TNT

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “Turn this fucking thing off!” I shouted, but the sprays just kept coming. When they finally shut off, I felt oily and disgusting. I turned to look in the mirror and let out a terrified scream. I looked like a fucking dreamsicle. I had swirls of orange all over my body. My face looked like a bowl of ice cream.

  “What the fuck?” Coop shouted.

  “I’m black!” Storm screamed.

  I snatched a towel that was hanging on a hook and quickly wrapped it around me. I ran out just as Coop did the same. He looked at me with wide eyes and started laughing.

  “What the fuck happened to you?”

  “I freaked out and tried to get out of there, but the damn thing kept spraying me.”

  “I look fucking Mexican,” Coop said, pointing to his face.

  “I’m black,” Storm said, stepping out of his curtained off area. I shook my head in disbelief. He wasn’t just dark, he looked like he was straight out of Africa. “What the fuck happened to you?”

  “How do I get this off? I can’t marry Molly like this?”

  “Well, at least no one will mistake you for being Mexican,” Coop said.

  “They didn’t before either!”

  “Well, now they definitely won’t. Maybe an oompa loompa.”

  “That doesn’t make it better!” I stomped up front, ignoring the customer at the counter. “Lady, what the fuck is this? I’m supposed to get married today and you made me into a bowl of ice cream!”

  “Sir, you weren’t supposed to move once the machine started.”

  “And what about them?”

  “The settings must have jammed?”

  “Is that a question? You don’t know?”

  “This is fine,” Claire said, rushing over to us. “It’ll all be fine. I mean, no one will even notice once you get your tux on.”

  “Really? No one will notice that my face is two colors?”

  “We’ll put some makeup on and it’ll be fine.”

  “No, I draw the line at makeup. You dragged me here and forced me to do this, but I will not have my makeup done!”

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  “I think you look even worse, if that’s even possible,” Coop said as Claire put the finishing touches on my makeup at her house.

  “Of course I look worse. There’s no way to match the colors that are on my face.”

  I stood and walked over to the sink, washing the shit off my face. I glared at myself in the mirror and tried to decide if I should postpone the wedding. On the one hand, I looked fucking terrible and our pictures would memorialize this day. On the other hand, I had no idea how long it would take for this shit to wash off. I wasn’t sure I could wait for Molly. I needed her back now. Besides, I had already called her parents and told them what had happened. Her dad had threatened to kill me unless I made this right. If I didn’t go through with this, I might not even be alive tomorrow.

  “I heard that lemon juice helps to get rid of a fake tan. I’ll go grab some.”

  She ran to the kitchen and grabbed that, along with some vinegar and started scrubbing at my face. After five minutes, I was left with a raw, dreamsicle face, and I was no closer to looking normal. But I did smell lemon fresh.

  “Let’s try putting on the suit and see if that helps any,” Claire suggested.

  “Really? You think that putting on a suit will make this right?” I gestured to my face.

  “It couldn’t hurt.”

  “Fine, I’ll put on the suit, but I’m just going to look like ice cream in a suit.”

  There was a knock on the door and Claire hurried off to answer it as I pulled off my shirt and unzipped the garment bag.

  “What the fuck?”

  I cringed and slowly turned to face my future father-in-law. “Sir-”

  “I told you to take care of my baby girl,” he said, storming toward me.

  “I know-” His fist flew out and caught me in the jaw. I fell backward, stumbling to catch myself.

  “You said you wouldn’t hurt her.”

  “I didn’t mean to-”

  He threw another punch, this time catching me in the nose. I felt the crunch of bone and a gush of liquid.

  “I told you what would happen if you hurt my girl.”

  “Sir, what happened- I didn’t remember!”

  “Remember what?”

  “I didn’t remember the night I met her,” I tried to explain, but apparently, that wasn’t the way to go. His face contorted in rage and his fist flew again, catching me in the left eye.

  “You didn’t remember her? She was that cheap to you?”

  “No, there were just so many women-”

  His fist caught me in the eye again and I stumbled back against Coop.

  “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Coop asked. “Because you’re doing a pretty good job of it.”

  “So, she was dispensable, right?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Then why didn’t you remember her?”

  “Because I was drunk-”

  This time he lifted his foot and booted me right in the chest. Coop moved out of the way and I crashed through Claire’s coffee table.

  “I’m really trying to understand why you called me up here and told me that you wanted to marry my daughter.”

  “If you’d let me talk without fucking hitting me, I’d explain!”

  He stared down at me for a moment and then nodded. He held out his hand to me, but I just stared at it warily. There could be another punch on the end of that thing, and if I wanted to get Molly to marry me, I couldn’t exactly punch him back. I finally took his hand and allowed him to pull me to my feet. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for my explanation.

  “Look, the night I met Molly, I was getting drunk to forget what happened with the last girl I dated.”

  “The woman that was murdered?”

