Page 19 of Brad & Finn (Gomillion High Reunion #3)

He seemed to remember Chloe’s mom bemoaning something about the beer selection since the new owners took over, and he asked Chloe about it as they both tucked into their drinks.

Chloe recounted the town gossip in a hushed voice before launching into a needlessly long conversation about how her tastes had evolved since college.

As they talked, Finn tried to play it cool and not be too obvious as he scanned the room.

After he accidentally repeated—for the third time—that he should really try and appreciate wine more, Chloe grabbed his face and turned his head several degrees to the right, where he finally spotted Brad talking to a few women in the corner.

His back was to the door, so he probably hadn’t seen them come in, but that didn’t stop Finn’s heart from sinking or keep his thoughts from spiraling as he took several too-large gulps of his cider.

He was surprised to find he’d already finished the drink, and Chloe cast him a knowing glance as she ordered him a glass of water.

Thankfully, the pizza was doing its job, for the most part, but his eyes did cross a little as he accepted the drink from Chloe.

“I don’t know what to do with you. How are you drunk after only one drink?” Chloe asked. The way she glared at the straw in his hand made Finn shove it in his mouth himself.

“Not drunk,” he muttered around the straw, taking a large sip of water as she narrowed his eyes at him.

“Alright, ‘not drunk,’ then you should be good to go talk to Brad, since he just walked up to the bar. I’m going to talk to—” She shot out her hand and grabbed a passing man by the sleeve of his jacket.

Huh. Maybe Brad was right, and the two of them did have a thing about sleeves.

“Hi, did you go to Gomillion?” she asked, and the man gave her a confused look before slowly nodding. “Great! I’d love to catch up! Who was your homeroom teacher junior year?” She subtly hooked her foot around Finn’s calf and kicked him away from the bar

Finn’s entire body clenched, from his jaw down to his toes, but he drained his water and placed it on one of the high-top tables.

This time, when he looked around, he immediately spotted Brad a few people away at the bar.

He took a steadying breath before he slipped around the small crowd and slotted himself in next to Brad.

Brad was leaning across the bar, talking to Bronwyn, as Mose worked around her to finish making a complicated-looking drink. When Bronwyn tipped her head at Finn, he

ordered another cider. She grinned widely at him as she spun a gin bottle across her fingers and poured several shots into a tumbler.

“Give me a few as I finish this group’s order,” she said, nodding at a group of women at the other end of the bar.

As Brad settled back onto their side of the bar, their sides pressed together in a way that was already beginning to feel familiar.

They stood in silence as they waited for their drinks.

Finn tried to enjoy their closeness while also racking his brain for something witty or interesting to say to start the conversation off.

He drew a series of blanks, too busy watching Bronwyn's hands as they moved effortlessly through her tasks. If Finn tried even the simplest of moves she was doing, he’d probably break a glass…or an entire bottle.

Further demonstrating this, Bronwyn picked up a whiskey bottle and flipped it in the air before pouring two shots into a glass for Brad. He accepted the drink with a wicked smile before slowly turning to face Finn. This had the disappointing side effect of putting a few inches between them.

“Hi,” Brad said, his voice giving nothing away.

Finn continued to watch Bronwyn as she grabbed a pint glass for him, and the amber liquid poured down the inside of the glass, reflecting the flickering lights on the wall.

His side felt cold, which was ridiculous, given that he’d spent most of his life without a partner there to warm him.

He accepted his now full glass from Bronwyn and took a sip off the top, figuring the worst way to start this conversation would be by accidentally spilling his drink on Brad.

Despite his best intentions, someone behind Finn backed into him. He ended up pressed against Brad’s warm, sturdy chest, and Finn thought that somehow, the universe might be on his side this time.

That, or…

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure it wasn’t Chloe who had backed into him. It turned out to be a burly ginger-haired man, but he could hear Chloe’s voice from the other side of him.

“Uhm…how was dinner?” Brad tried again. His shoulders did that inward curving thing that made Finn’s arms ache to hold him.

“It was…well, it was Chloe being set loose in a pizza parlor with free rein over toppings, so…”

Brad’s mouth curled into a small smile, and his posture relaxed. “So, you either discovered a new favorite pizza, or you’re going to spend the evening in the bathroom?”

