The smell of coffee and bacon was what eventually brought Justin back to the land of the living. He cracked open his eyes only to come face-to-face with a small canine nose sniffing him from the edge of the couch.
Justin gave King’s head a scratch. “He’s cooking.”
King cocked his head to the side, as though he were running Justin’s words through an interpretation algorithm.
“I bet he has a treat for you.”
King cocked his head to the other side, before making a soft ruff noise and trotting to the kitchen.
Justin stretched out on the couch, loosening his muscles as he closed his eyes again. It had taken him a long time to go to sleep after Finn had disappeared into his room. The couch was comfortable enough, but his thoughts hadn’t been. He’d lain there, eyes glued to a spot on the ceiling, thinking about what had happened at Frantic. Yes, Grady had crossed a line. Yes, Finn had overreacted, and somehow Max hadn’t. All of those things were facts and shouldn’t have bothered him. Didn’t in fact.
No, what had prevented sleep from taking him was that, somehow, a man who suffered from social anxiety had chosen him as a confidant. Justin, a man who had no close friends growing up, and had very few as an adult. Finn, who only seemed to be able to talk to people over the phone, was comfortable conversing with him in person and had been since day one. And for the life of him, he didn’t know how to feel about it.
The sound of a mug being placed on the coffee table beside him did the last bit of work to pull him from sleep. Finn had quickly disappeared, but the glorious mug of steaming coffee was there waiting when Justin opened his eyes again. He took the mug in his hand as he sat up. “You’re a prince.”
“And good morning to you. Sleep okay?” Finn’s voice came from the kitchen.
Justin wasn’t quite ready to face him, so he stayed put. “The couch was as comfortable as advertised.” The first sip of coffee made his world slow to the point of nothing else existing beyond the black liquid before him. The second had him melting. “You should be a barista.”
“I was for a while. I didn’t last very long.”
Justin got up and wandered over to the kitchen. Again, he was struck by how natural Finn looked preparing food. “Scratch that. I’m going back to my original assertion that you should be a chef.”
Finn smiled and shook his head. “How about I just cook for you?”
“Works for me.”
Finn walked over to where King sat and filled his bowl with dog food, only to place a strip of bacon on top of it. “Eat it slow.”
King swallowed it in two bites, before devouring the rest of his food, and padding off to his dog bed in the corner.
Justin watched Finn cook a few moments longer before asking the inevitable. “How are you feeling this morning?”
When Finn’s gaze met his, Justin momentarily stopped breathing. There was such gratitude there, he couldn’t believe it was directed at him. Finn’s smile made his eyes sparkle. “Much better. Thanks.”
“That’s good.” Justin’s insides were doing a squirmy dance, but he did his best to ignore it. “When do you get the equipment from your friend?”
“I got it already.” Finn placed a plate with more food than Justin could possibly eat in front of him. “I had to get eggs, so I ducked over to Tyrell’s place and got what I needed. Eat up.”
While Justin did exactly that, Finn brought over a black case and opened it up on the counter beside them. “It’s an Invisity Ear Prompter. It’s got a great range, so I should be able to hear you no problem from the restaurant. You don’t even have to leave your apartment. Tyrell said he’s used it in a stadium before and had no issues, so our little project should work fine.”
And in a flash, Justin’s good mood bled away. When he’d agreed to help Finn with his date, Justin hadn’t realized how entangled his emotions would be. How hard it would be to help him build a relationship with Leo. Or anyone else.
Justin wanted Finn for himself.
He cleared his throat and did his best to squash those complicated feelings. “How will I hear what’s being said?”
Finn didn’t quite meet his gaze as he shuffled the equipment. “I’ll have a microphone as well. It should be strong enough to pick up both what I’m saying and what Leo’s saying. Everything should go smoothly.”
“I hope so.” The food no longer held its amazing taste. Justin pushed the eggs around before finally picking up a piece of bacon and shoving it all into his mouth. This was ridiculous. When he’d started out with wanting to help Finn, he’d never anticipated that spying would be a part of it; though, he was willing to do it, especially if it would make Finn happy. And despite everything else, that was Justin’s main and only goal.
He played with the eggs on his plate a moment longer before taking a bite. “We still need to practice.”
Finn looked up and blinked. “We do?”
“Of course, we do. I need you to show me how all this works. Unlike yourself, I’m not technically inclined. We also need to make sure you’re used to hearing me talking in your ear. You don’t want to appear to be hesitating too much.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Finn straightened. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to finish eating my breakfast, then I’m going to head home to get cleaned up. Your date is at five, right?”