  “Yes. Look, if I hadn’t been drunk the night I met Molly, things would have been a lot different for us. At least, I hope they would have been. Maybe it was better this way. If I hadn’t been drunk, I might have never given her a chance. I probably would have shoved her out of my life and went on to get drunk and sleep with a ton of other women. But it did happen, and she changed my whole fucking life. I regret how I acted leading up to me figuring it all out, but I don’t regret how it all happened. I can’t, because that’s like asking me to regret Molly.”

  “Did you apologize?”

  “Of course I did.”

  “So, what’s your plan?”

  “I’m going to marry her.”

  He shook his head, huffing out a laugh. “Son, she doesn’t want to be with you.”

  “Yeah? And when has she ever given me a choice?”

  He barked out a laugh and held out his hand. “Well, can’t argue with that.”

  “So, I have your permission?”

  “On one condition.”

  “What’s that?” His fist flew at me one more time and I collapsed to the ground. “Don’t ever hurt my baby girl again.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Molly

  I was moping. I knew it, but I couldn’t stop myself. Gus had seen it on my face as soon as I walked through the doors. He hadn’t said anything, but he knew that something bad had happened. He was going easy on me today, not even bothering to correct me when I took trays to the wrong tables. That was how I knew that I was in bad shape. Even the customers seemed to be walking on egg shells around me.

  “Why don’t you just go home?” Gus suggested after he caught me staring off into space for the fourth time in the last hour.

  “I don’t want to go home.”

  Home reminded me of Tony. I did my best to be strong this morning, but inside, my heart was breaking. What happened wasn’t actually that bad, but I had always been one to believe the best in people, and they all let me down more than I ever thought possible. I thought I had found my place at Tony’s side and with his friends, so it was absolutely crushing that they all thought so littl
e of me.

  “What happened?” Gus finally asked.

  I sighed and plopped down on the bar stool. “I made an idiot of myself.”

  “So?”

  “More than usual this time.”

  He set down his towel and leaned on the bar with his elbows. “Tell me what happened.”

  I shrugged. “You were right. It was too soon. I thought I knew Tony, but I was wrong. He’s nothing like I thought he was.”

  “Did he hurt you?” Gus growled.

  “Not physically. But emotionally, I’m really fucked up right now.”

  “Molls, are you sure about this? I mean, you seemed pretty certain that this guy was the one.”

  “I thought you said I was moving too fast? Now you’re on his side?”

  “I’m not on anyone’s side. I just don’t know what happened and I don’t know how to help.”

  I scoffed. “No one can help. Like I said, this is all on me. I had him and his friends built up in my mind as being these amazing people that had accepted me, but they were all laughing behind my back. They didn’t really like me. I made a fool of myself. But the thing that sucks the most is that this isn’t really his fault. This is all on me. I let myself believe that we had this amazing connection and that everything was going to be so perfect. I’m the idiot because I still haven’t learned that people always let you down.”

  “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again.”

  I spun around at the sound of my daddy’s voice. His face was hard, but there was a softness to his eyes that was always there for me.

  “Daddy, I messed up.”

  “You did not. Molly, sometimes people let you down. And yeah, you jumped the gun like you always do, but that’s just who you are. You always believe the best in everyone, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “But I lost him.”

  “No, you didn’t, pumpkin. That man is lost without you. Why the hell do you think I’m here?”

  “He called you?”

  “He called me first thing this morning, right after he got out of jail.” He quirked an eyebrow at me, and I flushed in embarrassment. “Never took you as the vindictive type. Of course, you are your momma’s daughter.”

  “I may have gotten a little carried away.”

  He nodded. “Well, he probably deserved it. Now, what’s all this crying about? That’s not like you.”

  “I’ve been wrong about everything my whole life,” I said, tears slipping down my cheeks. “I don’t know why I always mess everything up. I just always seem to read things wrong.”

  “Well, you didn’t read things wrong this time. He just needed some sense knocked into him. Now that that’s done, we can move along with the day.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “We have to get going if we’re going to make it in time.”

  “In time for what?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “Daddy, I can’t just leave. I have a job to do.”

  “Take her!” Gus insisted. “For the love of God, take her moping ass out of here. She’s scaring away the customers.”

  I glared at Gus. “I thought you were on my side.”

  “I am, and I’m also on the side of my business. Seriously, no one is going to want you to serve them tears in their drinks.”

  I swiped at my eyes. I didn’t think I had been that bad. Daddy grabbed my hand just as Gus tossed me my purse. I didn’t even have time to protest further before Daddy was shoving me into my truck.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To get your man back.”

  “What if I don’t want him back?”

  He chuckled. “Molly, you’re too much like your momma. When you find someone, it’s for life. And I know this man is for life.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because he didn’t even try to fight me when I beat the shit out of him.”

  “Daddy!” I gasped, not even sure if I should be angry or not.

