Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss.

by Diana Hoffman

  But then something didn't feel right. Her eyes flew open as she coughed and patted her chest, trying to dislodge the olive that had gotten stuck in her throat. In an instant, she felt Nic standing beside her, patting her back.

  "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

  It finally went down and Victoria turned her watery red eyes up to her husband. "Oh my God, that was embarrassing," she said, as she took a sip of the water he handed her.

  Nic had to laugh. Hard. Now that he knew she was okay, that was one of the funniest things he had ever seen in his life. It was so Victoria to do something like that.

  "Well, at least that's smile number two," she said.

  "Hey, no fair," Nic said, trying to calm his chuckle.

  "Yep, it is. The deal was just distracting you. Even if I'm choking."

  "Oh, you have learned some tricks from me," Nic said, placing his hand on his wife's ass. "But you still have one more smile to get from me before we can leave. And this one has to be sexy. No falling down or choking, okay?"

  "Fair enough."

  Victoria tried again to get Nic's attention throughout the night, but nothing seemed to work. And she didn't feel daring enough to flash him any skin, considering people could be watching.

  But then, she came up with the perfect plan. The most daring thing she had done in front of this many people, but she had to try. She called the bartender over.

  Nic was bored to tears, but he'd learned the art of looking like he was listening intently, even though his mind was far, far away. Truthfully, he was thinking about Victoria. He glanced up at her again, and she was just looking at him. She hadn't tried anything else. Maybe her shyness won out and they would be staying longer. He had kind of hoped that she would have won, so they could get the fuck out of there.

  He was about to make a comment on something one of the men had said, when he noticed the bartender started walking toward their group with the largest grin on his face. He was carrying a tray with a champagne glass. But upon further inspection...this wasn't an ordinary champagne glass. Well, the glass was, but its contents were definitely not. Along with the sparkling champagne, was something else.

  When the bartender finally reached their group, he whispered into Nic's ear that the glass and the note were from his wife.

  Nic stared down into the glass and smiled. He couldn't help himself. Damn that little minx! She had stuck her tiny black thong into the drink. He couldn't even look at her just yet, knowing she had won. He could see the men in his group through his peripheral vision, and they were staring at the glass. Someone coughed, but their mindless chatter ceased.

  Nic turned the note over and read it. 'When do you plan on fucking me? Love, your wet and willing wife.'

  Nic's dick turned hard within a millisecond. That was it.

  He grabbed the drink and the note and excused himself from the group. He heard over his shoulder one of the guys whisper to the group, "Well, fuck, can I marry her?" Not a chance in hell, Nic thought as he approached Victoria. She was all his, from head to toe.

  Victoria waiting in anticipation as Nic closed in on her, like a hawk zoning in on a defenceless, small mouse. When he reached her, he stared down at her and slowly sipped the champagne, pulling her delicate article of clothing out with his teeth. He grabbed her hand and leaned down to her ear. "You win, baby. Now let's get the fuck out of here before I give this entire room a show."

  Once the valet retrieved his car, Nic could barely pry his hands from his wife's body. When they did finally get in, Nic pulled the car out and hit the gas, propelling the car onto the street. Victoria reached into his pants and massaged his dick. He leaned his head back against the headrest and moaned.

  "Fuck, Victoria," Nic whispered as he slowed the car down. He pressed the button to remove the top of the car as he pulled over by the side of a building. There were no cars in sight, which was good for what he had planned for her.

  Victoria looked over at Nic, becoming antsy from whatever it was he had in his mind at the moment. He quickly pushed his seat back and leaned over her to unbuckle her seatbelt.

  "Are you still wet and willing?" he asked.

  Before she could say a word, he was half lifting and pulling her over to his side, until she straddled his lap in the tight space.

  He slid his pants to his thighs and pulled her down onto his lap, while his hard thick member entered her sweet, wet pussy in one effortless glide. Both of them gasped in unison.

  "Oh, Nic," Victoria whispered, with her eyes closed. Once she was fully adjusted, she began to roll her hips back and forth, in a smooth, rhythmic motion, causing both of them unbelievable pleasure.

  Nic pulled the top of her dress down, exposing her tits. He massaged them, rolling each nipple around his fingers before he licked and lightly bit them.

  "Shit," Victoria moaned, as he continued to fuck her.

  Nic felt like he couldn't get as deep as he wanted in such a small space, but he damn sure was going to try. Sexually, this woman drove him to the brink of madness, and she had since the first time he'd made love to her.

  "Nic, wait, oh...I'm coming, oh!" Victoria shouted, as her head rolled back and her body jerked with the intensity of her orgasm.

  But Nic needed more. He opened his car door and stepped out, with Victoria still wrapped around his cock. He leaned her up against the side of the car and started to drive in and out of her with tremendous sex-crazed force. This was the penetration he needed. His lips found hers as he passionately kissed them, until he was sure he had lovingly bruised the tender flesh.

