Arabella was having a crisis and Giovanni wasn't helping.
He was laying on her bed, his arms behind his head as he watched her completely demolish her closet, bed and floor. She was looking for something to wear, and whenever she showed Giovanni a dress, he would say: "That's fine, baby."
That wasn't enough for her. She groaned and threw the dress to the ground, spinning on her heel back to face her closet.
"What's your mum's favourite colour?"
"Pink, I guess,"
"You're not helping!" Arabella whined. "Besides, I don't have a pink dress." She mumbled, running her hands through her hair, observing her closet from afar.
"Baby, anything you wear, she'll love," He said, standing from the bed, "And we're late, so you have to decide on something,"
Arabella groaned, "Can't you just pick something out? Please?"
Giovanni sighed, approaching her closet. Arabella sat on her bed, fiddling with her fingers. Giovanni paged through her selection of dresses before he pulled out a yellow dress, holding it out to her.
"No, it washes me out,"
He frowned before chucking it to the side, going back to her closet. He then pulled out a short, white dress with a slit on the side, the silky fabric glinting under the fluorescent lights.
"This, put this on,"
She opened her mouth to protest, but Giovanni held up his hand, "No, no arguing. You'll wear this or go naked,"
She laughed, "Naked? You can't be serious,"
Giovanni's face fell, and he narrowed his eyes, "Look at my face and tell me I'm not being serious, Arabella,"
She bit on her bottom lip, holding back her laugh as she stood, taking the dress from him. She hurriedly slipped of her vest and sweatpants, slipping the dress on. She smoothed it down and looked up at Giovanni, nervously fiddling with her fingers.
"God, you're a fucking angel. I can't wait to rip that off of you tonight,"
She smiled, satisfied with his reaction. She messily scooped up the dresses and threw them in her closet, Giovanni looking at her, holding back laughter. She clumsily stepped into a pair of wedged heals with white straps, matching the dress.
"Can we go now?"
"No, I have to do my makeup,"
Giovanni rolled his eyes, through his head back, "Oh, mio Dio," He breathed, running his hands through his hair. She laughed, "Go smoke whilst you wait, I won't be long,"
Giovanni hummed, taking his pack of cigarettes from his pocket, "Fine," He grumbled, making his way out of her bedroom.
Ten minutes later, Arabella came out of her bedroom. Giovanni turned upon hearing her soft thuds against the floor, and his lips parted, his eyes wide as he looked at her.
The dress fitted her perfectly, her skin looked tanner than usual against the white fabric. It came to just above her knee, the slit not going up too high.
She had a light blue bag with her and she crouched, bidding her cats a quick goodbye before she stood, looking up at Giovanni.
"Shall we?" She said, tugging a strand of hair behind her ear. The man still looked like a deer in headlights, but he flicked his cigarette out of the window and made his way towards her, his dress shoes tapping loudly against the wood flooring as he made his way to her kitchen, taking his suit jacket from the island.
Arabella opened the door and Giovanni landed a quick, loud slap to her cheek, making her jolt as he closed the door behind him. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he smiled at her, his lips pulled up into a cheeky grin.
Arabella climbed into the red Honda S5000, waving at Rafael as he made his way to the black jeep behind them, climbing in next to Enzo in the passenger seat.
The sun was still bright above them, Arabella had tied her hair up with a clawclip, pulling the passenger sides mirror from the ceiling, fixing her hair and her red, matte lipstick.
Giovanni's jaw was tightly clenched and his ring clad fingers held the steering wheel tightly as he drove. His other hand moved from the gear shift to her thigh, and Arabella shuddered, his warm hand gripping her inner thigh.
He smiled, rolling his tongue along the inside of his cheek. His hand travelled higher, making the girl gasp softly, the coldness of his rings contrasting to the warmth of her thigh.
"Can I tell you something?" He asked then.
She nodded, and then Giovanni smiled. "I told my mother about you when we met and she's been very excited to meet you,"
Arabella smiled warmly, "When we first met? How adorable. I hope I'm up to your mother's standards,"
"You are, my love. Higher even,"
The two smiled at each other for a second before Arabella looked out of the window again, her nerves eating her alive.
It felt like they had been driving for hours, but that was just because Arabella was so nervous she could cry. They stopped in front of her house, Giovanni slipping a pair of dark sunglasses on. Arabella smiled when she noticed he was still wearing the shirt she gave him, although it did sit a bit tight on him at his biceps and chest area.
The house was small, normal-looking. The only not normal thing was the long line of black cars in front of the house. Arabella held Giovanni's hand tightly, her fingers between his, his rings pressing against her skin.
