Page 106 of Seduce & Destroy

She laughed. “You don’t need to thank me.”

I was a little dumbfounded. I hadn’t done this before. For most of our relationship, I was confident of my actions. The sex, the tension, I led it. But the emotional stuff? I had no frame of reference. The relationships I’ve been surrounded with were all goal based. I wasn’t even sure if my parents liked each other beyond the empire they built and intended to expand. I hadn’t thought of my life beyond the finish line. All I knew was that I wanted her to be in that post-battle life.

“So, are you my girlfriend?”

“Do you want me to be your girlfriend?”

“I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”

“Me neither!” she said, almost excited. “We can figure it out together.”

I nodded, a bit lost in the gravity of it.

“I’m your girlfriend.” She simply stated as if it were a common fact.

“I’m your girlfriend.” I repeated.

Her eyes darkened. “Yes, mine.”

That’s my line. I’m hers as she is mine.

Rain continued to pitter patter on the skylight of the car, encasing us in a protective bubble that was just our own. She laid in my arms as I drew a finger from Laney’s forehead to her nose. Both sans clothing. “This isn't much of a first date, though, huh?”

“Well, no but, there’s no one I’d rather do this with. I loved our reunion.”

“Union.” It was the perfect word for it. “And the orgasms?”

A shy smile crept on her face. “Most definitely. My primary goal. But you know what this means, right?”

I furrowed my eyebrows.

She held her hand up and wriggled her fingers.

With a groan, I smacked her hand down on a laugh. “My dad said that too!”

Hope shone in her eyes. “Really?”

“Yes, yes,” I turned my tone serious. “But let’s do the girlfriend thing first, alright?”

“Deal.”

Epilogue

LANEY

One year later…

Iwatched the minutes elapse into seconds before final call was announced. It was another busy Saturday night, and I wanted more than anything to wash off the grime of the day in a steaming hot shower with my girlfriend.

Neenan hoarded a couple people out the door, pinching their drink glasses from out their hands, while Kilina was banging on the bathroom doors getting the last few stragglers to hurry on their way out. I stood behind the bar watching them work.

After the Karstein takeover, Kilina and I wanted to take a step back from family business and try something new, so we opened a relaxed gay cocktail bar called Mircalla in Islington, London. Life in the city was rewarding, although I did sometimes miss the serenity of the forest. That was why the bar had a forest theme with neon pink strobe lighting and planting walls. It brought in an eclectic crowd, and I loved it.

Tonight, we were closing early. We shut on Sundays. Each week we reserved that day for family time. Usually that meant we returned to Great Tenor, or we had a playdate with little Georgia, but tomorrow was an especially important day. I was going to meet my other grandparents.

Before we left for London, Terrence gave me a letter from Grandfather, Edward. He hadn’t opened it and thought it might be a suicide note. At the time, he didn’t feel the need to keep it, but I was grateful he did, because inside was a letter addressed to me. Among other loving sentiments, he enclosed the contact information of Mother’s family that Father always forbade me from meeting.

With Kilina’s help, I finally worked up the courage to call the number listed last week. It took them a while to pick up but when they did, I could have cried. In fact, when they heard who was calling, we cried together. I told them a redacted version of my story and they agreed to meet us for Sunday lunch tomorrow.