4
“You didn’t tell me she was bright yellow!” Nolan enthused as Finn introduced him to Buttercup, who had turned out to have an appropriate name.
“She’s an albino Burmese python,” Finn said. “Which works out to yellow. They’re normally dark brown.”
“Yeah, yellow isn’t great camouflage, huh?”
“And yet, somehow, she still manages to sneak up on people from time to time,” Finn said. “She gets out of her tank a lot. I hate to admit that I keep being outsmarted by a snake, but I don’t know how she does it. You wanna hold her?”
“Can I?” Nolan asked, excited by the possibility. He never got to be around animals.
Finn seemed impossibly cool, hanging out with all kinds of wildlife for a job.
And he was looking at Nolan differently.
Maybe that didn’t mean anything. Maybe he was just more comfortable away from big crowds, too.
But Nolan couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he’d taken Rita’s advice. And if it got him Finn’s attention…
There was no point in pretending Finn wasn’t attractive. Tall, well-built and handsome, with a healthy tan from working outdoors and a warm, easy smile that went straight to Nolan’s gut, swarms of butterflies exploding there every time Finn turned it on him.
If this was what it took to get someone like this to like him, maybe he’d just have to accept the compromise. It was worth it, wasn’t it?
“She’d actually love that,” Finn responded, opening the huge glass tank Buttercup seemed to live in. “You’re warm, which is pretty much her favorite thing. Snakes are easy to keep happy.”
“Pythons definitely don’t bite, right?”
“They can bite,” Finn said. “But they’re not venomous. And she’s used to being handled and you’re too big for her to eat.”
Nolan watched in awe as Finn coaxed the huge snake out, guiding it gently with both hands.
“She’s heavy,” Finn said. “You should be able to take her weight on your shoulders, but if it’s too much, just tell me. Don’t wanna crush you or anything.”
A nervous chuckle escaped Nolan before he could stop it, but Finn barely seemed to notice. Or if he did, at least he wasn’t saying anything.
Sparks skittered over Nolan’s skin as Finn’s hand made contact with his bare arm. The weight of Buttercup settling on his shoulders was a lot, much heavier than Nolan had really expected her to be, but he could take it. She was a nice, solid presence, almost soothing.
Maybe he’d get a python. They didn’t bark or meow, so no one would even have to know.
“You’re not afraid of her at all, are you?” Finn said, sounding impressed.
“Not really.” Nolan tried to shrug, but the weight of a six-foot python stopped him from moving his shoulders much. “I’m a little worried I’ll hurt her, but I’m not worried she’ll hurt me. You wouldn’t be showing her to a completely inexperienced I.T. nerd if she was dangerous.”
“You’ve got a lot of faith in my judgement,” Finn said.
“You work with wildlife every day and you’re still alive and not missing any limbs. I figure your judgement has to be pretty sound.”
Finn chuckled at that, and Nolan desperately wanted to keep making him laugh. He wanted to be funny and interesting. He wanted people to want to be around him.
“That’s one way of looking at it. And I do still have all my toes.” He grinned.
Nolan ran a hand along Buttercup’s side, taking in the texture of her scales, the way her body was cool but not cold. He’d never held a snake before, and while he’d known they weren’t slimy, he was surprised by how nice she was to touch.
Gavin might have been trying to be an asshole, but he’d actually ended up giving Nolan a genuine gift.
Served him right.
“She’s beautiful,” Nolan said. “This is absolutely worth five thousand dollars of Gavin’s money.”
Finn laughed again, which was exactly what Nolan had been hoping for. “Glad you think so. I even made dinner. If you’re hungry. I know it’s early, but I did promise you a date and May insisted on showing me how to make pulled pork. But I think Buttercup made a better impression than I ever could have.”
“I was surprised when you texted to ask if I was a vegetarian. I assumed you would be,” Nolan said.
Finn’s concern over what he could and couldn’t eat had actually been touching. Nolan didn’t have any particular dietary preferences or allergies, but it was nice to be asked all the same. It spoke to the kind of person Finn was.
“I get why you’d think that,” Finn said. “I guess I just see enough of the circle of life not to be too worried over it. But I also only eat free-range. I don’t like to think of animals suffering.”
“Shocker,” Nolan said, smiling warmly at Finn.
Not only was he hot, he was turning out to be so likeable. It’d been a while since Nolan had even had a crush on anyone, but Finn was…
He was wonderful. That was the only word Nolan could think of. There was just something magical about him.
“Oh, and, uh,” he added, realizing what Finn had actually said. “You’ve made a great impression. I haven’t had this much fun in a while.”
“Honestly? Me neither. No one who works here gets excited about the huge yellow snake anymore,” Finn said, smiling a small, honest smile. “It’s nice to have new people around.”