  Then he could feel his own orgasm take over his body, causing him to ram into her one last time, as he stilled and emptied his essence deep within her. Nic wasn't sure how long he held her against him, completely spent, but he knew he wasn't done with her. Not by a long shot.

  Later that night, Victoria knew the true meaning of exhaustion. Nic wouldn't let her fall asleep until he had staked claim in every hole in her body at least twice. She felt sore, but she knew the aching that coursed through her body was due to how much her husband wanted and loved her. She fell asleep in his arms with a contented look upon her face.

  Marianna racked up her share of frequent flyer miles over the next few months, flying back and forth, so she could dote over her daughter in-law. And the more Victoria started to show, the happier Marianna was. Nic warned his mother not to be so overbearing, but she rolled her eyes at him, and proceeded to pick out maternity clothes for Victoria, and food she should be eating, and books she should read. Marianna obviously didn't understand the meaning of overbearing.

  Victoria was still trying to deal with the changes in her body, mentally and physically. She would never admit this to Nic or Marianna, but it felt as though some tiny little creature was inside her, and at any moment, it would pull an Alien, and she'd be Sigourney Weaver, trying to fight it off. She wondered how much weight she would gain. At first, when she stepped on the scale, it was fine. The next few times after that, she cringed. The last time she stepped on the scale, she burst into tears.

  And although Nic continued to assure her that she was the most beautiful woman in the world, she still felt so awkward. And when Victoria got to the point where she could no longer touch her toes or even tie her shoes, she felt completely useless.

  But there were perks of being pregnant, which she later figured out, much to Nic's displeasure.

  Nic walked into the twenty-four hour grocery store that was all the way across town. His eyes were half closed as he mindlessly walked up and down the aisles. Pickles...where the fuck were they? he thought. Once he saw a jar, he made a bee line to the aisle that housed peanut butter. The thought made his stomach queasy.

  When he finally made it to the cashier, he slowly reached into his wallet for cash, and just then the cashier started laughing. Nic looked up, barely able to focus. It was a young black kid, chuckling while placing his items in a bag.

  "What's so funny?" Nic mumbled, plac
ing ten dollars down.

  "Oh, nothing. Sorry man, I was just tripping because it's two in the morning, and you're buying a jar of pickles and peanut butter. Your girl pregnant?"

  "Yes."

  "Mine too. She has me bringing home the craziest shit. So, I feel your pain," the young guy said, as he handed Nic his change.

  Nic smiled. "Well, congratulations...and thanks for the support," he said, grabbing his bag to leave.

  "Thanks man, you too," the kid smiled back.

  When Nic pulled into their driveway, Victoria was standing by the door, waiting on him. Jesus, she was staring at the bag like it was a million dollars.

  "I'll make it for you, just go back upstairs, okay," Nic whispered when he reached her. She nodded and he patted her rear when she turned around.

  "Okay. But, um, just make sure to put extra pickles on it okay. I want a lot, you know," she said over her shoulder.

  Nic walked into the kitchen and quickly fixed what he figured was probably the two nastiest foods that could go together. Victoria had awakened him, really wanting a peanut butter and pickle sandwich. He almost gagged at the thought. Once he made it, he poured her a glass of water and marched upstairs.

  She was sitting up in the bed, waiting for him.

  "Oh, thank you so much, baby," she said, damn near snatching the plate from his hand. He grinned and sat the drink down on her nightstand.

  Nic crawled into bed and looked over at his wife. She was so cute. Her little feet were wiggling back and forth under the cover and she had the plate resting on her swollen belly.

  He turned around and closed his eyes.

  Crunch, crunch, crunch.

  Nic opened his eyes and slowly rolled over and looked up at her. Crunch, crunch, crunch, he heard again, as his wife bit into the sandwich. He looked over at the clock. It was already three in the morning, and he had a meeting with his company at nine.

  He rolled back over and placed a pillow over his head. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Damn those fucking pickles! The sacrifices we make for the ones we love. Nic squeezed the pillow tighter over his head.

  Victoria had tried to catch an afternoon nap, when her cell phone started ringing. At first she hadn't planned on answering it, but she noticed on the caller ID it was her mother. She was sure she was calling to bug her about the status of the baby.

  She and Nic had wanted to wait until the baby was born to know the sex, but the anticipation had been killing them. They had to know, and were pleasantly surprised when it was a boy. It honestly didn't matter to Victoria, but she could tell that Nic was secretly thrilled about that. Then came the hard part of deciding a name.

  Victoria had wanted Nicolas Sebastian Andretti V, but Nic was dead set against it. He didn't want to go that high with the numbers and he felt like that name was cursed. He said their kid needed a fresh start.

  But Victoria still wanted the kid to have a part of Nic's name, so they went with Sebastian Andretti. The real argument came with the middle name. Victoria wanted his middle name to be Paul, explaining that her son would be named after the two best men she knew. Nic eventually conceded, since Paul was a simple name, but he did insist that he was to be called Sebastian, and not Paul. Victoria agreed. So Sebastian Paul Andretti it was.

