Chapter 21

By the time the Uber pulled up in front of my apartment in Sacramento, it was already dark. Burke and Jared's flight wasn't until the next morning. I wasn't extremely shocked when Burke said they'd come and help me, but I was completely caught off guard, in the best possible way, when Ford, Abe, Sage, and Levi said they'd booked flights, too. Aunt Sophia was beyond ecstatic to have them all stay with her and Uncle Carmine for the weekend.

The person walking into my apartment with me, though, was the one I needed by my side the most. "How is it after a day of traveling, you still look hot as hell?"

Evian glanced down at his outfit of athletic pants, graphic tee, and running sneakers and then at me with an Are you outta your mind? look on his face. "I'm pretty sure the time change messed with your vision because this"—he motioned to his outfit with both hands—"does not say, ‘I'm sexy and I know it.'"

I laughed and pulled him into my arms. "Well, it sure as hell says you're sexy and I know it." I wiggled my brows, drawing the laugh I loved so much from him.

There wasn't a thing I didn't love about him, but I was waiting for the right time to tell him. It sure as hell wasn't going to be in California. I was there to pack up my life, not start a new one. The only life I wanted was the one that waited for me in Coral Pointe. The one that included Evian on the other side of the country. The past two weeks with him really solidified that I was making the right decision. Making love, laughing, giving each other shit, hanging out with both his friends and the group in Coral Pointe, and even the quiet moments together, smothered any lingering embers of doubt.

I pulled him into my arms and looked around my small apartment that no longer felt like home. I'd had some lonely nights in that place, wondering if my life was ever going to change. Back then—which felt like ages ago—I was drowning in isolation and pain. The Enzo who used to live there had a routine. He'd settled for hiding who he truly was because the one and only time he'd had a taste of what he wanted, it blew up in his face astronomically. I laughed humorlessly at the memory of the life I'd almost resigned myself to.

"What's so funny?" Evian asked, running his hand through my hair.

"Ironically, I think the way my mom treated me worked out in the best possible way. If she hadn't caught me that day, and if she hadn't hurt me several times in the weeks following, would I be standing here with you now? Would I have ever woken the hell up and allowed myself more? I guarantee that, even if I saw that guy again, I'd still be in the closet, scared my mom and brother would find out. Instead of that sad existence, I held your hand and walked to the bakery through fucking town yesterday. Without fear, in my new home, surrounded by people who accept me the way I am."

"So, what you're saying is, she's like manure." He flattened his hands on my chest and grinned wickedly.

I snorted a laugh. "Manure?"

"Yeah. She may have played a small part with all the shit she gave you, but you're the one who took all that and turned it into something beautiful. You're the one who's grown so much from the guy you were when you lived here."

"That was a pretty damn good analogy." I leaned my forehead on his and breathed deeply.

"What can I say? I fucking aced Enzo: 101. I'm an expert in all things Enzo."

"Oh yeah? Then what am I thinking right now?"

He pulled his head back and narrowed his eyes, studying me. "You're thinking you want to get naked with me and fuck me in the shower. You're also thinking you want to give this apartment a proper send off, and bend me over any surface you can before everyone else gets here tomorrow to help pack."

"It appears you have, in fact, gained the necessary knowledge needed to achieve expert level." I buried my face in the curve of his neck and kissed his warm skin. "That deserves an award."

"Hell yeah, it does."

I took my time undressing him, revealing golden skin covering every inch of his beautiful body. When I finally got him under the hot spray of the shower, I was vibrating with the desperate need to be inside him. Dropping to my knees, I pressed my mouth to the smooth skin surrounding his hard cock, nuzzling my face in his groin and breathing in his intoxicating scent. I lived for every moan, sigh, and whimper I could pull out of him. When his legs started to tremble and his hand gripped my hair to the point of pain, I slid his length into my mouth. I was getting better at giving him head, taking him deep and driving him fucking crazy. If you wanted to excel at something, the best thing to do was practice, so of course, I made sure to do that…a lot.

"Enzo," Evian moaned. "Need you inside me."

I pulled off of his cock with a pop, my big, cheesy grin showing him how fucking proud of myself I was for bringing him to that point so quickly. Slowly, I stood up and buried my face in his neck, tasting his delicious skin. "Supplies are in my bag."

Evian groaned, leaning his head to the side, his hand pressed firmly against the back of my head to keep my mouth on his neck. "Well, that's incredibly inconvenient." I groaned in frustration as he pushed me away. "Clean your damn sexy body so we can get dirty all over again."

