by Tessa Thorne
“I hope you’ll try more than just the salad this time,” he says as he leads us inside.
The restaurant has a few more patrons than last time too, but our old booth is open.
“It feels like it’s been forever since we were here,” she says, smiling at me from across the table. “I think I’ll take Marcello’s advice and get real food this time.”
“Not just the house salad?” I grin at her.
“No.” She laughs. “I don’t think I need to be shy about liking to eat around you.”
Another bottle of fine wine is brought out by Marcello, but I insist he put it on the bill this time. We order our food and clink our glasses together.
“Does what we're doing feel weird to you?” she asks, swirling the wine in front of her nose.
“You mean being a normal couple?” I take a sip of wine.
“Yeah.” She looks around at the other couples dining in the restaurant. “We're just like them. I don’t have to sneak out to meet you. You picked me up at my front door like a gentleman caller.”
“I don’t know if I’d call me a gentleman yet.” I smile. But she’s right. It's weird, enjoying life. Being with a woman I love. I could get used to this.
She reaches across the table and takes my hand. “I would.”
I stroke her fingers, feeling her soft skin. I can truly forget all my troubles when I’m with her. I still feel guilty sometimes when I’m not around her. But it’s all gone the moment she’s next to me. She makes me feel like I deserve to be happy. Like I haven't abandoned my family by not following through with my original plan.
Not that I’ve entirely abandoned my plan to find who’s responsible. She promised me it wasn’t her father, and I want to believe her. But I’ve continued listening to the recordings from the bugs I left in her home, even though I haven't found anything yet. I haven't caught anything incriminating even after Allie asked her dad to look into it. But that doesn’t mean I won’t.
“What are you thinking?” Her voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
I look up at her. I couldn’t believe it when I heard her asking her dad to look into what happened that night. It’s hard to believe she would care so much for me.
“I wanted to ask you about something I’m planning.” Her eyes widen with curiosity.
She tilts her head like a cat. “What is it?”
“You know how I said my job takes me all around the country?”
The smile fades from her face and her eyes drop. “Yeah…”
“It’s not like that.” I squeeze her hand. “I’m thinking about hanging up my boots.”
She perks up. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I stare into her bright eyes. “I’ve never been happier than I am here with you.”
“That’s so sweet.” She leans across the table and kisses me lightly on the lips, drawing some looks from the other patrons.
“It’s true.” I smile at her. “I wanted to tell you that I don’t have any regrets.”
“I’m so happy to hear that.” She beams at me and she blushes.
I stop Marcello to order a second bottle of wine. I want a full glass to toast with. When Marcello returns with the wine, Allie says to him, “I just wanted to let you know that your mushroom risotto is better than the one at La Rodinella.”
Marcello gives her a huge smile in return. “You are kinder than you are beautiful.”
Allie smiles at him as he turns and leaves us to our conversation.
“I actually have a showing scheduled for tonight, after dinner.” I finish my wine. “I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to see what you think of the place.”
She lets her jaw drop before she realizes it and covers her mouth with her hand. “You’re getting a place in the city?”
“Yeah.” I refill our glasses with the fresh wine. “Now that I have a reason to stay.”
“I can’t wait to see the place!” She picks up her glass. “A toast, to new beginnings! Salute!”
“Salute!”
I press the code into the key safe locked onto the door handle. The latch pops open, then I take out the key and open the door for her. She steps into the empty apartment ahead of me, and I follow behind her. Our footsteps echo across the empty apartment. It’s a three bedroom in a prewar walk-up in Bushwick. The best part is that it's only a short walk from Hush.
She walks across the apartment to the window and looks outside at the view. It’s a classic New York view. Busy streets, crowded with cars and pedestrians even on a Tuesday night.
She wraps her arm around my waist and I put my arm around her shoulders as I join her by the window. “This place is really nice.”
I kiss the top of her head, smelling her flowery shampoo. “It is.”
“Let’s see the rest.”
I walk with her and check out the three bedrooms, two baths and end at the kitchen. The only furniture left in the house are a sturdy dining room table and three mismatched wooden chairs.
“The realtor said they hadn’t figured out how to get that table out of the apartment yet.” I laugh.
She sits down on one of the chairs and pats the seat of the one next to hers. “I don’t mind. It lets you get a better feel for the place. It’s hard to judge a home when there’s no furniture in it. I felt the same way with the club when I was looking at spaces.”
I smile at seeing her sitting down at a table in a kitchen I could call mine one day. It’d be so perfect to wake up to her face in my own home every day.
“This is a really big place,” she says, looking around the kitchen.
“It is.” I can’t pull my eyes away from her. “The place doesn’t need much work either. I'd just need to renovate the kitchen.”
“Yeah.” She looks back at me. “Why a three bedroom though? It’s gotta cost a fortune.”
“It’s not cheap.” I laugh. “But I wanted to plan for the future.”
She smiles coyly at me. “Go on.”
I take her hand. “I wanted a lot of space. So the apartment wouldn’t feel crowded for two…or three…or four.”
“Maybe even five?” She grins, biting her lip.
“It’s close to the club.” I lean in and kiss the top of her ear.
