Page 49 of Clean Finish

I kept glancing back at the door every few seconds. It was busy now, people milling around everywhere, several of the wrestlers joining Frank and Beans in the pool. Biff got some steaks and burgers on the grill, and Gabe vanished inside for a minute, returning with a huge cooler full of beer and Corey and Crossbody in tow. The pair of them claimed two loungers in the shade and immediately began slathering themselves in high-factor sunscreen as Cora started snuffling around, going up to everyone for a fuss.

My pulse leaped when I faintly heard the doorbell ring. Taylor patted Holt’s shin and shifted his feet off his lap so he could stand to go and answer.

I glanced around quickly. That had to be Seb, right? I was pretty sure everyone else was here already. I reflexively tugged on my baseball cap and shifted back, trying to appear totally relaxed and at ease.

But when Taylor returned, it was with Susan and Asmo. As in Assmo Dickus. I felt a brief flash of excitement, followed by a hefty dose of nerves. Oh my god, it was… weird seeing him in person. Fully clothed. Well, no, he was nowhere near fully clothed—he was only wearing a pair of tiny shorts and a backwards cap. Oh god, he was even hotter in real life. And he seemed super friendly. He cheerfully said hello to everyone, then grabbed Taylor and pulled him close to take a selfie, delivering a hearty slap on his back that had the human jolting forward and laughing nervously.

I looked away and pulled out my phone to check it, just in case Seb had texted me saying he was going to be late or something. Or that he wasn’t coming. The only messages I had were from Hans, asking me if I’d be gaming later, and Nolan, who’d sent me a meme about a zombie show we both watched.

I fiddled with my phone, periodically glancing up at the door and trying not to hunch over as Holt and Mads chatted casually on either side of me. Why was I feeling so weird and self-conscious? Maybe it was because I was the youngest one here. I was pretty sure I was, anyway—one of the guys who worked behind Goliaths’ bar was maybe a year older than me, but I hadn’t spoken to him all that much.

I suddenly felt something snuffling at my sock, so I looked down to see Cora panting up at me, muzzle parted in her wide, manic grin and her eyes pointing outward. I laughed and leaned over to scoop her up, feeling more at ease as she placed her little paws on my chest and stretched her neck to try and lick my chin.

“Hi, babycakes.” I buried my fingers in her coat, scritching lightly at her sides the way I knew she liked. “I bet you get hot fast with this thick fur. Make sure you don’t sit in the sun too long, okay?”

Taylor had returned and perched on the edge of Holt’s lounger, looking slightly flushed from meeting Asmo, but he stood back up. “I’ll go get her a bowl of water.”

“I’ll do it, babe.” Holt set down his margarita and swung his legs off the lounger. “You relax.”

“Okay.” He smiled up at Holt as he stood and bent down for a kiss, then adjusted Taylor’s cowboy hat with a smirk before gliding away.

Taylor shuffled back to stretch out on the lounger, smiling as he watched me fuss over Cora. “She’s so cute.”

I grinned at him, scratching behind Cora’s ears as she draped herself over my crossed legs and watched the wrestlers in the pool with interest. “Yeah, she is. We never had a dog when I was growing up, but I really want one someday.”

Taylor chuckled. “I’d love a dog too, but I don’t think Holt would. Unless it was something small that he could carry around, like Cora.”

“I’m sure you could convince him, bro.” I smirked at him. “Just put that party hat back on and smear some frosting on your face. Apparently that works like a charm.”

Taylor’s cheeks turned pink. “Shut up,” he grumbled.

I snickered. “No judgement, bro. I already knew Holt was into some unique—”

“What do you want to drink, Seb?” Holt’s voice drifted out from the living room, making me freeze mid-sentence before my head snapped up and I twisted around to face the doors leading into the house.

Then I heard him—“Just a beer is fine, thanks”—before he appeared from the gloom inside, stepping out onto the patio.

I looked him over quickly before he could notice me. He was wearing plain blue swim trunks and a soft, worn white T-shirt that clung to his wide chest. My skin prickled, fingers clenching a little tighter in Cora’s fur. It was probably weird that I’d literally stroked his dick but hadn’t seen his legs until now. His calves were strong and muscular, shins dusted with dark hair. And his biceps looked… big, the sleeves of his T-shirt straining against them.

“Seb’s here,” Taylor commented needlessly. I forced myself to look away and glanced at him, cheeks flushing when I saw him watching me with a knowing look on his face.

Which, I mean, what was up with that? A knowing look? What did he think he knew? There wasn’t anything to know. Well, except that Seb had recently started giving me sex lessons. But there was literally no way Taylor could know that.

And we could never, ever let him find out that we’d frotted in his brand-new office. On his brand-new desk.

“Is he?” I jerked my shoulders in what I hoped was a careless shrug. “Cool.”

He chuckled, then suddenly stood from the lounger, grabbing Holt’s drink and towel. “I just have to go… do something. Hey, Seb!” he added enthusiastically, making my gut go all twisty and weird. “There’s a free lounger here. Better grab it quick before someone else does.”

“Hi, Taylor. Thanks.” Seb’s low voice made me tense up again, and I kept my head bent, watching Cora, who was starting to drift off on my lap, until I saw a towel land on the now vacant lounger beside me from the corner of my eye.

Looking up, I found my face melting into a huge grin when I saw Seb sitting down. “Hey.”

He flashed me a brief grin back, eyes darting down my frame before he huffed in amusement at the sight of Cora. “Hey.”

“I thought maybe you weren’t coming,” I blurted, then flushed and squirmed a little, which made Cora snort.

“I went to have breakfast at my parents’. They live in the next town over. My sister showed up with my nieces.” He gave me a tiny smile. “I haven’t seen them for a while, so I ended up staying longer than I’d planned.”