8
Even though Drew had already seen how messy his apartment could be, Finn spent some time tidying up after work so the place would look halfway decent—or at least less cluttered. He’d texted Drew earlier to see if he was free that evening, and when Drew said yes, Finn extended an invitation.
My place around 1900? I’ll provide the pizza if you bring the beer.
Drew replied with thumbs-up and beer mug emojis, which Finn took to mean he was in favor of the plan.
Finn wanted an evening for just the two of them for a couple of reasons. For one thing, he wasn’t great company the last time they were together. He’d been too preoccupied with worrying about Joe to give Drew his undivided attention. For another, Drew had witnessed Finn’s declaration of love, and Finn wanted to check in and make sure everything was okay.
The extra-large supreme meat pizza arrived a little before seven o’clock, and Finn slid the box into his preheated oven to keep it warm until Drew arrived. He busied himself with getting plates, napkins, and a bottle opener ready while he waited for the doorbell to ring.
Just after seven, the doorbell chimed as expected, and Finn opened to find Drew there, holding up a six pack of Guinness. He was dressed in jeans and a black leather jacket, and he smiled widely, the expression set off by his close-trimmed beard. “I figured Guinness for the Irishman, eh?”
“Always a good choice.” Finn slid his hand around to the back of Drew’s neck and drew him into a lingering kiss.
When they finally parted, Drew grinned wickedly. “Too much of that and it won’t be pizza on my mind.”
“Don’t worry, dessert is on the menu,” Finn said as he stepped aside to let Drew in. “Have a seat. The pizza’s here, and I’ve got pint glasses if you’d rather not drink from the bottle.”
“Sure, a glass would be good.” Drew moved over to the sofa, sinking down on it with a sigh. “Feels good to sit down. Dead-eye has been running my ass ragged in the gym. He claims that the desert made me ‘soft’. I told him it wasn’t the desert, it was the ten years I’ve got on him.”
Finn let out a derisive snort as he headed into the kitchen. “I can provide a good reference when it comes to proving you aren’t soft.” He glanced over his shoulder at Drew with faux coyness. “Not in any sense of the word.”
Drew laughed. “You’re helping to keep me young. You have the sex drive of a horny sixteen-year-old.”
“I can’t argue with facts.” Finn got a couple of pint glasses and retrieved the pizza, setting everything up on the coffee table in front of Drew. “Eat up,” he said, flipping back the lid of the box to reveal a pizza laden with sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and beef. “You’re going to need the protein later.”
“That sounds promising.” Drew reached for a napkin and didn’t hesitate to scoop up a slice of pizza. He bit into it, closing his eyes and chewing with a contented expression on his face. “God, I missed pizza. My waistline didn’t, but I sure did.”
Finn popped the caps off a couple of bottles of beer and poured one into a glass before offering it to Drew. “Between me and Dead-eye, you’ll work off the pizza in no time.”
“Let me just say, for the record, I prefer your work-out regime to Dead-eye’s.” Drew accepted the beer with a nod of thanks. “I think his real problem is that he was a Navy Seal and I was an army grunt. He has to show off.”
Finn laughed as he plated a slice of pizza for himself and settled on the couch next to Drew. “He survived Seal training. He’s earned the right to flex. Joe’s a Seal, too. They’re tough motherfuckers.”
“Yeah, that they are.” Drew scooted closer to Finn so that their shoulders touched. “Speaking of Joe… he’s not going to show up at my place and murder me in my sleep, is he?”
“He’d never murder you in your sleep,” Finn said, nudging Drew playfully. “He’d want you awake so you’d know who was coming for you. But no, you’re safe for now.”
Drew let out a snort of amusement. “Oh, that’ssocomforting. How long do I have? Does he plan to try intimidation first? I swear when he looked at me in the gym yesterday, I got the feeling that he was wishing me off the face of the earth. He’s got that cold, murderous stare down to a science.”
Finn had seen that expression on Joe’s face countless times while they were on missions, but he’d never had it directed at him—and never wanted to.
“Joe can be… intense,” he said. “I’m not going to pretend he’s happy about the situation, but he’s accepted it. I think telling him how I felt helped.”
