Love by the Mile

by Heather Young-Nichols

  Quick visits and holidays were their way of coming together.

  Bianca and I shopped for food and drinks, though I swore I still wasn’t drinking, then headed back to her house to prep.

  “I invited Nick tonight,” Bianca said as we made sandwiches in her kitchen.

  “Ok.”

  She went silent, but I could feel her looking at me.

  “Is that a problem?” she asked finally.

  I stopped and turned toward her.

  “Is it ever a problem for me?”

  “I guess not,” she said with a shrug. “Do you think you can keep your hands off him for a couple of hours?”

  I narrowed my eyes and threw a slice of bread at her face. I had excellent aim.

  Seeing Nick after having sex with him was never weird. We’d done this before. Nick didn’t do the girlfriend thing, and I never wanted him that way anyway. The best part was I’d never have to worry about him cheating on a girlfriend with me. I’d been the other woman once. He didn’t tell me he had a girlfriend and I never wanted to be that girl again so Nick was sometimes the perfect option albeit the dumb one.

  A veritable smorgasbord of sandwiches, chips, dip, and anything else we could think of covered the counter of the bar in the man cave. We also made sure the fridge was fully stocked with water, beer, and soda.

  Bianca and I were finishing the last touches when Gio Diamati and Sal DeLuca came through the door upstairs. Their heavy footsteps thumped above our heads. Their deep voices so similar I could hardly tell them apart.

  When they got to the bottom of the stairs I found they looked just as similar. Same dark hair and eyes, both at least six feet and built like they were created to make women fall at their feet. They looked more like brothers than cousins. Though Sal’s hair was cropped shorter than Gio’s into a more professional style. Hot ran in the family.

  The comparison just made me more curious. I really wanted to know if Sal had tattoos like Gio. That ink made Gio even hotter, so I assumed the same would be true for Sal if he had any.

  “Close your mouth,” Bianca whispered right into my freaking ear. “The drool is escaping,”

  I pushed her away and made sure my mouth was shut because there was no way I was actually drooling.

  “Sal, this is my best friend, Bailey,” she said then hugged him tightly. “I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

  Sal gave me the guy head nod to acknowledge that Bianca introduced me but that was all I got out of him. I said hello and gave him a great smile. He gave me a head nod.

  We each filled a plate then settled in around the giant plasma Gio had in the basement. The guys dropped onto the couch, I sat with my legs crossed on the floor setting my plate on the coffee table, and Bianca did the same beside me.

  “How’s work?” Bianca asked Sal.

  “Fine. Busy.”

  “Have you moved yet?”

  “No.”

  I noticed Sal only spoke to Gio unless Bianca said something to him first and never to me like I wasn’t even there. Instead of interjecting, I decided to sit back and try to figure this whole dynamic out while nibbling on chips.

  While not exactly easy to make an assessment on the spot, I was able to ascertain that he spoke in monosyllabic words and never gives out any specific information about himself. Not to mention, he didn’t come off as an overly friendly guy, and I began to pick up that he never mentioned anything that happened more than a year ago other than to confirm or deny an event.

  I asked if he went to college, and he said, “Yup.”

  I asked where, he said, “Boston.”

  What the hell did that even mean? Harvard? Boston College? Billy’s School of Learnin’? I had no idea.

  “Did Nick text you, Hay Bale?” Bianca asked glancing at her phone.

  “Swear to god, B… ” She used my nickname by default most of the time, without even thinking about it, but it annoyed me around other people I didn’t know well.

  Gio didn’t count. But anyone else would ask too many questions.

  “Don’t use that nickname,” Gio said to Sal with a snicker.

  “Sounds like a story I want to hear.” Sal gave me a sexy smirk.

  Ok. Maybe he just needed to warm up. Maybe there was more personality behind the closed-off exterior.

  Shaking my head at the both of them, I hopped up, dropped my paper plate into the trash, grabbed a bottle of water, and then walked over to the pool table. Nick hadn’t shown up and that worked in my favor. He was all too happy to share the story of the night he relieved me of my virginity and gave me the nickname Hay Bale.

