Third Time's the Charm

by K. Evan Coles

  Luke set down the spoon. “I don’t have much freedom to be spontaneous, and my schedule can be unforgiving. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been out past midnight in the last year. I can’t tell you how often I’ve had to bail on plans because Ella needs help with her homework, or is sick, or needs to be picked up from taekwondo or swimming. Yes, we have a babysitter and my parents help out, but it’s on me to be there for her when Pete’s not around and I take that responsibility seriously.”

  “I get what you’re saying, Luke, I do. But again, you’re still you.” Finn gestured at Luke with his glass. “There’s more to you beyond taking care of Ella.”

  “Of course,” Luke replied. “But I won’t lie, Doc. Being there for Ella is a lot of work. Some days it feels like a full-time job.”

  Finn nodded. “I admire you for taking it all on. I’m not sure what I’d do in your place.”

  Luke shrugged. “It wasn’t a hard decision. I was happy when Pete brought Ella to stay with me, even though some shitty things went down for that to happen.”

  He went back and forth in his head for a moment, weighing the idea of really showing Ella to Finn, and he let go of Finn’s hand. “Back in a second.”

  Luke went to the bedroom for his phone, which he found in the pile of clothes they’d left on the floor. Finn was still at the counter when he walked back into the kitchen and met Luke’s smile with one of his own.

  “I think it’s time I stopped talking about Ella in the abstract,” Luke said. He stepped up alongside Finn and pulled up the last photo he’d taken. In it, Ella sat at the dinner table in her Starfleet PJs with the paper flowers in her hair and a grin on her face.

  Finn smiled softly at the photo. “She’s beautiful, Luke.”

  Luke flipped through more images on his phone until he found one of Peter and Ella together, taken a month before Peter had shipped out. They’d been shopping at the stalls in the Boston Public Market, and Luke thought his brother looked especially happy. Peter’s face was bright with laughter, and the glow that lit his rich brown skin and dark eyes was echoed in Ella’s smaller features.

  Luke swallowed past a sudden tightness in his chest. “I can’t remember if I told you that Pete and I are adopted,” he said. “Pete was born in the Dominican Republic and our parents took him in when he was a baby. They found me not too long after in foster care, and Pete and I were born only a few months apart. People used to joke that we were twins because we’re so close in age, but they didn’t have to work to tell us apart.”

  “I can really see Ella’s dad in her features,” Finn said. He reached out and touched the screen with his finger, tracing the sprinkle of tiny freckles that highlighted the bridge of Ella’s nose.

  “Ella got the freckles from her mother,” Luke said. “We thought she’d keep Carly’s blue eyes, but they turned amber as she got older. She does take after Pete a lot, but she’s still young and we know she’ll change a lot as she grows up.”

  He locked the phone and a knot of nerves formed in his gut. “It may be too soon for this conversation, but you already know I’m crazy for planning. What do you think about meeting Ella sometime?” The knot tightened at the concern flitting over Finn’s face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing at all.” Finn licked his lips. “But I don’t want you to misunderstand when I say I don’t want to rush into anything right now. I’ve never dated a man with a child before, and I’m not exactly sure how. I’d really love to get to know you, Luke, before we start pulling in family.” He rubbed his chin with one hand. “Am I making sense?”

  “Yeah, you are.” Luke’s nerves melted in the face of Finn’s uncertainty. “Honestly, I haven’t had a lot of luck balancing my family life with dating in the past, so it may be for the best we ease into things.” He wrinkled his nose. “Too much, huh?”

  Finn shook his head. “No, that’s not it. This is new for me, sure, but I’m okay with new. I just want to be ready for it, too. I like you and I’d really like to keep seeing you.”

  Luke couldn’t hide his grin. “I like you too. How about you tell me when you think we’re ready to meet friends and family, and we’ll go from there?”

  “I can do that,” Finn replied, and smiled. “Thanks for being open with me about all this, by the way.”

  “I meant it when I said I wouldn’t hold back on the awkward things.”

  “I know you did.” Finn nodded. “I haven’t always had that kind of honesty with guys. My last boyfriend lied to me about all kinds of things, big and small. After we broke up, I promised myself I wouldn’t let that happen to me again and it means a lot that you’re being so honest with me.”

