Falling For Disaster (2 page)

“Yup,” Saint said as he went back to work. “Simon loved fixing up old VW’s and it looks like none of his asshole grandkids were interested in the garage. You’ve got a small fortune in tools out there,” Saint explained and Finn’s head pulled back in surprise.

“Huh. I had no idea,” he mumbled as he turned and went to the kitchen. He grabbed two beers and went back to the screen door. He pushed it open and held one out when Saint looked up. Saint sighed happily as he twisted the cap off.

“You have no idea how much I could use this right now, it’s hotter than the devil’s asshole out here,” Saint said as he raised his beer then took a long sip. He hummed in relief and Finn turned away before Saint could notice the tenting in the front of his sweatpants. Finn fell onto the couch and crossed his feet on the coffee table as he went through the music on his phone until he got to Billy Holiday. Her voice and the fuzzy quality of the recordings always soothed Finn. And he was in serious need of soothing. He reached for a book and reclined as music filled the air and did his best to ignore the very unignorable Saint on his front porch.

Eventually, Finn was able to settle into his book and didn’t look up until his beer was empty. He grabbed two more and avoided lingering after he passed Saint his. Finn was just about to go for a third round when the sound of the bike starting made him jump. He sat up and paused the music before he went to the door. Saint shut the bike off and began straightening up.

“Thanks for the tools and the beer,” he said as he handed Finn the empty bottles. Finn watched Saint run to the garage and back before he carefully backed the bike off the porch. Saint bounded up the porch steps and passed the flashlight back to Finn. “I guess I’ll see you around,” Saint grinned and waved before he ran back to his bike.

A moment later, the bike was growling in the dark before Saint flipped on the headlight and turned it back to the road. Then, it roared as Saint sped back to the main road and Finn sighed heavily as he leaned against the door and stared out into the night. He stayed long after the sound of Saint’s bike faded. When Finn finally returned to the couch, the night seemed a lot hotter and quieter than before and Finn hated it.

Chapter 3

“What’s the school like?” Finn’s mom asked and he wished he had something more exciting to tell her.

“Small, underfunded, falling apart, dreary…” He sighed heavily as he fell back on the couch and crossed his ankles on the arm. “The kids are pretty hopeless. They know that no one cares about them or is willing to invest in them. Most of them are reading and writing far below their grade level,” Finn said as he stared at the ceiling. It was covered with old, dark paneling and made the room feel like a tomb. He’d paint it white, eventually. Finn’s mother made a concerned sound.

“I’m not pleased that you’re there but I know you’ll make a difference. If anything good comes out of this terrible situation it’ll be that you’ll inspire those poor children and something will change,” she said and Finn’s lips twisted as he silently doubted her. He was pretty sure he was up against a brick wall.

“Maybe,” he said, hoping she’d move onto something else.

“Have you met any nice people?” She asked and Finn rolled his eyes. That was her subtle way of asking if he was interested in anyone or had any romantic prospects.

“There are lots of nice people in Blytheville,” Finn said. “One or two really attractive people as well,” he added as he pictured Saint shirtless on his porch.

“Oh?” Finn’s mother asked excitedly and he shook his head.

“Unfortunately, none of them are gay. If there were any gay men in Blytheville, they fled long before I got here,” he stated and he could hear his mother wilt in disappointment.

“Finn…” She sighed heavily. “Why did you have to go and exile yourself someplace so dreadful?” She complained. “It feels like you’re punishing yourself and you didn’t do anything wrong,” she insisted and Finn shrugged and squeezed his temples.

“I’m not punishing myself,” he mumbled.

“Sure you are,” she argued. “How are you supposed to meet someone decent there?” She asked and Finn snorted.

“That’s the point, mom. I don’t want to meet anyone. Decent or otherwise. I just want to be alone,” Finn explained and he could hear her giving him “the look” and he instinctively squirmed.

“That sounds a lot like punishment. You’ve put yourself in time-out, Finn. You’ve always done this,” she said and Finn could feel himself getting defensive.

“Done what?” He asked.

“You’ve always been so careful, baby. When you do take a chance and it doesn’t work out, you blame yourself and you never try again. It’s like bikes and cats. You won’t learn to ride a bike because you had a bad fall and you won’t go near a cat because one was mean to you when you were four,” Finn’s mother said and he laughed sarcastically.

