Page 41 of A Hard Fit

Rory was staring, but not at the sock.

They were staring at the huge painting above Finn’s headboard. It was one of Finn’s favorites—long stretches of skin, hints of lips and hands. An open mouth, head thrown back, maybe. Two bodies as one.

“Absolutely stunning, Finn,” Rory breathed.

Finn pushed his hair back. “Thanks.”

Rory shifted, gaze still locked on the canvas. “What is this one called?”

“Temptation.” Finn fiddled with his zipper.

“Wow.” Rory shook their head. “It’s beautiful. Have you ever shown your work anywhere?”

“Um, I tried, once, in college. Didn’t go well.” He waved at Rory’s flight suit spread out on his bed. “You can change in here.” Finn bolted into the hall, dizzy from the compliments and from the fact that Rory was standing in his bedroom staring at his painting of two people having sex. He headed back into the living room and found some cushions to fluff, but the dizziness only got worse as he imagined Rory now undressing in his bedroom in front of his sex painting.

Then, thankfully before Finn’s imagination could go too crazy, Rory appeared in the living room in their flight suit. Finn had to hold back a groan of appreciation.So fucking sexy.Anthony Edwards had nothing on them.“You look amazing,” Finn said.

They popped their aviators on and smiled. “Yeah, we do. Hey, let’s take a picture.” Rory pulled out their phone and held it up, sliding their arm around Finn’s waist. They tucked so nicely under Finn’s shoulder. He inhaled the scent of Rory’s hair as he put his arm around them and smiled for the camera. Their ear-to-ear grins matched exactly.

Rory sent Finn the picture then tucked their phone away, surveying the living room. The kitchen was at the back, partially visible through a pass-through window. A bar was on the counter on this side of the sill, with the table of snacks and candy along the far wall. “What can I help with?” Rory asked.

Finn ignored the buzz of Rory’s text in his pocket, even though he so badly wanted to stare at that photo. “Just a few more appies.”

They pulled the trays of sausage rolls and mini-quiches from the oven and set out some veggies and dip, until, right on schedule, their coworkers began arriving.

Rory stuck to Finn’s side as the house filled. “You two look great!” they heard over and over, and Finn couldn't get enough of it. “Thanks,” he said, wanting to pull Rory closer, kiss the top of their head. Instead, he shared a smile and settled for picking a stray thread off of Rory’s arm.

“Oh, there’s Luka and Thomas,” Finn said when he spotted them in the crowd—together, of course. Luka did indeed look fucking hot as Sandy, black spandex clinging to his lanky frame, calves especially shapely in his red heels. Tawney was nowhere in sight but, somehow, Thomas was dressed as Danny instead, all in black, beautifully aged leather jacket perfectly hugging his wide shoulders. As a pair, they were hot enough to melt the bowl of bite-sized chocolate bars on the table behind them.

“You crazy kids!” Finn called in greeting, clapping Luka and Thomas on the shoulders. “Welcome! First question—why don’t you have a drink yet?”

“Danny and Sandy!” Rory exclaimed when they came up behind Finn. “You guys look great!”

Luka and Thomas looked at each other in surprise.

“Wow.” Luka laughed. “Actually, Tawney was supposed to be Danny, but she’s sick.”

“And I’m the Terminator,” Thomas added.

“Oh,” Rory chuckled. “That’s funny. You go together like rama-lama-lama.”

God, Rory is so fucking cute.

“Yeah, I guess that works out for me, then,” Luka said. “You two look great, too!”

Rory and Finn grinned at each other.

“I feel the need…” Finn began.

“The need…for speed!” Rory finished. They high-fived each other, cackling.

“Adorable.” The only word that could be used to describe Luka’s expression was smug.

“Not adorable. Badass,” Finn corrected, sliding his sunglasses on. “Bar’s over there. Get on it.” He pointed at Luka. “And there’s karaoke later. I’d better see your ass up there, Sandy.”

The house got louder and hotter as it filled. Finn had left some windows open, but the cool night air was quickly swallowed by the fuzzy creatures, spooky witches and sweaty pop culture icons. They greeted Aleandro and Penelope when they came in—an old-school vampire, which was perfect, given Aleandro’s Dracula hair, and a sorceress, in a glamorous high-collared blood-red dress—and Georgia, their head of marketing, who was a princess, in a lavender dress with a long blonde braid. Morgan strutted in with the confidence of Freddie Mercury himself in pale blue jeans, a white tank top and a black studded leather belt with a matching armband.

Finn’s beers went down quickly, a pleasant haze settling over him as the room filled and the noise level grew. And Rory. Rory was always there. Hand brushing his as they collected empties, steadying fingers on his hip as he tripped past a dragon with huge cardboard wings.

---