Page 76 of Brad & Finn
Brad’s shy smile turned lopsided. “And I am so beyond grateful that you came back into my life. YouandChloe. I can’t imagine two people more kind, caring, generous, sweet?—”
“I do appreciate the groveling, though,” Chloe murmured, and Finn hiccuped a laugh.
“Andpatient,” Brad said, emphasizing the word with a shake of his head, “than the two of you. With that being said…” He tilted the sign and tipped his head in the same direction. “Prom?”
Finn rushed forward and threw his arms around Brad’s neck. Brad tossed the sign off to the side and lifted Finn up, until he was forced to wrap his legs around Brad’s back and kiss the ever-loving crap out of him.
“You’re both genuinely hopeless,” Chloe said, but he’d known her long enough to hear the smile in her voice.
When he finished kissing his prom date, Finn climbed down and grabbed Brad’s hand. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Because a second promposal wasn’t enough of a surprise?” Brad asked in a bemused tone.
“Well, obviously you have to have a prom to go to after promposing!” Chloe said, bouncing up and down in excitement as she darted behind them and began to push them forward.
“I’m glad that someone got some rest—God damn, you’re strong,” Brad said as he stumbled a few steps and then caught his footing and began walking dutifully towards the football field.
“I got almost zero sleep,” Chloe said. “This is all vibes and cold brew. I’ll sleep on the plane tomorrow—and then maybe for the rest of the week.”
Finn reached behind himself and grabbed Chloe’s hand, pulling her up beside him so he could continue holding Brad’s hand as they walked onto the field.
Over where the cheerleaders used to stand, Naomi and Mariana were positioned on either side of a large wooden door frame Miles had constructed for the official prom and had repurposed for them to use tonight. It had streamers draped over it and was the perfect size for a group photo. On the ground was a makeshift dance floor made of plywood that Miles had sanded down and Chloe and her mom had splatter-painted. There were also leftover balloons strung up on the players’ benches, and they’d managed to track down a set of speakers they could plug into the concession stand outlet—with a verysketchy amount of extension cords. There were also fairy lights strung along the railing of the bleachers, and while it wasn’t dark yet, Finn was sure they would look amazing in about an hour when the sun set.
Brad looked around in wonder as Finn and Chloe pulled him over to their friends. Miles came out from the concession stand with a platter full of sandwiches and little cakes in one hand while he drove a wheelie cart with a keg of cider with the other.
“How did you manage that?” Chloe asked, skepticism in her voice. Finn had also doubted they’d be able to do anything more than grab some drinks from the convenience store.
Miles shrugged. “Mose, the bartender, is on a redemption tour of sorts right now. Something about statues and blackmail...I don’t really know. Anyway, he remembered you two and wanted to help.”
He placed the food on the bench and slung a backpack off his shoulders, pulling out paper plates and red Solo cups.
“Ah, yes, now it feels like prom,” Mariana said.
“Or a college frat party,” Naomi joked.
She and Mariana had somehow managed to get their dresses laundered overnight, and they were just as stunning as the night before.
“Good to see you, man,” Brad said, letting go of Finn’s hand to give Miles one of those bro-y, handshake/back slap hugs.
Miles turned to Finn and nodded. They’d spoken on the phone, but this was their first official meeting since high school. “Ahhh, the really cute twink from the bar. It’s all making sense now,” Miles said, a smirk cutting into the harder lines of his face. “Atlas spoke very highly of you.”
“Do I finally get to hang out with the elusive Atlas?” Brad asked, but Finn shook his head.
“They had to head out this morning,” Miles said, and there was that something in his voice again.
“But! They said we could video call them in, and I already warned Christian he’d be on deck to meet everyone as well!” Chloe said eagerly.
“Is he still in Europe? Isn’t it, like, one in the morning over there?” Finn asked.
“Well, he’s back home, so it’s only seven, but it probably feels like one,” she said, obviously unfazed by this.
Brad shook his head and gave the other two women hugs and thanked them for being there. They dug into the food, and Miles tapped into the keg. Chloe was able to get Christian on her fourth call, and he looked very bedraggled but still happy to be included. Finn made the official introduction between him and Brad. When Christian mentioned he was a huge football fan, they launched into a twenty-minute conversation about one of the Indiana college teams. Mariana tried to join in, thinking it was about fútbol, but quickly ducked out and told Naomi to tag in to discuss “your American football.”
With a bit of prodding, Chloe was able to convince Miles to be the one to call Atlas, and he said a very stilted hello before handing the phone to Finn. Finn had a great time chatting with Atlas and Chloe until the familiar opening chords of a song began to play. They all glanced over at Mariana and Miles, who were grinning like two alley cats next to the speakers.
“There was decidedly not enough dancing last night, and I’m ready to take my heels off!” Mariana exclaimed, chucking her heels somewhere in the direction of the bench before running barefoot onto the dance floor.
Naomi cast Miles a doubtful look, but he shrugged. “I sanded it down for almost an hour. It should be silky smooth.”
