Feuds and Reckless Fury by K. Webster
Canyon
Six years later…
Holy shit.
This year’s Anime Con in Orlando is insane. There are more people than last year, and last year I also bitched about the crowd.
Anime is my thing. My dorky obsession. I liked it before it was trendy. All these other assholes are just posers with their cheap costumes, making the lines longer than they need to be.
“When you scowl like that, you look just like Daisuke,” Alis says, grinning at me. “I mean, it’s hot, and you know I’m into it if you wanna roleplay later.”
“There are children present,” Dad grumbles from beside me, swatting out at Alis.
Caleb jolts forward on Dad’s shoulders, also trying to smack Alis. Alis dodges them and playfully waggles his dagger at Caleb. His squeal of laughter makes me smile. He swings his foam sword at Alis but misses, knocking Quinn’s glasses off his head.
“Sorry, Dad,” Caleb says, giggling.
Dad playfully tickles Caleb. “Be good, and we’ll get some cotton candy.”
“Or we could eat the hummus and carrots I packed,” Quinn says, placing his glasses back on his head. “Sounds yummy, hmm?”
I make a sour face up at Caleb. “Yuck. Hummus is dog food.”
Caleb cackles, and Quinn throws his hands up in exasperation.
“For the love of God, please stop telling your brother hummus is dog food. He fed it to Ginger the other day, and I still can’t get that stain off the couch,” Quinn complains. “Come on, Alis, let’s get this monster some cotton candy.” He pulls Caleb off Dad’s shoulders and sets him on his feet. They hold hands, following Alis into the sea of costumed people.
I shove my hand into my pocket, gripping the box I’d brought with me. I’ve been working up the nerve to ask Alis to marry me. It’s stupid. Not the wanting to marry Wonderland part because we’re together in all the ways that count. He’ll say yes. I know he will. We live together in a small house near the lake, decorated with sculptures that are too meaningful for him to sell. We share a black cat, Ikari, both teach at the same middle school—Alis, art and me, pre-algebra—and rarely spend a moment apart.
But it’s not enough.
I need him in all the ways.
I need him forever.
“You’re sweatin’ it, kiddo,” Dad says, frowning down at me. “He’s going to say yes.”
Breath rushes out of me as I shake off the nerves. Dad went with me to pick out the ring. I’d thought me and Alis getting together might break apart our already fractured family, but in the end, we all stayed whole.
“What if he says no?”
Dad chuckles. “If by some strange reason he does, I’ll thump him on the head until he says yes.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I laugh, shaking my head. “I knew I could count on you.”
He hugs me to him and fucks with my orange and black wig. I shove him away and straighten it, glowering at him. We continue to walk through the throng of people toward the concessions. The ring box in my pocket feels heavy. I’m tempted to text Carrie and ask for some courage, but her last year at Julliard has been intense. She doesn’t need to be bothered by my boy problems.
Speaking of boy problems, Caleb can be seen up ahead, a handful of pink cotton candy in one hand and sword fighting Alis with his other hand. Back when Carrie found out she was pregnant, I never anticipated this ending. But, when we got back home, Dad and Quinn gathered us all together to state that they wanted to adopt the baby—to raise the child as our sibling. Caleb has always known Carrie as a big sis. She’s incredibly doting when she sees him and loves him dearly. One day they plan to tell him the story of his birth but want to wait until he’s older. The adoption went smoothly since Damon wanted to avoid any scandals or legal trouble. He signed away his rights under the agreement he would never be approached about him being the father.
Alis catches my eye, and I fall deep into his brown-eyed stare. Dad gives me an encouraging smack to the ass that has me shooting him a nasty look. By the time I turn back around, Alis is in my face, lips on mine. For a moment, I forget everything and everyone, swept up in his soft lips and lime scent. I love that he tastes like Coke and cotton candy.
“Definitely roleplaying later in this getup,” he says against my lips in a teasing tone that gets my blood hot.
“As long as I get to pin you down and fuck you, I don’t care what you’re wearing.” I nip at his bottom lip. “Keep the wig on, though. It’s kinda sexy.”
“Ikari hates wigs. He thinks they’re rats he needs to kill.” His smile widens. “Remember that time Ikari ate your Daisuke wig and shit out orange hair for a week?”
“Your cat is a fucking idiot,” I grumble.
“I distinctly remember you apologizing to that idiot for being careless and leaving your wig out as a temptation.” He brushes a thumb over my bottom lip. “That cat has you wrapped around his…tail.”
It’s true. Ikari is a pain in the ass, but he’s our pain in the ass.