He laughed as I grabbed the soap and proceeded to wash him, making sure every part of his body was washed completely.

His head thumped back against the tile, the sexiest high-pitched sound leaving his sinful mouth as I stroked his cock with a soapy hand. "Just making sure I'm thorough," I whispered, nuzzling my face in his neck again.

Evian snorted. "Yeah, well, I'm about to thoroughly shoot my load all over your stomach."

I released his dick, laughing at his exaggerated whine of frustration. "As adorable as that pout is, we've got work to do." I reached past him and shut the water off, then pulled the curtain open and tossed him a towel.

"Work? I thought we were waiting until everyone was here tomorrow to start packing." Seriously, his pout was fucking adorable.

"Exactly, which means we only have a few hours to give this place a proper send off, remember? I can't exactly bend you over the coffee table from here."

He smiled and stepped out of the tub, facing me with an adorable grin. "Yes, please." He turned and walked out of the bathroom saying over his shoulder, "It's a hard job, but somebody's gotta do me."

I growled, tossing my towel on the bathroom floor as I followed him. "Not somebody." I caught him around the waist, pulling him back against me. "This ass is mine." I reached around and gripped his stiff cock. "And so is this."

"Yeah, it is," he whispered, leaning his head to the side while pushing his ass against my erection.

Reluctantly, I stepped away from him and headed straight for my bag. And, as I suited up, slicked up, and loosened his eager hole, it hit me how ready I was to say goodbye to this place. In all the fucking ways. Pun intended.

When I finally pushed inside him, his lithe body bent over the coffee table, I almost said the words I'd been holding off on saying. Luckily, my sex-fogged brain held on to some little morsel of self-control and I bit my tongue. When I told him how I felt, I wanted it to be the perfect, romantic moment, and that sure as hell wasn't in a place I was saying goodbye to. Instead, I showed him…several times…until we were both exhausted and fucked dry. It was odd how my last weekend in this place also happened to be my happiest.

The alarmon my phone yanked us both awake bright and early the next morning. "Time to rise and shine," I said in a raspy, half-asleep voice.

"No," Evian groaned, pulling the sheet up over his head. "Just a couple more hours. It's your fault. You made me rise and shine all over the place, multiple times, since we walked in the door yesterday."

I snorted into the curve of his warm neck, my body doing its best impression of a big spoon as I snuggled against him. "Are you complaining?"

"Complaining? No. Drained? Literally, yes." His lips curved in a sleepy smile, his hand pulling my arm tighter around his waist.

"I mean, I'm perfectly happy if you want to stay this way, but my family is very punctual and we've got"—I lit up my phone to see the screen—"fifteen minutes before they're supposed to be here."

His head lifted off the pillow, dark hair sticking up haphazardly, making me laugh. "I'm up."

Just as predicted, my family was knocking on my door exactly fifteen minutes later. Aunt Sophia blew past me as soon as I opened the door, her arms outstretched to Evian. "Well, aren't you just the cutest. Rina, isn't he the cutest?"

Rina, who had pulled me into a tight hug the moment she saw me, looked back over her shoulder and laughed. "Yes, Aunt Sophia. The cutest." She let me go and her eyes softened when they landed on Evian. Immediately, she shoved me away and went to him. "It's so nice to meet you in person." She pulled him into a hug, calming all my fears in that one accepting move.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Evian said, his cheeks turning red as he hugged her back.

"I'm hurt, Ma. I thought I was the cutest." Sal leaned his elbow on Burke's shoulder, his hand pressed to his heart in mock offense.

"It's okay, Salvatore. Everybody makes mistakes," Aunt Sophia replied without skipping a beat. She patted Sal on his cheek while the rest of us busted out laughing.

"Ouch. Sal, you need some first-aid for that burn?" Ford said, reminding me that I had more than family helping me. Abe, Levi, Sage, and Jared had also made the trek, each of them snickering at Ford's dig. Everyone was ready and willing to squeeze my life into a U-Haul so Evian and I could drive it across the country back to Coral Pointe.

"Nice," Sal said, shaking his head. Then he turned to me. "You gonna introduce me, or what?"

"And me," Uncle Carmine added.

Vito put his hands on his hips. "What about me?"

