Hello dear all, so as promised in the status, here comes a new chapter...long and intense and the final matter of Jasper's story will be faced and confronted. What will happen?

Ok...after this we'll have CH.31 and then the EPILOGUE and "Tricks of Love" will be completed. but I will start a new story.. hehehe)))

I really hope you'll enjoy this chapter and you'll excuse the being long, but you know me, and we have some hints for future stories and well, hope to hear from your comments what you think of it, thank you very much!!! I know how much you love this story and it's just wonderful...THANK YOU ALL!!!

Dedicated to all of you, in particular to JazzMalik1D because I know you were waiting for this chapter and it's also a THANK YOU for your messages and comments!

On the right, a picture that Dima took of JASPER while skateboarding with his friends --> Francisco Lachowski.

ENJOY!

JASPER POV

Dima turned nineteen right at the beginning of this month, June, and since his birthday was on Friday, we celebrated exactly on that day with a huge party. Oh boy, that for sure had been a huge party. It wasn’t just the people that came for my birthday, but as well almost the entire hockey team as an excuse to celebrate the victory of the championship and then some of his classmates and even some girls. Well, he didn’t invite them of course, but Dima was well known in school and uhm well, you know how these things go. I must admit it sort of annoyed me to see some of them getting too close with the excuse of wishing happy birthday and trying to touch him, but I simply let it go, because my tiger gave them not even the smallest chance for anything. Uhm, that sure had me floating on cloud nine, especially when he would pull me in his arms and talk to them while hugging me and resting his chin on my shoulder.

Oh boy. So I was really jealous, but uhm, I had no reason to be and I knew it.

The party went very well and we had to rent a place for that, because I had no idea how many people showed up; we of course celebrated it then alone as dad gave me permission to stay over Dima’s place and well, Anatoly surprised me that day. I invited him to the party too and said it would be nice to celebrate their birthdays together, but of course he had to say no and call me chipmunk. Oh boy, he could be so irritating sometimes! But at the very end he showed up and had even a present and no need to explain what that meant for my boyfriend. Since the accident, they slowly tried to go back to be brother like years ago and even though it wasn’t easy, they both tried their best.

I saw how Alex and River were still distant and I understood them, but they wished him happy birthday and the small hidden smile on his face had been priceless; honestly, it was not so easy for me to be around Anatoly and he sure didn’t make it any easier with his personality and comments, but uhm, it was just the beginning. Derek and Hayden were more open and Travis did not miss the chance to tease him for failing this school year, saying it was pay back and given he wouldn’t punch an injured guy, he had to stand it. Yep, because of all what happened and for his misbehavior in school in the past months, Anatoly failed and had to repeat the last year of school. Uhm well, sure Dima had his fun with that and sometimes they would literally drive you insane when they began to argue in a way that only twins could do.

I think Anatoly liked Travis, not in that way, as that would be suicidal for him, but don’t know, he gave me the impression to be more relaxed with my friend and why shouldn’t he? Travis was very open and enthusiastic and clearly told you what was on his mind; and I guess he understood something quite big happened to Dima’s brother and of course he was going to help Alex to slowly reconcile with him. Yep, that was Travis and he was simply amazing.

Oh boy, now that I think about my best friend…he was going to leave at the end of the month and I was going to miss him so much! But he made me promise to go visit him any time I could and so we already planned a week in London at the end of August.

Now we all were at the usual place where my friends and I did skateboard and we just decided to have a relaxing afternoon all together. It was Saturday late morning and the weather was perfect, because it was sunny and warm, but not so hot to be suffocating or feeling like shower every two seconds and the gentle breeze actually made it even nicer. I always liked New York around this time, not sure why, maybe because the days were longer and summer was about to arrive; Christmas was another of my favorite times, for the lights and atmosphere and this coming one was going to be wonderful, because it’d be my very first Christmas with the person I loved, Dima.

“Hey hottie, what are you thinking about? You suddenly stopped in the middle of the pipe.” Oh boy, right I was about to make some new trick and somehow I spaced out.

“Uhm well, nothing, uhm, many things.” I sort of blushed and Kevin smirked and ruffled my hair, followed by Andy and Mike.

“Bet you were thinking about naughty stuff, isn’t it?” They both asked and I simply rolled my eyes. “Yeah, with your oh-so-hot-and-sweet Dima.” They mimicked some very silly expression and I just giggled.

“What about me?” Dima himself skated toward us and grinned at me. “Hey baby, River wants to try as well.”

I arched my brow, as that sounded rather strange. River didn’t strike me as someone interested in learning skateboarding tricks.

“River said nothing of the sort, Dima. I only said that it seems funny and that your sweetheart is extremely good at that.” He had joined us with Travis, while I spotted the other guys on the grass, talking with Carlos and Shenice about…probably annoying Derek and talking about hockey. I giggled at the idea and River winked at me. Yep, they were trying to tease Dee.

“You should give it a try, you too Travis.”

“Even if it’s the fantastic me, I cannot afford injuring my sexy legs and ass, as I sure need them and not just for dancing, if you know what I mean; Alexi wouldn’t be so happy if I were to get hurt..” He smirked in his usual way and my friends stared at him blinking, but then burst out laughing.

“Oh man, we love you Travis, you’re just super cool, but seriously, your man is rather intimidating, I still can’t properly talk to him.” Andy admitted.

“Well, not big deal, man. He is talking to you civilly and even saying hi, think of yourself as lucky and if you want to get on his good side, never look at this crazy guy here with a horny face.” Dima was always priceless in his explanations and Travis just chuckled and winked at me.

“No issues here, we both are straight, just like Carlos. So Travis, please tell your man. Well, Stevie, you’re bi, but you don’t seem interested in him, so your butt is safe.” Mike and Andy could have been twins, uhm, really.

