Page 18 of A Hard Fit (Falling Hard #2)

Mess

Rory’s face lit up when Finn walked into their office. “Perfect! I was about to message you!”

Finn leaned over for a kiss then perched on the edge of their desk. “What’s up?” The question he came in with could wait.

Rory pointed at a screen. “Here is a list of the most popular rides at the top ten theme parks in the US. This one is a list of the most common rides in the country, and this is the top search engine results for amusement park rides. So I cross-referenced them, and I think Thrill Island needs a VR ride.”

“Virtual Reality?” Finn frowned. “Do you think Markos would want to invest in something like that?”

“All the big parks have them now.” Rory pulled up more pictures of those rides from around the country to illustrate their point. “If he is really looking for a refresh, I think he should consider it.”

Finn studied the screens and nodded. “That makes sense…but can we get it installed in time?”

“Markos can buy the actual physical ride ready-made and just plop it in. The biggest job would be programming the experience and I can outsource that.”

If anyone could make it happen in time, it was Rory. “The ride could be like an immersive heist experience,” Finn said, seeing it in his head, “as if you’re in the movie—sneaking in, defeating the security system, being chased by the guards, the getaway car…”

“Love it.” Rory’s fingers were already busy. “I’ll put together a proposal, estimate some costs and we can see what he thinks. Do you want to do some mock-ups?”

“For sure.” Finn watched Rory work, but the question he had come in with wouldn’t stay put on his tongue. “I actually came in here to ask… Did you talk to your mom?” Rory had been planning to call their mom over the lunch break. It had been three days since the birthday dinner blow-up and they’d been putting it off.

Rory’s fingers stopped. “No,” they said in a low voice. “But I will tonight. I promise… You have to make me call, okay?”

Finn leaned over to kiss the top of their head. “Okay.”

* * * *

Rory got up from the couch when the episode of Godstrike ended and collected the remnants of dinner from the coffee table. “You want anything for the next episode, babe? A drink? I could make some popcorn?”

Finn tilted his head. “You have to call her, love.”

Rory groaned and plunked their plates back on the table. “I don’t want to.”

“I know, but…”

“But I have to.” They took a deep breath and picked up their phone.

“Proud of you,” Finn said, doing his best to sound gentle yet encouraging.

“Ugh.” Rory pressed a button and started pacing while it rang, raking a hand through their hair. “Hi, Mom… I’m fine, how are you?”

The rise and fall of Lainey’s voice reached Finn, but not any specific words.

“I know… I know, Mom. I’m sorry, I—” Rory stopped by the door to the kitchen and pinched the bridge of their nose, listening. “Yes. I know. Can I—” They shot a look at Finn, grimacing.

Finn gave a sympathetic grimace back, unable to do much more.

Rory resumed their pacing. The tempo of Lainey’s voice increased. “I understand that, Mom, and I’m sorry. I know it was your birthday. But Jackson… Mom… How can you defend him when he—” Rory stopped and stared out of the window, shaking their head. “He did though, Mom! He did mean to belittle the person I love… Yes, of course I love Finn! We are in love, Mom. Are you f—are you kidding me right now?”

Despite the anguish on Rory’s face, Finn melted a little. I love you too , he wanted to whisper.

Rory continued, voice tight. “I will see Jackson again when he apologizes. It’s as simple as that… No, he hasn’t so much as texted… Mmhmm. That’s fine… Well, we’ll see, won’t we? Okay… Okay. Yeah. Bye.”

Rory turned. Their eyes were wet.

Finn opened his arms.

Rory fell into Finn’s lap. “She said he’s going to call me,” they mumbled into Finn’s shoulder.

“Okay.” Finn smoothed Rory’s hair.

“That was so hard. I never fight with my mom.”

“I know.” Finn’s stomach twisted. Rory had stormed out of their mom’s birthday party because of him. Rory was arguing with their mom because of him . He should never have told Rory what Jackson said. He should never have—

“I hate this feeling. I hope Jackson calls soon.” Rory sniffled.

“I hope so too.”

“Now can we watch some more Godstrike ?”

“Yes, love. I’ll go make popcorn.”

* * * *

“Rory, Finn!” Markos burst into the conference room and shook their hands even more enthusiastically than at their last meeting. Finn pictured him holding a wooden puppet. “Great to see you two. I looked at the proposal you sent over and I love it. Love the VR idea.” He heaved himself into a chair.

“That’s great! We’re exc—” Finn started to reply.

Markos steamrolled ahead. “But I also think we need to keep the boat ride.”

