Chapter 34
Finn
Chase pulled up in front of my apartment a little after ten. Our date had been perfect with dinner, another Instagram moment, and a lazy stroll on the Riverwalk that should’ve lasted a lifetime. Now, we were sitting in his car in comfortable silence, neither of us quite ready for the night to end.
“Thanks for dinner,” I said. “And for . . . the whole night.”
“Thank you for saying yes.” Chase smiled, his hand still resting on my leg. “I had a great time.”
“Me, too.”
We sat there for another moment, just looking at each other like idiots, neither of us quite sure what to do next.
“I should go,” I said, not moving.
“Yeah, you should,” Chase agreed, also not moving.
“Do you want to come in? Just for a minute?”
“I don’t want to intrude—”
“You’re not intruding. Come on. Just for a bit.”
Chase hesitated, then smiled. “Okay. Just for a bit.”
We got out of the car and headed up toward my apartment. I unlocked the door, pushed it open, and immediately knew I’d made a terrible mistake.
Priya was home.
But she wasn’t just home—she was changed out of her scrubs into sweats and an oversized T-shirt and sitting on the couch with a can of Pringles in one hand and a mug of hot chocolate in the other.
The moment we walked through the door, her head snapped up like a starving lion spotting an injured gazelle.
“Oh, my,” she said, her eyes going wide. “You brought a boy home.”
“Just for a minute,” I said. “We’re not—”
But it was too late.
Priya was already up, setting down her Pringles and mug with deliberate precision, and crossing the room with the kind of purposeful stride that made me want to block the doorway.
“You are Chase, right?” she said, extending her hand.
“Yes. Hi. You must be Priya.” Chase shook her hand, smiling. “Finn’s told me a lot about you.”
“All good things, I hope.” She was still holding his hand, studying him with that intense doctor gaze that could diagnose a tumor from across the room. “Come and sit. I insist.”
“Priya—” I started.
But she refused to release his hand and was dragging him toward the couch like a tugboat guiding a vessel into harbor. Chase shot me a panicked look as Priya planted him on the couch next to where she’d been sitting.
I groaned.
This was happening.
I closed the door and stood there, watching the beautiful disaster unfold before me.
“So,” Priya said, plopping down next to Chase with her legs tucked under her. She snatched up her mug and Pringles can, popping a chip into her mouth before asking, “You’re a lawyer?”
“Family law,” Chase confirmed. “At Morrison but this wasn’t like the kiss at the restaurant—careful and public and aware of cameras. This was private and desperate and real.
His hands dug into my hair.
My hands slipped under his shirt, feeling the warm skin of his back.
We were pressed together from chest to thigh, and I could feel—
Oh God, I could feel everything.
I made a sound—half groan, half whimper—and Chase pulled back, breathing hard.
“Finn,” he said, his voice rough.
“Yeah?”
“We should stop.”
“Probably.” I didn’t let go of him. “But I don’t want to.”
“Me neither.” He kissed me again, softer this time. “But we’re standing outside your apartment.”
“I know.”
“Where your neighbors could see.”
“I know.”
“And Priya is right on the other side of that door.”
I groaned and let my head fall back against the wall. “This is so unfair.”
“What is?”
“This. You. Us making out in a hallway when I really wish we had privacy.”
Chase pulled back, studying my face. “Privacy for what?”
Instead of answering, I reached down and grabbed his very obvious, very hard erection through his jeans.
Chase’s eyes went wide.
“I had plans for him tonight,” I said, giving him a gentle squeeze.
Chase’s eyebrows shot up toward his hairline.
“Oh,” he managed. “Oh. Really?”
“Fuck yes, really. I think it’s time we found out just how well you know how to use this thing.”
“That’s—” He cleared his throat and blinked. For once, I think the unflappable man was flustered. “That’s good to know.”
“Is it?”
“It’s very good to know.” He was grinning now, that dazed but delighted expression that made me want to push him into my apartment and mark Priya’s couch in ways she could never erase. “I guess we need another date, then.”
“Yes, please.” My words came out pitiful and pleading.
Chase laughed—breathless and strangled. “Okay. Okay. Thursday?”
“Thursday’s days away.”
“Aren’t you a needy little thing,” he said, though his voice was filled with warmth. “Unfortunately, it’s the soonest I can do. I have client meetings Wednesday night.”
“Fine. Thursday.” I gave his cock another squeeze and grinned. “I’m going to be thinking about this until then.”
“Good.” Chase kissed me again, quick and sweet. “He likes you almost as much as I do.”
“Okay. I’m going. But for Thursday, your place or mine?”
“Yours. Definitely yours. I had dreams about your kitchen counters . . . and the stairs . . . and the patio out back.”
Chase laughed so hard he stumbled back. “You’re terrible.”
We stood there for another moment, neither of us quite ready to say goodbye.
“Text me when you get home?” I said.
“I will.”
“And drive safe.”
“I will.” He kissed me one more time. “Good night, Finn.”
“Good night, Chase.”
I watched him walk toward the stairs. Just before he turned the corner, he looked back and smiled.
God, I was in so much trouble.
I waited until I heard his car’s engine roar to life, then let myself back into the apartment.
Priya was already nested on the couch again. “So, that went well.”
“You were listening?”
“Obviously I was listening. What kind of sneaking, spying best friend would I be if I let you talk to that man without putting a glass to the door?”
“You—”
She barreled on. “Thursday, huh? At his place? I assume this is not to play board games, no?”
My face went nuclear. “I hate you.”
“You love me. Also, I like him. He’s good. Keep him.”
“Thanks, mom. I’ll do my best.”
“I call my mother, ‘Amma.’ If you insist on promoting me to parental status, please use that term.”
“Fuck my life,” I groaned.
“Fuck that man, you mean.”
I felt my toes blush as I took off down the hall toward my bedroom.