  Finn leaned in and kissed Luke, and a while passed before they came back up for air. Luke’s knees wobbled as he forced himself to speak words he didn’t want to say.

  “I need to think about going home soon.” He ran the tip of his nose along Finn’s cheek. “Mind if I take a quick shower?”

  “Only if I can join you,” Finn replied. “I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

  Luke slid a hand down and rested it against Finn’s ass. “Of course you can join me.” He smiled at Finn’s appreciative hum. “I have big plans to blow you under the shower heads in that shiny bathroom of yours.”

  Chapter Ten

  “I feel like your mom right now,” Paul said as he walked through Finn’s front door. “This is the first time in a while you’ve introduced me to a man and it feels so formal!”

  Finn laughed. “Dude, I’m making Cobb Salad—this is hardly formal.”

  “What we’re eating isn’t relevant.” Paul followed Finn to the kitchen. “C’mon, you can’t deny tonight’s got a ‘meet the parents’ kind of vibe to it, right?”

  “It does now that you’ve said that,” Finn said. “It’s not supposed to feel formal, though. Just friends getting to know friends. Incidentally, I suspect your feelings stem from the fact that you mother me more than my actual bio mom.”

  “Fair point.”

  “And does that make Mick the dad in this scenario?”

  “Probably, but for God’s sake, don’t tell him that,” Paul replied with a laugh.

  A strange, buzzing energy invaded Finn’s body as he and Paul prepared dinner. He’d worked a brutal shift overnight, and while he’d managed a little sleep after getting home, he’d woken feeling unrested and almost hungover. Finn didn’t let it drag him down, though. Luke was coming over to meet Paul and Mick, and that put a smile on his face.

  Paul set a glass of Pinot Noir down by the cutting board Finn was using to slice roasted chicken breasts and eyed the ingredients spread out on the counter. “When did you have time to get all this together?”

  “I went shopping after my shift and roasted the chicken when I got home.”

  “That explains why you look like shit.” Paul pulled a smaller cutting board from a cabinet. “Have you slept at all?”

  “I grabbed a couple of hours and I’m off tomorrow, so I can sleep in if I feel like it.”

  “You want to talk about anything?”

  “Nah, I’m good, thanks.” Finn didn’t want to think about his shift, let alone talk about it. Besides, if he and Paul started talking shop, they’d go all night, and that wasn’t fair to Mick or Luke.

  Paul set about deseeding a bowl of tomatoes. “Luke’s introducing you to his besties, too, right?”

  “We’re having lunch with his partners and coworkers on Sunday. They do a monthly thing at one of the partners’ apartments.”

  “What about the niece?”

  “She’s spending the day with her grandparents,” Finn replied.

  “And will you meet the rest of the Ryans?” Paul met Finn’s raised eyebrow with a shrug. “You know that’s next, Finn.”

  “Mmm, I don’t know. I’m not sure we’re quite at family intros yet,” Finn hedged. “That’s why we’re starting with friends.”

  Paul scoffed. “Seeing as your family lives halfway across the c
ountry, you can consider me a stand-in.” He reached over and pulled Finn’s ear.

  “Gah, you’re getting tomato juice all over me.”

  “And you’re deflecting,” Paul replied. “Which tells me you and Luke are getting serious.”

  “I think we’re getting around to getting serious,” Finn said. “I know that sounds like a cop-out, but it’s the truth. We’re still taking some things slow.”

  “Because you want it that way, yes.” Paul turned back to the tomatoes. “What changed your mind about friend intros?”

  “We’ve been seeing each other for a month. It seemed right.” Finn shrugged.

  “Aha.” Paul smiled. “You really like him.”

  “I really like him.”

  “And he really likes you?”

  “Sure seems that way.” Finn couldn’t stop his grin. “So, we’ll keep dating and see where it goes, and maybe things will get serious.”

  “Just like that, huh?”

  “Just like that.”

  Paul nodded, but his smile was fond. Despite his teasing, he wanted Finn to be happy. And Finn was happy, more so than he had been in a while.