Enzo and Rafael were walking behind them, bags and flowers making them groan, their arms full with presents. Arabella snapped to Giovanni, "I didn't get her a present!"
Giovanni looked down at her, "I got it for you," He merely informed her. She sighed out of relief, feeling a little bit better about the situation. Flowers and grass trailed from the front yard to the back, the sharp smell of the flowers tickling Arabella's nose.
Giovanni knocked three times, then waited, then knocked twice. She watched him with a raised brow, and stepped aside when Enzo pushed past them, heavy presents making his rush into the house the second the door opened. Rafael followed, pushing past the lady and stumbling into the house.
Giovanni shook his head, "Cazzo di bambini,"
[Fucking children]
Arabella laughed, but stopped instantly when she saw Giovanni's mother smiling widely at them. "Hello!" She exclaimed. Giovanni smiled, "Ciao, mama." He said, pressing a kiss against her cheek as he passed her.
Arabella smiled at her, but before she could get a word out, she was tugged into a bone crushing hug, "You must be Arabella, yes? Oh, I'm so happy to finally meet you!" The woman was slightly shorter than Arabella, a few grey hair peaking out from her black hair, her face had only a few wrinkles, she couldn't be older than fifty.
Arabella laughed, returning the hug. From in front of her she could see Giovanni looking at her, his sunglasses hanging off the front of his shirt, his smile wide and genuine.
"I'm Annemarie, but you can call me Marie if you'd like," The woman said, shaking Arabella's hand. The girl smiled, "Arabella Jones, pleased to meet you,"
Then, Marie turned and tugged Rafael into a hug, then passing to Enzo. "Happy birthday, mama," Giovanni said, throwing his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. He pressed a kiss to her head, and she slapped him away, "God, Gio. You almost suffocated me," She laughed.
When Marie, Enzo and Rafael carried the presents through the backdoor, Giovanni lifted two fingers and called Arabella over. She took a few steps towards him, her hands in her lap as she looked up at him.
"She loves you,"
"How do you know? " Arabella asked, her brow raised. "I just know, come," He said, taking her hand and tugging her behind him.
They made their way out the backdoor. Arabella became nervous all over again when she spotted almost the entire backyard covered in sharply dressed men and woman, presents and flowers and alcohol everywhere.
When they stood on the small set of stairs, everyone turned to them. Arabella looked up at Giovanni with a frown, and he looked down at her, smirking, "Watch," He said.
Then, as soon as he took a step down the stairs, every single man straightened their back, bringing a straight hand to their forehead, saluting Giovanni.
Arabella laughed, joining him on the second last step. Then, Giovanni cleared his throat and merely lifted his hand, and everyone quickly made their way over to the man, standing below them. Arabella felt like she had a million tiny needles all pricking her the same time, but it was just the massive groups eyes.
"Buon pomeriggio," He said loudly, "I'd like to introduce you all to my fidanzata now so we can get it over with. This is Arabella Jones," He said, momentarily looking down at her before he spoke again, "I expect you all to treat her with the same amount of respect you treat me, yes? No funny business,"
[Good afternoon]
[girlfriend]
Obediently, everyone nodded. Then they dispersed once Giovanni gave them a curt, dismissive nod. He held her hand as they made their way down, joining the crowd.
"What can I get you?" He asked after they made their way to the outdoor bar, a few feet from the pool. Arabella swallowed, "Anything?"
Giovanni smiled, turning to the bartender. "Whiskey on rocks and vodka spritzer, grazie,"
She raised her brows at him, "You're drinking whiskey at four in the afternoon?" She asked, bewildered. Giovanni thanked the man again as he passed Arabella her drink. He shrugged, "Alcohol is alcohol, baby. Besides—" He stopped, looking at his wrist watch, "Its ten to five,"
She huffed out a laugh. Then, she smiled widely up at him, "You called me your girlfriend," Giovanni nodded, smiling, "I should've said wife, right? That might've sounded better,"
Arabella rolled her eyes, looking away from the man as she shook her head. Giovanni held his glass to his chest, leaning down to her ear, "I'll be counting how many times you roll your eyes at me tonight, and I'll make you cum that much."
She cleared her throat, her eyes finding Marie, her brows raised as she smiled at Arabella. The girl shot her a shy smile back, looking up at Giovanni, slowly shaking her head as she narrowed her eyes at him, "Your mother just looked at me, Giovanni. Don't do that shit in public,"
He laughed, "You honestly think people are clueless, doll? Everyone knows we fuck, it's just a question of where and when and how,"
She gasped, "Gio, stop. If you embarrass me in front of your little cult, I'm going to ignore you for the rest of my life,"
"My little cult? Darling, I have a thousand men waiting on my order, my cult is atleast medium sized,"