Can I Lean On You | Finley & Harlyn #2

Chapter 19

Harlyn

Finley is quiet. He's been quiet for two days. We only hung out a little bit yesterday, and I didn't push. I think we need some breathing room, some lightness after such a heavy week. So, we're going back to the early days of our relationship. I'm taking him on an adventure to visit Windsor Castle, one of the places that he had on his list last semester but didn't make it to. Hopefully, it will let us reset a little. We'll get out of Canterbury, away from work and school and people. Just us.

I watch the side of Finley's face next to me on the train as he watches the countryside blur past us. It's moments like this I wish I could read his mind, just a little. Just to know he's as alright as he says he is. He hugged me tight and smiled when we met at the train station this morning. But the smile didn't quite reach his eyes the way it normally does. It feels a bit like being on the train to Paris, knowing there was something more in his head than he wasn't telling me.

Just like I did then, I slide my hand into his. He doesn't startle as much this time, and he smiles easier. It's more genuine than earlier, too, and it calms some of the worry swirling around in my stomach. And when he leans into me and puts his head on my shoulder, I second guess all my worry completely. On top of being quiet when we were together yesterday, he also wasn't super touchy. I didn't push that, either, of course. But it's nice to have him initiating it like this.

"Are you excited?" I ask, nosing at the top of his head.

"Yeah." He starts playing with my fingers. "It's been a while since we did something like this. It would have been Paris, I guess, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it was. And -" I lay my head against his. "It's the first time doing something like this, just the two of us. I mean, I took you to work, but I -"

He tilts his head up to look at me. "That was different. That was...work. And, I mean, it was perfect." Another little smile flits across his face. "Before the...incident, of course."

"Shut up," I groan. I used the phrase The Incident once this week when I was talking to him and mentioned that that was how I was referring to it in my head. He giggled, apologized for laughing in the middle of a serious conversation, and then started giggling again.

"No, it was cute," Finley says, a tiny breath of a laugh tumbling out of his mouth. It's nice to hear him laugh.

"Whatever. My point is, this is the first time we've, you know, gotten on a train and... gone somewhere together. A trip."

He pulls back a little farther and rests his chin on my shoulder. "Yeah. It'll be nice to get away for a day. Like a mini vacation."

I nod and kiss the tip of his nose. He wrinkles it in the most adorable way and lets his eyes drift closed. He stays cuddled up against me for the rest of the train ride and tells me about work and that he finally met his manager's girlfriend.

"Mindy? Who I met when I came in a few weeks ago?" I ask, playing with his fingers this time.

"Yeah. She really liked you, by the way." He snorts. "Thought you were hot."

"What a compliment."

"It is. Especially from her." He sighs. "Takes a while for her to warm up to people."

"Has she warmed up to you?"

He shrugs. "I think so. She's always nice to me."

I pause before asking my next question, hoping it's not too deep for the delicate place we're in. "And are you? Warming up to her? To your other coworkers? I know that was a big fear for you at the beginning."