Permanent Lines

by Ashley Wilcox

  Joey’s grin grew, making Amelia’s lips curl up completely.

  “What?” Miles asked.

  “I’m doing it,” Joey answered. “And there’s actually two that canceled.”

  “Freeing up two seats,” Amelia added. “Does Antonio know this yet?”

  “Nope.”

  We all looked around and smiled, getting where this all was going.

  “Who’s up for some poker?” I asked with a raised brow.

  Nobody slept. Everyone worked. Just as we did with Amelia, we wanted everything planned out to the minute. Stewart even came over and helped, not staying away like he had been. He’d worked against the mob and studied their ways of conducting business for years, so the information he provided was incredibly useful when going in blind, as we were. Everything needed to be flawless.

  After much discussion, persuasion, and consistent reassurances, it was Micah and myself that were set to play tomorrow. I wanted nothing more than to see Antonio fall with my own two eyes and since they had my Jesus picture on file, there’d be no recognizing me as the guy they were after. Not to mention, both Micah and I were Italian. Sending suave Mr. New York in there was a sure giveaway that something was up; if he even got in alive. Miles was “in charge” of the girls, which was the best place for him.

  Joey went through the game with us a few times, explaining how things were dealt and what we should watch for. Maddy taught us strategies and the art of the poker face. Amelia insisted on getting us blacked out Ray Bans to wear, though we couldn’t put them on until we sat down to the table—house rules. It was like poker boot camp. I thought I knew how to play, but I knew how to play bar poker, drinking poker. This was serious shit poker.

  The trickiest part was how we were going to be wired. Joey and Amelia said getting that shit by their guards was almost impossible because you’re searched before even going downstairs. Problem was, they didn’t know Micah’s technological prowess, Stewart’s background, and the resources that Miles had through his company, ETV. ETV may be an entertainment broadcasting network, but they also had world renowned security—no one could step foot in that building before getting background checked first, which was Miles’ area. He knew that shit in and out and could get ahold of any device we needed.

  Unlike the microphone we had taped to Amelia’s chest yesterday, ours were going to be in our clothing and made of a material that wouldn’t set off a metal detector. The only way that shit would be found was if they tore apart our clothes, which was something I wouldn’t put past the mafia, but also something completely unnecessary if they didn’t suspect anything. And they wouldn’t. Micah and I had been through some tough shit together. We could hold it together like the armored, emotionless fucks we were.

  “I don’t like that you guys won’t be able to hear us, though,” Amelia said in a concerned voice beside me.

  I bit my lip, knowing that we couldn’t do that. We’d already discussed it.

  “We can’t risk it,” Joey said to Amelia. “There’s times players can even hear the muffled sounds coming from mine.”

  “It’d be over then.” I rubbed her leg.

  She sighed, still not okay with it.

  “We’ll be able to hear them, though,” Maddy jumped in. “And if anything starts to go down, we’ll be right down the street.” She smiled and squeezed Amelia’s hand.

  Amelia let Maddy hold her hand for a moment and then dropped it, starting to fidget as she looked down at her hands. I wrapped my arm around her waist, hugging her into my side.

  “I’ll be okay, baby … promise,” I whispered into her ear before kissing her head.

  She nodded but didn’t respond. I could feel the slight tremble of her body and knew she was holding back the emotions, the tears that were threatening to fall. I knew she was having a hard time with it all. She was petrified of Antonio and knew the danger we all were in.

  I’d be a shit-talking asshole if I said that I wasn’t nervous, but I could never let it show—not in front of Amelia and sure as shit not in front of Antonio or his ring. Micah was doing the same, but I only knew that because I knew the kid better than I knew myself. We were fucking robots, created the same damn way.

  “All right, so we gotta figure out the twist,” Maddy cut in, switching the topic. It wasn’t one that would make Amelia feel any better, but it was imperative to perfect and spend as much time as possible to work everything out. There couldn’t be any kinks. The plan had to be flawless.

