Page 39 of Devil's Kiss

“Hey, stranger.”

He would recognize that voice anywhere, and when he turned to see Finn pushing through the double doors of the building, Derek realized just how much he’d missed the guy.

“Danny boy,” he said, and when they met up they hugged one another. When he took a step away, he grinned. “You’re looking good, man.”

“You too,” Finn said as they headed down the stairs. “Except for that damn cigarette.”

“Yeah, yeah. That ain’t gonna change anytime soon, so best get over it now.”

Finn laughed as they walked across the lawn toward the parking lot. “I know, but I have to at least try. You still running?”

“Of course,” Derek said, and then bumped shoulders with his buddy and asked, “You? Has the professor gotten you running alongside him yet? Or do you get your workouts in other ways?”

“You’re hilarious.”

“What? I remember how hard it was to get your lazy ass out there. The only reason you ever did say yes was to run into Hayes.”

“True,” Finn said. “But there’s something totally different about running with him than there was with you.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?”

Finn waggled his eyebrows mischievously. “I have incentive to get home.”

“Oh God, spare me the details, would ya? I mean, what are you two now, married and shacked up?”

Finn took a deep breath and then let it out. “I wish.”

“No shit?”

Finn shrugged. “Hey, when you know you know, right?”

“I guess.”

When they reached the parking lot, Derek spotted Finn’s mother’s car and headed toward it.

“Yeah. He’s a little harder to convince, though.” Finn popped the locks, and when they both climbed in Derek looked over at his friend.

“Why do you say that?”

Finn reversed, and as they pulled out onto the main road, Derek asked, “What’s going on, Danny boy?”

“Ugh. It’s just something stupid, I’m sure.”

“What do you mean?”

Finn opened the center console and fished out a crumpled brochure and passed it to Derek. He read over the print, and the fact that it was a law school wasn’t anything shocking. He’d known that was what Finn wanted to do. But what caught his attention and held it was— “This is in Chicago.”

“I know.”

The sober tone of Finn’s voice made Derek shift in his seat to face him, and as he took in Finn’s stubbled jaw, he frowned. He wasn’t sure why the thought of Finn moving across the country was so fucking terrifying, considering they hadn’t been real close this past year or so, but it was.

“You’re notgoing,are you?”

Finn took his eyes off the road to look at Derek, and the side of his mouth quirked up. “Hell no. I told him to forget it.”

“So Hayes brought this up with you?”

“Yeah,” Finn said, and looked back at where he was going. “Told me it was the best opportunity. A smart choice and all that. Blah blah.”