“What that has to do with me? Travis knows I’m not interested in him and don’t put wrong ideas into that huge beast of his man, sorry mate..” My friend waved his hands in front of him. “I wouldn’t like to have him on my bad side, even more after seeing him playing hockey.”

“And plus this eye-candy here is interested in me, so we are all sweet.” Kevin joked placing his arms around Stevie’s waist, making him turn around suddenly and almost fall down from his board.

“I am interested in whom?” He snapped. “Hey, watch where you place your hands.”

“What, wrong place? Should I place them here?” Kevin bluntly touched my friend’s butt and Stevie went completely red and jumped out of his skin. “Hmm, sexy one, I like it.”

“You are…”

Dima looked at me, and we exchanged and knowing and amused glance. Then he paddled with his right foot, keeping the left on the board and after taking some good speed he made a perfect Ollie. Oh boy, he was getting amazing at this.

“Show off.” Stevie told him.

“Look who’s talking, man.” My tiger beamed and made in front of him another perfect trick. “Now, how’s that, midget?”

“Ha, going to show how this midget will kick your moronic and dofus-like butt, newbie.” And they were off skating around.

Travis took his i-phone out and grinned like a Cheshire Cat.

“Hell, stop talking guys and don’t stand there doing nothing. Let me take some fantastic pictures of you.”

“Sure thing, mate.” Both of my friends answered at the same time. Boy, yep, they were like twins.

Also Andy and Mike were off and River approached and I knew he wanted to talk about this evening, since we were all going to have dinner at my place, because Nic would land to New York in one hour and wanted to introduce River to my parents. Oh boy…it was going to be a very intense dinner and not so sure how mother would react; dad already knew and seemed fine with that, but I could tell he would still need to digest everything properly. It was already amazing he was getting so well with my boyfriend and slowly came to complete accept my brother and my sexual orientation and that was clear from the way he began to openly affront and discuss the matter. But mother was another thing and dad was doing his best in keeping the environment not so tense at home, but I knew they were facing some problems.

“You think is a good idea to have dinner all together tonight? I am not sure how your mother is going to react, but Nic insisted it was time to face it.” River asked studying me with his blue and rather piercing eyes. Boy, you always felt under some examination when he kept his stare longer than normal on you.

“Uhm, I think Nic is right and you know he always kept that a secret from our parents and he’s tired of keeping things hidden or pretending and that’s why he took such decision. Dad is fine with that, uhm well, at least he accepted it and that is already a lot, believe me.”

He said nothing for few seconds and then nodded, his eyes shining. He really was handsome and no wonder he captured my brother’s attention the very first time they met; like Travis, he had this particular air around him, alluring people and charming them.

“Yes, that is right, Nic explained me the same and of course I understand his point of view, but my concern is whether this is too soon. We just began officially going out less than two months ago.” His words took me aback, as I didn’t see the problem.

They were together and liked each other, and uhm, I knew he was right for my brother and that Nic was serious about River, boy, very serious about him, believe me. But what about my friend? It was so difficult to understand what was on his mind and even if you asked him, you would get part of what you inquired. What was the problem? His parents already knew he was gay and uhm well, dad had nothing to say against it and well, mother…Nic wasn’t going to listen to her snobbish and hypocritical non-sense. Uhm, I mean, Dima and I knew we would spend our lives together and we saw no issues and even if we had problems, we would simply face them together, as we always did. But River was different, sure.

“Sorry River, I uhm, don’t understand the problem. You guys are so good together and you know Nic really likes you, uhm I mean..” He smiled and nodded again.

“I know that Jasper and if you are asking yourself whether I am serious or not about your brother, don’t worry, I am. Nicholas is all I could wish for and more; he is wonderful, a real man. So don’t worry about my intention.” He winked and I blushed, because he had easily read into me. “But we live quite far from each other and spend little time together, even though we talk almost every day. He’s still forming his career and I would never try to hold him back from anything and I thought that maybe it would be better to wait slightly longer, but I respect his decision and if anything, it makes me like him even more.”

I said nothing as his words turned in my mind; they made me smile, because he truly was serious about my brother, but they made me sad at the same time. It felt as if he was the one holding back and I could not understand the reason; plus, they gave me this feeling that…I shook my head and let it go. It was silly and had no basis.

“But you like my brother, right?” I asked him staring at his face intently.

“I don’t just like your brother, Jasper. It is deeper than simple like.” His eyes stared at me for such intense and long moment that I heard those silent and unsaid words he kept for himself. Yes, it wasn’t just simple liking. I smiled widely and then two strong arms surprised me.

“Hey kitty, what are you doing here? You still have to teach me that new freakish trick.” Dima nuzzled my ear with his nose and being in front of River had me going thermonuclear. “I know you guys were talking about tonight, right?”

“Hmm, you are surprising me, Dima. Being with Jas is really making you more perceptive, very good.” He teased and my boyfriend chuckled.

“Man, being with my kitty is making me many things and not just more perceptive.” He tightened the grip and I understood what he meant.

“Oh boy, Dima..”

“This is even more interesting, you know? I could say you are getting very similar to Sasha, but no, Travis and Sasha are two cases of their own.” He smiled mischievously and I shook my head.

“Are you trying to say we are just like those two horn dogs? Don’t think so, I mean, I might be a little bit turned on right now, seeing my monkey be this sexy with the board, ok well, maybe a bit more than just a little bit, but that’s not the point here. We don’t go for hard stuff and I never took Jas, err, how does Sasha say? Oh yeah, senseless. Oh wait, I didn’t it, right baby?” Could I please disappear here and now? Pretty please? Someone is willing to take me away from this and make me disappear out of the blue? I … I think my face was literally boiling and my ears fuming. “Baby, you there?”

