The song "Take Your Time" was written, produced, and is owned by Lori Carson. I'd like to really thank all who gave me great feedback, especially Shauna, who made me lol with those e-mails. This is the end to my short story. I hope the ending is satisfying. I will be posting more fanfic in the future, don't know when, but it's too much fun to stop!
"Take your time and think about it baby, take your time and think about it."
"Take your time and think about it baby"
"I've learned how to wait, I know how to wait for love."
The singer, Margarita Ricardo, sang the lyrics in a high, yet breathless and whispery alto. The slow, dreamy melody of the song, backed by base guitar and drums was perfect for the relaxed atmosphere present in the Victoria Inn's private ballroom. Toby was standing by the bar nursing a martini and scanning the room, he felt extreme satisfaction at making partner, considering there was a time he'd been doubtful indeed. He and Ryan both had been promoted in the firm; however, Ryan turned down the offer and instead announced plans to open his own small law office. It had surprised Tobias, considering how ambitious and focused Ryan had been about making a name for himself in legal circles. Glynn, Devlin, and Whittlesey was a well respected firm and had their fair shaire of high profile cases that could help one make a name for oneself as well as a lot of money; but it was what Ryan seemed to want so Toby knew it must be the right decision. There had already been a firm celebration for all the new partners, so this gathering was just family and friends.
"I was frightened and I treated you badly, not 'cause I didn't know just what I had."
"I think it scared me to find the real thing, with so much emotion and such sexual feeling."
His eyes searched the crowd for Chris and he spotted Genevieve and him talking quietly together beside a large, potted plant across the room. He smiled. The three of them would never be close, but at least the resentment between them had abated somewhat. He still felt pangs of guilt considering the previous shitty situation had been primarily his fault. This had been the first invitation she had accepted in months and he was glad to see her. He was staring so intently at Chris' profile he didn't hear Ryan and Claire's approach. Some things never change.
"Take your time and think about it baby, take your time and think about it.
"Take your time and think about it baby"
"I've learned how to wait, I know how to wait for love."
He greeted Claire with a kiss on the cheek and Ryan with a shake and a pat on the back. Both were looking full of life tonight, Claire in a red, long sleeved wrapdress and Ryan in a surprisingly, conservative dark blue suit with a red tie.
"You sure you don't want to change your mind and move to a corner office with me."
"Nah, I think a low key existence in Alexandria is what I need at the moment."
"I swear to God O'Reily, I would never have pictured you in a small law office. I thought you lived for the intensity of the game."
"Yeah, well maybe I was overcompensating." He said grinning at Claire and squeezing her waist.
"This tough guy's just ready for a change." She said looking at him, blue eyes sparkling.
Toby had a feeling that Claire was everything in life Ryan never knew he'd wanted.
They rested their attention on Margarita as she finished the last of the song.
"Now, Maybe it's a sign of the times, there's nothing we can't replace,"
"But a one of a kind is a joy I find, when I see your face."
"Take your time and think about it baby, take your time and think about it.
"Take your time and think about it baby"
"I've learned how to wait, I know how to wait for love."
"I've learned how to wait for love."
"Take your time. Take your time. Take your time. Take your time..."
The applause was very appreciative and she smiled in response. The band began to play a reggae-flavored up-tempo instrumental and even more people crowded the floor.
Tobias saw that his parents were now engaged in the conversation with Chris and Gen. He breathed in deeply and took a gulp of his drink. He and Chris' relationship was in its fourth month and with the holiday's approaching he knew that he needed to just tell them. He was a grown man for fuck's sake, not a little boy. He made a promise to himself that he'd talk it over with Chris tonight and if he agreed he'd tell them tomorrow.
Chris had insisted on moving out of the studio and that Toby put it on the market. Not surprisingly he'd been able to unload it without much trouble and make a bit of money off the initial investment; he'd paid his father back with interest. Chris in the mean time had moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Baltimore near school and 20 miles from Emerald City. Toby spent most of his time there, his parents not seeming to think anything strange about it, he was spending time with a close friend . The fact that he often returned to their house in the am was never brought up; he suspected they thought he might be seeing Jeanie or maybe even Gen again. If only they knew that another brunette was his focus; they would soon enough.
Looking around the room further he saw that Jeanie, Tim, and Kenny were in their own klatch. Kenny was on holiday break from school and Jeanie and Tim had been dating for the past few weeks. Tobias wondered if the fact that she was a brown-eyed brunette, like Gen, was a reason for Tim's interest. Of course that would be doing a disservice to Jeanie, who was down to earth, spirited and a bit flirtatious, not much like Gen in temperament, if Tim was looking for Gen Revisited. Ever the lawyer, Tobias noted that Tim's eyes would frequently dart towards Genevieve. He couldn't blame him; his gaze fell on Chris' magnificent form more often than he cared to admit.
Continuing, he noted the people gathered; Gen's parents were here, he'd always liked the Metcalfs who'd always trusted his intentions toward their daughter, so much so that as teens, when her parents had gone on overnights they'd often leave the two of them on the sofa watching TV. Some of his old high school friends, a few close co-workers, cousins, and strangers who'd come as dates. He looked once more at Chris, this time catching his eye, and both knew that the only person that even mattered at that instant was the other man. Chris' eyes said to follow him and of course Toby did. Excusing himself, Chris made his way past the buffet and towards the large cloakroom. A few moments later Toby headed through the crowd, many people stopping to congratulate him, kiss his cheek, and slap him on the back. It was a good five minutes before he ducked into the coat-laden room.
He found Chris waiting for him with his arms folded across his chest; going over to him, Toby pressed his forehead to Chris', melting into an ardent kiss. He sucked in the flavor of his tongue tinged with the taste of Heineken. Toby was the first to come up for air.
