Chapter Twenty-Six

 

 

 

 

 

Evan

 

 

 

 

The two of us stayed in front of the window, just looking out at the city, for about fifteen minutes. When Victoria let out a sigh and straightened her shoulders, I knew she was ready to go back into the room. I dropped my hand from her neck and reached for hers, lacing our fingers together instantly.

She led me back down the hallway, to Vincent’s doorway, coming to a sudden stop once we were there. I looked inside to see what she did and had to bite back the grin.

Tyson’s big body was leaning over Vincent’s bed. He had one palm cupping Vincent’s cheek while the other was holding his hand. They were talking quietly and despite how beat up Vincent was, they both looked happy.

Tyson pressed his lips to Vincent’s in a quick kiss, and I saw Victoria smile. She’d been mildly offended when I asked if her brother being gay bothered her and I could see why. She loved him no matter what.

Both guys suddenly looked over at us, as if they’d been caught. Vincent blushed and looked away but Tyson locked eyes with Tori, imploring her to understand.

“You’re one of my best friends,” she started, looking right at Ty. “The second you started anything with my brother, you should have told me.”

“It’s my fault, Vic,” Vincent said quietly. “I asked him- hell, I begged him not to tell you.”

“And we’ll get to you.” Her voice was stern and her brother closed his mouth with a nod. “You know me, Ty. I don’t care who loves who. I just want you guys to be happy.”

Tyson looked at the floor. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“But you, Vincent Rusty, should never have hidden yourself away, especially not from me.” She cleared her throat and shook her head rapidly. “I love you. Whether you’re straight, gay, asexual… none of it matters to me and I can guarantee it wouldn’t matter to dad, either. If you needed to hide it at work, no one gets that more than me or Ty, but hiding it from your sister? How could you? How long have you been keeping his gigantic secret to yourself?”

“Ten years,” he confessed, his voice barely audible. Victoria’s chin dropped and pain splashed across her brother’s face. “I hadn’t come to terms with it, Vic, and I couldn’t ask anyone else to accept it until I did. By then, it was already such a big secret. When you introduced me to Ty, I wanted to tell you but I didn’t know how.”

“Tell me now, Vin. Please.”

Vincent sat up straighter and held up his and Ty’s conjoined hands. “Hey, Victoria? I’m gay and completely in love with your co-worker and friend, Tyson. You cool with that?”

“My turn,” Tyson said, a small smile on his face. “Tori, I love you like a sister and I’ve fallen in love with your brother. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

“God, you’re both so stupid.” Victoria rolled her eyes, trying to hide the fact that she was getting emotional. “You both seriously have my blessing and Ty, you have my thanks. I’m assuming you’re why this dumb shit is moving to New Hope.”

“I hope so.” Tyson shrugged and looked down at Vincent. “Although, that was before I knew your middle name was Rusty.”

“Damn it, Vic. I hate you.”

The four of us burst out laughing and Vincent shook his head rapidly, trying to defend himself.

“It was our grandpa’s name. It has meaning.”

“Don’t worry,” Tyson said once his laughter had tapered off, although he was still grinning broadly. “I still love you.”

The two of them shared another quick kiss and I knew everything was going to be just fine.

–––

We stayed in California for one more night, Victoria, Warren, and I sharing that one hotel room. We offered it up to Tyson but he only went to shower and change and then refused to leave Vincent again.

When Tori asked if I needed to go back earlier for any reason, I resolutely told her that I wasn’t going anywhere. Thankfully, Dominic was willing to take on the extra work back home. I had my laptop so I could do some things but he was the reason I was able to stay.

Someone had to be strong for Victoria, even when she didn’t realize it. I made sure she was eating, sleeping, and even took her down to the hotel gym when she was being antsy. I slept in bed with her at night while telling her how much I loved her and it was absolutely perfect.

At some point on Saturday, her backpack made it from the base camp she’d been staying in on the mountain. Although she didn’t have any clean clothes in it, she did finally have access to her own toiletries and her phone again.