“Nope, I’m not here.” I muttered hiding my face on the angle of his arm. “You are such a bad tiger..”

“Oh man, don’t say that, you know how it..” I turned around and placed a hand on his mouth and he grinned, wiggling his brows. Boy, he was simply irresistible and I found myself smiling and giggling and when his tongue slowly teased my palm, uhm well, my thoughts went quite incoherent.

“Well, you might not be like Sasha and Travis and I agree with you, but you guys sure are two different cases of your own.” River chuckled rather amused and felt his hand ruffling my hair. “Going to try to tease Dee in front of Shenice, but we all know it’s a lost battle. See you later and Jasper, please don’t worry, ok?”

I looked at him and nodded.

“I know that, River. Thank you.” We exchanged a smile and he walked away.

“Is everything ok, monkey?” Dimas asked me. “Was it really about tonight?”

“Yes, he said that maybe waiting a bit longer would have been better, but he respects Nic’s decision and uhm well, he told me how serious their relationship is.”

“That is quite a lot coming from him, no kidding man. I know River since, crap, since we were in kindergarten and the dude is good at hiding what’s on his mind that you never can guess it. But I can tell you he really likes Nic and I know him well, so don’t worry.” I had turned around to look at his gleaming and beaming aquamarines and my lips softly pecked his. Dima always guessed what troubled me and his words never failed to make me feel better at once.

“Thank you, I know you are right.” My arms slipped around his neck and his around my waist and we just kept smiling at each other.

Dima looked so handsome today…he was wearing a white, red and black striped polo t-shirt untagged over a pair of denim short that reached his knees, hanging perfectly on his hips and butt, and oh boy, Dima had such round and solid butt…uhm well, I mean…I suddenly blushed thinking about how great my hands on it felt, but..oh boy, stop it Jasper! He grinned and slowly ran his nose on my neck. This was not helping in trying to concentrate.

“Hey cheesy love birds, what did you come here for? Skating or flirting?”

Well, I could always count on Stevie to help in breaking my daze and Dima rolled his eyes. I shifted my eyes on my friend and quickly stuck my tongue out.

“Flirting!” I joked, making him snort and my boyfriend chuckle.

“Well said, young padawan.” Travis smirked and I ran toward him to jump on his back. “Cutie, I’m so going to miss you..but hey, you coming to London this summer and hell, we’ll have so much fun.” I hugged him and stroked his cheek with my nose.

“Going to miss you, too, Travis! But sure, we will have lots of fun.”

After a while we all joined the other guys and we had a huge picnic right there; we brought with us everything necessary. Blankets, drinks, food, paper cups and plates…uhm, everything. River had left to go to the airport for my brother and came back later, Nic still wearing his elegant suit and I was so happy to see him that I jumped on his neck like a koala. We all had a great time and in two weeks we would probably have a greater time, as we had planned a camping weekend in the same location Dima and I went. He and Alex already had booked a place, because it was so many of us; basically everyone was coming, including Nic that was going to take a week of holiday to spend with River. Even my friends decided to come along and same for Jess and Xander. Alex made sure to plan everything to give his boyfriend a perfect time with all of his friends before having to leave and I think he wanted to ask Anatoly, too, but when Dima proposed his brother the idea, that clearly freaked him out. Uhm well, he didn’t freak out, but simply told us he wasn’t going “to join our unicorn and rainbow camping trip” as he had better to do. I rolled my eyes re-thinking about that.

We took a lot of crazy and funny pictures and uhm, I think Travis and I took something like forty pictures together…but we both needed them.

When the afternoon approached, I felt more nervous, because that meant dinner with my parents; well, with mother and her rather tense and harsh mood. Things in the house did not improve and no matter what dad tried to do or say, she would not listen to him and kept blaming me for everything. I no more felt guilty or bad for that, because it was not right and not fair, and when one night she almost slapped me a second time, dad threatened to divorce from her if she wasn’t going to sit down and consider the matter rationally.

Oh boy.

A divorce…they idea sort of scared me, but it was not possible for them. It was simply a threat that he used to show how the whole situation was grave in his eyes. They had quite the position in society and it didn’t take to be snobbish like mother to understand how some things worked; their marriage had been arranged and therefore divorcing was out of question. Dad ran an important and famous financial corporation that his own grand-grandfather started and mum came from high-class family with a noble title coming from my grandmother. So there you go. But in this way she understood how serious dad was on the matter and unfortunately, she didn’t take it well.

“Are you nervous, Jas?” Nic stopped beside me and fixed the neck of my shirt. “I am sure Dmitri will really like you tonight, you look good in these clothes.”

“Thanks, well..I am a bit nervous to be honest, just because I don’t know how mother is going to react and behave and I hate when she’s rude to Dima.”

“Don’t worry, I talked to our dad and I think right now they are discussing this matter over again, even though not sure what might come out of that.” He sighed and checked the time on his watch. “I better go get River.” I smiled at that; my brother was head over heels for him. “I take Dima will be here soon, right?” In that moment we heard a knock on the door that had been left open.

“Yeah, Dima will be here soon.” He grinned at us and I immediately ran jumping at his neck; he caught me and lifted my body from the floor. “Hey baby, you look so hot tonight. Hi Nic, sorry for the intrusion, your freakish butler let me him, man..he’s scaring, no kidding, he kept giving me creeping side looks. Something wrong on me?”

“No tiger, you look so handsome.” I kissed his lips and realized I had just jumped on my boyfriend that was wearing an elegant dark suit. Oh boy. “Sorry Dima.” I hopped off and slightly blushed, checking his blazer. Uhm, it seemed fine.

“Hello Dmitri, ready for dinner with the Lucas? But I believe you already have an idea of what that means.”

