Sixteen
“ M y mom definitely felt some type of way about me stealing my Jeep for the weekend,” I say, interlocking my fingers with Ash as we drive along the coastline.
Since I moved to New York after high school, my mom took it upon herself to make sure my Jeep still got some love. Which has turned into her Jeep-hair-don’t-care era.
Ashley laughs. “She’s on her hot mom shit right now. I bet she looks good driving this bad boy around.” She picks up the small little duckie my mom has on my dashboard now. “Does driving this and being here take you back to your BDE days?”
I give her a quick side-eye. “Now you know I still got that BDE.”
Another sweet laugh escapes her lips, and fuck is it good to see her like this, so carefree. Takes me back to the Trent and Ashley before shit got real.
She bites her lip, playfully eyeing me up and down. “Yeah, baby, you still got that Big Dick Energy.” A smirk quirks her pretty lips. “Still can’t believe I used to have you in my phone as BDE, though.”
I chuckle at that. “Well, I’m cringing at the fact I used to be a part of the Boys Down East, aka BDE thirst trap on TikTok.”
“My, my, how life has changed.” She reaches over the center console with her free hand, gripping my jogger-clad thigh. “Trust me, it wasn’t cringy to me. I recall scrolling and drooling for hours.” Her touch, as always, has my cock coming alive in my pants.
I take the right turn toward the sand dunes we are headed for. “Then a fiery little Italian hottie walked into my house, and I never looked back. I didn’t care about any of that other shit after that.”
Leaning over, she kisses my cheek. “You are getting lots of brownie points today, buddy.”
“I can’t wait to get my reward…” I put the gearshift in park and look out toward the beach in front of us. “I recall several nice rewards you gave me right here in this exact spot.”
Our spot.
A huge smile takes over her face as we look out at the ocean. “So many good memories here,” she says, letting out a content sigh.
It’s too chilly with the breeze coming off the water today, so we just sit in the Jeep, admiring the view side by side.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, I ask, “Do you still want a condo in the city and a cottage on Nori Beach?” I ask, remembering all the times we dreamed up a life together in a perfect imaginary world.
Her beautiful blue eyes, rimmed with perfect dark eyelashes, meet mine. They look deeper than the Atlantic Ocean that travels beyond our view, and even in the late fall air, I want to dive right into them.
“Honestly, Trent, there are times when I’d love to leave New York behind for good, but I think I’ll feel differently once I am free of my chains.”
That reminder of her situation has me wanting to check my phone for an update from Nico. The closer we get to Junior’s return to the States, the more anxious I become about the intel retrieval that is needed.
“But I definitely want us to have a place here. Somewhere we can bring our children and spend time with your family. Summers here with Lottie, Greyson, and their kids too. Me and you, hand in hand, as little feet patter down the hall, waking us up because they’re ready to go out onto the beach. That’s what my dreams are made of.” She brings my knuckles to her lips, placing a soft kiss there that warms me from the inside out. “I was in a dark place these past three years and quite frankly had given up on that fantasy, but now, Trent… We’re so close, I can almost taste it, and I won’t give up until we have it.”
“Me neither, Doll. Me neither. I’m sorry me leaving took that dream away from you. It's honestly the only thing that has kept me going the past several years. Me and you, wherever we are, is where I want to be. A family together would be icing on the cake.”
Emotion shines in her eyes. “I love you, Trent.”
I used to try my hardest to imagine her voice saying those words to me every day I was in Europe. To some, it may just be words, but when you are forced to go without hearing them from the person you love most in the world, you learn to never take anything for granted again .
“I love you so much,” I say, pulling her into me and searing my lips to hers.
My phone rings, unfortunately interrupting the moment. Ashley sees “Mama” flash across the screen. “Shit, are we late for Thanksgiving?”
I check the time. “Nope, we still have over an hour before everyone else is due to be there.”
“Hey, Mama.” I answer her call on speakerphone.
“Sorry, bud, but do you mind stopping to get me some more mayo? Turns out, I don’t have enough to make double the amount of potato salad, per your request.” I hear the smile on her face, knowing she loves cooking anything me and my brother ask her for.
Ashley pats her belly and licks her lips the second she hears potato salad.
“Gotcha, be there in twenty.” I turn the ignition on my Jeep.
