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Basking in the jubilant turn of events made me chipper in my soul but I exuded a somber mask as I rode the bus to the office.

I was elated and overjoyed that the divorce was final, but that didn’t mean it felt good to hurt another person.

Another person that you’d shared eight years of your life with.

I was single again. Granted, we’d been separated for long enough that I could’ve gotten back out there and started dating again, but I hadn’t felt the urge.

I wanted to bask in being alone a little longer before I even thought about dating.

One thing was for sure. If and when I did look for love again, I wouldn’t be shaping myself into what I thought the other person wanted.

No more settling for what I thought I deserved.

The man that had to live up to these ideals sure had a long list of checkmarks to collect.

I didn’t envy him, if he existed at all.

I wasn’t in a hurry to explore if he did or not.

Not right now when I was about to launch the biggest move of my career.

Electric nerves squirmed beneath my skin by the time I strode into the little room that proceeded the giant boardroom. Maxim was sitting as his desk, giving me a smile as he stood up from behind his desk and picked up the cup of coffee next to his computer.

“Morning, boss.” He extended the coffee and I took it with a grateful sigh. “I figured you’d need it this morning, pulling double duty and all.”

“Thank you so much, Max.” And then I gulped down half the iced coffee in earnest.

Maxim had been on the receiving end of many a phone call from Matty’s lawyer squeaking about me needing to answer my phone as well as many musings from me directly about the divorce.

He’d been my confidant when I’d had no one else.

I didn’t really have any friends, not anymore.

I had my work, something Matty had never let me hear the end of.

“So…is it good news this morning?”

Maxim looked every bit of the eager twenty-five year old that he was.

Despite our age difference, I saw a lot of myself in him.

Aside from my being gay and Maxim being straight, we had a lot of the same interests and outlooks on life.

We’d even managed to go out on double dates in the past, surprised when his girlfriend Stacy and Matty had gotten along so well.

They were the extroverts to our introverts, and it took the pressure off that we all melded so well together.

He leaned in closer to me. “Is the divorce final?”

“It is.” I beamed, the first genuine smile to grace my face since I’d left the lawyer’s office. Scratching at my beard, I gestured toward the meeting room. “Is everyone accounted for?”

“Just missing…” Maxim paused to sit back down at his desk and scatter his fingers over the keys of his computer in an attempt to retrieve the information he sought. “Our virces rep said she’s running a little late.”

“Alright, that’s fine.” I nodded. “Is Exo here?”

Maxim smiled. “He’s waiting for you in your office. ”

I held up the coffee cup again in thanks as I strode past Maxim’s desk and into my cozy office.

It was housed behind Maxim, and both of our desks had to be strode past before getting to the boardroom at the end of the room.

I was thankful that the House had given me this space, still feeling the newness of both my new position and my new office space.

Exo was sitting in one of the two chairs that sat in front of my desk, smiling as he picked up the picture of me within a silver frame that had once held a picture of Matty and I. Unlike Maxim, Exo didn’t know and probably wouldn’t want to know the intricacies of my romantic life.

“Good morning,” I said, stepping past him so I could sit at the overpriced but totally worth it chair that sat behind my desk. He went to stand at my sudden presence, but I waved him back down. “Excited for our first ORBIT meeting?”

He gave me a nod as I looked him over. Exo looked like he always did, which was intimidating.

It wasn’t very often that people saw a shirtless, bald, and pale being just over six foot tall that looked like he was the bodybuilder to end all bodybuilders.

His black slacks were pressed and presentable but it always clashed with the informal nature of his decision to go shirtless.

His purple nipples were perked at attention, and I had to assume he just enjoyed being looked at.

His scarlet eyes told me that he’d consumed blood recently, since it was the only thing that kept him alive and gave him the perk of vision.

Out of all the creatures that existed in our world since they’re existence had been exposed to us, only sangamar had to feast upon blood in order to continue living.

With a twinge, I got the sense that I understood it a little too well, given my new lease on life.

“This all happened so quickly,” He laughed briskly. “Feels like just yesterday we were doing the interview process.”

“I know. I’m just ready to have the first meeting under our belt. ”

Exo stood up. “You’re going to be great, Wallace. The initiative you’ve taken for all creatures does not go unnoticed. You’re going to change countless lives. And eventually, the world.”

I smiled, but my stomach did somersaults. Changing the world was a lot of fucking pressure. And while I felt like I was up for it and had been slowly training myself for years to enact change, it didn’t take away the burden of having the fate of the world on your shoulders.

The entire purpose of ORBIT was to make sure Orbs felt safer than they currently did and to address specific community issues. That was a lot to shoulder. I’d chosen it, so I had to succeed or else I’d look like the biggest idiot.

When Exo and I had finally flown down to Piper, Virginia and had seen the horrible prejudice that protestors were portraying outside of the city’s blood centers, I knew something needed to happen.

The fact that Piper hadn’t been the only eastern city hit, blood centers being the planned vandalism of what seemed to be a very organized hate group with a mission of attacking one of the largest Orb populations directly at their source of continued life was why I’d decided to announce the creation of ORBIT in Piper.

I wanted the people there, directly affected by the protestors, to know that there was hope.

That the hate would never win against united love.

I just needed to make sure that we stayed true to that value.

Standing up, I put my hands on my hips and puffed out my chest. Exo gave me a look that instantly told me I already looked like the biggest idiot.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m superhero posing.” I laughed. “Have you not heard of it? It’s supposed to make you feel like you can accomplish anything when you’re nervous.”

Laughing, Exo mimicked it but shook his head. “You humans are something else.”

“Something my grandmother used to do,” I nodded, my heart lurching at the loving memory. I relaxed out of my pose and gave Exo a nod. “Alright, ready?”

Exo did the same, letting his arms fall back to his bare sides. “Lead the way, Director.”