Chapter 34

#Chapter 34 – The Date “Victor!” I call, following my boys as they dash into his house.

“Papa!”

“Daddy, we’re here!” I raise my eyebrows, laughing. Perhaps we didn’t need to all shout at once.

Victor comes from around the corner, smiling. “Hey, boys!” He says, dropping to one knee so that he can wrap them both up in a hug together.

I smile at the three of them, tucking a strand of newly-shiny hair behind my ear. I worked for a whole hour, putting together my look tonight. Approximately 55 minutes longer than I usually spend, but the result, I think, has paid off.

Victor looks up at me, and I get confirmation of this via the surprise on his face. “Wow, Evie,” he says.

“You look…” he clears his throat and looks away from me for a moment, standing up. “You look dressed up.”

“I am.” I say, dipping a tiny curtsy as a joke.

“She looks amaaaazing” Alvin says, with stars in his eyes.

“She looks like a princess!” Ian confirms, clinging to Victor’s leg and smiling at me. So nice, I think, to have my own little fan section to cheer me on. Victor laughs, probably glad for the distraction.

“What’s the occasion?” He asks.

“Just out for the night,” I say. “Thank you for agreeing to take the boys on short notice.”

“No problem,” Victor says. “I had no plans. And we’re going to learn to play football!” he cheers.

Ian makes a face. “Mommy says football is a game for people with no imagination.”

Victor narrows his eyes at Ian in mock fury. “That means mommy has no imagination.” Ian laughs.

“Mommy is lying to you, daddy,” Alvin says quietly, his own face very serious.

Victor looks between us, seeking the joke, but there is none. Alvin is dead serious. “She is?” Victor asks. “About what?”

“She is not going out for the night. She is going on a date.”

“One goes out for the night during a date,” I say, making a face at my little betrayer. “It wasn’t a lie.”

“You withheld the truth,” Alvin says, pointing at me accusingly as he steps closer to his father, clearly showing where his loyalties lie. “That is lying.”

I shake my head and laugh. “One need not divulge all details of their business,” I say to him. “It’s called discretion.”

“He’s six years old,” Victor says, a little awe in his voice. “How can he possibly be learning the concept of discretion.”

“We’re very clever, dad.” Ian says seriously. “Don’t underestimate us.”

“I would never,” Victor says, laughing. “Go ahead in the living room,” he says to the boys, “Amelia put out some snacks. I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

“Give me a kiss first,” I say, holding my boys close and giving each a peck as they pass me on their way to the living room and Victor’s big screen TV. I smile after them, watching them go.

“So, a date?” Victor says, and I realize that he’s standing next to me.

“Yup!” I say, cheerful. “I’m really excited.”

“And who,” he says, continuing his interrogation, “is this date with?”

“Is it any of your business?”

“Evelyn,” he says, sighing, condescending, “your my sons’ mother, everything you do is my business.”

“Oh, really?” I say, leaning back and looking at him incredulously. “Does that mean that everything you do, as my sons’ father, is my business?”

“You’re being deliberately difficult, Evelyn –“

“Oh please, Victor, you’re being old-fashioned and selfish. I can date whoever I want!”

“Look, will you please just tell me who you’re going out with? It would be different, obviously, if I wasn’t who I am. But as a major political figure, I have enemies, and there could be a subset of the popula-“

“Oh my god, Victor, fine,” I say, rolling my eyes and giving in just to shut him up. “I’m going out with Edgar, that Beta you set to patrol outside my house. Considering that you’ve already given him a background check, and trained him yourself on safety protocol, I think that I’m going to be safe from political espionage.”

“What?” Victor is incredulous.

“What, did you not background check him? That’s your bad.”

“No, Evelyn,” he sputters, “you can’t go out with a Beta, and you especially can’t go out with my Beta.”

“Why the hell not?!”

“Well, putting aside the argument that he’s far beneath you in class”

“Above me,” I remind him, pointing to myself. “I’m a Rogue, we’ve talked about this.”

Victor rolls his eyes. “Putting aside the fact that you’re Alpha born and the mother of Alpha boys, and thus have a responsibility to date within your class, Edgar is a member of my staff.”

“Victor,” I say, sighing, exhausted by all of this. “Can you please just back off? It’s a date. It’s one date,”

“One date that could turn into ten, which could turn into an engagement, a marriage – it’s not appropriate!”

“Back off, Victor,” I say, suddenly losing my temper. “I can date who I want, and quite frankly, it doesn’t matter if this relationship lasts one night or the rest of my life – that’s my choice to make.”

“One night?!” Victor hisses, grabbing my arm. “You would seriously consider –“

I work to pull my arm away, but he holds tight. “Victor, let go of me –“

“If my staff got wind of the fact that you’re f*****g one of them – that you’re available –“

“Are you serious, Victor!?” I yell, getting up in his face. “So it’s fine for you to f**k me and never talk to me again, but if I deign to f**k someone you’ve hired –“

Victor growls at me, and I can see the rage in his eyes. I’ve tipped him over the edge. “I will not have my son’s mother acting like a slut –“

This knocks the wind out of me. I step back, shaking my head, marveling at this man. Victor steps back too, his eyes wide, realizing that he’s crossed a line.

“What is with this family,” I whisper. “The two of you throw around that word very easily. Like it’s a bad thing to be a woman who has s*x, who is in control of her body.” I scoff and head towards the door.

“The two of us?” Victor calls after me, confused. Then, I see the realization dawn on his face.

“Yeah, your girlfriend doesn’t shy away from s****l slurs either. What a gem.” I pull the door open and take a deep breath of cool air, eager to get out. “I’ll be home late, but I’d appreciate it if you could keep the boys overnight.”

“Of course,” I hear him murmur, turning to see shame on his face. Good.

“Thank you,” I say, and then make my way back to my house, where I see Edgar’s car turn into my drive.

After Evelyn has gone, Victor opens a beer and drinks it quietly in the kitchen, thinking.

“Papa?” Alvin asks, peeking around the corner. “Are you coming? We want to learn to watch the foot ball,” he says, stumbling over the word and pronouncing it as two separate terms.

Victor laughs lightly. “Sure, buddy. Just give me a minute, I’ll be right in.” Alvin smiles and disappears back into the living room.

Victor turns the beer bottle over in his hands, the condensation collecting on his fingers. He feels deeply ashamed of himself for how he just treated Evelyn, for losing his temper, for calling her…that.

In truth, he didn’t mean it – not a word of it. Well, he didn’t think she should be seeing Edgar – it would make it complicated for Edgar to be crossing lines between Victor’s personal and professional life. But Victor knew that he was crossing his own line with Evelyn. She should be able to see whoever she wanted and Edgar is a good guy.

So what was his problem?

Victor shakes his head and finishes the beer, going to the fridge for another before heading in to watch sports with his boys. I’ve got to be better than this, he thinks, settling down on the couch. I am better than this. Evelyn and I are co-parents, we have to be on each other’s’ team.

Nodding, his decision made, Victor grabs the remote and changes the channel to the game. “Okay, boys. The first thing you have to learn is the term quarterback.”