Captain Stevenson sent word that they would be on site for a few more days but he was anticipating being home by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. He told Tori to relax, spend time with her brother, and be ready to work when they got back.

Vincent was released the following day, on Sunday, with a wheelchair that he’d be in for a couple of weeks. A patient transport service drove him back to New Hope with their dad riding in the back with him. Tyson ended up going back out to resume working on the fire.

Warren took the news of his son’s sexual orientation in stride. Like Victoria, he was hurt that Vincent had hidden it for so long but mentioned that he’d had his suspicions. He lectured his son on the importance of trust in the family, grilled Tyson about his intentions, and then offered up his approval just like that.

Victoria and I drove home in my truck and we made it back to her house a little before four, after stopping by my place so I could get a clean suit for the next day.

She jumped down from the cab and groaned as she stretched her arms above her head.

“It feels good to be home.”

I grinned and followed her up to the front door without saying anything. The silence remained as we climbed the stairs and as we dropped off our bags in Tori’s bedroom. I turned around after hanging my suit in her closet and looked at her with my arms folded across my chest.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking over shoulder with her eyebrows scrunched together

“You’re still wearing clothes,” I said, wrapping my arms around her, pulling her body flush against mine and allowing her to feel my heavy erection. “And that’s very, very wrong.”

She moaned when our lips met and gripped my shoulders with her hands. I kissed her long and deep, enjoying the way she tasted like something that was uniquely Victoria.

I lifted her off her feet and tossed her on the bed, covering her body with my own almost immediately.

We ripped at each other’s clothes frantically, like it’d been a year rather than a week since we last made love. As soon as we were naked and I had a condom on, I was between her legs and merging my body with hers.

Some of the urgency drained from both of us almost instantly and I stilled my hips once we were as connected as possible. She had a tender expression on her face when I pressed my lips to hers softly.

“I love you, Victoria.”

She smiled and ran her fingers through my hair. “I love you, too, Ev.”

I had no idea how we’d made it to that point but I was glad we had.

–––

Victoria’s company ended up coming home on Tuesday and she had to go back to work on Thursday morning. Until that point, she was spending her days at her dad’s house, helping Vincent and keeping him company while their father was at work. Her nights were spent with me, either at my house or hers.

Things at work were stressful.

Clayton Jarvis had been released out on bail despite the charges against him. The second he was out, he ghosted us. The others we arrested from the warehouse that were originally willing to talk were all now lawyered up and refusing to speak.

And we still hadn’t figured out who Zero was.

Word on the streets was that Sludge wasn’t in supply, though, and that made me feel confident that Dom and I had wiped out their only production site. If we didn’t get Zero in our hooks, though, it wouldn’t be too long before Sludge was produced elsewhere.

A week following the accident in California, Victoria drove us to Simon and Megan Owens house. It was just a few days before Halloween and the house we pulled in front of was decorated to the max with fake headstones, spider webs, fabric ghosts, and carved pumpkins.

Other cars were already parked in front and the back gate was open, inviting party goers to go directly into the backyard.

“I can’t believe I wore this,” Tori mumbled, tugging at the red and black spandex bottoms she was wearing. They were actually about the same length or longer than the shorts she was wearing nowadays, falling about halfway down her thighs. What bothered her was that they were really tight, a view I’d appreciated when she put them on.

She was wearing a black tank top that was also tight and showed off a strip of skin on her stomach. Covering the tank top was a black silk robe with red trim and a hood. She had red boxing gloves on her hands and black combat boots on her feet.

No make-up had been necessary to complete her faux-boxer look thanks to the injuries she’d sustained in California. The black eye was the only reason she’d entertained dressing up, saying she didn’t want to scare the kids from our team.

She asked me to dress up with her so I was wearing something similar, except my robe and shorts were blue and black and I didn’t have a shirt. My blue boxing gloves were tied together and hung around my neck and I had a fake butterfly strip above one eye.

“You look beautiful,” I told her honestly, stopping her before we went through the gate. The hood of her robe was up, covering the beautiful blonde hair she’d left down and hiding her face. I brushed my lips against hers and offered her a grin. “You know, we could always roleplay tonight.”