“And, uh, I skipped lunch, so dinner sounds amazing,” Nolan continued. “At some point, anyway.”
“It’s in the crock pot, so there’s a pretty big margin for error,” Finn said. “I’m all yours until you head home, so feel free to call the shots.”
“Does that mean I can quiz you about things?” Nolan asked, eager to pick Finn’s brain. He spent his days around either business or computer people, so someone with a completely different knowledge base was exciting.
Plus, Finn’s voice was like warm honey, and he could have listened to him talk about things he was interested in all day.
“You can ask any questions you want,” Finn said. “No guarantees I’ll know the answers, but if I don’t, I’ll find out for you.”
“What animals do you get in, mostly?” Nolan asked.
“Ooh, tough one. Obviously, we get enough reptiles and amphibians to make it worthwhile having a whole shed for them. Lots of small mammals too, though. We try to prioritize care for endangered or vulnerable species, since that’s where we can do the most good. I’m not sure I’m answering this question right.”
“No, you’re fine,” Nolan said. “I guess it’s more complicated than just… numbers. Which ones do you like the most?”
“Squirrels,” Finn responded without needing to pause. “Which is probably a dumb answer. I just like ‘em. They’re cute. Not super high priority though.”
“So what is high priority?”
“Well, panthers, but we don’t get a lot of those in,” Finn said. “And we’re setting up to take on birds again. We also obviously get quite a few, uh, exotic pets.” He nodded to Buttercup, who was working on wrapping herself around Nolan’s arm. Gently, though.
“Some of them go to zoos or get released back into the wild. You wouldn’t believe how many people keep alligators.”
“I probably would,” Nolan said. “I feel like you hear about it on the news all the time.”
“Yeah, animal control brings in an ex-pet to us about once a quarter. People just don’t get that they grow up, for some reason.”
“I spotted a couple on the way here,” Nolan said. “Friends of yours?”
“Probably.” Finn smiled wryly. “This whole area is full of them, though. They used to be an endangered species, but they’ve recovered over the last few decades. That’s one success story for people like us. Honestly, Florida isn’t too bad in terms of wildlife conservation. It’s why it’s nice to work here.”
“Right, you don’t sound like a local.”
“I’m from Iowa.” Finn’s wry smile turned into a broad grin. “Originally. Came down here for college and never left.”
“Fell in love with the state?” Nolan asked, moving his arm so Buttercup could investigate a nearby empty tank.
“Fell in love with a boy. Then fell out of love with the boy, but in love with the sanctuary and the work we do here. It’s a nice life, honestly. I wouldn’t change anything. Do you want me to take her?” he asked, nodding to Buttercup.
“She is getting a little heavy,” Nolan admitted. “And I think she wants to leave.”
“She’s a goddamn escape artist.” Finn sighed, unwinding Buttercup from Nolan’s arm and neck with a calm gentleness that just made butterflies swarm in Nolan’s stomach all over again every time Finn brushed against him.
“But I think she likes you,” he added as he coaxed Buttercup back into her tank.
“Yeah?” Nolan asked, surprised. He wasn’t sure what a python looked for in people, but he couldn’t imagine himself having it.
“You just let her soak up your warmth,” Finn explained. “Without tensing up or panicking or anything. She likes that.”
Before Nolan could respond, his stomach growled loudly. In addition to skipping lunch, he’d also skipped breakfast, nerves getting the better of him.
Now, he realized he shouldn’t have worried. This had actually turned out to be the most relaxing part of his day.
Finn was easy to be around.
“I could eat too,” Finn said before Nolan had to explain himself. “It’s been a long day.”
“If you’re tired, we can cut this short,” Nolan said, but the moment the words were out, he regretted them. The last thing he wanted to do was leave early.
On the other hand, though, he didn’t want to make Finn’s life hard.
“Nope. I’ll take you for a walk under the stars after dinner. And, uh. Find you a jacket.”
“I’ve got one in the car,” Nolan said. “I was a boy scout for two weeks. I guess the be prepared thing stuck.”
“Two weeks?”
Nolan smiled wryly. “Still can’t tie a knot to save my life.”
“My dad fished,” Finn said, double-checking Buttercup’s tank and then turning to head for the door. “So knots, I can handle. Do not ask me to pitch a tent, though.”
Nolan had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.
“I can’t even think of a way to rephrase that. Not a better one, anyway.”
“Erect a tent?” Nolan offered as innocently as he could, barely stopping himself from bursting into giggles.
“Sounds like a job for two people,” Finn responded, whirling around to wink at Nolan as he opened the door of the shed again, a blast of cooler air blowing in.
Which did absolutely nothing for the heat creeping up Nolan’s cheeks.