“You bet I’m ready, the Sergeant doesn’t scare me. She just sort of tires me with all those manners and fancy words, but well, mum says it’s a good chance to learn some.” He shrugged his broad shoulder and we both sat on the bed. “Where is River? Not here yet?”

“Going to pick him up now, so see you in few.”

“Wow, so River is the princess? Ahahaha…so going to have fun on teasing him… ahahhaa… but wait, how does it work for you two?” I snapped my head at him with my mouth hanging open catching flies. You would think I’d be completely used to his bluntness, but uhm well, he still knew how to surprise me.

“Dima, I don’t need to know that…it’s my brother.” I gasped. Nic just chuckled and winked.

“What kitty? Just asking, I’m curious, I mean, it’s impossible to pull out something from my buddy.”

“Well, let’s say we have a very balanced relationship.” He simply said.

“Oh man I knew it.” Dima shook his head and then looked at me and oh boy, I should have seen that coming. “You sure Jas you don’t want to switch and want to wait more? Cos I’m pretty sure you’re going to be awesome.” I pressed both of my hands on his mouth and I think I was about to burst for the blushing.

“Oh shut up, Dima.” Then I turned to my brother. “You just go get River.” He chuckled very amused making me blush harder, if that was possible, and winking he left the room. “You are terrible.” I gasped, releasing his mouth.

“Terribly in love with you, babe. But hey, you feel better, don’t you?” I blinked at him like a silly and then realized what he had just done. “When you jumped on me before, you seemed very nervous, so sorry Jas, I know I lack tact in these things, but that’s the best I could think of and hmm..”

I stopped his talking with a really deep and long kiss. He was just so incredible and the way he always understood how I felt was wonderful. So not caring anymore about our elegant suits and blazers, I let my tongue slip in his mouth and took immediate control over his and in the meanwhile I pushed him down and straddled his legs. In an instant his hands where on me and his growls rumbled in his throat…the kiss deepened and our lips moved hungrier, while my hands locked on his hair and we simply couldn’t stop, but after long minutes he pulled away.

“Ok Jas, I believe going downstairs and sporting a raging hard-on will not help the deal, so wow…let me calm down before I consider having a quickie with you.”

He pushed both of us sitting up and when he eased the neck of his shirt, I couldn’t help the giggling.

“Sorry tiger, but you are just so...oh boy, I love you so much.”

“Same here, Jasper. You know I’m totally gone for you.” He smiled and eased the neck of the shirt again. “Will your mother mind if I’m not wearing a tie? It’s really annoying me.”

“Nope, she won’t mind, at least not for the tie. I am not wearing one, too, so..”

“Good God, thanks.”

Now we all stood at the table and our forks and knives almost dropped at our plates when mother stood up in evident state of shock and planted her accusing and cold eyes first on me and Dima and then on River and Nic.

“What did you say Nicholas? Repeat it because I am sure what your words meant was something different.”

Dad sighed shaking his head; he looked tired and went to say something to her, but my brother stopped him.

“What you heard was correct, mother. I said that River is my boyfriend and that I officially introduce him to you and father.” His voice was firm and calm, as usual, and his eyes were on my mother’s with evident determination.

“What?” She hissed. “This is not a mere matter of childish teenagers, as I am positive that Jasper will realize soon how this … thing he was with the Denisov’s son is not appropriate and correct. You are both Lucas and you shall marry and do as our family expects from you. I shall not tolerate more of this non-sense coming from you of all, Nicholas and who is this young man? Who are the Kelley and what his family does? I never heard of them and I shall not tolerate a complete..”

“This is enough.” Nic thundered, clenching his fists and his jaws. I never saw him that mad, uhm well; I never saw my brother angry or mad at all to be precise, as it wasn’t in his nature. And now he was livid. “I will not spend another minute in this house hearing you insulting River and then my brother and his relationship with Dmitri. And learn to use proper words, mother. What Jasper and Dmitri have is not a “thing”, but is a real and deep relationship as they love each other.”

“Love? You call this inappropriate same sex business love? It is wrong and immoral, and it is completely embarrassing and whenever people ask me about your future plans, I have to lie all the time.” I widened my eyes and grip the border of the table at hearing those words, gritting my teeth; I almost sprang up, but dad spoke first.

“Adelle-Grace.” His tone of voice was not hard nor loud, but sure severe and strong. He stood up and walked to mother. “Adelle-Grace dearest, this has to stop and I am the one not tolerating more of this.”

“Why, why you changed so much, darling? We always agreed on everything and you as well opposed to this just few months ago. Why now? It was your doing, wasn’t it?” She accused me, obviously and Dima immediately placed a protective arm around my shoulders, but I didn’t flinch or anything, as my eyes simply stared back at her face firmly and fiercely. Her good and polite manners were slowly crumbling down and I sure did not miss it.

“Silence at once.” This time dad had all of us swallowing down. It was the first time he had raised his voice so much and sounded so harsh and imperative. “That is enough. Jasper and Nicholas are our sons and I came to realize that with this system of life, I almost lost them and that we were no more than mere strangers. Have you ever thought about what happened to Mrs. Henderson’s son? What if that happened to Jasper? He came to us many times seeking for help and we always told him what? Not a single word of compassion. Do you understand what I am saying, Adelle? We have not being parents to them.”

Mother had paled down and she was trembling and for the first time I was worried she would collapse or have some major mental shock; her composure and usual cold polite façade was about to crumble and break into some hysterical outburst and that was clear from the way her eyes quickly darted from face to face and how her fingers trembled. Mother was shivering. I think I never witnessed to that before and neither did Nic. We exchanged a look and dad guided mum to sit down again.

