by S. W. Frank
“I got it.” He answered.
The heaving of her swollen breasts in the low-cut top distracted him. She licked her lips and his eyes were drawn to the succulent mouth. He slept alone for two nights, which was a record for Giuseppe. His attraction to Shanda surfaced in the form of an erection and thankfully the stool concealed the prominent bulge.
The back of his hand caressed her cheek and her eyes widened at the tenderness of his touch. She was very pretty. He liked her short hair, it brought out the intensity of her eyes. He wondered what making love to a very pregnant woman felt like. Many men have said sex with a pregnant lady exceeds pleasure. It is a dick’s version of heaven. Tonight he sought to partake in what many men experienced and he had yet to taste.
Tonight the guards could bunk in the living room and he would share her bed. Tomorrow, she and the pup would be guests in his home. He actually looked forward to their company. Shanda made him laugh and managed to convert his murderous scowl into a smile. This feat had never been done before. The ill-tempered Giuseppe had met his match.
His eyes crinkled when the puppy sauntered out of nowhere and nuzzled against Shanda’s foot. “She is jealous, eh?”
“Whatever happened to the use of masculine forms of speech? It’s a boy. I named the dog after you. You should feel honored.”
Giuseppe howled, “Ah you have humor. I assumed it was a bitch!”
Shanda slid off the wood stool and bent down to pick up the pup to make a formal introduction, “Gee meet your namesake, Giuseppe. This is the reason I chose you boy and not the other cute little bitch. ”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Trinidad and Tobago was situated off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. This is the location they’d chosen for their honeymoon. It held meaning to Selange. This was her father’s birthplace and a connection to her roots beyond blood. She had yet to step foot upon its shores. Alfonzo hoped after she did, she’d have peace, this was his silent prayer.
Alfonzo reclined his head and rubbed the fatigue from his eyes. The liquor and weed had finally taken a toll. Work and the stress of family obligations were anchored to his shoulders and a quiet romantic get-a-way would lighten the load. He needed this break, if only for a moment, they both did.
He tried not to think about his father, yet his mind traveled there of its own accord. The great Luzo Palazzo men spoke about was nothing more than a dying stranger he met years ago. Time went by so quickly, didn’t it? One minute he’s a kid, the next, an adult racing toward old age and death. No one can bribe death for a pass; money is valueless to the Grim Reaper. Luzo learned that lesson on his deathbed, but Alfonzo refused to repeat the legacy. Withered and lonely was a sorry ass way to die. Thanks to Uncle Alberti’s wisdom, he had the love of his life and planned to hold on to her, tight.
He peered at Selange and smirked. She slept peacefully in his arms like a damn baby. There wasn’t a single flutter from the long eyelashes, only the gentle breathing of a tired woman who brought joy to his heart. He hadn’t updated her about Shanda, yet. When Shanda disappeared from the face of the earth Selange behaved as if everything was okay, but there were moments when he saw wistfulness and guessed the origin. Eventually, he’d tell her, except now wasn’t the time.
The jet touched down in Port of Spain and the light rain they encountered upon descent transitioned into a thunderous downpour.
Alfonzo woke his wife and she stretched her arms over her head yawning, “We’re here already?”
“Sí, babe.” He said shaking his arm. She’d used it as her pillow during the hour-long flight and the damn thing fell asleep. Once it woke again, he stood and went to speak with the pilot. “Listen, you don’t have to stay on the island. Just make sure you return when we’re ready to leave, alright?”
“I think I’ll bunk at the Regency Hyatt. I could use a bit of R and R.”
Alfonzo pat Troy’s shoulder, “Have fun buddy.”
“Hey y tú tambien,” Troy nodded. “Enjoy your honeymoon.”
“I plan to.”
They were en route a short time later, driving through the darkened streets of the island in the pouring rain. Selange had her hand on his thigh and they were silent, enjoying the quiet which was a rare commodity when you have kids. Finally, they entered a roadway with grass and trees which served as natural safety railings and followed the path. They were leaving the tourist center behind and going to where solitude existed for those with wealth. The main area around the hotels didn’t have many attractions and at night, it wasn’t the safest of places. There isn’t a location he traveled without getting the 4-1-1 beforehand. Petty crimes, like robbery, always occurred around tourist areas. Having lived in New York, he wasn’t naïve. The illegal activity happening in Trinidad’s underworld wasn’t shit compared to Manhattan. Crime existed everywhere in the world; it’s only the blind that didn’t see.
The car rumbled over rocks and dirt for close to an hour until they finally arrived at a villa with tropical trees surrounding the vicinity high above the shore. The rain had ceased, leaving behind evidence of its visit on the foliage. Alfonzo climbed out and stretched his legs. From the elevation, he could see the lights of town and the tallest buildings.
If he had to pick a honeymoon spot, this was as good as any. As long as he had good company, the locale didn’t matter. Selange was more than good company, she made the party.
****
Nico informed Ari about the change of plans and she wasn’t happy. “Look, I’m going to join you real soon.” He said and rubbed her belly, “Both of you. Trust me sweetheart.”