“Thank you, and make sure it’s Dukes,” she rushes out.
“Of course, Mother,” I snark, chuckling.
“Love you, see you soon.”
“Love you.”
“Dukes?” Ash questions when I hang up, as we both take one more glance at the ocean before pulling away.
“Only the best mayo ever. Just so you know, one day when we have our own house, it's the only mayo allowed in the fridge,” I joke, but really, it’s the best.
Ashley giggles. “One day, when we have our own place, you can have anything you want.”
Our own place .
My stomach dips with how badly I want that with her.
“You in my bed every night, and a smile on your face every day is all I need.”
“Boy, you better stop staring at that girl and peel these potatoes.” My nana’s playful tone drags me unwillingly out of my daydream.
Ashley stands on the other side of the room, talking to my Uncle Smith, who has already broken into her Pignoli cookies after his future daughter-in-law couldn’t stop bragging about Ashley staying up late to make her grandma’s recipe and how delicious they are.
I love seeing her here with all my family. We have had so much fun with everyone over the past few days. All of Lottie and Grey’s friends from Richmond Hills were in town for the engagement party. Ashley was able to let loose and be the carefree twenty-three-year-old she deserves to be. Even though two days later, she’s still feeling the hangover effects, I had to pull over on the way home from the beach so she could puke on the side of the road. You’d never know it now, looking at her beautiful, smiling face.
“That girl is the reason he wants this potato salad,” my mom chirps in, raising her eyebrows at me.
“Well, even more reason. Get to it!” Nana Rexwood elbows me and snaps her fingers.
“How did you know that, Mom?” A suspicious smirk spreads across my face.
“You think I don’t remember that summer before you left for New York. The one where you suddenly loved my potato salad so much you asked me to make it four times in two weeks.”
I smile, shaking my head that my mom even remembers that. Ashley had never had potato salad like my mom’s. She couldn’t get enough of the dish, and I couldn’t get enough of her. So naturally, I had my mom make it as much as possible before she left that summer.
“I knew she was the first girl who knocked you on your ass. I remember how broody you were after she left. I figured you guys would reconnect in New York, so I was not shocked to hear she was here this week, and you were conveniently staying with your cousin and Lottie until tonight.”
“Been knocked on my ass ever since,” I grunt.
“I can see why,” my mom smiles gently, looking over at Ashley. “She’s pretty amazing. Her speech at the engagement party was truly beautiful.”
I smile proudly. She did so good.
Nana cuts in, “She really is so beautiful. I don’t know how my grandsons keep landing these gorgeous New Yorkers.” It’s no secret that my cousin’s fiancée, Lottie, is Nana Rexwood’s favorite, which automatically gets Ashley extra credit as her best friend.
“Well, except my oldest. That brother of yours needs to stop being so greedy and settle down.”
I chuckle at that, looking around the room to find him talking to our dad. I should probably save him.
It’s weird. We love our dad, but it's awkward. We’ve looked up to him our whole lives as a well-achieved doctor, but because he always put work ahead of everything else, we never got to know the man he is, only the doctor. He also likes to give Trevor a hard time about giving up being a surgeon at such a pristine hospital to do private duty work. Luckily, until I’m done with school, I can avoid that conversation. But Trevor’s only here for one day, so I let my dad have his moment.
Vito’s infection has cleared up, and he’s starting to get around again, but we knew we couldn’t chance being gone for long in case there was a medical need within the Santini family since their doctor has not been reliable lately. It would be too suspicious with us both being unavailable.
My mom speaks up. “You know she is welcome to stay here tonight, too. Sorry, you guys can’t stay in the guest house, but your room is free.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I knew she would be cool with it, so that was my plan all along. I don’t think I’d even sleep knowing I was missing a night to hold her.
With her hands messy from cooking, she leans in and kisses my forehead. “I’m just so happy to have you here. We have missed you more than you know.”
“I’ve missed you guys too.”
My phone dings in my pocket, and I pull it out, hoping it's Nico, and I’m instantly annoyed by the preview of the text.
Amelia
Hey Trent. Just checking in on you since I haven’t seen you in classes lately. Would love to get together and study for finals. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving break!
Not a chance in hell.
I slide my phone back into my pocket. That study session will never happen .
