Friendship, Texas Series: Volume 1

by Magan Vernon

  “How long have you been holding on to that one?” Virginia asked.

  I ripped open the package then rolled the latex over my length. “Since I met you.”

  Grabbing onto her hips, I spun her around and pulled her wet swim bottoms down until they were at her ankles as she put her hands against the wall.

  She spread her legs and leaned into me as I pressed into her slowly, each inch feeling better than the last.

  I rocked faster, her ass grinding into me as she swiveled her hips and those perky breasts bounced, begging me to grip them.

  She moaned as I kept one hand on her hip and slid the other to her breast, circling each nipple with my thumb and forefinger.

  She moaned; her breathing was hard against me as my heart beating wildly against her back.

  Virginia bent over slightly, giving me better access as I rocked harder, sliding my hand from her breast to her mound and circling her clit with my thumb.

  She moaned, her body quaking around me, and I held her hip, keeping her steady as she rode out her orgasm.

  I slowed down only to lift her back to a standing position and press her against me. She closed her legs, tightening her grip on my length. I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer, so I rocked harder and moved my hips in the same motion as my thumb on her clit, causing another orgasm to erupt as she cried out, and I soon followed.

  We stood there, still connected, just breathing to the same beat.

  Normally, this was when I’d say goodbye and plan on not seeing her again. Maybe even give her a fake number.

  But with Virginia, I knew this was only the beginning of something beautiful.

  Chapter 9

  I was still working my ass off at the restaurant, but with Sammy trying to get some time away from his colicky baby and cranky wife, I was getting a little bit more time off. And I spent that time with Virginia.

  On a rare afternoon break between lunch and dinner, I stood in the back with Sammy and the guys, frying up the arancia balls for dinner.

  “Sonny Conti comes to help with the ristorante and meets the femmina,” Sammy said, slapping me on the back.

  I laughed. "Did you really expect anything different?"

  Sammy shrugged then shook his head. "Of course, I knew you'd have the girls molding like dough in your hands with that Southern drawl and your Sicilian good looks, but I didn't expect you to fall in love."

  "What? I'm not in love. I just met her," I scoffed.

  But even as I said the words, I knew I was lying to myself. I hadn't even been in Sicily a month, but after meeting Virginia, I knew my life was never going to be the same.

  Sal laughed, hitting my back and causing me to spill some of the oil out of the fryer. “Listen to that. Already in denial. Someone’s finally nailed down Santino. Better call Mama Conti and see about getting Nonna’s ring. You may have to fight her for it, though.”

  “Y’all are a bunch of women, you know that?” I said, shaking my head and putting the arancia balls onto a plate to cool.

  “And speaking of the femmina,” Sal said, his eyes widening and drifting toward the front of the restaurant.

  I followed his gaze and immediately locked eyes on Virginia, her smile making something pitter-patter in my chest.

  Were those butterflies? Was this love?

  Even if it was, it wasn’t something I was going to discuss with my cousins.

  Without looking back at the guys laughing and yelling like a bunch of jackals, I took off my apron and walked toward where Virginia stood. The slight breeze ruffled through her red hair that I had just left splayed across her pillow that morning. My eyes roamed over her little white dress, thinking of how I could get it off her and where I could push her up against a wall.

  But of course, Virginia wasn’t alone.

  “Hey, Sonny, I hope this restaurant is as good as Virginia says it is,” the girl from the beach—Morgan, I think her name was—said, smiling and taking a seat at one of the tables.

  Not only was Morgan there, but the two guys who were also at the beach took their seats. The one who tried to hold Virginia’s hand wouldn’t even look up from the table. Served him right. I’d tell his ass off again right there if I could. Instead, I’d just have to make a show that Virginia was with me.

  “Hey, something’s gotta keep Virginia around besides just my good looks,” I said, scooting Virginia’s chair back before she sat down.

  “We’ve heard the sounds from her dorm room. It’s more than just that,” the guy next to Morgan said with a smirk.

