Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: She sprinted to her Escalade, jumped in and peeled off the driveway. She'd have taken her car instead if she had enough patience to wait for the garage door to open to get it out. Now that she knew, really understood how she'd been feeling for the last five years she couldn't wait to tell Vince. Even though he didn't feel the same way, she had to tell him. She had to make him understand. And if he wanted to give her a shot, well that would only make her the luckiest woman in the world. She felt her smiled widen as she turned onto the street she'd spent her childhood on. The sight of Vince's Maxima turned her stomach into a nest of angry bee's and her heart fluttered frantically. The time had finally come for them to discuss everything about the last few years.
Chapter Fifty Three
Shorty pulled into the driveway and parked her Escalade beside Vince's car. Being this close to Vince made her question whether she was behaving rashly. She'd always wanted to jump in with both feet without a worry. However, she found she could never commit to something so unknown. She always kept one foot on solid ground, ready to jump back at the first sign of trouble. Maybe it was to save her sanity, maybe even to save herself from embarrassment. But with Vince, she wanted to leap head first without thinking. And although she knew what she wanted, she wondered if she should be dealing with it so soon after admitting her feelings to herself? Wouldn't a normal person wait? Maybe make a pros verses cons list? Surely, relationships began based on compatibility rather than just feelings? And she had a kid to think about now. Brer already loved Vince, but she couldn't bear if he got hurt in the end.
With a sharp mental slap she snapped out of her worries. Not only had she already put herself in the head first position, she was also assuming Vince would want to date her. And truthfully, she had no reason to believe he had any feelings for her. He'd never tried anything. In fact, he'd never shown any romantic interest in her at all.
That reassuring thought drove her fear of confession out of her mind and she slid from her vehicle. Regardless, if he only had platonic feelings for her she had to explain herself. Standing by the front bumper she gathered her scattered ideas into a cohesive thought, and tried to plan out exactly what she was going to say to him. Obviously sorry was the main thing, but so was asking for forgiveness, not to mention a lot of groveling. But she also needed to tell him she loved him, even though she was terrified of his rejection.
Nodding her head to herself she pushed off the bumper of the car, trying to memorize, "Vince I'm so sorry for leaving. I'm so sorry for everything." If she could keep her apologies at the forefront of her mind she could deal with everything like an adult. A determination like she'd never felt before descended over her and she made her way up the pathway to his front door.
Instead of knocking she pulled the door open and walked into a relatively neat and tidy house. She faced the living room and was greeted by Vince lounging on his couch, an empty beer can next to his foot and one in his hand. His eyes widened as he realized someone was bold enough to barge into his house without knocking. But when he saw who it was he smiled softly and let his feet drop off the table. He sat up and stared at her while she stood dumbfounded. Now that she'd allowed herself to accept that she was in love with him, he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. She was surprised to find that his eyes on her could steal her breath and leave her tingling all over. She tried to regain her purpose, force herself to say anything, yet she could only stare while he got to his feet.
"What's up?" he asked, scratching the side of his abdomen absently.
Shorty opened her mouth to let everything tumble out, but nothing came. It felt like her throat had swollen shut and her the apology she'd memorized fled from her mind. Instead, she rushed towards him, clasped her hands against his face and pressed her lips to his. She knew it wasn't the right way to confess her feelings for him, and it was most definitely not the way to apologize for deserting him. But she simply couldn't help herself. It was insanity, blissful and wonderful, but still insane.
All she could think was it felt so right to be pressed against him. His lips were warm and soft, something she'd never expected. He was such a solidly built man that she'd thought his lips would be rough or chapped. Her entire body felt alive, and an intense fire spread from his lips to her toes. She was overwhelmed with love and desire and all she wanted to do was float away on her cloud of happiness.
And she would have, if Vince had kissed her back. Instead he stood stiff and kept his lips unmoving. When she finally came to realize he wasn't responding the way she wanted, she pulled away and looked into his wide blue eyes.
