Mafia Runner

Chapter Three

I blinked uncomprehendingly at Tony. "Skip?" The word sounded strange on my tongue. "Why? What for?"

The white-haired boy threw his hands in the air.

"To live, Conti! You say you're unwound and relaxed all the time, but you're still a preppy-boy who won't go against the rules, his daddy's rules." The statement didn't warrant a response. "Here's what I'm proposing." Tony flashed a grin. "Today is Friday. And because you don't like receiving gifts, I figured I would take you away from the pressure of being Afton Conti, the son of the most respected lawyers in the fucking area. I think that would be the best gift anyone could possibly give you."

The amused grin slipped past my defenses and my eyebrows rose. "What did you have in mind, Tony?"

Tony snorted at my placating tone. His teeth exposed in the widest smile I had ever seen. "We're going to New York for the weekend. For alcohol, chicks, and a birthday celebration."

Alcohol and Tony did not mix. And I didn't mix with any of those things. I exhaled, starting to feel anxious. I shook my head. "My parents would never agree to that. I promised them I would be at their dinner party tonight—"

"Tonight?" Tony interrupted. "You mean, the very same day as your birthday? The same birthday they forgot again?" He slung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me flush against his side. He expanded his arm in the distance, gesturing to the great unknown. "Imagine the freedom, the pure, raunchy smell of vomit as we wake up tomorrow morning, hungover." I didn't interrupt. "The chicks will be all over us, man. You're the cute one, I'm the sexy one, and together we're irresistible."

I glowered at the distance. "My parents—"

"We wouldn't tell your parents, fuck-face."

Rather suddenly, Tony released me to grab a hold of my backpack and car keys.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded as he patted down my pants and jacket. He then took a hold of my cellphone. With wide eyes, I watched as he stuffed all my possessions in my car and slammed the door shut.

He turned and walked to his car. "Just think of it as a kidnapping, Afton. Really, you will be having the time of your life. Who else would you rather spend your birthday with?" Tony threw a look over at my motionless form. "And who knows, maybe your parents will actually realize they have an eighteen-year-old son."

"Your father will kill you." Tony's father was a menacing man. He was probably just as strict as my father, if not worse. If Tony left for a weekend without telling his family, his father would surely punish him...

Severely.

"I don't care." Tony took a deep breath. "I'm doing this for the both of us, Afton. We need a break after eighteen years of living with them. It will be fun, I promise you." Tony leaned against his brilliant red convertible. "Come on, do this for me? For your own sanity? Fuck your parents for the weekend. On Monday, you can go back to obeying them until you ship off to college."

I hesitated. We would be staying in New York for the weekend, skip school today, and we would leave without telling our parents...

It sounded incredible, actually.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Tony jumped over his car door and into the driver's seat. He pretended he did not hit his foot ungracefully on the edge and scramble over. "New York is waiting for us."

"Track—"

"Get in, Conti, or I'll literally kidnap you."

I gave in.