“She’s a goddamn escape artist.” Finn sighed, unwinding Buttercup from Nolan’s arm and neck with a calm gentleness that just made butterflies swarm in Nolan’s stomach all over again every time Finn brushed against him.
“But I think she likes you,” he added as he coaxed Buttercup back into her tank.
“Yeah?” Nolan asked, surprised. He wasn’t sure what a python looked for in people, but he couldn’t imagine himself having it.
“You just let her soak up your warmth,” Finn explained. “Without tensing up or panicking or anything. She likes that.”
Before Nolan could respond, his stomach growled loudly. In addition to skipping lunch, he’d also skipped breakfast, nerves getting the better of him.
Now, he realized he shouldn’t have worried. This had actually turned out to be the most relaxing part of his day.
Finn was easy to be around.
“I could eat too,” Finn said before Nolan had to explain himself. “It’s been a long day.”
“If you’re tired, we can cut this short,” Nolan said, but the moment the words were out, he regretted them. Thelastthing he wanted to do was leave early.
On the other hand, though, he didn’t want to make Finn’s life hard.
“Nope. I’ll take you for a walk under the stars after dinner. And, uh. Find you a jacket.”
“I’ve got one in the car,” Nolan said. “I was a boy scout for two weeks. I guess thebe preparedthing stuck.”
“Two weeks?”
Nolan smiled wryly. “Still can’t tie a knot to save my life.”
“My dad fished,” Finn said, double-checking Buttercup’s tank and then turning to head for the door. “So knots, I can handle. Donotask me to pitch a tent, though.”
Nolan had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.
“I can’t even think of a way to rephrase that. Not a better one, anyway.”
“Erect a tent?” Nolan offered as innocently as he could, barely stopping himself from bursting into giggles.
“Sounds like a job for two people,” Finn responded, whirling around to wink at Nolan as he opened the door of the shed again, a blast of cooler air blowing in.
Which did absolutely nothing for the heat creeping up Nolan’s cheeks.
Finn wasdefinitelyflirting with him.
And all it took was not being acompletedork for maybe half an hour. Why hadn’t he tried this before?
“I wouldn’t know,” Nolan said. “We didn’t get as far as tents.”
Finn already knew his most embarrassing secret, anyway. Gavin had just blurted it right out in front of him.
Nolan had barely been able to appreciate how good Finn looked without a shirt on because of his embarrassment. But so far, Finn had been extremely cool about it, even going so far as to get Gavin to back off. Despite not having known him long, Nolan felt like he couldtrustFinn.
“No shame in that,” Finn responded, warmth in his voice. They definitely weren’t talking about literal tents anymore. “Firstly, camping isn’t for everyone. Secondly, it’s more fun with someone special. In my humble opinion.”
“Yeah?” Nolan asked, hating that he didn’tknow. He wasn’t even sure he counted as gay if he hadn’t had sex at all yet.
“Well, I know one or two people who think different, but yeah. That’s whatIthink, anyway. But I’m not exactly an expert myself.”
For whatever reason, that was comforting. The idea that Finn wasn’t drowning in men made Nolan feel just a little better about himself. Maybe classic stunning good looks weren’teverything.
Although for Finn, it was probably more of a conscious choice than a lack of options.