“Good.” Drew leaned over to brush a kiss to Finn’s cheek. “You seem much happier, which makes me happy.”
“I’m glad he’s not shutting me out anymore,” Finn said, nestling against Drew’s side as he took a couple of bites of pizza. “It feels good being honest with him about how I feel, too. We had a nice talk and settled some things.” He glanced at Drew. “That’s one reason why I wanted to see you tonight.”
“I kind of figured.” Drew turned slightly so he could face Finn and took a sip from his beer. “Honesty usually is best. You might have avoided the bad feelings if you’d both just fessed up years ago. As far as you and I go… I guess since I didn’t get a ‘Dear Drew’ call, we’re good?”
“We’re good,” Finn said softly. He put his plate aside and rested his hand on Drew’s thigh, wanting the comfort of contact. “He’s willing to tolerate you being my lover because he wants me to be happy. You have that in common,” he added with a wry smile. “I promised I’d balance the time I spend with both of you as best I can, and we both promised not to keep secrets from each other anymore. If this is going to work, we all need to communicate honestly.” He drew in a deep breath, bracing himself to take the next step. “Which leads me to the next thing I wanted to say.” Finn tightened his fingers on Drew’s leg and gazed at him somberly. “Maybe I’m rushing, but what we have is good and special, and I haven’t felt anything like it since Joe. So I want you to know I’m falling in love with you.”
Drew smiled and then leaned in to kiss Finn, sliding his hand behind Finn’s head and threading his fingers into Finn’s hair. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against Finn’s. “I think I’m falling for you, too. You’re different from anyone I’ve ever known, and you knocked this old merc on his ass from the moment I saw you.”
Finn let out a shaky laugh, relieved his confession hadn’t been unwelcome, and he let all the warmth and affection he felt show in his smile. “Now I’m officially out of secrets, and we’re all on the same page.” He rested his hand on Drew’s cheek and closed his eyes briefly. “I really want this to work,” he murmured, more to himself than to Drew.
“I think it could, at least as far as I’m concerned.” Drew sighed. “I think a lot will depend on your Joe, and how he ends up feeling about me. How do you want me to handle it? Should I try to make friends?”
“I think the best thing you can do right now is give him plenty of space,” Finn said. Joe didn’t like being pushed, and in this case, it would make him dig in his heels harder—or punch Drew in the face. “He wants to pretend you don’t exist, and for now, I think we should let him. He needs time to adjust to the new normal. Maybe down the road he’ll realize you aren’t a threat and be more open to the idea of meeting you. But right now… hard no.”
Drew rolled his eyes. “He’s in denial. Got it. I don’t think that’s terribly healthy on his part, but I’ll respect both your wishes. He’s got to be aware that since we all work for the same company, he’s going to have to face it sooner or later.” He raised a brow at Finn. “Unless you want me to leave Hercules Security. I don’t want to, but I don’t want to make this harder than it has to be on you. As far as I’m concerned, Joe can just put on his big boy undies and deal with me professionally if necessary, but I don’t want you to be stressing about it.”
“Don’t you dare leave,” Finn said, scowling at the mere thought. “I’m willing to give Joe some space and time because this is all new territory for him, and he’s making some major adjustments for me. You’re right, it’s not sustainable in the long term, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with a big-ass elephant in the room when I’m with him. At least if you’re around at work, he’ll have to face reality at some point.”
“Sounds good.” Drew leaned in for another kiss. “Enough about Joe for one night. If he can pretend I don’t exist, I feel fine with limiting the fucks I give about his tender feelings. I do have sympathy for him, but I’m not going to let him pillory me, either. So… pizza and beer, then I’ll see what I can do to make you walk funny for a couple of days. How does that sound?”
“That sounds like my idea of a perfect evening,” Finn said, and he leaned over to retrieve his plate, eating his pizza with far more gusto.
The situation wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was a lot better. All three of them were on the same page now, and maybe… eventually… one day, Joe would move from denial to acceptance. Finn didn’t dare hope the three of them would end up happy together—that was a pipe dream stemming from his deepest fantasies—but as long as he never had to choose between them, he would be happy with what he had.