  "Hey Mama," Victoria said, raising up from the couch to answer her phone.

  Silence.

  "Mama?" she asked again.

  "Vicky, I um...damn," her mother whispered.

  "What's wrong, mama."

  Her mother paused again, before she spoke.

  "Vicky, James...died this morning," her mother said through sniffles.

  Victoria couldn't breathe. She wasn't ready to hear this. She wasn't ready.

  "No, mama," Victoria whispered, holding her hand over her mouth. She knew that this was a possibility, but she honestly thought that her father would fight through it. He couldn't possibly die.

  "I'm going to take care of everything. And I'm fine, so don't try to rush back here. I'll let you know when the funeral will be, okay?" Olivia said, her voice no longer cracking.

  Victoria nodded her head, knowing full well her mother couldn't see it, but she was still too shocked to speak.

  Finally when she found her voice, she whispered, "Okay," and hung up. Victoria wasn't sure how long she sat there, but she couldn't move. She couldn't think. Her father was dead...and the last thing she ever said to him was throwing in his face that he had no one.

  When Nic arrived back home, he knew immediately that something was amiss with Victoria. At first he thought the house was empty, because several lights were off. He called her name and walked upstairs to find her sitting on the floor in the baby's room trying to put together the expensive convertible baby crib his mom had bought weeks ago.

  "Hey baby," Nic said, eyeing his wife suspiciously. "I told you I was going to do that."

  She didn't look up. "I know, but I thought I could get a start on it." Victoria really didn't know what the hell she was doing. And for some reason the directions didn't make any sense to her. But she needed something, anything to keep her mind occupied.

  "Are you alright?" Nic asked, kneeling down beside her.

  "Yes," she answered, as she picked up a metal bar. "Well actually, I guess I should tell you that my father died this morning."

  Nic was taken aback. "What?"

  "He's dead," she said, smashing one end of the metal bar into the wooden crib. It wouldn't fit, so she kept on banging it against the tan wood, trying to make it fit.

  "Hey, hey," Nic said, grabbing the bar from her. "Stop, okay. Just stop. Talk to me."

  Victoria snatched the piece back. "I'm fine. I wasn't even close to him." She started pushing the metal bar into the wood again. "Shit, why won't this fit?!"

  "Because it's the wrong piece. Now put the fucking bar down and look at me," Nic commanded. He knew she was hurting. His wife was extremely sensitive, especially in her condition.

  Victoria threw the bar down and stared at her husband. She knew it was coming. Those tears that were bubbling underneath the surface. Her bottom lip started to shake and she erupted into tears.

  Nic immediately reached out to grab his wife. "It's okay, baby," Nic whispered, wrapping her in his arms. He could feel her tears soaking the collar of his shirt.

  "I—I was so me—mean to him the last time I sa—saw him," Victoria whimpered. She couldn't feel lower if she tried. In the back of her mind, she had expected her father to recover. Not to die alone in a cold hospital room.

  "You didn't have the best relationship with him, and that's not your fault. He pushed away many opportunities to know the most beautiful, interesting and kind woman in the world. You reached out to him that last time, and you didn't have to. He rejected your plan to mend your relationship and there wasn't anything else you could do, baby. Trust me, you did more than most people would have done."

  Victoria tried to calm her breaths, which were suddenly infused with hiccups. She closed her eyes and Nic slowly pushed her onto her back. He laid on his side, rubbing his hand over her full tummy.

  "I probably shouldn't go to the funeral. But then again, if I don't show up, I'm not sure who else would, other than my mom. He didn't really have any friends, and didn't really want any."

  Nic leaned over and kissed her. "It's entirely up to you. I'll be by your side either way."

  Victoria smiled for the first time since her mother had delivered the devastating news. "Didn't I use to not like you at one point?"

  Nic laughed. "Oh, I heard 'I hate you, you bastard' a few times."

  Olivia called back the next day to give Victoria some details regarding the funeral. It would be in two days and they were just having a small private service at her mom's old church. A church Victoria hadn't been to since she was five and they had an Easter egg hunt. Her father didn't like church people. He always used to argue with her mother that those women were always in their business.

  "They don't do anything except gossip. Too busy goss
iping to pay attention to what's going on in their own homes," he argued. Her mom would just shake her head, and every now and then go to church without him.

  But before they could fly back, Nic and Victoria visited her physician and got a second opinion on her flying so late in the pregnancy. Both were fine with it, but she had to get up and walk around every few hours, and it would be better if they broke up the flights into two separate connections.

  When Nic had their first class tickets, he called his mom and Jimmy to let them know he'd be coming into town for a few days because of Victoria's dad. Of course, Marianna was happy, but it was bittersweet, due to Victoria having to go through such a hard time.

  After the longest travel day in Nic's life, they finally made it back to the city. It only took two connection flights, plus a four hour nap for Victoria at a hotel, before they boarded their third plane, and finally near the end of a sleepless day for Nic.