“You…you what?” Finn’s voice squeaked up a register.

“I know, I know.” Markos chuckled. “You caught me on a bad day before. That thing drives me crazy, but since I had to get the pipes fixed anyway, I’m doing a full upgrade to the plumbing.”

“Well, that’s…that’s great!” Rory jumped in, beaming, while Finn floundered for a response. “Your guests will be thrilled.”

“And don’t worry”—Markos waved a hand—“we don’t need to use the boat ride space for the VR. I have the perfect spot. The arcade is way past its prime. Let’s use that lot for the new ride. We can have an arcade set up in the exit.”

“That sounds great!” Rory said, nudging Finn with their foot under the table. “Finn, did you want to show Markos your sketches?”

“Yes. Yup. So…” Finn opened up his portfolio. “It starts with the riders gathering in the tech van—you know the old nondescript, windowless van filled with computer screens where two people sit and support the heist team?”

“I’m with you, Finn.” Markos’ eyes shone as he studied Finn’s drawings. “Tell me all about it.”

Before their meeting ended, Markos also approved the TV commercials they’d be running and newspaper ads for the local area. “And we’re opening March ninth,” he informed them. “I’ve confirmed that with the contractors and all my suppliers.”

“And…when is the soft open?” Finn hedged.

“Nah.” Markos scoffed. “Not needed. We’ll be good to go for the grand opening.”

Rory’s eyes bulged. “You don’t…you don’t want to do a few days with friends and family just to make sure—”

“Rory, please. I’ve been doing this my whole life. I learned to walk in the fucking park. My first word was ‘roller coaster.’ We’ll do a few test runs on the new ride, and Rory will test the app, right? It’ll be business as usual.”

“I’ll definitely test it, but—”

“Perfect. March ninth.”

* * * *

When Markos left, Finn propped his head on the table with one hand and rubbed the back of his neck with the other.

“You okay?” Rory asked.

“Yeah, just got some whiplash from the boat ride one-eighty. Not to mention…no soft open?”

“Yeah.” Rory grimaced. “I really wish he would do one. Seems like a no-brainer.”

Finn groaned. “I have a headache.”

“Poor baby,” Rory said. “How about I give you a backrub when we get home?”

“Yeah, okay,” Finn said, slightly mollified.

“At least we get to keep the boat ride, right?”

Oh, Rory. Ever optimistic. “Yeah, for now, until he changes his mind again.”

Rory gave Finn the promised backrub when they got home…but every time their phone made a noise, Rory jumped a mile. As the days passed, Finn could tell it was eating Rory alive.

Because Jackson never called.

* * * *

“Hey, stranger.”

Finn looked up from his desk. Luka. For some reason, seeing his friend’s bright blue eyes and soft smile in his doorway made Finn want to crumble. “Hey, bud.”

“It’s Luka .” Luka frowned and pointed at himself. “Remember me?”

“I know your name, smart-ass.”

“Good, good, just making sure you haven’t forgotten me. You free for a lunch date?”

“Sure.” Finn dropped his pen and shuffled some papers into a stack. “You don’t need to eat with Thomas today?”

Luka sniffed. “You don’t need to eat with Rory today?”

Finn studied Luka for a moment. “Thomas had a meeting, didn’t he?”

“No, he—Yeah, he did.”

* * * *

Luka moaned about his shoes getting wrecked through slushy piles of snow the whole way to Montagu’s, but as soon as they sat with their sandwiches, he turned his blue gaze onto Finn with an intensity that made the redhead squirm.

“So?” Luka cracked open his soda. “Talk. Something is bothering you.”

Not much got by him. “Oh, nothing. Only that Rory’s family hates me.”

Luka froze, can halfway to his mouth. He set it down again. “Finn. There’s no way that is true. Come on, being a drama queen is my thing.”

“I’m not being dramatic.” He told Luka the whole story—Jackson at Christmas, Lainey’s birthday disaster, the follow-up phone call and the deafening lack of a subsequent apology from Jackson. “Rory’s family is a mess,” he summarized, “and it’s all because of me.”

Luka put his sandwich down and wiped his mouth. “First of all, Jackson is a fucking prick, obviously. Second, every family’s a mess. They’d be fighting over something, whether you were there or not. My mom and sister fight over fruit snacks.”

“But this isn’t a fight, like I insulted Lainey’s china or something, or even that I swear too much. It’s that I don’t belong in that family.”

