Page 25 of Filtration Play
Ollie lifted a brow. “Does it look like I’d respond well to gentle?”
They stared at him for a beat and then shook their head. Fuck. They were used to being the prickly one, the troublemaker, the brat—never easy. Except each interaction with Ollie so far had been far smoother than they’d ever expected. He was quick-witted as hell and a flirt, but even more important, he played the same game they did. A professional level of coasting on the surface to skip right over those minefields. And damn did it stoke their curiosity, but they knew better than to prod.
“Right, so next scene bust out the rubber tire floggers,” Fin teased.
Ollie blanched, and they cackled.
“I fucking work with tires. No way am I letting you hit me with one,” he said. He seemed a bit more stabilized now, his limbs no longer shaking, his mind sharper, but he needed food.
Fin glanced at their phone. “I’m going to grab the pizza. It’s right downstairs. Feel free to throw something on as long as it’s not a documentary because they make my ears bleed.”
“Are you allergic to learning?” Ollie grabbed the remote they offered.
“I need lessons thumped into me, not from some fucker droning on over ambient music.” They strode toward the door and descended the steps in a breeze, heading to the first floor where the scents of salty cheese and sauce from Pizza Heaven wafted their way. As they swept to the front counter, the chick didn’t even ask. She dipped to the line of orders, grabbed their pizzas, and passed them over.
“Thanks.” Fin clutched the pizza boxes tight, their stomach rumbling.
When they hopped back up the steps, their heart thumped a little harder. Someone waited for them behind the door, and a shiver rolled down their spine. They weren’t sure if it was from anticipation or terror, since the signals got mixed up in their brain a lot.
When they stepped in, the sound of the TV greeted them. Ollie had clearly picked something.
“I suspected you wouldn’t want to watch a discussion on the last Packers game with me, so I went withFarscape,” he said.
“Fuck yes.” They dropped the pizza boxes onto the coffee table with a thump.
“You trying to turn that into a congealed ball of cheese?” Ollie asked.
“Maybe I want to watch you choke it down,” they responded sweetly and headed to their cabinets for plates. Silverware? Was there anything else people ate with? Fuck, they didn’t entertain for shit, and it showed.
By the time they got back with the plates, Ollie had cracked the pizza box open and separated a few slices. Fin passed the plate over, and he loaded three on it. They grabbed two of their own and didn’t wait for any cues before launching in. The heat was almost a little toomuch, but that had never stopped them before. Burn, baby, burn. The medley of cheese, sauce, and dough was perfection, and since they were fucking starved, the combination hit in the best damn way.
Ollie let out a pornographic moan. “I’d let someone keep me tied up if it meant I got pizza.”
The visual struck Fin straight in the groin. Goddamn, he looked fucking hot enough tied up already, but the idea of him at their beck and call, there to be fucked over and over again… They shoved another bite of pizza into their mouth and chewed.
Farscapeblared on the TV, a familiarity there they appreciated. While they had lots of differing interests from Ollie—like fucking football—they shared enough that conversation was easy. He had a daredevil streak they wouldn’t have expected with the talk about Julian’s “baby” brother they’d heard over the years from the Tabletop Tavern crew.
“Have you had diabetes your whole life?” they asked, even though they focused on their pizza.
“Nah. It hit in my senior year of high school. Scared the crap out of Jules and Dad.”
Fin’s lips quirked. “What was that, last year?”
Ollie lifted his middle finger. “I’m drinking age, thank you very much.”
“I know. You’ve dealt with enough shit to make your own calls. Also, I may brat, but if age is off-limits, I won’t tease.”
Ollie chewed on his lower lip for a second, then flashed them one blinder of a smile. “Honestly, with most folks, it is, but it doesn’t bother me from you. Pretty sure you wouldn’t be fucking me if you viewed me as too young.”
“Damn straight. That’s one grown-ass…well, piece of ass right there.” Fin shrugged. “Never claimed to be eloquent.”
“Eh, you are when you want to be,” Ollie said, a wicked glint in his eyes. “Especially when I’m on my knees.”
Damn, this boy was too much fun to tangle with. And the pizza, water, and time seemed to have done the trick, since he didn’t have the same pallor or shakiness as before.
“Maybe that’s your fault for looking too damn good on your knees,” they flirted back.
A knock pounded on the door, and they tensed.
