“What?”
“This has nothing to do with her. I have my reasons for doing this. Leave her out of it.”
Joanna and Dennis are staring at us. I don’t blame them. The whole thing is like Abbott and Costello meets the mafia. I don’t know what Vito is up to, but I have to trust that he knows what he’s doing.
Vito spends about a half an hour working with Dennis. He talks about the semantics of hitting and oddly enough he says many of the things Joey taught me. I talk with Joanna and Ronnie until Vito wraps it up.
“Be here every night this week at seven for training.” Dennis looks whipped and overwhelmed. He nods that he’ll be here and we all leave.
*****
At my house, Vito pulls up to the curb.
“I’m sorry. This night didn’t turn out like I planned,” Vito apologizes.
I think back to the club and making out with him. My insides clench with desire. I lean over and kiss him. Gently, he kisses me back.
“It still was more wonderful than I could’ve ever imagined.” He smiles devilishly, and my breath catches. We gaze at each other for a moment.
“’Night, Erin,” he finally says, breaking the silence. I roll my eyes. He’s such a tease.
“See you, Vito.”
Vito
I tap my foot on Erin’s chair. The class is in the middle of an independent activity. She turns her head and grins at me. Her black hair caresses her cheek as she looks over.
“What?” she whispers.
“You want to come with me tonight? To train Dennis?”
Erin smiles and nods a yes. I’ve seen her every day this week. I can’t get enough of her. Nothing has been said by either of us about being a couple or exclusive, but it’s kind of implied. Maybe I should ask her about it. Would that be pushing?
*****
This is the third night of working with Dennis and Erin is sitting on top of the bar at Baby’s. She’s checking email or something on her phone. I’m in the ring with Dennis.
“Tighten your fists when you hit.”
I let him get a few hits on me. The kid is sweating and intent on learning how to fight. He listens closely and follows everything I tell him closely.
“One of the biggest things you’re going to run into is people talking shit about your size. That’s when you can fuck them up. Don’t listen to what they say, just whale ‘em when they’re talking. Don’t think, just do.” I circle him and he lunges with a punch to my chest. It definitely has more power than it did two nights ago. “Good. Get a drink.”
I go over to Erin while Dennis takes a water break. I walk right up to her and kiss her. Even though she’s up on the counter I still have to bend down to kiss her. She spreads her knees open so I can move in closer. I pull back slightly and look in her eyes.
“So what is this?” I ask.
“Um, kissing,” she says sarcastically. I smirk. She looks at me knowingly. “What do you think it is?” She turns the question back to me.
“No. I asked you.” A glint in her eyes tells me she’s thinking devilishly about it.
“I think it’s a heated fling.” I grab her around her waist and pull her really close. No space between us.
“Really.”
The embrace starts her panting lightly. She wraps her hands around my waist too.
“Really,” she says breathlessly and it almost undoes me. She gets me so fuckin’ hot.
“You think this heated fling could be something more permanent?” I ask, kissing her roughly. I pull my head back, searching her eyes for an answer.
She doesn’t say anything, but she smiles and kisses me back with fervor.
*****
Friday comes and Dennis is ready to take on Jacko. I feel good about it. I think this kid can really do it. The place is packed and the usuals are buzzing about the new guy. People have been talking shit all week. Baby wanted to make sure he gets plenty of bets, so he spread the word around.
“Training a new guy, huh?” Ty says to me. We’re standing on the other side of the room by the ring. I’m waiting for Dennis’s round.
“Yeah.”
“To beat Jacko… Wow… You really are looking for trouble.”
I shrug. Who the fuck cares?
“He’s messed up in the head. And not because you beat him into a bloody heap.” Ty gives a derisive snort. “He’s a fuckin’ wacko.”
I got the fact that Jacko was a loose cannon, but I didn’t catch the indication he was nuts. On some level, all of us are nuts to even be involved in the shit we’re wrapped up in.
Dennis comes over to us. His eyes are darting around. He’s scared shitless. I stand behind him and rub his shoulders.