“Yup.”
“Come over at three and we’ll rehearse. By six, I suspect things will be going well enough that you won’t even need this and I’ll be able to get back to working on scum removal in my apartment.” Justin stuck out his hand and waited for Finn to take it. “Deal?”
Finn slipped his hand into Justin’s. “Deal.”
Justin didn’t hold his hand long, knowing the longer they touched, the harder it would be for him to keep a level head. “Fantastic. Now, I need to eat what I can, and possibly ask for a doggy bag. While Zack pays me well, I have so many things I need to buy to set-up my life in Toronto, I don’t have extra for bacon. Or eggs. Or bread.”
Finn chuckled. “I can put together a care package for you, if you want.”
“Chips. I would kill for potato chips.” Justin had few vices in life, but those were one of them.
“Dude, given everything that you’re doing for me, I’ll buy you stock in Lay’s if that’s what you want.” Finn was on the move once more, gathering food to put into containers.
“Have you given any thought about what you’re going to wear tonight?”
Finn shrugged. “I’ve been obsessing over that almost as much as I’ve been worrying about what I plan to say.”
“I’d suggest the outfit you wore to the speed dating event.” Justin took a bit of toast, and moaned at the richness of the real butter that had become trapped in the crevices of the bread. “You looked fantastic.”
Finn’s blush was cute. “Thanks. Yeah, I can do that.”
“Good.” While Justin had perfect recollection of what Finn had on that night, he suspected Leo wouldn’t have noticed if Finn had been naked. “And make sure you put on that cologne you had on last night. That works well on you.”
It was strange, but plying Finn with compliments was quickly becoming one of Justin’s favorite things to do. Clearly, Finn hadn’t gotten nearly enough of those over the years, which made no sense to Justin whatsoever. Finn was a handsome man, kind and intelligent. Just because he had a hard time conversing in social situations, didn’t mean he should be any less appealing to others. Hell, if Leo couldn’t see the gift he was being offered, Justin fully intended to smash him over the head with something, until he did.
Finn deserved to be happy.
Justin was going to make sure that would happen.
It didn’t take long for Justin to eat his fill, and for Finn to pack up the leftovers for him. Justin held up the containers. “I’ll bring this back to you tomorrow.”
“No rush. I know where you live.”
Justin collected his things, while Finn trailed along behind him. King raced to the door when he realized Justin was leaving, barking several times. The situation was comforting rather than off-putting. The dog, having Finn’s body that close—it felt intimate, as though they’d done this dozens of times instead of just once.
He cleared his throat. “I’ll leave my door open for you. Just walk in when you get there.”
Finn leaned a hand against the wall, opening his body up to Justin. “I will. Though you probably should keep your door locked. That can be a rough neighborhood.”
“No one even knows there’s anyone up there. I’ll be fine.” Kiss him! “I’ll see you later.”
Finn swayed a bit closer, but not enough for Justin to take advantage. “Yup.”
Before he acted on any foolish impulses, Justin turned and left.
The moment Justin walked into Ringside to access the stairway to the apartments, he realized something was going on. A crowd had formed around the ring, and the air was full of shouts and cheers as two combatants were going at it in the ring.
As hard as he tried, Justin didn’t enjoy boxing. The thought of two people beating the ever-living shit out of one another was as far from his version of entertainment as he could imagine. Others clearly didn’t share his view.
It was hard to get a sense of who was in the ring, as both opponents had head protectors on. He was about to continue on, when a shout caught his attention.
“Kick his ass, Leo!”
Justin drew to a stop, pivoted, and made his way to the back of the crowd. While Finn was home, no doubt practicing what he wanted to say, the object of his desire was currently landing a series of punches on his opponent.
Now that he knew who it was, Justin couldn’t believe he hadn’t been able to tell from the moment he walked in. Leo’s swagger was easily recognizable, as was his more-than-ripped physique. While Finn’s muscles seemed to compliment his body, Leo’s appeared little more than globs of meat slapped onto a frame. They bulged in ways that didn’t look normal, and Justin swore his legs were too small to carry around his massive torso.
Whoever was in the ring with Leo certainly wasn’t any match. Leo landed punch after punch, and his challenger stumbled backward. The bell rang, but Leo took one final swing, connecting with the other man’s chin. Justin could only watch in horror as the man dropped like a dead weight to the canvas.