Her breathing hitched as he gazed down at her. His eyes wandered over her face as if memorizing every last detail before he quietly showed her to the door. She regretted her quick show of affection. She probably should have started with the apology then explained that she had feelings for him. Instead she'd let her hormones, lust, and vagina do the talking.
And he was so obviously perturbed by her kiss. Which was exactly what she'd meant to avoid. Not only was she embarrassed, but now she had something else to apologize for. Shorty looked down at the broad chest in front of her, unable to look into Vince's clear eyes any longer, "I didn't…"
A quick flash of his pristine white teeth cut her off mid sentence before his lips descended over hers. Again, her breath was yanked from her chest, painfully, but oh so pleasurably. She smiled into his kiss and allowed herself to be swept into his arms. He was an amazing kisser now that he wasn't stiff lipped. In fact, he was quite literally incomparable. She'd never been kissed so fiercely, so passionately, and yet so delicately all at the same time. Leon was a wonderful kisser in his own right, but nothing compared to the havoc Vince was wrecking with his lips.
Shorty wrapped one leg around Vince's waist and felt his hands slid down to cup her behind, lifting her off the ground. Her other leg wrapped around him and she locked ankles behind his back as he walked to the stairs leading upstairs. He ascended them quickly, never stumbling, nor breaking the kiss.
She wanted him so bad, it was like a fire burning deep in her body. Her insides turned to lava and she was ready to surrender herself to whatever Vince had in mind. In fact, all she wanted was for him to throw her down on the floor and have his way with her. She wasn't at all worried if he'd be a wonderful lover. The way her body was reacting to him with just his kisses was unbelievable. He could probably look at her and she'd have the most overwhelming orgasm of her life.
He was pure carnal masculinity, and she wanted nothing more than to feel his naked body against her own. She was all but purring into his mouth in anticipation when he unwound her legs from his waist and set her on her feet. His lips smacked as he pulled away from hers and she missed the contact instantly. She moved forward to pull him down for another kiss the same instant he put an arms distance between them.
Disappointment flittered across her face before she could hide it, "You don't want me?" she breathed. It was soul crushing to have him rebuff her after he'd just sent her on such a blissful journey.
Vince shook his head, cupping her face in his left hand. He reached for her hand and placed it under his own on his heart, "You have no idea how much I want you."
"I don't understand then?"
He beamed widely at her, his eyes watering in the darkness, "I want to make you my wife, not just another girl."
Sure, it was much too soon to really consider anything that significant, however, it was hard for her not to throw her arms in the air and scream her happiness to everyone. She wasn't what she'd call girly, but just hearing the word wife sent her mind ricocheting from wedding dresses, to cakes, to little tuxedo's for her son. She leapt into Vince's arms and giggled like a schoolgirl into his ear.
He picked her up again and walked her into his bedroom, both of them tumbling to his bed when they reached the edge. He rolled his weight off her but turned towards her as she moved onto her side to face him. There was still so much to say, apologies that were long over due, but comfortable silence settled and they just stared at each other. Shorty felt like it was the first time she truly saw Vince. Now that she was certain of how deep her feelings went for him, it was like seeing him emerge from a widespread fog. In fact, she couldn't understand how she'd never seen it before. How in the hell had she ignored what was right in front of her for years? She'd never regret Leon because it gave her Brer, but if only she'd realized it so much earlier the last few years probably would have been moot.
"You're mine, Lil' Coyote," Vince whispered, as he brushed her hair behind her ear.
Even a clichéd move like that sent her heart beating painfully inside her suddenly too small chest cavity. Normally she would have followed Vince's claim with a sarcastic comment but nothing clever came to mind. And although she was a little wounded that her mind wasn't functioning up to par she couldn't help but smile at him and say, "I think I could deal with that, as long as you subsidize my bank account with monthly deposits."
Vince laughed softly and leaned forward to press his lips to her forehead, "Anything to keep my girl happy," he whispered.
"V?"
