Synonym

Chapter 17

A bell dinged overhead as Finn and I walked into the small coffee shop. I loved coffee but oddly, I hated the smell of it. Needless to say, the warm scent hit my nose like a ton of bricks. It didn't bother me in the moment, but when someone spilled a cup in class or a car smelled like coffee; that was enough to give me a headache of a lifetime.

My sneakers padded against the tile floor while we walked to the counter. The girl in a brown apron with her honey colored hair in a ponytail smiled. "How can I help you, today?" She asked politely.

"Can I get an Americano, a Matcha Latte, and a chocolate muffin?" Finn ordered while the girl nodded, typing them into the register. The little shop wasn't the cheapest but they had good muffins that I would kill for one on a cheat day. Can you guess what drink is mine? Probably not.

We had been ordered not to eat before the photo shoot so its fair to say that Finn and I deserved half a muffin each after starving ourselves all day. Were athletes not models. We can easily eat over 3,000 calories a day.

I pulled my wallet out at the same time as Finn. We usually took turns paying or whoever pulled their card outfirst did. "That will be 11.14." Sales tax is killing me.

Finn went to swipe his card but I plucked the blue plastic from his hand between my pointer and thumb before rotating my hand and swiping the silver one between the knuckles of my middle and pointer finger.

I handed Finn his card back with a smirk of victory. Why is paying a victory? I don't know, honestly. It was just another thing to be competitive about. It was our style. Finn rolled his emerald eyes at me while the woman handed him the chocolate muffin in his left hand, snatching his card from me with his other. "You're a pain in my ass."

"No. You're a pain in my ass." I retorted, not meaning it the way Fin would obviously take it. The woman left to make our drinks, leaving Finn to make whatever vulgar comment came to mind.

"You're right," he smirked while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "I am a pain in your ass. Although I'd definitely say I'm more of a pain in your vagina. But I do love a good handprint, so maybe I am a pain in the ass."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "I can't take you anywhere." I muttered under my breath.

"Actually, you take me everywhere."

Why is he always right?

The girl returned with the two drinks in each of her hands. I took the ceramic cup with the black drink in it and Finn took the rich green colored one. Finn liked coffee but only in the morning and he never had it black. A splash of milk or a scoop of protein powder was more his style. I didn't favor thick drinks, especially coffee.

We took a seat as a small booth in the cafe. There were only about five other people in here having a drink and quietly entertaining themselves on a device or in a book. Finn broke the muffin in half while I settled into the dark green booth. He placed his half on a napkin and gave me the half in the wrapper. "Coach would kill us if he saw this." Finn said before popping a price into his mouth.

"Which one?" I joked.

"Charles will be angry. It's only off season. Hortin will murder us."

"Well, the Olympics are serious." I defended.

"Not if your players are dead in a ditch." Fair point.

I was in the middle of taking a sip of my slightly bitter coffee when a girl with black hair approached the table. I kept drinking as it was the only way for me to not roll my eyes at her. Another one. Great.

"Hey, I'm Jenny. You're Finn Riley, right?" She asked in a flirty tone while I put the cup down on the table. Her intense gaze on the Greek god in front of me didn't waver.