“First of all, a broken arm is a little more than a bad fall. Who rides bikes anymore? No one. Second, I still have a scar on my cheek from that hell spawn,” Finn argued and his mother made a dismissive sound.

“You can’t see that scar if you don’t know it’s there. But what Taylor did to you wasn’t your fault. I don’t want you to swear off of relationships and deny yourself the chance to be happy, honey. There’s someone perfect out there for you. I don’t want you to miss out on him because you trusted the wrong person,” she said and Finn stretched his neck, trying to ease the tightening in his shoulders.

“Unfortunately, I seem to go for the wrong type of person,” Finn grumbled and Saint’s face filled his vision again. His mood got even darker. “Hey. I have a lot of essays to get through this weekend. I better get a start on them,” he said and heard another long sigh from his mother.

“Call me same time next week? You know I worry about you when you get like this,” she said and Finn felt like shit.

“I promise I’ll be fine. I’m going to keep busy reading and remodeling the house. I’ve got a beautiful lake to read by when the weather is nice and I can save the world, one classroom full of angst-filled teenagers at a time. What more could I ask for?” He joked.

“Ok. Call me if you need anything. I love you,” she said and Finn smiled.

“I love you too, mom. I’ll talk to you soon,” he said then hung up.

Finn tossed his phone on the table then scrubbed his hands over his face. He wasn’t in the mood to grade papers. He wasn’t in the mood for much at the moment. He was in the mood to do some really indecent things with a large, bearded, tattooed biker god but he couldn’t tell his mother about that.

He knew that it wasn’t a good sign that he got a little anxious whenever he walked into the diner or perked up every time the door opened while he was there or that he was disappointed every time he left without seeing Saint. As far as impossible crushes went, Saint had heartbreak written all over him. Finn could imagine him having hidden depths and the soul of a poet but at the end of the day, he was probably a convicted felon and The Brotherhood was involved in some seriously evil shit that Finn had a real problem with. Just because Saint had kind eyes, an easy, flirtatious smile, a voice that made Finn’s toes curl and could be disarmingly charming didn’t mean that he wasn’t as bad as the rest of his violent, racist, sadist, homophobic brothers. In fact, it made him worse, Finn decided. Being that charismatic
and
immoral was a good indicator of a sociopathic personality.

Finn shook his head firmly.
Nope, nope, nope. You’re going to stay as far away from him as you can,
he decided. With that, Finn rolled onto his side and shut his eyes. A long nap definitely suited his mood.

Chapter 4

Saint was willing to accept that he was a coward. For the third time in a week, he was biting his fingernails as he discreetly stared at the diner through the convenience store’s window. Finn was in there and Saint was waiting for him to finish his dinner and leave. It was better than the time he ran out the back of the diner just before Finn walked in or the time Saint walked in and pretended he got an urgent call on his phone and rushed out when he spotted Finn eating.

He was a coward and he might be in serious trouble. Saint spent years ignoring his sexual desires. That whole part of his personality had gone dormant. He got to the point where he didn’t even notice if a man was attractive and he got really good at pretending to notice women. But there was something about Finn that caught Saint’s eye in the diner and piqued his curiosity. He told himself that he was gathering information, that putting himself in Finn’s path, in a way that would get his guard down, was just part of Saint’s job. In reality, Saint wanted to be alone with Finn, even if it was for a few minutes so he’d know what his voice sounded like and if he was as intelligent as he looked.

Finn did not disappoint. He was intelligent and his voice was a warm baritone that made Saint’s cock twitch. On top of that, he was kind and easy-going. There was a little bit of hurt and some hints of sarcasm but they didn’t get in the way of Finn’s innate desire to help and please people.

Initially, Saint had been seduced by the books. His hands reached for them before he knew what he was doing. There were so many that he wanted to read, if he had the opportunity, he wouldn’t have thought twice about taking one. Which would have been a problem because he would have had a hell of a time reading it without getting caught. Of all the things Saint had gone without, books had been the hardest to give up and he missed them constantly.