"Mhmm?" he murmured, his eyes closing in contentment.
Shorty would have loved to join him in his contentment, but they still had so much to talk about. She knew it would likely ruin the moment. In fact, she was positive bringing up the past at this particular moment was an incredibly bad idea, however, it had to be done. "I'm really sorry for leaving."
"I know," he answered with his eyes still closed.
His hand found hers in the dark and he brought it to his lips. Rubbing her knuckles across his mouth, she realized that Vince had already forgiven her. She knew, without a doubt, that she deserved his anger and resentment. And she also knew she was getting off easy, way to easy. He should have been fuming at her, not calmly kissing her hand. "No. For real, I'm sorry."
"I know that, Shorty."
"But I mean it, I should never have left you. What I mean is, I should have taken you with me."
"Come on, Shorty, it's in the past. What's important is you're back, and you're with me."
Although she still wanted him to have it out with her, she left it alone. Maybe one day she'd get him to talk but she understood that he seemed to want to just focus on the now. Which was perfectly fine with her if she thought about it. She could apologize for the rest of their lives and it'd never be enough.
"V?"
"Mhmm?" he murmured again.
She leaned up and hovered an inch away from his ear, "I love you. Forever."
Even though she couldn't see him, she knew he was smiling. He growled deep in his throat and flipped onto his back, pulling her on top of him. "I don't think forever's gonna be long enough."
"Probably not," she agreed, kissing him gently.
He pulled away again and looked up at her. His eyes seemed to drink her in greedily, like he couldn't get enough of her. Or maybe that's just how she felt when she looked at him. Now that they'd discovered each other it seemed surreal. Like something that had been coming for so long was finally here and they couldn't fathom their luck. "You know I love you too, right?"
"I hoped you might," she answered before reclaiming his lips.
Though Vince said he wanted to make her his wife and not just another girl, neither of them could resist each other. When they lay in each other's arms later that night, she finally understood why the women flocked to him at the races. He was phenomenal in bed. A real life Adonis. She was left more satisfied than she'd ever been. Even an hour later her body was still reacting to his touch.
"I've wanted to do that for five years," Vince joked, squeezing her tightly to his chest.
"Again?" Shorty asked, straddling his waist and rocking herself over his groin.
It took only seconds before he'd tossed her on her back and claimed her lips, pushing inside her feverishly. The second time they made love was unbelievably beautiful and Shorty rolled onto her stomach beside him exhausted. She was covered in a fine sheet of sweat and struggled to slow her breathing back to normal.
She turned her face towards the love of her life and rested her head against her crossed arms. He was absolutely breathtaking in the moonlight streaming through the bedroom windows. She wanted to remember this moment forever. The exact moment she realized he was all hers and he always would be. She now saw that he'd been pacing the sidelines waiting for her to realize that she'd always loved him. That she loved him the way he'd always loved her.
Just when she thought she knew everything about him, he surprised her. Never in her life had she pictured him as an extremely patient man. But there it was, and she was thrilled he'd waited five and a half years for her to admit her feelings. Shorty wanted to bask in the beauty of what was happening between them. She wanted to forget the world and just spend eternity worshipping each other. However, she knew reality would rear its ugly head in the morning when they'd have to face the world.
"Vince? What are we going to tell everyone?"
"We're going to tell them we love each other and hope they'll be happy for us."
"What about Leon?"
Vince sighed and raked a hand down his face, ending at his beard and rubbing it in thought. She knew four and a half years of anger would be hard to let go of. Finally she understood part of Vince's anger, he obviously believed that Leon was her main reason for leaving. Which, if she stepped back and looked at it from his point of view, seemed true. But as angry as he was with Leon, eventually he was going to have to forgive him. Mistakes had been made by all three of them, and now it was time to rectify them. "He already knows."
"That's what Lett said too. Do you think he'll be fine with it?"
"He doesn't have a choice, Michael," Vince answered truthfully.
