The Carrero Heart_The Journey_Arrick and Sophie

by L. T. Marshall

  ‘Keep that up and I might just bang you here, and then no one will be in any doubt about what we get up to.’ Arrick leans back and smacks my ass hard, making me yelp and I throw back a glare at his face.

  ‘You wouldn’t dare. You’re not allowed to touch me when we go in… Don’t be all like lovey and touchy and stuff. I don’t want you doing weird shit that you do, like smacking my ass…. Or you know, being sweet, or lame, or just annoying me with wanting to touch me up.’ I scold, suddenly aware that they might scrutinise us in every way and not sure I will be comfortable with affection in front of them. Arrick sighs as I duck away from him and shove his hands off, not ready to have people seeing us all touchy and cuddly when I think it will just weird them all out. It is already weirding me out that they might see it.

  ‘Don’t make me carry you baby. I don’t think we will need to hide anything if the first thing they see is me manhandling you in the door.’ Arrick yanks me back a little more firmly and pulls me into a loose headlock, squirming as I give up the fight and sigh.

  ‘I changed my mind. I don’t want to come with you to see your mom.’ My tone changes and I’m really starting to panic. Hitting that age old childish part of me and sulking, pouting and whining expertly.

  ‘Yeah right then, you’re my human shield. My mom is less likely to throw dishes at me for defiling your innocence if you are standing between us.’ Arrick smirks, still refusing to let go but I only shake my head harder.

  ‘Nope.’ I turn and wrap my arms around his waist in a bid to stop him walking, crushing my head to that wide chest and pleading with little tense nudges; he just unravels me, turns me back around and pushes me in front of him with a little more force that sends me skipping ahead.

  ‘If you don’t come with me I will be forced to tell her to pick an engagement party date and that you want to give her ten grandbabies, and you know she will hold you to it.’ He grins, and I completely stop and stare at him in open mouthed horror.

  ‘Stop with the B word! …What engagement? You wouldn’t dare!’ I accuse, coming back to put my hands on his abdomen to keep him from the last few feet to the door.

  ‘I might even have to bring up the M word…So you better come in and supervise. Who knows what might come out of this mouth if she puts me under the grill. My mom can be really terrifying when it comes to you girls and her maternal need to protect you all.’ He chuckles, obviously smug at his attempts to blackmail me, but I admit, it’s working. I don’t trust him to not promise his mom big white weddings and three hundred grand babies before I am twenty-two. I don’t like that at all.

  Arrick tugs me the last foot towards him and kisses me softly, tilting his head so he can get close and personal. I jump back again in panic and look around wildly, scanning the empty street for spies.

  ‘Someone could see.’ I chastise him, fearful of prying eyes and feeling infuriated with his sudden grin. It’s going to take a while to get used to letting Arrick be this way with me in front of the people we love, it’s not natural for me, and even though Jake got a glimpse I would rather ease into this in a more comfortable way.

  ‘It would save us all of this drama. Come on you. We can stand out here all-day bickering, but I’d rather just face the music and tell everyone I’m fucking little Sophie.’ He dodges my slap on the shoulder and chuckles at my outrage at calling it that. Hauling me back under his arm and pulling me towards the house, despite my protests and struggles. Arrick isn’t taking any excuses, he is intent that coming home is for one reason alone and that is to tell his parents and face my family as a real couple.

  God help me!

  Getting me in the front door completely changes my entire demeanour; I revert to scared and wide eyed, cowering behind him, grabbing onto his upper arm with a death like grip as he leads the way. I have no idea how Sylvana is going to react, seeing as she has been like my surrogate second mom, or maybe third, for years. Suddenly it’s too terrifying that she may not approve of this, because I know she genuinely liked Natasha.

  ‘I think you’re cutting off the blood supply baby.’ He nods at my hands and I loosen them a little. Arrick peels one of them off and slides it into his hand as he pulls me towards the sound of chatter in the day room.

  ‘Momma…. Where are you?’ He yells into the echoing house and both jump when a voice comes close by from the kitchen to the right instead.

  ‘Right here waiting for you two to come in and stop arguing on the drive.’ Sylvana is standing with a mixing bowl in her kitchen, wooden spoon furiously pounding some sort of batter, eyeing us up with her usual loving face, a raised brow of a woman who already seems to be in the know.

