by AJ Wolf
I see her before she sees me, taking a long drag of my cigarette while I watch her tuck her phone into the back pocket of her jean shorts. I smile to myself when she glances around to make sure no one is looking her way, pulling the back of her shorts from her ass like she’s getting rid of a wedgie. She turns and sees me then, sucking her lips between her teeth, her dimples winking at me with the look. Her cheeks turn pink as she realizes I saw her, the small shrug of her shoulders one of the cutest fucking things I’ve ever seen.
I snub out my cigarette, letting the smoke blow through my nose as she gets closer, my eyes glued to the way she moves. Even dressed in a cotton tee and stained denim shorts, she’s more beautiful than any other woman on earth.
“Why do you always do that? I don’t care if you smoke.”
She stops directly in front of me, hands tucked into her back pockets, her blush still painting her cheeks as she tries to pretend I didn’t see her.
“Because it’s rude, Laney Girl. Just because I don’t care about what smoking does to me, doesn’t mean I should force you to be around it.”
She rolls her eyes, one of her hands coming forward to push hair behind her ear. “That’s ridiculously chivalrous of you.”
“Are we going to pretend you didn’t just have your hand up your ass?” I laugh at her expression, snatching her arm when she tries to stomp away from me, lips pursed to hide her smile. Pulling her back flush with my front, I wrap an arm around her waist to keep her in place. “I’ve never been more jealous of a pair of panties.”
“Eww, Jessie! You’re sick.”
I press my lips against her ear, trying not to think about how her ass keeps rubbing on my dick. “I’ll give you twenty bucks for them.”
“Jessie!” I let her pull from me, laughing at how she swats my hands away from her. I only say this dumb shit because it makes her laugh, and fuck, I could live in that sound.
She frowns at me, one of her dimples giving away her smile. “When is everyone getting here for your sister’s party?”
“They’re here already, on the other side of the park.” Walking to a trash can not far from us, I throw my cigarette butt away, the coconut of Laney’s skin catching on the breeze to tease me.
“Oh, I left her present in the car. Walk with me to get it.” She grabs the back of my shirt, lightly tugging until I turn to follow her.
I love when she does that, grabs and touches me like I’m hers to push around. I wish she was always touching me, wrapped around me. She would be if Donatello hadn’t pulled rank and made me leave her in Alabama. Letting my sweet girl go just to fall back into that Bastardo will forever be my biggest regret, whether it was my choice or not. I said I had to leave before I fell for the girl with no heart to give, but I’d already fallen so fucking hard I couldn’t have made up a bigger lie.
Every second, every hour, every day I had to sit back and watch her crumble without me broke my fucking heart. He deliberately took me away, her only fucking support so that she’d have no choice but to run back to him. I should have been the one to help her. I should have been the one she found her solace in. Instead I was forced to watch the tragedy unfold, a horror show featuring my girl and there was absolutely fucking nothing I could do about it. I don’t know how she thinks Donatello knew to find her, or how she thinks he even got in the building, but that piece of shit never would have been her fucking white knight without me.
After the bar fight, I put men on him to find whatever dirt I could to fuck up his chances with my girl. And that’s exactly what I found. Although him and Laney were technically separated, I know the damage of knowing he was fucking his secretary would crush her anyway. But instead of just coming out and saying it, I need to be smart about it. I want Donatello Genovese to ruin himself. Lose the one thing he cares for more than life itself all on his own, because if he doesn’t, my Laney Girl will always wander back to him and I can’t have that. He’ll wreck himself and I’ll be here like always to collect the pieces, love my girl until she’s whole again and mine. Only mine. That and it feels damn good holding something over that fucker’s head.
I know I need to tell Laney I’m part of the Famiglia, but it needs to be the right time. I need her to know that despite my being planted in her university experience as a way for Capo Famiglia to watch her, my feelings are real, our friendship is real, my love for her is real. I need her to be confident that she knows the real me, so when she finds out, she won’t question us and our beginning. If I know anything about my girl, it is that she forgives too easily, and this is the one situation I plan on using that weakness to my advantage. The one and only time I’ll ever let her be weak again.
