Chapter 9 Leo
LEO
Iwake the next morning with the soft curves of Amy pressed to my side. I’ve got one arm flung over her protectively and an instant hard-on.
I need to speak to Tony today, or else my balls are going to explode.
Amy’s still asleep and I snuggle into her neck, breathing in her soft scent.
The doorbell goes, and careful not to disturb my sleeping angel, I slip out of bed. An urgent knock follows the bell, and Amy stirs as I pull on my jeans and a t-shirt.
The banging gets more persistent as I head downstairs.
“All right, keep your hair on,” I say as I pull open the door.
Tony’s standing there with his fist raised to the door and his brow knitted together. I’d usually turn what I said about keeping your hair on into a joke about Tony’s bald head, but not today. Knowing his daughter is naked in my bed upstairs makes my stomach drop into my toes.
“You seen Amy?” Tony pushes past me into the house like he’s done a hundred times before. We’re best mates. We come and go in each other’s homes and don’t wait for pleasantries. “She’s not at home.”
He runs his hand over his head. The hair may be gone, but the habit of pulling at it when he’s anxious remains.
“Was she okay at the festival? Did anything happen?”
The festival seems like a lifetime ago. I think back to rescuing her from the horny teenager, but that’s nothing compared to what I’ve been doing to his daughter since.
“She’s fine,” I manage, not sure how to go on. “I didn’t think you were getting back ‘til this afternoon.”
“I got back early.”
Tony’s a man of few words. He’s been mysterious about where he was going this weekend, and I don’t push it. If I had to guess, he’s been to help his ex-wife.
He’s never gotten over Caroline, Amy’s mom, and lately he’s been paying her a lot of attention. By the worn look on his face, I’m not sure this weekend went as he’d hoped.
Tony’s eyes sweep around the room, and they land on Amy’s bag. At the same moment, there’s a creak on the stairs and Amy appears in the doorway.
Her hair is messy from sleep, and she’s wearing my oversized t-shirt. I hope like hell she’s got underwear on underneath.
Tony looks relieved to see her.
“You’re here. Thank God.”
Amy’s eyes widen at the sight of her dad, and she darts a terrified look at me. Tony notices the look and his eyes narrow, trying to figure out what it means.
He’s a smart guy, my best friend, and I see the moment he puts two and two together.
The relieved look turns to confusion.
“What the fuck is going on here?” He turns on me. “She better have been sleeping in your spare room, Leo.”
I hold my hands up, trying to placate him, my heart hammering in my chest. This isn’t how I wanted to tell Tony about us. I imagined sitting him down over a beer and having a man-to-man talk.
But now the moment is happening. I can’t back out.
“There’s no easy way to tell you this. But Amy and I are together.”
Tony blinks at me, trying to process my words, the disbelief turning slowly to fury.
“What do you mean together?”
His voice is low and growly, and I’ve heard him use that same voice just before he’s knocked someone unconscious.
“I mean, I love your daughter and I’m going to look after her now.”
“Like fuck you are.”
The slow growl has turned into a dangerous fury. This isn’t good. This is fucking frightening.
“You been messing around with my little girl?”
Tony advances on me, and even though he’s at least a foot taller and fucking huge, I clench my jaw and don’t back down.
“It’s not like that,” I say with a calmness I don’t feel.
“The fuck it’s not. I trusted you, Leo, with my most precious possession, and this is what you do?”
He raises his fist, and I don’t dodge the punch. It hits me directly on the left eye, and pain explodes in my skull. I stagger backwards, collapsing to the floor.
Amy screams and then she’s on her dad, trying to pull him off me as he lands another punch.
I don’t fight back. I deserve this. No matter how much I love Amy, it was a shitty way to go about things.
“Stop!” Amy screams.
“You fucked my little girl.”
Tony throws another punch, but this time I move my head out the way and his fist connects with the wall, leaving a hole in the plaster. I’ll have to get that repaired some time, but for now, I don’t care. Let him take out his anger on me.
“I’m not a little girl anymore.” Amy pulls at Tony’s arms, slowing him down. “And I’m still a virgin.”
Tony pauses, breathing hard, his narrow eyes locked on mine.
“Leo has been nothing but a gentleman,” she continues.
I think about fucking Amy’s mouth after dinner last night and know there was nothing gentlemanly about it. But I’ll keep that one to myself.
“I love him, Daddy. I love him, and I want to be with him.”
Amy is sobbing now, and the sight of her crying makes my heart bleed. It seems to calm Tony, and he turns away from me to put a beefy arm around her shoulders.
“Is that true sweetheart? You love him?”
“Yes,” she sobs.
Tony sits back on his haunches, breathing hard. Amy rushes to me, her cool fingers running gently over my face that’s already starting to swell.
As Tony watches us together, I see the conflict that’s going on inside of him.
“I need to talk to Leo alone.”
Amy puts a hand firmly on his shoulder. “Promise you’re not going to hit him anymore.”
Tony cracks his knuckles, sending a sprinkling of plaster dust into the air.
“Promise, Daddy.”
“Okay, okay.”
I get off the floor and follow Tony outside. We sit on the bench on my front porch, and he leans forward, his meaty arms resting on his thighs.
“How long?” he asks.
“I’ve loved Amy since the last time we came back from tour. But I never would have made a move. It was only this weekend when I found out she had feelings for me that I told her how I feel.”
Tony doesn’t say anything for a long time. My head throbs, and I long to be in Amy’s soothing arms, but I need to give him all the time he needs.
“She’s only a kid, Leo.”
“She’s nineteen, Tony. You were married and had Caroline pregnant by that age.”
He runs a hand over his bald head. “Yeah, and look how that turned out.”
Tony’s broken marriage is a sore point. His biggest regret is not making it work with Caroline.
“But I’m not in the military now. I can be there for her. I’ll provide for her, look after her. I love her, Tony.”
I take a deep breath, not knowing how my next words will go down.
“And I want to marry her.”
Tony looks at me sharply. “You really that serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life. Since we came back last time, I haven’t been with another woman. I tried to get Amy out of my head. I knew I shouldn’t have these feelings, but the fact is I love her. And I’ll love her for the rest of my days.”
Tony looks out to the garden and lets out a slow breath.
“I love her more than anything in the world, Leo. You won’t know that kind of love until you have kids of your own.”
“Fuck.” He runs a hand over his head again. “You’ll have my fucking grandkids.” He snorts and shakes his head. But I feel him relax. I feel his acceptance.
“If anyone can look after her, you can Leo.”
“So, we have your blessing?”
He looks at me coolly. “What would you do if I said no?”
I keep my gaze even because he has to know that we’ll be together no matter what. “We’ll move in together anyway.”
“Fuck.”
Tony stands up slowly. “I need to get out of here. This is a lot to process.” He takes the steps two at a time and turns around on the bottom step. “Leo, you break my little girl’s heart, and I will kill you.”
I have no doubt he means it. But I also have no doubt that I will cherish Amy for the rest of my days.