I Hate This Town - 27. Chapter 27: Easy

Alec tucked his leg under him as he looked down at his phone. He had to give it to River. The pictures his friend had helped him take were downright scandalous. He almost didn’t believe they were him. Worrying his lower lip between his teeth, he swiped through the ones that River had said were best. They hadn’t gone too crazy. He wasn’t naked or anything. He was wearing his flannel and boxer briefs; the buffalo check unbuttoned to reveal his chest and stomach underneath. River, perfectionist that he was, had spent an entire twenty minutes arranging Alec’s hair in a halo around his head. It looked like a pose from a magazine with all the pristine, fluffy white pillows and sheets surrounding him. The contrast with his shirt and hair was stark.

Alec was aware he wasn’t ugly, but his confidence was nowhere near his friend’s. He was still trying to process that they’d taken these pictures only a few hours ago in the warm sunlight of midday. They’d also taken them with Alec’s phone somehow. It was unreal. Kenji had left them shortly after lunch to do super-secret, mystery boyfriend things. While Kenji was away, he and River had spent the better part of the afternoon and evening getting the perfect pictures. Now River had gone back to his room to take a nap and wait for his man. Alec was sitting on the end of the bed.

He couldn’t decide which picture to send. He wasn’t sure if he should send one at all. Finn was gorgeous and muscular and-no-they’d slept together. Clearly Finn was attracted to him. That meant he was worrying himself for no reason. Chances were that the other man wasn’t expecting anything in return. Before he could chicken out, he chose a picture and sent it. He released a heavy breath and laid back on the bed. It was done. No take backs. Alec was shocked to find that it’d felt good. It was kind of freeing. No doubt Finn would be surprised. Hopefully he liked it too.

He was yanked from his thoughts when an annoying vibration started at his thigh. He pulled his phone from his pocket and caught his lower lip between his teeth. Finn was calling him. He was calling right after Alec had sent him the picture! What if he was freaked out by it? It’d be a little hypocritical, sure, but stranger things had happened to Alec. It would be just his luck if he’d crossed a line somewhere. He sighed and hesitantly pushed the answer button.

“He-hello?” He answered softly.

“Could you warn a guy next time? I almost fell over.” Finn laughed, but his voice sounded strange.

“Oh sorry. I thought it was only fair because you sent a picture earlier.”

“That’s not-no Alec. I just wasn’t prepared at all. Did you get professional pics taken or something? Cause damn. Wow.” Finn sounded out of breath and Alec wondered if he was working out again. Did people do that? He couldn’t imagine going to the gym more than once a day but maybe that was the secret to Finn’s…ahem…physique.

“You liked it then?” Alec asked nervously. River had sang his praises and gave him compliments, but hearing it from Finn would be a whole different thing.

“Like it? Did I like it? Alec are you crazy?” Finn laughed softly and his voice deepened, “I think it’s probably hazardous to my health to get that hard that fast. All of my blood just surged south. I’m honestly a bit light headed.”

Alec’s face heated and he closed his eyes, “Shut up.”

“Come make me.”

Something in Alec’s stomach tightened at the tone of Finn’s voice and his challenge, “Finn stop!”

Finn chuckled at Alec’s whine and he heard shifting on the other line, “What? You don’t like hearing about how hard you make me? Or is it that you don’t like having to back up that smartass mouth with actions?”

Alec’s head felt like it was going to explode. It seemed that Finn had changed more than he thought. He’d been gentle when they’d had sex. He’d moved as slow as Alec wanted and had reminded him of the younger version of Finn. The things he was saying, though. Finn had never spoken to him like this. No one had. There had been plenty of guys who tried to dirty talk him and it usually pulled Alec right out of a lust fueled headspace. It wasn’t that way now. Finn’s words paired with his voice’s lower register was working for Alec.

“Calm down. I’ll stop if it’s making you that uncomfortable.” Finn chuckled and Alec was torn. Part of him thought that was for the best and another part hated the thought of whatever atmosphere they had going away.

