I have a few drinks with the girls out by the pool. We lounge under large umbrellas, and gossip about people I don’t know, and talk about how we might spend the holidays.
I start picturing myself there, with them. But Ronnie starts talking about Christmas in the mansion and I suddenly realize, those men in that house, they are my new family too.
This is like a dream for me. And it’s got nothing to do with the way I grew up as an only child. It’s just… I really never thought I’d have a family again. I had given in to the inevitability that all that was left was Vivian and I. And then, one day, she would leave and I’d truly be on my own.
And now that will never happen. Ever. There are so many people in this family to lean on, I will never have to go through a crisis alone again.
It’s incredibly comforting.
Eventually, after a day of swimming, and talking, and sunning, it’s time to go home. I expect Vivi to put up a fight. Maybe even ask to stay another week. But she doesn’t. She clings to me as we say goodbye to the new extended family and falls asleep with a smile on her face as we drive back to town.
Vic pulls into the family housing apartments and that’s when I start to wonder what comes next. But I don’t wonder for long because he pulls into a parking space and turns the truck off.
I turn my head to ask where he’s going to sleep tonight, but I find him smiling and forget the question.
“Did you have a nice day, Daisy?”
I nod. Slowly. “I did.”
“Do you want me to stay over? I don’t have to. I can walk—”
I grab his arm to make him stop talking. “I want you to stay. I know it’s early in our relationship and everything is changing so fast—but Vic? I like this. I’m up for this change. I’m sorry I was difficult last week.”
“Hey, stop.” He takes my hand off his arm and holds it for a second as we gaze into each other’s eyes like idiots in love. “You had every right to be mad. Vivian should not have walked off. I should’ve noticed she wasn’t my niece.”
“I should’ve noticed she was gone, Vic. That’s what I was really angry about. I messed up and I was looking for someone to blame.”
“Let it go. I happen to think that last Sunday was fate. Look at it this way. When people ask about the mansion, I tell them a story about how my gramps won it in a stinking poker game back almost a century ago. When people ask about Sick Boyz I tell them about Pops, and the twins, and Vann. When people ask about Veronica, I tell them about Spencer and Bombs A-Way. So now”—he pauses to bring my hand to his lips, kisses my knuckles—“now, when people start asking my fam where the hell this kid came from, they’ll tell that crazy story about stealing donuts from an AA meeting, and eating jackalope hotdogs at a Moran family reunion.”
“What?” I chuckle. “I think I missed that part.”
“Doesn’t matter. The point is, we’ve got ourselves a kick-ass love story, Daisy Lundin. People are gonna be jealous of us. They’re gonna wish they had that kind of beginning. But they can’t have it. It’s all ours.”
He carries Vivian inside and gently puts her on the bed. I take off her boots and socks, but let her sleep in the t-shirt and shorts she put on after swimming. Then I kiss her cheek, leave her room, and close the door behind me.
I find Vic in my bedroom already shirtless and his boots kicked off into a corner. He flashes me a grin as he pops the button on his jeans and slides his pants down his legs.
My dress is already coming over my head, my fingers reaching to unfasten my bra as he slides into bed, holding open the covers as an invitation.
I flip the light off and feel my way over there, then climb in next to him, my back fitting against his chest perfectly as he pulls me closer. And at first, I think that maybe he’s not interested in having sex. But then his fingertips slide over the curve of my ass and slip between my legs from behind. He rolls me over onto my stomach, his hand very busy as his mouth comes down on the middle of my back. His breath tickles as he kisses his way down to my hips.
He gently opens my legs, and then he’s fingering me with one hand and sticking his fingers in my mouth with the other.
I suck them, my heart beating like crazy, my desire to have his cock inside me growing with each passing moment.