Page 27 of Filtration Play
They so fucking would.
Giddiness bloomed inside him.
“Ollie, mind giving me a ride home?” Jules asked. “Izzy came right from a meeting, and she’s heading in the opposite direction to hit happy hour with her coworkers.”
Disappointment tugged in Ollie’s chest. Truly, the answer was no. He wanted to stay in Fin’s apartment and learn more about the enigma that had ensnared his attention.
“I’ll send some pizza with you.” Fin walked toward the kitchen. They weren’t dealing with the same withdrawal he was, and they’d made their intentions with him pretty straightforward from the start. Now that he’d had time to settle, the reason to camp at their apartment dissolved, even if he wanted to stay.
“I’m good,” he said. “Just hit me up when you want to do the next shoot, yeah?”
Because that was one thing that bound them together right now, one thing he could hold on to.
Fin’s eyes lit up as if they’d forgotten about the shoot in the wake of what had happened after. “Fuck yeah. I can’t wait.” They slunk up beside him and murmured in his ear. “And if there’s any lingering fog or mood swings, don’t hesitate to text me, okay? I want to make sure you’re not sub dropping or anything.”
Ollie licked his lips, warmth rushing through him. The care in those rarely serious hazel eyes stopped him still. Even if Fin wasn’t the relationship sort, they were someone he wanted in his life, whatever the capacity. They’d proven that already through their words and actions. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”
“I need a drink after all this.” Izzy took the lead and strode toward the door.
Jules stared at him purposefully, which Ollie purposefully ignored as they both headed out too. The door to Fin’s apartment shut with a click behind him, and Ollie’s chest sank. Guaranteed this wouldn’t be an innocent drive back but an interrogation. Julian had been too much of a parent to him his whole life for it not to be. They reached the bottom of the steps and looped around to the street.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Ollie.” Izzy squeezed him in a hug. “Your choice in fuck buddies is questionable, but I’m glad there wasn’t any danger. Apart from the whole roaming around an abandoned building thing. Maybe don’t do that.”
“Wasn’t my first time at the building.” Ollie hugged Izzy back. “Probably won’t be my last.”
“Ugh, stop making me worry more,” Izzy said. “I’ll down an extra drink for that.”
“You would anyway,” Julian teased as he hugged Izzy as well.
Ollie marched toward his car, needing to brace himself for whatever Julian would say. His brother was one of the kindest people on the planet, and Ollie had been a dick to him over the years, pushing back in whatever way possible. That had calmed the older he got, but some days, when he wanted to hurt, kindness scratched at him with claws.
He hopped in the driver’s seat of his Subaru, an older model he’d patched up himself. Julian slipped in the passenger’s seat.
Ollie cast him a glance as he started the ignition. “So, did you really need a ride, or was that an excuse?”
Julian fixed him with a look. “I do. Izzy’s heading back to her after-hours time with coworkers, and I didn’t want to put her out.”
Ollie set on the road in the direction of Julian and Cal’s house. “Were you with Cal and Kay? Sorry I pulled you away from that.”
Jules shrugged. “They were watchingFrozenfor the thousandth time. I can let Elsa go, just this once.”
Ollie shook his head, a grin rising to his lips. “Parenthood looks good on you.”
“Wonder where I got the practice,” Jules teased.
Ollie’s chest squeezed tight. He and Amelia wouldn’t have survived into adulthood without Jules. Mom had died when he was very young, and he couldn’t remember her much, just fuzzy memories of soft smiles and the sharp scent of gardenia. While Izzy and Luke had been old enough to fend for themselves, Jules had stepped in to help Dad, both logistically and emotionally. “Yeah, but now you’re getting to do it on your terms.”
“Having Cal by my side helps a lot,” he said, his voice taking on a dreamy tone whenever he talked about his boyfriend. Envy spasmed in Ollie’s chest. The idea of having one person look at him like he was the sole thing in existence…he couldn’t even imagine it. Not like he’d ever experienced that intensity with his boyfriend or girlfriends. Ollie was a temporary thrill, there for a good time but never anyone’s long term.
And damn, he wanted to be someone’s long term.
“You guys are perfect together.” Ollie clutched the wheel a little tighter as he set onto the freeway.
“You could find that too,” Jules said. “Though not with Fin.”
That statement out in the open slammed into his stomach like a blow. Maybe a part of him had been fixating too hard on how they made him feel, on how they’d brought him into this whole new world of exploration.
“They’re just introducing me to the kink scene,” Ollie said. “Nothing more than that.”
