“I’m going to leave you young people alone,” Rodney said, “but by all means tell them, Salvatore. They love Gemma too. Tell her closest and dearest friends why you came here. Tell them exactly what this little trip is about. See how thrilled they’re going to be, after you tell them.”
Gemma looked at her father, with grave disappointment in her eyes. Even after he left the room, she was still disappointed. He was worried about her, and felt Sal’s lifestyle could be detrimental to her. She got that. But what she didn’t get was his zeal. What she didn’t get was why he was so determined to stop this marriage in its tracks, even if it meant using her friends to do so. That wasn’t like her father. He was getting malicious with his concerns, and she didn’t like it.
But she and Sal and her friends ended up in the kitchen, drinking sodas and sitting around the center island. But you could hear a pin drop. The silence was just that deafening. Sal had said those three words. He had informed Gemma’s best friends that they were getting married. And the reaction was, at first, no reaction at all. Pure silence. As if they weren’t sure if they had missed something.
But it was Marvin, as usual, Gemma thought, who broke the ice. “Yes!” he said happily, jumped up, and hugged Gem and Sal both. Keisha and Penn jumped up too, hugging them and congratulating them also. And this was no fake emotion either. They meant it. Sal could feel their excitement.
But when they settled back down into their respective seats, Marvin was puzzled. “I don’t get it,” he said to Gemma. “Your dad was talking as if it was going to be bad news. He was talking as if, given what the news is, that he disapproves of the marriage.”
“He does,” Gemma admitted.
“But why?” Penn asked. “Because Sal’s white?”
“Now that would make no sense whatsoever,” Marvin said. “I know there’s a double standard in your family, but that would be ridiculous.”
Gemma frowned. “What double standard?”
“Oh, come on girl! Your father expects far more out of you than he ever expects from Chelsey. He lets her get away with everything, but he won’t let your ass get away with anything. And Miss Chelsey used to fool with white men all the time. That’s all she’s ever dated as far as I can tell. And I never once heard him complaining about her. So I can’t imagine that would be it, even with that double standard.”
“It’s not about my race,” Sal said. “He thinks I’m not a good influence on his daughter, that’s what it’s about. And I can understand his feeling.”
“Well I can’t!” Marvin shot back. “Why wouldn’t you be a good influence? You’re kind to her. You’re rich as hell.” They laughed. “And you’re hot. I mean come on people! You are fine, Sal, I’m sorry but you are. What more would a woman, or even a man like me, want?”
“Mob ties,” Keisha whispered to Marvin.
Marvin frowned and looked at her. “Mop what?”
Keisha rolled her eyes. “The allegations,” she said.
“What allegations?” he asked.
Keisha shook her head. “Don’t you know anything, Marv? Haven’t you heard of Google ever? Her Dad’s concerned about the allegations regarding Sal’s mob ties.”
Marvin looked at Sal, with his hand on his chest. “Mob ties? What mob ties?”
Gemma, too, was shocked that he hadn’t bothered to Google Sal. “There are allegations out there,” she admitted, “that claim Sal has some affiliation with the mob.”
This floored Marvin. “You mean the mob, as in the Mafia?”
Gemma laughed. “Yes, Marvin, that’s what it means.”
“But why would Mr. Jones think you’re involved with the Mafia? Because you’re Italian?”
Sal smiled. “No, I think he has a little bit more reason than that.”
“But of course it’s not true,” Marvin said with a smile. Then he looked at Sal doubtfully. “Right?”
Sal didn’t respond as fast as he would have liked. “You’re saying it is true?” Marvin asked. “Oh, my goodness! I don’t like this, Sal. I don’t like this link. They may come after me!”
Gemma smiled. “Why in the world would anybody want to come after you, Marvin?”
“Because of the linkage!”
“I’m not in the mob or anything like that, Marvin,” Sal quickly said. “Rest your nerves, young man.”
Marvin sighed relief and playfully wipe his brow. “Then why did you hesitate if it’s not true?”
