The King

by Taylor Danae Colbert

  “Please be careful. You have something to come home to now.”

  He gives me one last devastating grin.

  “I have everything to come home to now.”

  11

  Dominic - Senior Year

  “As long as you’re safe, you have me,” she says as she pushes me back and presses up to her knees on the bed. She reaches down to the belt on her pink satin robe and tugs on it, letting it slide down off of her body and pooling onto the bed behind her.

  Her nipples are peaked and pointed at me, and all that’s left are her matching lace panties that cling to her hips.

  “Now, come and get me,” she says, her pointer finger waving me to her. I’m practically salivating where I stand, but I snap to action at her command as I scurry across the floor to her, my hands reaching for her and not knowing where to start.

  But just before I reach her, she grabs a glass of water that sits on her nightstand and chucks it at me, landing it right at my crotch. I freeze and look down at the huge wet stain between my legs.

  “What the hell?” I ask her. She just shrugs a cheeky little shrug.

  And then I wake up when I feel the wetness on my sheets.

  I thought I was over the wet dreams phase of my life, but ever since Scarlett Melucci became my life, it seems I’m right back in junior high. I dream about her basically every night, and each time, they get more and more intense. And each time, I want her more and more.

  I smack a hand to my face and swipe down as a hard knock on my door jolts me awake. I quickly resituate the covers before my door bursts open.

  “You’re late,” my father says as he looks down at me. “Be in the study in five. We have a job.”

  I roll over and look at my clock then scramble to get out of bed. I hop into the world’s fastest shower, throw on a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt, then run down the hall to my dad’s study, shaking the excess water from my hair before I walk in and plop down on the leather couch in the corner. My father sits at his desk with his hands folded as he and Mick promptly stop their conversation and turn their heads to me in unison.

  “Dominic, this can’t happen again. You have one month before this becomes your job, son,” my father says, leaning back in his chair. “This business will become your life. This is how I’ve kept this roof over your heads all these years. You can’t take this lightly.”

  “Yes, sir,” I say, nodding as I clasp my hands together. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  He looks me over once then nods.

  “We have another collection we need to take care of this evening. And this time, you are going to take point,” my father says, but as he does, the door to the study creaks open, and my mother stands in the doorway, eyes wide.

  Mick and I look to my mother, back to my father, then down at the ground while we wait for the impending shitstorm that I can feel forming.

  “Irene,” my father says, his voice low. But my mother just stands there, spine straight as a board, her eyes drilling holes into him.

  “What is he taking point on, Marlon?” she asks.

  “Irene,” he says again, but she holds up her hand.

  “What is he taking point on?”

  “Irene, let’s talk about this––”

  But my mother pushes her way into the office and stands directly in front of me. I muster up the last of the courage I have and meet her gaze.

  “Dominic,” she whispers, “tell me you’re not a part of this.”

  “Ma,” I whisper back, my heart cracking in my chest. My father is intimidating, but my mom is a goddamn hurricane. She’s as fierce as they come, but she’s also the best mom a guy could ask for, and I hate the idea of hurting her. She bites her bottom lip to stop it from trembling then turns and storms out of the room. My father stands up and heads to the door and turns back to me before he leaves.

  “We will talk about this in a bit,” he says. “Don’t go far.” Then, he follows her out, and I hear his pace quicken as he runs down the steps and out the front door behind her.

  A few hours later, I’m going crazy, waiting for my parents to get back from wherever they are. I walk down the hallway to my sister’s room and tap on the door.

  “Ave?” I ask.

  “Yes,” she says, and I push the door open.

  “What ya doin’?” I ask. She’s got her back to me as she sits at the beautiful white desk Dad had custom-built for her a few years back. She scribbles away in a notebook as classical music plays from the speakers in her room. I smile as I shake my head. My perfectly weird little sister.

  “Writing,” she says without looking up at me.

  “Writing what?” I ask. She pauses and looks up at me.

