Unlike Matty who was ten minutes early for our date, Finn shows up five minutes after seven.

I am shockingly up, dressed, and waiting on my stoop when Finn's long F-150 truck rolls up and stops in front of the house. He quickly slides out of the driver's seat and says, "Sorry I am late. I had to pop by my sister's to grab a couple things."

I push myself off the step and saunter down the walkway to meet him. I'm just as fluttery as I was when he last dropped me off here and am anxious to see what he has in store for us. He's dressed in a white tee that is pulling in all the right places, nice woven shorts, and a navy trucker hat with a brown patch of a mountain range on it. His attire is giving me no clues as to what we are doing today.

"Hopefully your sister was expecting you at this hour."

He nods, "Yeah, I called her last night." He then gives me a once over and says, "You have a hat?"

I shake my head and use my hand to showcase my blowout, "Do you see this? A hat does not cover a blowout."

He tilts his head and has no fucking clue what I just said.

"Sadie, you look gorgeous. Your hair looks gorgeous, but I don't want to be responsible for your face getting burned. Those sunglasses are nice, but I don't think you want them tanned onto your face," he says and by his tone, I can tell he does not give a shit about my voluminous hair, he just wants a stupid hat on my head.

My shoulders drop and I whip around, "Fine. I'll grab one." I then stop and spin back toward him, "Anything else wrong with what I chose for today?" He runs his eyes over me again and then says, "Nope. You're perfect." I smirk back at him and then quickly snatch my Rosé ballcap off the foyer table. I spin it around on my finger as I walk back down the steps and he leads me over to his car. I notice he opted for the work truck and not the BMW which makes me wonder where we are going.

After I slide in and he shuts my car door, I look around the truck and realize it's neat, just like his other car. There are no straw wrappers that litter his car or napkins tucked into the door slots like Matty's car had. The dash also isn't peppered with dust and the seats are crumbless. I am hoping this means Finn is a tidy man because I don't like dirty.

After he slides into his seat, he looks at me and asks, "Ready for this?"

"I have no idea. But just in case you were wondering, I am not the outdoorsy athletic type, so hopefully, this isn't a hike or bike ride."

He laughs, "No. It's not a hike or bike ride. But obviously, we will be outside." He pushes his sunglasses on and then starts the truck up. I'm pretty sure it's already ninety degrees out, so I still don't know how the layer aspect will fit into this.

Once we are on the highway, I spin his volume dial up and see what he was listening to. I groan when I hear it's sports radio.

He eyes me and says, "What? The Predators are in the playoffs."

"That's..."

"Hockey," he answers and I nod in understanding. I still don't know what sports Finn is all into or what his football team is. If he's interested in the Predators, my guess is the Titans. I also now know Finn was good enough to be scouted for baseball, so I wonder if I can poke a bit and see if I can get him to open up about that.

"Is that your sport? Hockey?" I ask casually.

He shrugs, "I'm into all of them. I do some sports betting so I check them all out." I want to bring up baseball, but I don't know if it's a sore subject. Before I am able to add any follow-up he asks, "What about you? Is sports your thing at all?" My body floods with dread and I wonder if I lie for a bit longer or start to drop nuggets about who I really am. I don't know if I want to start this whole thing off with secrets and lies so I answer, "I am into football I guess."

"Football? Were you a cheerleader? I could totally see it," he teases but I let out a laugh before answering, "Um no. I was not. My mother forced me to do pageants, so I didn't have any time for athletics."

"Pageants? Beauty queen pageants?" He asks, seemingly shocked that I just admitted that.

"Yep. She tried to get me the Miss Teen Arkansas title."

"Didn't win?"

"I dropped out before I could. She started sleeping with my coach and it kind of tainted the whole thing."

"Oh shit, was she with your dad at the time?"

I flinch and wonder how deep to get here. I don't usually discuss the dad stuff. But if I want him to open up about baseball or the DuBois stuff, maybe I should open up as well.

"Um no. I actually don't know my father. My mom doesn't even know who he is," I confess. "She got pregnant while visiting her friend in San Diego. Apparently, it was a wild weekend." Finn snaps his gaze over to me. His eyes are behind his sunglasses, but I still know that look well. My mom used to have me tell everyone my dad died because she'd rather look like a widower. It wasn't until I was much older that I understood what she meant by that.

"Oh, so it's just you and your mom?"

"It was yeah. I haven't talked to her in a while. It's kinda just me now, no siblings either." I desperately want to get the subject off me so I ask, "You obviously have a sister."

He nods, "Yeah, Melanie, we all call her Mel. She has a daughter, my niece Penelope."

"Ah, the kindergarten graduate."

"Yep, the same one. And I have a brother, Cade, who you know."

I snap my eyes over to him, "Cade? The lawyer man Cade?"

He laughs, "Yes, the lawyer man."

"Why didn't you say when you dropped me off that night?" I ask, just now remembering Cade's last name is Weston.

"Because I was enjoying playing into the mystery," he says with a grin. "But that's also why I couldn't pretend we were old friends. Cade would have known that was a lie." I then wonder if Cade told him who I am. Cade must know, he had to track me down. He had my number, name, and address. I had to sign a bunch of documents using the name Sadie DuBois.

"Did Cade tell you anything about me after that night?" I ask, curious to know if Finn has known who I am this whole time.

"No, but he usually doesn't discuss work or his clients with me," he answers and then glances at me, "Should he have?" He then takes the exit off the highway and I wonder how much time we have until we reach our destination. Should I open this can of worms now?

