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I snort at that. If it’s not, what’s he going to do about it? Put us all up in a hotel for an indefinite amount of time? Either way, it’s a nice gesture, so I tell him I’ll keep him updated. As soon as I send it, Jax stands and Finn gathers up my bags. “I can carry them you know,” I offer as he slings both of them over his shoulder. “Especially the pink one.”
“Please, I look damn good in pink.”
He’s right. He does. I love it when men wear pink. Confidence is so damn sexy.
And there I go thinking everything about Finn is perfect. I got it bad. I’m itching to talk with Jaz so she can talk me down, but I have a feeling she’d just be feeding my head with the exact opposite thoughts.
Finn and I follow Jax down the bus stairs and onto a slab of concrete in front of a bus stop that’s littered with graffiti and discarded waste. Sometimes, I don’t even see the trash anymore. It’s just so commonplace in the Heights that seeing a perfectly manicured bus stop might make me pull up short rather than one that looks like all the others. “It’s just a block up this way,” Finn explains without me having to ask where we’re going next. I give him a grateful smile. My stomach tightens in agitated anticipation. I’ve only lived in two places my whole life, and beyond that, I barely know these guys. My brain keeps trying to warn me that this is going to be awkward as fuck, no matter if Finn looks like a damn supermodel.
The broken sidewalks and ramshackle houses barely register as the evening air pricks the skin on my arms. At this point, I’m just looking forward to getting inside before I freeze. Up ahead, Jax stops. I can’t see around his big, square shoulders, but when Finn pulls back on my arm and keeps his grip on me, I’m guessing whatever Jax stopped for is something to be concerned about.
A car door slams, and I inch closer to Finn. Just because I think my brother is being paranoid about this threat doesn’t mean I’m a dumbass. None of us move, and my heartbeat is so loud in my ears I can’t even use my senses to recognize a threat.
“It’s Dempsey,” a voice finally calls out.
The three of us immediately relax, and I step around Jax to get a glimpse of my brother’s second. The dark night hides his face until his shadow moves under the light of the streetlamp.
“I just wanted to make sure you guys got here okay. Would one of you mind taking Colleen inside?”
Jax and Finn stare at each other and share an unspoken conversation. Finn ends up steering me around the two big brutes on the sidewalk and up a small concrete path to a single-family house. I blink at it. It’s not new by any means, but it’s not rundown like the majority of the housing surrounding it either. It even appears as if it’s recently received a fresh coat of paint. The light above the door illuminates contrasting wood-colored planks. Some aged and worn, others brand new as if they’re in the middle of renovating the place.
The stairs are solid under my feet as I climb them. Finn takes keys from his pocket, swings open the storm door, and unlocks the interior wood one. He pushes it open and gestures for me to enter first. The interior light flicks on as I take a step inside, and I’m immediately taken back to the house I grew up in.
A lot of the single-family houses in the Heights are old relics. Beautiful in their time but age and disuse have them fading away to rotten wood shambles. This one, though, has been taken care of. The old world, almost Victorian charm, greets me in the dark cherry trim and columns that separate the living room from an original formal dining room. A stairway opens up in front of me with the same dark, red-tinted wood moving up and then turning out of sight.
A jingling rings through the house, and a dog comes prancing toward us. I make a shocked sound in the back of my throat and immediately drop to my knees. “You have a dog?” My voice goes up a few octaves as I stroke the short hair of the dog who immediately nuzzles his head into my palm.
“That’s Maxie,” Finn says, and I don’t have to look to tell there’s a grin on his face just by the sound of his words. “He’s a mutt.” Leaning over, he pats the dog’s head, and the canine, in turn, eats it up. “He was a stray on the street. I had to have him, much to my brother’s dismay. If you hear him grumbling about dog hair, just ignore him and hold your hands over Maxie’s ears. My poor baby, huh?” he coos, stroking the dog’s fur behind his head.
The dog licks his hand, and then walks his way up my thighs to slobber over my cheek. My heart melts. Cole and I had a dog when we were kids, but we never got another one after the poor thing passed. I would have one by now if it weren’t for the apartment living and Jaz, who’s allergic.
“I know you said mutt, but do you know what kind?”
“The vet thinks he’s a beagle mixed with terrier because the little fucker—and I mean that affectionately—can be stubborn as all hell.”
I laugh. Right now with the little thing eating up all my snuggles, I can’t imagine what Finn means by that. He seems like such a sweetie.
Standing, Finn whistles and pats his leg. Maxie jumps off my thighs to follow him through the living room, so I get to my feet and trail after them both. Finn leads us through a kitchen to a long room in the rear of the house where he opens a back door. The dog skitters down some steps and goes out into the night. When Finn turns on the backyard light, I peer through the windows and find a completely fenced in yard that Maxie is currently romping through.
“Wow,” I say. “I wasn’t expecting this.” Turning, I take in this room as well as the kitchen. I’m so taken aback by how homey the house is. I could cuddle up on the couch with a blanket and watch Netflix right now and not feel one ounce of awkwardness.
“You thought you’d find cockroaches and ants and—”
“Empty condom wrappers strewn everywhere,” I helpfully supply.
Finn drops his head back and laughs. “We’re too busy to have girlfriends,” he chuckles. “Believe it or not, most women don’t like hanging around a smelly gym or having their weekends already booked out for years on end.”
“I wasn’t talking aboutthosekinds of girls,” I counter. “I was talking about the kind who just want a fun night with someone who looks like you.” But the fact that his first thought was on the level of committed relationships means I’m even more intrigued, not that I need to be.
Finn lifts an eyebrow. “We call them Ring Rats.” He has the decency to grimace a little. “Because they’re more interested in having sex with the fighters than the actual competition itself. Yeah, there have been a few of those who’ve tried, but I’m not interested.”
I smirk. “How did you know I wasn’t one of them when you danced with me yesterday?”
His gaze burns into mine. “I wasn’t sure I cared when I saw you.”
Caught in the moment, I lean closer. He was right about us talking one another’s clothes off. I wish he’d talk me out of mine right now. Maxie takes this exact moment to bark, and Finn immediately pulls away. Stepping back, he takes a deep breath before opening the door. The medium-sized dog with brown, black, and white fur scampers back in.
Jeez, now I’ve got a four-legged cockblocker.Cole’s going to love this dog. He’ll probably give it a medal.