  “I have an idea,” Kayla’s quiet voice spoke from the corner, getting all of our attention, “one where no one has to kill anyone.” She licked her lips nervously.

  I exhaled. “K, the only way—” I started to say.

  She held up her hand for me to stop. “You guys wouldn’t have to.”

  We looked at her, intrigued. Miles nodded for her to continue.

  “You already said that Antonio would flip out if he found out anyone was cheating him, right?”

  “Yeah, definitely,” Amelia said, she and Joey both nodding.

  “So, what if we get him thinking one of these new guys were doing that, the guys who came with Franco? Micah and Merrick could egg it on, but not really be involved, acting like they were on Antonio’s side.”

  “So they’d turn on each other,” Miles said, getting what Kayla was saying.

  Kayla’s eyes opened wide, getting excited with her plan as she nodded her head and continued. “I’ve only see this happen in the movies, but then they’d pull guns on each other …”

  “While Micah, Merrick, and I snuck out,” Joey added.

  Kayla was nodding her head, enthusiastic again. “Exactly!”

  “It’s perfect!” Maddy exclaimed.

  “Wait,” Amelia interrupted our grand plan with her quiet voice, “you guys won’t be able to duck out—it won’t be that easy.”

  “She’s right,” Joey started to come down from the high we were on. “Antonio has guys watching that are ordered not to step in unless necessary. They’ve got the floor covered for this stuff.”

  “What would make it necessary for them to step in?” Micah asked.

  “If every person was accounted for and in danger.”

  “What, do they do roll call during brawls?” I asked sarcastically.

  Amelia nodded her head.

  “Jesus Christ!” I cried out. “Seriously?”

  “And we have to make sure they’re armed,” Joey added. “Remember, everyone gets patted down. There’s no question Antonio and his brother will be, but …”

  “They’ll have something on them,” Amelia said. “Come on, Joey.”

  “Yeah …” He nodded his head. “They always make it in somehow,” he admitted.

  “So we’re going to have to look involved,” I said, thinking out loud.

  Amelia rubbed her face and looked like she was having an internal struggle before she nodded her head slowly. “Yeah, you have to look believable or …”

  “But they won’t have guns on them,” Kayla pointed out nervously. “They won’t be able to defend themselves if someone points one at them.”

  All of a sudden, the room went into an uproar, people talking over each other, the confidence quickly draining.

  “Hey!” I quieted everyone. “Let’s not forget I own a fucking bar!” I yelled. “I spent most of my life in brawls and break one up at least once a week. Micah too.”

  Micah started nodding his head confidently.

  “You could fight each other,” Amelia said behind me. “Joey could flip the table when shit starts going down.”

  “Yeah, yeah …” Joey started to brainstorm out loud, too. “You two can throw punches at each other, but stay low.”

  “Like roll around on the ground,” Micah added.

  “Yeah, then when the guys upstairs come down to intervene, end up with me behind the table,” Joey agreed.

  “That’s when guns get pulled?” Miles pointed out, more of a question.

  “Yup,” J
oey said. “You don’t want to be visible at that point—no doubt it’ll be messy.”

  “Isn’t the utility room down there somewhere?” Amelia asked.

  Joey smiled. “Right behind my table.”

  Nerves were on high alert this morning. We all tried to get some sleep last night, but I knew, at least for Amelia and I, that didn’t happen. We spent the night wrapped in each other’s arms, lightly kissing one another randomly to confirm our love. Even though it wasn’t brought up, the idea of one of us not making it back was definitely in the back of both of our heads. What if this was our last night together?

  Mrs. Doubtfire had a full breakfast spread out on the island when we walked out into the kitchen. The apartment was eerily quiet, even though all of us but Joey was there. Joey had to go back home last night so he could be at the studio this morning like he normally would on game day. There was definitely some anxiety and apprehension having him back there today, around them all, but he had to. Everything had to look like business as usual. He was supposed to give the heads up if any thing went south. His suit was already wired last night before he left, so he was good to go there.

