Chapter Text
It wasn’t an especially long drive, considering they left before rush hour. Got out of the city before the sea of commuters built an impenetrable wall to contend with. This wasn’t the best week for travel, being just a few days before Christmas. But neither of them had their children for the holiday – something Beth mourned more than she wanted to admit. She and Dean split the holiday the year before. She had taken Christmas Eve and the magic of the morning, cozying up together with cinnamon rolls and presents. Dean had opted for Christmas dinner at Judith’s with the children, where they were spoiled with prime rib and more presents, and Beth got drunk at home, texteding Rio photos of her breasts (they had still been in their early “horny phase” then) before she passed out on the couch. It had definitely been a year of firsts.
This year they chose to split the holidays. Beth acquiesced that Dean would get the whole week leading up to Christmas, and she would get Thanksgiving. They’d swap next year. It really worked out for the best because Rio had planned a trip to Chicago in December, where he was working on something new for businesses, and this meant she could go. They’d make an event of it – some businesses mixed with pleasure. It seemed fitting, the more she thought about it all.
Beth was still recovering from Thanksgiving, even a whole month later. It hadn’t been just a regular Thanksgiving. It was her first one with their new dynamic, and that brought its own set of both challenges and joys. She had her own kids, of course, and Annie and Ben. But this year Rio was part of the festivities, staying up late with her helping her peel potatoes and pre-chop aromatics for the stuffing. He had been sweet, went to the hardware store and braved the crowds the day before Thanksgiving. Came back with a plastic bucket that she said she needed to prepare for the big day.
He pulled his beanie and his coat off in her entry, the smell of the night’s chill following him inside. Beth loved that smell – all crisp and fresh, a little smoky. And she liked the look of it on him, his angular face blushed with a touch of pink at his cheeks and tip of his nose. These little things she loved on him, the evidence of his humanity. For all his bravado he still was not impervious to winter cold.
He rubbed his hands together, summoning warmth into his fingers as he brought the bucket by the handle into the kitchen for her.
“What’s this for?” he had asked, as she leaned in to kiss him, confirming for herself the icicle feel of his nose.
“The brine,” Beth had explained, touching her warm lips to his nose tip, laughing a little as he shook her off. Instead she showed him the bowl of salt and sugar and dried herbs she had already measured out. The turkey needed a minimum of an overnight soak. Turkey’s a dry meat and it really needed that bath time to break down all the tissue, infuse the flavors through the meat and make it moist. Good things took hard work, and time, and patience. But it had all been worth it. The turkey golden brown and moist, a picturesque sight at her generous table set for nine.
Rio had Marcus for Thanksgiving. Rhea took on a twelve hour shift, wanting the extra money despite Rio’s insistence she didn’t need to do all that.
“It’s not about you,” Beth told him, listening to him complain for the third time while slicing dough with a pizza cutter for a lattice on her apple pie crust. Rhea’s insistence on working the day no doubt hitting him right in his ego. “She can’t constantly feel dependent on you financially. She’s doing this for herself.”
The way he’d looked at her after she said that. She saw the understanding in his eyes. He didn’t mention it again.
He brought his son over the day before and they spent the night at Beth’s, staying up late and getting up early – Rio scrambled eggs and crisped up hashbrowns for them all while Beth stood at her counter in her bathrobe, reviewing her Turkey Day Plan as if it were a calculated battle. He hadn’t even made fun. Just took the kids outside and ran them ragged, bringing them back famished and ready to devour everything without complaint. The day had gone well, and afterwards the kids passed out in the family room watching Christmas Vacation. And Beth snuck off to bed with Rio, where Beth got to pass out too after a luxurious treatment to Rio’s skillful mouth.
