Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Ori gave me a sly look. “I’m going to admit something to you.”
“You going to admit you’re thinking about leaving town already?” I joked before singing along. “So I hope you're likin' what you see—if you're lookin' at me, you're lookin' at country.”
Ori shook his head. “I’ll admit it. I’ve always kind of liked this song.”
I dropped my jaw. “That’s it. Get up and dance with me.”
“Finn—”
“You said it yourself. You like it. I love it. Get up and dance.” I gave him a challenging look. “You won’t do it.”
He puffed out a laugh. “Wanna bet?”
I took his hand and tugged, and finally, he moved, standing up and letting me pull him toward the dance floor. Other people were up and dancing already, including an elderly couple who were getting downright groovy. We mixed in with the group and I sang along, with Ori in my arms.
“You’re doing so well,” I said near Ori’s ear toward the end of the song. “Humoring me.”
“You know,” he said, “I might not ever feel like a country boy. I might hate some things about this place. But deep down? I am a Tennessee boy. Born and raised. And that can mean whatever I want it to mean.”
I held him close, dancing with my arms around him.
He was right.
This place wasn’t perfect, and it might never be. But here with him in Bestens, I had my little pocket of home.
I had people who loved me, and always would. I had the beautiful land all around me, and a life I was finally making my own.
And, against all odds, I had him.
That was worth fighting for.
As the song ended and a slower one came on, we stayed out there, gently swaying with the music.
“What did you think about what Max said about us, by the way?” I asked.
“Wondered if you were going to ask me about that,” Ori said. “Are… are you okay with that? With people thinking we’re dating?”
“If that’s what we’re doing,” I offered.
“You would really want that?” he asked.
“There’s something wrong with you if you think I wouldn’t want that,” I told him. “I’m just not trying to rush you into anything that sounds like… y’know. Commitment.”
“And I’m not trying to rush you into having a boyfriend when you barely liked guys before now.”
I gave him a look. “Maybe I barely liked guys, but fuck, I always loved you.”
A little smile spread over his face. “Then maybe I’m ready for a little bit of settling down, for once.”
“Done,” I told him. “We’re dating. Officially. I’m your boyfriend, and you’re my boyfriend. Holy fuckin’ hell.”
He puffed out a nervous laugh and I squeezed around his waist.
“You look hot when you sing Loretta Lynn, by the way,” he said.
“You look hot all the time.”
It had taken us so long to get here, and I felt like we were only getting started. I’d carve it on any tree or tattoo it on my damn ass, if Ori wanted me to: Best Friends, Tennessee.
Always and forever.
I’d never let myself forget it again.
EPILOGUE
ORI, TWO MONTHS LATER
Dorothy was from Kansas, not Tennessee… but damn, she had a point when she said there’s no place like home.
Mason walked into the Hard Spot looking like a rock star off-duty, with sleepy eyes that somehow still always seemed like they were looking for fun.
“I’m swearing off sex,” he announced as he sat down at the bar next to us, nodding at Kane.
“I’ll believe that when I see it, Hot Mess,” Kane told him.
“Finn’s always telling me I need to do less in life, and stop saying yes to everything,” Mason said. “If I quit hooking up with guys all over the state of Tennessee, I’m sure I’ll have a lot more time to… meditate, or whatever people do when they have free time.”
Finn cracked up next to me. “I said you should focus more on taking care of yourself, not that you need to become a sexless, meditating monk,” he said. “But I do think a little meditation might be good for you.”
Looking around the saloon now, I couldn’t believe I ever thought I’d dislike this place.
I’d only been back for a handful of months and already, I had to admit, this place felt like home.
Goddamn.
I’d been working at the art museum in Sable Valley for six weeks, and I already liked it more than any gallery job I’d had in LA. It was the opposite of pretentious—everyone who worked there seemed to actually give a damn about the art itself, and art students from the nearby college volunteered to help with archiving. I’d been mentoring a freshman student named Lexie, and she was bright, helpful, and a good learner.
My stay at Finn’s house had also been… extended.
Indefinitely.
I’d ditched the guest bedroom and had been sleeping in Finn’s bed every night, where he cuddled me incessantly. He told me that it was his prime duty to heat up my “icicle hands” every night, but I knew that even if I was as warm as him, he’d still cuddle me anyway.