Hector, who’d been leaning back on the stairs sat up. “Who’s that?”
Both Gio and Abel shook their heads. Unlike Abel, who seemed just as interested as his brother, Gio was curious more than anything. Neither Noah nor Roni had any family that he knew of. As she walked up the walkway and Gio got closer a look, his jaw dropped. “Nellie?”
Abel’s head literally jerked back to Gio and was back on Nellie in an instant—Roni’s best friend. She’d done a complete one-eighty since the last time they’d seen her. “Hey, guys,” she said walking up the stairs.
Gio got up to hug her. “Wow, Nel. You look so different.”
Abel and Hector weren’t as affectionate they both just smiled nodding their heads to greet her.
“Yeah, I finally put the weight back on that I lost last year.” Gio tried not to stare too hard as he took all of her in. She was the epitome of sophistication. Her nails were perfectly manicured, she was draped in expensive jewelry and her makeup was as flawless as the times Bianca said she’d had hers done. “It was a rough year for me but I’m better now.”
Gio smiled in agreement. “Well, you certainly look all better.” Neither Hector nor Abel said much but Gio caught the way Abel checked her out several times. Gio couldn’t help but smirk as he got the door for Nellie. “Roni’s inside. They said dinner is almost ready.”
Gio watched her walk all the way in, then turned to Abel. “Damn!” He chuckled. “Too bad she’s eight fucking big ones older than us, huh?”
Abel rolled his eyes leaning back on the railing. “Even if she wasn’t she’s not my type.”
“Bullshit!” Gio laughed. “I saw the way you were eatin’ her up with your eyes.”
Abel shrugged with a smirk. “I didn’t say she didn’t look good. I’m just saying she’s not my type. I’ve talked to her before and on top of being too old for my taste I heard she’s got tons of drama going on in her life. No thanks. I’ll pass.”
Noah opened the door. “Perfect timing.” The guys all turned to look behind them at whoever he was talking to and saw Jack walking up the walkway. “I was about to tell these guys dinner is ready. So you’re just in time, Jack.”
“Good ‘cause I’m starved.” He held a paper bag with a bottle of some kind of booze in it.
Gio smiled, reaching out to hug him as he stepped onto the porch. “How’s it going, old man?”
“I’m still kicking.”
“And punching,” Hector added laughing. “You should’ve seen him take a swing me at me the other day.”
Jack pretended to swing at him now and Hector dodged out of the way. “I’ll swing at you again if your brother tells me you’re still gettin’ in trouble at school, you wise ass.”
Gio turned to Hector. “You still getting in trouble?” Hector shrugged, glancing at Abel who wasn’t smiling. “What’s your problem?”
“His problem is he needs to stop wasting that brain he’s got on bullshit.” Abel shook his head, glaring down at Hector. “He can ace his AP stats class but he can’t figure out how to stay out of trouble.”
Hector rushed by Abel and into the house before Abel who looked ready to take a swing at him got a chance.
Gio laughed as they all walked in together. Roni looked as adorable as ever with her long tight ringlets hanging down around her face and as expected their announcement wasn’t much of a surprise. Nellie still stood up and hugged Roni with a squeal. Then she hugged Noah. “I already knew but still. I’m so excited for you guys!”
Noah rolled his eyes but laughed. “I figured that much. She swore me to secrecy but she told you?”
“I had to tell someone!” Roni explained.
Watching them as they talked about babies and marriage and their future there was no doubt in Gio’s mind Noah was not making a mistake. Abel’s mom was just old school but to Abel she could do or say no wrong. Whatever the woman said was golden as far as he was concerned. As much as Abel could kick some ass for the most part he stayed cool unless provoked. But the one thing that would light his fuse faster than anything was saying something bad about that boy’s momma. You couldn’t even mess around with Yo Momma jokes with him unless you wanted your ass handed to you.
It made sense now. If his mom had told him she thought eight years was too much of an age difference, no wonder he was so damn adamant about it.