“Don’t think that I didn’t notice.” She kisses me lightly on the jaw.
“What do you think?” I kiss her on the earlobe and drag the tip of my tongue along its edge. “Should I buy it?”
She kisses me on my jawline, and runs her lips down my neck. “I don’t think you should make it an easy sell.”
“I’m a good negotiator.” I put my hand on the back of her head, careful not to wreck her elaborate bun, and give her a hard kiss. “I like getting what I want on my own terms.”
She pulls away, gasping for breath, her tongue wetting her parted lips. “What if she’s tough, too? Like what if she plays hard to get?”
“Then it’s a lot more satisfying when I get my way.” I pull her head back and kiss her down her neck to her collarbone. She breathes in deep, swelling her breasts, drawing my mouth down. She grips the back of my head as I kiss my way down her cleavage, brushing the straps of her dress and her bra down from her shoulders.
“You’re a very good negotiator,” she says as I pull her dress down to her waist and reach around her back to unhook her bra.
I toss her bra onto the table and squeeze her breasts. “You have the most amazing tits.”
“They have an amazing effect on you.” She grins and as she squeezes the growing bulge in my pants.
She opens her mouth and moans as I take one of her nipples between my lips and flick it with my tongue. “Did you tell the realtor you’d be doing this when she gave you the code to the keys?”
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” She gasps loudly as I drag my teeth on her nipple.
“You’re so mean to my nipples,” she complains while pulling on my hair.
“You love it.” I suck on it again, soothing it with my tongue. And her soft moa
n tells me I’m right.
I kiss my way down her breasts, onto her soft stomach. She laughs as I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her off the chair. I look up at her between her breasts, and kiss my way down her stomach as I tug her dress past her hips and let it drop to her feet.
She grins down at me, reaches out to grab me under the chin and pulls me up to stand with her. “I want to see you naked, too.”
She unbuckles my belt as I pull my shirt over my head and toss it on top of her bra. She’s unbuttoned my pants by the time I’ve kicked off my boots, so she quickly hooks her thumbs into my waistband, and pushes the pants down to my knees.
“I don’t know if your pants are too tight, or your legs are just so thick.” She drops to her knees before me and gets them down the rest of the way and I step out of them.
She smiles wickedly up at me. “I can see why you enjoy this view,” she says as she grabs my underwear and yanks it down, letting my cock bounce free.
She pushes me by my thighs until I’m leaning back against the table, grabs my cock in her fist and leans her mouth close to the tip. “You have such a beautiful cock.”
My cock twitches in her hand in response to the compliment. She laughs and plants a wet kiss on its tip.
I put my fingers through her hair and make a fist. She takes in a sharp breath as I yank her head back and plant the tip of my cock on her lips. “Your lips look so perfect on my cock.”
She sticks out her glistening tongue, reaches out to lick a swirl around the head of my dick. “I want you to use my mouth the way you use my pussy.”
I growl as I press my cock against her lips, and she parts them to swallow my tip. She sticks her tongue out under my cock, and presses down on my cock, taking in another inch. The feel of her wet lips tightly latched around my cock and her wet mouth sucking on my cock make me groan out between my teeth.
“That feels fucking amazing.”
I pull her head back, and thrust back with my hips, seeing how much of my dick she can take. She looks up at me as she grabs me by the back of my thighs and pulls herself down on my dick until I hear her making a choking sound. But she doesn’t relent. She pulls back and bobs back down on my dick, massaging the bottom of my shaft with her wet tongue. I can feel her spit dripping down my dick down her chin, wetting my balls.
She reaches up between my legs and softly grips my balls, squeezing them as she bounces up and down on my cock. Her mouth feels like heaven, and I feel my cock growing as I watch her cheeks cave in from sucking so hard.
She reaches out, takes my hand and puts it on the back of her head. I take her invitation and shove her head down on my cock. She stretches out her mouth and extends her lips, working for every inch of my shaft, until her nose is pressed against my stomach. I hold her there, her mouth hot and wet around my dick, my tip pressed against the back of her throat, and finally pull back to let her catch her breath.
She gasps loudly for air, her breasts heaving and covered with strings of her spit as she licks her lips and smiles up at me. “Do you like that?”
“You're fucking incredible.” I brush the loose strands of hair off her forehead, and take her head. She nods and I shove my dick between her lips and let her swallow me whole again. I fuck her face, my dick twitching inside her every time I hear her reacting to my dick pressing against the back of her throat, until I’m about to cum. But I don’t want to cum just yet.
I pull my dick out, pull her up and kiss her wet lips, our tongues swirling together inside her mouth. Then I take her by the hips, turn her around, and yank her panties down her ass.
She jumps as I smack her ass, get behind her, grab her by her wide hips, and shove my cock deep inside her wet pussy with a single thrust. She groans loudly, leaning against the table as I pound my dick inside her.
Her pussy is hot against my cock, gripping it with its wet walls, trying to milk me for my cum, but I mean to make her scream before I let her have it. I press her down on the table, grab her by the shoulders, and fuck her so hard that the table squeals against the kitchen tile. She looks back at me with glazed eyes, her face pressed against the table, her mouth glistening and wide open as she groans with every thrust.