Watching Laney grab a sparkling purple bag from the car, my thoughts focus back on her and not on my plans.
“What if your sister doesn’t like what I got her?” Her fingers are pinching her lower lip, squeezing the plump flesh in a way that makes my skin heat.
I reach out and softly push her hand from her lip, brushing the pad of my thumb over the spot before forcing my hand back to my side. “Rosa likes everything, and even if she didn’t, she’d pretend to. Otherwise, Mamma would spank her in front of everyone for being rude.”
“That doesn’t reassure me at all, and kind of makes me scared of your mom.” She says, staring at her bag like she’s considering running off to buy something else.
Smiling, I grab the back of her neck, bringing her attention to me. “Laney Girl, whatever you got is perfect and she will love it.”
“What about your mom?”
I laugh, her beautiful brown eyes blinking up at me with such seriousness I can’t help myself. I press her forehead to mine, sucking in every second that she lets me touch her like this. “My mamma will also love you, promise.”
With a deep breath, she pulls away from me, my hand dropping to my side. “Okay, let's go then.”
Using my palm at her back, I guide her in the direction we need to go, using any excuse I can to keep my hands on her. I can already hear the sounds of the party, kids yelling on the playground, and the others talking in the background, but they’re still out of sight.
“How big is this party?”
I smirk at her mumbled question, but don’t answer. She’ll see soon enough anyway. As soon as we come into view, my family is yelling to us in greeting, most of them just trying to peek at the only girl I’ve ever brought to a family event. Laney grabs the back of my shirt as we get closer, giving me a look that tells me she’ll be yelling at me later for not giving her a proper warning. Winking at her, I reach back and grab her hand, pulling her in front of me to guide her toward my mamma.
“Why are there so many people? Isn’t your sister only nine?” She whispers over her shoulder, squeezing the fingers that are still locked with mine. I don’t think she even realizes it.
“Yes, I just have a big family.” I let go of Laney’s hand once we get close to where Mamma is sitting, stepping around her to give Mamma a hug from behind. “Mamma, I have someone you need to meet.”
Mamma stands, brushing me aside to look at Laney who was standing almost awkwardly behind me. “Quindi questa é la ragazza misteriosa di cui tutti abbiamo sentito parlare.” So this is the mysterious girlfriend we’ve all heard of.
Laney smiles at my mamma, eyes flicking up to me for a brief moment. “Non fidanzata, solo amici. Spero che tu abbia sentito solo cose belle.” Not girlfriend, just friends. Hope you’ve only heard good things.
Mamma looks back at me with a raised brow, a smile tilting her lips, clearly pleased with who I’ve chosen to bring. Who wouldn’t be though? My girl is perfect. “There’s only good things to say, Laney Girl.”
Raymond steps up to us then, extending his hand to shake Laney’s, nodding in my direction. “I’m surprised a pretty thing like you would even be friends with this one.” She laughs, her beautiful dimples begging me to pull her away from the party and kiss her. “I’m Raymond, Rosa’s papa.”
“Nice to meet you b
oth.” Laney holds up her gift bag before continuing, “I brought her a present, do you have somewhere you’re putting them?”
Before anyone can answer, Rosa is sprinting over to us, her dutch braids a wild mess from playing so hard. She latches onto my side with a hug, noticing Laney at the last second. “Oh Jessie! She’s so pretty!” I think she meant to whisper it, but she’s out of breath from running and it comes out as a half yell for everyone in the immediate vicinity to hear.
She gives me a wide gapped smile and I laugh, looking over at Laney when I answer. “She is the prettiest girl I know.”
Rosa giggles at me, eyes finding the sparkling bag in Laney’s hand. “Is that for me?”
Laney nods, holding it out toward her. “It is. I hope you like it.”
Rosa looks at Mamma before she grabs it, waiting for her silent nod before she takes the bag with another big smile. “Thank you, Jessie’s girlfriend.”
