Chapter 27
JACE
It was a bit much listening to all of the fucked up shit Ash’s mom did to them as a kid.
I will admit, in the beginning, I though they were so lucky to have a mother that was super supportive.
All of the pictures I had seen of the woman show her smiling with Ash at various events: birthdays, school dances, graduations, and even obvious pride parades.
Thinking back, now that I’ve got more of the story, every photograph was Ash at their most feminine looking: dresses, high heels, styled hair, makeup, and nails done.
The Ash I know and love is usually feeling her most feminine when wearing yoga pants and a baggy sweater.
Their mother should have known that about them.
Damn near everyone living up here on the hill and at least half of the people who come into Mac’s or the Devil know that about them.
For us, the pins on their chest are just for confirmation, not for information.
“I know I am extremely glad you stayed after college,” I tell them and open my arms for a hug. “Life without you would be a hell of a lot darker for me.”
Ash sighs and moves over to the corner of the sectional so that I can wrap my arms around them. For a while, we just sit in silence. It’s heavier than usual, but not uncomfortable.
“Imagine if you had to recruit Eric to watch Gerry,” they muse after a while, catching me off guard and setting off a case of the giggles in both of us.
With the mood lightened effectively, I gather up the empty dishes – lamenting that Ash got the last bite of the tiramisu cake – and grab the package I left on the counter.
It’s now or never…
They eye the box warily when I hand it to them. Instead of opening it right away, they look to me first. I’m sure my anticipation is showing on my face… or maybe it’s anxiety. Either way, they eventually flip open the top to put me out of my misery. My panic sets in when they don’t say anything.
“Over the last few months, you have become essential in my life.”
They flinch. Shit, what did I say wrong?
“I mean, not just because of Gerry. I mean, Gerry loves you. I love you. And not just as a friend. I mean, as a person. I mean, of course you’re a person. I mean, I love love you.”
Fuck me. I’m rambling. I need to stop.
Why aren’t they saying anything?
Why aren’t they looking at me?
I’m fucking this up, aren’t I.
Somebody needs to stop me.
“I mean, I know you were half out of it that night but it changed me. I mean, you changed me. I mean… mpfph”
Ash’s palm covers my mouth before the word vomit continues.
“I love you, too” they gasp out before collapsing into my chest with laughter. “Holy shit, Biker Bear, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get that flustered and talkative at the same time.”
My worries fly away with the sound of Ash’s joy, even if it is at my expense. After all, they aren’t wrong. The box in their hands reminds me of the question I didn’t get a chance to ask.
“Do you think you would like to be my owner, Ash? Because I really like being yours.”
They reposition themselves to lay their head in my lap and stretch out along the length of the sectional to look up at me while I talk to them. It feels right to have them like this in my home, taking over without asking for permission… taking me over.
“I want to be yours. Your boyfriend. Your partner. Your slave. Your toy…. However you want me, I want to be yours.”
I reach into the box and pull out the silver ring to place on their finger. With tears in their eyes, they let me. After staring at it for a few moments, they lift the silver cuff out and place it on my right wrist.
“So that people know immediately they are a set when we hold hands,” they say before placing a kiss on the inside of my wrist.
At the bottom of the box is a silver medallion, etched with two hearts behind a smaller one in front with an infinity symbol encompassing the entire image.
“This is for Gerry,” they say. There is no question in their voice, only certainty.
“Regardless of what happens with us, I know you love him like he is your own little brother,” I tell them. “And in a way, these pieces are a gift from the man who brought us all together as a family.”
I made the pieces from some silver I melted down from a tea tray I found while going through David’s things from his landlord.
The personal items and antiques are all in storage for when Gerry is a little older and can make his own decisions on them, but the things that would just be scrap, I decided to make into a more meaningful things.
After all, the man kind of jumpstart all of this. Without him, we wouldn’t be here.
Ash reaches up to pull my head down to meet his lips in a gentle kiss.
“Thank you, my gentle and caring Biker Bear. Now, how much longer is Jackson going to be keeping the kid out cuz I really wanna try out my new toy.”
With a wink, they jump up from the couch and run back to the bedroom. It takes me a few seconds to get my brain rebooted before I send a quick text to Jackson asking him to make it a double feature and take off toward the back of the trailer myself.
I knew tiramisu could work miracles.