36. They better be good stickers
Chapter 36
They better be good stickers
Luca
P art of me really wants Ariana at my first fight here, but a bigger part of me thinks it’s a bad idea. And that’s the part Marco agrees with, so we head out with promises of a play-by-play retelling of the night and strawberry milkshakes when we get done.
I’m not nervous about the fight. Sure, I want to do well and make a name for myself here. And I want my people to be proud of me. But I’ve realized they’re going to be proud of me whether or not I win every fight.
It’s still sinking in. I have people. Amazing people who accept me for who I am, knowing that I’m not the kind of guy who is going to be a lawyer or a doctor, knowing that I’m the kind of guy who fights in illegal underground rings and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. And I accept them for who they are.
Yeah, I would like it if Ariana, and Lil, for that matter, ate better and drank like half the amount of caffeine they do, and I’ll probably never stop giving them shit about it, but I’m not about to try to really change who they fucking are .
Marco runs a freaking underground empire, has a torture/murder shed in his backyard, and deals in some super shady shit. But he has lines he won’t cross that I fully agree with and respect. He’s a king who puts his queen above all else. He’s not just a loving father, he’s a man who took in an abused child and raised her as his own.
Mia’s a fantastic mom and wife who sometimes likes to pretend her world is full of sunshine and unicorns instead of shady shit. And I don’t doubt for a second that she would do anything for the people she loves.
Lil is funny and annoying and is one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. She doesn’t seem to mind sharing her parents with her best friend, and she loves Ariana fiercely.
And Ariana… I know she has secrets, and that’s okay. I also know she’ll let me in on some of them when she’s ready. She’s clever, creative, and loyal. She’s brave but guarded, and she’s my favorite person in the whole fucking world. I would burn the world down for her if she asked me to, and I would hand her the matches and stand by her side if she wanted to do it herself.
So even if I lose the fight, I know I’ll go home to people who love me, and I’ve never had that before.
But I fucking win, and damn, it feels good. When all the fights are over, we leave the warehouse and Marco’s telling me about a couple of the other fights he watched while I was in the makeshift locker room when his phone rings. The screen lights up with Ford’s name.
“DeVille.”
“Yo boss, one of the guys just saw the fucking Maserati again.”
“Where?” Marco’s hands tighten on the steering wheel.
“Headed out to the abandoned airstrip. Want someone to follow?”
“No, I’ve got it.” He hangs up and flips a bitch through the dirt median of the highway, then takes an exit that looks like it leads to where horror movies take place. The moon is full, and there are no clouds, so he cuts the headlights before we get close. He parks and the sounds of a sports car fill the air as we step out of the SUV. Taking a couple of steps up the hill next to us, we can see the entire airstrip without being seen ourselves.
For about half an hour, we watch this fucking gorgeous car drive back and forth on the tarmac like a ballerina on stage or a figure skater on ice. Huge, slow, graceful spins. Small, tight, loud spins. Smooth as shit starts and shifts. A few times, I wonder if the driver is trying to make the damn thing do cartwheels. Then, without warning, it takes off for the far side and doesn’t turn back.
“Fuck. I can’t even be mad after watching that shit.” Marco shakes his head with a slight smile.
“They drive even better than Ariana, and that girl can fucking drive.”
“Wish she would learn to drive a goddamned stick, though,” he says as we slide into his SUV. “Neither of the girls can. I tried to teach them, and they were both shit at it. Always wanted them to know how to in case of an emergency, but fuck, it was painful to watch. To listen to. All those grinding gears.” He cringes at the thought.
I text the girls when we’re almost back to the house with their shakes and food, and they meet us at the front door like starving animals. They both look a little out of breath.
“We were playing Beat Saber when you texted.” Lil grabs the bags and takes off for the kitchen, followed by Marco, leaving me holding shakes and sodas in a cardboard tray.
Ariana reaches up and gently turns my head to the side to get a better look at my cheek. It’s red and will probably bruise up a bit. I take her hand in mine, which then makes her notice how red my knuckles are. Shit. She kisses them lightly, like a butterfly’s wings barely grazing my skin, and if she didn’t already own my fucking heart, I would make me sign it over to her now .
“I’m fine, promise.” My voice is thick, all my emotions trying to make themselves known in the timbre.
