Unrequited(29)

"I thought Noah was the one working out." Bo smirked. "But it's nice to see you both showered even though only one of you got sweaty."

When the girl blushed, I realized that their lateness had likely been caused by a shared shower.

"I'm Grace, and this is Noah." The new girl reached her hand around.

I shook it. "Winter Donovan. I'm a friend of Finn's, and David Boreanaz doesn't look anything like Finn," I said to cover for her. Grace threw me a grateful look. "He's more…Jensen Ackles, only with paler skin."

"Oh, love him," she said. AnnMarie nodded her approval.

"Jensen who?" Bo looked confused.

"Supernatural. Demon hunting brothers," Noah explained. At our looks of surprise, he responded defensively. "What? I practically live in a sorority house. That's the only show they watch. That and Vampire Diaries."

"Not true," his girlfriend protested. "We watch The Bachelor and Bachelorette too, and we can't start the show without you being a hundred kinds of grumpy."

This caused Adam to roll to one knee. "Oh, Noah," he said in a high-pitched falsetto, "I'm sorry I can't offer you this rose, but I just can't imagine spending my life with you."

"Good, because I wouldn't want the rose. I already live with you. What would be the point of marrying?" Noah was red-faced but still responded with humor instead of outrage. These guys were clearly all very good friends. I was glad Finn had that in his life. It reminded me of my Atra co-workers.

"Because you want to claim me as your own instead of sharing me with four other nubile men," Adam answered, still in his fake girlish voice.

"Then we're putting ‘Property of Noah Jackson’ on your ass," Noah said.

"Is it always like this?" I asked.

"Always," AnnMarie answered with a roll of her eyes. "Too much testosterone. They all live with Finn, and I can only handle being in that house in short dosages."

"It seems like it's all good-natured," I commented.

"Yeah, they'd die for each other," Grace said. "It's sweet how devoted they are to each other."

"What happened here?" Finn had arrived. He bent down and offered me a cup. The bubbles on top of the dark liquid marked it as soda instead of alcohol. I threw him a grateful smile and took a sip. He settled next to me, one arm behind me and the other propped on his knee, holding a red cup which also appeared to be soda. We watched as Noah and Adam wrestled on the ground.

"Foreplay," Grace said with a laugh and then got up to separate the two overgrown puppies.

"You can drink alcohol." I dipped my head at his cup. "I don't mind."

"I know, but I'm driving." He shrugged. "A night without a beer isn't going to kill me."

I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I was grateful he didn't ask me what that was for. I wouldn't be able to give a complete answer, only that I felt content and happy. I settled for scooting my body closer to him, erasing the distance. He gave me a surprised look and then kissed me on the forehead, moving his palm slightly so it rested just on the edge of my hip.

The band Adam wanted Finn to hear came on, and they both listened intently. I wasn't sure what they listened for, but even I could tell the singer had something special. The crowd rose to their feet in front of us as he wailed on a cover of a 70’s rock ballad.

"What do you think?" Adam murmured to Finn.

"He's good. Kind of raw. Might need some lessons, but charismatic and different. His vocals are smoky and a little hoarse. Think he drinks too much? Smokes too much?"

"I don't know. If you'd just come back and sing with me, this wouldn't be an issue."

"Not for me, man. Never was. You have to be passionate about this shit."

"You can sing?" I asked, no longer willing to be quiet through this fascinating exchange. This was so strange. I felt like I knew everything there was to know about Finn O’Malley, but maybe he was right. We were different people in our twenties than in our teens. Life had changed us and would keep changing us. I wanted to know this new Finn.

"Dude's got the voice of a fucking angel," Adam groused.

"I can sing, but I have no power."

"How did I not know this?" I marveled.

They both ignored me.

"You could develop it through lessons and shit," Adam argued.

"Maybe, but I never wanted to," Finn said. I could tell by the tired way they delivered their lines that this was an argument they'd had in the past. "You need someone who wants this as bad as you. The problem with all the people you've picked in the past is they weren't hungry enough. You've got to have people who are willing to eat rocks if it means getting signed. He's good though. Real good. What do you know about him?"