S2 Episode 2

Duke and Victoria's Second First Date

Welcome to Trainwrecks: Season 2 (2005-2006)! If you haven’t read Season 1, please start there! Trainwrecks is a free-to-read fiction serial that follows a group of six Seattle-adjacent friends from the year 2004 to the year 2015. Join Luna Cruz, Sebastian Velasquez, Dimitri and Victoria Hale, Duke Kingston, and Jasmine Nolan as they stumble their way from adolescence to adulthood, falling in love, making mistakes, overcoming their pasts, and staying together through it all.

For series introduction, character profiles, relationship charts, and general orientation, check out the Table of Contents!

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Victoria sat in the passenger seat of her father’s car, hands in her lap, leg bouncing up and down. She wore a cardigan over a ruffled dress, leggings, and a pair of short black boots with studded heels that she’d found in her mother’s closet. Beside her, James Hale stared ahead, his mouth set into a grim line. He was grumpy. She could tell. But surely, he must have known that his daughter would start dating eventually. So what if she’d started a little early?

“You said his parents will be home the entire time?” he asked.

“Yes, Dad. They’re not going to leave us unattended.” Victoria rolled her eyes.

His frown deepened. “You are not to go into any of the bedrooms, is that understood?”

She groaned and gave him a despairing look. “Dad.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” he said as his grumpiness gave way to awkwardness. “But hormones—”

“Please!”

“—are powerful drugs, and before you know it, you could be in a situation you never anticipated—”

“Oh my God.”

“—and believe me, it will be incredibly difficult to say no.” He pulled into the circular driveway of the Kingston family’s mansion. “Right then, here we are.”

Victoria all but dove out of the car. “Thanks for the advice! Love you! See you at nine!” she cried before she slammed the door shut, ran to the mansion’s wrought iron entrance, and rang the bell. She took advantage of the reflection in the sidelight to fix her hair, which she’d spent an indecent amount of time on, and to make sure no mascara flakes dotted her cheeks. She chided herself for feeling so nervous. It wasn’t like she’d never been to Duke’s house. And it wasn’t like they hadn’t been on dates, either. They’d gone to the movies and hung out at Luna and Sebastian’s house before he and his family left for Hawaii. It was just her first time visiting the Kingston mansion since they’d gotten together. She wanted to make a good impression.

The door opened, revealing Mrs. Kingston in a sheath gown and three-inch stilettos, still tanned from her month in Hawaii. It never failed to impress Victoria that this was how she dressed in her own home. “Victoria, hello!” she cried, swooping down to give her a kiss on each cheek. “Come in!” She waved at James, who hadn’t driven away yet.

Victoria stepped into the foyer just as Duke appeared at the top of the curved staircase. He slid down the banister and landed between her and his mother with enough momentum to almost send him sprawling. “Thanks, Mom, I’ll take it from here…!”

Mrs. Kingston asked him something in French, to which he gave a short response, to which she replied with a rapid stream of words that Victoria, with her very limited knowledge of French, found impossible to keep up with. Duke’s face went beet red, and he let out a petulant “Maman!” before smacking his forehead with one hand and waving towards the living room with the other. “We’re hanging out in here tonight,” he said.

“I’ll get you two some refreshments!” Mrs. Kingston said with all the enthusiasm of a gracious host.

Victoria slipped her hand into Duke’s as they followed her deeper into the house. “What was that all about?” she asked.

“She said there’s no way we’re going upstairs and that no son of hers is getting a girl pregnant under her roof,” Duke grumbled.

Victoria’s face reddened. “Ah.”

They sat on the couch in the Kingstons’ opulent living room. Another couch and two loveseats surrounded a large glass coffee table that appeared to have been custom made. Two thick photography books decorated the table, one about the Beatles, the other about Paris. A huge television occupied the space above a wood-burning fireplace, and a pile of logs sat beside it, ready for winter.

“So Victoria, did you and your family do anything fun in August?” Mrs. Kingston asked as she strutted in carrying a silver tea tray that must have cost a fortune.

“Nothing as fun as Hawaii,” Victoria replied. “My mum started writing another novel. We almost couldn’t pull her away for Dimitri’s birthday dinner.”

“She works hard!”

“It’s an obsession. When she’s drafting, my brother has to make sure the bills get paid on time.” She tried to remember what else they’d done. A whole lot of hanging out at Luna’s place, lamenting Duke’s absence and decoding his text messages for layered meaning. “Oh! My father and I went up the Space Needle. It was my first time.”

Mrs. Kingston beamed at her. “Lovely view, isn’t it? I can’t get my husband up there. He’s terrified of tall buildings.” She pushed the tea tray across the coffee table. “Please, drink! This is a raspberry soda of my own making. No alcohol, of course.”