“Finn.” Luka rubbed his forehead. “Listen to me. Fuck Rory’s family. Fuck them. They don’t matter.”

“Yes, they do, they—”

Luka held up a hand. “Oh my God, are we going to do this again? Do you love Rory? Yes. Does Rory love you? Yes. Everything else is bullshit.”

Luka looked so certain. Finn wanted to believe him. “I hope you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Well, there was the time—”

“Besides that time!” Luka huffed before Finn could finish his sentence.

Finn grinned. “Thanks, Luka.”

“You are welcome, as always.”

“So how are things going with Thomas?” Finn had to ask.

“Still no ‘things,’ because as I keep telling you—”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s your boss. But…?”

Luka couldn’t fight the smile that took over his face. “We’re getting to be pretty good friends. We text and stuff… He actually… He’s convinced me to sign up for an open mic night.”

“No shit! That’s amazing! Good for you.”

“I don’t know if I can actually get up there though… What if I throw up? What if they throw…muffins at me?”

“Muffins?”

“Oh, it’s a coffee shop.”

“No one’s going to throw muffins at you.”

Luka’s eyes widened. “You don’t think they’ll throw coffee at me, do you?”

Finn snickered. “No, drama queen. I don’t think so.”

* * * *

The Breakpoint staff went to the Bitter Exchange after work the next night, and Rory and Finn ended up at a table with Luka and Thomas. The electricity between them made the hairs on Finn’s arm stand up.

Thomas, looking so handsome as always in his exquisitely tailored suit, never took his eyes off Luka, and Luka’s face radiated such beauty when he smiled at Thomas that Finn could barely look at them. The two of them hooking up had to be only a matter of time.

So, when the news came at the end of January that Thomas’ last day in their office would be March first, Finn’s stomach dropped. “Shit.” He showed the email to Rory in the seat next to him on the train.

Rory gasped. “Oh no. Oh…Luka will be devastated.”

“He has to say something,” Finn said. “He can’t let Thomas just leave. They’re clearly into each other. He must know that Thomas feels the same.”

“I don’t think he does though,” Rory said. “Sometimes it’s not obvious when you’re in it, remember?” They winked at Finn.

“Should I talk to him?” Finn asked.

“Maybe.” Rory took Finn’s arm and tipped their head onto Finn’s shoulder. “Let’s see how he handles it.”

* * * *

He didn’t handle it well. Luka moped around the office, head down, sparkle gone from his eyes. His clothes were even more subdued, all blues and grays, not a pink or yellow to be seen. Finn had to step in.

“Are we going to talk about it?” he asked in early February when he found Luka alone in his office. He closed the door behind him.

Luka sighed and pushed back from his desk. “Talk about what?”

Finn shook his head. “Gonna make me say it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Finn.”

“Your undying love for Thomas.” Finn gave him half of a mischievous smirk, gaze still gentle.

Luka closed his eyes. “I don’t… We’re not— It’s not…”

“Yeah, except you do, you are, and it is.”

“Fuck.” Luka slumped in his chair. “Am I that obvious?”

“Yes, but if it makes you feel any better, Thomas is into you, and it is equally as obvious.”

“What?” Luka shook his head. “He is?”

Finn groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jesus. I knew you were thick. Rory tried to warn me. Look. It’s clear as day that he likes you back, just as much as you like him. You gotta say something. You’re killing us.”

Luka shook his head again. “He’s leaving in less than three weeks, and in the meantime, he’s still my boss. I can’t. Now would be the worst time ever.”

Finn wanted to shake him. “Well, you don’t gotta marry the guy. Looks like he’d be good in bed.”

Luka covered his face and groaned. “I can’t even tell you how much I am not about to proposition Thomas for a quick romp in the sack before he leaves.”

“Why not? Wait till his last day. If he’s leaving, doesn’t matter if he says yes or no.”

“I don’t just want to sleep with him, Finn. I…”

“You what?”

Luka exhaled. “Nothing. Thanks for your help. But I can’t.”

Finn narrowed his eyes at Luka. “This from the guy who told me to take the plunge with Rory.”

“It’s totally different!”

“Is it?”

“Of course it is.”

Finn shrugged. “Think about it. You don’t want him to leave and regret not even trying.”

“I appreciate your thoughts, Finn, but… It’s complicated.”

“All right. Just…think about it, yeah? It might work out. And it might be amazing.”

Luka didn’t say anything, only gave him a sad smile and went back to work.

Finn wanted his friend to be happy…but… ‘It’s complicated.’ Well, he was right about that. Everything was complicated.