“No. It’s alright.” Alec took a deep breath. He wasn’t a virgin. He just needed to calm down for goodness’ sake. He swallowed and opened his eyes, “I like it.”

“Do you now?” He could hear Finn’s smile in his voice. He wasn’t sure what the expression on his face would be. Teasing? Turned on? It was hard telling.

“Are you coming here tonight?” He asked, voice shifting back to his normal tone a bit.

“I don’t know if I should.” Alec licked his dry lips and let the fingertips of his free hand ghost over his bare sternum.

“Why is that?” Finn’s voice had dropped the seductive notes and deepness all together now. He sounded worried, “Are you okay?”

He heard the unasked question. Did Finn even know what he was really asking? He had asked if Alec was okay, but he knew Finn was concerned he was having second thoughts. Alec didn’t want to freak the man out, but he was starting to get confused. Did he want him to stay or not? He was sending mixed signals in an attempt to be fair. The only way they were going to fix this was with another conversation. One where they stood on equal footing and Alec didn’t allow Finn to take over.

“Actually, maybe I should come.” He made himself say.

“Oh?” Finn’s voice sounded pleased if not confused.

“I need to talk to you about something.” Alec said.

“That doesn’t sound promising. Should I be running away?” Finn’s tone was joking but Alec caught the note of apprehension leaking into it.

“No. I just want to figure things out. For real this time.”

“Well yeah. I thought we said we were going to plan.” Finn said.

“I’m going to come over. We need to talk about other things first before we even start planning anything.”

“Alright, alright. Have you had dinner?”

“No. Should I grab something?” Alec asked as he sat up to button his shirt.

“Just come over. I’ll make something.”

Soon Alec was standing back in front of Finn’s front door. He raised a hand to knock and bit his lip to stop a smile as he heard Herky lose his absolute mind on the other side of the door. Funny, he didn’t remember hearing it earlier in the day. The curtains moved and Alec laughed when the dog’s big head nudged them aside, his nose smearing over the window. The dog glanced quickly over his shoulder. Alec thought he’d heard Finn yelling. Undeterred, the dog stayed in the window, eyes glued to Alec. He laughed again and waved at Herky just before he was tugged away from the window and out of sight.

“Door’s open!”

Alec turned the knob. He’d been invited in but it still felt strange entering someone else’s house. Especially when he’d had a deep conversation with that someone two days in a row and had spent the night with him. When he stepped inside, Alec was quick to close the door behind him. Finn let loose the hound and Herky jumped excitedly around him. Finn shook his head and ran fingers through his hair. Alec tried to focus on the adorable dog and not the absolute god standing across the room. Finn was wearing shorts that barely reached mid-thigh and that was it.

“Stop jumping or you’re going outside!” Finn scolded, pointing to the bed Alec had seen earlier. Herky threw a pleading look at Alec before sulkily trudging over to his bed. Alec covered his mouth to stifle his laugh when the dog looked at Finn as if he’d mortally wounded him.

“You’re so mean!” Alec whined, rushing forward to pet the dog’s cheeks, narrowly avoiding drool.

“Mhm. Downright evil. The child has to learn discipline.” Finn said, turning back to a doorway that must be the kitchen.

“You a professional at teaching discipline Finn?”

The man turned, a glint in his eye that made Alec downright hot, “You wanna find out?”

Alec bit his lip as Finn disappeared through the doorway. Those shorts were a test from God. Finn’s muscular ass and legs looked absolutely fantastic in them. They were bright turquoise too, which against his skin tone made Alec want to die a little. They also left very little to the imagination. Why was he still wearing clothes? Oh right, adult conversations and decision making. Alec took a deep breath and glanced to Herky to borrow some strength. To his delight, the dog got up and trotted over. He accompanied Alec into the kitchen, earning a glare from his owner.

“Leave him alone. He’s my buddy.” Alec said, scratching behind Herky’s ear and smiling down at the adoring look in the animal’s eyes.