“Oh, no, we’re…“ She stops talking, probably realizing it doesn’t matter what my nine year old sister thinks and smiles instead. “You’re welcome.”
Rosa pulls out a pair of stretch pants and a blue shirt from the bag, staring at the writing on the front for a long time before Laney decides to say something. “That’s from the stable where I keep my horses. Jessie said you like horses, so I thought you might like some riding lessons…“ She pauses, looking up at me for reassurance since my sister still has yet to say anything. I nod, smiling, and she continues, “I figured you could wear these at your lessons, and you can ride my horse, Pete… he’s a paint.” She says the last part quietly, like she wasn’t sure what else to say.
Both my mamma and Raymond smile over at me while Laney starts to pinch her lip and I hold in a laugh, covering my mouth with my hand.
Rosa looks at Laney, still holding her outfit in front of her, “You got me riding lessons, on your horse, who is a paint?”
Laney nods at her, a quiet “Yes.” Barely audible past her fingers.
Rosa screams, making both my mamma and Laney jump, clutching her outfit to her chest. “Paints are my absolute favorite!” Rosa quickly throws her shirt on over her current outfit, tugging her braids out of the collar before trying to wiggle the pants over her jeans.
Mamma stops her with an arm on her shoulder, reaching to pull the pants off her foot while Raymond pipes up on the other side of her. “Rosa, you probably don’t need to put the pants on right now, you can try them on later.”
Nodding Rosa helps Mamma pull them back off, jumping up to hug Laney with so much force she almost knocks her over. “Thank you!” She lets go, barreling away from us to yell to the other kids about her gift.
Mamma is shaking her head as she goes back to her spot at the table. Raymond is nodding to Laney who doesn’t see because she’s watching Rosa show off her shirt on the playground. Smiling at him to let him know I’ll thank her for them, I sling my arm over her shoulder as Raymond walks away. “I told you she’d like it.”
“You didn’t even know what I’d gotten her.” She says, still watching Rosa.
“Doesn’t mean I didn’t say it.”
She snorts, pushing my arm off her shoulder as she turns to face me, backing away from me toward a vacant picnic table. “When do we eat cake?”
Laney is cackling with my mamma when I get back from walking Rosa to the bathrooms and I stop behind them, sliding my hand into the back of Laney’s hair to grab her neck, “Mamma, Laney needs to leave, she’s been here for hours already.”
Laney smiles up at me, her tongue brushing along her bottom lip catching all of my attention as she says something to Mamma I don’t bother to hear. She shifts to stand, and I step back, raising my hand to Raymond before dropping to kiss Mamma on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Don’t we need to say bye to Rosa?” Laney asks, waving to some of my cousins that are yelling their goodbyes.
“I already told her bye for the both of us. She’s lost on the playground now.”
Laney starts heading in the direction she parked, but I grab her arm, pulling her along with me instead. “I parked over there, Jessie.”
Linking our fingers, I pull her up beside me, smirking over at her frown. “I found something when I brought Rosa to the bathrooms.”
She eyes the keys dangling in my fingers, a dimple peeking at me as her eyes meet mine. “What are those for?”
I lean down to whisper, pretending to look around us for potential eavesdroppers. She laughs, seeing that the area is completely vacant except for us. “We’re going swimming.”
She gives me a disbelieving hum, pursing her lips at me. “You have the pool keys? How did you find those?”
“I have my ways, Laney Girl.” She snorts but doesn’t comment, following behind me into the small covered entryway of the pool doors.
It’s an indoor pool that’s only open during summer hours for swim lessons but maintained year round so that it can be rented out for parties. There aren’t any windows in the building but for the glass doors so chances of us getting caught are slim to none. Unlocking the door, I hold it open for her, winking at her pretend awe. Following after her, I lock the doors back up, running my hands along the wall to find the lights. The whole place smells like chlorine and is silent but for the slight hum of the heaters.