My mom’s excited tone draws me back into the conversation. “Will you and Ashley be able to come here for Christmas? If not, maybe Dad and I can come to New York and see you guys and Trevor.”
It’s not like I can say… “Well, Mom, Ashley’s married, and I’m just waiting till my boss gives me the go-ahead to kill her motherfucker of a husband safely without backlash for her family or ours.”
Instead, I go with, “I’m sure we can, but let me see what her plan is with her mom and brother.”
“Okay, well, even if it's early like this, let’s pick something that works for everyone. Her mom is welcome to join you guys next time.” I know Ashley will appreciate that offer, and in a perfect world, we would do just that. Actual Thanksgiving Day is this coming Thursday, and I hate I won’t be able to go to her mother’s with her; even if Junior isn’t here, it’s not fair to her mom to put her at risk that way.
“Speaking of…who is the other guy with her brother?”
My mom’s question throws me off. I take a second to get my answer together. I’m surprised I didn’t consider that the question might come up. “Oh, Luca is one of Micah’s best friends. Trevor and I have gotten really close with him, too, and he doesn’t have much family.”
The answer is semi-truthful. Luca has become a great friend to us, but he is also here on duty. It’s been cool seeing him relax and have a little fun too. He fits right in with everyone. Well, as soon as he and Micah were debriefed on not to let their gazes linger too long on Lottie, Emerson, or Jade, it was all good.
My mom smiles. “That’s kind of y’all. He is always welcomed. ”
“Okay, potatoes are done. Now show me exactly how you make it.” I smile at my mom. “I gotta be able to make it just right for my wife one day.”
My mom lets out an excited yelp. “Are you saying you are going to marry her one day?”
“If I have anything to say about it.”
“It looks the exact same,”Ashley says, whispering as she walks around curiously, studying my bedroom.
I hear a tiny gasp leave her lips, and I know exactly what she just noticed.
She kicks her boots off and climbs onto my bed, running her hand over the framed football jersey my mom made for me at the end of my senior year of high school.
The souvenir I kept from our night together over four years ago is pinned between the frame and the wall. It’s a piece of her costume she left behind like Cinderella when she dashed out of here that night.
Just with a much sexier outfit and a lot more action before the clock struck midnight.
“You kept them.” She looks from me to the bunny ears now in her hand.
“Of course I did.”
A lust-driven smirk spreads over her fuckable lips, and she slides the bunny ears on her head.
“That was a fun night. ”
Moving to the edge of the bed, I run my hands under her oversized sweater, cupping her ass cheeks and pulling her toward me.
“No running from me tonight, Doll.” I push her sweater up and over her head. “Unless you want to be chased.”
“Umm, what are you doing, Trent? Isn’t your parents’ room like right underneath us?” She tries to hide her smile by biting her lip, only turning me on even more.
“So?”
“So…I don’t want your mom finding out what I sound like when her son makes me come.”
I bust out laughing at that. “Okay, okay. Just get comfy. We can watch something on Netflix.”
She eyes me suspiciously but slips under my covers after tucking the bunny ears safely back into place. It doesn’t go unnoticed that she’s only in her bra and panties after kicking off her leggings.
Ashley looks away quickly when I strip down to my boxers, pretending to scroll through Netflix.
“Want to watch a Christmas movie?” she chirps.
“Sure, babe,” I say casually.
She thinks she’s sneaky, but I see the way she keeps eying my hardening cock as I slide under the plush covers next to her.
“What’s it going to be? Home Alone , for old time’s sake?” I ask, reminiscing on the day after Christmas, my first year at NYU.
I wasn’t expecting much from Ashley that holiday season because I knew there would be expectations of her. When I returned from North Carolina that Friday after Christmas, I bought a small tree for the hotel. She showed up, and it was the best Christmas I’ve had to date.
We danced to Mariah Carey, got drunk off premixed egg nog, ate homemade cookies she brought me, had tons of sex, and passed out to Kevin McAllister defending his home as any eight-year-old would.
Ashley shimmies closer to me, interrupting my thoughts and ignoring the question. She shifts her eyes down to my now comforter-covered boner. “What are you going to do about that?”
“What are you going to do about those?” I raise my eyebrows at her nipples poking through the fabric of her bra.
She playfully rolls her eyes and starts scrolling through the movies on the screen. I can tell by the way she’s squirming that she isn’t paying attention to what she’s doing.
