The look on Elena’s face was unreadable.
“That was weird,” Miguel stated, eloquently summarizing the previous minute.
Finn realized there was no recovering from this. It was time to flee. “Well, should we head out?” He asked, attempting to appear casual.
Elena nodded, clearly eager to move past the awkward moment. "Right. Of course." She turned to Miguel. "Don't stay up too late. And actually eat the food I left, not just pizza."
Miguel rolled his eyes. "I won’t spend five hours playing Xbox either.”
As they headed for the door, Finn caught Miguel watching him with an expression that was too knowing for comfort. He might only be twelve, but he'd seen right through Finn.
Worse, Finn suspected Elena had seen it too.
ELENA
Elena had never given much thought to where Finn lived. In her mind, he simply existed in the lab, materializing each morning with his precisely organized notes and disappearing at night to... somewhere? She'd never asked, had never pictured him in a domestic setting with mundane concerns like grocery shopping. Yet here they were, climbing the stairs to his third-floor apartment and Elena found herself unexpectedly nervous about crossing into his private world.
"It's not much," Finn said as they reached his door, keys jingling softly in his hand. "But it's close to the lab."
Of course it was. Proximity to work would be his primary criteria. Elena found herself mentally preparing for what she might see behind this door. She imagined that it was a former laboratory that was converted to an apartment. It probably smelled like hand sanitizer. He would have one plate, one fork, one knife, and one cup. A spoon would have been too much. A bowl? Absolutely not. There definitely wouldn’t be any art or decorations of any kind. There was no purpose to items like that.
Finn opened the door and immediately apologized for the mess. However, the ‘mess’ was a pillow that was slightly out of place on his couch. He fixed it and offered her a water before excusing himself to his bedroom.
Now that she was alone, it was time to snoop. The first thing she noticed about his living room was the plants. She counted them and there was twelve. None of them appeared to be fake, and they were all somehow thriving. This made no sense to Elena. Finn spent more time in the lab than she did, how in the world did he manage to keep twelve plants of different varieties alive? Then she noticed the art. There were a few pieces hung up on his living room walls. They wereminimalist, like Finn. But they added some warmth to the place.
Elena moved to the record player and accompanying record collection, curious what music lived in the mind of a man who seemed to surprise her at every turn. She crouched, flipping through the albums. He had everything from classic rock to R&B. She looked for a while and found it, an Alanis Morissette record. He seemed to like her.
She heard the sound of water running from the hallway, and then a door opened. Elena rose, drifting toward the sound. The hallway was short, leading to what must be the bedroom and bathroom. The bathroom door was closed, but the bedroom door stood partially open, light spilling into the hallway.
She told herself she was just looking, just curious about this newly revealed side of her research assistant. Just gathering data, in her own way. Elena turned to head back to the living room, not wanting to be caught, when movement through the partially open door caught her eye.
Finn stood with his back to the door, dress shirt off, reaching for something in the closet. Elena froze, unable to look away. Again, none of this made sense. How could he possibly be this muscular considering the amount of time he spent in the lab and apparently caring for his plants? She decided she wasn’t going to question it. Better to accept that sometimes there aregoodthings in this world.
He turned slightly, giving her a new view of his broad shoulders, defined chest, and flat stomach. The good things were showing themselves tonight, and she allowed herself to stare for a moment longer.
Elena stepped back hastily, heart hammering against her ribs. She retreated to the living room, settling onto the couch with what she hoped looked like casual composure, though her pulse raced and her skin felt too warm. She shouldn’t have beenlooking. It wasn’t her business. Not her business at all wondering what those arms might feel like.
"Sorry for the wait."
Elena jumped, looking up to find Finn standing in the doorway. He was now fully dressed in a perfectly fitted dark suit with a white shirt beneath. The universe gifted her another good thing today. All she could think about was the contrast between the formal exterior and what lay beneath. "No problem," she managed, her voice steady. "You clean up nicely."
He blushed at that. "Thank you. I don't wear this often."
"Well, you should," she said, then immediately regretted it. Too personal, too appreciative.
She was about to suggest they leave when she noticed his tie was slightly askew. "Your tie's a little..." she gestured vaguely.
"Oh." He looked down, fumbling with it awkwardly.
"Here, let me." The words were out before she could stop them. She stepped closer, close enough that she had to rise up on her tiptoes to reach the knot properly. Her fingers brushed against his collar as she adjusted the silk, and she could feel the warmth radiating from his skin beneath the fabric.
"There you go," she said softly, her hands lingering a moment longer than necessary before she looked up at his face.
He had that look again. The same one from the coffee shop, from their dance. Something that made her pulse quicken despite herself.
"Thanks," he said, his voice rougher than before. "Should we go?"
"Yes. Don't want to be late."