Alis’s phone rings, and he pulls it out of his pocket to answer. He yaps to what must be Naomi before ending the call. After texting someone else, he shoves his phone back into his pocket.
“Someone’s popular,” I complain, though I can’t keep the smile off my face.
“Nae needed me to settle a debate.”
“A debate?”
“Trashcans beside the bed.”
“What kind of weirdo keeps a trashcan next to their bed?” I ask, frowning at him.
“Apparently, it’s super convenient for the condoms.” He shrugs. “Good thing we never had to use those.”
“Little ears,” Dad hollers from somewhere close by.
“Which one of them needs the trashcan?” I ask, realizing where this is headed.
“Nae.” Alis laughs. “Leon gave in, of course, but he thought it was strange to want it right next to the bed.”
I still can’t believe Naomi and Leon got married this past year. Took that big goof all through college and then some to work up the nerve to ask her to marry him. Naomi waited for his ass too. Didn’t pressure him into giving her a ring. Just focused on school until he was ready. Now they’re both engineers with high-paying jobs in Miami, fumbling as newlyweds together.
“Was that him texting?”
“Nah, it was Pops. Said he’ll be down for a visit with his new girlfriend, Cindi, next month. Wanted to see if we were free to get together for dinner.”
It’s always interesting when Colin comes to town—because he’s running drugs and who the hell knows what else—but at least he’s never tried to take Alis away from me or brought his illegal activities with him and that’s all that matters. He really does care about him, and now Alis seems to care about him too. Quinn will always be “Dad” to him, though.
Alis starts walking off, and I reach out to stop him, but it’s my phone that goes off this time. I grumble in frustration as I answer it.
“Happy to hear from you too,” Mom teases. “You forgot to send me a picture. Stewart doesn’t believe me that you’re super obsessed with anime. He can’t even imagine it.”
Mom’s boyfriend, a boring accountant she met through Uncle Adam, is the least imaginative person I know. If he didn’t worship the ground Mom walks on, I would’ve encouraged her to find someone a little more exciting. But she seems to love the goober, and her happiness is all that matters to me.
“I’ll send it in a bit,” I promise.
“Did you do it yet?”
Dad is such a fucking gossip girl sometimes.
“Not yet. And I told him not to say anything to anyone.”
“I’m your mother. Of course, he tells me everything that pertains to you kids.”
“I’ll call you later, Mom. Bye.”
Her laughter makes me smile, even as I hang up on her. I shove my phone in my pocket and take the box out before I lose my nerve again. Walking right up to Alis, I tower over him until he gives me his attention.
“Wonderland,” I growl, one hand gripping the box so tightly it might crack and the other one clinging to the front of his costume as I draw him closer to me. “I love you.”
He flashes me a sexy grin. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“We’re getting married.”
His brows fly up in surprise. “Wow. Holy shit. That really is something I don’t know.”
“Dad didn’t tell you?”
“Ryan knew?” He shoots my dad the bird without ever taking his eyes from mine. “Asshole usually cracks on all the secrets in this family.”
“Not this time.”
“Are you asking or telling, Voss?”
“A little of both. Maybe some hoping too.”
His eyes flutter, but he doesn’t close them completely. “Hmm, I’ll think about it.”
I arch a brow at him. “Time’s up. The answer is yes.”
He laughs as I crash my lips to his. After a deep, claiming kiss, we pull apart, and I slide his ring on his finger. Pride surges through me.
“The answer is definitely yes,” he agrees, his voice growing soft. “I was going to ask you first, you know, but then I thought about what a sore loser you are and decided to let you win this round.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I always win.”
“Meh. Debatable.”
Dad clears his throat. “I’m waiting for a thank you.”
Snapping my head toward my father, I frown. “For keeping your mouth shut and not spilling my secret?”
“No, smartass. For not punching you the second you got engaged.”
Quinn barks out a laugh from beside Dad. “Leave them alone, Ryan.”
Dad winks at me before scooping Caleb up. He wraps an arm around Quinn, and together they disappear into the crowd.
Alis snakes his arms around my neck and stands on his toes. His brown eyes are alight with mischief and love and all the other emotions that make him so fucking wonderful.
He’s the guy who challenges me at every turn.
In bed. At work. Life.
Alis soon-to-be Voss.
The Chibi to my Daisuke.
Best friend in the whole damn world.
My Wonderland.
(If you enjoyed Alis and Canyon’s story,
then you’ll love Penn and Copeland in Wicked Lies Boys Tell!)
All MM Romances by K Webster:
Dane
Wicked Lies Boys Tell
Hurt Me
Hood River Rat
He Made Me Stay
No Tears with Him
Sheriff’s Secret
Shift of Morals