Roderick looked at Finn with hate in his eyes."I'm sorry."
Finn said nothing.Roderick turned to leave, but Bevin stopped him.
"Wait."He picked up the card from the table."You forgot this," he said and threw it at Roderick, hitting him square in the face.Roderick caught it before it could hit the floor.
Roderick huffed and hurried away, leaving Finn alone with an angry Bevin.
"What the hell, Finn?Don't tell me he's been bothering you?"
"Only when we happen to bump into each other," Finn said honestly.
"You better tell my dad, or I will," Bevin said, echoing what Nova had suggested, but this time Finn's response was different.
"I will."He sat back down and pushed his unfinished coffee to the side."Let's not think about him.You promised me a day of fun," he said when Bevin sat down, looking like he wanted to dive deeper into the conversation.
Finn didn’t want to talk about Roderick.He saw him as harmless and figured he would soon grow tired of whatever fantasy he had cooked up in his head.
"Dinner and a movie, how's that?"Bevin asked.
"It's a date," Finn agreed, smiling.
"Don't let my dad hear you say that.I can't stand any more of that bastard's glares."He shivered."Clingy obsessive bastard."He leaned in close as if telling Finn a secret."I'm telling you now, don't get pregnant.If you think he won't leave your side now, wait until you've got a bun in the oven."
Finn touched his stomach, thinking of the possibility of carrying Prince's child.Years ago, until his graduation, his only focus had been getting the best education possible, graduating, and making money.Family was supposed to come much later in life, when he found the person he would fall in love with.Yet Finn had not thought all his dreams would happen sooner than he expected.
Although his company was still in its infancy, it was growing by leaps and bounds.His bank account was not as meager as it used to be, and even though he still watched how and what he spent, he didn’t worry quite as much as he once had.
Not to mention he had surrounded himself with good people who looked out for him rather than held him back, and he was in love, not lust but genuine love that filled not only his soul but his heart.So if children were the next step, so be it.Even though he thought all of that, it was not what he said to Bevin.
"Hey, your grandfather and grandmother were married for a reason."
"True, but he's still clingy," Bevin grumbled.
"You'll be the same way when you fall in love."
"Smack me if that shit happens," Bevin said in disgust.
"Which part?The clingy or the falling in love?"
"Both."
Finn shook his head, chuckling.He could not wait to meet the person who captured his friend's heart, because he was going to tease him to hell and back.
"That's a bet," Finn said, feeling lighter already, the altercation with Roderick already fading from his mind.
Prince chuckledas he listened to Lucas retell a story he had heard many times, one about them teasing Christen in high school.They were sitting at a table that seemed small but was large enough to accommodate the big Hamilton family and the friends they had acquired over the years.In true Hamilton fashion, they took in the strays and the lonesome, making them part of the crew.Some faces were familiar to Prince, and some were not.
"I got you guys back, didn't I?"Christen said, leaning into his husband's arms, making Prince miss Finn even more.He couldn’t wait to get home to him.
"Oh, I know that look," Marilyn said, pointing at Prince.
"What look?"Prince asked.
"The look of love.So tell me, where is he?Why didn't he come?"
"Mom, lay off," Christen said, though Prince could see in his eyes that he was just as curious.
"Oh, he's a delightful young man," his father piped in proudly."Smart, responsible, and he has my stamp of approval."