I lean into his ear. “It doesn’t matter how fuckin’ big anyone is, you just have to take them down. That’s all. Stay in your zone. Don’t listen to any shit, just hit. Use your size to get around him. Don’t let him get a hit on ya.” Dennis nods as I speak to him and I can tell his confidence is building. Ty encourages him as well.
“Don’t let him get to you. He’s big, but he’s an idiot.”
“Shake out your muscles,” I order.
Dennis dances in place, warming up. The shouting in the room elevates as a guy goes down in the ring.
Baby appears behind me. I turn. “Don’t forget our little deal,” he hisses through a wet stogie.
Chapter 18
Erin
I stare at the text
Vito: No. I have to concentrate on the match.
Ugh! He said no. I want to see him though. When he’s not around, I miss him. And after what he said earlier this week… I just need to be with him. I need to determine how I feel about all of this.
Also, I watched Dennis train all week. I want to see what happens. It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t get the chance to see him win.
I zip through my contacts. Antonio would say, hell no! So I scroll down to R.
I decide I can be more convincing if I call rather than text.
“Don’t even ask me!” Ronnie says immediately.
“What? How do you know I’m not calling just to say hi?”
“No.”
“Stop it. You don’t even know why I’m calling.” I’m frustrated already.
“You want me to take you to the fights. The answer is no.”
“Okay. I’ll call Kirk. Thanks, bye.”
“Wait!” he shouts. “Don’t call the Comp geek.”
“Why?”
There is a long pause.
“You’re not going to give up, are you?” he asks.
“Nope.”
I hear Ronnie sigh.
“I thought we were friends,” I comment sweetly.
“Don’t pull that shit.”
“I help you with your homework.”
Another really long pause. I let him think about it.
“Fine… I’m coming,” he says with defeat. “I hope you enjoy seeing me with two black eyes,” he says under his breath before hanging up.
*****
We arrive just in time. Dennis is going into the ring. So far he’s alone. Ronnie is practically glued to my shoulder blade. His proximity makes me a little uncomfortable.
“Can you back off a little?” I ask annoyed.
“I’m thinking he won’t hit me with you so close.”
“Ahh. Got it.” Good thinking.
We continue forward like Siamese twins. We stand outside the ring, close to the bar area. Dennis and Vito are on the other side of the room, just outside the ring. Dennis’s back is to us. Vito’s is not. Our eyes meet and his narrow at me ominously. He’s mad. I almost get the Italian-Mafia-Death-Glare, but not quite because there is a small hint of happiness that he can’t hide. His eyes flick to Ronnie’s. Yikes, he gets it. Later is not going to be pretty.
Jacko comes up behind Vito to slip into the ring. He tries to shove Vito but is unsuccessful - it turns into a weak push.
“He’s an asshole,” Ronnie says.
Dennis
is clearly tense as he heads into the ring. Jacko towers over him and outweighs him by about seventy pounds.
Jacko does exactly what Vito said he would, trash talk.
“What the fuck is this?!” he points at Dennis. “This skinny little bastard!” The crowd roars with laughter. “This isn’t fair. It’ll be like fightin’ a girl!” The crowd soaks it up. They love the banter. “I bet he’ll….”
Smash!
Dennis hits him in the jaw, hard. Then he swipes his leg out and with effort pulls Jacko’s body out from under him. Jacko falls. Dennis stumbles but quickly rights himself. He jumps at Jacko, but he’s not quick enough. Jacko moves.
“Why you little prick…” Jacko curses.
Jacko lunges but falls into the pathetic rope separating him from the crowd. Dennis evades his attack just barely. My heart is in my throat. I’m afraid for Dennis. If Jacko gets him, it’s all over.
Dennis slips behind him and punches Jacko in the kidneys in a rapid succession. Jacko winces, but the hits aren’t enough to hurt him. Jacko swings his arm out and around. He clips Dennis in the head and it sends him flying backward.
