Page 21 of Brad & Finn
“Chloe! It’s so good to see you!” a tall Black woman called over to them.
Chloe and Finn turned around, and Finn wasn’t sure who she or the equally tall Latina woman she was standing with was. Chloe let out an excited squeal and darted towards them, throwing her arms around the first woman’s neck in an excited hug before releasing her and thrusting out her hand to the second woman.
Brad, who’d been in the middle of asking them what their cards were, smiled ruefully at Finn as he walked up.
“Oh my gosh, I saw your wedding photos online, and I swear I would have unliked them so that I could like them a second time!” Chloe exclaimed, causing the other two women to beam at her.
“I didn’t know you knew Naomi,” Brad said, tossing the Black woman a megawatt smile. “She was my savior in Algebra II.”
Naomi rolled her eyes, and her wife–Finn assumed by context clues–leaned her head against Naomi’s shoulders. If he squinted, he could just make out the name Mariana on her name tag.
“She was mine in Chemical Hazard Analysis, sophomore year of college,” Mariana said.
Naomi laughed, a warm sound that Finn thought sounded sort of familiar. “And you were mine in Multivariate Calculus.”
Brad scratched the back of his head, his smile dimming down to a bashful grin. “Yeah, I tapped out before calculus in college. Didn’t need it much for sports medicine, and I definitely don’t need it for coaching.”
“Well, as you witnessed in bio, science and math are not my strong suits,” Chloe said to Naomi. “I ended up majoring in lit, and now I’m a legal editor.”
Ah, that’s where Finn knew her from. She’d been Chloe’s table partner in bio. Finn had been partnered with Cory, which meant Chloe spent just as much time at her desk as she did perched on the edge of theirs.
“Oh, no, that was not your finest work,” Naomi said with a laugh. “Speaking of bio, where’s your partner in crime? And Kendall?” Her tone was still warm, but this time, it sent a chill down Finn’s back.
This was the fifth time someone had asked about Finn, but thus far, they’d all been people he didn’t know. He’d talked to Naomi several times during class that year, and now that he really thought about it, he thought he remembered chatting briefly at homecoming senior year.
“Kendall is expecting her third!” Chloe gushed, just like she’d done the last five times. “She wasn’t able to get cleared to fly by her doctor, so unfortunately, I’ll have to report back with all the goss.”
“Three! You said I was loca for wanting two in this economy,” Mariana said, nudging Naomi playfully in the shoulder.
Naomi squeezed her waist but said nothing, presumably waiting for Chloe to answer the other half of her question.
A part of Finn considered coming out right then. He felt pretty safe in assuming two queer women of color wouldn’t judge him for being trans, but as it sometimes did, his anxiety sat in his mouth like a brick, utterly impossible to speak around.
The first two times Chloe had been asked about Finn, she’d glanced at him before speaking. By now, thankfully, she was an old pro at it. She kept her gaze firmly on Naomi and said, “As for my partner in all things that weren’t studying for biology—I haven’t seen her in a long time.”
Finn hadn’t realized he’d been drifting closer to Brad until, out of nowhere, he ended up pressed against Brad’s side. Brad stiffened at Chloe’s answer, the muscles in his forearm rippling down into a clenched fist. Finn bumped his hand against Brad’s before stepping forward for the carefully choreographed next part of this dance.
“But,” Chloe said, her voice pitching up in excitement in a way that drew attention away from her previous statement. “I’d love to introduce you to my boyfriend, Finn.”
Finn held out his hand and shook first Naomi’s and then her wife’s hand. “Hi, I’m Finn. It’s lovely to meet you, Mariana,” he said, nodding at Mariana’s name tag as Brad shifted to stand next to Chloe.
Naomi gasped, turning to her wife with a soft pout on her bottom lip. “I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I haven’t introduced you. I just jumped right in after Chloe mentioned our wedding photos.”
“It’s okay, mi amor. I’m Mariana Sanchez. It’s nice to meet you as well.”
They went back and forth, sharing where they lived now, commiserating over how much had changed and how much was still the same in town. Chloe was disappointed to find that their cards were ketchup and toe.
“Do you think you’re looking for someone with foot?” Chloe asked, scrunching up her face in a way that caused three lines to form in her forehead.
“Your face is going to freeze like that, dear,” Finn said, before he realized maybe that wasn’t the sort of thing a boyfriend should say to his girlfriend.
Mariana burst out laughing, and Naomi scrunched up her own forehead.
“Don’t I tell you that all the time?” Mariana said gleefully. “Thank you, Finn, I’m glad someone else understands me.”
Naomi shook her head, and Chloe, very maturely, stuck her tongue out at Finn.
“Do you think maybe it’s a three-way?” Brad asked, and they all turned to look at him with various expressions of surprise.