“Because I don’t want to mislead you either. Not you.”
Marvin stopped wiping his brow. “Mislead me? How could you mislead me?”
“I do know people who aren’t exactly upstanding citizens.”
“Mob people?”
“You can say that, yes.”
“So you are in the mob?”
“He’s not in the mob, no,” Gemma said. “He has friends in the mob, but he’s not in it himself.”
“And these friends, they won’t let you cut ties with them? Is that it?”
“That’s not it at all,” Gemma said. “He doesn’t want to cut ties with them.”
“Oh,” Marvin said. Then he frowned. “Why the hell not?”
“They’re my friends,” Sal said.
Marvin waited for more, but no more came. “Oh, okay,” he said as if he got it, although he still didn’t.
“But that’s why Dad is against it,” Gemma said. “He’s worried about me.”
Marvin shook his head. “I say he needs to get a grip and get over it. Sal is good peeps. He has to know that by now! And wasn’t there something major about how Sal saved his life once? Or did I dream that?”
“You didn’t dream it,” Gemma said. “It happened. Dad’s the one who told you about it.”
“You’re right! So what? Sal is good enough to save his life, but not good enough to marry his daughter?”
“Something like that,” Gemma said.
“Well, anywho! I’m just happy for both of you,” Marvin said. “I don’t know about this mob connection thing, but I can feel the love the two of you have for each other. That should be enough.”
Sal smiled. It should, he knew. But he also knew it rarely was.
CHAPTER EIGHT
In Seattle, Washington, Grace was on her side just waking up, and was holding her pregnant stomach, as Tommy’s dick eased into her and began to move. Her eyes became hooded as his hands laid on top of her hands and the two of them made long, passionate, morning love.
Grace especially loved sex in the morning with Tommy. He had his strokes down in a way that made her feel so in love, and so loved. He kissed her neck as he fucked her, and the entire time she kept pulsating with every stroke. She looked across the room at the dresser mirror and saw herself lying there naked and very pregnant, and saw Tommy, with his gorgeous self, naked and fucking her from behind. And all she could do was smile at the beautifulness of it. Her black body against his white body. Tommy’s big, strong arms had her enclosed. His biceps were flexing with every push of his penis. She felt warm and protected. She felt gratified to be his wife.
Tommy felt her warmness and tightness as he pushed deeper inside of her. It was a challenge for him to be a one-woman man, and they, as a couple, continued to have their own challenges. But Grace was the one he wanted. Grace was the woman who made him feel as if nothing else mattered but their love. He kissed her neck, and turned her face as far toward him as he could, and then he kissed her in the mouth.
And when they came, they both let out a loud sensual sigh. It was early morning. They both had to get up and get to work. But nothing felt better to Tommy, or was more needed at the moment, than wakeup sex with his woman.
And moments later, after they both came down from the heights of their high and was just lying there, Tommy regulated his breathing enough to speak. “Sal called,” he said.
Grace looked at him. “Sal? When?”
“Last night. Late last night. You were already asleep.”
“He had you checking around for him, ri
ght?”
“Yes, but that’s not what his call last night was about.”
“What did he want?”
“He says he needs to see us.”
“Oh, okay.
“In Vegas.”
Gemma was surprised by that. “Vegas? Why can’t he come home and see us here in Seattle? Why does it have to be in Vegas?”
“He says he needs to see Reno and Trina and Jimmy Mack and Val too. It undoubtedly has something to do with an incident that happened. At least that’s what I’m assuming. But you never know with Sal. I could be completely wrong. It can be some new crap he’s gotten himself into.”
“What incident?” Grace asked. She was CEO of her own company, thanks to Tommy’s largess, but being boss taught her how to pay attention. Tommy glossed-over the fact that there had been some incident, but Grace wasn’t going to. “You mentioned that Sal had been involved in some incident. What incident?”
“I don’t know the details. He was, once again, helping out some friend and it went south on him. He thinks this guy named Johnny Ripperton is involved.”
“Johnny Ripperton?”
