Something wet and pink splatters all over me, soaking me from head to boot, with the excess splashing on Finn’s lower half. “What the fuck!” I blurt out, and when I wipe off my eyes, I see that I’m covered in glittery paint.
Globs of sparkling pink goop fall to the sidewalk.
“The body paint for the bear wrestling match!” the man says, distressed, as he scrambles to his feet. He grabs the empty tub and holds it out. “Quick! Can you save any?”
I stare at him. “Are you serious?”
Finn laughs. “I think it’s a lost cause,” he says as he brushes paint off his pants and the bottom of his shirt.
“Yikes,” a passing woman says. “Glitter paint? You can never totally clean up glitter paint. You’ll be finding glitter for months.”
I wipe more paint out of my hair. “Perfect,” I grumble. “Just what I wanted today.”
The man rights his bicycle. “I’m sorry,” he says. “Truly.” He slaps his hand to his forehead, leaving a pink smear. “What are the bears going to say?” he blurts out before riding away.
Finn and I look at each other. He busts out laughing again, and him finding the humor in this absurdity allows me to see it, too. I chuckle and shake off my boots.
“This is so much worse than a butterfly on my nose,” I say.
“No offense, but pink isn’t really your color,” he replies, and then strikes a pose. “I can pull it off, though,” he adds, and paint drips to the sidewalk from his pants.
“Come on,” I say, as I gesture over my shoulder. “This is my apartment. There’s an entrance through the rear. You can clean up inside.”
“Oh! Thanks.”
“We’ve been glitter bombed.” I shift my weight, and paint squelches in my boots. “Even I wouldn’t abandon you like this.”
Finn does a little dance, shaking more of the paint off his pants. “Chivalry accepted,” he jokes, and I lead him around to the back of the building.
It would be wrong of me to leave him paint-soaked while I go to clean myself up. Only decent thing to do is to invite him inside. He came over and suggested a truce, anyway, so it’s right for me to make a gesture in return.
“I’ve got the basement unit here,” I say as we enter the backyard. “The landing inside is private.” After shaking some more paint onto the walkway, I open the door. “I’ll get towels, and you’re welcome to use the shower inside.”
Finn nods as he gives me a funny look, and I tear my eyes away. When I reach my apartment door, I hesitate, not wanting to drag all that glittery paint inside. “I’ll just, uh…” I awkwardly pull off my shirt as I kick my boots to the side, then remove my socks, too. I’d strip naked if I were alone, but instead, I leave my paint-soaked jeans on as I hurry inside.
At least the apartment is tidy, I think. I’d hate for him to see it a mess.
When I return with a stack of towels, Finn is down to his boxer briefs, and his wet clothes are in a plastic bag he found. His warm skin is streaked and splattered with pink glitter on his legs and hips, and he looks down at himself with a laugh.
“I feel like a faerie,” he says.
I glance at myself, mainly just so I don’t stare at how pretty he is. “Or a vampire,” I add, and can’t help but recall my story with MorningEnthusiast.
“Glittery vampires. I’m surprised you’ve read those books,” Finn jokes, obviously thinking of other stories instead of my secret fantasies he’s never read. “Considering how important the love triangle is. I remember you hated the one inGalaxy Demons.”
I snort as I hand him a towel. “Read them and saw the movies, as a matter of fact.”
“And what did you think?”
I shrug. “Fun enough. But I prefer Anne Rice for sexy vampires.”
“On that,” Finn says, “we can agree.”
I rub myself with the towels while Finn does the same, each of us dripping on the tile floor. Since he’s stripped down to his underwear, and considering we’ve already seen each other naked, I push aside my doubts and kick off my pants.
I steal a glance at him, and catch him doing the same to me.
“Will you party around town today?” he asks.