  Arrick glances at me and despite telling me I am his human shield he steps in front of me to bridge the gap with his mother, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. Sylvana lays down her bowl, pats his cheek and then moves forward to kiss me on the forehead.

  ‘Do I need to wait for you two to awkwardly beat around the bush and spit it out while I pretend I don’t know, or are you just going to tell me how serious it is?’ She says pointedly; my mouth snaps shut, and I recoil behind Arrick was once more. Arrick only giggles and gives her another kiss on the cheek.

  ‘Can’t get nothing by you, can we? Guess I know who I take after……. Serious Momma….. I asked her to move in with me and she said yes. I love her.’ Arrick doesn’t hesitate. Always so at ease with his mother and he never really fears retribution. That is the perk of being the golden child, the good one in all the years Jake had been a devil. He dips his fingers in the bowl of batter and sticks them in his mouth, throwing me a wink as she bats him away for his dirty habit.

  ‘Well, it was hardly a shock seeing you kiss her on the drive. Last time I saw you here you were dragging her off in the dark like a crazed jealous loon when her gay friend was making an awful job of acting like her boyfriend. Sophie darling? ….. You left your shoes in my garden, and your underwear under my son’s bed.’ She smiles gently my way and moves the bowl out of reach of her sons wandering hands and lays it behind her on the worktop.

  I’m speechless, face flaming. Praying the ground would open up and devour my mortified body right now as shame courses through me. Arrick on the other had is smiling, chuckling and pulls me forward into his arm casually. Like this is no big deal at all.

  ‘Not as fly as we thought we were huh?’ He kisses me on the head and I wriggle free, shoving his hands off me in sheer awkwardness and slapping his hands away when he tries to catch me again, grinning at my reaction as Sylvana shakes her head.

  ‘Stop tormenting her!’ She smacks him on the lower arm with a warning look and then turns to me with a warm look.

  ‘If he’s anything like Jake, then the more you make a fuss, the worse he will try and get a reaction. I would just get used to being pawed by him. It’s pretty clear to anyone you are bumping uglies already; he is a Carrero after all.’ She smiles widely, motions to the coffee machine in a ‘would you like some’ gesture and seems oblivious to anything wrong here at all.

  ‘Mom?’ Arrick groans.

  ‘Wherever you heard that phrase, please never use it again. It’s not cool or hip and it’s really cringe.’ He leans back against the worktop behind us and just looks traumatised, his mom giggling girlishly and just sways a hand his way.

  ‘Well genitals are hardly attractive, and you do sort of bump when, you know? … Copulate.’ She raises an eyebrow and then softens her face with a smile, I see that cheeky Jake like glimmer in the depths and realise she is doing it on purpose to get a reaction out of him. Sylvana is naughty and I giggle too, losing all shame and embarrassment and suddenly wondering why I was ever worried that she would hate this.

  ‘I swear I’m scarred for life.’ Arrick groans again, clearly at a loss for words.

  ‘You’re not mad?’ I turn to her now, little inner Sophie reaching out to her maternal figure and needing reassurances. Insecurity peeking out and needing the balm that the Carrero’s have a way of applying. />
  ‘No. I’m not mad darling child. I’m surprised it took him this long to see the beautiful woman you were becoming.’ Sylvana reaches out and takes my hand, holding it tightly and squeezing it gently.

  ‘Yeah took him way too long.’ I nudge him in the ribs when he comes back up behind me and slides an arm around my shoulders. Feeling a little awkward under Sylvana’s scrutiny but leaving him alone to touch me, urging myself to relax and accept that it’s not going to stop, and I want to be able to relax with him.

  ‘I didn’t fail to see it…. I just didn’t think I should ever act on it.’ He says defensively, suddenly being ganged up on by two women he adores and deflecting the hard time that he knows he is going to get.

  ‘I can’t say it seems odd; you two have always been close, so seeing you being this way isn’t really new. Don’t play with her heart Arrick. Sophie is a fragile soul and she needs stability, not some lothario romance that messes with her head. I know what you and your brother are like.’ She tuts at him; Arrick frowning in complete disbelief.

