Page 59 of Riptide

He shuffles into the apartment, clutching another filled Tupperware container. It looks like soup this time, and a rolled-up copy of the local newspaper. “I still need to get my other Tupperware back from you,” he says, by way of greeting. “Did you finish the meatloaf?”

“Good morning, Eugene,” I reply, my voice still rough with sleep.

Eugene finally looks up and sees Finn.

He pauses, those grey-blue eyes round and wide. Shuffling a little closer, he takes in the still half-naked man in my house, which happens….never. His eyebrows drag down slowly, but Finn doesn’t shrink under the stare. He smiles. “Hi.”

Eugene hardens his stare. “You’re new.”

“I am.” He steps forward, extending his hand. “I’m Finn. Nice to meet you, Eugene.”

He takes his hand, holding his grip for a second, then drops it when he’s satisfied, never once commenting on the fact that Finn isn’t wearing pants. “You like apple cider donuts, Finn?”

“Can’t say I’ve tried them before. But I respect anything sugar-coated and fried.”

Eugene nods once. “Then today’s the day.” He turns and begins to move, barely glancing at me, before swiveling around to look at him again. “You coming?”

Finn tries to hide a smile but fails as he looks my way.

I huff an amused noise. “Apparently, you’ve been invited.”

Eugene’s already halfway out the door. “Five minutes, kids. Wear shoes, and pants, preferably.”

Finn watches him go, then spins back toward me with a grin that lights up his whole face. His eyes are bright, full of trouble. He actually bounces on the balls of his feet once, like he can’t quite contain the thrill. “You didn’t tell me I was meeting your Saturday boyfriend,” he says, singing the last word, eyebrows raised, practically vibrating with delight.

I groan into my hands. “Don’t let him hear that.”

“Such a busy man.” He pats my chest twice. “Ex-husband. Saturday boyfriend. Fuck buddy. Where do you find the time, Professor?”

I arch an eyebrow at the fuck buddy comment. “You’d better watch it, or I’ll revoke your Saturday privileges.”

Finn throws a wink over his shoulder as he heads for the bedroom. “What makes you think I’m not aiming for Sunday through Friday?”

***

Two things I’ve learned this morning. One is that Finn has enough charisma to get us a free tray of apple cider donuts. The level of blush he achieved with Mariella and her mom was practically nuclear; he had them eating out of the palm of his hand. Consider me officially impressed because Mariella’s mom is borderline impossible to win over. It’s taken me years to get on her good side, and even so, she won’t share her caramel sauce recipe with me. I bet Finn could coax it out of her… That’s something I may have to exploit in the future.

And two, is that he and Eugene are like kindred spirits. I don’t know if I should be scared or happy. They have the same dry sense of humor and cheeky one-liners that I’m sure they’ve studied at some point in their lives to be so seamless in their delivery. They’ve spent the morning cackling and comparing notes. I’ve actually never been happier to be a third wheel.

Oh, and a bonus third. Finn looks so fucking cute in my beanie hat he stole from my cupboard. His blonde ends flick out from under it, and the burgundy color highlights the blues of his eyes. I’m dumbstruck every time I look at him.

I’ve hovered near them, but let them walk together mostly. It’s not lost on me that I may see someone from work here, student or faculty, so I’m trying to resist being too close to the one person whose brand of sunshine seems to call to me.

They’ve been talking for fifteen minutes straight about school and life.

“I had no idea Foxx was such a rule breaker,” Eugene says, turning to meet my eyes. I roll mine in response. I’m not sure I knew I was either until Finn, but I don’t say that. I remain quiet as we walk, but I can’t ignore the complication that’s webbed between Finn and me. I’m nearly a decade older, having already lived through classes he’s just stepping into. And yet I can’t seem to deny myself with him.

“So physical therapy, huh?” Eugene turns and continues the conversation, and that perks my ears up. Finn and I haven’t covered what he wants to do with the night classes he’s taking.

“It’s just an idea, but it’s been on my mind since my sister Daphne had Rosie at least. One of the sciences I’m taking is anatomy class, so we’ll see if I survive it this year.”

I know the professor for that class, Dr. Crane. He’s a great teacher, one who Cedar Lakes has tried to recruit multiple times.

“I think I’d like to help athletes at their peak and their worst,” he says with a knowing that comes from experience, and whatever I felt a minute ago quiets. Because whatever worry I felt, I know it’s not about age, it’s about who he is as a person.

Their topic switches smoothly to surfing as they devour their third donut each. I had no idea Eugene even liked the sport. He’s never mentioned it to me before. But I like how easily he’s gottenFinn to talk. Almost as though he knew the exact questions to ask and the exact amount of silence to leave afterward.

Finn tells him about a cracked rib he once had when he was younger and couldn’t surf for the whole summer. “I’d sit on the porch every morning, like some washed-up retiree, even though I was only fifteen,” he says, tone light but not joking. “Tried to keep busy, but nothing hit the same.”

---