By the time they reached the theater, Will’s palms were slick with sweat. He felt his shirt sticking to his back, his pants catching at the backs of his knees. His legs felt weak as water when he climbed out of the car, and he had to hold onto the door a moment.
All of this over a date. Pathetic.
The problem was that he couldn’t talk to girls. Not with Finn’s easy, unaffected charm, that hint of naughty intent that made every woman he’d ever met giggle into her hand. No, Will was awkward, and he couldn’t ever think of anything interesting to say, and he always made a giant mess of it. Finn was the charmer, the daredevil, the dreamer. Will was the steady companion. Finn was Robin Hood and he was Little John.
When he shut the door, finally, Leena stood in front of him, and she reached out to take both his big hands in her small ones. If she felt how clammy they were, she made no mention of it.
“Will,” she said, all steadiness and authority. “Take a deep breath and wait right here. I’ll go get Mary.” She reached to settle his collar before she walked away, fingertips cool and practiced.
When she was gone, Finn stepped up beside him, threw an arm across his shoulders. It was a bit of a stretch, but they still fit, and it was an immediate comfort.
“Stop sweating,” Finn teased, patting his shoulder. “She’ll think you smell.”
Will sighed. “I’m terrible at this.”
“Of course you are. You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Wipe your hands, here they come.”
Leena walked back into view arm-in-arm with a fair-haired girl a few inches taller. She was slender, willowy, and her dress was a pretty pink that offset her pale skin tone. She ducked her head when Leena led her up to Will, a blush staining her cheeks.
“Will,” Leena said, “this is Mary. Mary, this is Finn’s friend Will.” She released Mary’s hand and gave her a gentle nudge forward, looking between the two of them expectantly.
Finn cupped Will’s neck and squeezed once, then withdrew his arm.
Will took a deep breath, wiped his palm down the side of his slacks, and extended it toward Mary. “Pleasure to meet you.” At least his voice didn’t waver too badly.
Her hand was smooth and cool in his, lively as a piece of porcelain. “Hi,” she said, still blushing and shy. She withdrew her hand the moment he released it.
“Mary,” Leena said in a voice like a parent encouraging two children to get along, “Will just loves books. He reads all the time.”
Mary’s head lifted, a careful spark of interest in her gaze. “Really?”
“Uh-huh.” Leena’s smile was all teeth and red lips. Like a vampire, Will thought. “Will, Mary likes Jane Austen. You two should have a lot to talk about.” She made a little motion with her hands, like she was arranging them in her mind, lining them up together.
“Well, kids,” Finn said, holding his arm out gallantly for Leena. “Shall we?”
Will extended his own arm and Mary touched it with just her fingertips. They followed Finn and Leena into the theater like that.
///
“Come on, it wasn’t that bad,” Finn insisted, and tipped the bottle over his glass again. Amber liquid purled up the sides, more than he should have poured. Especially considering they nicked the bottle out of Elias’s cabinet.
Will took the bottle and refilled his own glass. “You were there. You saw it. It wasbad.”
They were in Finn’s room, sitting across from one another on the rug with their pilfered bourbon. Finn had kept a straight face until he’d kissed Leena goodnight and walked back to the car where Will had climbed into the front seat and was sulking. Then he’d burst into helpless laughter.
“Your face,” Finn said now, laughing quietly. “I didn’t know if you were gonna lose your dinner or walk right out of the restaurant.”
“Ugh. She didn’t understandanyof the satire inPride and Prejudice. She said her favorite character was Wickham. Wickham, Finn! She thought he wasromantic. And that Lizzy wascruelto him.”
“Well I don’t know who any of those people are.” Finn took a healthy sip and made a face. “And I wouldn’t have cared anyway.”
“You wouldn’t have cared that your date had no reading comprehension?”
Finn placed a hand on Will’s shoulder. “Will. Buddy. My pal. Who cares about that?”
