Chapter 12 Vinnie
VINNIE
“Come closer,” her grandmother says, holding out her hands as we stand a few feet away. “I don’t see so well anymore.”
I don’t know how old the woman is, but her face is weathered like she’s spent most of her life in the sun. There are hints of Bianca’s much younger features in the woman’s face. The big, dark eyes, high cheekbones, and a small, delicate nose.
Bianca tightens her grip on my hand as I take a step forward, and I give her a little squeeze, letting her know it’s okay. I’ve taken on way more formidable opponents than the tiny, frail woman in front of me.
“Down a little,” the woman says, wiggling her fingers and motioning for me to leave almost no space between us.
“Oh lordy,” Bianca whispers from behind me.
I glance over my shoulder with a wink and take a knee in front of her grandmother’s legs, releasing Bianca’s hand.
The woman places her hands on my shoulders, working her fingertips into my muscles. “Strong shoulders.” Her hands slide down my biceps, and there’s a hint of a smile on her lips. “Big arms.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I smile, knowing this woman is feeling me up, but I’m okay with it because it’s Bianca’s grandmother.
“What do you do, boy?”
Bianca moves closer, casting a shadow over me. “His name is Vinnie, Abuela.”
Her hands are on my forearms now, kneading my muscles through my suit jacket. “Do you work with your hands?” she asks as she moves her face closer, trying to see my features.
“In a way.”
“A farmer?” she asks, being more direct.
“No, ma’am. I play football.”
She turns my hands over, feeling my palms with two fingers. “Strong hands.” She smiles. “Come closer. I want to see your face, and my old eyes fail me in this light.”
I move forward until my chest presses against her knees, and I raise my face to hers. She cups my cheeks in her hands as she leans forward, almost touching noses with me. “You’re the green-eyed one.”
Word must spread fast in this family, or maybe Bianca’s talked about me with her grandmother. Lord knows, in my family, if Betty knows something, the entire world has the information because the woman is shit at keeping secrets.
“I am.” I can’t wipe the dumb smile off my face knowing someone’s been talking to her grandmother about me.
“I knew you’d come,” she whispers as her fingertips slide to my mouth, outlining the edges of my lips. “The ancestors told me about you.”
I don’t move. Ancestors? Either her age has affected her brain, or she’s talking to spirits. One makes me sad, and the other scares the shit out of me.
When I was fourteen, my friends dared me to go into this tiny mystic shop a couple streets over from the bar.
Me being the man, of course, I walked in there without a problem.
My head held high, shoulders back, thinking that shit was going to be a breeze and I’d end up with a few laughs.
Just like any teenage punk who wanders into a place like that.
Until Bianca’s abuela, I hadn’t thought about the words that woman spoke to me almost a decade ago.
“You will fall madly in love with the brown-eyed girl next door.”
Then, I was pretty sure Margaret Alfonsi was not going to be the future Mrs. Vincent Gallo.
She was barely five feet tall but so skinny, her kneecaps looked like weapons.
She had buck teeth, which could be adorable on some people, just not her.
But the real issue with Margaret wasn’t her face or body—it was her shitty attitude.
She was the meanest girl on the street. She had to be, with the way the other kids picked on her.
If you said anything to Margaret that seemed even remotely unfriendly, she’d hit you straight in the balls with those bony-ass kneecaps of hers.
“Abuela, don’t scare him.” Bianca places her hand on my shoulder and moves to my side.
I peer up at her with the hint of a smile and cover her hand with mine. “I’m fine, baby, let her speak.”
“You care for my Bianca?” She pulls my face closer before dropping her hands back to my shoulders.
“I do.”
“She’s a headstrong and stubborn girl. Much like her abuela.”
I laugh softly. Grandma isn’t lying. Bianca has both those qualities, but I couldn’t imagine her any other way. A weak woman isn’t what I’m after. I want someone who’s going to challenge me, and so far, Bianca’s done that at every turn.
“She will need a firm hand and caring heart to watch over her.”
“I can do that.”
“Mi amor was my rock, holding me in place and keeping me tethered to this earth. You must be that for Bianca.”
But for some odd reason, which is totally fucked up, my mind goes straight to sex. Holding Bianca in place as she rides my cock from above. And the firm hand part? Yeah, I’m totally thinking about smacking that ass.
I shake my head when Bianca smacks my shoulder like she can read my damn mind. “Vinnie,” she whispers. “Don’t go there.”
Yeah. She totally read my mind. Of course, she would. She writes the dirtiest words about women being controlled and sexually dominated. There’s no way her mind didn’t shift a little with the firm hand comment.
“Yes,” her grandmother says and touches my face again, bringing my attention back to her and away from my dirty thoughts. “You will make a fine father to my great-grandchildren.”
“Will we have a lot?” I’m totally buying into her ancestor talk, and I’m also indulging the woman.