  “So, teams.” Gio came up beside me to pick his stick. “I don’t think it’d be fair for Sal and me to be on the same side.”

  “Why is that?” Bianca challenged.

  “We’re badass, and we wouldn’t want to embarrass you girls.”

  Oh, he knew better. Yet he used the most condescending tone he could muster and then patted her on the head for added dickhead effect, trying to rile her up or throw her off her game.

  He’d be lucky she didn’t stab him.

  “Yeah,” I said back. “Maybe you should school us.”

  “Your funeral.” Sal grabbed his own cue with no clue as to what he was up against. “Ladies first.”

  Once we broke and actually got into the game, Sal didn’t know what hit him. Gio had seen us play before and chuckled every time we surprised Sal. Within four or five turns, we owned them and Nick called to us down the stairs.

  “He doesn’t knock?” Sal gave Gio a hard look.

  “I sent him a text telling him just to come on down,” Bianca answered instead of Gio.

  Nick joined us in the basement and acted totally normal like we hadn’t spent the night together at all. He didn’t treat me any differently than he did Bianca. This was part of his charm.

  Yes, he’d had sex with both of us at different times but we were friends and that came first.

  “Wish I would’ve gotten here sooner,” he said shaking Sal’s hand. “I could’ve warned you about them. Those two grew up in a bar. Pool is one of the things they do really well.”

  “What are the others?” Sal asked.

  “Uh… ” It was like I could see Nick physically filing through comebacks to decide which to use.

  “Next topic.” I cut in before some smartass remark flew out of his mouth. Instead, he laughed and winked at me.

  “Ok, how about if we beat you, I get to hear how you got the nickname.” Sal challenged me with his cocky tone.

  It was hard to turn down a challenge. Nick choked on the beer he’d taken a drink of, coughing and sputtering when it didn’t go down right.

  Serves him right.

  “Oh, I can tell you that without you having to play,” Nick said.

  I ignored him.

  “Deal.” I shrugged. The thing about me is that I don’t embarrass easily. No, I didn’t want every Tom, Dick or Harry to know about my personal business but if someone found out I didn’t shy away. “But what do we get if we win?”

  “What do you want, sweetheart?” Sal leaned slightly over the table with a look I’d seen Gio give Bianca more than once.

  Smoldering, I’ll rock your world look.

  Man, there must’ve been something in the water the Diamatis and DeLucas drank when they were growing up to make them so sexy.

  “You both have to answer a question of our choosing.” I figured he wanted an answer so we’d get one as well. Though this meant that Gio and Bianca got off easy.

  “Deal.” Gio agreed without consulting Sal.

  But Sal didn’t look as sure. I’d guess Gio felt confident enough they’d win that there’d be no reason to worry.

  Sal shifted his weight from one foot to another and took a couple of deep breaths like he was uncomfortable with the idea.

  What exactly did he think I was going to ask?

  Sal broke and sunk two balls before Bianca got a turn.

  She did her job by dropping
two of our own.

  Gio went next, taking all the time in the world to line up his shot. Dropped two into the pock before missing the third.

  On my turn, I acted like I wasn’t sure what to do when in reality I worked a trajectory that would let me hit three, all being sent to separate pockets.

  “Sorry,” Nick said then chuckled. “I tried to warn you guys.”

  I missed my next shot then it was Sal’s turn again.

  Sal moved in on the table slowly, methodically. He measured distance with his cue. Chalked the end. Stalked around each side to see which would give him the advantage. I half expected him to lick his finger and hold it in the air to see which way the wind was blowing.

  He settled on the side opposite of where we were standing. Chalked again, laid out his cue, and then pulled back.

  Damn it. He made the shot. Then the next. And the next. And the next.

  The game came down to him needing to sink the eight ball.

  “That pocket.” He pointed across from him.

  Asshole. Calling his shot just rubbed the probable win in our faces.