Finn’s mind flashed to Chloe’s earlier threat, and he shook his head.

“It definitely isn’t a new favorite, but it wasn’t too terrible.

” Finn snorted, unable to help himself. “I do think she might have traumatized one of the chefs there. Thankfully, that happened after he made our pizza, but…we might not go back the rest of the trip.”

Brad’s eyebrows raced each other up his forehead. “Do I want to know?”

Finn shook his head. “Probably not, but we may need to strategize on alternative late-night food options if we need something tonight or tomorrow night.”

Brad gazed over the top of his glass at Finn, something almost dangerous sparkling in his eyes.

“I always bring snacks when I go on scouting trips, and I didn’t bother unpacking my suitcase from a trip I took last weekend.

I should be stocked on cookies, chips, and…

” Brad leaned in and placed his mouth right next to Finn’s ear.

“My last trip was to Vermont, so I’m almost positive I have some maple candies in there, too. ”

There was no denying the clear-cut invitation Brad was making.

Whether that meant their second kiss had just been an awkward flub, Finn didn’t know.

Brad’s warm breath on his neck and his solid body in front of him should have put his mind at ease.

This was what Finn had been wanting since they reunited the previous night.

That should make him happy, or excited, or something.

He was utterly incapable of focusing on any of that, though.

“Maple?” he whispered, turning his face just enough so that he could meet Brad’s twinkling eyes.

“Maple,” Brad said, the glint in his eye unmistakably evil now.

Finn loved maple. Maple syrup, maple ice cream, maple candy, maple bread—he loved it all.

It had been a bit of a running joke in their little friend group because the general store so infrequently stocked the Canadian gold that was real maple syrup.

Most of the time, the store and the local diner only had “table syrup,” which was a disgusting and shameful excuse for a breakfast condiment.

“Are you serious?” Finn marveled. “You really have maple candy in your room?”

Brad’s smile turned into a perfect approximation of the shit-eating grin emoji Chloe liked to text him when she was doing something that was going to get them both in trouble.

“Brad,” Finn whimpered, “you better not be teasing.”

The part of Finn’s brain that really needed to turn back on right now noted the way Brad's eyes darkened, his pupils blowing wide and making his eyes look deep mahogany.

Unfortunately, the maple-crazed part of his brain was still in almost total control.

He reached under the bar, so it would be out of view of the rest of the patrons, and grabbed Brad’s wrist. Except, he misjudged the angle and, instead, ended up grabbing his hand.

They both readjusted, and as if they’d been doing this for years, their fingers slotted together.

Brad’s face melted into something soft and sweet, like the cotton candy they’d once shared at the state fair. His eyes were no longer hungry. Instead, they seemed to search Finn’s, looking for something Finn would have given him, if only he knew what it was.

“I promise, I’d never lie to you,” Brad said. “ Especially about maple candy.”

“Did you really just say maple candy?” a familiar and not entirely unwelcome voice asked.

Brad didn’t move an inch, so Finn stayed where he was, casting a furtive glance at Chloe. He wasn’t ready for the tender look she was giving them both, so he buried his face in his pint glass instead.

“I was telling Finn that I have some snacks back in the hotel if we end up needing them after this,” Brad said smoothly, gesturing with his glass around the room.

While that was exactly what he’d been doing, it somehow felt like a lie or, at the very least, a deep omission. Their bodies and eyes had been talking, too, and they’d been saying a lot more than that. At least…Finn’s had.

He scanned up and down Brad’s torso, noting the way his entire body was facing Finn, with just his shoulder open a few degrees to welcome Chloe into the fold.

His fingers were still firmly wrapped around Finn’s, and they stayed that way even as Chloe asked about his recent trip, and he answered with broad sweeps of his other hand.

Finn lost track of time, his mind split between thoughts of what the end of the night could bring, the tender connection of their joined hands, and the utter antics of his best friend and his…well, of Brad.

He managed to finish his second cider and, at Chloe’s assertion, ordered himself another cup of water.

Eventually, both Chloe and Brad switched to water as well, and he noticed a palpable change in the room.

The crowd had thinned out, and those who were still present looked like they’d either been coupled up before coming to the reunion or were potentially coupling up because of it.