Roni and Noah spoke of their plans to turn one of the extra bedrooms in the house into a nursery as soon as they found out the gender of the baby.
Gio’s eyes locked with Bianca’s a few times as the dinner went on. At first, he thought he’d imagined it. Maybe she’d just looked his way and their eyes had just so happened to stop at the same time. But it happened several times after that. As nervous as it made him that someone might notice he could not bring himself to stop looking her way.
She may as well have been glowing because regardless of where his eyes focused in an effort to keep them off her she always stayed in his peripheral view. He was aware of her every movement. Anytime she lifted her glass, or wiped her mouth was reason enough to look her way. It came as a bit of a surprise, but it was almost annoying too that he had so little control over something so simple—staying focused on whoever was speaking. What surprised him most was how indiscreet she was. Thankfully Felix was too busy yapping and catching up with the guys to notice her wandering eyes.
“So, Abel I hear you’re finally getting rid of your truck?” Roni said as she stood lifting her plate from the table.
“Get rid of it? No way. Old Nellie still has a few years left in her. I’m passing her on to this guy if he ever stops getting in trouble.” He pointed to Hector not noticing the room suddenly felt like someone had pulled the plug on the cheery buzz that had filled the air just before his comment.
Finally, something drew Gio’s attention away from Bianca and he turned to Nellie who was now on her feet also lifting her plate, her lips pressed tightly together.
Gio caught the murderous glare Noah gave Abel.
“I… I didn’t mean it like that,” Abel stammered understanding now the error of his choice in words. “It’s a saying. You know, like old Bessie.”
Nellie nodded with a smirk but lifted a very telling eyebrow. “No worries. I have a few good years left in me, too.” She took her plate and glass and walked away to the kitchen. Jack, who sat next to Gio, shook his head chuckling as he dug into his slice of pie.
“What the fuck’s the matter with you?” Noah hissed at Abel under his breath.
“It’s okay,” Roni tried to assure them, continuing to gather more empty plates atop of hers. “I’m sure she knows you didn’t mean anything by it. And her middle name is Bessie by the way.” Abel’s jaw fell open and Roni giggled. “I’m kidding!”
Jack laughed even louder now.
“What’s the big deal?” Hector asked. “She ain’t old.”
“No, she’s not.” Roni agreed walking off to the kitchen.
Felix laughed a little and Bianca jabbed him with her elbow but he could tell she was having a hard time holding it in herself. As tempted as Gio was to say something, he kept his comments to himself. He could tell Abel was already feeling like a dumbass the way he glanced around as if he was trying to think of a way to bolt out of there. Served him right for what he’d said earlier.
Wisely, Abel didn’t make things worse by commenting further about “Old Nellie.” He cleared his throat and took a drink of his beer. Then he turned to Noah who was still glaring at him. “I, uh. I thought I’d stick with another truck but when I saw this car my uncle had told me about, I had to have it.”
“What kind of car is it?” Felix asked.
“Nineteen seventy-two Gran Torino.”
“What?” Noah laughed.
Abel smiled, obviously glad Noah was laughing now instead of glaring.
“Figures you’d get a muscle car.” Gio chuckled, still struggling from keeping his eyes roaming into dangerous territory especially since all eyes were on him for t
he moment.
Roni and Nellie strolled back into the room and sat down. Roni reached for a dessert plate while Nellie reached for her glass of wine and took a sip. Gio couldn’t help smirk at Abel’s noticeable discomfort.
“So when do you get it?” Noah asked.
“In uh… ,” Abel cleared his throat again.
Gio’s eyes were on Bianca again as she tried to hide her smile under her napkin. Apparently she was having as much fun with Abel’s discomfort as Gio was. He smiled at her then turned quickly away his eyes now stopping on Roni who’d caught the exchange. She smiled and turned back to her dessert.
“... a few days.”