“Darling, we are not all trying to act against you, but I am trying to make you understand how we want to change the system of life we used to have. It was so arid and cold and we know so little about our own sons, don’t you agree? Yes, they love someone of the same sex and I personally needed time to comprehend the whole situation, but once I decided to put aside my prejudices and doubts and tried to get closer to them, I saw nothing of wrong or immoral. Jasper has become stronger and happier thanks to Dmitri, and Nicholas has for the first time introduced to us a person he loves. I had the chance to get closer to their friends and they are all very nice and capable young men. River is intelligent and a straight A student and plays hockey with Dmitri and both are very skilled.  Dmitri has many qualities and not just because he is the son of the Denisov.”

Mother said nothing for a long moment and then looked at all of us and we all heard that silent, but at the same time very loud “click” snapping in her mind. The entire world in which she lived and where she barricaded had been knocked down and we no more let her intimidate us or dictate over our lives. I should have straightened my back before, but uhm well, I guess now was the right time.

“What are you talking about, Edward? That we should just accept their relationships, as you all call them, and close our eyes and ears pretending all is fine? Two members of the country club do not talk to me anymore when it came out from Mrs. Valentine that my son is … is … I cannot use that word, as I refuse to acknowledge it. Do you understand what I am saying, Edward? We have duties in society and they come before anything else. It embarrasses me to think about our sons and Jasper in particular, whit his stupid and absolutely unsuitable behaviors for someone of his status. I have no idea how to face some people out there. And this all because of some ridiculous phase and because they want something immoral and wrong; Mrs. Henderson’s son got what he deserved and if our son would have kept his mouth shut, nobody would have thought of bullying him at school.”

Many things happened when she dared to utter such words.

Dima growled and I felt the anger coming from him, the grip on my shoulder getting stronger and stronger and probably trying his best to contain himself.

River and Nic widened their eyes in complete horror, River in particular staring at mother as if debating whether hit her or not, and Nic shot up to say something and same for Dima, but I reacted faster than everybody, as her words had hit me so badly and so painfully that tears of anger and resentment rolled down from my eyes and my entire body trembled violently.

I sprang up and it was so sudden and harsh that the chair fell down and hit the floor and my voice was just as furious and agitated as my inner state; blood was rushing so fast and so were my emotions that my breathing came out in convulsed and erratic gasps.

“What did you say? Are you crazy or what? Travis deserved what he got? Take it back immediately!” I was so angry, I was so shocked, so ashamed to hear such words from my own mother, I was so mad and … oh boy, I wanted to slap her for what she said. How could she even conceive such ideas? “You saw the video, you saw what happened and it had nothing to do with Travis being gay and even if it had to do with that, what? What are you trying to say? Travis saved my ass that day. Take it back immediately!! Apologize!!”

“How dare you speak to me with such tone, Jasper Lucas? How dare you tell me what to do? Travis is a bad influence and example for you, but I tolerate his presence only because of his mother’s position and his own attitudes are to blame and nothing else.”

“What??” I screamed, feeling a hand on my shoulder.

Mother stood up and then …

SLAP.

We all froze there and not a word left our mouths.

My dad had slapped mother on her face and was clenching his jaws in a hard line, his expression impossible to read for how much it was dark and tense. He had never hit any of us and I believe they never had such argument, but today it wasn’t just a normal argument and the words she used…oh boy, I would never forgive her for what she said.

“Adelle-Grace, this has reached and surpassed the limit and spare me your tears. You deserve no right to cry. Did you hear yourself right now or not? And don’t give me the convenient excuse of what the Bible says, because you are not even religious. You go to church only because that is what you have been told to do. I cannot tolerate having my wife and the mother of my sons uttering such unforgivable words. You will apologize and I swear to God, things are going to change in this damn house starting from now and if you cannot accept it and try to understand it, then leave. And that’s my final word.”

“Wh-what…?” She simply whispered.

DMITRI POV

What Jasper’s mother just said about Travis and about MY boyfriend had me go almost freaking berserk. My palms itched and my entire body shivered for the anger coursing in my veins, making my blood pump faster and making me growl in the very sheer attempt to control myself and not to jump on her and punch her damn face. Jasper deserved getting bulled by that piece of crap of Collins only because he was gay? She was out of her freaking mind. Only thinking about that had me see red and breathe harder; I felt the urge of punching those bastards once again. My kitty deserving such crap? She must be under some drug to bullsh!t so much. Jas deserved only love and happiness, because he was just so incredible and … argh… I was so damn mad right now with that woman.

So every gay student or teenager deserved the load of sh!t they had to stand just because of their sexual preferences? Travis deserved that? Good for her Sasha wasn’t here or else he would have snapped big hell time.

I felt Jas trembling and when I peeked at him, he had tears in his eyes, his face a mask of pain, anger and so many other feelings that punched me in my guts and had my sense of protection hit its maximum berserk level.; my legs almost sprang up ready to give his mother a piece of my mind for what she was making my boyfriend feel, but I had no time.

Jasper jumped up so fast that the chair went kicked down; he slammed his palms on the table and his entire feature was trembling so much I was afraid he would crumble in pieces, but then his face…yeah, he had tears rolling down his eyes, but they were caused by the rage boiling in him. Those words touched a very sensitive nerve and as mother, she should have known better. The way his voice spoke made my heart clench and I let him vent out everything bottled inside, even though I wanted to hug him, but now it wasn’t the right time.

“What did you say? Are you crazy or what? Travis deserved what he got? Take it back immediately!” I never saw Jasper that mad and furious and judging by Nic and their father’s face, neither did them, but he needed to let it out. What she said was too much to let it pass like nothing. “You saw the video, you saw what happened and it had nothing to do with Travis being gay and even if it had to do with that, what? What are you trying to say? Travis saved my ass that day. Take it back immediately!! Apologize!!” He was yelling and crying at the same time and I took a deep breath to calm down. Getting worked up would do no good right now. I calmly stood up and moved right at his side.

