“I had no idea you were from Italy.”
“My dad is Caucasian, and my mom is from Sicily. They met when he was stationed in the Navy.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.”
“I think so, no matter how feminine that sounded, I can’t deny that it is a beautiful story.”
“Sexy and sensitive, a double whammy!” I said leaning down to kiss his cheek.
“And Italian, don’t forget Italian,” he added confidently.
“This is true. I’m not mixed with anything that I know of. Honestly, my cousins used to say that I was adopted.”
“Let me up. Why would they say that?” he asked as we switched positions.
“Because, my skin is only this dark during the summer.”
“It’s not even that dark honey, just in comparison to me,” he said.
“Yeah well, in comparison to their skin tone, I was light. Too light, and my hair was too ‘good’ to be completely black,” I said with reminiscent frustration.
I placed my feet on the floor and made my way towards the bathroom where Axel was. He was bent down over the sink, my guess was he’d just finished washing his face as it was now covered with a towel. When he came up, I was just reaching the doorway. He stopped what he was doing to look straight at me, as I was in the buff.
He didn’t say anything, but when he placed his palm against the smell of my breast, I knew exactly what he was thinking. Pulling me against his body gently, he took my mouth in a kiss that curled my toes and sent my body through waves of ecstasy. I wrapped my arms around his body as he positioned me against the sink.
My right leg came up to hook around his waist. His hand firmly gripped my thigh as his member ground against my sex. I gasped as he took a handful of my hair suddenly within his firm grasp. I moaned as he tasted my neck. My breath quickened, he smelled so good. Almost too good, like bacon.
I opened my eyes and furrowed my eyebrows as I continued to smell the air. The bacon smell grew stronger until it started to smell too strong. Axel stopped for a moment in confusion.
“Do you smell that?” I asked him.
“What? Oh hell! The bacon!” he said releasing me before bolting out of the bathroom and charging down the stairs. I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle of amusement.
Shaking my head at him, I got myself washed up and ready for the breakfast that was burning downstairs. Laughing at my statement as I hoped in the shower, I quickly washed up before I grabbed my towel. Heading down the stairs after dressing in a short turquoise sundress, I sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen in front of two plates.
“Hey,” Axel said looking back to smile at me.
“Hey, did you burn all of my food?” I asked in a teasing manor.
“No, smarty pants.”
“That’s Ms. to you,” I said with sass.
“Ha! Jaida, you’re perfect,” he said before serving the food before grabbing silverware, cups, and juice.
“Aw, thanks honey,” I said playfully.
“I figured that you would enjoy some breakfast, Italian style. Plus bacon because you are a bacon fiend!”
“Oh, this all looks so good!”
“Here you have your cafe’ e latte, which is just milk and coffee. You have your fete biscotatte, which is an Italian cookie. And then you have your Macedonia, which is just fruit salad.”
“Wow Axel, you pulled out all of the stops with this one.”
“All for you. Besides, you’re going to need to something for later on today with my friends.”
“Uh oh, are you the typical jerk who is mean to his girlfriend around his friends?” I asked remembering how rambunctious Ethan used to be.
“Of course not! It’s just that all of the friends that you’ll be meeting are male, not female. Why? Is that how Ethan treated you?” he asked before spearing a piece of fruit.
“Well, you know how guys are. They get a boost of testosterone when they’re around their guy friends,” I said brushing it off as male human nature.
“No, no, any guy that allowed you to believe that treating you like crap while he’s with his friends is normal is a total tool. You deserve to be treated the way you treat him at all times, no exceptions.”
My eyebrows shot up for a fraction of a second before I looked back down to my food. Being with Axel now, made me realize all of the mess I shouldn’t have put up with when we were together. I took a sip of my coffee before placing it down.
“I guess you’re right,” I said quietly.
“I know you’re really sensitive about that, but I just want you to know how I feel about relationships and how they should be. I don’t want you to ever feel like I’m anything like Ethan, because as far as I’m concerned, I’m nothing like him,” he stated softly.
“I know. It just makes me feel like a fool. How could I let him treat me the way he did when there are men out there like you?”
“You didn’t know any better.”
“I knew what I did and did not like. The only excuse I had was history; we’d been together since high school.”
“That’s a pretty good excuse, honey. He was your first love, he was your comfort zone, and he was all you knew.”
In a way he was right. First love was the strongest, but in a way I was right; just because it was the strongest doesn’t mean that it was the best. I finished my breakfast before chasing it with a swig of my coffee. My hands now lay flat against the counter.
“Jaida,” Axel said with a sigh.
“I’m okay. I just need to get over it I guess. I mean, he’s not in my life anymore,” I said looking up from scrutinizing my hands, “You are,” I said as our eyes met.
“That’s what I like to hear,” he said reaching across the island to gently touch my lips.
I smiled bashfully tucking my hair behind my ear. Collecting the dishes, Axel pre-washed, and set them in the dishwasher before coming back over to finish his coffee.
“So what are they like?” I asked curiously.
“Well, my friend are successful businessmen, but unlike me, they do have tendencies to be a little uppity. Matt isn’t as bad as Jeremy and Dillon, but they’re all a bunch of good guys.”
