Page 14 of A Hard Fit

“On Black Bear Drive,” Finn said. “Down past the old high school.”

“Oh, yeah, I know that area.” Rory nodded, wiping their mouth with a napkin. “My aunt lives on Cougar.”

Finn picked up his milkshake and snickered. “Cougar, you say?”

“I know.” Rory chuckled, reaching for another loaded chip. “She is a bit of a cougar, too. The jokes write themselves.”

“Where do you live?” Finn asked.

“An apartment downtown. Well, I say downtown. It’s suburb-adjacent. The Southern Horizon buildings?”

“Oh, nice.”

“It’s okay.” Rory shrugged. “My parents tried to pay for a bigger place by the water but I said no thanks.”

“Wow.” Finn wondered what that would be like, to have parents not only offering to buy their kid an expensive apartment, but giving a shit where they lived in the first place.

“It’s small, but there’s enough room for me and my gear. Just.”

“Gear?”

“Oh, all my computers and stuff.”

“Ah, I get it. I have a room full of paintings, plus the garage.”

“Are you working on anything right now?”

Finn’s phone buzzed. “Sorry, one sec,” he said, looking at the screen. His sister was calling. “What the fuck does she want?” he muttered, then stuffed it back in his pocket.

Rory watched him. “You don’t want to answer that? I can wait.”

“Nope,” was all Finn said.Nope, nope, nope.Liz only called when she wanted something—money, usually, a logo for her new ‘business’ or maybe to lay a guilt trip because he hadn’t called Mom on her birthday—and he was not in the mood. “It’s just my sister, and it’s never worth answering.”

“Oh. That’s too bad.”

“Yeah.” Finn took a bite of hamburger, trying to push thoughts of her out of his head. Silence fell as they chewed.

“The food is actually pretty good, isn’t it?” Rory asked, after swallowing their next bite. “The nachos are yummy.”

“Agreed.” Finn lifted his cup. “And this milkshake borders on life-changing.”

“Maybe we should have done all the spinny rides before lunch, though,” Rory said, studying another loaded nacho chip.

“Oof.” Finn put his milkshake down again. “Good point. Let’s do the Haunted Lagoon again next so we can digest.”

They went on every ride at least once, including the Thrilloscope and the Ziller, without incident, then checked out the arcade and gift shop for a burst of mid-afternoon air conditioning. When the sun was dipping toward the horizon, the light thick and golden, they sat on a bench, windswept and sun-warmed, a bag of cotton candy between them.

Finn leaned back, arm along the bench behind Rory, another piece of pink fluff disappearing on his tongue. He closed his eyes, the salt breeze lifting a languid curl off his cheek. The plastic bag rustled as Rory reached for the last piece of cotton candy.

Good day.

His phone and his brain were full of ideas, and his heart was full of Rory. The way they didn’t mind waiting in line, limbs loose and patient leaning against a railing. The way their eyes lit up each time gravity released them from its grip. The way they laughed easily and generously at Finn’s jokes and silly observations, and…those eyes crinkling, with a warmth and sweetness that reached out and held Finn in a way he’d never felt before.

“Such a fun day,” Rory said, with a happy sigh.

Finn opened his eyes to meet Rory’s. His heart threatened to burst. “It really was.”

Rory studied the pink wisp in their fingers. A pause. A head flick. “I was wondering…did you want to grab some dinner somewhere on the way home? We could keep talking about our ideas while everything is still fresh—”

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