Page 41 of Brad & Finn
A new stillness fell over the room as they sank into the lumpy mattress. Finn was rapidly becoming aware of how sticky they were, but he wanted to snuggle for a few more minutes before making a mad dash for the shower.
Brad didn’t seem like he was in any hurry, either. He made a few snuffling noises and buried his face in Finn’s hair.
“There is no way I smell nice,” Finn said.
Brad sniffed loudly, and Finn was tempted to tickle his sides, but he’d done that once on a long bus ride and had gotten a black eye from it. Brad had apologized for almost two weeks straight, swearing up and down he hadn’t meant to flail his arm out like that; he just couldn’t help it.
There would be no way to explain away a black eye at the reunion tomorrow, so Finn opted for gently biting his shoulder instead. Brad grunted but didn’t remove his nose from Finn’s hair.
“You know what I bet smells good?”
Brad groaned. “You can have all of the maple candy, gorgeous. I don’t want them.”
Finn hummed happily, and Brad went back to nuzzling his face against Finn’s head.
After a few minutes of this, Finn sighed loudly. “What are you doing?”
“Your hair is soft and keeps catching on my beard. It feels nice,” Brad said, rubbing his face aggressively against Finn’s head.
“Okay, we’re getting up,” Finn said, dragging himself up and yanking roughly on Brad’s arm until he creaked into an upright position. He looked a little like a disgruntled puppy, and Finn placed a soft kiss on his nose before manhandling him into the bathroom.
He’d planned on taking a quick shower and then seeing if he could sneak the maple candy—and himself—into the other clean bed with Brad as a meat blanket, but the warm water of the shower couldn’t be rushed. They took turns rubbing shampoo that reminded Finn of potpourri into each other’s hair and followed it up with balsa wood scented body wash. The two smells were an odd combination, and Finn felt a scowl carving a permanent shape into his face until Brad picked him up and carried him out of the shower.
“Why are you the most absurd person on the planet!” Finn cried, kicking his feet in the air, but secretly rather enjoying the caveman show of strength.
Brad carried him back into the bedroom and, a bit clumsily, dropped him onto the clean bed.
Finn wanted to glare up at him, but he also had an agenda, so instead, he gave him the sweetest smile he could muster. “Can I?—”
“Yes, sweetheart, you can have the fucking maple candies,” Brad grouched as he walked over to the dresser.
Finn couldn’t wipe the eager grin off his face, and when Brad turned around to face him, he rolled his eyes so hard that his entire head rolled with them. Because he enjoyed making Brad smile almost as much as he enjoyed maple-flavored treats, he held out his hand and made “gimme” gestures until Brad begrudgingly walked over and set them in his palms.
Finn unabashedly dove under the covers and popped the first candy in his mouth. The buttery maple exploded on his tongue, and he moaned, dragging the blanket up and over his head so he could enjoy his candy without judgment.
A minute later, a still very naked and quite damp Brad joined him under the covers.
“Are we sleeping naked?” Finn asked around the second candy in his mouth. There were six in total, and if he bided his time, he could probably make them last at least ten more minutes.
“Did you want to go grab pajamas? And undies?” Brad asked as he wrapped his arms around Finn’s back.
Absolutely aghast, Finn shoved against Brad’s chest. “I’m sorry, who the hell calls them—oh my god, I can’t even say it. That’s so horrible.”
Brad gave him an unamused look. “I’m sorry, what am I supposed to call what you were wearing? Panties?”
Finn gasped so hard, he almost swallowed one of the candies whole. “They arenotpanties!”
“They were sexy, cupped your junk, and framed your ass.”
“It’s called a jock strap! I own panties—they’re lacy and tastefully cover half my ass–” Finn slammed his mouth closed, realizing what he’d just admitted to.
Brad propped himself up on his elbow to look down at him. “Did you bring them?”
“No!” Finn said, his cheeks flaring red as he savored one last bite and swallowed both of the candies. They seemed to be posing more of a choking hazard than anything else at the moment. “Why would I bring them on a besties trip back to our hometown?”
Brad squinted down at him and pulled out that pout again. “Did you really not bring them?”
Finn had, in fact, brought them, but it was entirely by accident. They’d been knotted up with his jock strap, which he needed to bring to wear on whatever day Chloe forced him to wear the tight jeans she’d bought for him.