Victoria picked up one of the glasses and took a sip. It was delicious, the perfect blend of sweet and tart. Duke had told her mixing drinks was a hobby of his mother’s. But before she could give her compliments to the bartender, Mr. Kingston entered from the backyard, covered in grass clippings and sweat. “Oh honey,” he said to his wife, “don’t tell me you’re interrogating this poor girl.”

“I am just making conversation!” Mrs. Kingston protested.

Mr. Kingston winked at Victoria. “Good to see you again,” he said, then turned back to his wife. “Leave them alone. They’re entitled to a bit of privacy.”

“I disagree,” his wife replied with a cold smile.

“You gon’ leave me with no choice, babe.” He advanced towards the living room, and Mrs. Kingston’s eyes widened in horror.

“Do not touch me with your sweaty—!”

But it was too late. Mr. Kingston picked his wife up with a triumphant roar, carrying her like a princess even as she kicked and screamed and complained about how bad he smelled. But she was laughing at the same time, and Victoria allowed herself to giggle as well. She’d never seen her parents do anything romantic with each other, and the adoration between Mr. and Mrs. Kingston made her heart yearn for an atmosphere like that in her own home. “Alright kids,” he said, “I can keep her distracted for ten, maybe twenty minutes.” And then he gave Duke such a powerful glare that Victoria flinched. “Be a gentleman,” he growled.

Duke tossed his arms in the air like he couldn’t believe anyone doubted his intentions. They both watched his father carry his mother upstairs, then Duke grabbed Victoria’s hand and pulled her off the couch. “Well, you heard the man,” he said as he led her towards the back door.

Victoria followed, giddy with delight. They ran through the outdoor kitchen and around the side of the house, where the scent of cut grass was strongest and there were no windows his parents could spot them from. Once tucked behind a hedge, Duke’s mouth crashed down on hers. She slipped her arms around his neck, kissing him back just as eagerly. When they broke apart a few minutes later, he rested his forehead against hers and ran his hands up and down her waist. “I’ve been wanting to do that all week,” he said.

Victoria’s blush deepened. “Me too,” she confessed, and had the pleasure of seeing him smile. She loved his smile; low grade irritation was his default mood, and the fact that she could make him look so happy was a source of pride for her.

“Sorry about my mom.”

“She’s just being a mum.”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t have to be so annoying about it.” He led her back to the outdoor kitchen and patio space, where they sat on a swinging bench facing the rest of the backyard. Beyond the property line, the waters of Lake Washington could be heard lapping against the neighbor’s private dock, and the air was thick with the scent of water. The setting sun’s reflection turned the swimming pool gold. Victoria tucked into Duke’s side, warm and content despite the chill in the air.

They talked for hours about everything and nothing in particular, from her childhood in London to his vacation in Hawaii. His voice softened when he spoke of his grandmother, and Victoria did not miss the affection there. “You’d think she was in middle school, the way she teased me about you,” he grumbled, but there was no real heat behind it.

“You told your grandmother about me?” She had seen a picture of her in the house somewhere: a tall, strong Hawaiian woman with dark skin, graying hair, and tattoos up and down her arms.

Duke’s face grew considerably redder. “Well, yeah.” He fidgeted a little. “She thinks you’re pretty.”

Victoria felt as if she’d passed a test she hadn’t studied for. “Good.” She wanted to ask him what else he’d said about her, but was it too early in the relationship to tease him like that? She decided to switch topics instead. “Ms. Deerhorn had me sign up for a regional piano competition in a few weeks.”

“Didn’t you have one of those in spring?”

“Yes, and I did quite well. But the more I can fit on my Juilliard application, the better.”

“Wow,” Duke said, “trying to be as prepared for senior year as possible, huh? You and Luna are the biggest overachievers I know.”

Victoria turned to look at him. “No, this year.” He gave her a blank look. “I’m applying for Juilliard’s Pre-College Program, remember?” They continued to stare at each other until the light went on in his eyes.

“Oh, right,” he said. “When is that again?”

Victoria sank back against his side. “December is the deadline to send in the pre-audition video. If I’m selected, then I’ll have to fly to New York at the end of February for the in-person audition.”

“And if you pass that, you’ll be moving to New York City next year.”

She tried to ignore the little pang of sorrow in her chest. “I did tell everyone…” But back then, she hadn’t been thinking about Duke. She hadn’t been thinking about boys at all. When she’d allowed herself to daydream about love, she’d always pictured herself as an already established adult, a professional pianist whose partner would bring her roses after concerts. How would she have guessed that she’d be in a relationship in her sophomore year of high school?

She had something—someone—to lose now. And when it came to Duke and Juilliard, she couldn’t imagine letting go of either of them…

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Author’s Note: R.I.P. James, he really didn’t want to have that conversation with his teenage daughter.

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