by Raven Crow
“Yes—I guess that will work. Is there a private way into the back so no one will see us?”
“Yes there is a way that we can get in privately. Follow me, Jo.” I put my cell phone in my pocket before grabbing her hand. I smiled at her before stealing a kiss.
Chapter 23
Pen
Somehow I ended up enjoying myself so much that I forgot what I was there for. Sax had the most unique and entertaining personality. The whole world easily fell away while I was with him.
“If you want we could go the Moreau Tribe wedding, it’s supposed to be a big party at Coupé’s Field?” Sax offered some suggestion for entertaining me.
The thought of going near anyone associated with the Moreau Tribe, however, chilled me to my bones.
“Nah, I’d rather be alone with you honestly. I’m not much for crowds.” I tossed a wink in there at the end and his face spread wide like an open-faced deli sub.
“Really, you are choosing boring old me over the biggest party in months?” He choked and I nodded, “Well shit… it’s my lucky day isn’t it then?”
“Let’s finish that tour shall we?” I asked while walking towards the back hall where his bedroom was. “The bedroom was next, right?”
“Yeah, yes the bedroom is next. You’re heading in the right direction.” His cheeks became flushed, it was cute.
Sax I had discovered was a straight forward type of guy. I liked that about him. No bullshit. No lies. No drama, until he brought me into his life. I was the worst thing for a guy like him but I had no choice. I had to do this whether it was right or wrong.
“Take your first right there.” He guided me from behind. I turned and walked into a gorgeous bedroom decorated in a Japanese theme right down to the mat bed made from bamboo.
“Fatto… my bedroom, what do you think? I wanted something simple yet elegant at the same time. I think I nailed the look I was going for.”
“I absolutely love it!” I meant every word. I could live here and be very happy, I think. “It’s perfect, both elegant and simple is right.” I turned to him and I had caused a huge smile to be plastered to his face.
“Really, you love it? Wow that’s a huge compliment coming from you Pen, thank you.”
“The compliment is fully earned, my friend.” I started to laugh and he joined me. “On second thought, Sax I will have that meal after all.”
“Alright done but I would love if you’d help me prepare it. It will be fun cooking together.” He said with an arch of his brow.
“Of course I will help with dinner.”
“Good you are in for a treat, gorgeous. Follow me.” We walked into the kitchen together. He flipped on the kitchen light since it had become dark outside. I followed him over to the sink as he began to wash his hands and I joined him. “I will give you the easy job; you can chop up the veggies.”
“Oh you trust me with a knife do you?” I giggled while grabbing the veggies out of the refrigerator.
“On second thought maybe I should—” he started to say but I took a knife from the cutting block before he could.
“Nope—I’m doing the chopping buddy.”
“Ok alright you do the chopping and I will get this fish ready.” He walked over to the refrigerator behind me and I quickly pulled out my cell phone and put on my audio recorder. He moved towards me and I hurried and placed my phone on its screen side down so he couldn’t see what I was doing.
“So how long have you lived here, Sax?” I asked while he joined me at the counter on the opposite side.
“I have lived here for three years now, I believe.”
“You have had a house since you were twenty-one years old, Sax? How the fuck did you pull that off?” I asked. I had nothing when I was twenty-one; I was genuinely impressed by his achievements.
“Lots of hard work coupled with time equaled out to all of this.” He answered. He glanced up at me while he worked on the fish fillets. “Your turn, why did you quit dancing Pen, you were so good at it?” He asked and my guts took at dive.
“Huh? I told you already. My life was very complicated back then and I made a bad decision by choosing a guy over myself. I will never make that mistake again.” He had no idea but his question fueled my cause; me and my family needed to come first this time.
“Hard work, that’s all you’re going to tell me? Come on what’s your secret, Sax how can I get a house like this?” I giggled to seem like I was playing around but I needed him to answer with some details or this whole thing was going to be for nothing.
“Ha ha… you will get there Pen just listen to me and Gio when we go for another run soon. In no time you will be sitting in piles of your own cash enough that you can buy any kind of house you want. I told you that I would help you make money so you wouldn’t have to struggle. Let’s see if we can make your life uncomplicated so that you can finally follow your dreams.”
Was he for real? Who was this kind and caring? I had to focus on my grandmother, her house and my future.
“I am looking forward to learning all that I can from you. When is our next run? Whatever happened to that guy, Pablo anyhow?”
“I am waiting on Gio to let me know when the next run is happening. Pablo is out of town as usual; apparently we pissed him off by not being there on time at the last run so now we are being punished. Don’t worry though Pablo will come around, he always does and then it will be back to business as usual.” He put the fish on a skillet and the air filled with the aroma. I took the opportunity while his back was turned to flip my phone over and stop the recording. I believed that I had recorded enough for now and the risk of him discovery what I was doing was too great.
“If you can help me to simplify my life Sax; then I’m all in, believe me.” I laughed. I wasn’t exactly sure what he had meant by that statement to begin with.