“How dare you speak to me with such tone, Jasper Lucas? How dare you tell me what to do? Travis is a bad influence and example for you, but I tolerate his presence only because of his mother’s position and his own attitudes are to blame and nothing else.”

“What??” He screamed and shivered more and I placed a strong hand on his shoulder, squeezing to let him know I was there and to calm him down a bit. Jas somehow felt it and slightly relaxed leaning closer to me.

I shot a hard glare at his mother and she sneered at seeing us together and went on her feet, going to do I had no idea what, because what came after that, man, damn shocked all of us. Not a freaking sound went out after that rather hard slap. Mr. Lucas had probably reached his limit and understood that talking would do no more and it was evident his wife had gone under some moronic hysterical state. I swear it, she looked possessed, no kidding here.

When Mr. Lucas talked I gulped down, ‘cause man, he never gave me the impression of having that inside of him, but he just blew me off. He shut her up for good and gave her an ultimatum; Jasper stiffened at hearing that, because it wasn’t what he wanted, I mean, losing one of his parents and he was just so awesome. Even if that woman spewed a lot of crap and deserved probably more than just a slap, my kitty hoped she would change her mind and finally open her eyes. He longed for a happy family and it gave me so much pain realizing I could do nothing at the moment for him. Sure, I could bang his mother’s head against a wall until her idiocy and rotten self would disappear completely, but well, that was it and not so positive the wall would resist at her damn moronic head.

I groaned frustrated. What was in my power to help Jasper in this moment? There must be something I could do, right? Well, for a start, I swore to give him the most awesome, sweet, full of love and perfect life ever in the future and I’d be damn if I wasn’t going to keep my word.

Mrs. Lucas collapsed on the chair holding her cheek and then she broke down, beginning to cry and rant out incoherent words and she left the room. We all stood there few seconds without saying a damn word and Mr. Lucas sighed out completely tired and exhausted, passing a hand in his hair and shaking his head.

“I apologize for what just happened, especially to you River and to you Dmitri. I had no idea my wife had such strong feelings about this whole matter and I never expected her to react in such way. Nicholas, Jasper, I apologize for hitting your mother, but I am not sorry, as she needed it to come back to her senses. Do not worry, I am not chasing her out of here; aside we cannot have such show, it is not the solution, but she might need some time alone. If you’ll excuse me, I will go and talk to her.”

He went to leave the room and it hit it. Yeah, that could be done and who gave a damn about what she could say to me.

“Excuse me, sir. May I come with you a moment?” I asked.

“Dima?” Jasper snapped his head at me, looking completely bewildered. My kitty…he went through so much today. I cupped his face and gave his forehead and then his nose and his lips tender and full of love kisses. He relaxed more and rested his head on my chest for a moment and I stroked his hair.

“Hey Jas, I’ll be back in two minutes, ok?” He just sighed and I quickly looked at River and Nic and both nodded. “Wait for me here, k baby?”

Mr. Lucas had waited for me outside the dining room and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“I am not sure what will come out of this, but I understand you and appreciate what you do for my son. You truly care for him.”

“Sir, I don’t just care about Jasper; I love him and I am serious. I know people think I’m a dense idiot and moron and that my feelings cannot be this strong and that I’m just nineteen, but damn, I love Jasper and I swear I want to spend my life with him.”

He considered my words and then smiled; it was a thin and tired smile, but it was sincere and warm.

“Jasper is lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one, believe me.” I immediately said, because that’s how things were here. I had been damn lucky to find someone like Jasper and having him loving me.

This time he smiled less tense and we walked to another room, something that was probably another studio or the hell I knew; there were so many rooms in this freaking place, more than my house. Mrs. Lucas was in there and she was still crying and when she saw me, well, that sure didn’t make things any better.

“What are you doing here?” She hissed and her husband tensed, but I shrugged and after looking at the two of us, he left the room.

So I was alone with Cruella De Vil, how sweet.

“I am here to talk to you ma’am, and I hope to make understand that what Jasper and I have isn’t a phase, but something really serious. I love your son and he loves me and I freaking can’t understand why you have to be such a strict and annoying stuck-up snob with him and Nic. They are both awesome and Jasper in just the best person out there; he is brave, smart, generous, sensitive, a smartass student, serious about his duties and such a warm and understanding person.”

“How dare you? I shall call you parents immediately.” I rolled my eyes at that; right, as if they would care about this. My mother would probably want to slap her too. “I don’t need to hear such things from..”

“Oh shut the f*ck up for once.” I snapped.

Ops, maybe I went a bit overboard. She widened her eyes and her face went from pale to bright red.

“I am sorry, Mrs. Lucas, I didn’t mean to snap and sound rude, but it’s not like these kinds of talk are my forte. I am here because I love Jasper and it hurts me to see him suffering that much. You know, anyone out there would just hate a parent like you, but he doesn’t. Jas just wants to have a normal and warm family and nothing more; he is willing to give you so many chances and you are just too damn blind and obsessed with a load of crap to see it. That’s what happened with his dad; they are not turning their back at you, they are freaking trying to be real son and father.”

Now I was pacing back and forth, because even if I sure wasn’t someone to lose my cool that easily, well, this woman sure knew how to tick me off.