Unlike Gio, who couldn’t go more than a few minutes without looking in Bianca’s direction, Abel did an excellent job of looking everywhere but in Nellie’s.
After grilling Abel for a few more minutes on the specs of the car Bianca wiped her napkin over her evil little grin and addressed Nellie. “You said you just bought a new car too, right? What kind did you get?”
Gio laughed inwardly. Way to have fun by pointing out that these two had something in common albeit it was minimal. And doingit in front of everyone, especially given the fact that Abel was already uncomfortable was genius.
Nellie seemed surprised. Bianca hadn’t said much up until now and to speak up suddenly and address the other person who’d hardly said anything clearly threw her. Everyone’s attention was on Nellie now. Everyone that is except Abel who had a sudden interest in reading his beer label. Gio almost threw his balled up napkin at him so Abel could see that Gio knew what he was doing. He wasn’t fooling anyone. But he had to remind himself they were all adults now and refrained.
“It’s a Denali.” Nellie smiled.
“Her divorce-is-final gift to herself,” Roni added with a big smile and a wink at Nellie.
Now they had Abel’s attention.
“That took a while didn’t it?” Gio said as he took a swig of his beer.
“Yeah, it got a little messy. Court days kept getting rescheduled and what not.” Nellie shook her head. “But finally it’s over and I couldn’t be happier.”
“Time to move on.” Roni smiled. “And girl, as good as you look, you’re gonna enjoy your freedom. You better.”
“Oh, I plan to. I’m already going on that weekend party cruise with the girls from work.”
“I know,” Roni pouted. “If I wasn’t pregnant I would’ve gone with you.”
Noah’s expression immediately soured. “No, you wouldn’t have.”
Roni laughed and leaned into him. “I meant with you, silly. I’ve never been on one. It could’ve been sort of a honeymoon.”
“This was so last minute. Someone canceled and I took their place. But,” Nellie smiled lifting her eyebrow, “we can plan another time. You can still go if you’re pregnant. There’d still be lots to do or we could wait until after the baby is here.”
“You know in all my years,” Jack spoke up, “I’ve never been on one of them damn cruises either.”
Nellie turned to Jack her eyes even brighter. “We should plan a group thing.” She turned back to Roni. “If we all go after the baby is born, you can take the baby and we can all take turns watching the baby so you two can have fun, too.”
Roni sat up with a very excited smile. “Oh my God, yes! That would be so fun!”
“I’ll coordinate it.” Nellie shrugged. “It’s what I do for a living after all. Getting this together should be a breeze.” She turned back to the table at no one in particular. “When the time gets closer I’ll get with everyone to find out who’s in and we can decide what week is good for everyone.”
Gio had glanced at Abel and was already smirking at his way too disinterested expression when he caught the exchanged smiles between Felix and Bianca. It wiped the smirk clean off. Someone would have to stay home and run 5th Street while everyone was on vacation. Gio suddenly got a good notion of who it would be—him and Abel.
They finished dinner and said their goodbyes to everyone, congratulating Noah and Roni once again before they left. They dropped by Gio’s house so he could pick up a few things and say hello to his mom and sisters before heading back up to Big Bear. Felix didn’t want to waste even a day of training, since this week he had a couple of gigs in Hollywood that would cut into his training time.
Gio picked up a couple of jeans and a few more changes of underwear then grabbed what he really wanted—his iPod and earbuds. He told Felix he wanted it for his runs but really he was counting on it to keep his mind and eyes off Bianca on their drive back. The drive down had been fairly painless for the most part. But he’d had to endure watching Felix run his hands up and down her thighs and even witness a few kisses. Not to mention hear Felix whisper things to her that made her giggle softy. He’d listen to his iPod all the way back and pretend to sleep if he had to but he wasn’t going through two more hours of that crap.
