ENZO

48 - Unpredictable

When the plane finally did land, Raphael wanted to find her straight away but I quashed his plans. "You said your source said she would be at lounge basque..blasque whatever it is. Look around, it's day. Come on let's go and eat." I walked away not leaving him time to reply. The girl would be at a club. I was surprised when I heard that but I'm hoping she wouldn't be totally out of her mind. Hitting her then, would only seem pathetic on my part.

Despite Raphael grumbling all the way to the first open restaurant I saw, he was indulged as much as I was in the mozzarella and basil topped pizza we shared. No doubt we would order another but it was nice being in the company of such a food lover so I didn't feel as guilty when I ate almost six slices of the stone baked pizza.

"So you're not officially girlfriend boyfriend but you have been on more than ten dates." I chatted to him as we ate and drank sparkling lemonade. He nodded. "And I don't get that. Is there a time frame or something? Or do I need to do something?"

"Well..no but I think she just needs time. We're all different." I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at the oncoming waiter, a plate of prosciutto in hand. I thanked the girl and picked up some of the meat and shovelled it into my mouth. He looked at me like he was mulling it over.

I sighed softly. "You want me to have a word with her?" I asked. He was a boy after all and what did all boys need. Good old sex. His eyes gleamed. "You don't have to." He smiled, licking his fingers. He knows I would do it. I liked seeing him happy, he was so different around Donzel.

"Is uh Enzo still mad at me?" I asked, tilting my head, my ponytail pulling slightly too tight, giving me a headache. Raphael was quick to shake his head. "No. It's just the whole fight thing. He knows he was being stupid and he told me himself he shouldn't have stooped so low. So no he isn't mad at all. Your point was valid. He would have come but I think he's afraid of what he would do to her." His lips curled down as he referred to Silvia as 'her'.

"I'm afraid of what I might do. You're like a buffer Raphael. Make sure I don't kill the girl." I smiled tensely before gulping down the bubbling citrus drink. He didn't reply but I knew he would honour his word. Make sure I don't get hurt and make sure she isn't harmed. I'll just ensure his safety.

We spent the rest of the day eating, walking and finally the evening light appeared, the golden sun beginning to dip down past the horizon. The sunset was wildly beautiful and I sat watching it peacefully atop the car we had rented, my legs spread over its sleek black hood. The air was warm but cool enough for little goosebumps to cover my skin, despite the fitted joggers and hoodie I wore.

Raphael was stood watching the setting sun, his arms crossed as he leaned against the car. He was a man of hidden depths. I suppose he never showed anyone this different side to him maybe in fear of being mocked and ridiculed. But I enjoyed seeing it so I never made fun of him for it.

I began to slide off the car and he held out his hand for me to grab and so I did, his fingers were callused like Enzo's and he had almost the same height and build. They could definitely be mistaken for brothers and if they were, they'd never deny it. I was glad Raphael was here with me. He was right. Enzo..well he would be unpredictable and me I'm going to hit her and he knows that.

He got into the car and so did I. The silence was tense but somehow with him drumming his fingers idly against the steering wheel and me humming, it made it easier to bear. Soon we arrived down the wide street where the club was and a bright neon sign, in flame red shot out amongst the darkness. Basque.

After Raphael parked the car in one of the few available spaces, he got out and so did I. His fingers twitched and I came to the realisation that he hadn't smoked all day. So I did what Enzo would do, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a stick of chewing gum. I nudged it towards him and his grin almost reached his eyes. "Thanks." He shoved the gum into his mouth before balling up the wrapper and tossing it away.

I took a step and was promptly stopped by him grabbing onto my arm. "What?" I glared at him. We caught the attention of women and men on their way to the club. Scandalous wasn't the word for their choice of outfits. I was severely overdressed. I did want to slip into a mini dress but ultimately I didn't want men to grope my ass.

Raphael stared at me, releasing his grip on my arm. "If she says something shitty, I'll let you have one go at her. Until then, I'm doing the talking. We'll get her and get out."

He nodded his head towards a man in a deep navy suit. Great. Looks like he'll be having all the fun. I looked at the tall very heavily muscled man and winked at him. Where Raphael found him, I have no idea. I patted Raphael's chest, fixing up his tie a little. "Don't worry I'll behave." I leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek, diverting the attention of a group of girls who were staring at him.

Then he let me go.

The club was large and very loud, I thought my eardrums were about to burst. Hazy red and white lights filled the room, very precisely because some areas were dark and in those areas, people were making out by shoving their tongues down throats and grinding drunkly. My shoes stuck to the dirty confetti splattered floor as we made our way through dense sweaty bodies. Girls were on the several stages giving out performances whilst people cheered and threw money everywhere, some even jousting each other to have the privilege of putting it into the bra of the petite redhead.

A man roughly bumped into me, causing me to stumble backwards. "Asshole." I grumbled taking in his heavily intoxicated state. A bruise would likely be forming on my shoulder. I felt a hand on my lower back and saw Raphael by my side, looking ahead, his expression hard and cold. I smiled at him even though he wasn't looking.

We wove through the crowd easily and found the heavily littered bar. The three barmen, sweat glistening of their tanned shirtless bodies, poured countless shots and beverages. Money was thrown at them and drinks were snatched. Raphael managed to find us a place beside the bar.

I'll admit I was on edge, ever since I walked in, I've been looking for her. Just trying to see a wisp of her strawberry blonde hair and those poisonous red lips of hers. But maybe she's changed how she looks, I would.

"A vodka tonic, no ice and a orange juice." Raphael's voice was loud above the music as he ordered drinks. A tall man was beside me and he looked down at me, his gaze lustful and disgusting. Before I could spew out a lot of shit that could get me into trouble, Raphael had spun around and stared at the man. "Can I help you?" He asked although he wasn't asking at all.

"Yeah can we help you? No, so walk the fuck away." I narrowed my eyes, standing as tall as I could. Enzo was taller than me but he never seemed to look down at me. The man rolled his deep hazel eyes and slipped away.

"Don't rile people up Lira." Raphael scolded and handed me my freshly poured drink.  I sipped it and smiled. Riling people up was always fun especially when I had someone to deescalate the situation. "Oh come on. It's funny." I sipped my drink and twirled the straw around the tall glass.

I turned and leaned against the bar, watching the petite redhead perform a slick routine, which consisted of her twirling on the pole and dangling from it upside down, before going down into splits. She wore a tiny bikini and blue glitter painted her skin like war paint. Damn. I wish I could do that. Raphael and I were mesmerised for a while just staring at the beautiful girl do her routine as effortlessly as we could kill.

"So." I spoke up after a while, sipping my drink. "Yeah." Raphael replied not even looking at me. "We should find Silvia right?" I blinked a couple of times and almost gasped when the redhead did a backflip onto the pole. Fucking hell. How? "Yeah we should." He uttered. Fuck we were screwed.

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Gah sometimes I love my beautiful brain 🧠
The description is on point
Raphael is on point
Lira - Beat up Silvia please

Fun fact: A simulacrum is a superficial likeness or representation of something.
// The wax figure is a perfect simulacrum of the president. (sim-yuh-LAK-rum)