14. The Meatball meets la Famiglia #4
Rino’s shoulders dropped, just a fraction. “It’s enough for tonight,” he said and his eyes were smiling but his forehead held tight to a frown.
Eva raised her glass. “To enough! For tonight,” she toasted.
Glasses lifted. They clinked softly, candlelight catching and releasing in the curved goblets.
Japheth took a sip, feeling the warmth slide through him, pooling low in his chest. He was still a little scared.
He was still slightly suspicious. He was still not entirely sure whether the Ferraris were misunderstood saints or very charming small-town monsters.
But he was also, undeniably, already in too deep.
As Alma brought out the panna cotta and coffee, Leo launched into a story about Rino playing hide-and-go-seek at the dealership as a kid, and Japheth let himself lean, very slightly, against his date’s shoulder. Rino’s hand found his knee under the table, resting there, heavy and comforting.
Japheth took a big breath and leaned over to whisper in his ear, “About that test drive…”
Rino nearly face-planted into his dessert.
Outside, the night settled over Greater Napanee, quiet and watchful. And under a sky that reflected the constellations that danced in a pair of young lovers’ eyes, the river kept moving under the bridge, pushing down secrets and whispering what-ifs.
The question that had plagued Japheth at the start of the evening emerged again in his mind.
The man who asked me out is…? Had Japheth just found the love he’d been praying for?
Or had he just curled up happily inside his Lupo’s den, trusting the wolf when he said he was trying very hard to be vegetarian?
Rino didn’t start the engine right away. Japheth stood just outside the car, one hand resting on the open window, like neither of them quite believed the night was over. The bridge loomed above them, old steel and forgotten history, the river moving beneath like it knew something they didn’t yet.
“You’re sure you’re okay riding home?” Rino asked, though his voice had softened into something that clearly meant I don’t want you to go.
Japheth smiled, slow and dangerous in a way that had already undone him once tonight. “I’ll survive.”
Rino grinned and then pushed his door open, making Japheth scoot out of the way.
He grabbed Japheth’s hand and leaned in first this time.
The kiss landed softer than the one before.
Less surprise. More intention. It deepened quickly anyway, because apparently neither of them had any real discipline where the other was concerned.
Japheth’s hand slid along Rino’s jaw, then down his chest, then thumping over the ridges of his abs and then paused on his belt, hovering at the line between bold and reckless.
Rino let out a bated breath against his mouth. “Careful,” he murmured. “You’re playing with matches.”
Japheth grinned against him. “Just rubbing sticks… There’s no smoke yet.”
Rino’s hand had already found the small of Japheth’s back, pulling him just close enough to feel heat through fabric, just far enough to pretend this was still restraint.
Then Rino broke the kiss with a low laugh, forehead resting against Japheth’s. “We’re not doing this under a bridge on date one.”
Japheth exhaled, half frustrated, half thrilled, “You’re the one who got out of the car to kiss me again.”
“I’m also the one trying to make sure there is a second date. And one after that. And hopefully one after that.”
Japheth nodded, stepping back, though his fingers dragged slightly as they let go. “Okay. Fine. We pace ourselves,” he agreed, like a man agreeing to something he had no intention of fully obeying later.
Rino tilted his head and then playfully pushed Japheth toward his bike. “We pace ourselves.”
Japheth swung a leg over his bike, settling in, still watching him. “Get home safe, Ferrari.”
“Put on your helmet, superstar.”
Another pause as they grinned like goofballs at each other. Because of course there was.
“Goodnight, Japheth.”
“Goodnight, Rino.” Japheth pushed off, wheels catching the pavement and carrying him out from under the bridge and into the open night.
Rino watched until he disappeared and then climbed back into his car and ran his hands over his face but it was impossible to wipe away the smile.
The Maserati purred to life, low and controlled, the kind of sound that belonged to a man who liked power but preferred precision. Rino pulled out slowly, one hand on the wheel, the other still tingling like it hadn’t quite recovered from holding Japheth.