  “He took it like a man, baby. Trust me, he’s damn serious about you. So, stop the tears and the second-guessing. I know he made mistakes, but you have to get past that and see the man standing in front of you, because baby, they don’t come around very often and you don’t want to lose out over something that can easily be forgiven.”

  We pulled into Reed Security and people were running all over the place. Someone was running out with flowers and another man was walking out with what looked like a minister’s collar, except he had on tactical gear. I wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  “Just remember one thing, baby.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You love him and that’s all that matters.”

  My door opened and I was hauled out of the truck by Tony. Only, he didn’t really look like Tony that much. He had swirls of orange on his face and the left side was swollen. His eye wouldn’t open, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he was missing a tooth.

  “Daddy, please tell me you didn’t do this to him.”

  He shrugged and got out of the truck, leaving me alone with Tony.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I’m getting ready for our wedding.”

  “There isn’t going to be a wedding.”

  He quirked his head to the side. “You sure about that? Because I’ve got the minister, the flowers, the guests, your parents…I think that’s it.”

  “You forgot something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I never said I would marry you.”

  “Um…I’m pretty sure you did. Well, technically, you told me that we were getting married. No take backs,” he said quickly.

  “That’s not the way this works. You hurt me. I can’t just run off and marry you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I need time to think this through and get past this.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “I hear what you’re saying. I really do. And while I think you make some not very valid points, I’m going to pretend like what you just said makes total sense. But we’re getting married today. You’re just freaking out because I hurt you and made you question everything you believed in. I get it, but we’re still getting married.”

  My face steamed in anger as he threw my words back at me. It made me want to laugh, but I refused. Besides, I couldn’t give in that easily.

  “Listen, I get that you think you can make this all up to me with a wedding, but it’s not going to happen because we are breaking up. I’m getting back in that truck and I’m driving back to work, or to my apartment. You will not show up at my apartment tonight and demand that you check the place out or insist that you keep me safe. Do you know why?”

  “Because you think we’re not getting married,” he smiled.

  “We’re not! This doesn’t have anything to do with what you want. This is all about me because of how you screwed up. This is over Tony, as in no more! It’s not a possibility or a probability. We are one hundred percent over!”

  He nodded at me with a grin on his face. It was kind of cute the way his face was all mangled and yet he was still pretending like this was the most romantic way to get me to marry him.

  “I hear you, Molly. I know that I hurt you and that you want to push me away right now. I know that I fucked up and so did all my friends, but you have to believe me that I love you and I would never hurt you like that again. And my friends don’t think that you’re ridiculous. They think you’re the woman that pulled me out of a slump and changed me into the man I am today. Besides,” he grinned. “It’s just not possible for us to break up. Hunter already has his minister’s garb on and he’s ready to marry us. I’ve got your friends here and your parents, and I even got you a dress. So, whether you like it or not, we’re getting married today.”

  His lips crashed down on mine and his tongue slipped in my mouth. The shot of electricity that shot through me told me that this wasn’t a mistake in any way. I knew it all along, I just had to let my head and my heart
be reminded of what we really had. When he pulled back, he grinned at me.

  “So, are you ready to get married?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Tony

  Molly smiled up at me and I knew I had her. She was a sucker for this kind of shit, and I had a feeling that she wanted me to tell her that we were getting married and not give her a choice in the matter.

  “There she is,” I smiled back at her.

  “So, we’re getting married.”

  “Yeah, we’re getting married.”

  “But I don’t have a dress.”

  “I gotcha covered. I already told you that.”

  She eyed me suspiciously, but before she could open that beautiful mouth in protest, Hunter walked up.

  “Are you ready to get this party started?”

  “Molly, this is Hunter. He’s going to be officiating the wedding.”

  “Are you an ordained minister?” she asked in surprise.

  “I got ordained online,” he grinned. “Yep, I’ve been officiating all the Reed Security weddings for years.”

  “Wow. I’m impressed.”

  “Yeah, it’s a pretty cool gig. The last wedding, now that was explosive.”

  “What happened?” Molly asked excitedly.

  “Uh…nothing much,” I cut in quickly. “Just the usual wedding shenanigans.”

  “Not really,” Hunter snorted. “If you call killing a bunch of bad dudes and a hotel blowing up usual.”

  “Wow. Can we have something like that?” Molly asked me.

  “Um…” I looked to Hunter for guidance on this. I wasn’t quite sure what to say. “Why don’t we get you into your dress?”

  Claire came running over and grabbed Molly’s hand, almost like she knew what I needed from her. “Come on. We have to get you dressed and do your makeup. Brooke has all your stuff in her house.”

  “So, why are we having the wedding over here?” I asked Hunter as we arrived at Rocco’s house.

  “Because Brooke isn’t allowed to leave the property. Rocco called and asked if we could move her for the day, but that was shot down. So, we’re doing it in their backyard. Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.”