Although Leon already knew, she wasn't sure he'd be fine with it. If she was completely honest with herself she knew part of her heart would always belong to him. He'd been her first love, or at least her first admitted love. Most likely he'd be a little upset but eventually he'd get over it. The only thing she was really worried about was how he'd react with the Brer situation. He was the primary male caregiver in Brer's life, but with Vince in the picture he might feel threatened. After all, Vince had been jealous of the attention Leon received from Brer once he'd stepped up to the role of father.
"Well, what about Brer?"
"I think we tell him that Leon will always be his dad, regardless of who his mom is in love with."
Shorty knew Brer would accept whatever she told him. He loved both his father and Vince. It was just a matter of figuring out boundaries between the two men and Brer that might be difficult. Would Vince help make parenting decisions, or would he leave that strictly up to her and Leon? If he was going to be in their life in the way she hoped, he should have some degree of say. In fact, she would prefer to have him as integral a part of her sons life as he was in hers. But the deep seeded issues between Leon and Vince might cause a bit of a hurdle. She wouldn't and couldn't blame Leon if he wanted to be the sole father figure in Brer's life. After all, he was his father, and since he'd stepped up, he'd been an amazing dad.
Quite frankly, if Leon and Vince couldn't come to an agreement it would put a strain on the various relationships involved. Shorty hoped it would be a smooth transition for them, with Brer seeing none of the inevitable tension. And the sooner the situation was dealt with, the faster they could settle into a regular schedule.
Instead of worrying over the situation she draped her leg over his torso and laid her head down beside his. She nuzzled into the crook of his neck and let her eyes drift shut, completely overcome with a sense of ease. Being with him had always been so easy for her, and it hadn't seemed to change much. She still felt complete around him, like the small piece she hadn't known she'd lost had made it's way back to her. "There's a Dodgers game tomorrow," she whispered.
"And?"
"And Brer's never been to one," she answered.
Vince groaned loudly, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Well, I guess we better take him. As long as I get to dress you," he added with a laugh.
Shorty rolled her eyes, the memory of their first and only ball game together making it's way out of the depths where she'd try to keep it for so long. Now that she was with Vince it didn't hurt to remember all the good times they'd had. And she'd had the time of her life at the Dodgers game with him, regardless of her less than fashionable clothing choice.
"Go to sleep," she replied, kissing his lips before turning her back to him and cuddling into his side. He rolled towards her and tugged her as close as possible. He held her as tightly as he could until he fell asleep. Shorty smiled into the pillow when his breathing evened out and his grip loosened. If she could predict how her life was going to be from now on, she never would have predicted it'd be as fantastic as she knew it was going to be. Finally Lady Luck was smiling down on her.
When she woke the next morning she was unsure where she was. The room was a different color, the mattress she was laying on was harder, and there was a heavy weight bearing down on her heart. Shorty blinked a few times to clear her head and allowed the previous evenings events wash over her. Her panic subsided quickly as she embraced everything that had transpired. Looking down she saw Vince's head resting atop her heart, his right hand cupping her left breast gently. He was still lost in dreams as his eyelids fluttered against his cheeks, but she was wide awake and his hand was warm and sent tingles rushing across her chest. She felt her nipple tighten under his hand and the slight movement woke Vince slowly. He growled deep in his throat and devoured her before he was completely awake.
They lay together after, basking in their reality. A new day meant they had a lot to deal with. Probably a day filled with more questions than either of them had previously dealt with. For Shorty, her previous betrayal prepared her for the outpouring she was expecting from the teams. Together they'd answer them, but they each needed to face Leon separately. He deserved an explanation although he'd known it was coming all along.
The prospect of confessing her love for Vince to Leon was difficult to comprehend. She hadn't used him; she'd truthfully loved him. But she couldn't help but feel like he'd think it was all a lie. What they'd shared was special, and she prayed he didn't compare it to what she had with Vince. It would only cause him more heartbreak.
"We better get cleaned up."