“Holy…” leaves my mouth, but Dennis is up and moving before I can say crap.
Dennis has a new found energy and coolness. He weaves and bobs like a professional boxer. He uses his size to his advantage and gets a ton of hits on Jacko.
They continue this macabre dance for a while and slowly Jacko begins to tire. He’s sluggish and dizzy. This whole thing reminds me of David and Goliath.
Dennis steps it up and pummels Jacko in the face, sending him crashing to the floor. Jacko’s too tired to get up. Baby’s enforcer grabs Dennis’s hand and thrusts it in the air.
“Winner!”
I cheer as if this guy were my freakin’ brother. I’m so happy for him. I clap and scream, thrilled that Dennis did it.
*****
Walking to the car at the end of the night, I stay close to Ronnie. I don’t want Vito to do anything to him. I can’t save him when they get home. I look over at Vito. He certainly doesn’t seem too upset anymore. Dennis’ win cheered him up – I can tell.
“Please don’t do anything to Ronnie,” I plead, just to be sure.
“What?” Vito asks.
“I don’t want you to hit him or hurt him. He took me here because I made him feel guilty.”
Ronnie doesn’t say anything, he just keeps walking to his car. Vito gently takes my arm and stops me. He moves my hair away from my face and trails his fingers down my cheek. I shiver.
“You are so beautiful. When I saw you tonight, all I wanted to do was go to you.” He leans down and kisses me. “Don’t worry about Ronnie.”
He takes my hand and kisses it. I lean in and wrap my arms around his hard muscled body. It feels glorious. I love being with him. I’d be okay with this lasting a long time.
Vito
I head to pick up Erin like I’ve done so many times over the past couple of months. But today is different. There’s a car out front, another mini-van. Shit, it’s that fucker Connor’s car. I don’t have a chance to go to the door because Erin is coming down the steps from her house.
I get out and open her door for her. She slips in quickly.
“What’s going on?” I ask, getting in the driver’s side.
“My mother invited the O’Connell’s to a pre-thanksgiving dinner since I’m going to California. I got out of there just in time. Connor was knocking on my bedroom door. He’s an ass… Ugh, I should have never slept with him,” she tosses out annoyed and way too casually.
“What!?” I slam on the brakes. Erin shoots her hands out to the dashboard to steady herself. My blood is searing under my skin, coming to a boil. I feel like I’m going to explode. “You fuckin’ slept with him!?” I’m dumbfounded. Disbelief coats my stomach, which with nausea. I see fear written all over her face. She turns to look out the windshield instead of at me. Someone blows his or her horn behind me, and I steer the car towards the curb. “You just turned sixteen!” I yell, stopping and forcing the car into park. She continues to stare straight ahead.
At first, I think she’s going to cry. She doesn’t. She opens the car door and gets out. I jump out and punch my car with the back of my fist, leaving a major dent in the black shiny paint. “Where are you going?” I yell to her. No answer.
I watch her back as she walks away, her heels clicking angrily on the cement. I’m fucking pissed. At her, at Connor, at me…at all of it.
Chapter 19
Erin
How could something so great fall apart with one sentence?
Vito was the one person that accepted me no matter what. When I was unconscious, sleeping, or just plain depressed, he was there for me. He didn’t push me into this relationship. He was cautious, considerate, and protective.
I take my phone out and call the one person I can, Clarissa.
“Hey there, Irish sweetie!” she says, “I can’t wait to see you!”
“I think I’ll be coming back a little early,” I tell her.
“Oh. That’s great, but what’s the matter?” Clarissa is worried. I sniffle because I can’t help it. The tears are coming. “Answer me one thing. Are you in a safe place?” I look around. My house is across the street.
“Yeah.”
“Do I need to kill anyone literally or figuratively?” she asks.
“Possibly,” I say with a deep sniffle, feeling like a knife has been stabbed into my chest. I rummage in my pocketbook with one hand, looking for a tissue. I hear Clarissa murmuring to someone in the background, most likely to Joey.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” she asks pointedly.
