Page 4 of The Best Friend Problem
His eyes narrowed, catching on. “Oh, did she now?”
“Yup.” She rolled her lips to keep the laughter from escaping.
“You have a dog?”
He turned to face his date, panic abated since he knew Pru was messing with him and his fur baby was fine. Finn didn’t have any fungus cream in his apartment. The annoying guy didn’t even have the decency to get athlete’s foot and create a bit of physical disgust she could crow to Mo about.
“Yes. A rescue. Adopted her two years ago.”
His date gave a sort of smile-frown. “Oh, that’s sweet, but I’m allergic to dogs. And cats. All animals, really. I tried to get a hamster once, but I ended up with red eyes and a swollen throat two hours in.”
“Oh. I guess this won’t work out, then.”
For crap’s sake! She came all the way over here to rescue him, and all he had to do to get out of the date was mention his dog? Finn owed her big time.
“I guess not, but it was nice to meet you. I hope your dog is okay.”
After making sure his date had a ride home—because even if he couldn’t break a date, Finn never left anyone stranded—they made their way out of the bar and onto the streets.
“I can’t believe you used my dog as an excuse.” Finn glared at her. “We agreed never to make it personal.”
“And I can’t believe you still can’t tell a woman ‘things aren’t working out’ like a grown-ass man.”
“Not all of us are as blunt as you, Pru. Some of us have sensitive feelings that bruise easily.”
She snorted, rolling her eyes, because if there was one thing Finn didn’t do, it was bruise easily, in his feelings or body. Her bestie was a rock.
Still, he did care about others to the point of sacrificing his own happiness at times. Finn cared too much. Probably why he became a firefighter. Finn hated seeing anyone in any kind of pain.
“Fine. I’m sorry for using Bruiser as an excuse.”
He grinned, the left side of his mouth ticking up higher than the right, as it always did. Slinging an arm around her shoulders, he gave her a squeeze.
“It’s all good. Thanks for bailing me out. Bailey was nice, but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise with that woman. She talked nonstop from the moment we sat down until you showed up. The minute she said she likes Wes Craven movies I knew it was a bust.”
“You could have just told her about the time you cowered under the blankets like a big ol’ baby during Chucky.” Pru chuckled. “That would have turned her off in a heartbeat.”
He glared, nudging her with his hip as they walked. “I didn’t ‘cower like a baby.’ I was checking my phone and didn’t want the light from the screen to affect your viewing.”
She snorted. “Sure, you were just being considerate.”
“I was. Besides, that doll is creepy as hell.” He shuddered. “Toys should not come to life, especially with the soul of a serial killer inside them.”
Her bestie would run into a burning building without a thought about the danger, but that same guy was too scared to watch anything with psycho killers or ghosts. She did not get it.
“Why’d you go out with her in the first place?”
He shrugged. “We both swiped right.”
Charming. Sometimes she so did not understand her generation.
“So, where’d you park?”
“Park? On a Saturday night? Are you kidding me?” She shook her head. “I walked.”
The smile left his face, brow turning down with disapproval. His large, muscular arms, covered with amazing works of inked art, crossed over his chest as he stared her down. Not hard to do, since he stood a good seven inches above her.
“You walked? At this time of night?”
