I rubbed the back of my neck. Finn had a point. Chase wasn’t the small-town boyfriend of my dreams, but even if he had been, I hadn’t given the logistics much thought. Apparently, Finn had, though, which raised another question. “Why do you care? It’s not like I mean anything to you. We were just a casual hookup. Right?”

Finn’s cheeks flushed red.

Kate darted her eyes between us while biting her lip. “I’m going to…uh…use the bathroom. Yeah, I need to pee. Bad. Real bad.” She turned on her heel and shuffled away.

And then there were two. “Small-town hero or not, you’re the one I like. Not Chase,” I hissed, glancing behind me to make sure he was out of earshot. “But you’re not an option. You’ve made it clear the best I can hope for is short-term dating with monogamy up for debate. That’s all well and good for you, but I want more.” My face went hot. I never would have confessed my true feelings for Finn so boldly if I hadn’t drunk two cocktails at the restaurant. I felt weak, vulnerable, and simply wretched.

Finn’s eyes softened. “I like you too. I just…”

“You just what?” My breath bottled up in my chest. “Talk to me.” I took a cautious step toward him.

“It’s compl—”

“Do not say it’s complicated!”

He blushed, glancing over his shoulder and from side to side.

“No one’s paying attention to us.” I lowered my beer onto a nearby table and crossed my arms over my chest. “Either tell me why it’s so complicated, or hold your peace while I go back to Chase. You can’t give me what I want. Maybe he can.”

Neither of us said anything for a second. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Chase’s eye and waved. “I’ll count to five.” I stared Finn down. “One. Two. Three.”

He growled. “Fine!” His shoulders dropped in defeat. “You know that saying ‘not the guy you bring home to your parents’?”

“Of course,” I said, my hands in fists. Where was this going? I’d be proud to bring Finn home to meet my mother. Unless he was suggesting I wasn’t the kind of girl he could introduce to his dad. My pulse raced. Was it because I still lived with my mom?

“My dad is the parent you don’t bring the girl home to.”

I blinked. “I don’t understand. Which is to say, huh?”

This earned me a smile, but it was strained compared to the easy grins I was used to. It was obvious this wasn’t natural territory for him. “You can tell me anything,” I whispered.

He closed his eyes for a beat. When he opened them, he said, “I really don’t want to have this conversation in here, especially when you’re drunk.”