Chapter 26 Presley
Presley
Iwoke up feeling extremely warm.
Shifting out from under the sweltering heat, I looked around. I was naked, under a heated blanket, while in Gio’s bed.
“Good morning, Elvis.” He pressed a kiss to my mouth.
I tried to remember the previous night and sucked in a sharp breath. “Where is my dress?”
How did I get into his bed, and did I fall asleep last night?
“It’s being cleaned. King took you to his bed last night and let you sleep for as long as you could, but when you started waking, he had you brought here. I stripped you, cleaned you as much as I could, and then you were shivering, so I put this blanket over you.”
“Stripped me…what was wrong with my dress?” I asked, still trying to gauge everything that had happened. My heart felt like it was throbbing as I remembered the greenhouse and the gravesite and finally burying Adrian.
Gio held out his hand for me to take. I followed him, naked, over to Kingston’s bedroom, where the bed was covered in dirt and mud.
“Oh.” I must have fallen asleep on Adrian’s grave.
“I prepared a bath for you.” Gio pressed a kiss to my neck and guided me to my room.
In my bathroom was the cutest bath set up I had ever seen. A wooden bath caddy sat across the tub with my phone set there, a cup of coffee, and a candle.
“Happy Birthday, Elvis,” Gio said, helping me into the tub.
The water was hot, and the bubbles smelled divine. I nearly forgot…I was nineteen, finally. How did a whole year already pass? How had I only known Adrian for a year and yet it felt like I had grieved an entire lifetime last night.
“Thank you, Gio.” I squeezed his hand, then pulled him down for a kiss.
He smiled into my mouth, then stroked my jaw. “I love you, Elvis.”
My heart pinged with a softness and a joy that I could only seem to find in Gio. “I love you too.”
He released me and moved to the door. “I’m going to go get your breakfast and then we’re going to get ready to go.”
I didn’t even get a chance to ask where we were going when he left. I sank down into the tub, expecting more grief to assail my chest or to torture my mind, but something had shifted. It felt like I had some form of closure now that I had said goodbye to Adrian in an official capacity.
So instead of sinking under the bubbles, I picked up my coffee and sipped it while flipping through my phone, checking my texts.
Mom: Happy Birthday, my sweet girl. I love you and I’ll call you later.
Dad: Happy Birthday, honey. I can’t believe you’re nineteen. Your mom made that one cake you like with the raspberry filling.
I smiled as I continued to scroll, feeling lighter than before.
Kingston: Happy Birthday, mi reina. I’m so glad I’m here for this one.
Alex: Happy Birthday, little sis. I hope this birthday is the best one yet. You deserve a good one.
Carter: HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUSIN!!!!!! Love you!
Ps. Tell Scotty he’s a dick. I have no idea why he showed up here to see dad, but it seemed really off.
Like also, how the fuck did he find my dad?
Also, are you still using the reformer? I have a new one I found on a TT shop that I think you might actually be able to use.
Shit. I sat up, letting water woosh around me as I brought up my cousin’s contact info and pressed call.
It rang a few times before she sleepily answered.
“Presley, why do you hate me?”
“Carter, hey. What happened with Scotty last night?”
Something crinkled in the background while she yawned. “He wanted to ask my mom something more than Dad…even though he said he was there to see Dad, he asked about my grandpa’s company and the various locations that he was operating in. My mom was really on edge, and even my dad seemed uncomfy.”
“How could you tell?” I asked, taking another sip of my coffee.
Carter yawned again. “Mom and Dad made immediate plans to leave. I guess my dad finally called yours and found out we’re finally on the outs with psycho Scotty. So, now we’re leaving again.”
That meant my dad might have been given more intel if Uncle Decker had called him.
“Okay, well, I’m sorry that you guys are having to leave again.”
She sighed heavily. “It’s fine, how are you doing though? You’re back home now, right?”
“Here, Elvis, wanna eat in the bath or come out and eat it here?” Gio called from my bedroom.
Carter gasped into the phone. “Oh my god, is that Gio? Are you hooking up with one of the twins?”
I smiled into the phone while toying with a few bubbles. “Uh…not exactly.”
“King, we’re doing breakfast up here!” Gio yelled downstairs, but it echoed into the bathroom.
I heard Carter practically wheezing before she started screaming, “PRESLEY JAMES, YOU’RE HOOKING UP WITH BOTH OF THEM?”
“Gotta go, love you.”
