“Oh come on, Finn, there had to be a girl that got through that hard exterior of yours once or twice.” She smiled up at me as she continued to pick the raw cookie dough from her fingers.

I wanted to tell her that technically she had gotten through, but I didn’t know how that would sound. We were friends—I’d never really been friends with a girl before—and we had an easy relationship. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t slowly becoming uncomfortable. And if it was becoming uncomfortable, then maybe there was more there.

“Yeah, once or twice.” I playfully winked at her to play it off.

She laughed and threw a wad of dough at my chest. It made a wet smacking noise and stuck to the front of my Guns N’ Roses T-shirt.

“Oh no you didn’t,” I said in a girly voice as I wiggled my finger at her.

She laughed harder.

I picked the dough from my shirt and threw it back at her. Next thing I knew, we were running around the small kitchen at the back of the church and throwing flour and sugar all over each other. She held up her hands and screamed as I sprinkled sugar over the top of her head.

“Such a sweet girl like you should taste sweet, too.” I laughed.

She turned in my arms and put her hands up to stop the sugar. I held the bag even higher out of her reach. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her petite body against mine. Her sweet breath warmed the side of neck and she slid up and down my front as she tried to reach the sugar. She felt good against me and it was making me hard.

Everything stopped. The smile slipped from my face as I stared down at her. She continued to smile, flour dotted her cheeks, and sugar shimmered in her hair. Once her eyes met mine, she stopped reaching for the bag above my head. My arms fell slowly and I let my empty hand cup the side of her face, using my thumb to wipe some flour from her cheek.

Her smile slipped, too, as she looked up at me with wide brown eyes. Her eyelids fluttered closed as I caressed her cheek with my fingers. Little puffs of heated breath came from her mouth, pulling my attention to her soft pink lips. I ran a finger across her bottom lip, drawing a soft sigh from her.

I wasn’t sure what was happening. I just knew I liked it, and by the glazed look in her eyes when she opened them, I could tell she liked it, too. I moved closer to her and she didn’t move away. She felt amazing. I set the sugar bag on the counter beside me as I slipped my arms around her tiny waist. I’d never been nervous with a girl before, but Faith wasn’t like any other girl I’d spent time with. She was better than them—so much better, as in she was too good for me.

She swallowed hard and licked her lips and I was gone from that point on. As if magnetized, I was being pulled into her for a kiss. Her lips and eyes begged for it. I slipped my fingers into her thick hair and pulled her face closer to mine.

My lips were barely touching hers when the door opened. We pulled apart quicker than I thought was possible and started awkwardly cleaning up the mess we’d caused. My heart was still beating funny even though we weren’t close anymore.

“What the devil happened in here?” her dad asked from the door.

“We accidently spilled some,” she said with her head down.

I instantly missed the playful girl from minutes before. I hated what happened to her in the presence of her dad, which only added to my hatred for him.

I couldn’t believe what had almost happened. I couldn’t believe how badly I wanted something as simple as a kiss from her. My thoughts were a mess. I didn’t even respond to the pastor when he asked what happened. Instead, like some shy punk, I put my head down and kept cleaning.

“Well, let James clean it. There’s someone here that wants to meet you.” He held the door open and waited for her.

I hated the name James. The fact that he insisted on calling me that after I’d asked him to call me Finn enraged me, and I knew my anger stemmed from his treatment of Faith more than what he called me.

Faith smiled shyly up at me before she stepped away and out of the room. I didn’t miss the smug smile on the pastor’s face as he shut the door behind them and shut me out.

Five

Faith

Finn. He was doing something to me. Since we’d started hanging out so much, I’d never felt so alive. I’d never secretly smiled to myself so much. Smiling wasn’t something I did often, and since I’d met him I couldn’t seem to stop. I felt like I was breathing a little easier, looking at the sun a little differently.

I wasn’t out painting the town red or doing any drugs; I was just being around him, and it was amazing. He made me laugh until I cried and was probably the sweetest guy I’d ever had the privilege to meet, even though he’d never admit it. Not that I’d met a lot of guys, but there was just something about him—something special.