14
Curled up on the couch next to Finn, sharing a bowl of microwave popcorn and a terrible straight-to-TV sci-fi movie, Nolan couldn’t remember ever being happier in his life.
“Does this count as a date?” Finn asked, moving his arm so it was laying along the back of the couch.
Butterflies started fluttering in Nolan’s stomach as he realized that Finn was preparing to put an arm around him. He stayed as still as physically possible, vibrating with excitement at the thought.
He still couldn’t believe his luck. How did a guy like Finn haveanyinterest in him?
They hadn’t even really had sex yet. Mutual handjobs didn’t reallycount, although Nolan wouldn’t have said no to doing that again.
Although, not right now. Things were changing quickly between them, and he was glad that Finn wanted to take a break instead of going straight back to bed.
He could have lived with having more Saturdays exactly like this.
“Do youwantit to count as a date?” Nolan responded after a few seconds too long, too busy focusing on how close Finn was and how good that felt.
Finn shifted his weight, and as predicted, dropped his arm so it was wrapped around Nolan’s shoulders.
Nolan’s heart clenched in his chest, and he had to bite his lip to stop an embarrassing squeal of excitement escaping him.
Although, he got the impression Finn wouldn’t reallymind. Finn seemed to be okay with him being a dork. Hell, he seemed tolikeit.
Things had changed when Nolan stopped trying to be cool around him. That could have been a coincidence, but it didn’t feel like one. Hard as it was to believe, Nolan was starting to think that Finn actually liked him for who he was.
“Would it be afirstdate?” Finn asked. “Because, uh. Traditionally the first date is where I explain that I don’t actually have any money or prospects and that I’m not giving up my job, and also that I’ll eventually walk out on a date to save an animal instead. Y’know. Get it out of the way.”
“Noted,” Nolan said. “But I’m coming with you if you need to rescue something.”
He got the impression this was important to Finn in some way, but he wasn’t exactly sure how he should respond. Was he just supposed to say that all that was okay with him?
Because it was. More than okay, it was kind of half Finn’s appeal. He was a good, kind man who was smart enough to get through the animal equivalent of medical school and had chosen to use that knowledge to save wild animals for very little money. Not that Nolan had any idea what he got paid, but he’d seen the sanctuary. No one was making their fortune there. That wasn’t thepoint.
Finn was doing what Nolan wasn’t brave enough to do. He’dalwayswanted to use his skills to help people.
“There’s a program a little way outside of town,” Nolan said, figuring it couldn’t hurt to tell Finn this. “Where they bring disadvantaged kids in for all kinds of classes. They can’t find a coding instructor, and they haven’t been able to for a while. It pays… like a non-profit usually pays. Maybe a little worse, I think. Anyone who’s good enough to teach could make triple in their first year, and I make almost five times what they can pay. But if Icould, I’d do it in a heartbeat. You get to make a difference, and I wish I could.”
“If you don’t mind me asking…”
“Why can’t I?” Nolan finished the question for Finn. “Gavin, I guess. I can’t leave him to fend for himself. He built his company from the ground up and I’d never deny that, but I don’t think it’d last long without me and Rita.”
“Rita?” Finn asked.
“My sister. The one who insisted I wore a really tight t-shirt to our first… date-like encounter.”
“Date-like encounter?” Finn repeated, laughter in his voice.
“Shut up,” Nolan said, blushing. He hadn’t been able to think of a better description by the time he got to the end of the sentence.
“You’ve got a way with words,” Finn said mock-seriously, and Nolanstilldidn’t mind him teasing. It felt affectionate coming from Finn.
“I took a class on poetry once,” Nolan responded.
“Poetry?” Finn asked. “Really?”
Nolan shrugged. “There was a cute boy. I learned a lot, actually. Not so much from the class, but about never dating poets. Also that I kinda like e. e. cummings.”
“The sky was candy luminous,” Finn said, and that was enough to make Nolan turn his head to look at him.
