Page 93 of Clean Finish

In an instant, I was picturing Seb when he’d burst out of the trees the other night, all sweaty and bare-chested, his muscles seeming to have swelled even bigger. My belly clenched. I’d wanted to shove my face into his armpit and inhale the scent of his clean sweat, but I’d settled for giving him an awkward hug instead.

Noice, I texted back. Then, because I didn’t want to seem all clingy and obsessive, I typed, Well, I’ll see you later at work. New crossword tonight?

I was getting a tiny bit better at them, but I didn’t really care about being the one to get the answers. I just liked sitting with Seb. Having an excuse to sit closer than other situations allowed. Chatting quietly with him while Taylor and Holt watched the wrestling on the other couch.

We’ve still got a couple more words to get in last night’s, Seb replied.

Grinning, I teased, Oh right, yeah, you can’t leave one unfinished. I’d cheat all the time if I was doing them alone, dude.

I may have cheated once or twice in the past, he sent back.

A tiny laugh snuffled out of me, which made Nolan look up from his phone and smirk. Flushing, I tucked my phone away and gazed out of the window.

Lupe’s Diner was decently busy when we got there, but we managed to get a booth by the windows. My parents were friendly with the owners, partly because they were friendly with everyone, but mainly because Wanda, who owned Lupe’s with her husband, went to see Mom religiously every week for a reading. Mom was a Seer and did readings out of the back of her store for her non-human customers.

Mom and Dad asked me about work after we’d ordered our breakfast, while Nolan played on his phone and occasionally interjected. My parents had met Holt a couple of times—once being when he and Seb had delivered me home after I got pretty drunk on my birthday. I didn’t really remember it, but Holt had said my mom could be terrifying when she wanted to be. I wasn’t sure I believed it.

My belly squirmed as I wondered whether they’d spoken to Seb that night. It had been ages ago now, but still. God. How embarrassing. He’d probably been the one to carry me inside. I was taller than Holt, and he wasn’t all muscly and strong with big biceps and a wonderfully hairy chest…

Our drinks arrived, cutting the conversation off briefly. Herbal tea for Mom and Dad, coffee for Nolan and orange juice for me. The server, a big werewolf dude in a backwards cap called Caleb, paused when he noticed me.

“Hey, you work for Holt, right?” He grinned at us. “He got us tickets to the show the other week. It was sick.”

My dad beamed with pride at me, as if I were the one who organised the shows or did anything actually useful at work. I flushed, smiling awkwardly at Caleb.

“Uh-huh. Glad you enjoyed it, bro.”

“Been hounding Ludo since he got here to score us more.” Caleb chuckled, jerking his chin toward the other side of the diner. “No luck yet.”

I went completely still for a second, then half stood in my seat to peer frantically across the diner. If Ludo was here, that meant…

My pulse spiked when I spotted him. He had his back to me, but I’d recognise him anywhere. The short, dark hair and the slope of his neck and his wide shoulders under a soft-looking grey T-shirt.

Before I knew what I was doing, I’d scrambled directly over Nolan, who squawked in protest, and out of the booth.

“Sweetpea?” Mom asked warily as Caleb gave me an odd look and wandered off.

“I just, um, need the bathroom.” Now that I was standing, I cringed at the thought of marching over there to say hi. He was having a quiet breakfast with his friend. And what if he was all, like, cool and aloof with me in front of Ludo? That would be so embarrassing.

Unfortunately, my family were all now expecting me to go to the bathroom, which would actually take me past Seb and Ludo anyway. Clearing my throat, I pulled out my phone and started typing nonsense to Hans just so I looked busy as I made my way casually across the diner. Then I had to hover in the restroom for like a minute, but definitely no longer than that so it didn’t look like I was taking a number two if Seb had noticed me.

Checking my reflection in the mirror, my shoulders slumped in dismay as I remembered what T-shirt I was wearing. It had a freaking sweetpea embroidered on the front. Maybe I didn’t want Seb to see me right now.

As I nervously slipped back out, my gaze was immediately drawn to his booth. As if he could sense me, he looked over and smiled, but didn’t look surprised, which meant he must’ve seen me go in. Sometimes I cursed my stunning head of bright pink hair. It was a bit of a beacon.

Flushing, I gave him an awkward wave. He said something to Ludo and stood, his smile growing just a little when his eyes landed on my T-shirt as he made his way over.

“Hi.” He stopped in front of me and nodded at it. “Nice T-shirt.”

“My mom made it.” My face was still warm, but I found myself grinning at him.

He chuckled. “That’s sweet.”

“I guess.” I flushed again, shoving my hands in my back pockets and rocking back on my heels. My gaze flittered over to the booth my family was in and I felt my face grow even hotter.

They were all staring, Mom and Dad literally twisted around in their seats to watch us. Dad looked delighted. Mom was resting a hand on her chest as if she was getting emotional. Nolan was peering over at us behind them, and when he caught my eye, he mouthed, Is that him? then flexed his non-existent muscles to indicate how big Seb was.

I jerked my gaze away quickly, then felt myself die just a little inside when I realised Seb had followed my line of sight and was looking over at them. Mom waved frantically at him and Dad looked like he was about to get up and bound over to join us, until Nolan quickly reached across the table and grabbed his arm to divert his attention. My little brother could be such a bro sometimes.