Vince snorted and pulled the covers over their heads, tucking it in around their bodies, "Stay in bed and I'll show you something I learned in high school."
Shorty smacked him hard in the chest but couldn't help but laugh at the wiggling eyebrows. She could only imagine what he'd learned in high school, knowing that his first woman was also his grade ten math teacher. "If it's more than two plus two, I don't think I need to know."
"Oh, trust me, you want me to show this to you."
"Later then. We gotta go get Brer before the game," she answered, throwing the covers off the bed and padding around the room naked.
Grabbing her bra and panties off the floor she quickly tugged them on before the fire in Vince's eyes couldn't be controlled. As far as she could tell, he was an insatiable beast. Not that she minded at all, except that Brer was waiting for her and she had to learn to balance them. Brer would always sway her a little more and that was fine because she knew Vince understood.
He groaned but caught the boxers she tossed to him, "Fine. But once the kids down for the night, you're all mine."
They dressed quickly, Vince pulling on clean clothes while she slid back into the previous days. It was still fairly early so they'd be able to get out of his house before her brother or the boys noticed her car parked out front. She wanted to explain it to them in person without Vince, in case Hector pulled the same old big brother shit he always did.
Vince locked the door behind him and slid into her passenger seat without complaint. She shrugged her shock at him aside and quickly navigated the few blocks back to her house. Banjo would be eager for her return so he could venture outside to relieve himself before settling down to a huge bowl of food. A slight guilt crept over her for leaving him home alone all night. He hadn't been away from her since she'd got him and she knew she'd have to discuss with Vince how they were going to spend nights together.
When she parked on the parking pad she was surprised to see both Letty and Dom's cars parked at the curb. Instantly worrying that something horrible had befallen her child she rushed from the car and sprinted through the door of her house. Letty was braiding Lalia's hair in the corner of the room and Brer was soaring like Superman through the air propelled by Dom's feet under his belly.
"Mami! We had a sleep over! Uncle Dom snores," he cried, while Banjo snapped softly at his socked feet.
"You have no idea, kid," Letty laughed gently, as Vince stepped into the house behind Shorty. Her eyebrows arched up slightly and a wicked grin crossed her face. "And how was your night?" she teased.
Shorty rubbed the soft space under Banjo's ears when he leaned his body against her legs. Thankfully, though she'd been a neglectful pet owner, Letty had picked up her slack. "It was," she started, trying to find a word that would describe everything that had happened, "informative."
"Informative?" Vince cawed awkwardly.
She giggled as his ego took a bruising but knew he was only playing. It had been a very informative night after all. Finding out you'd been in love with someone without knowing it was almost too much information to take in at once. Adding his love for her had made the night mind blowing. That didn't even begin to broach how fantastic the sex had been. And that was something that couldn't be talked about in front of children.
Dom laughed at the whine in Vince's voice and lowered Brer back to his feet. He instantly dashed to their side and Shorty lifted him into her arms for a hug. The King of the Streets climbed to his feet and leaned over the couch to shake Vince's hand, "Congrat's man. It's about time."
"You knew too?" Shorty gawked.
"I didn't know about you, but I knew about him," he said.
"Thanks man," Vince smiled, hopping over the couch and leaning back into the cushions. "Still got a few people to tell yet though."
Brer slid down Shorty's side and climbed onto the couch beside Vince, scooting as close to him as possible and leaning on his knee, "I want to know the secret!"
"I think your mom wants to tell you," Vince answered, glancing over his shoulder.
"You go ahead, V," said Shorty.
She wondered what was going through his head as he looked down at Brer. If the situations were reversed she would probably be nervous, anxious, even terrified. He was about to drop a bomb on her son and there wasn't really anyway to soften the blow.
Vince picked Brer up off the couch and settled him against his hip, taking him through the kitchen and into the backyard. She would have preferred to hear how Vince was going to explain everything to her son. However, she trusted that he'd do it better away from Dom's prying ears. A man like Vince didn't normally confess his love for a woman in front of his best friend.