  Virginia’s shoulders flushed, so I squeezed them even as I felt a sense of pride. At least, these people knew I was making her scream. “I’ll be back with the house wine and some caponata.”

  Turning, I headed back to the kitchen, ladling some capanota in some small bowls and grabbing a basket of bread before grabbing the house wine. By the time I got back to the table with the glasses, the four were laughing about something.

  “What did I miss? I hope this isn’t about my capanota. I spent days making that,” I said, setting a glass in front of each person.

  The guy across from Virginia gave a smug smile. “We were just talking about our sculpture class last semester and how Virginia tried to create a piece reminiscent of Giacomo Serpotta, but it ended up looking more Samothrace than Serpotta.”

  The others laughed at the table, and Virginia shrugged. “Some people are into headless sculptures.”

  The guy looked at me, leaning against Virginia’s chair. “What about you, Sonny? Are you an art fan?”

  I shrugged. “I guess. I mean I have no idea what Samothrace is, but I do have a cousin named Giacomo who lives over in Taormina, and he’s a real asshole.”

  The guy smirked as he took a drink of his wine, but then he made a face as if he just sucked on a lemon before setting the glass down and pushing it toward the middle of the table. Maybe the house wine was a little reminiscent of Boones Farm and stale pee in America, but for the two euros a bottle, it wasn’t bad.

  Virginia looked up at me with a soft smile. “Giacomo Serpotta is a sculptor from Palermo.”

  I forced a nervous laugh. “Well, if he’s anything like my cousin Giacomo, then I probably wouldn’t like his work much either.”

  The table went silent, and Virginia took a big gulp of her wine. Finally, I patted Virginia’s back. “Are y’all ready to order or do y’all need some more time to look over the menu?”

  In Sicily, most places, like our outdoor traitoria style restaurant, didn’t have an individual menu. We would just write it on a board each morning, which had become my job. Sometimes, I’d be running in just before lunch to get whatever was on special that day scribbled on there.

  Morgan, the guy next to her, and Virginia all ordered the swordfish, but there was a look on the other guy’s face that I knew was going to be trouble.

  “So tell me, how does a guy like you, who looks like he walked out of a Palermo nightclub, get an accent that’s straight out of Deliverance?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s where you go when you talk about a Southern accent? Obviously, you’re a Yankee or really need to expand your movie choices.”

  The guy smirked, folding his arms across his skinny, plaid shirt covered chest.

  “Rick, stop it. Just order your food,” Morgan pleaded.

  Of course, Rick wasn’t going to stop as he adjusted his stupid hipster glasses. “A Yankee? Wow. You’re redder than I thought. I actually don’t get too much screen time. I’ve been too busy with my dissertation. After I graduate in December, I’ll be off to Paris where I’ll start my internship in the Louvre. What will you be doing in December, Sonny? Still chasing after American girls in Palermo?”

  I wanted to come up with a good response and something to clap back. I’d actually be back in Friendship by the end of August, but I’d probably still be doing exactly what I was doing in Palermo: working my ass off all day and spending my time in the clubs at night. I looked down at Vi
rginia who wouldn’t even glance in my direction. Maybe just as much as she accused me of using her for a plaything, she was using me for that exact thing, and this guy was setting out to prove it.

  “I’ll take that as another order of the swordfish,” I said and nodded before heading toward the kitchen.

  I slapped the counter and yelled at Sal. “Four orders of the swordfish and spit in one of ‘em, will ya?”

  Sal nodded over his shoulder. “The one for the pain in the ass in the bad glasses?”

  “That’d be the one,” I replied.

  “Resorting to spitting now, Sonny?”

  I whirled around to see Virginia standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “Hey, I was just kidding around. Sal knows that.”

  Virginia raised an eyebrow. “I came to apologize for Rick. He can be a pretentious ass. Most of the guys in my department are.”

