Chapter 43
FRANKIE
Weeks Later
It’s been a brutal two days, but I’m finally finished with the bar exam.
I can’t believe how difficult it was. Not only the content but also the method of delivery is harsh.
I’m not used to sitting in a room with a hundred other people, hunched over a desk with a number two pencil.
I thought that kind of testing went out with the last millennium.
But apparently, it’s a way of making sure that nobody cheats.
I had to give up my cell phone before I walked into the room, and only got it back at the end of the day. And now I’m seeing Scantron sheets dancing whenever I close my eyes, a remnant of the past if ever there was one.
I set my pencil down and feel a rush of satisfaction. I’m confident I did well. All that studying certainly paid off. Now all I have to do is wait for the test results, and I’ll be a fully licensed attorney.
I check out at the front desk and retrieve my phone. Checking messages, I see there are a few. I’m hardly paying attention to where I’m walking as I exit the building. I don’t see Sofia until I nearly stumble over her.
She’s sitting in the parking lot on the hood of my car. Gorgeous as ever, she’s wearing my driver’s hat. She looks adorable in the chauffeur’s crown, holding a sign like a dutiful employee waiting for me at the airport. The sign reads: Attorney Frankie Corello.
I laugh, scooping her into my arms. The sign falls away as we kiss passionately, not caring who is around to see. “I’m not an attorney yet,” I tell her.
“I’m sure you passed,” she insists.
“Where’s my driver?” I ask.
“I gave him the day off,” Sofia says with a grin.
“You can’t do that,” I object. “What did he say?”
“He turned bright red when I told him what I have in mind,” she teases.
I like the sound of that. Placing my hand on the small of her back, I walk her to the driver’s seat. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
She pulls a key card out of her pocket and waves it provocatively in front of me. “I got us a room at the Econo Hotel.”
I have to laugh, considering that the Econo Hotel isn’t exactly up to my father’s high standards.
It’s your typical pay-by-the-hour place on the highway, and I only know about it because I’ve taken a few meetings there.
Not sex, only regular business meetings.
It’s the kind of place you can go to shut the door for a while and where no one asks too many questions.
“Living large,” I say with a smirk.
“Indeed,” she agrees.
She hops into the driver’s seat, and I walk around to the passenger side.
It takes us ten minutes to reach the hotel and only two minutes to find the room.
There’s no central corridor; every room opens directly onto the sidewalk.
Sofia reads the faded numbers on the doors until she comes to the one she rented.
Swiping the key card, she lets us in, and it’s all a blur from there.
I take her in my arms. Certain parts of my chest still feel tender from the beating I took in her old apartment.
We haven’t been back there, even though the police told us it was safe.
Sofia hired a bunch of college kids off the internet to go in and pack up all her stuff.
She threw most of the furniture away and only kept her clothes and personal items. But I haven’t even seen those recently.
She rented a storage place where she could dump things and forget about them.
I suspect it will be a long time before she’s finally able to look at the remnants of that fateful day.
We’ve been living in my place, which has a fully functional bedroom. I’m not sure why she felt it was important to get a hotel room. Only now that I’m here, it feels dirty and secretive, two ingredients that heighten my need for her.
I tug her shirt off, kissing her fiercely as I go.
She does the same for me, and now we’re both naked from the waist up.
I slide my fingers beneath her bra straps and drag them down her arms, exposing her shoulders to my touch.
I must hand it to her, taking a detour to make love in a seedy hotel room is the perfect celebration for a job well done.
We fall onto the bed, both wincing at the creak of old springs. I’m trying not to think about the last person who used this room, but Sofia makes it easy for me. She arches her back to unlatch her bra, dangling it precariously over the edge of the bed.
I feast my eyes on her chest, trying to decide which attraction to play with first. I cup one breast in one hand and lower my mouth to the other. She’s perfectly proportioned and sweeter than a thousand candy canes. I lick her all over until we’re both fired up and forced to remove our pants.
There’s a change slot near the bed, and that gives me a great idea.
I take a break from my task for half a moment to feed quarters into the machine.
Cranking the knob, the bed begins to vibrate.
We hop on board and fall into each other’s arms, rolling until we reach the end of the mattress.
I nearly fall off and we have to restructure ourselves to capitalize on the added movement.
I’m not sure if it’s erotic or simply strange, but all thoughts of the mattress dissolve as soon as Sofia removes her panties.
I slide myself into her and find that the vibration really is worth a dollar.