  We got hustled. I was positive.

  Sal pretended to be an all right player when in reality he could’ve been a fucking professional. I was annoyed but reined it in. I didn’t want to be seen as a sore loser.

  Of course, I was already plotting a secret revenge.

  “Storytime,” Sal said as soon as that ball dropped in the pocket.

  “Ok, fine.” I sighed. “I lost my virginity on a hay bale, and Bianca loves to remind me of that. Not much to tell.”

  “Ouch.” Which was pretty much everyone’s response to that story. The others at least tried to hold their giggles. Not Sal. He chuckled deeply. “Did the poor kid even cover it with a blanket?”

  “Yeah, I did,” Nick said and I could’ve kicked him in the nuts.

  I turned to him trying to fire death flares from my eyes in hopes of setting him on fire.

  “What?” He held his hands up in front of himself defensively. “I knew what I was doing. Remember, doing it was your fucking idea that night. It’s always your idea.”

  “Oh, so you two… ” Sal waved his finger between Nick and me.

  “No,” I said at the same time Nick said, “Not since last night.”

  “I’m going to kill you.” I glared at Nick.

  Then I lunged.

  He let me wrestle him to the ground. He could’ve overpowered me in a second but chose not to. He had to know he deserved this. I twisted his nipples cause him to squeal. By the time he called uncle, we were both laughing our asses off.

  Sal furrowed his brows. Confusion scrunched up his face as he watched the two of us right in front of him.

  “We’re not together,” I said. “But Nick is a douchebag.”

  “Hey.” Nick protested and dug his fingers into my sides so I had to wriggle off of him. “Only sometimes.”

  My promise remained unbroken the rest of the night. I didn’t have a drop of alcohol. My body couldn’t take another night of severe dehydration, and I found I wanted to remember Sal’s visit. There was something drawing me to him.

  After that night, I didn’t see Sal again before he left town and I didn’t get to see him again. Other than the occasional appearance he made in my dreams.

  Instead of thinking about him, I tried to focus on the fact that I was about to start working at Romano’s. The restaurant was like a second home to me.

  “How’d you like Sal?” Bianca asked as I entered the break room to shove my jacket and purse into a locker on my first day.

  “He’s hot. I’m thinking of a Thanksgiving treat.”

  Her face dropped but I smiled back innocently and batted my eyes at her. I was only half joking. Based on the information I had, no way would I turn him down if he offered.

  “You knew that already didn’t you?” I asked.

  She shook her head like the thought of me hooking up with Sal hadn’t occurred to her. “That’s not a good idea.”

  “Why not? I like sex. Guys like sex. It’s a win-win.”

  “Yeah… but… look.” She moved in and dropped her voice as if someone was lurking nearby who might overhear some deep, dark secret. “There are a lot of things I can’t tell you, but I can say for certain he won’t be into hooking up OK?”

  I snorted.

  “Most guys like to hook up now and again.” I learned that lesson in high school, and it proved to be true in college as well. I hadn’t slept with very many guys, but the ones I had tended to like the no strings attached approach, even with people they slept with more than once.

  “Not all of them. Gio wasn’t when I met him. Remember? He turned me down.”

  “Gio’s a freak of nature.” I snorted again. Although we now knew he’d turned her down because his parents had sent him to Harbor Point specifically to get Gramps to sell the restaurant, not to fall for Bianca. She said the guilt over falling for her when he was there with a nefarious purpose was all too much for him.

  Bianca sighed. “Sal’s just not that nice overall. I don’t even think he’s always nice to Gio.” She took a step closer and lowered her voice. “I think he’s just awkward with people in general.”

  “Awkward how?”

  “The way they were raised… I don’t think really gets interpersonal byplay. You know the thing that helps people make friends.”

  “Well, he’s hot, so if his penis understands interpersonal byplay, I’m OK with that.”

  Bianca giggled. “You’re awful.”

  She swatted my ass as I walked by her to leave. I giggled but turned back to her.