Rino’s thoughts slipped into rhythm before he realized it, fingers tapping once against the steering wheel.
“Against all odds, we stumbled.
Like shadows in the dark.
Against all odds, we fumbled.”
He shook his head slightly, “So much wood and then a spark.”
On the other side of the tracks, Japheth rode with the wind cutting clean against his face, the night air cooling everything except the heat still coiled in his chest. Japheth rode faster, not recklessly, just… alive. The kind of pace that came from not wanting the feeling to fade.
“Against all odds and the judgement we feared
Spent half our lives alone and lost
But somehow, we saved each other,
White knights with swords and hearts crossed.”
Rino slowed at a light that didn’t need slowing for, the empty intersection glowing red anyway. He didn’t mind.
“You walked into my home
Like you’d been there before.”
He could still see it. His mother’s face. His father pretending not to be impressed and failing completely.
“My parents gave their blessing
That’s when I knew for sure.”
The light changed. He didn’t notice right away.
“And when I thought I’d lost myself
Like an anchorless ship at sea.
That’s when I felt my whole life turning
Into what it’s meant to be.”
Japheth coasted down a gentle slope, easing off the pedals, letting gravity take over. He tested his courage and fate by lifting his hands off the bars and feeling the breeze as he picked up speed.
“No more hiding in secrets.
No more playing it safe.
No more wondering if love
Had a time or a place”
He laughed under his breath, shaking his head.
“Your hand in mine feels easy,
Like a truth I always knew.”
His fingers flexed on the handlebars, remembering.
“And every doubt I carried,
Just disappears in you.”
Somewhere between them, unseen but unmistakable, the melody aligned.
“Against all odds and what they told us
And how long we’ve held back.
Against all odds or what it cost us,
We’re getting our train on track.”
Rino’s voice filled the car. Japheth’s carried through the night. Separate but together.
“Against all odds, or where this goes now
Or who we used to be.
Tonight we roll together,
Exactly as we’re meant to be.”
Japheth slowed at a corner, one foot touching ground, heart still moving faster than the ride required.
“We don’t know all the answers
Or every move just yet
Who’s leading… or who’s following…”
A grin tugged at his mouth.
“How all the parts connect.”
Rino let out a soft huff of a laugh.
“But love’s a rhythm, baby,
And we can take our time.
Try every move together,
Till every groove feels right.”
The night seemed to lean in closer. Rino drove with the window cracked now, letting the air in.
“Against all odds and what they told us,
And how long we’ve held back.
Against all odds or what it cost us,
We’re getting our train on track.”
Japheth stood on his pedals, pushing through the last stretch toward home.
“Against all odds, or where this goes now,
Or how the story bends.
Tonight there’s no more pretending…
We’re finally more than friends.”
Rino’s voice softened, almost a promise,
“And if the world goes quiet,
And we’re the last men under the moon.
If the end meant starting again with you,
Then our love story couldn’t end too soon.”
Japheth exhaled, and he sang out, steady and full,
“Every door and window open,
Every fear is finally gone.
All the nights we waited with longing
Were just edging us along.”
And then together, across the town, like two lone wolves they howled to each other,
“Against all odds and what tomorrow,
Or what the future brings.
Against all odds of there being an us,
Or what this moment means.
Against all odds we’ve changed, love
However our story grows.
Tonight our hearts are certain,
This is the love we chose.”
Rino pulled into his driveway. Japheth rolled to a stop outside his building.
“Against all odds…
We’re not hiding anymore.”
Rino rested his head back against the seat,
“Against all odds…
You’re everything I’m living for.”
Japheth closed his eyes, smiling up into the night sky, “Rino…”
Across town, like he could somehow hear him calling, Rino answered, “My meatball.”
“Against all odds…
That’s all that matters now.
Against all odds…
I’m falling in love with you.”
And for the first time in a long time, neither of them questioned it. They just let it be true.
LISTEN to Against All Odds (R&J Duet)