Page 35 of Vicarious

“Until he tells us he’s not that old and to call him Adrian,” Leon adds.

“And when him and Cres meet us in front of the house, act like this is our first time meeting him.”

“So that means no running up to hug him.”

“Not in public anyway. Not until we get to the privacy of the beach house and away from the windows where people might be spying and trying to take photos.”

“Not the first day at least. After we’ve gotten to know him and he’s taken us special places and done special stuff—”

“Then we can hug him in public.”

I nod my head. I’ve been instilling this in them every day for the last three weeks. While it seems they’ve got it and the twins are used to keeping secrets, I can’t forget the fact that they’re still seven-year-olds. Lady I’m not so worried about. She’s like her father in the sense that she’s very reserved in public and not prone to wearing her emotions on her sleeves when surrounded by people she doesn’t know.

But Leon is honest and earnest like his birth mother. Not inclined to hiding and deceit. It’s something I usually encourage when I can. Especially when he’s going to grow up in a world where he’s going to have to learn to temper that or else people will take advantage of him. But I can’t afford him forgetting what I’ve been telling them. So he and Lady can roll their eyes all they want. I’m going to keep reminding him.

“And better to not call him dad even when in private so you don’t slip up and forget,” I say, as awkward as that’s going to be and as much as Viper’s not going to like it.

“Got it, Mom,” they both say before they both go back to the book they’re reading together.

Mom. That’s what they call me when they think I’m being annoying. Eventually, when they’re teenagers, that’s probably all they’re going to call me and I can’t say that I’m looking forward to it.

We pull up to the beach house, and before I can remind them yet again of the rules, they dash out the car and run up to the house. I let myself panic for a brief moment before I remember that the two have been cooped up in an airport, a plane, and then a car for the past six or seven hours and that it’s natural for children their age to run in free space the first chance they get.

“Hey, Cres,” they both chant as they dash past her and into the house.

Or, they try to run into the house only to run right into Viper. Lady manages to keep herself from falling. But Leon almost falls backwards down the beach house steps until Viper reaches out to grab his arm and steady him.

“Thanks. Sorry D—” Lady discreetly steps on Leon’s foot. “Ow. Lady! Oh! Right! Mr. Blake,” Leon says brightly.

Lady groans and puts her face in her hands, and I resist the urge to do the same. Looks like I’m going to be reminding them of the rules for the entire trip. Leon, at least.

“Sorry about him, Mr. Blake. Leon’s an idiot,” Lady says.

I would be terrified at how easily she puts on an act, at how easily she lies, if I weren’t more relieved about it. Because that kind of acting and lying is going to keep her safe long after I can’t anymore. And it’s going to allow her to spend the time with her father that she can’t spend otherwise.

“I’m not an idiot!” Leon predictably snaps. Then, “Mama. Lady’s calling me names again.”

“It’s not name calling if it’s true,” Lady says, walking past Viper and into the beach house.

Leo stomps after her, successfully distracted his father and more concerned about his sister.

I make my way up the steps and stop right in from of Viper while saying, “Sorry. They can be a handful.”

Viper smirks and then shrugs nonchalantly, and I have to remind myself of my own rules. He’s Adrian, and even though I am publicly much more familiar with him than the twins as Addy Bianchi, even I have to practice discretion. Because the rumors about my public persona and Viper’s are just that. Rumors. He’s publicly Cres’s boyfriend, and I am publicly one of her closest friends. Even if the rumors are true, I wouldn’t do anything with Cres watching. Even if in actuality she and Viper will be sleeping in separate rooms, and she’d do little more than continue whatever she’s into if she saw me kiss Viper.

So I manage to wait until we’re safely behind closed doors in his room before my lips are on his.

It’s not clear which of us led us here or who pulled who to who first. But it doesn’t stop me from saying, “You couldn’t wait until we were settled in first?”

He smiles into my lips and says, “Neither could you.”

He begins to lift the hem of my dress to my waist while I begin to work on the fastening of his pants. I’m just about to put my hands on my goal when, I hear, “Hey, Dad, wanna—”

Viper pulls his lips from mine and drops the hem of my dress but doesn’t let me go, while I discretely try to fix the fastening of his trousers.

“Oh my God, Leon,” Lady snaps walking in behind Leon who is frozen in the doorway where he’s burst into the room. “Mom told us not to call him that on this trip. No matter where—”

Lady cuts herself off upon seeing me and Viper. Then she rolls her eyes and looks and Leon.

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