Rio took a large platter of leftovers and a pumpkin swirl cheesecake to Rhea’s at Beth’s insistence when he dropped Marcus off that Friday afternoon. Beth had set it aside for her, adding a little turkey post-it to the plastic-wrapped plate wishing Rhea a happy Thanksgiving. Maybe it was presumptuous of her but it was important to keep a positive connection with Marcus’s mother. He was a regular part of Beth’s life now and that meant Rhea was as well. She was just glad of the carefully crafted truce they had been able to achieve, the other woman cautiously accepting Rio’s new relationship despite her trepidation.
Beth herself was still getting used to calling it a “relationship.” It had been that for a long time, she knew that. She wasn’t delusional. But suddenly their lives had started to lose the last bits of that separation they’ve maintained for the past however-long. A year? More? They weren’t really keeping dates. No real “anniversary.” And maybe they were better off this way. Anniversaries had never served her well, from what she could remember. It was much better this way – just them, slowly building toward something that worked. To hell with formalities – those were for ordinary people. And they weren’t ordinary. They were so much more interesting than that. They tiptoed their way into this relationship – first sex and passion, then friendship, comfort, mutual respect… love.
Funny enough, they used the words sparingly even today. Despite it all. Despite all the things they had done to be together. It wasn’t for lack of feeling. It’s just that sometimes simply looking at him – with his hard lines, and all his soft and gentle edges – it was too much to put the feeling into words. Wrapping her mind around who they had become – both fast and slow, both overnight and a long time coming – it was too big to be defined with something so simple as an “I love you.” Instead, they said it in other ways. They said it with their boldness, their willingness to cross lines if it meant it was for each other. They said it with the blood they’ve shed, the scars they carried. They said it because they were still standing through it all. They said it in their lack of nights they spent apart. They said it with their plans – both big and small – always together. He said it with his touch – sometimes just a brush in passing, sometimes much more. And she knew he was completely, wholly hers.
He never failed to encourage her, even if sometimes his encouragement looked a little like making fun. Like when he listened patiently to the speech she wrote for a panel to make a case to appropriate city funds to a convict rehabilitation program. It would give her an in and allow Rio better access to his men on the inside. After their little mishap with Nick, they needed to reinforce those borders. She made her practice speech in his living room, standing in front of him wearing her “giving crime a time out” t-shirt and little else, while he lay on his sofa with one arm tucked under his head, listening intently as she tried to sound charismatic.
“That’s real good, baby,” he’d said, nodding at her with a gaze so dark she thought he hadn’t really been listening at all.
“Is it boring?” she’d asked, looking over her notes, considering if she could add a little joke or anecdote somewhere.
“Nah. Maybe deliver it for real while wearing pants though, yeah?”
He’d lunged up, grabbing her around the waist and quickly her speech was forgotten, her body pinned under him as he thrust into her, her panties off and her shirt hiked up above her breasts.
She did end up rewriting her speech though, thinking that maybe an anecdote was a good idea. She spotted him sitting in the back as she took the mic for her address. She hadn’t been expecting him, he never came to these things. Of all the days for him to decide to show up. It’s like he knew! She tried to keep her eyes off him as she talked about a local small business owner, a man of color who’d generously donated his own funds to a police charity event, wrongly accused on shaky evidence by a dirty detective, imprisoned for over a week. The detective disappeared along with the man feeding him bribes. Imagine the injustice! She finished making her point: that stigmas run deep and the community is better off investing in rehabilitation programs than letting prejudice and stereotypes run the city in fear. She chanced a glance at Rio as she wrapped up, his sparkling eyes, pursed lips, and slightly shaking shoulders almost making her lose her own composure. But she held it together and got her funding, slipping away as quickly as she could without having to shake too many hands.
He had been waiting for her in her office after, reclined in her ergonomic chair like he had rights to be here. “You into social justice, ma?” The way his lips curled, all she could do was roll her eyes despite her own smile. God, nothing ever changed with him, did it? Not that she’d have it any other way.
“You can’t just do that,” she hissed at him playfully as he pinned her against her desk, standing up from his chair – her chair – to loom over her.
“Nah?” His head inclined into her neck, his lips finding the very spot that never failed to send a zing of pleasure down her spine. “My bad.”