Even though I'd introduced Evian to Rina and Vito over a FaceTime call, the same way I‘d introduced Aunt Sophia that day at Burke's, Evian stood there like a deer in headlights, waiting for my next move. And why wouldn't he be apprehensive? Sure, I'd let these people come to their own, accurate conclusions, but had I ever literally said the words?

I crossed the room and took Evian's hand, pulling him toward my family. "Evian, this is Uncle Carmine, my cousin and Burke's brother, Sal, and Vito." I looked past them to another group of family members. "That's Rina's husband, Joe, and Vito's wife, Lacey. The one digging into the box of donuts already is Burke's other brother, Anthony." Tony gave a sheepish smile and waved, his lips coated in powdered sugar. "Everyone, this is Evian, my…boyfriend? Partner?" I laughed, lifting his hand to kiss the back of it. "Both words work, I guess, right?" Jesus, my heart was pounding as I laughed nervously. We'd never talked about labels before, but I was determined to make it known how I felt about him.

The gorgeous smile that took over Evian's face was proof that I'd done something right. "I'm okay with either one."

One by one, they all wrapped Evian in a tight hug and welcomed him to the family. I was afraid they were jumping the gun with all that talk, but I also couldn't picture a future without Evian in it.

I went about introducing all the California Russos to Sage, Levi, Ford, and Abe. Ford and Sage easily fit in with my family's antics, while Levi and Abe were happily doted on by Aunt Sophia. She was in her element with all these people she loved in one place. I couldn't even imagine the havoc the four of them were going to wreak on the Vegas strip for the two-night detour they were taking on the way home.

We'd been at it a couple of hours when a familiar car pulled up in front of my apartment building. My stomach dropped as I locked eyes with the woman openly glaring at me in the passenger seat. "What the hell are they doing here?" I had no idea where Evian was, but goosebumps covered my skin, my muscles tensing with the need to protect him.

"What the hell is all this?" Tino snapped as soon as he got out of the car, motioning to the boxes waiting to be put in the truck.

"No, seriously. What the hell are they doing here?" I asked again, looking at each person in my family for an explanation.

"Oh," Aunt Sophia said innocently and shrugged. "Was I not supposed to post on Facebook that I was helping my nephew pack for his move to Coral Pointe?"

I hung my head and groaned. "Aunt Sophia," I practically whined, not knowing what else to say.

Burke's lips twitched as he held back a laugh. "You know damn well you weren't supposed to do that."

"Language, Burcardo," she scolded, with absolutely no heat behind her words.

"Meddling, Ma." It was Sal who spoke up that time.

"I will not have the people I love walking on eggshells at every family function or, even worse, avoiding them altogether." There was a slight wobble to her voice, and although I knew Aunt Sophia could be a tad dramatic, the sincerity was evident in her eyes.

"What's the meaning of this?" My mom was obviously where Tino got his disgusted glare from.

I would've given anything in that moment to stand up for myself. Instead, I stood there like a child afraid to talk back to his mother. But then a familiar, comforting hand slid into mine and I felt Evian's warmth against my side. He didn't say a word. He didn't have to. He knew I needed his strength and was there for me as he had been since the first time I met him.

Her eyes narrowed in on our hands as I held on to Evian's for dear life. "Your father is rolling over in his grave right now. Is that what you want? I raised you better than to do something like this to me."

I would've bet money that Aunt Sophia would be the one to pop off on my mom, but shockingly, it was Uncle Carmine who said in that deep Italian Russo voice, "Do that to you, Rose?" Everyone stayed where they were, but he took my aunt's hand and walked up beside me. "As if my nephew would choose his sexuality out of spite? Or is it that he's not allowed to be happy if it makes the people around him uncomfortable?"

"Not everyone has to share your views?—"

"My brother did," my uncle snapped, releasing a tidal wave of relief that washed over me. Whispers of Oh shit and Damn right he did, came from everyone behind me. I'd always hoped my dad would've supported me, but hearing that he would have from my uncle was like removing a blockage from my chest. There was a sudden release and I took a deep, cleansing breath. Deeper than I knew I was capable of. "Because I can assure you," Uncle Carmine continued, "there is no happiness in a parent's life if their children are unhappy. What a novel concept, huh? Loving our children unconditionally. Wanting the world for them no matter what."

Love bloomed fiercely in my chest, not only for my uncle and his words, but also for the family and friends witnessing this shitshow who had no qualms about voicing their agreement.

"Don't you tell me how to love my children."

My aunt huffed. "Oh, no, Rose. We would never tell you how to love your children." She paused—for dramatic effect, knowing my aunt. "We'll show you how to love your children…now that you've pushed them away by giving them rules to live by in order to love someone."

