So jogging. It had the desired effect of keeping her incognito and using up all the adrenaline that her current levels of stress were producing. In short, it kept her from rampaging through the streets like the Hulk on a bender. The Hulk bender temptation was real. Instead, she ran. She ran as far and as fast as she could and prayed for the runner’s high that would help her see that her life wasn't really that bad and that things could be worse. She rounded the corner, her mind blissfully blank, when she heard her name called. She wasn't thinking - that's the only reason she reacted and turned her head towards the voice. It was only as she saw the guy lift his camera with its telephoto lens that she realized her mistake. The guy started running towards her and Peyton took off, leaving little dust clouds in her wake. Peyton could hear the pounding steps behind her and her adrenaline spiked. She rounded another corner and while she was out of his line of sight, she jumped
Finn hadn't been lying when he said his apartment was close by. They were practically neighbors and she hadn't even known it. His building was a large converted warehouse that she drove by every day. Peyton could even remember watching the old building being restored. She never thought she'd have the opportunity to go inside. Finn kept an arm around her as she limped pathetically into the lobby. There was no doorman - just an elevator, a bank of six mailboxes, and a door she assumed led to stairs. Finn directed her to the elevator and pressed the call button while she stood there stupidly, not knowing what to do or say. Being around him made her thoughts muddled. Having him touch her, his arm securely wrapped around her to make sure she didn't fall, made her tongue-tied. The only other time she had experienced anything remotely similar had been when she was at the height of her crush on Declan. Oh shit. Was she developing a crush on Finn? Peyton almost rolled her e
“Come on, Finn,” she said with exasperation, “don't deny that you have seen all the stuff on television about me. I've become a goddamned reality star overnight and I'm not even on any damned show and getting paid for it.” His eyebrows lowered in puzzlement. “I don't know what you're talking about,” he said. “Wake Up, Australia? I was interviewed on there the other day because of a stupid YouTube video that my friend posted of me when I was in a drunken rage over my fiancé being a gutless wonder.” He shook his head slowly. “Nope. Not ringing any bells. I don't watch Wake Up, Australia. It's more tabloid than news program and I think it is sloppy reporting.” Peyton felt a little bit of her anxiety leak away. “You didn't see the interview?” she asked. He shook his head. “Wow. You must be the only one in Australia who didn't.” “So now you have reporters chasing you?” “They're camped outside my building. I thought I gave them the slip when I left th
“That's so cool!” Riley enthused. “Mostly I do Disney princesses.” Riley screwed his face up. “That's not cool,” he said. Peyton laughed and the sound hit Finn square in the chest. It was the first time he’d heard her laugh and he wanted to hear it again. He wanted to be the one making her laugh. “It's not so bad,” she said. “Princesses are dumb,” Riley complained. “Not to little girls, they're not,” Peyton replied. Riley huffed a big, resigned sigh. “I suppose,” he said. “Come on Riles,” Jack said. “We should leave Uncle Finn and Peyton alone.” “But Uncle Finn is supposed to be coming with us.” “Oh, I'm sorry,” Peyton said, trying to get up. Finn tightened his hold on her ankle, not willing to let her go just yet. “It's okay,” Jack said, “Finn can come next time.” “I want Uncle Finn to come today,” Riley pouted. “It's okay,” Peyton said, managing to extract herself from Finn’s grasp. “My ankle feels much better now. You
When she was dressed, she headed back to her bathroom and gave her long, red hair a quick brush before pulling it up on her head in a messy bun. She put on some tinted moisturizer that also had sun protection, a swipe of mascara, and a touch of lip gloss. She gave herself a once over in the mirror and surprisingly, liked what she saw. It wasn't glamorous, but it was practical and comfortable and she felt good, which was the whole point of her rant in the first place. Here she was - or rather, had been - running around stressed about what to wear when Finn probably hadn't given it a second thought. It seemed to be an ingrained thing to try and dress to please a man, but she had to remember that she didn't do that anymore. Without another glance in the mirror, she left the apartment using the back entrance and cut across the park towards Finn’s place, something she would never have been able to do if she had dressed like she used to. But in shorts, a tank, and her pink Chucks,
They stood in a group on the tram as it wound its way towards St Kilda. The car was packed and with each sway and turn Peyton brushed against him. Finn clenched his jaw against the sensation and tried really hard not to notice the delicate honeysuckle scent that wafted up from her hair and into his nose. He tried to ignore the way her softness felt as it slid along the hard plains of his chest and stomach. Her perky little arse was at just the right height to brush across his thighs and he was thankful that she wasn't a shade taller. If she had been then it would be a whole different hardness that she would be brushing against. He also ignored the looks he was getting from Carter. The other man was shooting him speaking glances that were so loud he was surprised no one queried them. Finn studiously avoided making eye contact with him. The man was his long-time friend, but he was also the reason Finn was in the awkward position he was in. It was just too damn bad if Carter found i
In Like FinnThe First Date - Keep it CasualSome of you out there might disagree with my approach here. Long-time readers will probably think I've lost my mind. But the fact is, when approaching a woman with a long-term commitment in mind, you can't use the same strategy as you would for a casual hook-up.Let's be honest. The whole point of picking up a woman in a bar, or taking her out to a fancy dinner, is to get her into bed. It's all part of the foreplay. You splash some cash around - the human equivalent of a peacock spreading his tail feathers - and you try to impress her. You have limited time to snag her attention and then you have to keep it long enough to convince her to go home with you. It's not pretty, but it's the truth.If you have an eye on something more long-term, then you want to build up to that. We want to get past the lust to the attraction phase. And getting her into bed as quickly as possible is not going to help your cause. For a woman to fall in love with yo
“Oh God! I’m so sorry!” Peyton clenched her jaw against the desire to spew profanities as the hot coffee soaked through her shirt. She looked at the guy standing in front of her and tried to smile through clenched teeth. He was tall and cute in a Clark Kent kind of way, complete with the dark-rimmed glasses. He also looked mortified to have spilled his coffee all over her. She pinched the wet fabric between her thumb and finger and held it away from her skin so as not to further scald herself. “It’s okay,” she muttered as she stepped out of the way of the growing line of people waiting to pick up their coffees. “Here, let me help.” The guy stood there with a wad of napkins not knowing quite what to do with them. Peyton could see the indecision cross his face as he looked at the wet splotch on her chest. To save him and herself from further embarrassment, she reached out and plucked the napkins from his hand and blotted the wet fabric with them, not that it did anything to help