Part of the crowd exploded in cheers, but several people booed. Justin tapped the shoulder of a young woman standing beside him. “Was he allowed to do that?”
“No. Leo’s a fucking dirty fighter. Totally a late hit.”
Someone must have gotten Zack, because he came racing from the office. “What the hell is going on?”
The crowd dispersed quickly, leaving Leo, the ref, and the still unconscious man in the ring. Justin should probably leave as well—he wasn’t even a member of the gym—but Zack might need a hand. It was the least he could do considering everything Zack had done for him.
Leo pulled his protector off. “Hey, I don’t know what happened. I must have landed on a weird angle or something.”
“We don’t do knockouts in training fights.” Zack stuck his finger in Leo’s face. “That’s your second warning. One more and your membership will be revoked.”
Justin wasn’t about to climb into the ring, but they were close enough to the side he could easily talk to Zack. “Would you like me to call an ambulance?”
“Yes. Kevin, find out if he has ID here. We’ll need his health card for the hospital.”
“Sure thing.” A younger man took off.
Leo stood over the prone man and smiled. “He’ll be okay.”
“You landed a late hit.” Justin really shouldn’t be getting involved in this, but given that this asshole was about to go on a date with Finn, he simply couldn’t help himself.
Leo snorted, but kept his eyes on Zack. “The bell rang as I was taking my shot. I couldn’t have stopped.”
Zack looked ready to kill him. “Justin, would you mind waiting outside for the ambulance once you call it?”
“Certainly.” That was a dismissal if he’d ever heard one.
By the time the ambulance arrived, the other fighter had regained consciousness and was talking easily to Zack. He didn’t want to go get checked out, but Zack insisted he go with the paramedics. Leo had disappeared, no doubt to go bask in the glow of his tainted victory.
Once the dust had settled and Justin was alone with Zack, the words he’d been holding back rushed from him. “Leo’s an asshole.”
“Yes, he is.” Zack braced his hands on his hips and stared at the locker room. “Apparently his father is some sort of big-name lawyer. I want to make sure if I kick his ass to the curb, that I’ve done it properly. The last thing we need is a lawsuit.”
“You’re a private business. Your rules are all that matter.”
“And our policy is a three strikes one. Though I might have to reconsider that going forward.”
Justin wished that Finn had been here to see this. It might have opened his eyes to Leo’s faults. “Good luck with him.”
“Thanks.”
Justin headed upstairs, furious about what had happened. How the hell could he help Finn win this jerk over, and still have a conscience? But Finn was so taken with him, Justin knew anything he’d say that would make Leo look bad would only come across as him being petty. Finn was going to have to come to his own conclusions. Hopefully, he’d do that before he got hurt as well.
Wandering around his pitiful apartment, he tried to mentally get ready for tonight. Normally, he’d have created a script for this, something witty that was sure to win Leo over and make Finn happy. He’d had a few lines in mind back when Finn had mentioned the date, but nothing concrete. Nothing that he’d easily be able to use spur-of-the-moment. That meant he’d have to put his improvisation skills to the test.
The knock on his door had him glance at the clock. Finn was thirty minutes late. “It’s open.”
Finn stuck his head in. “Hey. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m not exactly ready for this.”
Finn’s frown pulled deep lines around his mouth. “I heard chatter downstairs about Leo.”
Well, that was one less thing Justin would have to worry about. “I was there and saw it happen.”
Finn leaned against the wall. “How close to the bell did the hit land?”
“Close enough that people will say he probably didn’t hear it.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
Justin let out a huff. He needed to choose his words carefully. “I like to consider myself good at reading body language. I’ve spent a lot of time in boardrooms, involved in some serious deal making. Leo looked like a man who saw an opening and wasn’t about to let it go.”
“But there’s a chance he didn’t hear the bell.” Finn groaned. “Shit.”
“Do you want to cancel?” Justin stood and walked over to Finn. “You don’t have to do this. He isn’t . . . the only man out there for you.” We can have dinner, watch a movie.
Every twitch of the internal battle Finn was waging showed on his face. “I haven’t been on a date, a real date, in so long I can’t remember when it was. I’m tired of being alone.”
Justin ran his tongue along his lips. “You can do online dating. Get to know the person that way.”
“Tried that. Every time we got to the meeting-in-person stage, I couldn’t force myself to go.” Finn dropped his chin to his chest. “No, I need to go tonight. I need to see this through to the end. If I don’t, I’ll always second-guess myself. Always regret not showing up.”
You’re better than him. “Then you better show me how to use this equipment.”