Chapter Seven

Aiden’s arms encircled Finn’s body as they rode toward a mystery breakfast location. He tried to think of anything but Finn’s body pressed against his.

“I bring Millie here after soccer every Tuesday,” Finn said as he parked, once again lingering to help Aiden off. “It’s the only half-decent spot in the area. And I’m not being polite—there’s literally only two other options, and one of them’s a pub.”

“Bet she loves that,” replied Aiden, taking in the cafe before him. It was in a small building, with most of the seating outside. A strong scent of coffee and fried food wafted toward him; Aiden’s stomach gurgled incessantly.

“Their toast will change your life.”

With that, they made their way inside. Finn held open the door for Aiden as he waved to the person behind the counter. Just behind him was a chalkboard, the daily specials scrawled out upon it.

“New friend, Finn?” the guy asked as he approached, hands on his hips and a curious glance toward Aiden. “Or are you finally getting out there again? Thought I’d never see the day.”

Finn visibly floundered, mouth opening and closing without a sound coming out.

“Aiden,” he interjected and offered the server a smile. “I’m staying at Ryan’s place. Finn is kindly showing me around.”

“That’s you?” The server grinned even more broadly now. “Heavens to Betsy, make sure he takes you out on the boat before you leave.”

“The boat?”

“Maybe,” Finn said, avoiding Aiden’s curious gaze. “Aiden is plenty busy.”

“No one’s too busy for the boat,” said the server with a loud laugh, catching a scathing look Finn threw at him. “All right, all right. You know what you want yet?”

“We just got here, Jack. Give us a second.”

“You’re in a right mood this morning,” huffed Jack, casting his eyes to Aiden. “Don’t mind him—he’s a real big softy.”

Somehow, Aiden had difficulty believing that. Nice enough to look out for a stranger, absolutely. But soft? Aiden’s gaze subconsciously ran over the lines of Finn’s face, the small scar just beneath his eye, the breadth of his shoulders and the perpetual downturn of his mouth.

If Finn was a softy, then Aiden needed to reevaluate his understanding of the word.

A ding sounded from the kitchen, and Jack excused himself to deal with the orders.

“You going in headfirst, or do you want some recommendations?” Finn asked, pulling Aiden out of his speculative thought-hole of how on earth this man could be considered soft in any way. Nodding, Aiden had no idea what tangent was in store for him. Finn proceeded to rattle off each thought that he had on every single item on the menu.

“And that brings us to the very worst item on the menu: the turmeric smoothie,” said Finn. “Tastes like rat’s ass.”

“Do you know that from experience?” Aiden said with a smirk.

“Millie likes to try a bit of everything I get. So I get to try the best and worst of everything.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said you go here a lot,” said Aiden once Finn plowed into the juice options.

“It’s her favorite spot in town. Likes her routine, my girl. So Sam’s it’s got to be.”

“Pretty honored to be brought here, then,” replied Aiden.

“You two figure out what you want yet?” asked Jack as he reemerged.

Just to prove that Finn’s opinion on the turmeric smoothie was dramatic, Aiden ordered it alongside vegemite and avocado on toast. Once Jack disappeared into the kitchen, Aiden caught Finn’s incredulous look.

“I know you’re in Australia, but you don’t have to try that shit to experience the country. There’s so many other things you could—”

“Would you believe that I actually like it?” Aiden relished in the gobsmacked expression that crossed his face.

“No, I wouldn’t believe that.” With another furrowed-brow look searching Aiden’s face, Finn jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward a row of tables by the window. “We should probably take a seat.”

Finn led Aiden to a table tucked at the back right by the window. Just over the cusp of greenery, he could spot the brilliant blue of the ocean. It reminded Aiden of his cousin’s wedding in the south of Ireland when he was younger. In this big, fancy hotel that his mam had been complaining through the nose about having to pay for a room in. But he’d never forget that view. The Atlantic Ocean lapping at the rough edges of Cork, the seagulls flying overhead. Kat fussing over her dress in the bathroom, Mam scolding him for letting his suit get creased on the ride over.

“What’s this about a boat?” Aiden asked once they were seated, hands clasped together in front of him.

“Yeah.” Finn gave him an odd look. “I told you about the scuba school, didn’t I?”

“You did.” Aiden blushed, feeling a little silly. He wondered if he could swiftly change the topic to the view. “But I didn’t think of a boat.”

“How else would we get the divers out there?”

“By swimming?”

Finn dissolved into a low rumble of laughter that grew with each passing moment, starting from right in his chest, blossoming bigger and bigger until it was an actual snort of a laugh.

“So I’m gonna get people to pay me to swim kilometers just to get to the dive site?” said Finn once he started to recover.

Aiden hung his head in his hands, trembling with the giggles that had possessed his entire body.

“I’m a scuba novice, all right?” Aiden defended, voice light. “Hell, I’ve only swam in the sea once.”

“Once?”

“That’s not that weird of a thing!”

“It really is.” Finn paused, leaning forward, hands clasped on the table in front of him. “So what happened?”

“What do you mean what happened?” asked Aiden, brow raised.

“You said you did it once. Something must have happened to stop you from doing it again.”

His eyes met the molten brown of Finn’s, spotted the shift in them in real time. From light and teasing to something more intense. He was interested. When was the last time someone had looked at him like that? Like what he had to say was important?

