Chapter 5 #2
She nodded, but her nerves got the best of her, preventing her from speaking. I placed a comforting hand in hers, and the feel of her shocked flinch, followed by the gentle squeeze as she settled into the comfort, had my heart singing.
I could have taken her anywhere; our family had numerous restaurants.
Instead, I took her to a hole in the wall that my brothers and I frequented while growing up.
It was in a rougher part of town, so I pulled her to my side as my hand slid around her waist. She melted into me but didn’t seem to mind the neighbourhood.
Guido’s was an old Italian-style restaurant, complete with worn out vinyl flooring and fluorescent lights that had me squinting my eyes, but it was my safe space for much of my childhood. Guido came barrelling out of the kitchen the moment he saw me.
‘My beautiful Val, what are you doing here darling? You should have told me you were coming. How are the boys? Are they coming?’ he asked, squeezing me in a warm embrace, almost lifting me from the floor.
He was an older, large man with a potbelly and greying hair, but he was strong.
He had left a similar life to the one my family found ourselves in to open this restaurant.
We had tried to set him up with a new restaurant or expand to new locations, but this was his little slice of humble heaven, and he enjoyed it here.
‘They’re good, Papa G. I didn’t know I was coming either; my friend here was hungry, and without thinking, I walked home.’ I smiled.
Ushering us to a table by the window, he sat us down and loaded it with bread. Still water for myself and sparkling for Sunshine. I had always hated the bitter taste of it.
‘Is that your father?’ Sunshine asked.
‘In every way that matters. My older brothers and I grew up without any family in a group home not far from here. We would sneak off to Guido’s and he would feed us; he gave us our first jobs and sometimes let us sleep upstairs when things got… rough.’
‘Oh, I had no idea, I’m sorry,’ she said, fidgeting with the sleeve of her top.
‘Hey now, there’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s life; it just was, and it just is. It’s not painful; it never was. I was surrounded by love thanks to Papa G and my brothers,’ I said, grasping her hand over the table.
‘Now tell me about you,’ I probed. Her eyes doubled in size with a flash of panic before she settled it and flashed her signature smile; but for the first time, I saw a small part of it falter behind some pain.
‘Not much to say. Ran away at sixteen. Found myself couch surfing for a while, then I was sleeping on the streets. Once I was eighteen, I found that dancing was one of the few professions that didn’t care if you completed high school or had a permanent address.
Slowly, I worked, found a place to stay, and then, after a while, I found myself at the Velvet Room. ’
‘Why’d you run?’ I asked.
‘You know how it is; Mum got a new boyfriend and he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. She blamed me, of course. Said I seduced him. Joke's on me because look at what I’m doing for a living now.’ She laughed bitterly.
Her hand was soft in mine as I squeezed it in comfort.
‘There is nothing wrong with what you’re doing. It’s not the only thing you’re doing, though, is it? Why the art supply store? You must make enough at my— the Velvet Room.’
Rolling her shoulders back and levelling me with a stare that challenged me to I don’t know what, she said, ‘I want to be a gallery director. I never thought I could be one… not until I started working for Zane De Luca.’ She whispered my brother’s name.
‘I know you’ve probably heard the rumours, and as terrifying as he is, he’s so supportive of us.
He’s paying for me to take a course at the local art college and got me the job at the art supply store.
He said it was a great way to meet local artists and network.
’ Looking me up and down she finished, ‘He was right.’
‘If I can be an artist, you can be a gallery director.’ Then her smile became wholly genuine, and it took the air right out of my lungs.
The rest of the evening was spent talking about everything and anything but not once did I let go of her hand as we ate.
I wanted to know every little thing about her, and with every bit of information I learned, I fell slightly deeper into the hold she already had over me.
Eventually, she began to yawn, and I knew I needed to get her home.
Outside the restaurant, my car was parked. As I fished out a set of keys and unlocked it, I opened the door for her, but she stared at me in confusion.
‘How? We walked here? Also, what the fuck is this? I thought you were a struggling artist?’ she exclaimed, waving an arm at my two-million-dollar Aston Martin Valour.
‘I never said I was struggling. You heard orphan and assumed that meant poor. As for how, I had a friend drop off the car and give my keys to Papa G while we were eating.’ I smirked, enjoying the slight crease of confusion that marked the space between her brows; she seemed embarrassed by her assumption of me.
‘I-I’m sorry,’ she stammered, cheeks flaming.
‘If you want to make it up to me, let me drive you home, Sunshine.’
‘I don’t live far from here; I can walk,’ she said, shrinking away from the car. That explained why she hadn’t been uncomfortable walking through this side of town at this time of night.
‘Get in, Namazzi. I want to drive you home and you’re going to let me. Please,’ I added, to sweeten the demand. She hesitated still.
‘Why? Why did you take me out tonight?’ she asked, confused but taking the barest step forward.
‘Why did you rub yourself against me until you came?’ I asked, pressing in closer to her until my body crowded her and I was all but purring the words against her ear.
‘Tell me, Sunshine, can you truly deny this pull between us? It’s cosmic, divinely inspired and wholly earth shattering.
I have never craved a person the way I crave you.
Not your body, but the mind behind those mesmerising eyes.
I want to know you and seep into every fibre of your being, just as you have seeped into my mind, body and soul, utterly consuming me.
I don’t think I’ll ever feel whole again without you in my life.
The moment my eyes saw your smile, you became my north star.
This, my sweet darling, is fate. Tell me I’m wrong.
’ I bit down lightly on her earlobe and dragged my teeth down as her body vibrated beneath me, a soft moan escaping her lips and echoing in my mind.
Something snapped within her, whether it was my words or my touch, I found myself being slammed against my car as her leg hiked up and wrapped around my hip, her lips crashing into mine, hungry, consuming.
Her tongue was warm and eager, dancing with my own in a game of push and pull.
Sparks trailed across my skin, her frantic fingers touching everywhere, grasping for a hold on reality as she descended into desire.
It could have been minutes or hours; I lost all sense of time. But when we finally pulled apart, gasping for air, one thing was certain. She was mine, and the stare that met me told me I was hers.
After that, she was compliant and let me drive her home; it was a ten-minute drive from the restaurant but I wished it were longer.
She lived in an old, red brick apartment building.
My gods, I wanted to follow her, but instead, I let her go, giving her my number and leaving her with the power to decide where this would go from here. I was all in.