Page 20 of Best Friends, Tennessee

No shot in fucking hellFinnhad let his dick anywhere in a two-foot radius of another guy’s mouth.

“Aguysucked you off?” I asked, still giving him a doubtful stare.

He breathed deep, looking down at the kitchen mat on the floor and uncrossing his arms.

“I got drunk at Hard Spot,” Finn said. “There was a guy who was visiting from out of town somewhere. Illinois or Indiana, I can’t remember. He seemed lonely so I chatted with him, and after I started drinking I ended up spilling my guts to him. I was in a bad place.”

“You told him about your break with Christina?”

Finn’s eyelashes were two dark rows as he looked down at the floor. “Told him about that. And told him about you.”

I furrowed my brow. “What about me?”

“That my best friend left town years ago and that it didn’t feel like we’d ever get our friendship back,” Finn said quickly, like he was trying to mechanically force the words out of his mouth. “I don’t remember. It was dumb.”

This was almost harder to believe than the dick sucking part.

Finn rarely opened up to anyone, especially not strangers. He was always extremely friendly and kind, but he didn’t get personal.

Really, he only used to get personal withme.

“Christ, Finn,” I said softly.

“He was staying at the inn across the street, and when he invited me back to his room, I was… even more dumb. I thought he really just wanted to watch a movie with a friendly face, but…”

“Bless your heart,” I said, not caring that my southern drawl came out a little as I said it.

Finn met my eyes, and I felt like I was looking right into his soul for a moment.

“He said I was really hot. He complimented me a lot, and said he hadn’t sucked dick in a while. I was flattered. He said that talking to me was the best thing that had happened to him in months.”

I raised my eyebrows. “So you just let him suck you off because you felt like he was a nice guy?”

Finn shrugged. “I was curious. What the hell else do you want from me?”

“You’re the straightest guy I know,” I protested.

“A mouth is a mouth, and I did get along well with him,” Finn said. “Back in ancient history, guys sucked other guys’ dicks all the time.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

“You werecurious,” I repeated, lost for any other words.

I felt like my entire world had just gone upside-down and Finn was acting like it was just a random night at a bar.

“I felt weird for a couple of weeks afterward,” Finn said. “I questioned a lot of things. I, uh, looked at the gay parts of dating apps and tried to see if I was actually attracted to guys, but that was a bust.”

“You didn’t tell me any of this?”

His eyes were smoldering. “We haven’t told each other shit in years, Ori.”

I couldn’t argue with that, either.

“Wow.”

“Anyway, the thought of dating any of those guys or even kissing dudes didn’t appeal to me, so I realized it was just a weird one-time thing. I was drunk, sad, and drifting. When I told Christina, it definitely solidified that we were broken up for good, though.”

“You didn’t have to tell her about that night, Finn.”

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