  Ours arrived just after breakfast. Micah and I didn’t own any suits, so Miles had them priority shipped, already wired and ready by Stewart. Everything was falling into place just as planned.

  “Maybe you guys should practice playing?” Kayla said once we were all sitting in the living room again.

  Micah and I both looked at each other.

  “Wouldn’t be a bad idea,” I agreed. My buddies and I would sit around and play a few games on the weekends back in the day, and then occasionally at the bar when it was slow, but it was nothing crazy and only played with small change. Micah and I were by no means pro poker players, so getting some practice games under our belts would be a wise thing to do.

  We cleared the coffee table and Maddy pulled out a deck of cards.

  “You just carry a deck of cards in your purse?” I asked.

  She smiled. “I had a feeling we’d be needing them.”

  I nodded my head, impressed. “Good call.”

  Miles handed us both the glasses he had for us. Micah and I sat on one side of the table while Maddy dealt on the other. Amelia watched our body language and confidence while Maddy showed us some more tricks of the trade.

  “Don’t load up your hand with matches,” she began. “Yeah, three and four of a kinds aren’t bad, but they’re amateur. Try to do some runs, flushes … ya know?”

  “What if we got nothing?” Micah asked.

  “Seriously, dude?” I hissed.

  “What?”

  “You fold!”

  “Well, I didn’t know if the big dogs did that.”

  Maddy chuckled. “They can’t just make cards magically appear,” she pointed out. “If you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing.”

  “Babe, you’re sitting too stiff. You look too tense, not confident,” Amelia told me. “Relax.”

  “Never thought you’d be tellin’ me I was too stiff.” I winked at her before I shook out my shoulders, throwing down the useless set of cards that I currently had in my hand.

  She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t any other time.” She grinned.

  I snickered before turning my focus back to the card game. If I thought about being stiff for Amelia, I would never appear serious, not to mention I’d be sporting a hefty chub in the meantime. Though, maybe it would help ease some of the nerves. If all went as planned, I’d definitely be stiff when I got home. Getting through tonight would call for some fucking incredible celebrating—my girl better be ready!

  As much as the day was tense and playing poker until the sun went down was probably the smart thing to do, I needed my girl. I needed our time alone. I didn’t know how tonight was going to go. I had an idea, but I really was fucking clueless with what was waiting for me.

  After, I don’t know, at least ten hands, I stood and pulled Amelia off the couch.

  “Come with me, baby,” I told her before gently kissing the top of her hand.

  She looked confused, but didn’t refuse.

  I moved my mouth close to her ear, whispering, “I need you to myself for a bit.”

  She used her free hand to hold the other side of our intertwined ones, sandwiching my one between her two, looking at me sweetly in response. “Me too,” she replied.

  Even though the rest of the crew was looking in our direction, no one offered a comment about our unexplained departure. They knew why. I wouldn’t be surprised if they all went in separate directions in a bit to have a few minutes of private time, as well.

  I didn’t really have a game plan of what I wanted to say or do once we were alone in our bedroom, but as soon as I shut the door, I knew what I needed. I needed to be inside Amelia. I needed to feel the heat of our love between us.

  I turned her body to face mine once we were standing in the middle of the room. Our eyes were locked as my hands slid down her sides to grip the hem of her shirt. Amelia’s hands lifted above her head to make it easier, allowing me to slip her long sleeved t-shirt up and over her head with ease.

  We continued to undress each other one article of clothing at a time. We didn’t speak. We didn’t touch each other sexually. Our eyes stayed connected until our bodies were completely exposed.

  When she stood naked and completely stunning before me, I grabbed both of her cheeks with my hands, cupping her face with my immense desire, love, and passion. I kissed her lips long and hard, trying to transfer as much of my love for her as possible. I needed her to know the lengths I would go for her, how nothing in this world mattered to me more than she did. I didn’t want an ounce of doubt to be lingering before I left. She needed to know that I loved her with everything in me.