She sighed, eversince their staged ‘deaths’ they were together as a family, really together for the first time in years. But, she missed her parents and believe it, working. She felt useless and fat and as a homemaker she truly sucked. How did stay at home women manage to do so many things in a few hours and have a meal ready for the kids when they arrived home?
It’s insane!
Supine and staring up at the fresco ceiling of the beautiful master bedroom belonging to Al and Selange was ironic. Everything lately, seemed like an altered reality and at times she swore she’d been snatched by aliens and taken to a parallel earth. It took months to wrap her brain around this new life and the adjustment was ongoing. Nico rubbed lovingly on her stomach and she heard him exhale in frustration. They promised to communicate more and he was still having a hard time with it. The phrase, old habits die hard is true in Nico’s case and not simply a cliché; the man had problems opening up.
“Nicolo…the boys are enrolled in school. I thought we were trying to assimilate and act like a normal family. Now, you’re doing this three sixty and I have a right to know why.”
Nico rolled on his back.
Man, this bed is soft!
He wanted shut-eye but Ari wanted to talk at three o’clock in the morning when everyone else had gone to bed an hour ago. The guests occupied every room in the house. These were the attendees who flew in for the wedding and planned to leave in the morning. The party continued long after the newlyweds departed and many of the revelers were two sheets to the wind. Maria urged the guests to stay the night, including Sophie. This, in light of their personal issues was a grand gesture. Nico supposed Bruno softened Maria’s perspective on the issue. Holding on to grudges hardens the heart.
Alberti once warned, “Be careful Nicolo you do not build a wall of hate too thick or tall that when it falls it crushes you to death.”
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He missed the wise old gent and wondered what he’d say now if he saw the mess the family was in. Nico gave a futile sigh. He’d probably say, “Do something about it, you set the ship astray when you lost sight of shore, now steer the vessel in the direction it ought to go.”
His first course of action consisted of making sure Ari and the boys were safe and get his stubborn ex-wife to follow an order. Sergio’s problem didn’t concern him as much as the unease he had when he thought about Alfonzo. The bond they had fractured, yet it hadn’t severed his ability to tell when something was wrong. Alfonzo hadn’t said it; in fact he didn’t have to. It was in his body language and a contemplative expression noticeable to someone who studied him up close and from afar. The jab at Nico wasn’t about Selange or Luzo, was it? No, it wasn’t that at all. Alfonzo carried a weight and it grew too heavy. Giuseppe’s preoccupation and immaturity made him useless. Alfonzo didn’t have another set of hands to help carry the burden. Nico decided sitting idle isn’t a protector’s role, besides if he didn’t get back into the action; his family was likely to get flushed down the toilet bowl.
“Nico, I asked a question.”
“Something’s come up that warrants immediate attention or else it’ll expand into a major problem for the family.” Is the only explanation he cared to share. He operated on a need to know basis and a probing attorney tends to dig. Occasionally, she slipped into lawyer mode and forgot she forfeit that life when she screwed with shithead who kidnapped their kid. He wasn’t mad at the woman; he understood the pregnancy created a hormone imbalance. She wasn’t this way with the twins and he figured they were having a girl to pay daddy back for his womanizing years.
“Let Alfonzo or Giuseppe handle it. We’re supposed to remain invisible, remember?”
“Of course I remember!” Damn woman was right, although technically, she’s the person of interest in the predicament and not him. One tip to the NYPD Ari was alive and jail or dead is where she’d find her stubborn ass head.
“Then you’re coming home with me and the boys, to Eritrea. I’m not having this baby without you and you promised to stick around.” She turned her head sideways to view his face and as usual, it was unreadable. He looked like a biker with that sparkly earring and Mohawk. She didn’t like the look, a matter-of-fact, she was angry he let the boys get their ears pierced, too. They resembled hoodlums and their father was the ringleader. She loved Nico to death, but he didn’t understand this baby was making her irritable and the last thing she needed is a deserter sperm donor, for goodness sake!
“Ari, I’ve already arranged everything. You and the boys will go to Palermo and stay with Sophie. You don’t get a say.”
“Are you serious, I don’t have a choice?”
“That’s what I said.” He replied and flipped on his side. Alfonzo’s comfy bed had a sleeping pill effect. He was dogged tired and his crankiness stemmed from sleep deprivation. However, he considered her feelings and stroked her with words. In a tender tone he spoke in French, since she considered it the language of love, “Get some rest Ari and don’t take what I’m saying personal. You and my children are everything. I’m looking out for my family and I’ll do it with my dying breath.” This was Nico’s final statement before he conked out.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Giuseppe had an arm around Shanda as she slept like a baby. A petulant scowl and a hard-on is what he had. His earlier attempt at seduction went awry. Apparently his romantic feelings weren’t reciprocated. She refused to give him heaven, not even a sample and he considered it a crime. The woman told him to lie quietly or sleep on the floor with Gee as if he was a dog. He could do nothing, except take a cold shower, raid the fridge and join the men in the living room as they watched porn. When he tired of the artificial visual he went to jerk off in the bathroom, muttering obscenities that this is what it’d come to for a man of his stature.