"So, how was it? Really?" Letty asked, earning a groan from Dom.
"There aren't even words."
"Good! Stop right there, I'm gonna vomit," Dom gagged.
He hoisted Lalia off the floor and disappeared into the kitchen just as Vince and Brer returned to the front room. It hadn't taken him more than a minute to explain the new situation to her son and she hoped he hadn't left anything important out. Vince dropped Brer onto the couch beside her and he crawled into her lap excitedly. "V is gonna take care of us now."
Shorty suppressed an eye roll, and smiled at Vince, "Oh, is he?"
"Yeah, he said he's gonna pay for groceries. Is that what take care of means?"
Letty's laughter always seemed to find the perfect moment to pull the seriousness out of any situation. She looked over at Vince as he smiled proudly, "Groceries?"
"You try explaining it to a five year old."
Shorty leaned back into the cushions and blocked out Letty and Vince's arguing as best she could. She needed to focus on Brer, needed to answer any questions he had that Vince hadn't been able to answer. She couldn't even answer half the questions she still had but she would try her damnedest to make sure Brer understood. He straddled her thighs and tilted his head to the left, as if he saw something she didn't. "You're happy."
She grinned down at the beautiful child in front of her, the absolute love of her life, "Yes, I am."
"Ok. But I don't have to give up my room, right?"
"Of course not."
Brer chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. Whatever thoughts were on his mind were taking a little longer than usual to process and vocalize. He opened his mouth, and shut it before asking. His cheeks colored in confusion and she could tell he was struggling with the concept of Vince and her together.
"You know you can ask me anything."
"Is Leon still my Papi?" he asked finally.
"He'll always be your Papi, baby. Always. Nothing will ever change that. Okay?" she answered, hugging him to her chest.
Shorty wasn't sure how the new situation would work yet, but she knew that the three of them would solve whatever issues arose. Vince had his own house, and though their relationship was only a day old she knew she wanted him to live with them. She wanted him around all the time. She wanted to wake up to his face every morning, and kiss his lips every night before she fell asleep. She also wanted Vince and Brer to really get a chance to know each other. Vince may never be his birth father but he could still be a father figure. The way that Brer already felt about Vince made that a real distinct possibility.
And though there were still a few people to let in on the happy news, she just wanted to spend the day with her two men. Besides, the news would travel fast; given that Letty would call Mia and Mia would tell Hector and Hector would tell the rest of the team. Leon was the only one she needed to speak with personally, she owed him that much after everything she'd put him through. But as much as she wanted to deal with it right away, it would have to wait. Forming a unique dynamic between herself, her son, and her lover was the most important thing on her mind at the moment.
Pushing the rest of her family and friends from her mind, she ushered Letty, Dom, and Lalia out of the house so she could get ready. Low key was always her idea of a good time and a ballgame was the definition of low key entertainment. They'd bond over hot dogs and snow cones.
As the three of them walked through the gates at the ballpark she knew that Vince would forever more be a part of their lives. They'd make it through anything the world had to throw at them. They'd waited years for their chance, and now that it was here she wouldn't let anything come between them.
A/N: Wow! My sincerest apologies for the wait between chapters. Real life has sunk its sharp teeth into me and won't let go. Thanks to Random2Friends, Villiana Del Amor, demonpixie1, ILoveAnime89, Teleliniel, Holliday Girl, Miss Hood, Leon's Angel, Bindie, Reject's Angel, nothingsnobody, Shekat55, MizzRKOANIMALCENA, kmcgeezy, LilMozFireGirl, WheresMyBones, and the 2 guest's who reviewed! Shout outs to Shekat55, kmcgeezy, LilMizFireGirl, the-asian-fidget, cutiepie102, WheresMyBones, Property of Lord Sesshoumaru, and ShadowDancer181 for the alerts and favorites. I think I've forgotten a few people and for that I'm sorry. Just know that I really do appreciate it!
Cheers!
