Chapter 12

Finn

Six years ago

I walk out of my genetics final with a huge smile on my face. I aced it. I know I did. And that was probably the hardest test I’ve ever taken. No lie. I start my internship with the pharmaceutical company in a week, which means I have exactly seven days with absolutely no responsibility and nothing to do other than live inside Kelly.

In two weeks, we’ll have officially been together for a year and it’s been without a doubt the best year of my life. All of the pain and guilt surrounding my father’s death is gone. My mother is doing really well and is actually seeing someone who is good to her.

And I have Kelly.

Kelly who is running across the quad in my direction this very moment. A broad beaming smile spreads across my face as I see her long blonde hair whip behind her. Those gorgeous brown eyes sparkling against the sun. Her thin, petite frame, moving like a gazelle until she reaches me, launching herself up into my arms.

I catch her automatically and plant my lips on hers. I kiss the hell out of her because even though it’s only been eight hours since I saw her last, I missed her. Damn, I am such a pussy-whipped, lovesick fool. I don’t even care. Not one bit. In fact, it makes me blissfully happy.

Just like Kelly.

She’s the first and only thing to ever make me happy. To ever make me feel loved and I will do everything I can to keep her. To make her happy in return. To fucking worship her.

She pulls back with a breathless laugh. “How’d it go?”

“Aced it,” I say and she smiles even bigger.

“I knew it.” She gives me another kiss and then jumps out of my arms, taking my hand and leading me away from campus. “And because I knew you’d ace your final, I’m taking you out for dinner to celebrate.”

“Oh baby,” I kiss the side of her head. “You don’t have to do that.”

She shakes her head. “It’s fine. I’ve got it. No complaints.”

Kelly does not have a lot of money. In fact, the first time my mother met her, she referred to her as a gold-digging whore. Not to her face, of course. That conversation came later. But Kelly is no gold-digging whore. She works hard as an administrative assistant for a medium-sized law firm. She makes okay money, but in New York, okay money is basically nothing.

She shares an apartment with two other girls and the apartment is a tiny two-bedroom. I offered for her to move in with me, but she said she didn’t want us to take that step based on financial convenience. See, not a gold digger.

No, Kelly is perfect.

Which is why I’m going to ask her again to move in with me tonight.

The entire time we’re at dinner, I’m debating how to do it. Do I just come out and ask her? Should I make some big romantic gesture with it like having a special key made for her? I don’t know. I’m new at this. I never wanted to live with anyone before Kelly.

I decide not to do it at dinner. Instead, I bring her home with me and the moment we step over the threshold of my apartment, I kiss her. She giggles into my lips, because I didn’t even wait until I shut and locked the door behind us. She’s giggling because Kelly loves it when I do this sort of thing.

“Move in with me,” I say against her lips.

She pauses and pulls back, her doe-like eyes blinking at me. “Really?”

I nod. “Yes. I’ve never been so sure about anything. I want us to live together.”
      The most breathtaking smile lights up her face and then she kisses me. “Yes! Hell yes!”

She giggles into my mouth again and I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before. “I love you,” I say.

“I love you too, Finn.”

I make love to Kelly in our bed, because it’s no longer just my bed. We also do it in the shower and the kitchen because those are both ours now too. But after the kitchen sex, she ends up throwing up in our sink.

“Jesus, baby. You okay?”

“Oh god,” she moans. “I don’t know. Can you get food poisoning from chicken this fast?”

“No,” I say, rubbing my hand in small circles on her back. “We ate only three hours ago. What else did you have?”

She shakes her head, holding up a finger which tells me to wait a minute as she dry heaves into the sink again. And even though I love Kelly and I’m going to be a doctor, this is sort of nasty. I mean, it’s the sink. We wash dishes in there and we don’t have a disposal or anything.

“Nothing. I haven’t eaten anything all day before dinner. My stomach felt a little off. Maybe I’m getting the stomach flu.”

“Maybe you’re pregnant.” I laugh, but Kelly doesn’t laugh with me. Instead she turns to face me, her cheeks flushed and a small amount of drool is clinging to her chin. She just stares at me with wide, unblinking eyes. “Are you?”

She shakes her head, but it’s not the sort of headshake which says no. It’s the sort of headshake that says, oh shit. “I missed two pills earlier last month.”

“Okay,” I draw out the word.

“But I tripled up. I called my GYN’s office and they said that would be fine.”

“When was your last period?”

“I haven’t had one in years, Finn. I’m on the pill that you don’t get one with.”

“Should we get a test?”

Kelly looks like she’s going to be sick again, but I don’t think it has anything to do with her stomach.

Me? I’m not sick at all.

In fact, I think I might just be a touch excited by the prospect. Sure, the timing isn’t all that great. I just finished up my third year of medical school, but money isn’t an issue for me and it’s not like we’re teenagers. I’m twenty-four and she’s twenty-seven and we’re in love.

“I’m scared to.”

“Oh baby, come here.” I take her into my arms even though she smells like vomit. We’re both standing naked in the kitchen because we just finished with our kitchen sex and now we’re talking about the possibility of being pregnant. “It’s going to be okay. Better than okay. We can handle this. Whatever this is, we can do it. I love you.”

Kelly pulls back and looks at me. Then she smiles. “Okay, Finn. Let’s get a test. I love you and we’re going to be fine. Everything will be fine.”