Laney finds the lights first, smiling at me like the competitive little shit she is when I look at her. Walking over to her, I turn all but two of the farthest lights off, smirking down at the look of confusion on her face. “We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves, Laney Girl.”
She nods at my answer, looking at the pool. “So what are we swimming in?”
Her eyes drop to my torso as I pull my shirt over my head, and I smile to myself at catching her wandering gaze. “You can swim naked if you want.”
Rolling her eyes, she looks away from me, hesitating for only a moment before she toes off her sneakers and drops her shorts, leaving her in just her pale blue tee and black panties. She’s in the water before I can blink, head popping up as I drop my own denim.
“Are you getting in or not?” She’s in the middle of the pool, smirking at me before sinking so just her mouth and nose are under the water.
“I’m pretty sure it’s against the rules to do cannon balls.”
Popping above the water again, she shrugs, watching me lower into the pool. “I don’t see a lifeguard.”
Swimming toward her, I grip her ankle, pulling her to me until she bumps up against my chest. “You’re right. I better keep an eye on you then.” She rolls her eyes, but I cut off whatever she was going to say with my thumb. I rub it over a faint mark along her neck that her hair was hiding before. “Is this why you’ve been avoiding me?”
She frowns as I scan the rest of her skin, seeing she’s covered with fading hickeys and lightly bruised bites. It takes everything in me not to grind my teeth at the sight, my gut sick with rage. I know that piece of shit intentionally did this just to fuck with me and damn if he didn’t get exactly what he wanted. It hurts in my chest to look at them. He doesn’t deserve her, but he gets to have her whenever he wants and I’m beyond fucking jealous.
“I haven’t been avoiding you.” She swallows and I feel it against my fingers, locking my gaze with her big browns.
“Yes, you have. You haven’t let me see you in over a week.”
“I’ve been busy.” That’s a lie, and we both know it.
There’s a drop of water stuck on her bottom lip and I watch it until it drips down her chin. I want to trace the path of that drop with my mouth. I want to replace all of his marks with my own. I want to hear my name on her lips as I do it, taste the chlorine on her skin and feel her hands digging into my back. I want to erase every trace of that Bastardo from her mind and replace them with me.
Laney’s head bobs in the water and I realize she can’t touch even though I can, her toes barely scraping the bottom of the pool as she wades next to me, probably getting tired. Instead of moving her back to
the shallow end, I pull her deeper with me, forcing her to use me to float.
She doesn’t fight me, and it’s not until I wrap her legs around my waist that she has something to say. “Jessie… “
I grip her face in my hands, closing my eyes for just a moment to try and collect my thoughts. My heart is pounding in my chest and I’m sure she can feel it against her own. How can she not hear it when it only talks for her?
“Laney, just…” I lick my lips, lightly squeezing her face in my hands. I don’t want to hear whatever she’s going to say. I don’t care. “Just shut up.”
She frowns but I don’t give her a chance to respond, pulling her lips to mine. She goes stiff at the contact and my heart just about breaks in my chest as I hold her to me, willing her to kiss me back. To want to kiss me back. She needed me to help heal her heart for so long, and now I need her to make sure mine doesn’t break.
I feel her fingers move against my skin first, rising from the water to cradle my face the same way I have hers in mine. Her legs wrapping tighter around me as she presses into my lips, sinking into my touch like she craves me as much as I crave her. Relief floods my chest, the ache in my heart desperate for more of her.
Despite how much I want to run my hands over her, I keep them on her face, not wanting to do anything that’ll make her stop. She opens her mouth for me and I barely contain the groan that wants to come out. The taste of her is enough to drive me wild all on its own. She shifts in my arms, and I use the movement to my advantage, dropping my hands from her face to grip her thighs in my palms and slide them along her wet skin to cup her ass, pressing her tighter against me.
It’s been far too long since I had her in my arms like this and I’m almost scared to let her stop. I’m scared that if she does, she’ll tell me that what we’re doing is a mistake. That being with me is a mistake. It’s a lie I don’t want to hear, not from her sweet mouth.