“You can have him. The sheer amount of drool I have to clean up.” Finn laughed, standing at the counter. Alec snuck closer (Herky following for moral support) to watch the man make patties out of ground beef. There were two other brown wrapped packages next to him that Alec assumed was more meat.

“What are we having?” He asked.

“Uh, I’m grilling.” Finn tilted his head to the side, motioning to an open sliding glass door that led to a little patio with a grill, “I have brats, hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken skewers.”

“So, meat, meat, and more meat. Do you have vegetables or something that’s not a protein?” Alec asked, chuckling softly.

“Of course. Protein, vegetables. That’s like my whole diet. Plus, I thought you liked meat?” Finn smirked and Alec scoffed.

“Shut up.” Alec rolled his eyes and hid his smile.

Finn laughed and carried the plate of hamburgers out to the grill and Alec trailed behind him. He watched Finn lift the metal lid and start laying the food on it. There were already packs of aluminum foil on the top tier and Alec tilted his head to the side.

“Vegetables.” Finn explained as he worked, “What did you want to talk about?”

Alec hadn’t been ready for the abrupt change in topic. He fidgeted nervously and Finn glanced to him, waiting patiently. Licking his lips, he looked at the other man, “I didn’t like how our conversation went.”

Finn closed the lid and turned to him, hand on his hip above where those damned shorts sat way too low, “Alright. What didn’t you like?”

“I told you that I wanted to be together and move back and you slid right into acting like I couldn’t make decisions for myself. I’m a couple years from thirty. I can decide things for myself.” The words rushed out and Alec bit down harder than necessary on his lower lip to stop the awkward flood of words. He hadn’t meant to phrase it that way. He’d wanted to be nicer about it. Instead it had come off as accusatory.

Finn’s head dipped as he looked down at his feet. Both hands were on his hips now and his head lifted before he nodded, meeting Alec’s eyes again, “That’s fair.”

Alec blinked, pausing in his nervous fidgeting as he waited for the other shoe to drop. Finn wasn’t going to argue? He didn’t have an issue with what Alec had said? As he thought more, Alec was relieved. Finn shouldn’t have a problem with it. He was allowed to speak his mind. He realized that he’d been expecting to upset Finn by choosing to have a voice. Defending himself or simply explaining why he was upset shouldn’t make him so nervous. This was Finn after all. He’d always been more than willing to try and understand Alec.

“I wasn’t trying to…infantilize you but I can see why what I said did it anyway.” Finn smiled sheepishly, “You have every right to be unhappy with that. I know it’d piss me off if someone talked down to me like that.”

“I’m not pissed. I just need you to let me level the playing field. I don’t want to feel like you don’t value my opinion or you think I’m foolish.” Alec shrugged and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“Come inside.” Finn said, leading the way. Alec followed and watched the blond wash and dry his hands. Once he was done he opened his arms and smiled. It was so bright that it stopped Alec’s heart for a minute. He stepped forward and was enveloped in a warm hug. Alec rested his cheek against Finn’s shoulders and made a soft, content noise when big hands rubbed up and down his back. He tipped his head back and Finn’s lips met his tenderly. Alec felt a hand slide up to hold the back of his head as Finn gave him more kisses. He was very aware that he was pressed against all of Finn’s muscle and golden skin and he sucked his lower lip into his mouth as the other stopped the kisses.

“You’re moving back then?” Finn mumbled from where he’d rested his forehead against Alec’s shoulder.

Alec ran his fingers through the man’s hair, short nails grazing his scalp lightly, “That’s the plan. My mom’s not doing well and my dad wants to try at an actual relationship. Then, of course, you.”

“Yes, me of course.” Finn chuckled and kissed Alec’s shoulder.

