Chapter Nine

“You can give Aiden a ride home, right, Finn?” Tam asked. She was elbows deep in the washing up with Aiden on drying duty. Marlee was to his left, taking the dried dishes from his hands and placing them back into their home with the care and ease of someone who clearly knew their way around.

From the kitchen table, Finn made a humming sound in reply.

“You have to stay still, Dad,” Millie said, pencil poised perfectly between her fingers. Beside her sat Dylan, in deep concentration as he worked on his portrait of Finn, tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth.

“Whoops,” said Finn.

“You’ll be passing by anyway,” Adie said, working on her own sketch.

“I could just walk?” Aiden suggested, not wanting to put Finn through anymore unnecessary hassle.

“You’ll get lost.” Tam shot him down just as quickly as she scrubbed the silverware.

Finn lifted his head, slowly looking between Adie and Tam before bursting out with, “Fucking knew you two had a motive.”

“FiFi,” Dylan said. “You can’t say the f-word.”

Finn pulled a face, and Millie whacked him on the hand with her pencil for even daring to move.

“Oh, Dylan has FiFi privileges, too?” Aiden asked coyly. “How do you get in on that?”

“It’s a very intricate process,” said Marlee, taking a dried glass from Aiden’s hands to put away.

“I’ll tell you later,” Tam said with a nudge of her elbow.

“There’s nothing to tell,” said Finn. “I don’t exactly get a choice in the matter.”

“Technically, all of this is Ryan’s fault. He called Finn FiFi when they were kids.” Tam held her soapy hands up in defense. “Speaking of the bugger, have you heard from him?”

“Ran out of juice a couple of hours outside Melbourne.” Finn’s voice strained as he attempted to keep his expression as motionless as possible. “But you know Ryan. Nothing fazes him.”

“Let me guess,” Marlee said, hip cocked and a humored twinkle in her eye. “He hitched a lift and is now getting shitfaced with whoever drove him?”

At that, Finn grinned. “You bet.”

“Does Ryan do a lot of stuff like that?” Aiden asked, drying the serving spoons with a flourish.

Tam nodded. “Sure does.”

Adie’s focus remained on the page in front of her. “Complete party animal.”

“Leaves the mess for Finn to clean up, usually. That right?” Marlee cast an eye over to the man in question, who lifted his shoulders in way of a shrug.

“Marlee.” Aiden cleared his throat, finally gaining the courage to ask the very question that had been spinning in his mind all night. “You’ve known Ryan and Finn for a long time?”

Aiden made a conscious effort to mention Ryan as well, as though his curiosity was general and not focused on the man who was taking his modeling job oh so seriously.

“Since they were in nappies.” Marlee took a breath, settling back in her chair. A movement that reminded Aiden of someone gearing up to tell a good story. “I was close friends with their parents, even spent twelve hours in the waiting room while Finn took his sweet time to arrive.”

“It did not take twelve hours,” Finn said without peering toward them. And it might be wishful thinking, but Aiden would like to think that he was suppressing an embarrassed flush.

“No one can talk to Dad,” Millie said, setting only Aiden with a stern glare. “You’re ruining my masterpiece.”

A bit taken aback but not one to question how seriously Millie took her art, Aiden clamped his mouth shut and returned to his task of drying. When Dylan announced that his masterpiece was done, Millie hugged her page to her chest—not ready to unveil.

“Give me a second,” Adie muttered, scribbling furiously.

“Time’s up, Mum,” Dylan said.

“I didn’t get a five-minute warning.”

“This competition doesn’t give warnings,” replied Millie.

“It’s a competition?” Adie let out a drawn-out exhale before dropping her pencil with a flourish. “Okay, okay. I’m ready. On the count of three?”

Everyone started to count down, huddling in close to watch the display. Aiden’s hip knocked against Finn’s shoulder as he stepped closer.

Total mistake. Really.

Adie, Dylan, and Millie turned their drawings around, expectantly awaiting the verdict.

Aiden tilted his head to the side. They sure were something.

Praise erupted from the adults, coos of encouragement over their kids’ artistic expression. A promise from Tam to put them both up on the fridge and a high five from Finn that honestly made Aiden’s heart warm in his chest.

“Millie, I love what you did with the green. Is that my beard?” Finn asked, peering closer at his daughter’s rendition of him.