Almost as soon as they were back in the car, the whispering and giggling started. Gio put his earbuds in, blasted it, and sat back in his seat with his eyes closed. The whole way he must’ve opened his eyes no more than three times. The last time he opened them was at the very moment Bianca kissed Felix and it had him slamming his fist into his seat. He squeezed his eyes shut immediately not caring what they thought of his slamming fist. Maybe he was jamming to his music, maybe he was having a bad dream, but he wasn’t explaining shit.
Gio’s phone buzzed in his pocket a couple of times on the way up but he dare not risk opening his eyes to check it. It hadn’t seemed like a big deal to him before but he wondered now how he’d make it through the next few weeks. What he felt for Bianca was beyond a doubt the most confusing thing he’d ever had to deal with.
They were finally at the cabin.
“Bed time,” Felix said, pointing at his watch. “We’re up bright and early tomorrow.”
Gio agreed saying goodnight and headed to his room. Once there he checked his phone. He had a missed call from Noah but no voicemail and he had a text. The text was from Noah as well.
I didn’t notice shit but please tell me what Roni and Nellie thought they picked up on tonight is not true. There’s nothing going on between you and… you know who. Right?
Gio sat onto his bed lying down and texted him back. He should’ve known girls were more apt to pick up on shit like this and he didn’t even know what this was. So he responded the way he knew he should. If anything ever did happen, Noah would be the only one he’d consider telling but there was nothing to tell yet and he could only hope he’d have the willpower to keep it that way.
You’re right, they’re wrong. Nothing’s going on.
Because he knew his best friend wouldn’t leave it at that Gio lay there thinking about the whole damn situation as he waited for Noah’s response. Was there even a situation? And did he want there to be one?
Just thinking about Bianca made Gio smile. His first impression of her, and he still thought so, was that she was sweet and innocent just like he always had even back in high school. There was something so intoxicating about the way those big innocent eyes of hers hung on his every word. She was like a sponge. You could almost see her brain working through her eyes, soaking it all in but what was even more fascinating was watching her react to the things he knew he had no business saying to her. Things Felix would just as soon drop Gio on his ass for if he knew he’d said them to her and rightfully so.
So why couldn’t he stop himself? It’s like something came over him when he’d see her get caught in his eyes. It would happen so fast and without warning—like a switch she’d turn on with just one look and as wrong as he knew it was, he was helpless to fight it.
His phone buzzed again and he read the text:
You sure? These two went on and on about it.
It was tempting to just call Noah and spill his guts but it was too soon. Truth was, as intense as some of the moments they’d had, it could mean nothing. He kept saying it to himself. Bianca had this innocence about he
r. It was highly probable that she was completely clueless about what she was doing to his horny ass.
Yes, I’m sure.
Gio was purposely being vague. He could add things like ‘I wouldn’t do something like that,’ but that statement was no longer one he could say or even text with steadfast conviction.
He closed his eyes trying to push away what was beginning to feel like obsessive thoughts of her. The most pressing questions of all and what had Gio tied up in knots were: Did she know she was doing this to him? Could it be possible that sweet little Bianca knew she was driving her boyfriend’s friend fucking nuts? But even more burning, why? Gio had heard her tell Felix she loved him. Saw the tears and hurt in her eyes when he hadn’t made it up on time. She’d run out and greeted him with such excitement the day he finally did get there.
It made no sense. Gio had met plenty of girls who’d been willing to have a go with him even though they had boyfriends. But they weren’t anything like Bianca. They were wild ass skanks whose boyfriends probably knew exactly what they were dealing with.
After the night they’d all gone out Gio had begun to think maybe it was better if he left—told Felix he couldn’t stay—made something up. The ride home that night and his conversation with Bianca had been as close to the fire as he could get without touching it.
Now he had proof that he hadn’t imagined what had happened at Noah’s dinner—he wasn’t the only who’d seen it. Would he be more tempted now to play with fire? He couldn’t even be sure what her reaction would be if he did the unthinkable like give into the urge to taste her mouth just once.