19. Ellis
CHAPTER 19
ELLIS
Rory and Shane didn’t seem excited about my topic suggestion, but it needed to be discussed. “I guess I’ll go first.” I jabbed Rory in the upper arm with a finger. “But Manny’s already referenced some sort of bad breakup you had, so don’t think you’re getting out of telling us.”
He sighed. “Fine.”
“Okay, so I wasn’t out in high school.” I pointed at myself. “I know it’s hard to believe, but I had my dad convinced I was just a nerdy debate club kid and not a gay nerdy debate club kid.”
Shane leaned forward. “He wasn’t accepting?”
I snorted. “Hell, no. He always told me to be more like my brother, who was a man’s man.” I rolled my eyes. “He was super disappointed I didn’t have Hunter abilities like him and Arch. Anyway, it was safer for me to not date in high school. When I went away to college, I pretty much slept with any guy with a pulse. I didn’t have an exclusive relationship until my senior year, and that only lasted until graduation. I’ve had three long-term boyfriends since then, but none of them felt like forever, you know? I’ve only dated NPCs, but I’ve never even been tempted to tell any of them about the campaign. I told them all I did volunteer social work on the side.”
“Yeah, I get it.” Shane reached out and put his hand on my shoulder. “How did your dad react to you having boyfriends? And your mom? Is she still around?”
I shook my head. “No, she died of cancer when I was in elementary school.” Shane and Rory made noises of sympathy. “I told my dad I was gay after college. He, well, I won’t repeat what he said. But effectively, no son of his could be gay, so therefore I wasn’t his son anymore.”
Rory held up a hand. “Hang on. You said he was a Hunter, so he works with Wonders all the time. And I haven’t met very many, but they don’t seem like the types to be hung up on binary gender norms.”
“They’re not. And I’m pretty sure he never told anyone on the Hunter team what he thought. He retired a few years ago anyway.”
“What about Arch?” Rory pointed at the SUV ahead of us. “He seems accepting.”
I shrugged, the old pain flaring up again. “He never disowned me like Dad, but he didn’t support me against Dad either. We don’t talk much, as you could probably tell.” I spread my hands out. “That’s my sad history. Who wants to go next?”
Rory pressed his lips together. He might have been about to say something, but Shane spoke up instead.
“I’ll go. Not much to tell, really. Granny knew I liked boys since elementary school, when I became obsessed with all the guys on Dawson’s Creek . ”
Rory grinned, and I laughed. “I was more partial to Angel on Buffy .”
“Yeah, but I started working at Fredericks & Son Landscaping after school my junior year. I didn’t dare come out to them, so I stayed quiet and didn’t talk about my personal life. They eventually figured out I was gay, but by that time Ricky had started passing my work off as his. Everyone pretended they didn’t care since I was valuable, but....” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I wasted twenty years of my life on that company.”
I reached back and squeezed his knee. “It wasn’t wasted. You had a steady job which allowed you to develop a valuable skill. You were just waiting for us to come along and help you to the next phase of your career, whatever that ends up being.”
He sighed. “We’ll see. Anyway, I’ve had three or four relationships, all with Wonders. But we were only passing the time with each other, since we could tell we’d never bond.”
I turned my attention to Rory. “And you?”
He grimaced. “Okay. You asked for it. I knew I was bisexual by middle school, and my parents were very supportive. They died in a car crash right before my freshman year of high school, and that’s when I went to live with Grandfather and Grandmother. They’d disowned my dad when he married my mom, because she made her living as a professional Medium, and they thought she just wanted his inheritance. I’d seen ghosts my whole life, but I knew better than to mention them to my grandparents.”
Now it was my turn to put my hand on Rory’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s awful how you had to hide part of yourself when you were already grieving. ”
“Thanks. Um, my grandparents didn’t have any issue with me being bisexual at least. I had a hard time academically my freshman and sophomore years in high school, mostly because I was dealing with the loss of my parents. I didn’t have the grades I needed to get into Harvard or Yale or wherever, but Grandfather pulled some strings and got me into Rice University. And that’s where I figured out I was polyamorous.”