Her office door didn’t even have a lock, but it didn’t stop him from flipping her around, tugging her smart slacks down over he ass as he dropped into the seat behind her. She normally would never allow someone to mess around with her chair levers. She had the seat adjusted just the way she liked. But this was absolutely an exception and she didn’t make a peep about it as he brought the seat way down and pushed her forward over her desk. Getting eaten out from behind with her door unlocked and her assistant right outside certainly hadn’t been something on her meticulously maintained calendar, but even she had to admit, when he was right he was right. She bit down on her fist, her face down in her papers as he finished her off. Then pushed up on her elbows as he undid his pants and slid inside, groaning at the slickness he himself created. He kneaded her ass as he pumped, spreading her open obscenely. Then put his hand over her mouth as he picked up the pace, a slick thumb pressing at her puckered opening for extra fullness. She couldn’t even see straight anymore and wouldn’t have cared if anyone had heard them as her entire pelvic floor contracted violently and his hand pressed into her face, over her open mouth, palm scraping hard against her teeth with the force of his own orgasm.
He looked a lot more put-together than she felt as they both straightened out their clothes once they were finished that day. But what else was new? He always looked more put-together in these disheveled situations. Even on a four-hour in his car to Chicago, he somehow looked cool as a cucumber, reclined in his seat comfortably, wearing his black fleece Nike joggers and black hooded sweatshirt, navigating smoothly around the traffic just starting to build up around them as they got closer to their destination. He always looked so at ease in his own skin. She envied that.
The business side of this trip was interesting enough. They were branching out, exploring some new avenues of moneymaking. Flipping their game. Or maybe just adding to it. Their little… incident with the jewelry store owner left a small, local business in default. And rather than allowing the family to lose both their patriarch and their only source of income, Beth suggested they buy them out with their LLC. An excellent front for easy money laundering. They didn’t even need to bring in legitimate product if they didn’t want to. It just had to be good enough to pass by a jeweler's loupe. Her print shop was churning out large volumes. If they just found a distributor, they could easily staff a small jewelry store for resale to make real cash.
That’s why they were going to Chicago. Rio had found them a potential business contact a few weeks prior, spent three days discussing options with him. Then came home and told her all about it to see if she wanted to move forward. He actually asked for her opinion! Not like she would know any better or have connections of her own. But he had told her all the details so earnestly, laid out his reasoning so thoroughly, she really had been touched.
Sometimes it felt like they were moving way too quickly all of a sudden. He was including her more and more on his side of their business, he was looking to her for new ideas. He had agreed to buy her “murder building” without question. Had even smiled about it after the surprise left his face. She’d shocked him, she supposed – bringing up the idea of buying the building where she killed Damon and Stoll. But it had been an incredible investment! The building was seized by the county and auctioned for almost nothing. Took her a few late nights to get the cash printed but she was ready when the parcel number came up for bid. She paid a member of Rio’s team to represent the LLC and they were owners of the property in no time.
She had been so caught up in the high of the rebuild she almost didn’t even think twice as they discussed the six bedroom penthouse. It crept up on her, the implication behind it. Before she knew it they were designing it to move into together. And she was happy about it! A fresh start, something a little less domestic. Closer to work for both of them. The kids were getting older and not as interested in the large back yard or the tree house. They would much rather have a building rec room, a rooftop pool, an onsite gym for Kenny who suddenly was very into situps and weight lifting. Not to mention combing his hair in that sloppy-floppy way that teens did. A way that always made her want to run her fingers through it, straighten it out for him. But she knew better so she refrained. Besides, his hair was the least of her concerns, compared to his other new grooming preferences. Like overuse of cheap cologne. Where had he even gotten that drugstore monstrosity? She didn’t mind that he wanted to use it. She knew what that meant and she understood – he was just growing up. But she still was grateful when Rio brought over a subtle, clean-smelling men’s fragrance one day and offered it to Kenny. “You wanna take this off my hands, my man? I got an extra by mistake.” Then showed him how he liked to apply it – sparingly!