“Everybody calls him Rip, yeah. And he’s about as outstanding as his name.”
“But is he trouble for Sal?”
“He wants to be. Sal busted him years ago when Sal and I were cops. When Rip got out, he had the nerve to put a contract out on Sal’s life. Well Sal’s friends got wind of it, contacted Sal, and they arranged for Sal to pay this particular fool a visit and rearrange his face. Rip left the scene after that.”
“But now he’s reappearing?”
“Maybe. I’ve been checking around. Nobody’s seen Rip in years. Nobody’s heard from Rip in years. So I don’t know what the hell is going on.”
Grace shook her head. “Sal has so much to deal with,” she said.
“And it’s all his fault,” Tommy replied. “He had a lot of unsavory friends in his past. Hell, so does Reno and I. But Sal won’t let them go. He doesn’t believe in throwing people away.”
“Yeah,” Gemma agreed, “but some people can be toxic in your life.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him. But does he listen to me? They were his friends before they messed up and got in trouble, so he figures it would be wrong for him to drop them now.”
“Even though they messed up and got in trouble?”
“That’s why he feels he can’t dump them. Because they messed up and got in trouble. It’s a catch-22 with Sal.”
“He’s so loyal!” Grace said.
“He’s loyal to a fault. I used to stay on his case all the time about it. Dump their asses, Sal, I used to beg him. They were always in need, always asking for his help. They’re the scum of the earth some of those guys. But they’re his friends for life, and he looks out for them. And believe it or not, they look out for him too. But for those of us who love him, like me and Reno and Tree and Jimmy Mack, it’s maddening.”
“But it’s Sal.”
Tommy agreed. “But it’s Sal, that’s right. But it’s my boy.”
Grace looked at him. “Your boy?”
Tommy smiled. “I mean my brother, geez. What is wrong with me?”
Grace placed his hands on her stomach again. “You can’t wait for your child to get here,” she said. “That’s what’s wrong with you.”
But Tommy swallowed hard. The idea that he would soon be somebody’s father thrilled him beyond his wildest dreams, but it terrified him beyond his worst nightmare too. “Yeah,” he said. “That must be it.”
Back in Vegas, in Jimmy Mack Gabrini’s home, it sounded as if he was slapping his wife. They were just that loud. But they were home, in the brand new house his father purchased for them after they were married, and nobody was around to tell them to stop the noise.
They didn’t have to stop a damn thing. And Jimmy Mack Gabrini didn’t try. Valerie never dreamed a man could be so virile. Every morning he had to have it. If he wasn’t fucking her before she got out of bed, he was fucking her in the shower or the tub or even in the kitchen as she prepared breakfast. They were young, married, and in love, but it was still a shock to her system.
“Not so hard, Jimmy!” she said to him yet again as he pounded her.
“I can’t help it!” he said in a breathless voice as he held her up, with her back against the shower stall, and fucked her mercilessly. Her legs were wrapped around his body, and he held her by the hips, but his young dick would not relent. He thrashed into her with a force that made her love it and hate it. Pain and pleasure was how he gave it to her. No in between. No middle ground. Not because he could help it. He was just so big that her insides were inflamed every time he pushed further and further inside of her. He was so big that the more he expanded, the more she screamed out in pain. But once the initial spurt of pain was over, the feeling of great pleasure took over, and made it all worth it.
And after they came; after both of them felt the outpour and lost full control of their muscle contractions, they fell against each other. They were so sweaty and filled with cum that they knew they would have to shower again. Which they did.
And then got out of the shower and began to dress for work.
“Remember tonight,” Valerie said as she sat on the side of the bed and put lotion on her long, dark-brown legs.
Jimmy was standing at the bedroom mirror, tying his tie. He stopped and looked at her. “Tonight? What about tonight?”
She looked at his young, handsome face. His father was Italian, and his deceased biological mother had been African-American, but he was looking more and more like his father every single day. Not physically so much: Jimmy had curly hair, yellow-toned skin, greenish-gray hazel eyes and was more slender than muscular like his father. But he had his father’s swag. He had his father’s natural leadership abilities. He was his father’s son through and through. “You forgot?” she asked him. “How could you forget, Jimmy?”