His tone was ominous, so I squeezed his leg again. “Go on.”
“My grandmother passed away near the end of my sophomore year at Rice. She—her ghost, that is—came to check on me in the dorm before she crossed to the other side. I was in bed with my two boyfriends.” He chuckled at the memory. “When she realized I could see her, she apologized for not believing my mother, and she was going to try to find my parents on the other side, as they’d chosen to cross over. She told me she was glad I had my boyfriends, and she hoped I’d be happy.”
He put his hand over mine. “Then at her funeral, Grandfather heard me telling Manny about my conversation with Grandmother after she died, and he noticed I was holding hands with two guys at the time.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Exactly. He waited until the funeral was over, but then he told me he was cutting me off. No more tuition, no more inheritance. I got to finish the school year, but then I had to get a job and transfer to the University of Houston. I could only afford to go part-time, so I didn’t finish my Finance degree until two years ago. Grandfather died about the same time, and he’s been trying to make up for his assholery ever since.” He gave us a wry smile. “But he’d left all his money to Uncle Hugo, and it’s frustrated Grandfather to no end watching Hugo waste everything Grandfather worked so hard for.”
“Ouch.” Shane shook his head in sympathy. “It’d be karma except you’re the one who really got the shaft.”
Rory shrugged. “Grandfather’s been giving me stock tips, so I’m doing okay. Maybe one day I’ll have a fund like one of your Financial Wizards, and I can help all the District Monitors like you.”
“Hold up.” I jabbed my pointer finger into Rory’s thigh. “What happened to the two guys you were seeing?”
He smiled and shook his head. “We were twenty. The relationship didn’t survive my change in financial circumstances, plus I was always working or going to class.” He hesitated. “Then I met Beth and Thom. I’d just graduated, and they were several years older than me. We dated seriously for almost a year.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Beth wanted to have a baby. I decided if the three of us were going to start a family I should tell them about being a Medium.”
“Uh oh.” I gripped his leg again. “I’m guessing it didn’t go well?”
He let out a harsh laugh. “You could say that. They were horrified, as if me being a Medium would mean they’d be constantly surrounded by ghosts.” He rolled his eyes. “News flash: everyone’s always surrounded by ghosts. But they couldn’t be convinced, and they didn’t want the baby to be exposed to ghosts, or, even worse, what if I ended up fathering the baby? Then they might end up with a child who was a Medium.”
“Oh, Rory. I’m so sorry.” I rubbed his arm.
“Those assholes!” I glanced back to see Shane glaring out the window, his arms crossed. “And them breaking up with you over that, on top of your Grandfather cutting you off? Shit, it’s impressive you even talk to us about ghosts, and we’re predisposed to believe you.”
Rory grinned. “Now you know why Manny was pushing me to get together with you two. Not that I needed much of a push.”
I couldn’t suppress my smile. “I can’t wait to be bonded to you. To both of you.”
“Same.” Shane rubbed his chest. “And not just so I can get rid of these extra connections.”
“Soooo....” Rory rubbed his hand along his thigh. “Once we’re bonded, it’s like some sort of mind link?”
Oh, shit. Had we forgotten to tell Rory what bonding meant?
Shane dove in. “Partially. We’ll be able to tell how each other are feeling, much more than we can do now. We’ll also be able to talk to each other mind-to-mind.”
I held up a finger. “And you’ll get a power boost. Well, we all will. Our magics will combine and become stronger. So, like your grandfather and Shane’s granny being visible? You’ll probably be able to do more stuff like that. Shane and I will know where all the Wonders we’re connected to are, and whether they’re under stress or anxious.”
Rory rubbed his thigh again. “Okay. That all sounds... okay.”
I frowned. I wasn’t getting anything through the connection. “What are you worried about?”