She used one hand to lightly punch me in the stomach. “You’re such a dork.”

With her shoulders back and a determined look on her face, we stepped through the gate and walked into the backyard.

It looked like Halloween had exploded. There were games, a small dance floor, a buffet table, a bounce house, and more among the Halloween decorations and fake fog.

“Tori!” We both turned to find Kelly Christos heading towards us with a grin on her face. She was dressed in a Wonder Woman costume that showed more skin than it hid. Her body wasn’t quite as toned or firm as Victoria’s but it was obvious she took good care of it.

Nick Christos was behind her, wearing dress pants, a dress shirt, suspenders, and fake glasses. The dress shirt was open, revealing a Superman shirt underneath. The little baby he was holding was in a full on Superman costume, complete with a tiny cape. I’d even admit that their coordination was kind of adorable.

“Holy shit, you look amazing.” Kelly wrapped Victoria up in a hug and shook her head when they pulled back. “I like this look on you.”

Nick laughed at his wife and wrapped Tori in a side hug before shaking my hand. “Good to see you guys here.”

Before we could even reply, Megan and Simon, both in Star Wars costumes, walked up to greet us. It didn’t stop from there. Parents and kids from the team came over, along with Victoria’s co-workers, and it was almost thirty minutes before we were free to go grab drinks.

“You should have worn a shirt,” my girlfriend grumbled as she handed me a bottle of beer, both of our boxing gloves long since abandoned. “I think Christina’s mom is going to choke on her drool.”

I laughed softly and kissed the top of her head. “Melinda’s father is going to end up choking on my fist if he doesn’t keep his eyes off you.”

“We’re quite the pair.” She leaned into my side and I wrapped my arm around her waist. We stood there, just watching the crowd for a few minutes, and only moved when Dominic showed up with his family.

Grace tackled both Victoria and me, causing a glitter explosion to happen from her princess costume. The second she was back on her feet, she ran off to find Kendra.

Jade, who was dressed as a zombie, ended up in my arms while Dom, Becca, Tori, and I stood around talking. Becca obviously loved my girlfriend because the two of them dominated the conversation.

“Anyone want another drink?” I asked when my beer was gone and Jade had long since run off. Dom and Victoria nodded and she grabbed the belt on my robe before I could step away.

“Make sure Christina’s mom keeps her hands to herself.”

I chuckled and pressed my lips to the corner of her mouth. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Ev.”

Megan and Kelly intercepted me on the way to the drink table, letting me know they approved of me without the interrogation. Megan noted the positive changes she’d seen in Victoria since the fire but I wasn’t willing to take the credit. She’d done that all herself- I was just happy to be in the wings supporting her.

As the night went on, I stayed close to my girlfriend. Not for her sake but for mine. The soccer dads were very interested in her costume and didn’t even try to hide their appreciative gazes. At one point, I considered asking her to tie her robe but managed to bite back the words.

We also played with the kids until they had all gone home. They absolutely adored Tori and she wasn’t afraid to get down to their level and play. Once they were gone, she and I took advantage of the fact that neither of us worked the next morning and had a few more beers.

The alcohol lowered her inhibitions just enough that I was able to talk her into dancing with me. We swayed on the dance floor to Frank Sinatra’s “Witchcraft” and I loved the way she laughed so freely when I twirled her under my arm.

“I’ve never danced with anyone like this, not really.” She pressed her cheek against my shoulder. “I mean, I danced at Kelly and Megan’s weddings but it was stiff and formal and only done because it was expected. This is fun.”

“We’ve got so many dances ahead of us, Tor,” I told her before pressing my lips to her temple. “Better get used to it.”

She sighed happily and we continued moving across the dance floor.

Nick Christos ended up driving us to my house a couple of hours later. I probably could have driven but none of us was willing to risk it. Besides, my truck was still at my place since we’d gotten ready for the party there.

Pieces of our costumes were shed the second we were through the door and Victoria stopped as we were passing the kitchen.

“In here.”

