CHAPTER 24
ROMAN
I don’t know why I’m surprised. Of course Carter has every single person I care about waiting for us to get home. It’s my mom that I spot first as the crowd of people yells ‘surprise.’ I cross the room and swallow her up in my arms. The tears from the call with her earlier threaten to reappear, but I push that shit down. This is a celebration. I don’t put her down until Ryan physically pulls my arms off her so he can get in on the mom hugs. It's then that I notice the other people in the room. James and Derek are here smiling brightly at me. Sienna, my parole officer, is clapping and whistling through her fingers, even Eric and Jordan made it here before we did. The guys from Savage Ink are bustling around putting out platters of food and there are boxes of beer stacked up by the fridge. Hulk, Thor and Loki are having a party of their own, chasing each other through everybody’s legs.
This is the life I have always dreamed of but never believed I would find, and it's all thanks to a crazy tattooist who claimed me as his soulmate the very first time he laid eyes on me.
Looking around for the man in question, I see him standing back and watching me with a huge smile on his face. I think this might be his dream too. A home filled with everyone he loves and his soulmate to share it with. I keep my eyes on his as he steps up beside me.
“Can you grab me a beer, babe? I wanna talk to Derek for a second,” I ask as I drop a light kiss to the tip of his nose. “Just so you know, I plan to watch you swallow your own name later,” I add in a whisper down the side of his neck before changing direction and heading toward James and Derek.
With everything that has been going on for the last few months, not to mention a certain tattoo taking slightly longer than most to heal, we haven't yet had a chance to see it in action. Which will absolutely be happening tonight. First though, I want to talk to my boss and then drink with my friends and family.
“I’m so happy for you, Roman, I never doubted for a second. I suppose you won’t be needing a job anymore?” Derek jokes as he pulls me into a hug.
“I want to volunteer full time. Anything you need. I imagine with the large donation that is coming your way, you will need both a reliable money man,” I point to James, “and a reliable handyman.” I point to myself then wait for the penny to drop with both of them.
When it finally lands with Derek, he looks up at me with wide eyes. “All donations are welcome and desperately needed, as are volunteers, but I don’t want you writing a cheque that will cut too deep into your pockets, especially if you aren’t planning on taking a paid position to refill them.” I wave him off and put my hand on James' shoulder.
“What do you think? Could you handle a ten million dollar budget? Would we be able to buy more property? Perhaps create a safe place for teens to sleep if they have been kicked out of their home?” It's then that both of their mouths drop open, but I don't plan to hang around and listen to them telling me it's too much. So I back away with a wave. “Enjoy the party guys, there is plenty of food and drinks, I’ll catch up with you later, okay,” I promise, then go in search of my boyfriend and that beer I am now pining for.
Of course, I find my boyfriend hovering over the food table, stuffing cheese sliders into his mouth and gripping two open beers in his free hand. Is it weird that I still think he's hot even when he's eating like a slob? Probably, not that I care.
“There you are,” I whisper as I move behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist from behind and dropping a kiss to his neck. He has lost his suit jacket and tie since the last time I saw him. It’s probably already doused in gasoline, just waiting for the party to be over, so he can perform some kind of ritual by burning our suits. He pushes one beer into my hand and shoves a slider into my mouth.
“These are so fucking good,” he tells me and I laugh at the porn-level noises he’s making as he eats another.
Bending down I bite his earlobe. “Keep making noises like that and this party is going to be over real soon,” I warn with a playful thrust of my hips against his ass.
“Jesus Christ, our mom is here. Can you two not perform sexual acts so close to the food?” Ryan’s voice has me taking a step back and Carter looks at him, almost perplexed.
“Is it our proximity to the food that is the issue or that your mom might have seen us exchanging a loving embrace?” he asks and I almost choke on my beer.
“Both Carter, both are equally gross. Please go dry hump your boyfriend elsewhere.” I slap my hand over Carter's mouth before he can respond and say God knows what. Needing a swift change of topic I spit out the first thing that comes to mind.
“I’m donating ten million to the center.” That does the trick. Both of them turn their attention to me. Okay, maybe I didn’t think that one through. Are they mad? The way they’re staring, it's hard to tell. “And, I want to buy Mom a new house, maybe something closer. You and Drew too, any house you want,” I tack on quickly.