  When our lips separated, a tear was slowly grazing her cheek. Immediately, I caught it will my lips, kissing away any fear she had. I continued to catch any tear that fell, kissing every single one of them away. With each one I touched, the passion between us grew.

  Her hands slid up my back, desire building with every inch travelled. By the time they reached my upper body, gripping the back of my shoulders tensely, our lips were attached, kissing each other feverishly.

  I inched Amelia back further until the back of her knees hit the bed, allowing me to rest her slowly down, my body covering hers. We never separated, our mouths moving slowly and passionately together. She released little moans periodically, but they intensified when my mouth started to travel down the length of her body. I kissed every inch. I wasn’t aggressive. I wasn’t on a mission. I was enjoying caressing her skin, indulging in the curvatures of her body.

  I couldn’t imagine not coming home to this, to never kiss this beautiful skin again. Even though it was a thought that I didn’t want to think about, I indulged even more than I had in the past … just in case. I needed to absorb it all in as much as possible, to focus on the feeling that it gave me, because yeah, it could be the last time that my lips touched her skin.

  Like she knew the thoughts flooding my head, or could feel it in my touch, she sighed with each connection made, holding my head in her hands, almost guiding me to the next area needing to be savored.

  By the time I made it to her heated area, she was soaked, dripping with pleasure. I held the folds to her opening with both my finger and thumb, giving me clear access to her sweet spot. I slowly ran my tongue over it, swirling and gently flicking it over and over again. Her hips rocked with the sensation it provided as her sighs grew into heavy moans.

  “Oh, babe!” she cried as her body started to spasm, her orgasm filling her body.

  I kissed her most sensitive area one last time before crawling back over her, a pleased grin covering her face. It was a sight that would never get old: my girl beautifully pleasured and happily fulfilled, by me. But I wasn’t nearly finished. I needed to claim every part of Amelia this time. I needed no area of her untouched or unsatisfied by me.

  As my cock slid inside her, my
mouth carried to her neck. I continued to kiss every area of her skin that hadn’t yet been touched as I slowly worked my length in and out. Her fingers gently caressed my back, moving slowly up and down my spine as heavy, satisfied breaths escaped her mouth. She was feeling it all, hopefully understanding the undying love that I carried for her.

  It was only moments later that the sensation of impending orgasm started engulfing my body. It was too much. As much as I wanted to stay in this moment forever, I couldn’t handle even one thrust more. I held her face to mine, cupping each of her cheeks while I kissed her passionately, breaking, falling into the most amazing orgasm of all of my life. I felt it everywhere. Everything inch of my body was flooded with pleasure … with the love that Amelia and I shared.

  It went on for what felt like forever, our breaths so heavy and full when we separated that we looked as though we just had run a marathon, and in a way, we did. Even though it wasn’t crazy and wild, it was intense—hands down the best damn sex that we had ever had.

  Before we knew it, we were flirting with go time. I was definitely shittin’ bricks.

  “Here,” Miles came up beside me, handing me a glass of scotch, “you’re going to need this in your system.”

  “Thanks, man.” I took it from his hand, putting it back with one swig. “Hey, listen,” I continued, keeping my voice low, “whatever happens tonight, thanks for everything. What you and Kayla have done for us …”

  His left hand patted my upper back. “You’re like family to us, Merrick, and now Amelia too. That’s what family does for each other.” He locked his gaze with mine. “But you’re coming back.”

  I nodded. I didn’t have family. Both of my parents were gone, and my sister was in some third world country doing who knows what. I hadn’t spoke to her in years; she didn’t even show for my mom’s funeral. She was much older than I was and we never really had a relationship, so I always kind of considered myself an only child. The closest thing to family I had until I moved to the city was Micah and his. I spent most of my teenage years at his house, staying for weeks at a time, and while his house wasn’t the most stable, it was better than being alone. Having Miles say that Amelia and I are family to him and Kayla warmed my insides. It felt good. I had a family. Another reason why I needed tonight to work.