Page 61 of Takeover

“You want to see my bike, Alan?” Alan doesn’t get a chance to respond before Vincent grabs his hand and starts to pull him away. “You should have a sleepover with me and my best friend.” Vincent doesn’t stop talking until he and Alan are out of sight. While Ethan picks out a bottle of wine, I give Cheryl and Vickie a tour of the first floor. By the time we join Ethan in the kitchen, he’s poured a glass of white wine for each of us.

“Did you have a nice lunch talking about me?” he asks, whispering very close to my ear.

“Get over yourself, Bradford. Your name was not even mentioned.” He puts his glass down, leans down, and kisses the side of my neck.

“I’m all in this, Tara. You can talk to whoever you want to talk to as long as you come back. Do you feel better?”

“What do you mean?” I look around the room and find my sister and Mom looking at me. They both turn away and giggle at each other. I clear my throat and run a hand through my hair.

“Let’s go find Vincent and Alan.” Cheryl grabs Vickie’s arm, and they giggle all the way out of the kitchen.

“Did I look stressed when I left here earlier?” I ask him.

“No, but you scheduled lunch with your stepmother after our conversation last night. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why you sought her out. And I am a genius, by the way.”

“Pfft,” I say. “Who anointed you as such?” I ask.

“But look at me, Tar.” He turns to face me, and when I look at him, my heart skips several beats. “I want this with you. There is no one else.” He reaches over and strokes a piece of my hair. “Just you.”

He holds my gaze, and when I try to look away, he grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. “I want this, too. I want it so much, but—”

“There are no buts. We’re in this,” he tells me.

“We’re in this.”

The smile he gives me erases all doubt. He lifts me and sits me on the island. He slides his arms around me and pushes me into his body. I sigh in contentment when he puts his head on my chest.

“You were put on this earth just so you can make me crazy. And you’ve been doing just that since I laid eyes on you. It’s you, me, and Vincent. That’s it.” I run a hand through his hair before dropping a kiss in the middle of his head.

“I love you, you giant pain in the ass.”

“You’d better love me after everything you’ve put me through.”

“After everythingI’veputyouthrough? That’s funny coming from Satan’s right-hand man.”

“You know what I think?” he asks. “I think you should just move in.”

I pull away so I can look into his eyes. Before I can question him further, everyone returns to the kitchen. Vincent is on Alan’s back.

“Dad’s jealous because he’s not here,” Vickie laughs.

“Let’s send the driver to pick him up. Why don’t you stay, and we’ll all have dinner together?” Ethan suggests.

36

I shake my head subtly at my son, who jumps on my bed two more times before he finally jumps off. He fills the room with his giggles when I lift him up and spin him around the room like an airplane. He opens his arms and pretends to fly. When I know he’s good and dizzy, I throw him on the bed and tickle him until he begs for mercy. Once he’s exhausted and out of breath, I help him put on his clothes. Then I put on the same outfit as my son. That’s something we started about a year ago. He would always pull my ties down and wrap them around various parts of his body. Dressing him like me made him happy, so we’ve continued.

“Looking good, Son,” I say to him as we look at our reflection in the standing mirror in my closet.

Vincent nods in agreement and smooths his light blue, button down shirt. He pulls the legs of his black pants and gives a thumbs up sign.

“There you two are,” Tara says. She walks into the closet and runs her hands over my pecs. She then turns to Vincent and runs a hand through his hair. Vincent runs out of the closet, and a few seconds later, I hear him jumping on the bed.

“Vincent!” I yell from the closet.

“Oh, leave him alone,” Tara says. She slides both hands across my chest, and I pull her into my body.

“You know how much I hate this robe,” I say against her hair. When I grab her ass and pull her closer, she gasps when she feels my erection. “What happened to the robes I got you?”

---