Page 47 of Filtration Play
He caught his sister with a thump, and she squeezed him tight.
“I missed you so much,” she said. Her dark hair was pulled back, her soft deep-set eyes so similar to Julian’s. His heart twisted tight. No matter the difficulties lobbed his way, he’d come to realize how much he had. Fin had looked so damn lonely the other night when they talked about family. His might be loud and a little damaged, but they were still here. Still facing any problems that life hurled their way together.
Fin’s had fractured.
“Missed you too, Ames.” He glanced up when Luke approached. “You too?”
“Figured it was a good time to visit,” his older brother said. Amelia pulled away, and Luke slung an arm around his shoulders. He was all easy smiles and chestnut curls, and his presence was the opposite of Ames’s intensity.
“Jules said there’s something you promised to tell us.” Izzy marched up with expectations in her gaze.
Ollie snorted. “Of course he did.” He sucked in a slight breath. Rip the Band-Aid off. “I’m bi.”
“Hi, Bi, I’m Dad.”
Ollie’s grin stretched across his face unbidden as he looked past his siblings to his dad. Dad might have a few extra lines on his face, but Ollie had gotten most of his looks and build from his old man.
“Ah, you missed that joke the first time.”
“Wait, Dad and Jules knew?” Ames asked.
He shrugged. “Figured it was better to say in person.”
“Excuse me?” Izzy said. “I just saw you the other week.”
Ollie lifted a brow. “Thought you might’ve drawn the conclusions on your own.”
Izzy’s face reddened like she might explode. Ollie locked eyes with Dad and grinned.
“I’m going to grab a beer.” With that, he strode past the lot of them toward the kitchen. Utter chaos erupted behind him.
Tonight, he’d focus on his family, and tomorrow, he’d find out if this thing with Fin was coming to an end.
Chapter Sixteen
The warehouse featured the open, artsy place Fin had always imagined throwing a show at. Not like they’d believed their photography would ever be in some public exhibition. They would either be thrilled or vomit.
“Do you have an idea of how you want your work displayed?” Hera asked. Her hair was pulled up in a cute ponytail today, and she bounced around the warehouse as she showed Fin the empty space.
“From the pictures you sent, yeah.” Fin soaked it all in. They’d organized their photos and had them ready to showcase. The sets would all be stationed in different areas. The exposed brick left a lingering chill, and the overhead beams added to the whole warehouse chic aesthetic. Fin couldn’t imagine having a spare warehouse for fun lying around, but Hera came from money, and they most definitely didn’t.
“Would Meg let me host a play night at Whipped?” Hera asked. The question came out of the blue, but it wasn’t the first time Hera had tried to get an extra in at Whipped.
“You can ask,” Fin said, even though the answer would be no. “But why not just use the space you have?” If they had access to a spare fucking warehouse, they’d throw play nights all the damn time.
Hera rolled her eyes. “I might have art connections, but Meg’s got the connections in the scene.”
Fin’s skin prickled with unease. Sure, they were having their photography show at Hera’s warehouse, but she would take the usual artist cut that she normally did from the people she hosted here. Whereas Hera always pushed the line when it came to their connection at Whipped.
Meg refused to play with Hera, and Fin was starting to see why. Not like they were naïve, but they’d ignored Hera’s spoiled tendencies because she’d been fun to scene with on occasion.
Fuck, humoring her wouldn’t help. And besides, they had to get going. They were meeting Ollie soon at Whipped for their last photo shoot…and then, with any luck, Ollie would be joining them for Play Night after.
“You know you’re always welcome to any of the events we throw, right?” Fin said. “You’re better off attending the open house events and not trying to push Meg about private play parties. That’s her workspace, and she enforces pretty strong boundaries around it, for good reason.”
Hera crossed her arms, a dark look flashing across her face. “I see how it is, but you’re fine with using me for my space.”
Fin lifted their hands, their guard rising at top speed. “Hey, if you’re not okay to host here, we’ll cancel the exhibition.”