He’d eaten far too much grilled food and now he felt like a beached whale. They were sitting on Finn’s couch watching some sports ball news show. It looked like a baseball recap and Finn was far too invested in whatever the heck they were talking about. Alec was seated close to him, giggling when Finn mumbled angrily about something the newscaster said. He let himself list slowly to the side, resting his head on Finn’s shoulder. Herky was snoozing happily at their feet and Alec was hit with how domestic the whole thing was. It was nice and he really found he liked it. Other than the sports. He’d never been that interested in any form of sports ball. He supposed he’d have to suck it up. It was his fault for falling for a man who’d literally lead every sports team their school offered.

Alec scrolled through his phone, answering emails and browsing houses for sale in the towns surrounding Sunnyside. He hummed softly and adjusted when Finn’s arm looped around his waist. Lips pressed to his temple, “Sorry. We can watch something else. I’m not used to anyone other than family being here and Milo watches all of this with me. Nina does too. She was a collegiate softball player.”

“Oh god, what am I getting myself into. You’re all athletes?” Alec whined.

Finn laughed, “My dad played football and baseball too. My mom was volleyball and track.”

“What, are you part of some all-American athlete breeding program? Triple A if you will.”

Finn laughed again and it made Alec a little giddy that he was the reason, “I got good genetics little nerd.”

“I am not little. I will have you know I’m an entire two inches above the national average for men.” Alec gasped with mock outrage.

“We know what you can do with two inches.” Finn laughed.

“Awe don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s bigger than that Finn.” Alec retorted.

Finn’s mouth opened in a moment of shock and then Alec found himself getting tackled backwards, “You’d know. You took all of it like a champ.”

Alec scoffed and tried to hold back a laugh as he laid under the blond, “Have you always secretly been this vulgar? God!”

Finn chuckled and linked their fingers, hauling Alec’s hands above his head, “Yeah. I used to hide it better.”

Alec felt his face heating as he shifted. His lower body was twisted awkwardly under Finn, his legs still hanging over the side of the couch. He stopped noticing his discomfort when Finn kissed him again. Finn’s fingers squeezed Alec’s gently as his tongue skimmed over his lower lip. Alec opened his mouth and Finn swallowed his soft moan. They made out lazily until Alec’s lower body protested the position. He squirmed and Finn pulled back.

“You okay?” He asked, releasing Alec’s hands.

“Just need,” Alec shimmied and readjusted until Finn was settled between his legs, “there. Better.”

“Mm.” Finn hummed, cupping Alec’s face to kiss him again, “Are you staying the night?”

Alec hooked his leg over Finn’s hip, brushing his thumbs over the blond’s cheekbones, “I don’t know.”

“You should. Your hotel is so far away and it’s super late.” Finn said, kissing Alec’s forehead.

“Finn it’s like seven.”

“Right! So late!” Finn exclaimed, propping himself up.

“I forgot you go to bed early. Old man.” Alec teased.

Finn tickled him and Alec squeaked and tried to get away, “You’re such a brat.”

Alec wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, “Guessing you want me to stay then?”

“Duh.” Finn grinned, sitting up and pulling Alec with him, “We, uh, don’t have to do anything.”

That was how Alec found himself curled in Finn’s bed with arms wrapped around his middle. Finn was in boxer briefs and Alec wore his boxers and one of Finn’s shirts. It was baggy and far more comfortable than it needed to be. The conversation had gone far better than he thought it would. Now Alec just had to go through the process of moving himself across the country. He groaned softly and Finn’s hold on him tightened.

“Mm s’wrong?” Finn slurred. His voice was still heavy with sleep. Alec smiled to himself. Almost as soon as they’d laid down, Finn had conked out, snoring softly.

“Nothing. I have a lot on my mind.” Alec whispered into the dark.

“S’too late for thoughts. Go to sleep. I’ve got you babe.” Finn’s lips pressed to the back of his neck and nuzzled gently. Alec’s body relaxed and he closed his eyes. Finn’s fingers stroked his stomach gently and it lulled him to sleep. Maybe things weren’t so bad. At least he’d figure out one part of the puzzle.