  “A story.”

  I nod as I look down at her handwriting, meticulous and perfectly within the lines.

  “Well,” I say, “you want to take an ice cream break?” She drops the pencil immediately and hops up from the chair.

  “Yes!”

  I smile as I follow her out the door, down the hall, and toward the front door. As we’re walking out, Gio is walking in.

  “Where are you guys going?” he asks.

  “Ice cream!” Avie says excitedly. Gio nods.

  “Wanna come?” I ask him. He looks at Ave, then to me, and nods. We all grab our coats and head out the front door.

  And as we walk down the street, my sister between us, I smile. There’s not much that could come between the Castiano siblings. And I’d take my last breath for either of them in a heartbeat.

  As we make our way back up the front steps a little while later and into the house, I stop when I see my mother sitting by herself at the dining room table. She’s sipping a glass of wine despite the fact that it’s not even four o’clock in the afternoon, and she barely acknowledges us when we get inside.

  I look at Gio.

  “G, why don’t you take Ave upstairs?” I say. He gives me a look then notices Mom and nods, leading her up the steps. I walk into the dining room slowly, feeling the mood before I tug the chair out next to her and sit down.

  “Ma?” I ask, and slowly, her eyes crawl their way to me. She has these big hazel eyes, the same ones Ave and I got. There are a few more wrinkles around them than I’ve realized lately, but I swear, some of them are new just from today alone.

  “Ma, I’m sorry I upset you,” I tell her.

  She forces a quick smile as she reaches a hand out and puts it on top of mine.

  “Oh, honey,” she whispers. “You didn’t upset me. And don’t you apologize.”

  I look up at her.

  “This is partially my fault, honey,” she says, leaning back in her chair. “I can’t pretend like I didn’t know that the business your father is in isn’t exactly by the books. I’ve always known. And I can’t pretend that I haven’t taken total advantage of it all these years. I mean, for Christ’s sake, look at me.” She motions to her designer dress, her manicured nails. “But I never thought...I never thought he would involve you. It changes everything now.”

  I scoot my chair a little closer to her.

  “Aw, Ma, it doesn’t change anything,” I tell her. “Dad’s gonna teach me. And I’m gonna learn all there is to learn. I’m gonna run this one day.”

  Her big eyes lift to mine again, and a tear wells in the corner and slowly rolls down her cheek.

  “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of, honey,” she says, her voice cracking. Then she pushes her chair out and stands up, leaving a kiss on the top of my head before she walks out of the room and up the stairs.

  A few moments later, Mick appears in the doorway.

  “Son, your dad wants you back upstairs,” he says. I nod and follow him up to the study where my dad sits with just one dim desk lamp lit.

  He motions for me to sit down, but he doesn’t mention a word about my mother. Instead, he just starts going into details about the job we’re going on tonight, but I can barely focus. When we’re finally done, he stands up, tucks his g
un into the back of his pants, and leads the way back down the steps. As we get to the front door, we all freeze when we see my mother sitting at the entryway bench, two huge suitcases next to her.

  “Irene,” my dad says, his shoulders dropping.

  She turns slowly to look up at him.

  “I told you what would happen if you walked out this door with him,” she says. She stands up then walks to me and grabs my chin. She pulls me down to kiss my cheek, tears welling in her eyes. “If you don’t want to do this, honey, you can walk out this door with me right now. You don’t have to.”

  But that’s just it.

  I do want this. I want everything I had growing up. I want to call the shots. I want my father’s life.

  “Ma,” I say, and without having to say anything else, she knows what I’m telling her. She closes her eyes for a minute, blinking away the tears. Then, she turns and walks out the door.

  I turn to my dad, but he doesn’t take his eyes off of her. He just stares until she gets into the car that’s waiting for her and watches her take off.

  “Dad?” I say after a moment.

  His shoulders heave up and down as he puts a hand on mine.

  “Job is off for tonight, boys,” he whispers. “We will pick it up tomorrow.”