“What do they own?”
“Well, Matt owns his own car dealership here in Italy, Jeremy owns the seafood shop that I got our dinner from last night; he has several shops throughout Tuscany. Dillon owns and rents out several properties in Tuscany and Milan.”
“Wow, I’m officially intimidated.”
“Aww, don’t be babe.”
“Really? How could I not be? I mean, you’re a billionaire, and your friends are at least multimillionaires! And then there’s wee, little, old me! An accountant working back in San Fran,” I said in a practical manner.
“No, you are my traveling accountant. And you are not a millionaire, you’re a billionaire.”
“Oh please Axel! You can’t be serious,” I said as he chuckled at my reaction.
“How about six figures?” he said.
“What?” I was confused; he seemed serious.
“If you work for me, you’ll be making at least that.”
“Ok, wait a minute; what if we don’t make it as a couple?” I asked him seriously.
“What does that have to do with anything? I would hire you as my accountant, and you would work for me as long as you performed your duties.”
“Oh please, like you would want your ex working for you.
“Jaida, I’m not a vindictive ex, okay? As long as you didn’t do anything malicious, your career would be secure.”
“Would you interview me?” I asked playfully.
“Yes,” he answered seriously, causing me to sit back for a moment, “I can’t have you handling my accounts if you’re not capable; I don’t care how irresistibly sexy you are.”
I wrinkled my nose as I laughed at his response. He was so funny; this man could make me laugh so easily. I covered my mouth with my hand while the other lay on my chest. I shook
my head at him and rolled my eyes before taking a sip of my coffee.
“You are such a goof, you make me so happy,” I commented nonchalantly.
I felt his eyes on me, and when I looked up I could see the warmth in them. I didn’t understand why, but I just brushed it off as that’s how he usually looked at me. My drink was empty, and deciding on water, I got up from my chair and made it towards the cabinet.
“I need some water; that coffee was super sweet.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Axel said staining up to reach a cup that I couldn’t for me.
“Don’t be, I like my coffee sweet. I just need something to wash it down.”
“That makes sense, can you pour some for me too?” he asked as I obliged.
“That really hit the spot. Breakfast was delicious, honey,” I said before standing on my toes to kiss his lips.
“You’re welcome. Are you ready to get going?” he asked after we finished our small glasses.
“Sure…” I said. My heart started thrumming against its cage.
“Don’t look so excited,” he teased, “I’ve told them all about you and they’re excited to meet you.”
“Oh, ok! Cool,” I said feeling relaxed. I guess not all people were racially biased like my parents.
Chapter Eight
The moment we walked into the clubhouse, I instantly knew that Axel had not told them that I was black. Their faces were relaxed at first when they saw Axel, and then they saw me. They seemed to appreciate my beauty at first, but then they realized that I was holding hands with their buddy, and that’s when their faces dropped. I would’ve laughed if I weren't utterly offended.
The chubby red head I later learned was Dillon, furrowed his eyebrows as if he were looking at a three-eyed horse, but only until he realized that I was looking at him. His face grew even pinker than it was before in embarrassment; he deserved that. Jeremy was the tall blonde who was a little on the skinny side, but was actually attractive save for the wrinkles that he was forming as he pressed his lips into a thin line.
Matt actually gave a smile, though it wasn’t very friendly, more like cordial. He took my hand in a quick squeeze and greeted me in a polite manner. I could tell he was giving me customer service, but it was a lot better than the cold greeting I got from the other two. I wanted to ask them what the hell is your problem?
“So, who’s up for some chips?” Axel asked upbeat. There was no way he missed the cold greeting. Unless maybe he was trying to defrost the situation.
“We’ll get you shared away buddy; how about you, Jaida?” Matt asked.
Though it was obvious that he didn’t approve of the relationship, he still treated me like a person. The other two hadn’t looked at me since we sat down at an arrangement of comfortable chairs. Axel sat to my right, a table was set between us which is why I’m guessing is Dillon and Jeremy decided to grow up a bit and actually look in my direction when I spoke to them.
“So Axel tells me that you have been friends since college?”
“Yes.”
“Yes,” they both answered almost together in unison.
“These two met him his freshman year, I, on the other hand, have known him since senior year in high school,” Matt elaborated for them.
“Oh really, what was he like back then.”
“Fat,” Dillon chimed in before Axel started laughing.
“He was a chubby guy, but he had a good heart.”
“A good heart! Meaning he never got out of the friend zone!” Jeremy jested.
“Oh! Do you need some Antarctica for that burn?” Dillon teased.
“Oh please! Look at me now. You really think I’m worried about how I looked back when I was a teenager?”
“That’s true, Axel and I evolved while you stayed in the baby fat stage,” he said towards Dillon, “And you still look like a prepubescent teenager,” Matt commented towards Jeremy while sitting back proudly, his hands behind his head.
They seemed to laugh off the insults like they were used to it. I kept my laughter down to a minimal; they didn’t know me as well. They were already standoffish I didn’t want to make it any worse. I sat back and mainly watched as the conversation carried on without me. I laughed a little here and made a funny comment there, but mainly I let the men have their fun.
