finn laughed. "Count on you to insert games into serious conversations."
She shrugged. "Anyway, sorry about ranting. Forget about the wedding."
"Of course I'll go with you to the wedding. And I know exactly what you mean. My brother's getting married, most of my friends got hitched. But it's just their paths, not mine." He shrugged.
"Don't you think..." she bit her lip. "Don't we think we hinder each other?"
Finn frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Maybe if I didn't feel so comfortable with you, here at home, I'd want companionship. But we get it from each other, so we don't even try."
To her relief, he thought it through instead of getting angry. "You're probably right. So what?"
"So, maybe we shouldn't buy the house. Maybe we should date people and see how it goes. Maybe I should move out and we could..."
She lifted her eyes to Finn's and shut up. Funny, but she'd never thought that Finn bore much resemblance to his mother, until now. That was before she saw his light brown eyes flash that way. Like they'd seen something they wanted to destroy piece by piece.
When he did talk, however, his voice was very gentle.
"Is that what you want, dudette?"
Anna shook her head. "No."
"Then what do you want?" Barely a whisper.
A dangerous question, especially when he was so very close, her hands still clasped inside his.
"I want to buy the house, and move in there, soon." A safe enough answer.
Finn smirked. "So, how about we stop letting society dictate what we should do, and we do what we want instead? Beside, we're adopting a dog. That's totally a grown-up move."
Just like that, the heavy air dissipated. Finn walked back to the lounge and unpaused his game.
And eventually, Anna started breathing normally again.
"What do you want?" he'd asked. As she fell asleep, Anna wondered what would have happened if she'd told him the truth.
Chapter 12
Oh, hell, that had been close. So very close. He'd stood in front of Anna, looking down at her, his eyes fixed on her amber gaze and it had taken everything he had in him not to bend down and kiss her. He'd always wanted to comfort her when she was sad—that was as natural to him as breathing. Hugging her, telling her what she needed to hear. Right then, his mind and body were both screaming that what she needed was for him to tilt her chin up and lower his lips to her mouth. But he was man enough to admit that it had been his needs, his wants talking. Anna was just feeling some blues, that was all. A kiss from him would have been unwelcome, and threatened the foundation of their friendship.
Finn lay in bed, looking at the ceiling, and wishing he'd taken a bottle of brandy with him. He needed to nip that infatuation in the bud, drown his sorrows, or both.
He slept like crap for a couple of hours and headed to work irritated. Meeting his brother later, he was even more irritated.
Trick had named him his best man, by default, because the true best man was Carter—but as they were getting married at the same time, he hadn't been an option. Fortunately, that didn't mean much; Trick didn't want a stag party. Finn just had to show up with the wedding rings. Tonight, he was fulfilling one of his few duties by accompanying him and Carter, along with with a few of their friends, to check out a band.
Lucy wanted a live band if they could manage it. The wedding planner they'd booked had found five that were available on Christmas Day for an exorbitant amount of money. The women would check two out this week—the guys were booked for three.
"These guys are shit," Carter stated, three minutes in.
Everyone raised their beer in consent. At least, the APL was worth the trip.
"So, what news, Finn? Long time no see," said Bennet McFinnley, one of Trick's closest buddies.
The guy had always been a bit of an ass, but at least he was nice to Trick. "Same old," he replied with a shrug. Realizing that wasn't exactly true, he added, "Although I put an offer through on a property Saturday."
Trick practically choked on his lager. "What the hell? You're buying? When were you going to tell me!"
Finn smiled. "I just did. Anna and I saw the place Saturday; it's awesome, so we just put an offer through. A hundred thousand under the asking price—they might say no, but it opens negotiations."
"Congrats, man," Carter said, holding his beer up.
Finn tapped the bottom of his glass against his.
"Wait did you say you went to see it with Anna?" Trick said.
Finn had to prevent himself from grimacing. He knew that conversation wasn't going to fly. "Yeah. We're buying together."
At first there was silence around the table. That, he'd expected. What he hadn't seen coming was the laughter. Wayne, Devon, Trick, Wren, Carter—all of them acted like it was the best joke they'd heard all fucking year.
"So what?"
Wayne was the first to reply. "So, I'm gonna win the bet, easy!"
Finn groaned. He knew what bet they were on about, although he would have thought they'd forgotten about it by now. How long had it been, five years? They'd had a wager going on: half of them said he'd end up marrying Anna, the other half believed they'd just drift away. He hadn't so much as acknowledged their stupid challenge at the time.
"We already live together. What's the difference?"
His brother rolled his eyes. "Oh, there's a difference. You guys are going to happen, and we all know it. It's just a matter of time."
"Men and women can be friends."
He sounded like a broken record.
Carter rolled his eyes. "Of course they can. Lucy is one of my closest friends. The difference is, you and Anna aren't friends. You're not even lovers; you're basically soul mates. It's kind of creepy to watch."
Finn took a long swig of his beer. "Look, we're more than friends, you're right. We're family. That's all we've ever been. What kind of an idiot would I be if I risked messing that up?"
Trick and Carter exchanged a glance. Wayne, Devon, Bennet, and Wren were smirking like the assholes they were.
"That's kind of a major change of tune, mate," Devon pointed out. "Like, you went from "oh, I don't even notice she has a pussy" to "so, I want a piece of that but I can't have it.""
That about summed it up.
"So, I have something. Have you considered that maybe, possibly, you should ask the girl if she wants your D? Like, you go up to her, and say, 'Anna dearest, I want your P. Do you want my D?' I know, I know, that's wild, but communication does tend to work, I find."
Finn groaned. Trick mouthed, "Sorry" behind Wren.
"The problem with that, asshat, is that if she doesn't want the D, it will make things awkward as shit until the end of time," Carter explained.
The basic of normal human interactions often needed to be spelled out for Wren.
The weird doctor sighed dramatically. "Human beings are so very complicated."
Finn grinned, remembering one of Anna's theories about Wren: she said the guy was potentially an alien sent from his mothership to study human behaviors. Not the worst guess.
"All right, enough about me, get off my case. What about you guys? Still single?" Finn asked, gesturing around the table.
As much as he liked his brothers' friends, Finn didn't see them often; he had his own network of college buddies, and Anna, of course.
Wayne's expression lost all humor. So did Devon's. Wren, Carter, and Trick seemed perfectly content.
"Same old," said Devon curtly, his tone making it clear that he wasn't open to elaborating.
Somehow, his defeated tone made Finn feel better about the mess that was his life. He wasn't the only one in deep waters, apparently.
"Yeah, Devon is still being a judgmental dick about the girl he wants," said Wayne, somewhat coldly.
There was a story there. Finn decided he didn't need to know.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and pulling it out, Finn excused himself to take the call.
"Yvonne. I didn't expect you to get back to us until tomorrow."
"The owners of the property you put an offer on were scheduled to get back to me in the morning," said the agent, "but I was just on my way out of the office when I received their reply. I figured you'd want to hear right away. The Clarks say they'd accept an offer twenty thousand higher than yours. I should let you know that they received an offer ten thousand dollar lower than yours today—right after yours—and I have to also call them tonight."