Bianca’s foot starts to tap like she’s dancing behind me. I reach back, wrapping my hand around her ankle to stop her. She grunts, and her shadow looms a little large over me. “Ridiculous,” she whispers, knowing her abuela can’t hear her, but I totally can.
“Many children. Many, many children.” Her lips turn up into a satisfied smile. “The family legacy will continue through you,” she says with a tight squeeze of my shoulders.
“Abuela.” Bianca leans over and kisses her grandmother’s cheek. “We’re being summoned by Luis. We’ll be back, though.”
I glance around the room, and Luis’s not even looking in our direction. I guess the conversation about children and a future has Bianca on edge and looking for an escape route.
Abuela stares at Bianca. “Don’t lie, dear. It’s not very nice.”
I laugh quietly as I climb to my feet, and Bianca looks like a deer in headlights. Even though her grandmother can’t see well, she knows when someone’s bullshitting her, especially her granddaughter.
“I…” Bianca starts to say, but I figure I’ll rescue her from this situation.
“Abuela, do you mind if I take Bianca to get a drink?” I ask, trying to get her the exit she wants and save face with her grandmother.
“I don’t mind.” She eases back into her chair and toys with the wedding ring she still wears on her finger. “Bring this old lady a tequila when you come back.”
Bianca slides her hand into mine and pulls me toward the bar before I can say another word to her grandmother. “She’s not totally with it,” she tells me when we’re only a few feet away.
“She’s fine.”
“No.” Bianca shakes her head. “She’s not. Didn’t you hear the things she was saying?”
I stop walking and tug on her hand, making her body lurch backward and collide with my chest. “Baby.” I wrap an arm around her middle, gazing at this beautiful and exasperating creature. “Sometimes, the oldest people among us speak the most truth.”
She gawks at me, blinking repeatedly as she stills in my arms. “You don’t honestly believe anything she just said, do you?”
I lean forward, burying my face in her neck. “About the ancestors or the babies?”
She tips her head back as my lips press into her skin. “Both,” she says breathlessly, and I know I’ve got her.
I nibble the spot right near her shoulder blade because I know she makes the hottest sound when I touch her there. “I very much believe her words.” My hand slides to her stomach, splaying across her dress. “I’d love nothing more than to see your belly big and carrying my babies.”
As the words come out of my mouth, I regret them. There’re no takebacks. No turning back time. I’ve never said those words.
Fuck, I’ve never even thought them about anyone.
Never.
Ever.
No fucking way.
I’m a player.
A baller.
A man without a tether and have been very much enjoying my easy lifestyle until Bianca.
Bianca stiffens, and the tiny moans she was making cease. “I need a drink,” she says as she pushes out of my arms. “Maybe ten.”
I follow behind her, this time not reaching for her but having a mild anxiety attack instead. How could I have been so stupid as to say I want my babies in her belly? Like, I’m not even dating the woman.
Hell, this was all supposed to be a trick to get her family off her back and my coach off mine. But somewhere in the last week, lines have blurred.
Maybe it’s the fact that she’s not that interested. Or at least, she pretends she isn’t. When she was in my lap, riding me like we were buck naked, she was very much interested in everything I had to offer and could give.
“Two shots of tequila,” she tells the bartender, holding up two fingers.
I rub the back of my neck, hoping we’ll both get so drunk, the entire night will become a blur. “I’m not a huge tequila fan.” I stand next to her, watching the bartender as he grabs the bottle.
She stares in my direction, but there’s no happiness on her face. I don’t see anger either, but I can’t nail down the exact emotion because she’s so good at hiding how she’s feeling. “They aren’t for you.”
As soon as the bartender pours the first, Bianca has it in her hands and slams it down.
She doesn’t even wince as she plops the shot glass back on the bar.
My stomach turns at the very thought of tequila.
We’re not friends anymore. I always end up on the floor or with some chick I’d never sleep with sober after I’ve had one too many shots of that shit.
I pull the empty glass away from Bianca after she points at it like she wants a refill. “Slow down.”
“Slow down?” she asks, her chest heaving. “Slow down?” Her voice is louder now, and people around us are starting to stare.
“Shh, baby.”
“Baby?” She grunts and reaches for the second shot.
I pull the glass from her hand and set it back on the bar. Wrapping my fingers around her upper arms, I pull her close and lower my voice. “Look me in the eye and tell me you haven’t touched yourself while thinking of me.”
She narrows her eyes, and she doesn’t speak. She’s breathing faster, but her eyes never leave mine.
I move my lips to her ear. “Tell me you haven’t moaned my name while dreaming of my cock buried so deep inside your tight, needy pussy you can’t breathe.”
She turns her face, her mouth almost touching mine.
I lick my lips, and her eyes follow. “If I touched you right now, put my hand up that pretty little dress of yours, would you be wet for me?”
A blush creeps across her cheeks at my words, but I don’t stop.
“I’m hard for you. So fucking hard. I ache to be inside you, Bianca.”