“You know what he did for me and my family? He somehow made that idiot of my brother realize how idiotic and wrong what he was doing was. I’m not going to annoy you with the details, as you should know already that Anatoly had beaten Jasper two years ago and not because he was gay, but because he happened to be having fun with his friend and that bastard was there with that damn gang; well the idiot left the gang and Jasper found him and you know what he did? He didn’t turn his back, but stayed there and called for help and kept always with me. I missed my brother and so did my family and my parents are so grateful to Jasper you have no idea; good God, it pisses me off so much to think at what you said about him and Travis deserving that. Are you for real? Did you see the video? Collins is just a sick piece of crap that deserves nothing but to rot in jail. Jasper helped Travis that day by keeping his cool and searching for help and then he helped him by staying beside him. Can’t you see how amazing is your own son?”

Damn, how could she be so blind and so stuck-up! Man, she was beyond infuriating. But something bugged me, and I had to ask it; when she churned out all of that bull, it seemed to me she didn’t exactly believe in that. It was as if she was “programmed” to say that, if you see what I mean.

“Can I ask you something, Mrs. Lucas?” She only looked at me in some state of shock or bewildered daze. Crap, I hope she wasn’t going to go all crazy or collapse or anything of the sort. “Do you really believe in everything you said before? Cos, you sounded like a programmed drone, no offense. Status is really so important? Yeah, someone out there might not like that your sons are gay, so what? Even our president is in favor of gay marriage and rights and so who gives a crap about what few stuck-up snobs think. Take my dad, for example. Anatoly is gay and technically I am too, but the fact is that I am gay only for Jasper and never had any idea before and so…alright, that’s not the point, I mean, not what I wanted to say. So what I had to say is that dad doesn’t care about that. His partners in business and clients don’t care if we are gay; what they care is profit and I believe same goes for Mr. Lucas. I wish I could say something about Nic, too, because I really like my future brother in law.”

Ops, it slipped out, but you know me, man. At those words her eyes went so wide just like her mouth that I feared for real she would explode or something.

“What did you just say?” Oh c’mon, why making such a big deal? How many gay married couples were out there with kids? A lot.

“What’s so strange? I love Jasper and no matter what you think, I’m going to marry him one day and have a family with him and you can accept it or not. What I wanted to say is that Nic is awesome too and brilliant and made a career with his own resources and capabilities and he’s lucky to have a guy like River, believe me, and his family is awesome, too.” Right, I needed a dictionary here, as it seemed I knew only the adjective “awesome”. Whatever.

“Do you realize what you are saying?” She asked. “To marry..”

“Yeah and I’m serious. You know, I’d die for Jasper and I am not saying it just to impress you, because we both know I don’t care about that, it’s just not me trying to look good in front of people like you. I’d give my life for Jasper, but what about you, Mrs. Lucas, would you do the same?”

Man, the question just came out of the blue, but she got me so annoyed. And I mean, of course I’d die for my kitty, didn’t need to think twice about that. I mean, Sasha was the same about Travis and he pretty much already proved it. But apparently that shocked big hell time Jasper’s mother, given the way she eyed me and the way she paled down, looking almost green.

“Err, Mrs. Lucas, are you ok?” Now I wasn’t so sure about that…her face didn’t have a good look and her breathing was clearly irregular. “Maybe I can get you some water or something else. Ok, going to get it.”

“Wait a moment.” She said in a barely audible whisper, keeping her eyes on her hands laced over her laps, and without saying a word for probably few minutes. I swear, I was beginning to freak out here. When she finally spoke again, our glances never crossed, but it was fine with me. “Are you serious when you say that?” No need to ask her what that was.

“Yes I am.” I answered without hesitation. She said nothing, just kept staring at her hands and I felt there was no more to say, aside one last thing. “Jasper is the most incredible person and he deserves love and happiness and people loving him, and not what you said. You know, he might be very angry and upset now and think he’ll never forgive you for those words, but I know he will forgive you and will give a second chance; even a third and a fourth and whatever. It just depends on you now and Mr. Lucas is a man I highly respect and he already understood what amazing sons he has. Well, ma’am, that’s all I had to say; now I will go see how Jasper is.”

I looked at her, but she said nothing and her face seemed less green, so I left the room with the intention of bringing back some water, but Nic and River where there.

“Hey guys, what you doing here?”

“We want to talk to my mother, as she needs to understand we are not conspiring against her or making some coalition to have her out of this family. We just happened to finally meet at the same page and need the same thing. A real family and I believe sooner or later she will realize that; dad will not leave her alone, even if he sounded so harsh before.” Nic kept a strong grip on River’s hand and I saw how my friend stood beside him with determination and firm stance. Yeah, they sure had a very balanced relationship, but I felt it was the same for me and Jasper.

“Yeah, I hope so. Err, where is Jasper? He is not alone, right?”

“Don’t worry, Dima. He is with his father.” River said winking at me. “He’s waiting for you.”

I just nodded and grinned. Yep, my kitty was waiting for me.

And when I walked back to the dining room, the moment I stepped inside Jasper jumped at my neck and hugged me very tightly.

“Dima, I love you so much.” He murmured.

“And I love you like crazy, too, monkey.”

His father smiled at me again and left us alone, placing when he walked to the door a hand on my shoulder and communicating me with his eyes a silent “thank you”; I simply nodded and when he closed the door, I sat on a chair with Jas on my laps.

“How do you feel, baby?”

“Uhm well…so tired after that discussion…I want to talk to her later, because I believe that what she said wasn’t what she really thinks, uhm well, I mean, oh boy…” He exhaled and my arms wrapped around him stronger as to shield him from the world. My boyfriend wasn’t tired, but exhausted. “Boy, she got me so angry before, but don’t know how to explain it, I cannot believe that..boy..sorry, tiger, I..”

I silenced him with a soft kiss.

“Shh, got what you mean, kitty, no need to explain.” His chocolate eyes stared at mine first intently and with a serious look, but then cracked in a super sweet and beautiful smile and I probably answered with a dofus-looking huge grin. I loved him so much and damn…I was so whipped..his smile would just take me anywhere. He pecked my lips and we stared at each other in calm silence for a moment, while he stroked my hair and I rubbed his back.