Women!
Finally, he joined her in the small bed and spent most of the hours watching her sleep. The pretty woman put him at a disadvantage. He would never force himself on a woman, no, he was far too arrogant. If she did not want to have sex, other women gladly would, except there were none accessible to polish his wood.
At least one of the men slept because he could hear the loud rattling snores. The walls of her home were paper thin and the cutesy bed was meant for feminine creatures and not large men.
He propped himself up on his elbow to get a glimpse of her swollen breasts straining the bodice. Her belly was big. Not as large as Amelda’s prior to birth, but perhaps two to three months shy. During his sister’s pregnancy, everyone doted on her.
Matteo acted an ass and Giuseppe often cringed or teased when he visited each time he heard Matteo ask. “What would you like bella? What can I do for you donna?”
Giuseppe did not understand. But, an emotional attachment formed simply by the possibility this woman carried his seed. A seed which grew each day and would soon make an entrance into the world. The thought excited him, but he would not tell her. A Giuseppe the Second had an aristocratic ring to it.
A long exhalation occurred, “Santi io prego questo è mio figlio.”
She stirred and snuggled closer to his body. He frowned. Perhaps he should sleep on the floor. This closeness and inability to consummate amounted to torture. But first, he wanted a kiss and he took it and the sweetness of her lips ignited a desire for more. His hand massaged her breasts and they were soft, beautiful. She was kissing him in return and he smiled. The liar!
Suddenly, her eyes opened and she pushed at his chest, “Ummm…stop it…what are you doing?” Were the words mumbled in his mouth.
He slid his hand free as she rolled over with the fat belly. To avoid squishing her or causing harm, Giuseppe moved away and fell off the bed. “Cazzo!”
“What the hell are you trying to do Giuseppe?”
He jumped to his feet. “What do you think?”
“Are you such a pervert you can’t sleep next to me and not try to screw me when I’m sleeping?”
“I am a man who likes sex with women; I apologize if you believed otherwise.”
“There are many straight guys who can lie next to a woman and not want to fuck her?” Shanda said, although shirtless and in his boxers, Giuseppe did look delicious. She just wasn’t giving in, especially after the way he treated her.
Giuseppe snickered, “I suppose if they must share a bed with their mother or someone they are not attracted to this is true.”
Shanda wondered whether he was attracted to her personality or her pussy. There’s a difference. “Either, keep your hands to yourself or like I said cuddle up with the dog big guy.”
Giuseppe climbed into bed and gestured for her to turn on her side. How else would he fit? He grumbled as she returned to a left lateral recumbent position and he had nowhere to rest his arm except over her breasts, stomach or thighs. “And what am I to do with this?”
Shanda swiveled her head to see his arm sticking vertically in the air, “Oh my goodness, you are worse than my little nephew Tyquan. Damn!”
“I am not comfortable.”
“This is not the Ritz-Carlton Giuseppe. Make the best of it. You’re an uninvited guest, be grateful I let you lie here in the first place!”
“Do you know how I sleep best?” Giuseppe grinned as he spooned her and put his arm around her breasts. She did not protest and he scoot a bit closer to her warm body.
“Let me guess. With your dick in a woman’s hole.”
“Sí.”
“Pull another move like that again and I’ll find a nice dark hole to bury you in, capisce?”
Gius
eppe laughed hard and curled his body protectively around her. “You threaten death. But, as long as I am wrapped in your arms I am not afraid.”
Shanda pushed him back with her ass, “You’re too much Giuseppe, and I can’t believe women fall for your corny lines. Scoot your ass back a bit and behave.”
“Did you miss me bella?”
“Nope!”
“I thought about you.”
“When you finished fucking and slept alone?”
“Yes.”
“At least you’re honest.”
“I will never lie about such things. I am a bachelor and enjoy the freedom of it.”
“I bet.” She scoffed.
“You are a free spirit. We are the same.”
“No we’re not.”
“You enjoy freedom. You are a bachelorette. You speak your mind and do not apologize for it. See, all the things we have in common?”
“Those are superficial similarities. What music do I like?”
His eyes twinkled humorously. “Sexual music.”
“Now that’s retarded.”
Giuseppe recalled the R&B and Pop CD’s lying about the table in the sitting room. “You love soul music because it touches you, but you like Pop for the nights you party with your friends.”
Shanda was silent.
Giuseppe continued, “You went to college, not because you wanted to but because you wanted to please your parents. The sword of your tongue is to hide the fear, but when observed more closely it is really a butter knife.”
She closed her eyes again and listened to him breathing. Her body wanted him, damn it wanted him badly but she refused to listen and paid attention to her brain instead. She couldn’t keep giving in to her urges and had to take a stand. She didn’t want sex as the only thread holding her to a man. She wanted a meaningful relationship for a change. Just because she was pregnant with his child didn’t give him carte blanche to her pussy. Giuseppe wasn’t the committal type. The only future they shared consisted of rearing a child and being good parents.