  Then, he turns on his heel and walks back up the stairs.

  Mick follows behind, leaving me alone to deal with the fact that I’m pretty sure my parents’ marriage is over.

  I feel a tightness in my chest as I stand at the door. If I stay here, I’ll suffocate from the unknown. Or from the known. The fact that my mom just walked out, and it might be partially because of me.

  I grab my coat off the hook and head out the door. I walk up and down the streets, block after block, my head spinning. After an hour or so, I pull my phone from my pocket and dial the only person who can keep me sane right now.

  “Hey, you,” Scarlett says, and immediately, I feel a little lighter.

  “Hey,” I breathe, “is your dad home?”

  “No,” she says. “Why?”

  “Can I come over?”

  “Yes,” she says. “But I don’t know when he will be back. It’s probably safest to use the fire escape.”

  “Got it,” I tell her. “Be there in five.”

  After a few more minutes, I’m climbing up the fire escape on the side of her building, scaling it like a madman until I reach her window. She slides it open and pulls me in, and as soon as her scent hits me, I feel like a ton of bricks has been lifted off me. And as soon as my feet are on the floor, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into me tight and burying my face in her hair.

  She tightens her hold on me, too.

  “Hey,” she says, nudging me, “you okay?”

  She pulls away a bit, but I can’t break my hold. She’s the only thing holding me together right now.

  Finally, I collect myself and pull away, collapsing onto her bed and covering my face with my hands.

  “No,” I finally admit. I feel her weight on the bed next to me.

  “Talk to me,” she says, sliding her hand into mine. I take a breath as I stare down at our fingers intertwined. This isn’t how we do things, us Castianos. We don’t talk about our feelings. We don’t let it out.

  But I feel the weight lifting off my chest again, like this is my chance. This is how I can come out from what’s happening in my family. She’s throwing me a lifeline. I just have to take it.

  “I think my mom’s leaving,” I mutter. “And I think it’s my fault.”

  She sits up and turns to me, clutching my hand to her chest.

  “What?” she asks. I slowly lift my eyes to hers and nod.

  “She found out I’m doing jobs with my dad tonight,” I tell her, “and she left.”

  “Oh my God, Dom,” she gasps. “I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.”

  I nod slowly, and I feel her fingers reach under my chin and tilt my head up to her.

  “But this isn’t your fault,” she says. “I mean, I don’t blame your mom for being upset about it. You know how I feel about all of this. But you’re the kid. They are the parents. This is their deal. You know that, right?”

  I swallow as my eyes meet hers. I don’t believe it at first. This feels like it’s directly my fault. My dad could have not asked me, but I think he and I both knew I was headed for his line or work. It’s in my blood. I can’t not follow in his footsteps. It’s destiny.

  But the way Scarlett is looking at me right now…everything feels lighter. She thinks I’m good. She thinks I’m better than the life I’m throwing myself into. She thinks I’m like her.

  I know she’s wrong.

  But when she looks at me like that, I want her to be right.

  “Where did you come from, Melucci?” I whisper. The corner of her mouth pulls up into this delicious smile, and I can’t not kiss her. I push forward and cup the side of her face in my hand, pulling her into me and devouring her lips with mine. She tastes so sweet that it makes my eyebrows jump as my tongue starts to explore hers.

  A little moan escapes her as she pushes up onto her knees and wraps her arms around my neck, her knees on either side of me. I slide a hand up her back, the other resting on her thigh, careful not to slide it up too high. As much as my insides might combust, she’s going to have to let me know what she wants when she wants it. I want her body in ways I can’t even put into words. But I want her more. We will do this on her time.

  But to my pleasant surprise, she presses against my shoulders, lowering me to her pillow as she holds my face in her hands, her tongue sliding in and out of my mouth and making me as hard as a fucking brick.

  Once I’m lying back, she lets her teeth graze my bottom lip then sucks it into her mouth for a brief second. My eyes pop open in surprise as she grins above me.

