Page 69 of Finley

“Fuck you,” Daniel said as he came to a stop.

Derek was dressed tonight in his signature triple-buckle boots, which were laced haphazardly in a way that said he didn’t give a fuck. His tight black pants and open green vest were the only two other pieces of clothing he was wearing. It was also worth noting that he’d painted his nails black and had several different leather straps around his left wrist. All different widths and sizes.

The look was effective as hell at securing the attention of nearly every man who saw him. Then add in the tan, the muscles, and tattoos running along the top of his chest and down his arms, and Derek looked like a badass motherfucker.

“You know, as curious as I’ve always been about whatthatwould be like…I think I’ll pass on your offer, Danny boy. Tonight, I’d rather be the one doing the fucking.”

When Derek started to walk again, obviously set on leaving, Daniel reached out and grabbed his arm. “What the hell is going on with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. You’d never pass up the opportunity to get some ass, and that’s exactly what you’re doing.”

“I’m just not in the mood.”

“Really? Because you sure look dressed like a guy in the mood.”

“Yeah, well, that was before. And you said we were gonna celebrate. I didn’t realize that included your professor and his…”

Grabbing a hold of Derek, Daniel pulled him over to the walkway behind the club. “And his what? Friend? Jordan? What the hell is the problem with you two?”

Derek threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it dead under his boot. “He’s an overdramatic princess, is what the fucking problem is.”

Daniel knew he must’ve looked shocked, but hell, he hadn’t even known that these two were acquainted with each other, let alone enough that Derek would have such an intense opinion on the matter. He was about to say something else when Derek started up again.

“I mean, did you see what he was wearing tonight? Those pants were practically glued to his ass. I could see his fucking G-string from where I was standing. He might as well stick a sign on his forehead that saysWanna fuck?and be done with it.”

“As opposed to your outfit, which says…what exactly?” Daniel asked, finding it difficult to keep his lips from twitching.

Never would he have imagined thatDerekwould be interested in Jordan. But the reaction he was having to the short firecracker of a man was telling all in itself, and he’d be damned if he didn’t think a little payback was in order.

“And why do you care what he’s wearing, anyway?”

“I don’t.”

“Yes. That’s obvious.”

“You know what? Why don’t you shut the fuck up?”

“You have a fucking hard-on for Posh Spice. Admit it.”

Derek frowned so hard that Daniel wondered if it was giving him a headache.

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You’ve been gone seven years, Finn. A lot changes.”

“Agreed. But not you. You’re exactly the same. And when you were trying to work out a way to tell me you liked Bill Samson, you were the biggest asshole on the planet. Kinda like now.”

He crossed his arms and waited Derek out, and when he realized Daniel wasn’t going anywhere, he leaned back against the brick wall and said, “If I tell you this, you have to take it to your fucking grave.”

Daniel turned to face him and drew an exaggerated cross over his chest. “Scout’s honor.”

“That’s not the right symbol. And you weren’t in the Scouts.”

“No, but fuck, I wish I had been. All of those camping trips where you bunked with eight boys at a time…”

“Jesus…you’re having fun with this, aren’t you? Are you done?” Derek asked.

Daniel grinned. “Yes. I’m quite done. Now, spill it. What the hell happened with you and Devaney?”