Page 103 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls

His compliment doesn’t make my insides feel all gooey. It just feels like one of my best friends complimenting me. It could be any of the other six guys and I would still feel the same. Is that normal? Or am I too much in my head and need to stop overanalyzing everything? I should enjoy my time with Finn without questioning every little thing.

My troubled thoughts get interrupted when I notice a cartoon drawing of a blue whale and tiger shark on a sign hanging on the window outside of the smoothie shop. “Look!” I point them out to Finn and hurry over. “Aren’t they so cute?” The caption reads “As Smooth As The Ocean.”

“Yeah, they’re cool,” Finn says. There isn’t an ounce of excitement in his voice.

“Come on, dude. With a name like Finn, you have to love sharks and whales.”

He gives me a confused face before grinning and tapping on the whale’s flipper. “Right. Here I am. And here.” He taps on the shark’s fin.

“Well, you got the shark one correct. But this is a flipper.” I point to the whale’s flipper. “And this is the dorsal fin.” I tap the whale’s dorsal fin. “Oh my gosh! The person even drew the shark’s anal fin! How cool is that?”

Finn gapes at me. “Did you just say ‘anal?’ I’m having flashbacks to middle school biology class.”

“Oh my gosh.” I shove his shoulder. “The anal fin is this small fin at the bottom back of the shark. It helps stabilize the shark as it swims.”

Finn doesn’t seem impressed by that.

For some reason, I start spouting random facts about sharks and whales. Maybe hoping to spark Finn’s interest. Maybe he’d like the fact that blue whales can grow up to one hundred feet, or that their hearts are as big as cars. Or that despite their size, they eat tiny shrimp-like creatures called krill. Or maybe he’d like to know that tiger sharks are called that because of the stripes or spots covering the sides of their bodies.

But this is so stupid because Iknowthis stuff doesn’t interest Finn. We’ve been best friends for years and he’s never once shown an interest. But he doesn’t have to be interested in what I’m into. We can both have our stuff and still be together. But yet…

Brock and I could gush and obsess about ocean life for hours and hours and hours. And never get bored.

“Should we go in and see if the smoothies are as ‘Smooth As The Ocean?’” Finn asks with a chuckle. He opens the door and looks back. “You coming, Lexi?”

With a nod, I follow him into the shop. Once we choose our flavors—him strawberry and me blueberry—we decide to take a walk around the area.

I tell myself to forget about the whales and the sharks and focus on the things we do have in common. Like our love for comics, superheroes, and dance. It’s not long before we’re both laughing and joking around about random stuff.

Things were a little rocky today, and I still don’t know how I feel about Finn, but the important thing is that I’m trying. I’m giving him a shot—I’m givingusa shot. And who knows, maybein time I will feel differently about him. Maybe we just need to spend more time together.

When he drops me off at my house, he gives me a wide smile. “I had lots of fun with you today.”

I return the smile. “I did, too.” Which is not a lie, because I genuinely did have fun with Finn.

I’ll just need more time to figure out exactly how I feel.

Chapter Thirty

Lexi

Brock and I enter art class the next day and take our seats. It’s my turn to paint a portrait of him and I’m a little nervous. I guess it’s because we’ve been a little distanced from each other. Also, it’s easier when we’re hanging out with the guys, but it’s totally different when it’s just the two of us. But I’m looking forward to spending some time with him because I don’t want to lose our friendship.

“Let me help you set up,” he offers.

“Thanks.”

He gets the easel and canvas ready while I fetch the paint supplies. His shoulder bangs into mine as we put everything in order.

“Sorry,” he says. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry for getting in the way.”

He shakes his head, giving me a small smile. “You’re not in the way.”

I shift from one foot to the other, pushing some hair behind my ear. Why are things weird? Because I’ve decided to give Finn a shot? Why would Brock care if he doesn’t want us to be more than friends?

“You’re all set,” he says with another smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. He positions his chair in front of the easel and sits down.