It takes me to a whole new realm of pleasure because with each jolt from the mattress, my dick hits her inner walls.
I’m showered with delight as I try to match the rhythm.
It’s moving too quickly for me to keep up.
Sofia hooks one leg around my ass and flips me over, keeping me lodged inside the entire time. She takes a turn trying to capitalize on the vibrations until the clock runs out and the bed returns to its resting state.
By now, we’re too far into our conquest to notice. She takes me deeply, grinding her hips down on top of mine. I flip her over and throw her right leg over my shoulder, causing her to split at the center. This gives me the perfect angle from which to fuck her, digging my cock deeper each time.
She claws at the sheets, tearing through ancient fabric. I reach for her left leg, tucking it over my other shoulder so I can ram into her from above. I’ve got her completely pinned, and the sight of her beneath me nearly causes me to explode.
I pump five more times before my climax overcomes me. I hear her shouting my name soon enough, so I know we’ve arrived as one.
As we’re putting our clothes back on, we hear another couple in the adjoining room.
“Oh, Martin!” a woman yells.
I kiss Sofia roughly on the lips, “Sounds like Martin’s having a good time.”
“You’ve got him beat, hands down,” Sofia says.
We restore all our clothing and let ourselves out of the hotel room.
It’s a short drive back to my home, and by the time we arrive, I’m starving.
I didn’t eat anything before the test because I was worried about my nerves.
Now that it’s over and I’ve worked up an appetite, I can’t wait to dig into whatever the cook has planned.
We pull up to the compound and find an odd assortment of cars in the driveway. I spot Uncle Gio’s as well as a few of my cousins’ cars from Italy. I’m wondering if there’s some kind of celebration planned, but it doesn’t occur to me that I’m the guest of honor until I walk through the door.
“Surprise!” Everyone shouts.
I’m shocked to see the living room is full.
There’s the usual complement of my father’s bodyguards, but also some friends I haven’t seen in a while.
My father and Marlena were busy putting this whole thing together.
I find them front and center, each waving a noisemaker like a bunch of children on New Year’s Eve.
“Dad,” I say, shocked and delighted.
“Congratulations, son,” he responds.
“I don’t even know if I passed yet,” I object.
“We’re sure you passed,” Marlena says, tilting forward to kiss me on the cheek.
“Did you know about this?” I turn to Sofia, accusing her of conspiring with my father.
“Maybe,” she suggests.
I shake my head, amazed that the pit stop we just shared was only a ploy to buy the party planner's time. I slide an arm around Sofia’s waist and pull her close.
“Nice job,” I whisper.
“It’s a double celebration,” she says.
When the initial shock wears off, Marlena steers us to the dining room. There’s a buffet-style dinner spread out with all my favorite foods. I grab a plate and help myself, taking a seat in the living room to begin my feast.
Sofia sits beside me, and eventually Dad comes over with two plates.
He sets them both down on the coffee table and waits for Marlena to waddle over.
She’s really popped in the last few months and has a hard time getting around.
I know everyone is excited for the birth of the new baby, but I can’t stop thinking about my own love life.
It has worked out so well. I never expected that I would be so happy, considering all that Sofia and I have been through. There was a time I thought I hated her, but that didn’t last. Thank goodness we came to our senses and managed to work through our problems.
“So how is it that you’re so sure I’ll succeed?” I ask my father.
“I have faith in your abilities,” Dad says.
“It’s not because you bribed the test officials?” I accuse him, narrowing my eyes just in case he decides to lie.
“I didn’t do that,” he assures me. “I have no need. There is no way you’re going to fail because you’re my son.”
I narrow my eyes, not sure if I believe him.
“And I thought it would make you try harder if you suspected I was going to interfere,” Dad concludes.
I raise my glass to him, knowing that he’s got me pegged. “You’re right about that,” I say sincerely.
“So, when is the wedding?” Uncle Gio comes over to stand beside us.
Sofia and I look at each other in astonishment. We haven’t thought that far ahead. For the moment, everything is working out well. I don’t want to jinx it by putting our relationship into overdrive.
Sofia comes to my rescue, linking her hand with mine before she answers. “You’ll be the first one to know, I promise.”
Gio nods appreciatively, checking with Dad to see if that’s okay.
Dad smiles, knowing that she’s kidding. Of course, he would be the first to know as the head of the family.
But for the moment, it’s all good fun. Sofia and I are enjoying our time together and leaving future considerations for another day.