Matt and Axel were deep in conversation about politics while Dillon and Jeremy talked amongst themselves. I didn’t clearly hear what they were talking about, but every now and then, one of them would look over at me with a less than approving look on their faces. They only did this because they thought I was paying attention to Matt and Axel.
Finally, I turned my head in their direction just as one of them looked over. Shocked, Jeremy looked away and continued talking to Dillon like it never happened. Though I could see that he was embarrassed by the red tint of his cheeks, I decided not to gloat; that was so childish and not at all conducive.
Though I was keeping my composure, I was extremely uncomfortable on the inside. I decided to ignore the two jerks who sat side by side and paid more attention to the adults in the room. They were now on the discussion of travel. Matt brought up San Francisco, and when I said that that’s where I was born and raised, Matt and I engaged in conversation.
“Born and raised huh?”
“Yes sir,” I responded.
“Hey, I’m only thirty-six! You can call me Matt,” he said in a playful manner.
“I’m sorry, it comes with the job. Everything is super formal; sometimes it’s hard to turn it off.” As I said this, I could see Dillon roll his eyes out of the corner of my eye.
“Well, that’s totally understandable, how soon after college did you find work, I hear it’s a tough market out there,” he said with interest.
“It did take me a while to find something, but once I did I was set,” I said with a smile, “I’ve been working there for almost a couple years now.”
“Good for you!” he said sincerely. At first I felt that I wasn’t going to like this Matt character, but as the night went on, I felt that he wasn’t so bad after all.
“Thank you very much,” I said with a smile before looking over at Axel. He looked prideful as he leaned forward in his chair and gave me a wink.
“So you know the city like the back of your hand, tell me, what are really popular places to open up a business?” He asked sincerely; no joke intended.
That’s when Dillon coughed up a humorless laugh in my direction. Matt and Axel turned to look at him with the same question. Dillon shrugged his shoulders, I could tell he was racking his brain for something to say, some lie to save his ass. When he finally did, he laughed.
“She looks about fourteen, what would she know about business?”
“Plenty, she’s an accountant like my mother,” Axel said, I heard in his voice that he was slightly offended by his comment.
“Besides, it only takes a street savvy person who knows her city to know about foot traffic,” Matt said in my defense.
“I understand, I do look like I’m a moment away from braces and acne,” I joked causing Matt to laugh with sincerity. I had a feeling that he was growing to like me.
Just like Dillon and Jeremy noticed, and they really didn’t like it. Both of their faces grew tense. I actually caught Jeremy roll his eyes. Furrowing my eyebrows momentarily, I decided that I could go for a bathroom break.
“Excuse me gentlemen, I need to use the ladies’ room,” I said staining up before turning to Axel, “could you show me to the bathroom?” I asked him.
“Of course, I’ll be right back guys.”
Axel escorted me through the clubhouse and up to the doors of the bathroom, the whole way I felt eyes on us. The longer I was here, the more and more uncomfortable I grew by the seconds. I was trying to paint on a facade, but Axel saw right through it.
“What’s wrong?” he asked me before he ran his fingers through my curls.
“Nothing, honey.” I said trying to fake it. It was almost after dark, we�
�d been here the better half of the day. We’d eaten almost as soon as we’d gotten there, starting out with chips and dip upon request.
“Are you sure, I mean I’m sure the guys didn’t notice but, you seem a little down.”
“What? No! I’m just a little sleepy,” I lied.
Chapter Nine
Finding that I actually had to go, I went into a stall and took care of business. Going up to a sink and washing my hands, I stopped to take a hard look in the mirror. Was this worth signing up for? Though Matt was very polite towards me, the other two were so frosty I could see their breath in the air.
I then thought to myself, was this going to happen to Axel and my family? I would hate for him to have to feel this way just because he wasn’t black. I shook my head in frustration as I felt the tears. Curse my sensitive feelings! Why couldn’t I be more like Josie?
Things like these never bothered her. I began to rack my brain to gain composure, but didn’t need to when another woman walked in through the door. I took a deep breath and looked straight into the mirror. I needed to make sure that my eyes didn’t look red at all. I needed to look fine.
I tried to smile, but it fell flat. Blowing out air through my mouth and slumping my posture, I felt so childish and incompetent as I looked in the mirror. Straightening up as the lady came out of the stall, I said hello in Italian before looking back towards the sink.
“Oh, I don’t speak Italian if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said in a thick country accent.
“Oh! Sorry!”
“No need to apologize honey, you doing ok?” she asked me as she cocked her head to the right.
“I’m getting there,” I said in all honesty.
“Honey, you are too beautiful to look so sad. Put on some lipstick, and keep you head up. It always works for me,” she said before puckering at the mirror and turning around.
I smiled as I remembered those words all too well. That’s what my boss had told me the last day I saw her. Those words really gave me the strength that I needed to get myself together. I didn’t have any lipstick, and I could still hold my head high. Squaring my shoulders before returning a polite smile as a different woman came through the door, I walked out of the bathroom with dignity.
(2 Book Box Set) Loving The White Billionaire: 2 & 3 Page 5