Page 78 of Brad & Finn
Chloe burrowed her face in his neck, no doubt getting makeup and tears all over him.
“I feel the same about you, Finn,” Christian said, his light, smooth voice carrying perfectly even across the hundreds of miles between them.
Finn had worked for years to get his voice to the pitch he wanted and with enough resonance to sound serious but not overly earnest. Christian had apparently always had a lower register voice, and he actually pitched it slightly up after T thickened his vocal cords. There was something about the tone that always soothed Finn. It was soft, especially given Christian’s six-foot stature, and always seemed to convey trust and understanding.
One evening, they’d been discussing voices, with Finn bemoaning losing the entire upper end of his singing register, and they’d landed on the topic of Christian’s voice. Chloe described it as a phone operator’s voice: clear, easy to understand, and reassuring. Finn had said it wasn’t breathyenough for that, and Christian had laughed, gently pointing out that Chloe hadn’t meant aphone sexoperator, and Finn had nearly died of mortification.
“I feel the same way, too,” Chloe said. “Of course I do. I just didn’t want to assume or put any pressure on you.”
Finn shifted uncomfortably against the cold seat back. Brad and Miles had somehow managed to get into the sports equipment and were throwing around a football, while Mariana and Naomi passed a soccer ball between them.
“I think you should always assume I’m going to think of you and consider your feelings and what you want,” Finn said. “I love you, Chlo. Always have, always will, and nothing is going to change that.”
Finn only had a moment to respond as a football came hurdling towards them. He jerked Chloe to the side, narrowly avoiding the flying object.
“I’m so sorry!” Brad yelled as he ran towards them, his shoulders and thighs pulling at the seams of his dress clothes. Miles looked equally chagrined, as he was clearly the one who was supposed to catch the ball.
“Brad, were you agoodquarterback?” Christian asked from Chloe’s phone, and Brad gasped while Chloe burst out laughing.
Finn handed the phone to Brad and wandered over to join Mariana and Naomi. He figured he might be safer with balls that stayed on the ground.
He wasn’t very good at soccer, but he enjoyed jogging up and down the field with Mariana. She finally got fed up with her dress and tucked one end into the top of her bright red Spanx. Naomi grumbled that she wished she’d thought to wear shorts, and Mariana cackled maniacally as she sprinted out way ahead of them.
Chloe, it turned out, was actually pretty decent with a football, claiming that she and Christian sometimes threw themaround. Brad somehow ended up benched, holding the phones with both Atlas and Christian, and the three of them watched the group running around like they weren’t going to all feel this in the morning.
When night fell and the bugs came out in force, they packed up all the big pieces in Miles’ truck and wished each other goodnight. They had plans to gather in the morning for coffee and breakfast before coordinating rides to the airport throughout the day. Miles had a contracting job on the other side of town, but he promised to swing by and say goodbye before work.
Brad drove himself and Finn back to the hotel, and they ran into Mariana and Naomi in the entryway. They shared the elevator, which made very concerning noises with all four of them in it, and they nearly tripped over each other rushing out of it. They said their final goodnights, then turned to walk to their end of the hall.
As they approached their doors, Brad pulled them to a stop a few feet away from Finn’s door. Placing his hand on Finn’s hip, he pulled him in and bent his head, making sure to move slowly enough that Finn could say no or easily stop him.
Of course, he didn’t. He let Brad kiss him, and he kissed him back. With fumbling fingers, they managed to get Brad’s wallet out and extract his key card. Finn would probably go back to his room later that night and retrieve all his things so he could spend the rest of the night and a good chunk of the morning in Brad’s room without having to worry about it. For now, though, he allowed Brad to pull him into the room and shut the door behind them.
EPILOGUE
BRAD
November, 2026
“Where doyou want me to hang this photo of us at prom?” Chloe asked as she walked into Finn and Brad’s bedroom.
Brad was holding the ladder steady as Finn climbed down from the entrance to the attic in their closet.
“We already have the big group photo in the living room, so we can put it in here or in your room if you want it,” Brad said.
“Maybe since Christian isn’t in it, you guys can put it in here, and we’ll put last year’s Christmas photo in our room,” she said, wandering over to lay the frame on their bed.
“I thought your mom wanted the Christmas photo in her room?” Christian asked as he walked by the open door, holding a bin practically exploding with fabric.
“That better not be going in our room! I thought all the fabric was staying in the basement craft corner!” Chloe called as she scrambled after him.
“Did you say you wanted the second Christmas photo?” Mrs. Abernathy asked, popping her head in the room right as Finn got to the bottom of the ladder.
“Do you need to get your ears checked? Chloe said she thought you wanted it,” Brad’s mom teased as she walked by with a stack of sheets.
Finn tugged on Brad’s sleeve, and he looked down into eyes hazy green from an exhausting week full of moving while simultaneously hosting Brad’s mom. Brad wound his arms around his boyfriend and moved him deeper into the closet. Finn went willingly, allowing Brad to push him up against the wall and press their bodies together.
“You get everything put away up there?” Brad asked, swiping his thumb over Finn’s bottom lip before kissing it.