  ‘Mom? Jake has been married to Emma for the last five years and they are solid and happy. I’m more than capable of being in a committed relationship too; your basing your facts on maybe seven years ago.’ He laughs at her and meets that scowling look.

  ‘Make sure that’s what this is, because if you hurt my little Mimmo and break her heart, I’ll break your neck. There better be a ring on that finger before long.’ Sylvana is deadly serious, scarily so and a hint of momma bear and fiery temper males me squirm back in his arms a little.

  ‘Steady on, I’m only twenty.’ I look up in sheer panic, knowing this was going to be a topic at some point, but not thinking she would swoop right in. I want that with him one day, but I have so much to do first.

  ‘Momma, there will be a ring on the finger eventually, right now we are just living in the moment. She’s moving in and we’re taking it from there.’ Arrick encircles my waist affectionately, his body moulding to mine, despite my attempts at batting him off subtly and then giving up again. Somehow her non-reaction makes me relax and I admit, I like his touch a little too much to ever push it away for long.

  ‘I’ve never understood you young folks and all this living in sin before marriage, just get married if you want to cohabit, and be done with it.’ She sighs, looking contemplative and moves off to drag mugs out of the cupboard despite no one saying they wanted coffee.

  ‘Mom are you trying to give Soph’s a heart attack. She has an aversion to marriage and babies. Give her another five years at least.’ Arrick laughs, his breath tickles my neck, yet I am still staring at her as though she has two heads. And as for five years. I think not. My five-year plan has stores and fashion week, not babies!

  He better re-think his time scale.

  ‘Why? If my son upsets you then come to me, I’ll kick him in the balls for you.’ Sylvana wanders back to me, kisses my forehead and smiles gently.

  ‘Although knowing you my darling child, you’re more than capable of doing it yourself.’ Sylvana smiles at me again and then wanders back to the counter.

  ‘Amen to that.’ Arrick agrees.

  ‘I have recently discovered I have a right hook.’ I point out, subject change smoothly applied. Head very clearly diverting from the cringy B word and pulling me to safer shores.

  ‘A pretty good one… I have her in the boxing ring with me, teaching her to kick ass, should she ever need it.’ Arrick leans his head against mine and sighs. I went with him yesterday evening for his late session with his trainer, he was adamant that I learn some self-defence moves before we left. He has been a lot clingier to my presence since the night I was grabbed by Tyler’s men, not that we talked much about it again. There is some unspoken rule that we forget that ever happened and no mention of Alexi or how he took care of things; all I know is he took over Camilla’s debt and she remained unharmed and somehow in the shelter of the Carrero family.

  That’s where my need to know ends.

  I wasn’t any good when he got me in that ring with him, and he did grab me a million times in a million ways to rile me until I got stroppy with him and threw his stupid gloves in his face. Yes, I was tantrummy and he was patient as hell, and just kept talking me back into the damn ring until I mastered one evasive manoeuvre. Also, how to properly knee a guy in his family jewels. I can now break a pinkie to get a hand off me too. I guess he’s just making sure that if I ever get grabbed again I will have a fighting chance to get away and I can’t not love him for that.

  ‘Will come in handy then won’t it. When you’re being a jerk and Sophie needs to put you in your place. I am guessing your arrival is the reason Cynthia has arranged a mass Carrero and Huntsberger family dinner party tomorrow night?’ Sylvana looks at us with a smile and I feel every ounce of blood drain from my body.

  ‘What?’ I told them we were coming, and my mom mentioned dinner, but she never mentioned this. I think I may pass out. Heart stopping mid beat, breathe halting in my frozen lungs and the instant sweats come over me.

  ‘Ouch…. Guess we better get our glad rags on and behave baby.’ Arrick laughs over the back of my head and I just feel sick.

  ‘Oh my god.’ I groan, imagining how they are all going to behave. I already have the texts from Leila and my brothers over the last couple of weeks teasing me about my new boyfriend. My family have mainly seemed to have taken it well, after my parents told them, and I got a lot of non-surprised responses. Rylanne however, asked me if this was new…He thought we had been dating for years and I literally had no response for the lack of observation on that front.

  I’m not worried they will say anything bad; I’m just not relishing how my hands-on boyfriend will behave in front of people that I tend to act demurer in front of. People I make an art form of appearing non-emotional and non-affectionate in front of.