“Thank you, Dima. You know, I am sure that some day she will understand, it’s just a feeling and maybe it’s not right and silly, but it’s what I feel.”

“It’s not silly and I think you’re right.” I didn’t need to tell him what we talked about before, but when she asked me that last question, something crossed her face and I saw it, even if she didn’t look directly at my eyes. “Sooner or later she’ll drop that snobbish stuck-up attitude of her.”

My kitty giggled at my words and gave me another super sweet smile and kiss.

“Uhm, Dima?”

“What is it?”

“I think three would be perfect.” I arched my brows not understanding what he meant and he simply giggled and nuzzled my ear with his nose and then I got it.

“Three? For real?”

“Yep and a girl for sure and they’ll learn both English and Russian and how to play hockey and do skateboard and then…”

I captured his face in my hands and claimed his lips for a very intense kiss. Man…I loved him so much and couldn’t wait for the day I could ask him to be my husband and I knew he was right; our kids were going to have all four grandparents spoiling and fussing about them.

JASPER POV:   -WEEKS LATER-

Many weeks passed after that particular dinner and boy, at first the tension in the house was so thick and heavy that it almost suffocated me, but after a while it lightened up and dad spent time with mum and they agreed she needed a long vacation and right now she was staying with her sister in some small city up in the Maine and uhm, probably we all needed that break. Issues eased down also with Nic and River and whenever my brother came back, River would have dinner or lunch here and the five of us would watch games together.

One day I called her “mum” instead of “mother” and I was ready for her remark, but it never came and she simply answered to me; when it happened a second time and again she said nothing against it, I took it as a good sign. She also asked me how Travis was doing in London and in which college Dima had applied. It was a very small step, but it was better than nothing.

Oh boy…Travis.

I missed him so much, but after what happened during that dinner we talked a lot and he told me not to be mad for what she said, as according to him, my mother said those things just out of resentment and frustration; I think he was right and Dima thought the same. Actually, all of us had the same idea, even if at first it really angered us very much. Now I was deciding what to bring with me in London, as it was about time to go visit my friend and spend a week with him; my tiger said he was going to miss me, but then he grinned and asked me to bring him back some cookies and cheese we had there in July. Uhm well, yep…in July we all went to visit Travis and Alex and boy, he showed me the ring Alex gave him; it was beautiful!

My cell phone rang and I jumped out of my skin, because I was lost in my thoughts.

“Hey kitty, what are you up to? Mind if I come over?”

“Dima, I was thinking about you! Sure, come over, we can go skateboard a bit or swim, it’s so hot today.”

“Yeah, well…then open the door, I’m already here, sorry, couldn’t resist.” 

I giggled and shook my head; he was simply irresistible.

“Coming tiger, just a second.”

When I opened the door I jumped at his neck and immediately kissed him. We were completely alone, aside Maria in the kitchen, and so we lost ourselves in a very long and deep kiss and pulled away after long minutes.

“Oh baby, I love when you greet me like this.” He grinned and stroked my nose with his. “Guess what? I finally convinced that dofus of Tolya and tomorrow he’s coming with us.”

“Really?” Dima nodded and you couldn’t miss the huge happy smile he had. “Uhm well, I hope he’ll like the movie.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll shut up anyway, given Sasha will be there.” He winked and pecked my lips and then my cell phone rang again.

“Boy, who’s this?” I looked at the number, but couldn’t recognize it.

“Uhm, hello?”

“Hello Jasper, it is me, your mother.”

“Uhm..oh…mum, hello. Dad is not at home, but I will tell him that you called and..”

“I know your father is at work right now; I just called to ask you when are you leaving for London?”

I blinked several times and Dima smiled wrapping his arms around me; he had overheard the conversation.

“Uhm, I am flying next Monday.”

“I see. Give my regards to Mrs. Henderson.”

“Ok, I will..” I hesitated a moment, not sure whether to ask her or not, but… “Mum, how are you?”

She kept silent for a long moment and then spoke with quiet voice.

“I am better, thank you. Here is very calm and I have time to properly think.” I had no idea what else to say at the moment, as I wasn’t used to have normal conversations with her. “Well, Jasper. I have to go, make sure to behave in an appropriate way once with your friend in London.”

I almost rolled my eyes at the word “appropriate”, but I did not, since this time it had a different sound.

“Sure, I will. Mum? Take care.”

Again another long pause.

“Thank you, you too.”

She ended the conversation and I stared at the phone.

“What did she say in the end? I didn’t get it.” Dima asked me.

“Uhm, that over there is calm and so she has time to think about everything and to behave in an appropriate way once in London with Travis.” He burst out laughing and after a moment I began to giggle at the sound of that.

“Oh man, she’ll never drop it, I swear, she never will.”

“Uhm, yep, she never will.”

He stopped laughing and pulled me completely pressed against his body with a strong hug.

“But she’s thinking about stuff and that’s already good, so you’ll see, someday she’ll finally give up and call me son in law.” We both chuckled and smiled and oh boy, we sure were a silly couple in love.

But yep, he sure was right.

Author's chit-chat:

So, were you expecting that sort of confrontation between Jasper and his family or not? I think Dima had been wonderful, don't you agree? What do you think will happen in the future? Will she change or not?

I dropped a couple of hints for the two future stories to come and I think I will first write Anatoly and Oleg story :-)

Next chapter...I say only this: we will have a time skip and ... won't add more. After ch.31 is the epilogue! But don't worry, we'll still see our kitty and tiger in the future stories :-)

Updating in few days, really!

Until next time xox