“I, uh....” He glanced at me and then back at Shane. “Sometimes I think about weird shit, and I don’t want you to think I’m strange or regret being bonded to me.”
I laughed. “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you, I promise. But we all think about weird shit. And all the bonded couples say you learn how to wall it off. So we’ll have our privacy eventually.”
His body lost its tension. “Okay. Good.”
“I have an idea.” Shane reached through the gap in the seats and patted Rory on the arm. “Let’s tell each other some of the stupid crap we think about. Just get it out there.”
I looked back and raised my eyebrows at him. “You can go first.”
“Duh.” He leaned back in his seat and drummed his fingers together. “Okay, like I’ve been imagining getting one of my old coworkers to discover a landscape design I left behind .” He made air quotes. “Ricky would be all over it and sell it to the next client who came along. But it’ll be made up of plants that’ll change colors with the season and suddenly for a period of time there’ll be a giant dick in the middle of their esplanade.”
Rory and I laughed, but Shane sighed. “I know. It’d be hilarious, but I can’t do that to the poor unsuspecting company. They’re not the ones I’m mad at.”
“Alright, I guess it’s my turn.” I tried to think of something “weird” to discuss, but all that was coming up was dirty thoughts I’d been having about Shane and Rory. I was slightly panicking when I remembered something. “Oh, I have one. I’ve been wondering what form Ms. Jackson will choose when they finally take on a human shape.”
Rory stared at me a little too long and I had to point at the windshield to redirect his attention to the road. “Holy shit,” he muttered.
“Y’all haven’t thought about it?”
I glanced back at Shane, and he winced. “I thought about it, but I didn’t want to, so I stopped. ”
I threw up my hands. “Okay, whatever. Rory, what weird thoughts should Shane and I brace ourselves for?”
He glanced at me, then he ran his hand over the stubble on his jaw. His beard was as blond as his hair, so when he didn’t shave he got a sort of golden glow on the bottom half of his face.
Shane leaned forward. “You don’t have to play this game if you don’t want to.”
I frowned, but then I noticed the unease coming through our connection from Rory. “Shit, man. This wasn’t supposed to be some sort of test or anything. We were only playing around. No need to participate if it makes you uncomfortable.”
Rory lifted one shoulder. “It’s not that. It’s just, I have more of a question for you guys, and I guess it’s kind of awkward.”
He had both of his hands on the steering wheel, so while I wanted to grab one of them, I settled for putting my hand on his knee. “We’re about to be the equivalent of married without the possibility of divorce. We need to hear anything that’s bothering you, and I promise we won’t laugh.”
He blew out a breath. “I guess you’re right. Um, I’m curious about the bonding itself. I mean, I understand we’ll have sex, but is that all there is to it? Is there—I don’t know—a ritual or something?”
I grimaced, and when I glanced back, Shane had a similar expression. “I’m so sorry, Rory. We’ve been rushing this, and we didn’t make sure you understood everything that was happening.”
“Yeah, it’s a good question.” Shane lifted his phone. “There’s a whole series of entries on bonding in Cal’s Campaign Compendium . Why don’t I read those to you, and then Ellis and I can answer any questions you have afterward? ”
Rory nodded, seeming relieved. “Sounds good. How can I get access to that compendium for myself?”
I squeezed his knee. “First we have to get you on our Discord server. There’s a link pinned there. We’ll message Cal and ask him to send you an invite.”
“Okay.”
Shane read the entries to us, and I learned some things I hadn’t known. I should probably read the entire compendium, but who had that kind of time? I still couldn’t believe how quickly Cal had put the thing together. Didn’t he have a full-time job?
Rory relaxed more and more as Shane read. I felt awful for how stressed he’d been about the bonding. We’d all have to do better at communicating with each other. But was Rory really okay with bonding so quickly? The three of us still barely knew each other.
And it wasn’t only Rory being rushed. It was my fault Shane had ended up with the burden of all my connections on top of his own. Which were causing issues with his health .