Gio appeared in the doorway as I was stepping out of the tub. I reached for my terrycloth robe and wrapped it around myself, tying it off at the waist.
“Who was that?” His jaw moved to the side as he tossed a blueberry into his mouth.
I smiled while feeling a small blush surface. “That was Carter.”
Gio smirked as things began to click for him.
“She heard me yelling.”
I nodded. “She did.”
“And she heard me call for King.”
Reaching for my coffee, I took it with me into the room. “She did.”
“So she knows?” Gio followed me to my bed. There was a tray set up with flowers, breakfast, and more coffee. I smiled as I settled against my pillows.
“She guessed that I’m hooking up with both of you.”
Kingston walked in holding more flowers and a wrapped birthday present.
“Good morning.”
I smiled at him around my toast. “Morning.”
“What is Gio smiling about?” King moved to press a kiss to my forehead.
Gio replied, “Carter found out Presley is fucking us.”
Kingston stole a piece of toast before humming. “Scandalous.”
I searched their faces, curious why they didn’t seem as nervous about our family finding out as before. It was expected with them living here that their parents and mine marginally knew what we were doing, but no one had outright said anything about me being a couple with both brothers.
“You guys don’t care?”
Kingston laughed while stealing my second cup of coffee, and Gio did something similar.
“We’re planning a future with you, Elvis.
One day, we’ll have holidays together, and they’ll see both of us kiss you at different times.
They’ll see you curl up and lay your head on our shoulders or dance with us.
They’re going to know that you’re with both of us, so no, that doesn’t scare us. ”
Kingston added, “The sooner they find out, the better.”
I smiled into my cup, feeling a sense of joy that I hadn’t thought possible since I was na?ve and sixteen.
“Hurry up and eat, we have other birthday things to attend to,” Kingston said, before exiting my room and walking into his.
“Where are we going?” I asked as Gio took my hand and guided me to a familiar black Camaro.
A thrill of excitement shot through me at the idea of being in the car again.
I wasn’t sure exactly why we were using this car instead of the SUV that typically was used, but it was my birthday, and I wasn’t complaining.
Kingston opened the passenger door for me and then shoved the seat forward. “It’s a surprise.” He smiled and then handed me a blindfold.
I crawled into the back seat as memories assaulted me, all good ones. I clung tightly to the reminder of all the things we’d done in this car. I felt like this was where our story officially started.
Gio crawled in next to me and helped secure the blindfold in place. “No peeking, Elvis.”
The smile on my face refused to budge as the car started and we began driving. Gio’s grip on my thigh was firm, and since I was wearing a pleated skirt with black tights, his fingers played a game of tracing lines up my thigh, dangerously close to where my core clenched.
My hair was down and curled. I wore makeup and a black, cropped, long-sleeved shirt with my skirt and cute platform boots. It was a huge contrast to how I had spent my eighteenth, holed up in my room with no makeup while I stuffed my face and ate copious amounts of junk food.
“Okay, almost there,” Kingston said from the front.
I tried to listen for any sounds of where we might be going, but I couldn’t make anything out.
The car came to a gentle stop, and Gio began exiting the car while telling me to keep the blindfold in place. I felt his hand guide me until I was clear of the roof and door, and then suddenly I heard a loud, “SURPRISE!”
My blindfold was lifted and there on the front steps of the manor were my parents, Juan, Taylor, and Alex. There was a banner that said my Happy Birthday across it, and Alex held a bundle of balloons for me.
“You drove around to the manor?” I laughed as Kingston walked over and pulled my hand in his.
Gio did the same on the other side. “Nothing but the best for our queen.”
I rolled my eyes and followed everyone inside, for the first time ever showing that I was proudly with both brothers. If anyone noticed or made a face of disapproval, I didn’t see it. Everyone just seemed happy to be celebrating me.
The dining, lounge area past the foyer was decorated with black and white balloons, with gold ribbons and streamers.
Sinatra played over the speaker system, and there on the massive table, where our families used to gather for meals, was a display of tiered foods, drinks, appetizers, and my favorite cake in the middle.
I was moved by how much work everyone had put into things.
Alex came over and began gushing about the food and all the different things I needed to try.
It truly felt like the worry over Markos and Scotty had been put to rest, but I kept glancing over at my father, trying to sense if he felt it too or if he couldn’t seem to fully enjoy himself because he felt the threat lingering over our heads.
I needed to know why Scotty went to visit Uncle Decker.