“Yeah, just like that,” he’d nodded approvingly as Kenny misted gently to practice. “All those cuties won’t know what hit ‘em.”
Kenny had blushed but Rio kept his face dead serious. Just one man looking out for another. It was moments like that, the ones that hit her suddenly with how ingrained he had become in all their lives, that sometimes took her breath away. This was so real now. Not just for her – for all of them. The penthouse was nowhere near finished and she hadn’t yet discussed with her kids in earnest what a move to this place would mean. That Rio and Marcus would live there too. That it wouldn’t be just her and them. That Rio wouldn’t just sleep over, he’d be there as an authority figure. Another adjustment for them all. She didn’t have it in her to have those conversations yet so she held off. Maybe after Christmas.
She turned to look at Rio as he drove, reached over to adjust the crease in the hood of his sweatshirt so he could rest his head more comfortably. He flexed his neck noticing the difference, then turned to meet her gaze, a little twinkle in his eyes. She’d never met anyone who appreciated being taken care of quite like he did. He truly noticed all of it – the little things she did for him that everyone in her life had always taken for granted. Like straightening out his hoodie. He smiled about it, reached over to take her hand and bring it to his lips. She knew it was in thanks. She knew it was affection that he felt at the fact that she’d even noticed a minor inconvenience and fixed it for him. So yeah, maybe they used their words of affirmation sparingly, and maybe sometimes she got a little nervous that things were moving way too quickly. But she never tired of that look he had for her. She never doubted the way he saw all she could be. He trusted her. He loved her. And she loved him back.
He convinced her to take a couple of days for tourism – explore Millennium Park and all of its attractions. He said the Christmas tree was lit and wanted to take her to show her. She searched online for “Chicago Christmas tourism” and found the light displays and ice skating and shopping.
“Do you skate?” she asked him the night before they left, showing him her laptop screen with photos of smiling people skating. They had been almost ready to go to bed and she was just browsing while sitting up in bed, waiting for him to finish up some business on his phone so she could turn off the light.
His, “Aw fuck,” wasn’t encouraging, as he set down his phone and rolled onto his side to look at her. “For real?”
She closed her laptop and set it aside too. “Yeah, for real . Why not? You said we should plan to have fun.”
“That’s fun? Gliding around in circles?” he asked skeptically.
“Yeah. It’s romantic.” She smiled. “I’ll let you hold my hand.”
“Oh, well in that case…” His sarcasm was gentle, his smile soft as she let him pull her down next to him.
They stayed up later than they planned to, considering the early hour he wanted to leave. But neither of them wanted to pass up a chance to get lost in the pleasure of each other’s touch. He rocked into her, holding her to him while lying on their sides, his arms gripping her tightly across her ribcage, his face buried in her neck.
She yawned as he drove, suddenly remembering she should be tired from the lack of sleep. The soothing motion of a car ride always made her want to nod off.
He reached over, brushed the hair off her face then stroked her cheek. “We got another hour. Wouldn’t blame you if you wanna close your eyes.”
“No, this is very entertaining,” she teased, rolling her sleepy face to look at him, to watch him as he drove. Her leather seat was heated and she settled comfortably into its warmth, turning slightly to face him more easily.
“Oh yeah?” He said it almost with a laugh. “Gonna watch me drive the rest of the way?” He reached over, kicking the heat up a bit. His roguish smile her way told her he knew exactly what he was doing.
“So entertain me.” She sighed, her eyelids feeling heavy. But she was just enjoying the warmth of the cab, the sight of him in casual clothes looking so cozy. The snow-covered roads they drove along making her feel nostalgic.
“Watchu want me to do?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Turn up the music. We can do car karaoke.”
He shook his head with a gentle snicker and an eye roll, turning away from her to watch the road.