All I could do was take them at their word that they were ready and try to make it up to them after we were bonded. Or, heh, during the bonding.
“What are you smirking about?” Rory’s question snapped me out of my reverie.
“Oh, sorry. I was imagining our bonding, if you want to know the truth. I’m looking forward to finding out what y’all like to do in bed.”
“Yeah?” Rory wiggled his eyebrows. “We’ve still got a while to drive. We could play a guessing game. Though you probably already know what Shane likes, right? ”
I ran my hand over my hair. “Um, actually, we didn’t really discuss preferences. It was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing. We just sort of pounced on each other.” I glanced back and winked at Shane, who blew me a kiss.
“Oh? What kind of pouncing are we talking about?”
I felt more than heard Shane spread his legs apart in the back seat. A low hum of arousal came through our connection.
“Shit.” Rory shifted in his own seat. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this while I’m driving.”
I looked around and the traffic was getting heavier as we approached Houston. We’d long since lost sight of Arch’s SUV. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry.”
He flashed me a toothy grin, and he reached back and squeezed Shane’s leg. “Just save it for tonight.”
After we all took a moment to get ourselves under control, Shane told us about a Wonder in Houston who had set up a school for Wonder children. We decided to go talk to her next week to see if it would be a good fit for Pia.
We were going against the worst of the traffic as we headed downtown, but it was still rush hour. We decided to make a detour for a quick dinner since Shane didn’t have a lot of groceries at home. We probably should’ve stopped at the store, but none of us were that patient.
Shane directed us to a hole-in-the-wall Korean place that was quick and delicious. Then finally, finally , we got to Shane’s house. Shit, our house. There wasn’t anywhere to park on the street, so Rory pulled into the driveway behind my SUV and Shane’s ancient sedan, which was under the carport.
Shane let out a heavy sigh. “I hate to mention it, but we’re going to have to empty the car. This isn’t a great neighborhood. ”
Rory frowned. “How bad is it? Do we need to be concerned about Pia’s safety?”
I unbuckled my seatbelt, and Shane still hadn’t answered by the time I was done. I turned to see him making a face. He looked out the window towards the house. His granny’s house. Fuck.
“We don’t have to decide tonight. We have plenty of time.”
Still looking at the house, he smiled sadly. “If we can afford to move to a better neighborhood, we should do it for Pia. This isn’t a place where I’d let her ride her bike down the street.”
I met Rory’s eyes. I could tell he regretted bringing up the topic. He said, “I don’t think your grandmother would be upset if you moved. She seems... practical.”
Shane seemed surprised at his own laughter. “She’s always been that.” He unlatched his own seat belt then slid over to the passenger side door. “Let’s get the car unpacked.”
“Between the three of us it’ll go quickly.” I didn’t mention that I was exhausted. I should’ve napped in the car, but I hadn’t wanted to miss out on spending time getting to know Shane and Rory better.
I did a couple of stretches when I got out of the car, hoping that would get the blood flowing. Rory opened the back hatch, and Shane palmed his keys before shouldering a duffel bag and hefting a box of my books in his arms. The man had some fine muscles, as I recalled. After we finished unloading and I got to sit down for a bit, I was looking forward to getting my hands on them again.
Shane headed for the front door, and Rory passed me the handle of a rolling suitcase and tucked the bottle of tequila in my other arm. “You doing okay? ”
“I’m alright. Can you hand me that duffel, please?” I pointed at the one with my Yo-Yos and sex toys inside. Then I headed for the house, ignoring his narrowed eyes.
He followed behind with another box and the larger suitcase. The three of us emptied the car in two more trips. I was the last one inside, and after shutting the front door I dropped the bag of non-perishables on the kitchen counter before stumbling over to the couch and falling onto it.
Shane and Rory were in Shane’s—our—bedroom, but I didn’t have the energy to see what they were up to. I leaned my head back on the cushion and closed my eyes.
I just needed a minute, and then we’d get naked for the bonding.