“No. It’s when you got sick last week and had all those boogers.”

“Thanks for remembering that, sweetheart.” Finn sounded drained in the way only a parent being blasted by their child could.

Millie beamed. “Anytime.”

“Dylan, those hands!” Tam said. “Very realistic.”

“You really got his scar there,” Aiden said with a thoughtful nod. “Is that…blood?”

“Yeah,” replied Dylan. “It’s when FiFi—”

“What do you think of your mum’s drawing, Dyl?” Finn gestured to Adie’s page, forgotten on the table in favor of hyping the kids up.

“You’ve gotten a lot better,” congratulated Dylan, launching himself into Adie’s arms.

“I’m noticing that you didn’t say it’s good,” Adie managed through a warm laugh, holding Dylan close.

“Don’t worry.” Dylan picked up the picture, giving it a wave toward Tam. “It can still go on the fridge, right?”

“Yeah.” Tam stepped away from the sink, arms wet and soapy, to press a noisy kiss to both Dylan and Adie’s cheeks. “Suppose we’ll have the room.”

The exchange was almost too sweet for Aiden, who turned his gaze downward, scratching the back of his neck. Then figured it was probably best for him not to be staring at his crotch for any longer and lifted his head again. Just in time to see Marlee dotingly coax the children over to her, holding them snug by her sides.

“You’re both incredibly talented. So talented, in fact, that I don’t know where your mummies and daddy got you from. Because it’s clearly not inherited.”

“I got it from my mum,” Millie said.

Finn hung his head. “Oh, she’d love to hear that.”

“I got it from a tube,” added Dylan proudly.

Adie choked on—Aiden wasn’t sure what it was, but it was enough to incapacitate her from answering.

“What?” Tam jumped to their defense haughtily. She crossed her arm over her chest as she took in three expressions of “do-we-laugh-is-that-appropriate.” “You try to explain the intricacies of IUI in a child-friendly way.”

Finn poorly disguised a laugh by clearing his throat, and Aiden was back to looking downward.

“Can ours still go on the fridge higher than Adie’s?” Millie asked, oblivious.

“Absolutely,” confirmed Adie.

Happy with the response, Millie and Dylan pushed the pages into Finn’s hands and ran off to get one final game in together before it was time to call it a night.

“I don’t trust my own eyes now,” Finn said once the kids were out of earshot, studying the drawings once again. “Do I look that monstrous?”

Aiden wasn’t sure who the question was directed toward, but he took it upon himself to respond.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. There’s a surprising amount of monster fuckers out there.”

“Cheeky.” Finn laughed. Standing up, he folded the drawings with care before tucking them into his back pocket. “I better get Millie before she gets too energetic. Nightmare to put her to bed.”

“You mean this isn’t Millie being energetic?” asked Aiden as a shrill, delighted shriek echoed through the house.

With a wolfish grin, Finn replied, “Not even close.”

Following the sounds of the squeals, Finn was gone for a few moments before returning with a frown etched into his features.

“They’re asking for a sleepover,” he informed Tam and Adie, who were curled up on the couch.

“You know it’s never a problem,” Adie said, reaching out to squeeze Finn’s hand. “Take the night off.”

“Fuck knows you need it,” said Tam.

Pursing his lips together, Finn said, “I could take the kids to mine?”

“No!” Millie yelled from the next room.

“Go now before she can offend you anymore. And don’t ask about toothbrushes. You know we’re good.” Tam pushed Finn by the small of his back toward the door. “Aiden, I better see you around.”

“Marlee, do you want a lift back?” asked Finn.

“Of course not. I promised the kids a game of Twister.”

“But your hip—”

“Finn Dugal Schultz, you worry about your own hip.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my—”

Aiden narrowed his eyes. “Your middle name is Dugal?”

“I’m going to say good night to Millie.” Finn made a swift exit as Adie heaved herself from the couch.

“Give me your phone.”

Obliging, he handed it over and watched as Adie punched in her number and passed the phone back with a wink. “We’ll hang out soon, yes? Aiden and Adie have to live on.”

“I have a while to go before you’re rid of me,” Aiden said, hands in his pockets.

“That just means we’ll have to go for multiple brunches.”