Instead of responding to her, my mom pinned me with a look of disgust. "You have disgraced this family enough. You have family obligations that don't include embarrassing me with…" Her hard eyes landed on Evian. "Are you wearing mascara?"

I took a step forward but Evian held tightly to my arm. "Don't you dare speak to him that way." My blood fucking boiled with a level of rage that surpassed the way she'd embarrassed me before. A rage so intense, it even exceeded the pain I'd felt when she'd slapped me.

"So it is a he after all," Tino snarled, looking Evian up and down in disgust, laughing humorlessly. "Last I checked, men don't wear makeup."

Evian's hands tightened even more, holding me to his side. "Don't. They're not worth it because, unlike these soulless excuses for human beings, if you lose your temper and hit this asshat"—he nudged his head toward Tino—"you'll carry the guilt around in that big heart of yours. That's not who you are. Aren't you done being someone you're not for them?" Evian's face twisted on that last word like he'd just taken a puckering sip of lemon juice.

Jesus Christ, I loved this man. The second we were home, I was going to show him in every way I could think of. Home. For the first time in years, that word had meaning. I opened my mouth to defend my man but was cut off by Rina linking her arm through mine.

"For too many years, Vito, Enzo, and I consoled each other behind the scenes, the three of us understanding what it feels like to not measure up. Too many goddamn years of sharing each other's pain while being too afraid of the backlash we'd face if we stood up to you…stood up for each other."

Vito took a stand beside Rina. "Like the way you lied to us and excluded Enzo from family things just to prove you were in control. We're not your puppets."

"No. We're not." My voice sounded determined and confident, even to my own ears. "When you caught me here that day with Rick, you made me feel like you held all the cards. At the time, you did, and you showed that by the way you treated me when I got back from the wedding. But I'm not the same scared, in-the-closet man you slapped that day."

"She did what?" Aunt Sophia reached for her earrings and took a step forward, her eyes staring daggers at my mom. My mom's hard stare cracked as she took a nervous step back.

"Sophia, love, he's got this," my uncle said, nodding his head for me to continue.

So, that was exactly what I did, facing my mom again. "Take a look around. The way I see it, the only person on your side is your Golden Child. Trust me, he's not worth his weight in gold. He's not even worth his weight in manure"—Evian snorted, catching the reference—"but he sure as hell is deserving of your love. In fact, you two deserve each other. The three of us will be just fine with the family we have left, ain't that right, Aunt Sophia?"

"Damn right, my little ravioli."

"Don't worry, though, I won't embarrass you anymore because from this moment on, I'm done. As you can clearly see, I'm moving to Coral Pointe because I'm the happiest I've ever been there. This man makes me the happiest I've ever been." Evian sucked in a breath. "But, even when I do come back to visit my family, that won't include either of you."

"We're not moving away," Rina said, nudging her head at Vito, "but no matter where Enzo is, we'll be right there beside him, supporting him the way family should."

"We sure will," Vito agreed, draping his arm over Rina's shoulder. Joe and Lacey walked over and stood by their spouses in solidarity.

"You were blessed with one mother, and that's me." She pointed to herself for emphasis. "I brought you three into this world, and this is the thanks I get? I won't be waiting here with open arms when you finally come to your senses. This is unforgivable. The way you have spoken to me is unforgivable. The choices you have made"—her eyes flicked to Evian and his grip on me tightened—"are completely disgraceful. As far as I'm concerned, I have one son."

I huffed in derision. "Somehow, I think we'll survive."

She grabbed Tino's arm and pulled. "Let's go, honey." He followed her to the car, like the dutiful son he was, but the look on his face told a different story. Hell, he'd just lost his siblings and father's side of the family in a matter of minutes. If that didn't affect him on some level, then he truly was the soulless asshat Evian said he was.

"And here I thought we weren't gonna see fireworks until we got to Vegas," Ford muttered, breaking the awkward silence as my brother and my mom drove off.

Evian and I glanced at him and started laughing at the same time. Everyone else joined in, releasing the tension that had formed a bubble around us.

Needing that full-circle moment, I reached for Evian and yanked him into a mind-numbing kiss. The catcalls and cheers around us were a hell of a lot different than the first time I'd kissed someone here.

"What's everyone standing around for?" Burke griped, clapping his hands together. "Those dishes aren't gonna pack themselves."