Page 26 of A Hard Fit

Finn’s head spun as Rory climbed into his truck next to him. Fortunately, he had just cleaned it, so the seats were shiny and crumb-free.

“What were you working on so late?” Finn asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Smoothing out a few bugs in the Thrill Island app, crunching some numbers for Thomas, catching up on emails. You?”

“Getting shit together for the 5K for Hope, mostly. Emails for me too, harassing people to sign up.”

“Not me though—I registered today!” Rory said proudly.

“I saw.” Finn had in fact made an involuntary noise in the lunchroom when Rory’s name had popped up in his inbox.

“That’s so cool that you’re organizing this. How long has the office been participating?”

“Since I arrived, so this is the fifth year.”

“That’s great, Finn. Good for you.”

Finn shrugged. “My grandma was the only one in my family who actually gave a shit about me. When cancer got her, I wanted to do something in her memory.”

Rory reached over and touched Finn’s knee. Only for a second, but their hand left a searing imprint. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” Finn gave Rory a sideways smile. “I wish I had known her better, but I like remembering her this way. Plus, I’m living in her house now and it helps me feel more connected to her.” Finn told Rory about the work he’d done to update her place, but keep its original seventies vibe.

“Wow, you did all those renovations yourself?” Rory asked.

“Most of them, thanks to online tutorials. I’m good with my hands.” Finn’s cheeks flamed. “Like, with wood. Uh, building stuff.”

“I can’t do anything like that.” Rory fluttered their lithe fingers. “Kind of useless.”

Finn snorted. “Tell that to your keyboard.”

He could see Rory smile from the corner of his eye and turn to look at him. “I bet your house looks amazing.”

“You’ll get to see it if you come to the office Halloween party. I host it every year.”

“I’ll be there.”

Finn dropped Rory off at the front walk of their building and waited for them to get safely inside. Rory turned to wave through the glass door. Finn waved back until Rory had vanished from view.

He smiled the whole way home.

* * * *

At lunch the next day, Luka put his phone down and gave Finn his full attention. “Wait. You drove Rory home last night?”

“Yeah, why?”

Luka chuckled. “You keep saying you and Rory aren’t a good fit, but like…you’re practically dating, Finn.”

“Did you get hit in the head or something? No, we’re not!”

“Let me recap this for you real quick,” Luka said. “They asked you to lunch—”

“Only ’cause it would have been awkward not to.”

“You spent a day at Thrill Island—”

“That was for work.”

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