  “I mean I guess I’d be like that too if I had a fancy Paris job,” I muttered.

  Virginia rolled her eyes. “Don’t be like that, Sonny.”

  “I’m not being like anything. I’m just saying what you’re probably thinking.”

  “And what am I thinking?” she asked.

  “That maybe the guy you’ve been sleeping with doesn’t have much of a future, and if that’s what you’re thinking, then you’re probably right.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s true at all, and I really don’t like that you’re talking about yourself like that.”

  “Order up!” Sal yelled, banging on the counter behind me.

  I grabbed the four plates. “I’ll walk you back to your table.”

  We didn’t say another word and neither did Rick. I guessed someone else said he was being an asshole or he knew he’d won some kind of battle.

  Virginia kept trying to bring up the conversation again that night when I went to her dorm, but I kept changing the subject or kissing her to get her to stop talking.

  That night, as I laid in her bed looking up at the ceiling, I came to a realization. She had the whole world ahead of her when she graduated, and I … I had nothing but her.

  Chapter 10

  It had been a while since I talked to my family. I figured I should FaceTime my parents, but when I tried to press their number in my contacts, I accidentally hit Lia’s instead. Before I could hang up, her bright smile filled the screen.

  “Sonny! You’re alive!”

  Lia was two years younger than I was but always seemed much smarter. Not just because of her thick glasses, but she always knew the right things to say or do, no matter what.

  “Of course, I’m alive. What did you think? Someone had me go sleep with the fishes?”

  Lia laughed. “I mean, I don’t know what kind of trouble you got into with our cousins. I haven’t seen you post on Facebook in a while, so I figured you were dead or someone was taking up most of your time.”

  “Well, you’re kind of right on both ends. With Sammy working less, I’ve taken on many of the hours. Even more than back home.”

  Lia put her hand out. “Whoa, you said right on both ends? Is there a girl in the infamous Sonny Conti’s life that I should know about? Do I have a sister-in-law?”

  I shook my head. “Way to sound like Ma, Lia. What if I had asked you that when you started dating Jay?”

  Lia rolled her eyes. “You did the exact opposite and basically told me you’d kill him if he touched me.”

  “Hey, you’re my baby sister. I gotta look out for you.” I may have given her and her new boyfriend a little bit of a hard time. Okay, a lot of hard time. He was older and an Olympic swimmer training in our tiny town. I didn’t know what a guy like that would want with my little sister, but after being together longer than I’d ever been in a relationship, I knew they were in love. It was only a matter of time before my not-so-little sister would probably have a ring on her finger. And if he didn’t put one on her after she moved to California and said she was staying in the dorms, but probably sleeping in his LA condo, then I’d have to see about him taking a swim in cement shoes.

  “And you’re my brother who’s never been with a girl for more than a day. So tell me about the one who’s taking up all of your time. Did you meet her at a club? At the restaurant? Or is she some kind of mail-order bride that Nonna had sent for you?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “This isn’t the conversation I want to be having right now.”

  “Well, it’s already started, so let’s go,” Lia said, flipping her long, dark hair over her shoulder.

  I sighed. “Okay. Her name’s Virginia. She’s an art student from Chicago getting her masters here.”

  Lia’s eyes widened. “An art student? Are you her muse? Is she painting you like one of her French girls?”

  “Dammit, Lia, why do I tell you anything? You just make a joke of it.”

  Lia laughed then stopped, shaking her hand in front of the phone. “Okay, fine, I’ll stop. But really, it’s because I’m happy for you. I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard you give one of your conquests a name, let alone tell me about her.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s different. I just hope I’m different enough for her and not just something to pass her summer,” I muttered.

  Lia frowned. “What is this? You meet a girl you actually like, and you start to get emo? You sound like me.”

  “I could never sound like you. I have way better taste in music.” I smirked.