Her groans turn to lusty screams, her eyes roll into the back of her head, and she props herself up on her elbows, stands up on her tiptoes and presses her ass back against my cock, just as her pussy starts to convulse around my cock.
“I’m cumming, baby!” she screams. “I want you to cum with me!”
That’s all the encouragement I need as my balls tighten, and I slam myself all the way inside her, feeling the wet furnace of her pussy tightening around me, and unleash my seed.
I groan as I thrust against her, emptying my load inside her, and finally rest my hands beside her and sag over her body to catch my breath.
She looks up at me, her face still resting against the table, a playful smile on her lips. I smile back, my chest heaving, as she wiggles her ass against me, making my dick jump inside her. “Did you like that?”
I lean down on top of her, and kiss the side of her face. “You’re unbelievable. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
“You had the balls to try to take me.” She giggles. “And the cock of a stallion.”
I stand up and my dick slides out of her pussy. She stands up, stretches her arms out like a cat and falls down on her chair. “And the body of Hercules.”
I grab a roll of paper towels the cleaners must have left behind, wipe up and start putting on my clothes. She watches me as I dress, a blissful look on her face. “You know, I’m pretty sure you have to buy this place now.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Under the “you used it, you buy it” clause.” She grins.
I laugh as I bend down and kiss her on her swollen lips. “It’d be nice to buy a place where I already have great memories.”
She sighs, rubbing her hands down her sides. “I don’t want to leave yet.”
“Not that I would mind staring at you naked for a little while longer,” I begin, then grin. “But you told me you needed to get to sleep early today for the big day tomorrow at Hush.”
“Oh, yeah.” She frowns. “You must have fucked my brain loose. I totally forgot.”
I lean down, and grab one of her breasts, pull her nipple into my mouth and swirl it around in my mouth. She grabs my hair and yanks me back. “You devil!”
I smirk up at her. “I just wanted one last taste for the road.”
“I want to give you a lot more than one, but you're right.” She grabs her phone and checks the time. “Shit, it’s later than I thought.”
I watch her getting dressed, my mind fuzzy with a mix of pleasure and happiness. I see visions of us living together in this apartment. Her belly swelling with our first child, and then a second. Maybe we’d get a dog, or a cat, or even both. I’d open a local business to keep myself occupied as we grow old together.
It would be a great life. And the way my luck is turning, it might just happen.
I look up at the ceiling, imagining my family up in the clouds above us. Would they think I’m doing the right thing? Was I right to stop my rampage and try to live a normal life? I’d like to think they’d approve.
“Okay.” Allie looks all around her, smoothing out her dress and trying to straighten up her hair. “I think I’m ready to go home.”
I grab the keys from the table, look around one last time and head out to drive her home.
I come back to the safe house after a day of trying to straighten up my affairs. Eight years of hidden bank accounts and cash left in safety deposit boxes make for a difficult knot to untangle. I’m seriously considering putting in a bid for the house, and I’m glad most houses in Brooklyn are bought with cash payments. Though of course, not literally cash. Thankfully I have a guy for that, and he’s not tied up with any of the Five Families in the city.
Hopefully no one’s placed a bid on the place by the time I have everything ready. My heart st
arts racing as I think about the need to get a ring so I can surprise Allie by proposing to her in her new apartment. I think she was being serious about me buying the place. I know her well enough now to tell when she’s pretending to joke about something she actually means.
I put my keys down on the only table in the apartment and throw my wallet next to it. I think she’ll say yes to me. I know it’s fast by modern standards, but I don’t want to wait. You don’t let a girl like Allie pass you by because you're trying to wait for the right time. I know my mom would say I need to get a ring on her. My dad would probably just grunt, but he’d be happy for me. He'd probably start working on fixing up a new car for our unborn son. My sister would tell me Allie's the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen.
I blink away the tears welling up in my eyes as I think about my sweet sister, taken too soon from this world. But I’ll never forget her sweet face, and her kind heart.
I open up my laptop to go through what almost feels like a religious ritual now. Check my automated searches for all the names and keywords I’ve programmed. Go through the audio files of my wiretaps. Going to have to dispose of those at some point. I don’t want my future father-in-law to find them and wonder who put listening devices all over his house. Though it’s unlikely he ever will. The ones I used are way more sophisticated than the bugs used by the FBI, and they're very hard to sniff out.
I wait for the machine to dial into my encrypted connection so I can get this over with already. After the connection is established, I launch the browser and look at my automated searches. My muscle memory almost instinctively has me closing the browser after finding nothing, but there are multiple hits.
A spike of adrenaline hits my system and my eyes focus on the screen as I check the searches. My mouth gapes open at what I read on the screen. There are multiple news articles and a draft police report available. I open up the article on the NY Post.
Restaurateur and Family Slain in Flatbush!
“Marcello.”
I stand up and pace the length of the room, my hand covering my mouth so I don’t start screaming out curses. The article said Marcello and Angie were killed in their home late last night. The police are calling it a home invasion. An unnamed source says the crime appears to be similar to another one committed in another home nearby, just a little over two months ago.