Page 41 of Clean Finish

“Taylor’s not coming to watch the show tonight.” Holt pouted a little. “I’m gonna go check everything’s ready and that there are no issues, then I’ll watch from the box. You can do what you want. I’m sure you’ve been hanging out backstage a lot this week, huh?” he added wryly, brow quirking.

Larkin flushed, squirming in his seat. “I actually haven’t. I’ve been here. Working hard like always.”

Holt chuckled at that, which meant he was definitely in a great mood. “Well then I guess you deserve the night off. Go flirt with the wrestlers to your heart’s content.”

I tensed slightly, staring down at my crossword. My pulse sped up a little when Larkin uncomfortably said, “Um, nah. I think I’ll watch the show with you tonight. If that’s okay.”

“Sure.” Holt shrugged and made his way to the door. “Seb, same goes for you. Feel free to stay in here and relax.”

I looked up, eyes darting to Larkin for a brief moment, before I heard myself telling Holt, “Actually, I might come and watch the show tonight too.”

Holt stopped at the door, blinking at me in surprise. “Really? Okay. Sounds good.”

“It’s not too loud in the box,” Larkin blurted as Holt left the room. “You’ll still be able to concentrate on your crossword and stuff.”

I gave him a tiny smile. “I know. I’ve been in there before.”

“Oh right. Yeah.” He bleated a laugh, fiddling with his keyboard and mouse. “And there’s pretzels. And cream soda in the minifridge. I love cream soda.”

I made a mental note to buy a case of cream soda to keep in the fridge at home. “Cream soda’s nice.”

“Have you ever tried it with caramel apple vodka? Oh my god, dude, it’s so good.”

I smiled. “I haven’t. I’ll have to try it sometime.”

His eyes brightened. “We could—”

I went perfectly still, holding my breath as he stopped abruptly, but then he just fidgeted and said, “Um, you could try it when you hang out with Ludo or something. And… Brian.”

I let out a slow breath, trying not to feel disappointed. “I’ve never hung out with Brian outside of work.”

Brian—the werewolf wrestler, B. Were—was kind of a lone wolf, for lack of a better term. Quiet and very shy. He was friendly with Ludo and me, but we’d never bumped into him outside of work, not even in the various haunts frequented or run by werewolves, like Lupe’s Diner and a shitty dive bar on the edge of town that didn’t give a shit about the fistfights that commonly broke out among drunk and riled-up werewolves.

“Oh.” Larkin jerked his desk chair restlessly from side to side. “Okay. I just thought… You seem… friendly.”

I shrugged. “He’s a nice guy.”

“He is. He’s really nice. All the wrestlers are really nice.” He went quiet as I tensed up. I didn’t really want to hear Larkin gushing about the wrestlers he wanted to fuck. But then he awkwardly said, “I feel… kind of bad for, like, um, objectifying them all. Maybe. Do you… think I have been?”

He was gazing at me like I knew all the answers. I exhaled and lowered my crossword book.

“I wouldn’t say so,” I said steadily. “You flirt with them a lot, but they flirt back, and you don’t actually speak to them like they’re just… sexual objects who exist for your pleasure. No worse than how they all reacted to seeing Taylor for the first time, from what I’ve heard. You hang out with them. You talk to them. You’re friends.”

Larkin nodded, nibbling on his lower lip with his little fangs. “I really like them. As people, I mean. Not just… I mean, I want to… you know… do stuff with them?” He sounded a lot less certain about that than he had a week ago. “If they want to, I mean. But I’m not just gonna stop being friends with them after, um… after.”

After he’d fucked them. A pang went through my chest as I nodded in silence.

“You know, like you and me,” he then said hurriedly. “We’re friends. We’re not gonna stop being friends because of… you know. The thing. The lessons.”

I nodded again, swallowing around the lump in my throat.

“I really hope not, anyway,” he added anxiously. “You’re really cool, Seb. And I’m—I hope you know how grateful I am for you helping me.”

My heart squeezed. “I know. I’m happy to do it.”

“When…” He trailed off shyly. “When, um, do you think we’ll… have the next one?”

God. I shifted as my cock stiffened in a rush, already picturing it.