“Ready?” Finn asked once he’d come back from saying good night to Millie, nodding toward the door.

Biting the inside of his cheek, the reality dawned that he was about to be alone with Finn again. It was just a ride, nothing more.

But those sly remarks and glances from Tam and Adie throughout dinner were weighing heavily on his mind. Normally Aiden would have ignored it, shoved it right to the back of his mind. He’d had Dan’s feelings to think of or his mam to attend to. But this time, he didn’t let himself. He’d made a personal promise that he’d be different here.

Once they were seated—this time in a Wrangler with scuba divers painted on the side—Aiden didn’t hold back.

“You never got to tell me what kind of setup all that was.”

Hand momentarily stilling on the steering wheel, Finn focused on backing out of the driveway before responding. Maybe to think of an appropriate response, or maybe because he was bad at three-point turns. Aiden wouldn’t blame him for the latter; his car back home had a significant dent in the rear for that very reason.

“They think it’s their personal responsibility to get me back on the horse,” Finn said, eyes locked on the road.

“Are you calling me a horse?”

“No. You’re not graceful enough for that.”

Aiden crossed his arms over his chest and settled back in the seat in a way that he hoped disguised the erratic beating in his chest and the burn of his cheeks.

“So they were trying to what? Set us up on a date?”

“Ridiculous, right?” Finn snorted, shaking his head.

“Completely,” he said, ignoring the snide remark. “Like you would be my type.”

Aiden wasn’t sure where that comment came from, but it was out in the open before he could think any better of it. What was it with Aiden saying the first thing that came to mind around this man?

Especially when the first thing was a downright lie.

“That so?” Finn raised a brow. “What’s your type, then?”

Panic surged through Aiden’s veins as he grappled for something clever to respond with. Something witty. But what came out was neither of those things.

“Bald.”

“Bald?” Finn nodded slowly, humming in thought. “I can see why this would be a problem.” He ran his fingers through his thick head of hair, and Aiden hated his instinctive thought of I wonder how soft that feels.

“What’s your type?” Aiden asked, eager to move the conversation on.

“My type,” Finn repeated, pondering. “Short and mouthy. That tends to be my track record.”

Aiden stilled, grateful for the lack of streetlights around the winding roads that disguised his panic. To Finn, everyone was short. And with Finn, Aiden was mouthy. But that didn’t mean there was anything pointed about that comment. A lot of people were short and had a sharp tongue. It wasn’t that unusual.

“Is this a different way back?” Aiden asked, squinting into the darkness.

“There are a couple of ways to get here,” Finn replied, casting his eyes toward him. “Why? Afraid I’m gonna kill you?”

As he rolled his eyes, Aiden’s cheeks grew warm at the reminder of their first less-than-ideal meeting. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

“Do you have any evil exes back home that I need to worry about?”

“No.” Aiden’s voice grew quiet as he shook his head, turning his face toward the window. “No one that would mind. You could probably get away with it.”

Finn was quiet for a moment—enough that Aiden could hear the hitch in his breath that he was terrified to read into.

“Good to know.”

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. They drove along the bumpy roads and eventually up that familiar hill to Ryan’s house that Aiden had become well acquainted with over the past week. Pulling to a stop, neither of them moved.

Aiden hadn’t been aware that he was waiting for Finn to speak until he piped up.

“Listen. I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” A troubled expression crossed his handsome features. “And I don’t want you to think that I orchestrated anything with—”

“Do you want to come inside?” Aiden asked.

If someone were to ask him what made him say it, Aiden had a million and zero answers all at once. It could easily be blamed on a spur of the moment, or that fleeting thought that he’d passed on the last time he sat in the same vehicle as Finn. Likely for the best, considering the lingering scent of churning turmeric on his tongue. He wasn’t sick now, but there was a burn in his chest that felt a hell of a lot like desire.

“No obligations,” he hurriedly said in Finn’s stunned silence. “I just thought—”

“Yes.”

Aiden blinked owlishly. He took in the almost dazed expression that didn’t suit Finn’s rugged features. But once again, Aiden chipped away at that once stoic-badass persona that he had staunchly believed.

“Right now?” said Aiden.

“Unless you had other plans?”

Finn ducked his gaze, recognizing how ridiculous the question was but not at all apologizing for it.