  In spite of their many scheduling challenges, he and Luke had continued seeing each other several times a week. They sometimes managed dinner on the weekends during Finn’s time off, but Luke spent most weekday evenings with Ella, so he made a point of meeting Finn for breakfast or lunch in various eateries around Boston. When the need to be physically close became too much—and it frequently did—they met at Finn’s apartment where they ignored meals in favor of making each other gasp and moan in Finn’s big, new bed.

  Damn.

  Finn bit his lip. It had been years since he’d formed such a strong connection to a lover. The more time they spent together, the more he craved Luke. He wanted Luke’s hard muscles and hot skin under his hands. To watch Luke’s eyes, pupils blown, grow hazy with lust and hear his deep, honeyed voice waver over Finn’s name.

  Finn enjoyed his time with Luke out of bed just as much, even when they were doing something mundane like grocery shopping or watching endless Star Trek re-runs. Finn wanted to know everything about the big man with the bright smile and quick wit, from what kind of books he read—cyberpunk—to his favorite flavor of ice cream—black raspberry or peppermint stick, but never together.

  Finn was mixing a honey Dijon dressing when his phone chimed on the counter. “That’s probably Mick,” he said. He wiped his hands and declined the call, then punched in the code that unlocked the Primus Avenue gate. “Luke’s dropping Ella off at a friend’s first, so I don’t expect him before six-thirty.”

  “Finn, it’s six forty-five.”

  Finn went still. “What? How the hell did that happen?” he wondered as his buzzer went off. He headed for the door.

  Paul tsked. “You should have slept more. You’ll be dead to the world by dessert if not earlier!”

  Sure enough, Finn found Mick and Luke chatting on his doorstep as if they’d become good pals between the gate and Finn’s building. Then Luke looked at Finn, and the way his face lit up sent a dizzy rush through Finn’s whole body.

  He waved them in with a grin. “Hey, guys.”

  “Hey, Finn.” Mick leaned in for a quick hug and inclined his head toward Luke. “I met this guy outside and glommed on to him.”

  “Mick was walking in front of me on Charles Street,” Luke said. “He stopped at the gate and I figured he must be either a friend of yours or an unbelievably friendly mugger.” He held up a white paper bag while the others laughed. “I brought dessert, as requested, in the form of Key Lime Pie Bars.”

  “Oh, God, those sound good,” Mick crooned. He held his hands out for the bag. “I’ll take those and go pour us some wine, shall I?”

  “You should say hello to your husband while you’re at it!” Paul shouted from the kitchen. Finn clamped his lips together over a laugh as Mick cringed.

  “Yes, love, hello!” Mick called back. He managed an epic eye-roll before striding off with the bag and leaving Finn and Luke behind.

  “I should warn you that they’re like that all the time,” Finn said. “It’s ninety-nine percent play-acting, though, so don’t take anything seriously.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up.” Luke met Finn’s gaze and smiled. “Hey, Doc.”

  “Hey.” Finn’s chest seemed to swell as he wrapped Luke up in a hug and closed the remaining distance between them with a kiss. He meant to steal just one, but one became several and soon he had Luke up against the front door and both of them were laughing. Luke brought his hands up to Finn’s face and kissed him so desire zigged up Finn’s spine and turned his knees jelly.

  He pressed his forehead to Luke’s with a hum. “Thanks for coming over.”

  “Thanks for having me.” Luke tilted his head back, and his forehead puckered when Finn opened his eyes again. “You okay?”

  Finn opened his mouth to brush the question off but went silent when Luke gently brushed his thumb under Finn’s eye, no doubt tracing the dark smudge of sleeplessness. His touch made Finn sigh.

  “I slept for shit last night. I worked a tough shift and never settled. It happens,” he said at Luke’s frown. “You’d think I’d be used to awful shifts by now, right? It’s okay, though. You’re here and we’ll have wine and dinner, not to mention one of my favorite desserts, and all those things will make me feel better.”