“I went to the beach with my mam and sister one day,” Aiden began, tapping his fingers against the table as he spoke. It was just after the divorce—their da hadn’t been seen in weeks, and the beach was an attempt to get their mind off things.

“The weather took a turn for the worse, but we’d driven so far to get there we decided to stick it out.”

Aiden could remember how cold and wet the sand was beneath his bare feet, the weight of the rain beating down on them, the sound of Kat calling him farther out in the water.

“Then we heard thunder, and Mam told us to get back to the car. But I was too far out to hear her—I was trying to get to Kat.”

Kat who was there one moment, fifteen years old and water up to her collarbones, waving him toward her to hurry up. The next, she was gone—back on the shore—and all he could see was murky gray water splashing up to greet him. Clouding his vision, filling his lungs.

“You can probably figure out the rest.” Aiden chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Some guy out fishing spotted me and brought me back to shore. Never stepped foot in the sea again.”

“Christ,” Finn breathed, an unreadable expression crossing his features. “Sounds like a nightmare.”

“Felt like one, too.” Eager to get past reflecting on a near-death experience, even if that expression was still on Finn’s face, Aiden asked chirpily, “So what do you recommend instead?”

“Not drowning next time you go swimming?”

“I meant what to do around here except swimming. But I’ll keep that in mind.”

Not that he had any intention of going near the water. A bit of sunbathing on the beach here, sure. Maybe even paddling a little bit—but nothing above the knee, obviously.

Finn opened his mouth. “I—”

“All right, fellas. We’ve got a vegemite toast, turmeric smoothie, black coffee, and the waffles.” Jack laid each steaming plate down in front of them. “Anything else I can do you for?”

“I’m all right, mate,” said Finn, eyes only briefly removed from Aiden. “Thanks.”

“Same here.” Aiden smiled politely. “Everything looks great.”

“Sweet.” Jack took a step back from the table. “Shout if you need anything.”

Aiden rubbed his hands together, paying no mind to the sleeve of his shirt falling from his shoulder. He had nothing to prove here; Finn already had a terrible opinion of him. What was looking a little sloppy going to do?

He couldn’t help but notice Finn’s contempt toward the smoothie, huffing out a soft laugh as he said, “It can’t be that bad. Wise up.”

“It’s fucking disgusting.”

Aiden lifted the glass with a self-assured nod. “I’m sure it’s delicious.”

The smoothie was not delicious. It burned and clawed its way back up Aiden’s throat on the first sip, but he managed to keep it down. The moment his eyes locked with Finn smugly sipping on his coffee, he knew he had to finish it regardless.

“If you get sick on the way back, I’ll charge it to your room.”

“What’re you talking about? I’ll be fine.”

He was not fine. Aiden knew that from the moment he’d finished his last mouthful. He knew it as he stood up to leave, argued with Finn over who would cover the bill, and he especially knew it as he swung his leg over Finn’s bike and his stomach lurched as they set off.

Five minutes later, he furiously tapped on Finn’s shoulder to pull over on the side of the road before promptly spilling his guts into some lush green bushes. Hands braced against his knees, hunched over and heaving, Aiden faintly heard Finn singing the Bee Gees’ “Stayin Alive” in a low, off-key voice.

“Not an appropriate soundtrack right now,” Aiden managed weakly, peering at Finn jamming out against the side of his bike.

“If it drowns out the sound of you gagging, then it fits the moment just fine.”

Aiden was subsequently too preoccupied with heaving to even think of any clever rebuttal. Once he felt recovered enough to get back on a moving vehicle, Finn thankfully moved at a snail’s pace, flipping off a fellow driver who honked as they passed.

“Are they one of the wild drivers you told me about?” Aiden asked, resting against Finn’s back.

“Yeah.” Finn may have chuckled, but it was difficult to tell over the thrum of the engine and the blood roaring in his ears. “That’d be one.”

The rest of the ride to Ryan’s house was agonizing. Aiden didn’t open his eyes until the bike came to a resounding stop.

“Do you need help inside?” Finn asked, a touch hesitantly.

“I know you think I’m completely dysfunctional,” muttered Aiden, pushing himself from Finn’s back. “But I am able to walk five feet to the front door.”

“The last time you told me you were fine, you decidedly weren’t.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Aiden waved a hand in dismissal, limbs heavy as he climbed from the bike and rummaged around in his pockets for the key—coming up short.

“Here.” Finn held out his palm, a single key resting there. “I’ll pick it up before you leave.”

“What if there’s an emergency?”

Finn’s lips twitched at the edges. “I’ll climb through a window.”

Deciding that was good enough of a reassurance, Aiden nodded and turned on his heel. Giving the corner of the doors a cursory glance in case another spider decided to nest there, he unlocked it and took a step inside.

Hesitating, he turned back to Finn. “See? Managed it just fine.”

“So you did.”

Aiden wondered if he should ask him inside for a drink, but the moment that thought crossed his mind he immediately brushed it off. Finn had already subjected himself to Aiden’s company for long enough, being way more courteous than any host had to be. But there was still a little voice in his mind telling him to be spontaneous and invite him inside.

The last time he was spontaneous, it resulted in him being drunk on a roadside, making an arse of himself in front of the very man he expected to…what?

What exactly did Aiden expect here?

Ducking his head, Aiden called, “Thanks. Again.” Then he offered an awkward wave and shut the door behind him.