Chapter 24
Sax
Pen stood there chopping vegetables at my counter and although I played it cool on the outside on the inside I was just waiting to screw this up somehow. The fact that she had chose to stay in and be alone with me instead going out to gypsy wedding had me confused.
I kept my focus on the fish fillets that were grilling in front of me. How I had managed not to try and fuck on her by now was miracle. I had my back to her which helped me not thinking about wanting to undress her.
“Alright I am done chopping up all these vegetables. Do you need any help over here?” I heard her say as her hand reached around my chest from behind and she suddenly wrapped her arms around me. “Hmmm that smells great, Sax I’m very impressed that you know your way around the kitchen so well.”
I naturally placed my free hand on hers as she rested them on my chest. Honestly, that moment was the most natural and comfortable I’d ever felt around a female before.
“Oh thank you for your help with the veggies. I’m almost finished with these fillets. Could you grab a couple of plates from the cabinet above the sink?” I asked her and she quickly let go of me to fetch the plates. Before I could turn she was back with a plate in each hand. “Wow you are fast, Pen thank you.” I smiled at her as I plated the fillets, making sure to add the sauce from the pan on top of the fish. Her eyes widen as she watched me. Once I finished she skirted over to the table to set down our plates. I grabbed the bowl of veggies that she had prepared and joined her at the table.
“Well this looks amazing and just in time because now I am starved.” Pen joked as she sat down and I did too right next to her.
“It was a pleasure cooking with you. Now eat up, I want to know what you think.” I ordered as I placed a scoop of veggies onto her plate alongside the fish.
“With pleasure, thank you again for letting me drop by uninvited.” She gleamed up at me before biting into the fish.
“Pen you have a standing invitation to my house. Seriously, you are welcome anytime.” I stuck a bite into my mouth. I was surprised by how well the fish had turned out.
“Oh my Lord this is so amaz
ing, Sax I can’t believe that I almost didn’t accept your offer to cook earlier.” She took another bite placing her attention back on my cooking. I didn’t mind it actually made me happy to know that I could give her pleasure in more ways than one.
“I’m glad that you like it, it really wasn’t that hard to make you are being too generous with your praise.” It was the truth, grilled fish was quite simple for me to make and it wasn’t even one of my specialties. “I do appreciate you saying so though.”
She continued to devour the food while nodding at me. I didn’t understand my mind as I sat there eating with her, I shouldn’t have been but I was so turned on by her. It made no sense to me why now at the table all I could think was fucking her brains out right there on the table. It was so crass and crude to think about her like that. I was going to need a bigger distraction.
Pen’s cell phone buzzed from inside of her pocket loud enough for us both to hear. She grabbed it up, looked at the caller before quickly excusing herself from the table. She disappeared into the living room but I could sort of hear her talking still
[“We were just sitting down to eat dinner right now. I don’t think that would be very nice.” She said over the phone before pausing. “I think I can do that.” She sighed loudly like she was starting a race. “Yes—yes I will. I said I will do it. I have to go now. I will talk to you later.”]
Pen rounded the corner from the living room with a half smile on her face which didn’t quite match the call she’d just had.
“Is everything alright?” I asked but I really didn’t expect her to answer me.
“Oh everything is just fine. That was a friend of mine reminding me that I had promised to meet her new boyfriend later tonight at the wedding. Do you want to come with me?”
I was shocked by the sudden invite but happy for the great distraction.
“Sure I’d like that. Let me just change real quick and we can head on out.” I didn’t believe that was her friend that she was talking to before because of the tone in her voice. I might have believed that it was her sister or someone that one might have that type of tone with like a family member. I had hoped that Pen hadn’t somehow gotten herself into some kind of trouble. Maybe I was just being paranoid, I had no reason to not believe her it was just a gut feeling I had.
**
“Oh thank you so much for agreeing to come along with me. I really hate going to weddings as it is but a gypsy wedding is a whole another story.” She said as I stood to start cleaning. “Please let me take care of the mess. It’s the least I can do—just go get changed.” She graciously smiled while taking the plates off the table and walking them over to the sink.
I couldn’t help but feel like I was looking at the perfect future wife for me as I walked by her and that feeling was both exciting and terrifying.
Chapter 25
Jo
Don’t let go. Those were three simple words that rolled through my head over and over again. The night air was starting to get to me even with Gio holding my hand his warmth wasn’t working on me. I feared I was going to start shivering soon and I didn’t want him to feel bad.
Suddenly the sounds that we’d heard earlier started again this time they were right directly in front of us. Gio shined his cell phone flashlight on the trees where the sounds were coming from lighting the area up. Two shapes became clear as the light shined into the woods. The shapes appeared to be two people it seemed as they got closer to us.
“Stop shinning that damn light in our faces man, I can’t see shit!” It sounded like Sax’s voice from the woods.
“Who is that—is that you Saxon Danes?” Gio yelled out his friend’s full name while lowering the flashlight out of their eyes.
Two figures walked out of the woods towards us and I realized that it was Pen and Sax.