  “Jesus, Melucci,” I whisper. Slowly, the smile runs away from her face as she bites down on her lower lip thoughtfully.

  She leans back further, her fingers trailing down her body to the hem of her pajama shirt. And as her eyes meet mine, she pulls it up over her head, revealing nothing but pure porcelain underneath. Her nipples are already peaked and pointed in my direction, and I salivate at the sight of more of her than I’ve ever seen.

  “Oh my God,” I whisper, my eyes wide and my pulse quickening. I feel a twitch in my pants underneath her, but I don’t even try to hide it. “Scar…”

  “I want it to be with you, and I want it to be now,” she whispers back to me, reaching for my hands and putting them on her bare hips. “I just...just be gentle.”

  I push up and tighten my grip on her, letting one hand move up to hold her face as I look into her eyes.

  “Whatever you want from me, I will give you,” I tell her before I cover her mouth with mine again. She moves her hands down to my shirt, tugging it up over my head and running her hands over my bare shoulders. We kiss for a moment longer before I wrap an arm around her waist and roll her underneath me.

  She sticks a hand up under her head, the other reaching out to touch my chest and abs. She licks her lips, and I feel like I’m going to bust right here.

  I shimmy down her body a bit, my hands crawling up her smooth legs to the hem of her pajama shorts. She swallows and tilts her head back into the pillow a little bit. As I slide my fingers into the waistband, I look at her, and she nods. I take in a breath and slide them down, revealing the sexiest fucking pair of pink boy-short underwear I’ve ever seen. I swallow as I do the same to those, tugging them down her thighs, over her knees, and off the tips of her feet. And I feast my eyes on all of Scarlett Melucci, pure and perfect. She reaches her hand up to my belt, and I can feel her vulnerability. I scoot back to undo it, hop off the bed, and tug my pants and boxers down so that we can be naked together, both giving each other everything we have at the same time.

  I crawl back onto the bed and kneel down to kiss her, but as I do, I feel her hand wrap around me. I jolt against her lips, and she smiles as she nibbles on mine. />
  “Melucci,” I warn, but she just grins and shrugs.

  “I’ve been wanting this for a while. I don’t want to wait anymore,” she says. I smile and shake my head, licking my lips as I slide my hand down her neck, between her breasts, and down her stomach to her center. I pause as my fingers linger above it, but as she spreads her legs slightly, I feel wetness between them, and I know she’s ready.

  “Touch me,” she whispers, pushing her head back into her pillow. “Please.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I say, not wasting another damn minute. I circle her slowly, letting my fingers glide through her wetness as my mouth waters. “Mmm,” I moan, and she bites her lip as she closes her eyes.

  “I’m ready,” she whispers.

  And with that, I plunge a finger into her, moving it around, feeling my way around her and getting to know every corner of her. She clenches around me, and I pause, making sure she’s okay.

  “Keep going,” she urges me, reaching a hand out to squeeze my arm. “More.”

  So I do. I put another finger in, sliding them in and out, making her body rock in rhythm with their pumps. She tightens her grip around me, sliding her hand up and down and making me harder and harder with every fucking stroke. I let my head drop back as she moves, until I’m afraid I’m going come before we even start.

  I slide off of her, letting my fingers come out slowly, both of us panting. I stand on the side of the bed and look down at her, leaning down for one more kiss.

  “Are you sure?” I ask her, our foreheads pressed together. She nods erratically, like she’s afraid it all might just go away. I kneel down and grab my pants, pulling out my wallet and sliding out the condom I keep inside. I tear it open with my teeth as I look at her and slide it on before tossing the wrapper on the ground. I move back to the bed, crawling up her body and leaving a trail of kisses as I go. I grab her chin in my hand and look into her eyes one last time.

  “I know this is cliche as hell,” I whisper to her, “but you should know before we do this that I love you.”

  She smiles and nods, biting her bottom lip one more time.