Finn was definitely flirting with him.
And all it took was not being a complete dork for maybe half an hour. Why hadn’t he tried this before?
“I wouldn’t know,” Nolan said. “We didn’t get as far as tents.”
Finn already knew his most embarrassing secret, anyway. Gavin had just blurted it right out in front of him.
Nolan had barely been able to appreciate how good Finn looked without a shirt on because of his embarrassment. But so far, Finn had been extremely cool about it, even going so far as to get Gavin to back off. Despite not having known him long, Nolan felt like he could trust Finn.
“No shame in that,” Finn responded, warmth in his voice. They definitely weren’t talking about literal tents anymore. “Firstly, camping isn’t for everyone. Secondly, it’s more fun with someone special. In my humble opinion.”
“Yeah?” Nolan asked, hating that he didn’t know. He wasn’t even sure he counted as gay if he hadn’t had sex at all yet.
“Well, I know one or two people who think different, but yeah. That’s what I think, anyway. But I’m not exactly an expert myself.”
For whatever reason, that was comforting. The idea that Finn wasn’t drowning in men made Nolan feel just a little better about himself. Maybe classic stunning good looks weren’t everything.
Although for Finn, it was probably more of a conscious choice than a lack of options.
Nolan wanted to ask whether he meant he wasn’t an expert in terms of number of times he’d gone camping or number of places he’d camped, but that seemed too personal a question. It also seemed like they’d stretched this metaphor as far as it could possibly go.
It was enough to have the reassurance that Finn didn’t think he was a weirdo. They could leave the conversation there for now.
“Dinner smells great,” he said as Finn opened the door to the house, guiding him inside.
“I’d take credit, but I mostly just followed instructions.” Finn shrugged. “I’d probably eat my own arm right about now, so I’m not gonna notice either way.”
“I eat a lot of takeout at my desk, so a home-cooked meal is kind of a luxury,” Nolan admitted.
“I don’t actually have a desk,” Finn responded. “I get the feeling your life involves a lot more work than mine does. Mostly I play with Spot.”
“You love your job,” Nolan said, settling down at the small, chipped table in the equally small, chipped kitchen. Not that the chipping was a bad thing. This place felt lived in. It felt like a home.
Nolan’s kitchen was in pristine condition because all he ever did in it was microwave noodles occasionally. He didn’t have the energy to cook for himself, or the time to do it for other people.
He also didn’t have the other people to cook for. Whereas this place looked like it’d seen a lot of communal meals.
“Not a huge fan of yours?” Finn asked.
Nolan shrugged, for lack of a better response. “It’s what I’m good at, I guess. But it’s not what you’d call rewarding.”
“Well…” Finn paused to move a pack of bread rolls from the counter to the table. “That, I know nothing about. I wanted to be a vet since I was a little kid, and that’s exactly what I do. I can’t pretend it’s not my dream job. But I think you should absolutely make room in your life for something that is rewarding. You can’t just work a job you don’t love until you die and not do anything else.”
“Actually,” Nolan’s seat creaked under him as he shifted his weight. “I was thinking… Doctor Reyes said you guys were always accepting volunteers…”
Was this a stupid thing to ask? Would they even be interested in a computer nerd who’d never really been around animals in his entire life?
What if Finn said no?
“We are,” Finn agreed, and Nolan let out a breath he’d barely realized he was holding.
He wasn’t being rejected.
“If you wanna volunteer here, you’d be welcome. Especially since you’re not afraid of Buttercup.”
“Really?” Nolan asked, sure this was too good to be true.
“Absolutely,” Finn said. “Seriously, it’d be great to have you around. When Ezra gets back and we start accepting birds again, things’re gonna get busy around here. We could use all the help we can get.”
“I dunno how much help I’d be, but I’m good at following instructions and everyone says I’m a quick learner,” Nolan offered, excitement making the pit of his stomach feel tight.
Finn wanted him here.
Someone, for once, wanted him around.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Finn said. “Send us an email and we’ll figure out a day and time and stuff to take you through safety procedures and that kinda thing. I’ll do it myself, since you already know me. Sort of.”
“I’d like that a lot,” Nolan admitted, figuring they were in safe territory.
He hadn’t come here intending to volunteer, but this place had a kind of magic to it. Just like Finn had said when they first met. And he needed something to do with his life other than work and sleep.
Rita would be proud of him for getting out in the world and doing stuff. She wanted him to go clubbing with her, but Nolan was never going to be into that.
This, he could be into.
“Awesome,” Finn said, pulling what looked like a whole pork shoulder out of the crock pot. “Hope you’re hungry.”
“Starving.” Nolan grinned up at Finn, already thinking about the next time he got to come here.
He could definitely get into this.