Page 27 of Brad & Finn
Finn tilted his head back against the seat, hoping that this new position would make it harder for Chloe to try to shoveanything else in his mouth. From the way she eyed his slice of pizza, then his face, he figured that was a pretty safe bet.
Chloe tried a few more tactics of persuasion, ranging from threatening to call her mother and have her lecture him, to locking them in one of Timber and Tallboys’ two tiny bathrooms.
By the time they finished their olive, mushroom, pineapple, and chicken pizza, it was time to head down the street to the bar.
“Please promise me you’re not going to meddle,” Finn hissed as they stepped into the bustling bar.
“I make no such promises,” Chloe said as she sauntered up to the bar. Finn groaned and followed her, ordering himself a trusty cider, while Chloe, of course, tried the weirdest sounding beer she could find on the menu.
He seemed to remember Chloe’s mom bemoaning something about the beer selection since the new owners took over, and he asked Chloe about it as they both tucked into their drinks. Chloe recounted the town gossip in a hushed voice before launching into a needlessly long conversation about how her tastes had evolved since college.
As they talked, Finn tried to play it cool and not be too obvious as he scanned the room. After he accidentally repeated—for the third time—that he should really try and appreciate wine more, Chloe grabbed his face and turned his head several degrees to the right, where he finally spotted Brad talking to a few women in the corner. His back was to the door, so he probably hadn’t seen them come in, but that didn’t stop Finn’s heart from sinking or keep his thoughts from spiraling as he took several too-large gulps of his cider. He was surprised to find he’d already finished the drink, and Chloe cast him a knowing glance as she ordered him a glass of water.
Thankfully, the pizza was doing its job, for the most part, but his eyes did cross a little as he accepted the drink from Chloe.
“I don’t know what to do with you. How are you drunk after only one drink?” Chloe asked. The way she glared at the straw in his hand made Finn shove it in his mouth himself.
“Not drunk,” he muttered around the straw, taking a large sip of water as she narrowed his eyes at him.
“Alright, ‘not drunk,’ then you should be good to go talk to Brad, since he just walked up to the bar. I’m going to talk to—” She shot out her hand and grabbed a passing man by the sleeve of his jacket.
Huh. Maybe Brad was right, and the two of them did have a thing about sleeves.
“Hi, did you go to Gomillion?” she asked, and the man gave her a confused look before slowly nodding. “Great! I’d love to catch up! Who was your homeroom teacher junior year?” She subtly hooked her foot around Finn’s calf and kicked him away from the bar
Finn’s entire body clenched, from his jaw down to his toes, but he drained his water and placed it on one of the high-top tables. This time, when he looked around, he immediately spotted Brad a few people away at the bar. He took a steadying breath before he slipped around the small crowd and slotted himself in next to Brad.
Brad was leaning across the bar, talking to Bronwyn, as Mose worked around her to finish making a complicated-looking drink. When Bronwyn tipped her head at Finn, he
ordered another cider. She grinned widely at him as she spun a gin bottle across her fingers and poured several shots into a tumbler.
“Give me a few as I finish this group’s order,” she said, nodding at a group of women at the other end of the bar.
As Brad settled back onto their side of the bar, their sides pressed together in a way that was already beginning to feel familiar. They stood in silence as they waited for theirdrinks. Finn tried to enjoy their closeness while also racking his brain for something witty or interesting to say to start the conversation off.
He drew a series of blanks, too busy watching Bronwyn's hands as they moved effortlessly through her tasks. If Finn tried even the simplest of moves she was doing, he’d probably break a glass…or an entire bottle.
Further demonstrating this, Bronwyn picked up a whiskey bottle and flipped it in the air before pouring two shots into a glass for Brad. He accepted the drink with a wicked smile before slowly turning to face Finn. This had the disappointing side effect of putting a few inches between them.
“Hi,” Brad said, his voice giving nothing away.
Finn continued to watch Bronwyn as she grabbed a pint glass for him, and the amber liquid poured down the inside of the glass, reflecting the flickering lights on the wall. His side felt cold, which was ridiculous, given that he’d spent most of his life without a partner there to warm him. He accepted his now full glass from Bronwyn and took a sip off the top, figuring the worst way to start this conversation would be by accidentally spilling his drink on Brad.
Despite his best intentions, someone behind Finn backed into him. He ended up pressed against Brad’s warm, sturdy chest, and Finn thought that somehow, the universe might be on his side this time.
That, or…
He glanced over his shoulder to make sure it wasn’t Chloe who had backed into him. It turned out to be a burly ginger-haired man, but he could hear Chloe’s voice from the other side of him.
“Uhm…how was dinner?” Brad tried again. His shoulders did that inward curving thing that made Finn’s arms ache to hold him.
“It was…well, it was Chloe being set loose in a pizza parlor with free rein over toppings, so…”
Brad’s mouth curled into a small smile, and his posture relaxed. “So, you either discovered a new favorite pizza, or you’re going to spend the evening in the bathroom?”
Finn’s mind flashed to Chloe’s earlier threat, and he shook his head. “It definitely isn’t a new favorite, but it wasn’t too terrible.” Finn snorted, unable to help himself. “I do think she might have traumatized one of the chefs there. Thankfully, that happened after he made our pizza, but…we might not go back the rest of the trip.”
Brad’s eyebrows raced each other up his forehead. “Do I want to know?”