But when Finn let slip that he’d been dumped by a man, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Need and heat exploded within Saint and parts of his body that he forgot even existed screamed for attention and relief. Saint might have fallen over if he hadn’t been standing close enough to the mantle to casually lean and wait for the feeling to return to his legs. Then, he was in Finn’s kitchen, breathing him in and trying not to drool. Without meaning to, Saint found himself flirting and thinking about things he shouldn’t have. He used the time in the garage to pace and sternly remind himself that he had to keep it together. Under no circumstances could he fuck up and let Finn know that he wanted him.

Jesus Christ, he wanted Finn. If it was bad before Saint went to the garage, it was pure torture when Finn came downstairs in sweatpants and a t-shirt. It could have only been worse if Finn had been naked. The t-shirt clung to Finn’s shoulders and pecs and depending on how Finn moved, Saint caught a glimpse of washboard abs and a thin trail of hair disappearing beneath the waist of Finn’s pants. And when Finn turned around, that thick grey cotton hugged the firm, round cheeks of Finn’s ass. And he had nice thighs. Saint could tell by the way the fabric stretched around them when he sat. They weren’t thin and not too thick and there was enough definition to show through the heavy material. At first, the beer had taken the edge off. By the end of the second bottle, the music and the fact that Finn was lounging and reading just feet away, had Saint grinding his teeth and picturing Gladys naked. Even Gladys hadn’t been enough to kill Saint’s hard-on. His body shook as he quickly straightened up his mess and fled Finn’s house.

As soon as Saint got home, he jumped in the shower and jerked off as he pictured Finn on his knees with those gorgeous lips wrapped around Saint’s cock. He imagined running his fingers along the chiseled cheek and jaw bones and sweeping his thumbs over Finn’s thick, long eyelashes and staring into brilliant blue depths as his cock pushed deep into Finn’s throat. When Saint came, it was the most intense orgasm he’d had in years. He actually cried as he pressed his face against the tile and stared at his erection as it softened in his hand. He’d gone so long without missing the taste, smell, heat and touch of another man and suddenly, his body was raging with need and he’d never felt so alone. And there was nothing Saint could do. Finn was completely off limits. Just getting caught looking at Finn strange was dangerous.

“I like Finn!” Harry said loudly and Saint jumped and fumbled the magazine he was pretending to read.

“What?” Saint asked as he looked toward the register. Harry smiled and cocked his head toward the window. Saint followed Harry’s gaze and watched as Finn got into his truck.

“He’s the new teacher at the school. He teaches history,” Harry explained and Saint nodded as he went to the counter.

“Is he?” Saint asked as he grabbed a pack of orange Tic-Tacs and set them on the counter so he could pull out his wallet. Harry nodded as he punched buttons.

“He comes in a lot and he’s really nice. He talks to me,” Harry explained as he took the $5 Saint handed him. “He doesn’t talk to me like most people do. He listens and doesn’t talk like I’m a child or he wants me to shut up. He’s nice like you, Saint,” he said and Saint smiled. He had a soft spot for Harry. And anyone that was kind to Harry, if the warmth in Saint’s crotch was any indication. “Can you be his friend?” Harry asked and Saint’s brows rose.

“What do you mean?” He asked and Harry leaned on the counter.

“You know how you’re my friend and you don’t let anyone be mean to me?” Harry asked and Saint nodded slowly.

“Can you be Finn’s friend and make sure no one is mean to him?” He asked and Saint laughed as he pushed his wallet back into his pocket.

“If he’s your friend and he’s nice to you, then I’m sure we’ll be friends and I’ll make sure no one’s mean to him,” Saint promised and Harry’s smile was brilliant.

“Thank you, Saint!” Harry said and Saint gripped his arm and patted it.

“No problem. I’m going to grab some dinner. Can I get you anything?” He asked and Harry shook his head.

“Nah. I already ate dinner,” Harry said and Saint cocked his head as he backed out of the door.

“Alright. I’ll see you later. Have a good night, Harry,” Saint said before he let the door close. Harry waved and Saint nodded before he turned and jogged across the street to the diner.

Saint paused when he opened the door. Finn had been the last one out and Saint could still smell his unmistakable scent. Saint cursed under his breath and hurried to his seat at the counter before anyone could notice the bulge in his jeans.