by Alexa Land
She looked worried. “Is that bad? I couldn’t wait, because I knew it’d be something pretty and I wanted to wear it to the party.”
“I’m glad you didn’t wait. This way, I get to see how beautiful you look in your new dress.”
Izzy beamed at me. “You look pretty, too. I love your lipstick and your Barbie shoes.” I loved how it was a total nonissue for her.
Elijah pushed through the crowd a minute later and gave Allie and me quick, self-conscious hugs before saying, “I’m so happy to see you. Are you really going to start splitting your time between San Francisco and London? Please say that’s actually happening.”
“It is,” Alastair told him. “I can work remotely most of the time, and Sawyer intends to open a branch of his coffee house here in San Francisco and let his employees handle the one in the UK. So, in just a few weeks, you’ll be seeing a lot more of us.”
“Best news ever.” Elijah turned to me and said, “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask, are you still taking online classes?”
“Yup, just two at a time, because work keeps me busy. At this rate, I’ll get my bachelor’s degree when I’m forty, but that’s alright. How are things going at Saithmore?”
“Last quarter was so much better, since I was out of the dorms and staying in that quiet, private, beautiful house,” he said. “Thank you again, Alastair. Jed’s around here somewhere too, and he also wants to thank you.”
“I’m happy to help.”
Gabriel was standing nearby, adjusting the sleeve of a knitted black tunic, and he looked up at us and said, “I should clear out of the apartment. I’m a total squatter, I’ve been there for months. I’m sure you’ll want it to yourselves whenever you’re back in the city.”
“You’re a wonderful roommate, Gabriel,” Alastair said. “Please stay. Not only do we enjoy your company, we’ll feel good knowing the apartment is in good hands when we’re in London.” Our friend looked a little like he might cry as he thanked us.
Darwin and his boyfriend Josh were the next to reach us. As Darwin grabbed me in a hug, I said, “There he is! Jack the Giant Slayer. Great job on getting that transphobic asshole Huntington to withdraw from the mayoral race.”
Our night of putting up posters and exposing Huntington at his fundraiser had lit a fire in Darwin. He’d spent the months leading up to the November elections volunteering with grassroots political organizations to help the better candidate get into office. He’d also been posting videos online talking about politics, discrimination, and his experiences as a transgender teen, and he was developing a significant following.
He studied the floor shyly when he let go of me. “It wasn’t just me. A lot of people saw Huntington for who he was. I think his campaign was doomed from the start.”
“You helped, though. And I’ve seen all your videos, way to make yourself heard.”
“As much as I dislike being in the public eye, I realized it’s important to be a voice for others like me, the kids who can’t speak for themselves.”
He looked genuinely happy when I said, “I’m so damn proud of you, Darwin.”
*****
A couple hours into the party, I noticed a tall figure hovering in the doorway, and I told Alastair, “Tracy’s here. I was pretty sure he’d blow off my invitation.”
“I thought he would, too.”
“Want me to introduce you?”
While Alastair seemed to mentally weigh the pros and cons of that, Rollie chimed in, “You can introduce me! That guy’s a fox! Is he gay and single? Please say yes.” I told him he was and that I’d be happy to introduce him, but then Rollie noticed Alastair’s grave expression and said, “Um, maybe you could just send that hunk my way later on. It looks like there’s a little unfinished business between your then and now.”
Alastair’s brows were knit as we crossed the ground floor of the firehouse. When we reached Tracy, I said, “Hey. I’m glad you came.”
He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot and looked at anything but me as he said, “Yeah. I, uh, wasn’t going to. I figured the invitation was just a pity thing. But then, I also figured, I don’t know anyone in California, so why not just show up and give it a shot?”
“It’s good you did. So, um, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
I braced myself as I introduced Tracy and Alastair, remembering some comments Allie had made once about wanting to inflict bodily harm on my ex. They muttered hellos, and then he and Alastair just sort of appraised each other for a long moment. I thought they were just going to leave it at that, but then Tracy blurted, “I hope you know how lucky you are. Sawyer’s one in a million.”
“I know. Thank God you were dumb enough to let him go, so he could end up where he belonged: with me.”
“I was an idiot, and he definitely belongs with you. You can give him things I never could, and I’m not talking about all the shit you can buy him because you’re filthy rich. It’s obvious you make him happy, and he’s free to be himself with you. That’s what matters.”
Alastair watched him for another moment, then said, “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Tracy nodded and didn’t look at either of us.
I lightened the mood by saying, “Come on, time to stop hovering in the doorway. Let me introduce you to some of my friends, starting with that fantastic little lady right there.” I gestured at Nana, who’d lost one of her elf ears and was twerking enthusiastically on the dance floor. Tracy looked more alarmed than I’d ever seen him, but then he pulled up his game face and let me lead him into the crowd.
*****
“Oh man,” River said. “I just got this total déjà vu, like we’ve all been here before.”
Yoshi told him, “That’s because a few months ago, we were all sitting around just like this at another party.”
“Nothing ever changes,” River muttered.
I looked at Alastair, who was curled up against my side, and said, “Except when it does. Your whole life can change in the blink of an eye. One minute, you’re single and sure you’ll stay that way forever. The next, you’re following a trail of mini-muffins which, unbeknownst to you, are leading directly to your future. And then you reach the end of the trail, and you have a choice to make. Do you keep your feet on the ground, or do you go out on that ledge? Be safe or take a chance, that’s the question. And the answer should always be, take that chance! See what happens. Because maybe, just maybe, you’ll find everything you were ever looking for.”
Alastair smiled at me, and River said, “Super weird mini-muffin analogy, dude.”