Ryan is the first to break. “I don’t want or need your money, Ro-Ro, but what you are doing for the center is life-changing for those kids, and Mom deserves to have her dream home. Do you really have to be a fucking saint? How the hell am I meant to measure up to that? Mom will probably disown me now.” I know he's joking, but just in case, I pull him into a hug.
“You deserve a part of this money too. You invited me into your life and your home when I didn't deserve it. You introduced me to the best man I've ever met. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you, so just take the damn house and live happily in my shadow.” I laugh with a shrug then rub my arm where he swiftly punched me. It feels so fucking good to have my brother back.
CARTER
If this man rose up and sprouted fucking wings, I doubt a single person would be surprised. He really is a saint. I knew he would donate to the center, but two thirds of his total is beyond generous. Ryan is right, what that money's going to do for those kids is life-changing, and I can’t wait to be along for the ride to see it.
It’s also not surprising that he would want to help his family. Not that they are struggling, but it's a gift we would all love to give to our families, and now he can. He will get far more joy visiting their homes and seeing them living their best lives, than anything he would ever buy for himself. I don’t even need to ask if he plans to buy a house for himself. We own a house, the renovations might speed up now and the materials and furniture might get a decent upgrade, but this place is ours and we have so many memories here already. I don’t think he would want to leave that just because he has the money to buy something fancier. We are not fancy kinda guys.
Ryan leaves us to find Drew and tell him the good news and I turn to look at Roman. “So, I’m thinking since you are rich now we could get one of those rainfall showers fitted into the en suite in the master and maybe a jacuzzi for the back porch?” I suggest with a playful smirk that has him wrapping his big arms back around me.
“I can work with that, I’m also thinking Hulk needs a brother, I can even take them both to the center with me during the day. Hulk and… Bruce.” He looks pretty proud of himself for that one. Stretching up onto my tiptoes, I kiss his lips.
“Sounds perfect to me.”
The party went on until the early morning hours. Mama Joyce left early in the evening to drive home for work the next day. Sienna, Eric, and Jordan were the next to tap out around eight thirty. Which was a shock since Jordy loves to party. Derek, bless him, tried to hang, but as soon as Ryan whipped out his guitar and Pete decided to make it karaoke, he was out. The rest of the guys, James, Asher and us partied like we were in our twenties. We took shot after shot, chugging bottles of beer in races, and obnoxiously singing at the top of our lungs to whatever song Ryan randomly decided to play.
At some point, we all moved to the backyard to burn our suits in ceremony, which ended with Drew blasting a fire extinguisher into a metal trash can. Why do they make it look so easy in the movies to burn shit. I’m pretty sure Ryan lost at least one eyebrow when he decided to throw in his suit jacket in solidarity. However, it turned out to be Drew’s suit jacket. Ryan was escorted home not long after that, looking like a very well-chastised kid. Head hanging with a dog under each arm and his suit jacket over his shoulders. I know I shouldn’t have laughed, that was probably a very expensive suit. The second the door closed behind them every one of us barked out a laugh.
Around two a.m. Gavin graciously offered to drive James and Nyx home, as he carried a hiccuping Pete out to his truck. For a few hours there it was starting to look like Pete’s clumsy streak had ended, but I spoke too soon. He somehow managed in spectacular fashion to fall headfirst into the remains of the cake. When he started to smear the icing on Gavin’s cheeks and lick it off, Gavin decided it was home time.
Now that everyone is gone, I notice the house is an absolute wreck. Roman is passed out on the couch, wearing nothing but my Simpsons pajama pants and a fedora. Where the fuck did he even find a fedora? The kitchen is covered in half-eaten food and cake crumbs, and the smell of burnt polyester is seeping into the walls. Best. Night. Ever.
Getting Roman up to bed is as big of a challenge as I imagined. The guy is six-foot-five and weighs at least a hundred pounds more than me for fuck’s sake. There is no way I can carry him. Waking him up doesn’t seem to be an option either. Short of throwing water at him, nothing will wake him. I've already tried yelling and shaking him. I don’t want to just leave him down here alone, so I grab a ton of blankets, throw one over him and use the rest to make a bed for myself on the floor below him. Cleaning up can wait for tomorrow. Right now, I just want to fall asleep and have peaceful dreams about sucking Roman off in the shower in the morning and getting to literally swallow my own name.