“Not yet,” I say and cry. Tears spill down my face.
“Should I call Tonio?”
“No!” I shout. The repercussions of that could be catastrophic.
“Okay, okay.” I hear her murmuring again. “Can you get on a plane tonight?”
Why not? I stop and think about it. I don’t want to go home. I’ve got money and the clothes on my back. I’ll miss one day of classes.
“I could call a taxi,” I say miserably.
“Good. I’m going to call the airport and get you on the next flight out. Just get to the airport. Okay? Can you do that?”
I nod and say, “Yes.”
“We’ll be at LAX waiting for you.”
“K.”
I hang up and Google a taxi company through blurry tears. I get lucky and find one in the area. I look back at the door of my house, but decide to stay put. Waiting outside in the cold would be way better than going in there. I take a seat on the curb.
I second guess myself for a minute and think that I could have called my sister, but many bad things could happen in that scenario. I just want to get away from here. Good thing I’m used to being hurt.
A car drives by slowly, but it’s not a taxi. I can’t see into the window. It’d be weird to blatantly do that, anyway. But I’ve seen this car before. I check the license plate and try to memorize it. The car turns around in a driveway a few houses down and heads back towards me. I go from feeling betrayed to feeling scared. Who is that? The car creeps towards me. I have the urge to run.
Beep, beep. I turn and a bright yellow taxi is idling by the curb across the street. I get up and make a beeline for it. I pop in the backseat and lean my head back, relieved to be on my way. I shouldn’t have left California. I should have stayed and finished out high school, like a typical teenager. But then again, I’ve never been typical.
I notice a text on my phone. It’s Clarissa:
American Airlines flight 451 to Los Angeles California departs at 7:05 PM.
I tell the taxi driver where we’re headed, and then lean back and let the tears flow. I think I weird him out a little, but I don’t care. Happiness made its way back into my life and then it fled. It was too good to be true.
The taxi drive passes quickly. When we stop, I pull a twenty out of my purse and pay the driver. He gives
me a worried look, but I ignore it and try to smile my practiced smile.
I close the car door firmly behind me and walk inside to the ticket counter to check in. A smiling woman with a bright red jacket hands me my flight information.
“Gate 12. Thank you for flying with us.”
Her practiced “thank you” doesn’t even faze me because I’m beginning to sink into numbness. I stop and buy a large orange juice from a small kiosk by the bathrooms. I pop it open and take a long drink. I’ve got my big girl panties on. Vito is just another person in a long line of disappointments.
Normally, I would buy a bunch of magazines before the long flight. I just don’t have it in me right now to concentrate on anything but talking myself out of sinking into another bout of depression. I take a seat and try my best to calm myself. But sitting in the black chairs outside the tarmac only reminds me of last fall, when I was lying across similar chairs in a catatonic state. Vito bought me a juice then and was really attentive. He was great actually, sweet and understanding.
The flight is called, and I walk single file with the other passengers onto the plane.
Vito
This fucking revelation plays with my mind and emotions. I’m fucking angry about something that happened when I wasn’t even with Erin. I had no control over it. And it’s her life, after all. My brain attempts to rationalize her choice and to fight my impulsive anger. The image of tearing off Connor’s face repeats in my mind, drowning out my logic.
I enter the apartment and slam the door.
“Hey!” Ronnie shouts, startled by my unannounced entrance. “What’s going on with you?” Ronnie asks. That girl he’s been taking out lately, Joanna, is straddling his lap. One of her tits is hanging out of her dress. She covers up quickly. I head to my bedroom with heavy, angry steps and slam my door. A picture falls off my wall.
I’m all over the place. I knock shit over and move shit that doesn’t need to be moved. I toss my schoolbooks across the room, and they bang against my door. I should have gone after her. My pride stopped me.
“Dude!” Ronnie says from outside. “What the fuck it going on?”
Mobster's Angel (Mobster Series) Page 14