  He just kills all of that. Ironically.

  ‘Better hone my skills of feeling you up. Cannot let an opportunity like a mass gathering slide by without torturing you.’ He brushes against my ear huskily and I already know he’s grinning, I elbow him in the ribs and turn with a glare.

  ‘I swear you better not. I’ll make you sit at the other side of the room and ignore you all night.’ I threaten, seriousness to my tone and that warning glare aimed at his face.

  ‘Fat chance, I’m going to be glued to you all night, every opportunity to get my hand on your ass and my tongue in your mouth. Might even get a hand up your skirt at dinner baby.’ He chuckles, eyes glued to my mouth as he says it and I just shake my head at him with such an urge to poke him in the eye right now.

  ‘Arrick.’ Sylvana slaps him across the head softly, getting an instant naughty boy scowl of surprise; doing what I wanted to and eyes him up.

  ‘That’s not an attractive trait. Don’t tease the love of your life. If she isn’t comfortable with public displays of affection, then leave her be.’ She scolds haughtily.

  I laugh at the irony in that sentence. Never did I ever imagine Arry would be on that side of that sentence. I giggle at the complete switch up in what we have become. He’s still my cool and calm outward man, but I know that only seems to be the surface layer he shows the world.

  ‘Nope. I need to cure her, I have no intention of stopping.’ He shrugs and seems to be trying to prove the point by roaming his hands down my thighs then back up towards the hem of my dress, but I slap him away.

  ‘Well I may just leave you to Leila then. Sure she will have something to say about you groping me over dinner.’ I shove him off with more force, slapping every single attempt to haul me back and moving away to glower at him accusingly.

  ‘Groping …Hmmmm…. I like the sound of that.’ He winks with a smile. Both Silvana and I systematically slap an arm each.

  Chapter 29

  ‘You will be fine baby cakes. Just man up and seduce him, before you tell him.’ Christian laughs down the phone, supportive as ever and I feel myself sigh. Nerves splayed, stomach churning and
tapping my fingers on the work top impatiently.

  ‘I think he might get mad. Or upset. I just don’t know.’ I stare at the wall of the apartment, facing the entertainment unit with it’s million and one framed pictures of us from the last year. The smiling happy trips and the cute couple snaps from favourite selfies. His lounge is looking less refined and manly nowadays, with the addition of throws, fluffy cushions and a manner of pink and sparkles mixed through all the grey and cool tone things. His domain has slowly been morphing over the months into a girly love pad and he doesn’t seem to care, even though it’s not as prim and neat as it used to be.

  ‘No, he won’t. He never seems to get mad at you. He will just sigh and smile and do whatever it is you ask of him, like he always does. You have that puppy wrapped around your little pinkie and you know it.’ Christian is being annoyingly upbeat today, I guess he chose his holiday with James to stay in bed, again, seeing as that’s all they seem to do now they are officially cohabiting. Much like Arry and I.

  Moving in here was the best decision I ever made, and living with him has made us closer than ever. Not that sometimes he doesn’t want to string me up for being a completely messy house mate, but he’s easy to placate. I just have to get naked and he’s over it.

  ‘I’m not sure I even want it, I’ll miss you guys so much.’ I play with a strand of my hair, longer now as I have been growing it out a little and it stare at its light highlighted colour, tugging in front of me nervously. Trying to curb my edgy tension.

  ‘You know that we shouldn’t hold you back. Jenny is leaving anyway. Married with a bun in the oven has really redirected her priorities, and what with Nathan opening his own marketing company to promote more fighters; I think she’s happy to just be one of those stay home and adore my kids type of people.’ Christian sighs, as I do. We attended the crazily unexpected wedding a few months ago, that seemed to come out of the blue after those two got into a very serious relationship and found out she was pregnant. She’s happy though, and the unplanned baby seemed to just make her more so. Nathan turned out to be more than capable of being a one-woman man and is all for the new life he is giving her, if not a little old fashioned in the whole ‘You’re not giving birth to my baby until our names match.’ I honestly never saw that one coming at all. I think they will make it though, he seems to adore her as much as she adores him, and he stopped playing games with her heart the second he told her so.