“It’s not an analogy,” Yoshi said as he got to his feet. “It’s their origin story. Come on, River, dance with me. Maybe we’ll accidentally find an origin story of our own.”
River thought about that for a moment, then got up, took his friend’s hand and said, “Stranger things have been known to happen.” Murphy and Rollie exchanged an awkward series of looks and gestures, which they somehow must have understood, because they both got to their feet, and then they too headed to the dance floor.
“It’d be weird if they ended up as couples,” I said as Alastair nuzzled my cheek with his.
“Wouldn’t it, though?” After a moment, he sat up and looked at me with a sparkle in his eye. “Hey, how do you suppose we access the firehouse roof?”
“I know exactly how to do it. I found out when I was working on the renovations.”
Getting up there wasn’t difficult. We took a back staircase and emerged on the roof through a door that we kept propped open with a box, to make sure we could get back in later. I took Alastair’s hand, and we stepped around some infrastructure and headed toward the back of the building.
He looked around us and said, “I’m going to bring in a landscape architect and turn this into a garden for our future residents. An expert could hide all the vents and things and create something usable and beautiful up here. I think the kids might like an outdoor space, and I know they’ll enjoy this.” We’d reached
the edge of the roof, and he gestured at the beautiful view of San Francisco’s skyline.
“Great idea.”
“I’m so glad we’re finding a way to split our time between San Francisco and London. I’ve missed this and all those fantastic people downstairs.”
“Me too.”
I studied his profile as he took in the panoramic skyline, and after a moment he said, “My God, that’s beautiful.”
“The most beautiful thing in the world,” I murmured, still not looking at the view.
“Are you glad to be home?”
“San Francisco isn’t home, Allie,” I told him gently.
He glanced at me and asked, “It isn’t?” I shook my head.
Alastair took me in his arms, and I pulled him even closer and whispered, “Now I’m home.”
The End
#####
Thank you for reading!
The series will continue in 2017. Next up is a novella narrated by Dante Dombruso, which brings the arson investigation introduced in The Distance to a close. Additional Firsts and Forever novels will follow. As always, old friends will make appearances, new characters will be introduced, questions will be answered, and love will win.
A Firsts and Forever Series Family Tree is located at the end of this book.
For more by Alexa Land, please visit her Amazon author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Alexa-Land/e/B00AR2EJ76
Find Alexa on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008216261875
Twitter @AlexaLandWrites
And on her blog:
http://alexalandwrites.blogspot.com/
The Firsts and Forever Family Tree
Who's Who and How They're Related
The Dombruso Family:
Sicilian-American family with roots in organized crime
Dante, Vincent, Gianni and Mikey Dombruso (in order from oldest to youngest) are brothers.
They were raised by their grandmother, Stana Dombruso (Nana), after their parents were killed.
Nico Dombruso is their cousin (one of many).
Dante is married to Charlie
Vincent's husband is Trevor
Josh is Vincent and Trevor's adopted son; they also have twin babies.
Josh is dating Darwin.
Gianni is dating Zan Tillane
Mikey is dating a woman named Marie. He’s a widower with three sons.
Nana also had three sons: Paulie, Alberto and a third I have yet to name.
Paulie was Dante, Vincent, Gianni and Mikey's dad. He was killed when they were little.
Alberto is Nico and Constantino's father. They also have a sister.
Nana's third son was married twice and had several children, including Jerry and Carla.
Jessie worked for Nana as a chauffeur/assistant. She considers him family.
Nana is married to Ollie.
The Nolan Family:
Irish-American family, many of whom are in law enforcement
Kieran and Brian Nolan are brothers
Shea and Finn Nolan are brothers (Kieran and Brian are their cousins)
Jamie Nolan is also their cousin
The Friends:
Christian and Skye are best friends. They went to Sutherlin art school with Christopher Robin.
Christopher is friends with Hunter Jacobs (Storm), and with Charlie
Skye’s half-brother is River.
River’s ex-boyfriend is Cole.
Cole and Hunter were a couple years ago
Chance and Christian are friends.
Zachary is Chance’s friend.
Alastair and Zachary are friends.
Alastair used to race with Jessie and Kai (his racing name was Six)
Gabriel is also Zachary's friend.
Yoshi is friends with Gianni and River
Charlie is Jamie’s friend and ex-boyfriend.
Sawyer is Kai's best friend. Kai is married to Jessie
.
More family ties:
Zan Tillane (Gianni Dombruso’s boyfriend) is Christian’s father.
TJ Dean is Trevor’s father.
Tony is Chance’s father.
Tony's adopted son is named Cory.
Chance’s kid brother is Colt.
Colt’s ex-boyfriend is Elijah.
Luca's brother is Andreo.
The Series in Order, and the Couples:
1. Way Off Plan: Jamie Nolan and Dmitri Teplov
2. All In: Charlie Connolly and Dante Dombruso
3. In Pieces: Christopher Robin Andrews and Kieran Nolan
4. Gathering Storm: Hunter Jacobs/Storm and Brian Nolan
5. Salvation: Trevor Dean and Vincent Dombruso
6. Skye Blue: Skye and Dare
7. Against the Wall: Christian George and Shea Nolan
8. Belonging: Gianni Dombruso and Zan Tillane
9. Coming Home: Chance Matthews and Finn Nolan
10. All I Believe: Nico Dombruso and Luca Caruso
10.5 Hitman's Holiday: Andreo and Connie (Constantino)
11. The Distance: Jessie and Kai
12. Who I Used to Be: Zachary and TJ
13. Worlds Away: Sawyer and Alastair
The series will continue on from here. Thank you again for reading!