"I want to tell them. Tomorrow." Chris looked at him squarely and then tilted his head, making sure he saw confidence there. He breathed easier. He'd been patient with Toby because this was the first person he'd ever truly loved, been in love with. However, he had never been the shy type, when he was with someone, he was with them and had never been afraid to show it.
"Okay."
"Okay." Toby repeated laughing, kissing him gently on the lips.
"How much do you wanna' tell them. Just that we're fucking each other or that I'm not a college chum or I'm an ex-con. What?" He asked seriously. His vote went to choice number one and only number one.
"What I'm going to tell them is I love you. How we met is our business. Your criminal past, do you want to tell them about it." He said with a humorous raise of his brow, even though it was far from humorous.
"Maybe next Christmas." He said leaning into him and getting back to the task at hand. They were so immersed in each other it took a while for them to notice the music had stopped and that someone was angrily yelling, so loudly, they could hear it through the closed door.
Pulling themselves together they entered the ballroom to everyone watching as Tim held Gen by the arm and tried to coax her into talking to him. She had tried to be polite and diplomatically tell him she wasn't interested in seeing him anymore, but in the end she wond up screaming "No!" at his insistence. He was obviously drunk, but not so drunk that the next words he spoke didn't ring with clarity and truth.
"You know you just fucked me over Gen. It's been over four months, he's not coming back to you. He's moved on! You fucked me over. You never loved me but you pretended to. You fucking bitch!" He spat at her. Her face went white, as she pleaded "Tim..."
At that Tobias knew he had to put a stop to this and stepped forward. Tim let her arm go, red where he had held it.
"Get the fuck away from me you! God the two of you, musical fucking chairs. One minute she loves me. Then she leaves me. Then she's back and wearing my ring. Then one day your friend here shows up, followed by you and she's gone again. No nothing. Just an I just can't do it. I'm sorry!"
"C'mon Tim..." He touched his shoulder lightly and was roughly shoved away sending Tobias stumbling backwards, which prompted Chris to sprint forward between the two men, a look on his face that dared Tim to take another step. Tim laughed without humor.
"All those old criminal impulses coming out?" He asked snidely. At this point he'd given up caring about the opinions of the people in this town, he'd never really felt a part of the community anyway. He never would. That sent a murmur through the crowd. Toby stepped up beside Chris.
"What, Mr. Keller you didn't share with the good folk of Emerald City that you spent some time inside, for what was it, oh yeah, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, and reckless driving-can't forget that!" Harrison Beecher had paled and Victoria's mouth just hung open in horror. They both looked at Toby and Chris for an explanation.
"Shut the fuck up." Toby growled in a steady voice. Chris stood stock still next to him. He knew there was no stopping Tim. Unlike him, Toby and Gen, Tim had never gotten any real explanation, closure or consideration. He'd gotten screwed and not in a good way and the other three would have to pay their penance for their part in his suffering.
"Well, you're the only one who doesn't seem shocked by this revelation. Then I'm sure you know all about your little friend's involvement in a ponzi scheme that relieved a woman in Florida of some 250,000 dollars, of course he turned a dime on the real masterminds behind it and walked away with a year and parole! Yeah, you know about that too, by the look on your face. Glad you two are so close, it's not good to have secrets."
Tim looked around at the room full of people and saw that they all seemed to hate him. He had ruined their goodtime and had soiled their precious Toby and Gen and their new found love Chris. He took a step towards Gen, who shrank away as if he were poison.
"Jeanie, you might better get a ride home with somebody else tonight", He mumbled as he quickly exited, feeling sick to his stomach.
His parents made a quick beeline over to them.
"Tobias. Chris. Is any of that true? Jail? Ponzi's?" His father queried.
Toby didn't feel that they were his secrets to tell, however when he looked into Chris' intense blue eyes, he was given permission.
"Yeah. It's all true." He breathed.
"But, you two were supposed to have gone to Georgetown together. We employed you because you were our son's old friend, you had wonderful things to say about him."
"I lied about us being old friends." Chris said still looking at Toby, who looked back at him with an assuring gaze.
"Tobias, if you knew all these things about this man, how could you allow him to stay in our lives like this, how can you trust him?"
"Because that was a longtime ago, he was 17 and spent 5 years in prison for what he did. And as for the ponzi scheme, he paid for that too. He's changed."
"How can you be so sure?" His mother asked doubtfully, not even looking in Chris' direction.
"I know Chris, Mother-intimately."
"Intimately?"
"We love each other. We're lovers." Toby and Chris looked at each other with faint smiles and intense love. Within the crowd there were a couple of ripples of laughter, a few looks of disgust, but most in attendance were just stunned by all of the night's festivities. Harrison became paler, while Victoria continued to look stricken.
At that moment Angus entered the ballroom with a curvy, doe-eyed female and a little boy, in tow. "Surprise, it's us!" He announced, smiling broadly. "Guess what, Kina and I got married!"
A month later, Chris moved back to Washington D.C. and into Toby's condo. His parents hadn't dismissed Chris but, instead suggested he might find employment elsewhere and they'd be happy to give him an excellent reference. Despite the fact he was fucking their son and had a criminal record, he had been the best manager that the Victoria Inn had ever had and that counted for something in their view. He kind of missed the little city, but he soon found a great job at one of the best restaurants in DC thanks to the Beecher's and his uncle's glowing recommendations. He also transferred to a closer school, so in the end, things in that respect were fine. Tobias' relationship with his parents seemed to be back at square one, but he had hope they'd come around and even if they didn't...
He leaned over and kissed Chris on the back of the neck, smelling the clean scent of soap as he gave him a backrub receiving appreciative sighs and moans in reply.
They had taken their time, almost too much time, to get to this point; regardless of what happened in the future there would be no regrets, ever, for either.
the end