  I’d never thought this way about any girl. I guess I never felt this deeply either. If it wasn’t love, it was the closest I’d ever been, and that douchebag Rick had started to put doubts in my mind.

  Virginia was an art student, getting her masters. I was just a kid with a mass communication “Ds-get-degrees” degree and a job at my parents’ restaurant. I didn’t have any other future but going back to Texas and working at the pizza place until I died.

  “Hey, Lia, you ready?” Lia’s California surfer dude of a boyfriend called from the background. Okay, he was actually an Olympic swimmer, but every time I saw the spiky-haired guy or heard him talk, he reminded me of someone out of a stoner movie.

  “Yeah, gimme a minute,” she called behind the screen. “Hey, Sonny, I gotta go, but don’t be a stranger, okay? And I won’t tell Mom about the girl unless you want her invited home for Christmas. And if that’s the case, I hope she can handle the crazy and Nonna’s goat doesn’t poop on her.”

  I laughed. “Hey, it’s not like I asked the girl to marry me.”

  Lia smiled. “Not yet.”

  And that was the last thing she had said before she disconnected the call.

  ***

  I laid in Virginia’s bed, staring up at the ceiling that I swore had paint splatter on it.

  Virginia’s red hair was strewn across my chest as her head rested near my heart.

  “What are your plans after you leave here?” she asked softly, drawing circles on my ribs.

  “You mean when I get up at four to run my ass to the restaurant and get the bread in the oven?” I laughed, her head bobbing against my skin.

  Slowly, she lifted her head up. “You know what I mean.”

  I groaned. “Are we seriously having this conversation right now? Is it because of what that douche said at the restaurant?”

  Virginia sat up, the blanket falling from around her with the lamp casting a soft glow over her naked body. I was getting hard again just from looking at her. The stern look on her face said this wasn’t the time, even though I was pretty sure I could convince her otherwise.

  “Sonny.”

  “Virginia.”

  She sighed and sat at the edge of the bed, her back to me.

  I wasn’t used to this whole relationship thing. Usually, when a girl started pouting or getting serious in bed, I used it as my cue to leave and not call her again. But with Virginia, it was different. No matter how hot it was when we fought, I couldn’t stand to see her mad at me.

  Slowly, I inched to the edge of
the bed and put my hands on her shoulders. “Hey, babe, are you okay? I’m sorry. I don’t know how not to be a dick sometimes.”

  She sniffled. Shit, did I make her cry? Or worse … what if one of my condoms had a hole in it, and this was all hormones. I silently swore at my balls before she finally turned toward me.

  “I’ve been trying to think of a way to bring this up, and that was the best I had …”

  Oh, shit. How was I going to tell my mom that she was going to have a little red-haired grandbaby?

  “Whatever you want to do. I’m standing with you. If you want me to find a clinic, or you know, you want to deliver at home, we can do that.”

  Virginia raised an eyebrow. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Um. Are we talking about two different things?”

  “I’m not pregnant.”

  I sighed. “Oh, thank God. Not that it would have been a bad thing, you know, in the future or something.”

  She blew out a big breath. “I’m leaving for Rome tomorrow.”

  “What?” I couldn’t have heard that right. She couldn’t be leaving, leaving. She still had her room covered with art supplies.

  “I got the email a few days ago. It’s for an internship starting at the end of August. I’d be there until I graduate in December. They want to interview me but say it’s just a formality and that I basically have the job.”

  “Well, that’s great. Why are you upset about that?” I said, putting my arm around her shoulder, her head instinctively curling into the crook of my neck.

  Even though I’d known her only a short time, it felt like everything about her fit with me. Like it was meant to be like this. That was if both of us had a future.

  “I guess I just don’t know what that means for us, as stupid as it sounds. God, I feel like an idiot for even saying that out loud.”

  I held her close. “You’re not an idiot. It makes you human for thinking about your future and for mine.”

  Slowly, Virginia tilted her head up, her tear-filled eyes meeting mine. “So what happens then with us?”