“I’ll have you know that I was going to go home and scratch my arse for the night.”

“That’s gross, and I’m considering rescinding my offer.” He wasn’t, but there was something about Finn that made Aiden want to tease him. That look that Finn got on his face when he did so may have had something to do with it. But Aiden refused to confirm anything.

Aiden got out of the car, waiting by the door for Finn to join him—arse scratching aside, the offer was still well and truly on the table. The only word Aiden could use to describe Finn’s less-than-graceful exit from the jeep was ambling, and a part of him couldn’t help but be smug about it. Soon, standing in front of him was Finn, impossibly tall, and he even had the audacity to seem nervous.

“I don’t do this a lot,” he said quietly.

“Which part?” Aiden replied, just as muted.

“Kissing almost strangers.”

“You haven’t kissed me yet.”

Who was this Aiden? Speaking bravely in the face of the most mind-numbingly attractive man he’d ever seen. Person ever, if he was going to be generous. It was melting his bisexual brain.

“No, I haven’t,” Finn replied, pursing his lips as though unsure who was going to make the first move.

Aiden knew this dance. The will they, won’t they. Dan had guided him through it with ease, had told Aiden about his intentions from the start and kissed him without fear. And if he was going to take something from his time with Dan, then it was that.

He had to make a move, because no one else was going to do it for him.

“Then we’d better fix that.”

If Aiden thought that being in this close proximity with Finn was mind melting, then clearly he hadn’t anticipated what kissing him would feel like.

Finn kissed with his entire body, with a heat that Aiden had never once experienced. And not to say that Aiden hadn’t had his fair share of kisses. As much as his friends back home might have difficulty remembering a time when Aiden and Dan weren’t together, that period in life did exist.

This kiss was toe-curling, spine-tingling, awe-inspiring, and fuck Aiden enjoyed it.

Reaching up to card his fingers through Finn’s hair (even softer than Aiden thought it would be), Aiden pulled Finn deeper into the kiss. Relishing at the low groan in the back of the other man’s throat, he pushed himself closer.

A nest of spiders could have erupted nearby, and Aiden would have been none the wiser.

“Key?” Finn asked between each touch of their lips. An hour could have passed as easily as mere seconds, and Aiden didn’t care. All he wanted was to keep kissing him and feel the scratch of that stubble in places other than his lips.

“Aiden, I really want to take you inside.”

“I…don’t have the key,” Aiden said slowly, voice garbled to his own ears.

“Why don’t you have the key?”

“I may have lost it.”

Finn pulled back, and Aiden refused to admit that he trailed after him with his lips.

“How have you been getting inside?” he asked, tone suspicious.

“The window.” Aiden pointed to the window in question, almost afraid to mention the front door barricade he’d fashioned out of sheer desperation.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Now that was a very fair question that Aiden was more than reluctant to answer. How could he admit to the man he’d just kissed that he was too embarrassed to call him for help again? Not to mention that he’d lost two sets of keys.

“Can we go inside?”

“No.” Finn shook his head, walking back toward the car.

This was it. He’d ruined his chances of… What exactly did he ruin? A rebound fuck? A night to feel like someone else?

“What are you waiting for? Come on.”

Confused, Aiden got back into the car.

“I promised Ryan I’d keep an eye on you and the house,” he said, starting the engine back up. “Making you climb in through the window goes against that. I’ll get another key in the morning.”

Slowly nodding, Aiden moved to put his seat belt on, and they were back on the road. Silence once again enveloped the car, which could only mean one thing. An ample opportunity to overthink each and every little detail that led him to this moment. This wasn’t what Aiden did. He didn’t proposition handsome men, and he certainly didn’t kiss almost strangers in the dark of night. He was the kind of guy to go home early because he had work in the morning.

But wasn’t that the point of this trip? Doing things that Aiden Cole would never be expected to do? Things that he wanted to do, for no other reason than that?

Aiden took a breath. He wanted to kiss Finn again; he wanted to see where this would go. Shouldn’t he be allowed to do what he wanted to, after all the shit he’d been put through?

Aiden placed his hand on Finn’s upper thigh, afraid to look at the man directly but comforted by the stutter in his breath and the soft chuckle that escaped his lips.

“All right.” Finn nodded, rolling his shoulders. “You’ve got it.”