Omerta- Book I (Winner of the 2015 People's Choice Award)

Bonus Chapter Part 1: Roar

When I was done, I ran my fingers down my smooth jaw. I could barely recognize myself. And that was exactly what I wanted. To show Scarlett I could be a different man.

I brushed my teeth, disposing of the toothbrush twice because I'd still tasted tequila the first couple of times of brushing. I gulped down down some water from the facet and temporarily change back into my sleep clothes. They reeked of tequila–a smell that I knew for a fact I was never, ever going to smell on myself again.

When I exited the bathroom, I felt energized. I was excited and I already had some ideas as to what to do for Scarlett to make it up to her. She was still sound asleep, curled against a pillow. I crept back into the bedroom and pulled the covers over her, kissing her softly on the lips.

"I'll make this up to you, tigrotta," I whispered and placed another kiss on her bare shoulder before I left the room.

I borrowed a change of clothes Robert and asked him to come with me to mall because a), I didn't trust myself in front of the wheel just yet, and b), I had no fücking idea how to woo a woman like Scarlett.

"What do you think you're looking for?" Robert asked on the way over to the mall. "A necklace? Clothes? Does she like dresses? Heels? Makeup? Give me some details, man."

"I'm already overwhelmed..."

"You're lucky I owe you a few favors because I totally got this. When I was little, my older sisters used to dress me up and put makeup and shît on me like I was their personal Barbie doll. Even managed to squeeze a dress on my chubby ass. It was like they'd gotten a fifth sister, the moment I told them I was into guys."

"A dress? Seriously?"

He shrugged. "I mean, you'd have to fücking tranquilize me to get me in a dress now. But I looked damn good in it."

I laughed loudly. "Scarlett wears, uh... leggings, sweaters, doesn't really wear jewelry..." I thought back to her walk in closet and smiled. "Definitely no dresses...but she'd look fantastic in one."

"She does has nice legs," Robert agreed.

"Maybe I'll pick one out for her, just in case."

Once we got to the mall, Robert took control like he owned the place. He led me right to the woman's department and started leafing through clothes, while I wondered around, overwhelmed by the different assortments of fur and the thick fumes of perfume in the air.

I leafed through a random rack of woman's cardigans. Then women's sweaters. Then women's...whatever it was, it was ugly.

"Bland. Bland. Bland..." Something dropped to the floor. I picked it up and held up an ugly, vomit colored turtleneck. "Gesù Cristo.... No, no, no..."

According to the signs over the wracks, I apparently wondered into the Juniors section at some point. These clothes were brighter and fun. Definitely Scarlett, but still I was having great difficulty. I was getting frustrated and was just about to give up on the section I was in, when I spotted something colorful lighting up at the corner of my eye.

Upon further investigation, I discovered it was a Christmas sweater with a giant Christmas tree sown on the front and twinkling rainbow lights.

"This just screams tigrotta." I smirked, holding the sweater up to my chest and looking at a full-length mirror. I imagined Scarlett's face when she saw it and the mere image brought me an immense amount of happiness. It was fun and unique like Scarlett, and I knew she'd love it.