I picture Finn shoving me out of the car and leaving me stranded near where he first met me and decide to wait until after the date. Maybe this outing will be a bust and I can keep my secrets to myself.

"No, I just didn't know if you were dying for more info on the new girl," I joke and then give him a playful smirk. "Anyway, you said we weren't hiking or biking but it certainly looks like you are leading me to the wilderness." We cross onto a dirt road and I notice us moving into the fluffy green tree line. "Or, plot twist. You are a murderer and this was just a long con. Get me to think you're this cute charming guy, I drop my defenses, I take the pocket knife out of my bra and bam! I'm dead in the woods."

He grins as he gives me a quick look and then asks, "Did ya send your coordinates out yet?"

"I sent a tracking pin to everyone I know. They all see I am in the middle of nowhere. Next to some trees and what looks like a river."

He laughs, "I can't tell if you are joking."

"Well, you didn't say I was wrong."

"No, but glad to know you think I am cute and charming." He gives me another sexy grin and I quickly look away to keep from blushing. "Also interesting to know you keep a pocket knife in your bra."

"I'm always prepared," I tell him and watch him drive further into the tree line and along the river. I have no idea where we are going. The truck bumbles and shakes along the pebble and dirt road and I grip the hand bar above me to keep my head from knocking into the window.

He finally stops next to an opening in the trees and there is a small dip that leads into the river. I realize it's just us out here this early in the morning.

He turns off the car and I look at him, "We're not getting in there are we?"

He nods, "That's exactly where we are going."

"I hope it's in a tube then. With a beer in each hand," I tell him, but he quickly shakes his head.

"Come on," he kicks his door open, but I stay planted in my seat. What the fuck are we going to do in a river?

I then remember where I am. This is the river that is less than twenty minutes away from Magnolia. Mark, his brothers, and his dad used to come up here to go fishing all the time in the summer.

I quickly scramble out of the car and meet Finn at the tailgate. I seriously hope we aren't fishing because fish freak me out.

"Did you bring me fishing?" I ask him as I watch him slide a cylinder from the cab. He hands it to me and says, "I did. We're going fly fishing." Oh god. Me and nature do not mix well.

"Um, Finn. I can't get in that river."

"Why?" He asks as he hauls out a tackle box. I can't tell him I am scared of fish. I will look like a sissy.

"Because...I can't swim." He glances over his shoulder and then stops pulling a net out.

"Sadie, that calm water is waist-deep. I don't think you'll drown." He then hands me the net so he can jump into the cab. "And you said you were up for trying new things."

"I did, I did say that..." I babble as I watch him grab onto what looks like rubber pants. His footsteps are loud as he walks around the truck bed and then he jumps back onto the dirt while holding onto the pants. He goes to hand me a pair and says, "These are my sisters."

I grab the rubber pants attached to suspenders and then look at him, "You had to go get rubbers from your sister's house?" He stops fiddling with the net and looks up at me.

"I'm always prepared," he jokes back with a smirk.

"Are you going to show me how to slide it on? Or do you assume that I already know how?" I tease him back and he drops the net on the ground.

"Jesus Sadie, it's not even eight a.m yet and you already have me all hot and bothered." I giggle and he holds up the rubber pants in front of me.

"These are waders, and you can just take your shoes off and slide them right over your legs," he instructs as he holds the pants open for me.

"Jesus Finn, it's not even eight a.m and you are already trying to get me in your pants," I joke and he just shakes his head at me. I hold onto his shoulders and step into the hideous things. They have rubber boots attached and I am glad his sister's foot isn't smaller than mine. He hooks the straps over my shoulders and I look down at the weird, rubbery, waterproof outfit. He spins around and I see his waders are more stylish. They just look like gray waterproof overalls.

He gets all dressed up and snapped into his and then he hands me a flannel.

"It can get cold when we're standing in the water so just keep that nearby." I grab onto the soft flannel and get a waft of Finn's distinct woodsy smell. I might keep this flannel just to smell it like an obsessed weirdo.

He slides out an elaborate fanny pack and straps it around my waist.

"This is all my sister's shit, but I think it has everything you'll need." It's heavy so I am curious what all I'll need to do this.

I watch him strap on his pack and then he nods toward the river, "Come on down to the river Sades." I want to make a Chris Farley down by the river joke, but Finn has already zipped off down the dirt path with his cylinder and net in his hand. He's quick at getting everything together and I can tell this is something he must do regularly.

I follow him into the opening that dips into the water and he looks at me, "We're going to do the most basic fly fishing today. I'm not gonna get into the jargon and technique because I'm sure I'll just watch your eyes glaze over, but I will show you how to cast." I watch him kneel down and then he dumps out a bunch of stick-looking things out of the cylinder. I watch him put the sticks together and realize he's creating rods.

"You're not going to try and make me a fly fishing master and have me assemble all of my tools?" I ask as I watch him create a fishing pole.

"I could explain the tipper, leader, fly, yada yada but it's a million degrees and I just want to get in the water." He then pops his head up and looks at me, "Unless you want to learn how to build this and what each part is? I'd be happy to break it down."

"No, I think you nailed it on the head. It's hot and I'll probably tune it out," I confess and he nods.

"Thought so."

He's all business as he gets the rest of our gear together and then he tucks the net into the fanny pack that sits against my back. I watch as he takes out a can of sunscreen from his pack and unexpectedly starts spraying me down. I choke on the fumes and wave my hands around, "I think I'm good, Finn."

He stops spraying and then looks at me, "Gotta make sure we have the right protection before we do this."

A loud laugh escapes me and then he holds out his hand to lead me into the water.