I watched my gloriously naked girlfriend as she stepped into the kitchen and braced herself against the kitchen counter. I groaned and took two steps before pausing.

“Don’t move. I need a condom.”

“Yeah, you do,” she said as I went to the living room to get my wallet from my costume shorts. “I’m not ready for babies.”

Once I had the condom in hand, I went back to where she was and stood behind her as I ripped it open. “Me either. One day, though? You’d be a great mother.”

“One day,” she agreed on a moan as I nudged her legs apart and rubbed the head of my cock between her thighs. “Please, Ev.”

I took her hard and fast right there in the kitchen, turned on by how fucking amazing she was and the thoughts of our future together. After she’d screamed her climax, making me thankful Ruby and Keith weren’t within hearing distance, I let myself go inside of the woman I loved.

The doorbell ringing sometime later woke me up from a perfect sleep. Victoria was next to me, still completely naked, and she groaned when she saw the time.

“If that’s Shelley again, I can’t be responsible for my actions. It’s not even eight o’clock yet.”

She pulled the pillow over her head and I laughed softly while standing up when the doorbell rang again.

“I’ll get rid of her, baby. Go back to sleep.”

I stepped into a pair of shorts but didn’t bother with a shirt as I padded down my hallway. The doorbell rang again just as I was pulling the door open and I stared in surprise at the people on my porch.

“Mom. Lewis.”

My mother had once been a very beautiful woman. I remember when I was little thinking she was the prettiest lady I’d ever seen. Over the years, she tried to hold onto that beauty by bringing injections and plastic surgery into the mix. She went from being beautiful to looking fake.

Her hair was so blonde that it was lighter than Victoria’s. Unlike my girlfriend, my mother only achieved that feat by having it bleached far too often. It was pulled back into a tight bun.

There were no wrinkles around her hazel eyes or on her forehead but the Botox had given her a very pinched look. She was wearing a white floral dress that looked like it could have been wallpaper twenty years before. That pinched look on her face was amplified as she looked me up and down.

Standing next to her, wearing a fucking sweater vest despite it being almost ninety degrees outside, was my stepfather. He and Tristan looked so much alike that it was kind of jarring. His black hair was shorter than his son’s and he had far more wrinkles but they had the same grey-colored eyes.

“This is how you answer the door?” Mom shook her head with a scoff. “Invite us in, Evan.”

“I don’t think so.” I stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind me. “What are you guys doing here?”

Lewis frowned, gesturing towards the house. “We need to talk and we’re not doing it outside.”

“I have company so you’re not welcome inside. You can either plan to come back later or talk about it out here.”

“You haven’t changed at all, have you?” My stepfather shook his head and folded his arms over his chest. “Why is Tristan being investigated for releasing that damn video again? He said that you’re behind this.”

“Because he made sure it was passed around again!” My words came out sharp and loud and I instantly lowered my tone in hopes that Tori wouldn’t wake up. “Seven years later, he’s still the juvenile little shit he’s always been and he made sure someone sent it out to all of the offices in the lower half of Nevada.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” my mother said with a scoff. “For all we know, that girl did it herself in hopes she could bring up a civil suit against us.”

“Get off your high horse.” I rolled my eyes. “Not everyone cares about money like you two do.”

The door behind me cracked open and I bit back a curse when Victoria appeared. Her hair was a mess and her face still slightly bruised. She was wearing one of my t-shirts and a pair of her yoga pants, and she looked both sleepy and confused.

She was so fucking beautiful.

Tori seemed to recognize who I was talking to at the same time my parents recognized her.

“Are you kidding me right now? You’re actually involved with that little slut?”

My mother’s screech was ear piecing and Victoria visibly flinched, taking a step back. I moved forward and lowered my head until my nose was almost touching my mother’s.

“Get off my property. Now.”

“Evan?” A new voice spoke my name and I almost laughed at the hilarity of the porch gathering.

When I looked up, I saw Keith and Ruby walking towards us. Their car was parked in front of their property and both of their expressions were hard. It was safe to say that neither of them cared for my parents.

Now it was a party.