She takes a deep breath, then nods. Threading our fingers together, she leads me to the kitchen. After taking a shake off the tray, that is.
“I texted Mom. She’s on her way down. And Becca said her show has three minutes left,” Lil says with a laugh as she and Marco take the food out of the bags.
“I’m here, and I smell burgers!” Mia calls out from behind us. I expect Ariana to drop my hand, but she doesn’t, even when Mia stops next to her. Ariana holds her shake out for her mom, and Mia takes a sip before kissing Ariana on the forehead. “Thanks, sweetie.”
Marco’s forehead crinkles as he frowns. “Ah, my love, I would have gotten you a shake if you wanted one.”
“Nope, don’t want a whole one. Just gonna steal a couple of sips from my girls and eat the extra calories instead of drinking them.” Mia sends a wink his way. Lil holds her shake out at the counter, and Mia repeats the process with her. Becca walks in and immediately starts fussing over me like a concerned grandma, making sure I’ve already iced my bruises.
We all gather around the counter. Ari only lets go of my hand once we start eating, but she stays close by my side while Marco and I tell them about the fights and my win.
“Wait, so your fight only lasted three minutes?” Ariana asks after stealing another fry from me. The girl has a whole pile left in front of her, but she keeps swiping mine.
“Technically, yeah. But it was over after about thirty seconds. I landed that first punch and knew there was no way he was beating me.”
“We should make you a trophy,” Lil suggests with a smirk.
“Meh, maybe just a sticker chart. After ten wins, he gets a ribbon. A trophy is more like twenty wins,” Ariana reasons .
I shrug. “Works for me, I always did like sticker charts.”
Ariana smiles as her eyes drop to the ink on my arm. “Obviously.”
Lil pulls out her phone. “Now to look for stickers. Cats wearing bow ties? Nah. SpongeBob? Possibly… hey, are you still scared of frogs, Luca?”
Ariana’s head whips around toward me, her whole body following from where she was leaning to look over Lil’s shoulder. She bumps into me and starts to lose her balance, swaying on the stool.
I reach out and steady her.
“You’re afraid of frogs?”
“No,” I scoff, lying through my teeth. Fucking frogs. Why are their eyes so big? And their feet are weird.
“Oh my god, you are! You’re afraid of frogs! All of them? Even adorable, tiny baby frogs?”
My nose wrinkles against my will. “There’s no such thing as an adorable frog.”
“What about this one?” Lil turns her phone, some kind of terrifying tree frog on the screen. A shiver runs down my spine, and I shudder. Fucking hell.
My girl laughs uncontrollably next to me, her forehead dropping to my bicep. The sound warms every part of me. My hand is still on her waist from when she almost fell off the fucking stool, so I tickle her.
She yelps, then giggles while squirming around. “Frogs. My big, strong Beefcake is afraid of frogs.”
My fingers still. Holy shit, she called me hers. In front of her family. My family. Well, that’s still kind of weird… but whatever, I don’t fucking care. Her eyes are bright, and I don’t know if she even realizes what she said or how it made my heart jump in my chest, but I’m the happiest motherfucker in the world right now. I don’t fight the smile I feel take over my entire face .
She called me hers. No one has ever been so right about something. Because I am absolutely hers. And fuck if I don’t love being owned by her.
Marco clears his throat quietly. “My love, we saw the Maserati again tonight and—” Ariana and Lil’s heads snap toward their parents.
Mia raises her hand, cutting him off before he can continue. “Marco, you bought the Bugatti two months ago.”
“Yes, I know, but every time I see that damn car?—”
She huffs and rolls her eyes. “We’ll talk about it later. Where did you see it this time?”
“The abandoned airstrip. Fucking beautiful to watch it move like that.”
Ari and Lil share a look and another silent conversation that has me furrowing my brow with curiosity.
When our late-night meal is over, Becca pats my unbruised cheek with a smile before heading to bed. Marco and Mia congratulate me like proud parents before doing the same.
The girls and I make our way upstairs. They give me shit about frogs the whole way.
Lil holds her fist out, and I bump it with mine. “Good job, Cousin Luca,” she says as she walks into her room.
Ariana’s eyes meet mine, and she tucks her bottom lip between her teeth. My dick twitches as I watch her cheeks turn pink just before she closes the door.