  “Has Gramps ever thought about doing delivery for the restaurant?”

  “I don’t think so. Maybe a long time ago but obviously decided not to. Why?”

  “I’m no business genius like you, but I did major in marketing and management and just thought that maybe, especially in the offseason, delivery could make a lot of money. You could expand into the empty store next door if you had to.” I sort of surprised myself with how much thought I’d put into the idea already.

  Bianca, my best friend in the entire world, stared at me wide-eyed and mouth gaping open as if I’d grown another head.

  “That’s… we should do up a business plan and model then bring it to him. I think it sounds like a great idea.”

  Maybe this job would turn into more fun than I thought because that, in fact, sounded like a hell of a lot of fun.

  Chapter Three

  Bianca and I got together a few times a week to work on the logistics of our expansion idea. To bounce ideas off each other and keep the ones we thought would work best or make the most sense.

  The deeper into the plan we got, the more we loved the idea but decided we wouldn’t say a word to Gramps until we had all our ducks in a row. There’d be no sense in telling him half a plan.

  We estimated we’d be ready in the beginning of December.

  Gio gave some input into our plan but typically waited for us to ask his opinion first. While he had more big business experience having worked for his parent’s corporation and graduated college with a business, that knowledge wasn’t something he was proud of or flaunted. Even now, he owned one-third of a national company yet never talked about anything having to do with it or his family.

  The busier Bianca and I became, the quicker time seemed to move. We were working so hard that Thanksgiving fell on us like a brick wall with no warning. Bianca’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Russo, though they insisted I call them Tony and Maria, came in from Ann Arbor, Michigan on Tuesday morning that week. Sal and Gemma arrived from Chicago on Wednesday.

  Harbor Point didn’t have an airport of our own. Gramps picked Mr. and Mrs. Russo up from the airport while Gio did the same for Sal and Gemma.

  Bianca’s mother, Maria, did all the shopping for Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday. She insisted that the rest of us were so busy she was happy to do it. Bianca’s father, Tony, went with her.

  Thank
sgiving morning, Bianca and I spent in the kitchen with Maria, helping with anything we could. Maria was the boss though. We just followed directions.

  “What can I do?” Gramps asked as I made a salad and Bianca worked on the mashed potatoes.

  He was still such a big guy. His once dark hair was more salt than pepper and skin crinkled at the eyes.

  “Out, Dad,” Maria said back while pointing toward the living room.

  Ten minutes later Bianca’s dad did the same thing. Once again she denied entry.

  Maria did allow Gemma Diamati into our inner sanctum, though anyone with a penis was forbidden. She said the boys were more work than the help they provided. Since I’d done Thanksgiving them every year since I became friends with Bianca, I tended to agree.

  Around two in the afternoon the thermometer popped on the turkey. It was time to bring all the food to the table where all eight of us situated ourselves.

  “Everything looks delicious, Maria,” Gramps said proudly.

  He loved it when she visited, even if she didn’t stay very long especially after Bianca’s grandma died three years ago. Her death was another reason Bianca wanted to settle here. So he wouldn’t be alone.

  “Where are your parents this year, Bailey?” Maria passed the mashed potatoes to her left.

  “I think Jamaica, but I could be wrong.”

  “You’re not sure?” Sal asked. He didn’t sound accusatory at all, quieter with an uneven tone. Since he didn’t speak up much nor ask questions, I assumed that was the reason.

  But Sal needed to understand that in this family, everyone was welcome. Everyone belonged. And everyone participated. Almost no subject was off the table so he should just ask whatever he wanted.

  “Last I talked to them it was Jamaica but were talking about changing their mind to Puerto Rico or Aruba. I assume they’d tell me, but they’ve forgotten before.”

  “What about you, Bailey?” Tony asked before shoving half a turkey into his mouth. He was a big guy, in height, muscle, and personality which could be off-putting. Most wouldn’t expect him to be an emergency room doctor. A wrestler maybe. A doctor, unlikely.