Plus One

Chapter 2: The Plus One

Finn drummed his fingers nervously on the Formica table top and kept an eye on the door to the diner. When he spotted his friend Puck come through it, he sat up straighter and tried not to look so nervous.

They ordered food and chatted for a while before Finn began to steer the conversation in the direction he needed it to go.

“How's work?” he asked.

Puck grinned. “Pretty good. In fact, my boss is leaving for another position and he told me that he's recommending me as his replacement. There's no guarantee of course, but hopefully it works out.”

“That's great, Puck. I’m happy for you,” Finn said genuinely. “You've earned it, after everything you went through last year.”

Puck nodded. “I guess.”

“It must be almost a year now, since you lost your job,” Puck reminded his friend. He felt guilty for raining on Puck's parade by bringing up the past year. 

Puck had lost his previous job when the company he worked for had gone bust. He'd struggled to find work for several months and when money had run out, he'd had to give up his apartment and stayed on Finn's couch for three months before he'd got a new job and got back on his feet. Normally Finn didn't like to bring it up because he hated to make Puck feel indebted to him. But right now, he needed Puck to feel indebted. He needed Puck to remember how he had given him a place to stay, helped him out financially and even wrangled the interview that had finally yielded a job for Puck. 

“Yeah,” Puck sighed at the memory. He shook his head. “So, how's your work? Anything exciting?”

“Yeah actually. I’m getting to do a twenty-four hour ride along with an ambulance crew soon. I’ve always wanted to do that so I’m pretty excited.” Finn loved his job as a feature writer on a men's magazine but when he was younger, he'd wanted to be an EMT so he was really looking forward to the chance to ride in an ambulance for his monthly 'What it's like to be a...article. 

“That's cool,” Puck enthused.

Finn nodded. “I'm pretty excited. I’ve been trying to set it up for a while now.” He swallowed his drink and took a deep breath. “And, there's another one that should be interesting too.”

“What's that about?”

“Um... well the magazine is doing a special 'Gay' issue. We're going to tackle homophobia and try to promote tolerance amongst our readers. We've got a couple of gay people in various circumstances to write about their experiences. In fact, there's a teenager who's writing a feature about what it's like to gay in high-school and I’ve been asked to mentor him. I’ve read a draft of the article, it's going to be a pretty powerful piece.”

“Sounds good,” Puck said, around his sandwich.

Finn nodded. “Yeah. And I’m going to write an article about what it would be like to be gay, from a straight man's point of view.”

Puck choked on his mouthful of food. He swallowed it down and thumped his chest. “How are you going to do that?”

“Well, I’m not going to go out and hire a rent boy. What I’m really interested in is seeing if people would treat me differently if I was gay, so .. I had an idea,” Finn said. “I can't really do it effectively here in New York because my friends know that I’m straight.”

Puck shrugged. “I don't think it would take too much for you to convince them.”

Finn flipped him off. “I was thinking of going back to Lima and doing it there, but I don't think it would work there either. And then today, I got an invitation to Brody Weston's wedding. It's in Boston and I was thinking that I could 'come out' there. Nobody would really know me, so it would be a chance to see how people react without having to lie to friends or people that I’ll be interacting with in the future.”

“Good idea,” Puck agreed.

“Yeah... except, I don't think it's really going to have the effect that I’m looking for, because a single gay man... big deal. Right?”

“Sure,” Puck nodded. 

Finn continued. “I think that the best way to really get a reaction, would be as part of a gay couple. So my plan is to take a male friend with me to Brody's wedding, to act as my boyfriend and see how people deal with us.”

Puck's eyes narrowed and he chewed slowly. “I see.”

Finn raised his eyebrows.

“No,” Puck shook his head. 

“Puck...” Finn began.

“No way. I fucking hate weddings. If I remember correctly, Brody Weston is a WASP which means it will be a society wedding. That's my idea of hell, Hudson. Plus, I don't think I’d make a convincing gay dude.”

Finn laughed. Sometimes Puck was rude and crude, and on occasion, he used non-PC terms that made Finn cringe. But he dealt with people as he found them and just didn't give a shit if people were gay, straight or paraphiliac. 

“Just because you're masculine and manly doesn't mean that you can't be gay,” Finn protested. “Besides, the whole point of the issue is to challenge people's preconceived notions.”

“Nobody would believe that we're a couple,” Puck continued. “Most people can't even believe we're friends.”

“You're a very attractive man, Puck,” Finn said. “I'm into you for your looks and your body, not for your mind.”

Puck laughed. “I do have a very large penis.”

Finn grinned at him. “Look, I hate to do this, but Puck, you do kind of owe me.”

“Ugh,” Puck hung his head. “Is this a black tie wedding?”

“Yes, but think of the food.”

“Would we have to hold hands, and kiss and stuff.”

Finn grimaced. “A little, yeah. But there's steak and lobster on the menu.”

“How long would we have to pretend to be a couple?”

“It's a three day wedding. But, did you know that Brody's family made their money from beer brewing.”

Puck sighed. He knew that he owed Finn, and he was extremely grateful for everything Finn had done for him and this was probably the only opportunity he'd ever be able to pay Finn back in a big way.

“I promise, if you do this, then we're even. I’ll never ask for another favor again,” Finn said.

“Fine, fine. I’ll be your plus one,” Puck agreed morosely.

Finn licked his lips and winked lasciviously at Puck. “Thanks, sweetie.”