  “Okay.” Luke dropped another kiss against Finn’s lips. “You let me know how I can help. You can thank Gillian for the dessert recipe, by the way. She passed it on to me along with some secrets for juicing key limes.” He grimaced. “Those little suckers are a bitch to wrangle when you’ve got big hands like mine.”

  Finn grinned so wide his face hurt. “I can’t believe you baked for this. Wait ’til Paul hears.”

  “Paul already knows because he heard every word you said.” The man himself appeared at the end of the hallway, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “This apartment’s not very big, Finn, and the bricks and hardwood floors make for some truly fantastic acoustics. So how about you stop macking on your boy and introduce me? Mick’s in here about to eat all your bacon, by the way, so the sooner you two get your asses moving, the better.”

  Though tired, Finn felt purely content as the evening progressed. Paul wasn’t always tolerant of the men Finn dated, but Luke’s abundant natural charm proved too much even for him, particularly after he mentioned the Ryan family’s fondness for Sullivan’s on Castle Island.

  “We were just there two weekends ago,” Paul said once they were seated in the courtyard with their dinner and several citronella candles. “Finn and Mick said the lobster roll was excellent.”

  “And what did you eat?” Luke asked.

  “Fried clams,” Mick answered in Paul’s place. “Paul always orders fried clams and if a joint doesn’t serve them, it’s like the world is ending.”

  Luke laughed as Paul and Mick started another round of verbal sparring, but Finn caught his eye and his mirth softened into a smile. “What’s that look for?”

  “Nothing,” Finn replied. He captured one of Luke’s hands between his. “Just glad we could be here together. You okay to stay for a while after dinner?”

  “Yes. Ella and her friends are watching a Marvel marathon tonight, and I’m not expected for pick up until ten-thirty.”

  “Is your niece Team Stark or Team Cap?” Mick asked. He wrinkled his nose at Paul, who pretended to gag. “Shut it, you.”

  “Ella’s Team Cap,” Luke replied. “Black Widow, Ant-Man and Black Panther are high on her list of favorites, too. Oh, and Drax the Destroyer. I’m lucky in that she likes many of the same nerdy things her dad and I do. I’m not sure how we’d handle overtly girly things on a full-time basis.”

  “That may all change after she hits puberty,” Finn said.

  “Ugh, I know. She’s already showing shades of teenager, believe it or not, and we’re in no way equipped to deal with any of it.” Luke swirled hi
s wine. “Pete and I hope she’ll stay a little girl for a while longer, but that’s probably wishful thinking.”

  Paul shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it, man. Being responsible for someone else’s care and happiness on a twenty-four-hour basis would do me in.”

  Mick turned to Finn, his expression disgruntled. “He says this like he’s not even married.”

  “Having a kid is different,” Paul threw back over Finn’s laughter. “You’re a grown man, Mick, or claim to be—you’re responsible for taking care of yourself.”

  “For what it’s worth, I agree,” Luke said. “Ella’s not fully independent yet, so I have to view my decisions through a particular lens. Everything I do has the potential to affect her in some way, even if the things I’m doing aren’t directly about her.”

  Finn sipped his wine and mulled over Luke’s words. “Do you feel that way when your brother is around?”

  “To a certain extent, yes, because Ella lives with me full-time.” Luke licked his lips. “But I worry a lot less when Pete is here. And it’s nice not being the only person responsible for ensuring everything is okay in Ella’s world.”

  “See, that kind of pressure would wreck me.” Paul shot a significant look at Mick over the edge of his glass. “I can’t imagine dealing with that, particularly on top of caring for patients all day.”

  Finn’s eyes went wide. “Have you two been talking about having kids?”

  “God, no,” Mick replied. “We barely coped helping you take care of Daisy. Even opening cans of cat food without your reminders proved difficult.”

  “And that litterbox.” Paul grimaced. “I deal with enough poop in the ED, thank you very much.”

  “Daisy survived just fine.” Finn chuckled. “That’s the reason I’ve got a cat and not a dog, you know—cats are much more low maintenance.”

  Paul waved his glass in Finn’s direction. “Even a cat is too much for me. My goal is to be the one thing in my life that isn’t low maintenance.”

  “Trust me, darlin’—you are,” Mick said with a laugh.