3
After peeking outside practically every minute from four-thirty onward, Finn jumped when he finally heard the sound of a car pulling up on the gravel outside.
He’d been waiting for this all day.
Not, as Oscar had teased him constantly, because his new boyfriend was coming over—though he and Ryan had taken the excuse to go to dinner and hinted loudly that they wouldn’t be back until late.
Finn wasn’t about to sleep with someone who’d won him in a charity auction. That would have been unprofessional.
But Oscar and Ryan had both been working hard to stabilize the sanctuary’s finances, and May was always bringing in and courting new potential donors. Meanwhile, Finn mostly patched up sick animals and had absolutely nothing to do with keeping the lights on.
He was excited to get a taste of what it felt like to pull his weight.
And, if he was being really, painfully honest, he was excited to meet someone new. The last new friend he’d made was Ryan, and that had been over a year ago now.
It was time to start meeting other people. Not even necessarily to date them, just so he wasn’t a twenty-eight-year-old loner who spent his free time playing video games at home.
Not that there was anything wrong with that, just that he wanted more out of life. He was happy, mostly, but he’d been keeping to himself for way too long.
Which made this a great opportunity to polish up his rusty people skills and help the sanctuary out at the same time. Win-win.
The Nolan who got out of the late-model Prius he’d driven here was a totally different man than the one Finn had met at the auction. He didn’t necessarily look any more comfortable, but damn.
Jeans and a fitted t-shirt did wonders for him, showing off his tiny waist and very, very cute butt.
Not that Finn was looking.
That would have been unprofessional.
“You didn’t have to dress up for me,” Finn said, glancing down at his faded Black Sabbath t-shirt and wondering if Nolan was likely to judge him for having owned it since college.
“Am I dressed up?” Nolan asked, wetting his lips.
“Not really, I guess. I suppose you don’t spend a lot of time around animals who love to roll around in the mud.”
“No, my job is… pretty clean.” Nolan shrugged. “Yours is more interesting.”
“I dunno about that, but I hope you find it interesting. Otherwise this is gonna be a really boring afternoon.”
Spot, who’d been leaning up against the side of the house, chose that moment to come around the corner.
“There’s our tiger.” Finn pointed to her, part warning, part introduction. “She’s harmless. You can pet her if you want, but the nicer you are to her the more she’ll bother you.”
The look on Nolan’s face told Finn everything he needed to know about his tiger-related feelings. His whole face lit up like Christmas, and he crouched down to Spot’s level the moment she approached, reaching out to her as though she was just a big dog.
Which wasn’t quite how you were supposed to approach a tiger, but Spot was safe enough that Finn didn’t feel the need to say anything. She loved being paid attention.
“I don’t think you could ever bother anyone,” Nolan said. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”
Finn chuckled. “That’s not the response she’s used to getting. She’s gonna love you.”
“I already love her,” Nolan said. “When I was a kid I used to fantasize about buying a farm and keeping all the cats and dogs I could find. Just clearing out animal shelters and loving all of them.”
“Never had pets?” Finn asked.
“Mom was allergic to dogs, dad hated cats.” Nolan shrugged. “I used to go over to Gavin’s house to play with his dogs, but it wasn’t the same as having my own. And now I live in an apartment complex that frowns on keeping them. It’s full of people who hate fun.” He wrinkled his nose.
Between that and the fact that he was so excited about Spot, Finn was really starting to like him. Nolan was adorable.
“I was thinking about getting a goldfish, but that’s also… not the same. It’s one thing to talk to a cat, but…”
“Yeah, talking to a fish is running into eccentric territory,” Finn agreed. “Not that you couldn’t pull it off, I’m sure.”
“Thanks, I think.” Nolan smiled wryly.
Now that he was away from a crowd, he seemed much more comfortable. That was good. Finn had been worried that he’d be nervous the whole time, which would have made Finn awkward in turn. Then both of them would have been miserable.
Right now, it looked like they might actually have a fun afternoon.
“So can I take you on the tour?” Finn asked. “Unless you’d rather just play with Spot? Which is a totally fair choice.”
“That would be rude,” Nolan said. “Besides, you promised me a python.”
Finn grinned. He was a little wary of Buttercup and he didn’t pretend otherwise, but he loved the way other people reacted to her.
Nolan didn’t seem to be afraid at all.
Although, maybe he’d change his mind when he was faced with something out of a monster movie.
“I did, and I’ll deliver. Come around the back. We’ve got some local frogs recovering from a feral cat, too.”
Nolan beamed at him, and Finn felt the tiniest flutter in the middle of his chest.
Which was probably also unprofessional, but he was allowed to have a little fun, right?