“What the hell are you out here in the dark for? Why didn’t you two walk down Main Street like everyone else?” Gio rambled off questions at Sax.
Sax simply chuckled at Gio as he and Pen joined us underneath what I was now calling “the wishing bottle tree”.
“What the hell are you doing out here underneath the bottle tree Gio? I could ask you the same question. Why aren’t you at the wedding?” Sax jumped into Gio’s face a little but in a playful way.
“We already went to the wedding it was super crazy in there.” Gio answered and I felt bad because it was me that had made him leave the wedding early.
“Oh good so things were starting to get lively then in there it sounds, me and Pen are on our way right now.” Sax said and he looked over at Pen from the side of his eye. It seemed cute that he couldn’t hide that interest he had for her.
I looked over at Gio to see what kind of reaction he had to what Sax had just said. Gio seemed to be rolling over the words he’d used for a few seconds and I was confused he’d always seemed so confident about his decisions until now.
“We can go with you two. I have no problem going back to the wedding.” I blurted out hoping to take some of the pressure off of Gio who seemed to really want to go with his friend but he just didn’t want to make me feel uncomfortable. “Come on Gio I’m ready to go back to the wedding if you want to.”
“Yes—I mean if you are sure that you don’t mind?” His huge brown eyes locked onto me as I nodded at him. “Ok then we will head to the wedding with the two of you.”
Going back to the tent took less time than the first time had and I wasn’t prepared for it. The music was twice as loud and the crowd had doubled. It looked more like an outdoor concert for a popular band instead of a wedding.
“Jo, are you sure that you are alright going back inside? Maybe we should find a spot outside underneath the moonlight. It isn’t as crowded outside in the field if we spread out from everyone.” Gio asked me in my ear as he must have noticed my eyes widen at the sight of all the people.
The moon had planted itself right above the tent in the center of the field as if on purpose. The field was completely lit up and alive with hyper people. The mood was different too, no one seemed to care about us as we walked through the crowd. I guess we had arrived too early before making us the center of attention but now the party was the main event and not us.
“This is actually quite nice. I feel like I am at an outdoor concert.” I admitted to Gio and he smiled at me while pulling me close by the waist. “I’m glad we decided to come back.”
“I am glad you are having a good time but I have to warn you that not all gypsy weddings go smoothly the whole night, there could be some drama at anytime so be prepared.” His eyes bounced around us at the others. I knew he was giving me some helpful advice but all I wanted was to bathe him in kisses.
“I will keep that in mind.” I leered back at him but I lost his attention to the crowd, something ahead of us seemed to have the people moving forward. “What’s up there ahead of us? Where is everyone moving to?”
“It is probably the wedding ceremony that everyone is moving towards. There’s no way that we all will be able to see the ceremony though. It is better if we just hang back here while that is going on.” He smiled while pulling me towards him so he could hold me in his arms. He wrapped his arms around the front of me so my back was facing him. I couldn’t lie; it felt amazing to be in his arms. “Look, let’s go over there and get warm by the bonfires.” He pointed and I spotted them and nodded.
There were several people with their backs to the bonfire but we stood closer to the raging flames. I hadn’t realized just how cold I had become until I started to warm back up with the help from the golden, rippling, warm of the fire.
“Why are there so many people at this wedding? Is the bride or the groom famous here or something?” My curiosity got to me and I asked.
“Not exactly famous but sort of because the bride is from the Moreau tribe and the groom is from our tribe. So there are two different gypsy tribes here right now hence the large crowd.
Chapter 26
Gio
I was pre
tty sure that no one that I knew had spotted us so far. I don’t know what I was thinking I wasn’t going to be able to keep my date with Jo secret from my dad, The King all night. He would eventually find out that I had brought her here.
I had lost sight of Sax and Pen earlier once we arrived. I’m assuming that the two of them are probably closer to where the ceremony is being performed.
“Hey where did your friend Sax go? Wasn’t he with that same pretty girl from the other night? Are they dating?” Jo asked me from underneath my arms. I had her hugged up in front of me while keeping us both warm by one of the bonfires.
“I lost sight of the two of them when we got here. I don’t know where he is but I bet that he is a lot closer to the ceremony then this. Her name is Penelope Smith the girl he is with; we went to high school with her. I don’t know if they are dating. I bet he’d love that though, he has had a crush on her forever and a day.” I answered her before chuckling about Sax’s younger days.
“Well, they make a cute couple either way.”
“What are you two doing all the way over here? There’s nothing going on over here. The wedding is down there.” Sax said as he and Pen joined us.
“Yeah—yeah I know that I’m purposely trying to keep out of the crowd bro. Did you go down there to watch?” I replied.
“Yes we saw the tail end of the ceremony, it was alright I guess. No real action. No weapons and no one got into a fight. This wedding might just be a waste of time.” He added.
Pen seemed uncomfortable. She kept scanning the crowd like she was looking for someone. Jo listened to me and Sax talk.
“Have they already announced the matches and meets yet?” Pen asked while her voice seemed stressed.