“You know, the last time I was here, we skipped over all the bases and went right for the grand slam.” Wondering where she’s going with this, I turn onto my side so she has my full attention. Ashley appears almost bashful, which is entirely unlike her when it comes to sex, but she keeps talking. “I know this is ass-backward, but since we need to be quiet, I really want to jack you off.” She bites her lip. The embarrassment over what she’s asking leaves her as I press my throbbing dick into her hip. “I want to watch you come. That was so fucking hot in my sewing room, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Ash, you always have free rein of my body.” I push the covers away from me, shoving my boxers down my legs. “He’s all yours.” I trail my finger down the center of her body to her panty-covered pussy. “But you know I will need to take care of you too. ”
“You first,” she responds breathlessly, licking her lips and pushing me flat on my back. Wasting no time, she takes me in her hand.
With slow strokes, she gently glides her thumb over the head of my cock. My hips lift off the bed at her sensual touch. She reaches behind her back with her free hand, letting her bra fall and freeing her breasts.
Fuck, I’m a goner.
My head falls back against the satin pillow with a groan. Ash increases her pace, and I open my eyes again, loving how into this she is.
She releases me, and my cock bounces heavily against my stomach. My painfully stiff shaft jumps at the sight of her running her tongue over the palm of her hand to get it wet before she returns to stroking me.
“That hand looks just as good as your sexy little mouth and pretty pink pussy do when they are wrapped around my cock.”
Her tits bounce as her motions quicken, no doubt as turned on as I am by the way her thighs are rubbing together.
“Baby, let me take care of you,” I plead, reaching up to tweak her nipple before trailing my hand down to brush against her core.
She slows her strokes, twisting up and down, lifting her head to look at me. Her blue eyes are so dark with lust, her breaths quick, and she asks. “Can you be a good boy and be really quiet?”
Hell yes.
I nod eagerly, watching as she peels her underwear off. My mouth waters at the sight of her knees going to either side of my hips, lining that sweet cunt up with my throbbing cock.
“I need you inside me, Trent,” she moans lightly, my cock still in her grip as she rubs the tip through her slit. I push my head back into the pillow, biting my tongue, trying my damndest to not come in the next two seconds.
She swirls her hips around the head of my cock, driving me absolutely fucking mad.
“Please,” I hiss, and she thankfully doesn’t torture me further.
Ashley sits all the way down on my cock, throwing her head back in appreciation, palming her mouth to hold back a moan. Slowly grinding into me while regaining her composure, I feel her clenching around my length. Gripping her hips, I guide her closer, and she leans down so our chests are flush.
She kisses me, moaning into my mouth when our tongues meet. The quiet noise of our bodies sliding against each other, her nipples skating over my skin, the sensual way she moves her hips over me, steady but slow, her signature jasmine scent drugging me into euphoria, it’s like my senses are hyper-aware.
Moaning from deep in her throat when I thrust up into her, her hips start to rock harder, causing the bed to move against the wall. “Shit,” she says, then immediately slows her movements.
“Fuck it, baby. Keep going. I want to feel that pussy squeeze me.”
My words must send her over the edge because she buries her head in the pillow over my shoulder. Headboard noise be damned .
“Don’t stop riding this cock. Bite that pillow,” I growl in her ear, her pussy fluttering around me as she comes with a muffled cry, her arms and legs tightening around me.
Unable to stop myself, my hips thrust up with a powerful rhythm, meeting her. Faster and faster, my vision darkens, body tingling, and I turn my head into her neck to silence my own moans as I come deep inside of her.
The orgasmic haze starts to clear as we catch our breaths, and Ashley lifts her head. “Well, I probably just made a lasting impression on your mother.”
We both break into a fit of laughter.
“I already told her you were the future Mrs. Manning, so I’ll just tell her we decided to get a head start on grandkids… She won’t care.”
Ashley giggles, but I know her thoughts have likely drifted to the same place as mine.
These past few days in the safety of Nori Beach have reminded us of what it's truly like when the Mafia isn’t controlling her. All the things we could have.
All the things I so desperately want for us. Returning to New York tomorrow with no new news from Nico regarding Junior fills me with nervous energy. I push that thought aside and focus on the love of my life lying in my arms.
No matter what, she will be safe.