“Don’t laugh,” she insisted, laughing too. “Here, give me your phone. We can do a Christmas playlist. Do you know the harmonies to Carol of the Bells?” She reached over to prod at him, trying to tease the phone away from him without any kind of determination to actually take it.
He swatted at her hand. “Nah, that ain’t happening.”
“Not Carol of the Bells? We could do Rudolf. That’s a fun two-part.”
He threw his head back in a laugh at that one, making her giggle too. She didn’t expect him to but suddenly he reached into his pocket and handed her his phone.
“Here. Sing your heart out.”
She took it from him skeptically, giving him a surreptitious glance as she picked something for them to listen to. She didn’t go with Rudolf. He looked her way, surprised, as saxophone music filled the car. A very sexy Christmas. She smiled back impishly.
“Is this okay?”
He nodded, settling back into his seat, the calm of the music reflecting in his easy posture. She dragged her eyes over his form – his face turned to the windshield, his long legs spread casually as he steered with one hand. She reached over, tracing the tendons in his hand as it rested on his thigh. He twitched his fingers, catching the tips of hers to stroke with equal affection, but his eyes stayed on the road. She ghosted around his exposed wrist, dipping under the cuff of his sleeve to find more bare skin. Then dropped her palm down on his thigh, brushing his hand away to have more room. He moved, placing both hands on the steering wheel while she continued her exploration. She slipped her hand under the elastic hem of his hoodie, finding his waistband, tracing it around along his belly.
He looked over at her then, eyebrow popped.
She looked up at him through her lashes, communicating her intent.
“There’s traffic,” he pointed out. But his voice was husky and she knew he wasn’t saying no.
“So I guess no cruise control then,” she shrugged, her fingers dipping mere millimeters under his waistband.
His laugh was strained, humor not his most prominent emotion at this moment. He reached down, easing his seat back a bit, giving her more room. His hips readjusted their position and her hand slipped fully into the warmth of his fleece pants. She wiggled her fingers into his boxer briefs, adjusting the material around his swelling shaft to give it room to grow. She felt his thigh twitch, his foot readjusting on the pedal.
“Are you going to be able to concentrate?” she teased.
He didn’t answer, but signaled right, merging out of the fast lane and allowing traffic to pass around his ever-more-erratic SUV. It made her smile. A little distraction wouldn’t hurt.
She had him fully out, stroking him slow but steady as he tried to keep his driving steady too. She would have liked to unbuckle her seatbelt and lean over the center console to take him in her mouth. Just the thought of it made her muscles clench. He’d love it. Would make that noise in his throat that made her feel like she had infinite power. But she didn’t dare. There were too many cars and safety first, or course. Instead she settled for teasing the velvet soft skin of his shaft with gentle fingers, for circling the crown of his head in her fist and stroking until his hips moved of their own volition. The instrumentals on her chosen playlist changed one after another, and he grew ever harder to her slow tease.
She heard him curse as she upped her pace, his abdomen contracting as he worked to maintain control, so she slowed down again as his right blinker started to click. He took the exit, pulling around too fast, then parked in the last spot of a small lot attached to a gas station. Thank goodness for dark tinted windows. She had her seatbelt clicked off as he adjusted his seat even further back. In moments she had her knees tucked under her on her warm leather seat, mouth tight around him as his hand gripped her hair. It didn’t take long – a few enthusiastic bobs and he was spilling with a hard groan, feet scrambling for purchase in the limited space under his dash.
There wasn’t much mess – she’d grown proficient in her swallowing technique. So all there was to do was to tuck him back inside as he caught his breath. She straightened up and leaned over to give his parted panting lips a quick peck.
“Thank you for driving.” She grinned at his wrecked face.
He smiled, still out of breath, adjusting himself in his pants. “Guess we need gas anyway.”
“So it worked out!” She grabbed her purse and reached for her door handle. “Do you want me to get you that peppered jerky you like? I’m going to get us waters.”
The air was cold but it felt good as she zipped up her jacket against the chill. Even four hours in a car were fun with him.