“I didn’t say I forgot. Forgot what?” he asked.
“We’re having dinner with my dad tonight. He’s looking forward to it.”
“But I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t? We promised him!”
“But Dad called. He said Uncle Sal wants to meet with us tonight.”
“Meet with us? You and me?”
“No, silly! Me, Dad, and Uncle Tommy.”
“What about?”
“I don’t know. Some kind of trouble he’s gotten himself into, is what Dad thinks it is. And I can’t miss that.”
“Why not, Jimmy?”
Jimmy looked at his young, beautiful wife. “What do you mean why not? They’re including me now, Val. I’m no longer some kid in their eyes. Dad even said I was his right hand man. You should be glad about that.”
Valerie frowned. “Why should I be glad about it?”
“Because it means I’m a full-fledged Gabrini man now! I’m one of them. No fucker’s gonna fuck with me! Not ever! Or they’d have my Dad and my uncles to answer to.”
“They would have had your Dad and your uncles to answer to before you were a quote unquote “full-fledged Gabrini man!” In fact, since you’re Reno’s son, you’ve always been a full-fledged Gabrini man, Jimmy!”
“You just don’t understand it. It’s one thing for them to fight for me because I’m one of theirs. It’s another thing for me to fight for them because I’m a part of them.” Jimmy smiled. “It’s like the coolest club in the world, and now I’m a member!”
“And what about me, and my family? We aren’t cool enough for you?”
“Y’all aw’ight,” Jimmy said jokingly. “But y’all ain’t no Gabrinis!”
“Thank God,” Valerie said with a smile of her own. But then she turned serious again. “So are you saying to me that my family, my father, will always come second?”
“To what?”
“To us, Jimmy!”
“For you, no, he’ll never be second. He’ll be first. That’s why you’re going to have dinne
r with him tonight. But for me? Hell yeah he’ll be second. My Dad and Mom and my uncles are first.”
“Even though they aren’t your uncles,” Valerie said.
“They’re my Dad’s cousins, yeah I get that. But what do you expect me to call them? My cousins?”
“That’s what they are!”
“But they’re closer to me than that. They’re like uncles to me, and Dad is like a brother to them. They’re my uncles.”
“But what you’re saying is that your Mom, Dad, and uncles come first?”
“Absolutely,” Jimmy said, and then he looked at the clock on the wall. “Is that time right? Damn. I’ve got to get out of here! Dad is going to blow a fuse if I’m late for work again!”
But Valerie just sat there. Crushed. Because he didn’t preface it. Because he didn’t make clear that yes, his family was important to him, but nobody was more important than she was. He didn’t say that she was first.
Before they were married, she used to worry about that. She used to worry if Jimmy could ever put anybody above his father Reno, the man he adored with all his heart. Now she felt her concern was justified. Now she felt her concern was exactly on target.
Jimmy walked over to the bed, leaned down, and kissed her on the lips. “See you later alligator,” he said with his oh-so-charming smile, and left.
Totally oblivious to her pain.
CHAPTER NINE
They were back in Vegas. Sal was on his back in Gemma’s bed, and she was lying, on her side, in his arms. It was morning time and they both needed to get up, but neither had bothered yet. Gemma, in fact, was still asleep.
But for Sal, he couldn’t stop thinking about how it went with her folks. He had grown closer to them, after their brush with death and Sal’s hand in saving their lives. He actually felt as if their relationship was almost perfect. But that was before his slick ass went to their all-American house and told them his plans. It was one thing to be the boyfriend. It was another story altogether to want to be the husband. A member of the family.
Sal looked over at Gemma. He rubbed her smooth, dark cheek with the back of his finger. He’d put her through a lot already; and he knew, when she became his wife, it would only get worse. But he couldn’t do a thing about it now. He was in too deep. He wanted her, and her alone.
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