ARES RUSSO
She's standing in between my legs as I'm sitting on counter. I don't know what to do with my hands. They are currently resting on my lap as she undoes my bandage.
"What happened?" She asked. I shrug my non injured shoulder. She peers at me through her lashes. She silently removes the bandages. She doesn't wince nor does she stare at it too long.
My hands itch to wrap around her waist. My arms want to extend till I finally touch her and feel the spark but I keep to myself. But my eyes can't keep off her. The small frown of her brows when she dabs the antiseptic. Her teeth sinking into those full lips. The pain of the antiseptic were dull and numb.
"Stop looking at me like that." She mumbles and wraps the bandage around. I didn't listen, I meant to reply but words were caged by my teeth and would not escape my mouth. I just kept admiring her, picking out what I love and what I want to kiss.
She looked at me and sighed. Her hands touched mine but my eyes wouldn't look at them. I don't know whats happening to my speech but I can't talk all of a sudden.
"Are you mad at me?" She whispered. My eyes finally broke from hers and looked down at her hands touching mine. I faced my palms up and gently held her hands.
"Do you even like me?" I asked while looking at our hands. They fit well together. They looked good together.
"I don't know."
"I like you." I tell her and watch her eyes widen slightly. We sit in silence and her eyes bore into mine. The grey pouring all over my body, being nothing but cold silver.
"You...like me?" She sounded unsure. Unsure if she heard me or unsure that I actually mean it. I leaned forward and just as my lips grazed hers, my shoulder jolted in pain.
She outreached her hand and she placed it on my bandaged wound. The pain stopped immediately. It was numb. I didn't know what to do, so close to her. The warmth shared between us, our faces almost touching. Her lips grazing against mine as she tilted her head back. I like her, so much.
"Why do you...like me?" It was as if that word was foreign to her mouth, the first time she had ever tasted it.
"You're everything I swore never to mix with."
"I'm dangerous." She whispered against my lips. I'm coated in her, everything is her. Both her hands on each shoulder, careful not to fully touch but even the slightest touch jolts me with a euphoric feeling.
"Believe me, gorgeous, I know." My hands tug her closer by her blazer and her lips meet mine in a slow kiss.
It sends a message to my brain, serotonin flowing in my system. She was addictive, her tongue taking over dominance and I wouldn't have it any other way. She stroked her tongue against mine, erupting a zoo of butterflies. I grabbed a fistful of her blazer and tried to tug her closer. I needed her body against mine. Her nails roamed on my chest, gliding across my multiple scars that I wish to tell her about.
"When I did this," a voice startled us. We pulled apart with a fright and another pain shot through my wound. I winced with a hiss and Lorelai put both her hands on it to try and sooth the pain.
"When I did this, you had me suspended." Luigi sassed.
"Your point is?" I replied a little breathless.
"I should have you suspended." He exclaimed.
"For what?" I muse and watch as he tries to come up with a reason, an opportunity to do this so called suspension.
"Ares." She calls me.
"Lorelai." I look at her and she's staring at my wound with a straight face.
"So the lady in red has a name? Lorelai." Luigi claps his hands against each other.
"You're bleeding out." Lorelai says with the most calmest voice I've heard her speak with.
"We need to get you to Dom." Luigi's composure suddenly panics so I finally look at Lorelai's hand and they're coated in my blood. I jump off the counter and Luigi hands me a white towel. I replace her hands with my towel.
"Wash your hands." I nod to the sink. Luigi and I walk out of the bathroom but I stop at the door. I walk back to Lorelai and give her a kiss. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it's just blood." She washes her hands while looking at me. I peck her once more because I want to before I rush out. A frantic Luigi is holding the door for me.
We get to the car and immediately get in. We rush to the hospital that Dom works for and the closer we get, the more I feel my heart dropping. We park inside the hospital and my stomach turns. We get to the register and my words are lodged in my throat. Dom comes running out of a room and calls my name. I sigh in relief because the register lady was going to get another doctor for us.
My mind races as he pulls the bullet out of my body. It hurts, its painful. I shut my eyes as he stitches me up. Dom hasn't spoken once. His gloves coated in blood. His eyebrows furrow in concentration. He grabs a scissor and snips of the string.
"All done." He mumbles and I look down at the wound. It's finally stitched up and gleaming under the sunset light.
"Thanks Dom."
"No problem, just obviously don't strain it or I'll fuck you up." He jokes and we all laugh at him. He excuses himself and we leave once another doctor gives me an arm sling so that I don't stretch the stitches out. I'm not going to wear it but I accept it with a smile on my face.
We take a drive home. Luigi hasn't spoken but he has a smile on his face. We get inside the apartment and he's still smiling. He hands me a beer from the fridge and he leans on the counter.
"Lorelai, huh?" He raises his eyebrows for a second before they relax.
"What about her?" I reply calmly and take a swig of the beer.
"She is gorgeous but she has the meanest attitude." I nod slowly with my brows furrowed. I know he hasn't spoken to Lorelai directly.
"How do you know that?" I place the beer bottle down on the counter and lean my left hand against the counter edge.
"Well, how do you think she knew you got shot?" He asked with a small eye roll. "I bumped into her as she was coming in. I thought she was coming for your date and told her that you postponed. She rolled her eyes and tried to walk away but I held her back. She almost slapped the shit out of me and told me not to touch her. I told her you got shot and needed surgery, she left for your door and the guy at the front desk tried to stop her but one look made him and everyone else sit down."
I take another sip of the beer to hide the obvious blush creeping onto my skin.
"And maybe she was having a bad day but no one should have the worst day ever to the point where they're mean to everyone." He argued and I smile at him.
"She's always like that." I tell him and his jaw drops. His face takes on one of horror. I take a long sip and slide the beer bottle to Luigi. "She can be nice if she wants to. She didn't want to be nice to you."
"Yeah well, she scares me."
"Me too."
"How does she scare you but you were half way down her throat?" He takes the last sip of the beer and throws the bottle away.
"She was halfway down my throat." I correct and walk away to go change in my room. While I'm changing, I remember Lorelai. She was at my office and she probably went back to hers. We can still have a date. Hopefully.
After I change, I go down to the car and drive to her work place. I see Raeni and herself walking out of the building, talking to each other. I exit the car and lock before walking over to them. Lorelai has her back turned to me, locking the door, so Raeni noticed me first.
"Hello there." I will never get tired of hearing Raeni's thick Jamaican accent.
"Hi, Raeni." I greet and I see Lorelai's head turn around so fast. She quickly locks it and walks calmly to us. "Hi gorgeous."
"I'm not going stand and be the third wheel of this interaction. I have a husband at home, I'll see you tomorrow Lory. Bye Ares." She waves at us and walks to her car.
"Do you still want me to take you on a date?" I ask her and she bites her lip in thought.
"Yes." It sounded like she wanted to say something else besides yes. I reach my hands to her waist and engulf her in a hug. She happily wounds her arms around my neck. "I like hugging you."
She was hesitant, she wanted to say it. She makes me feel special and one of a kind. She would never utter these words to anyone else, I think. When we pulled apart, I notice a small dimple on her cheeks, in line with her nose bridge. Her gleam with emotion and it's happiness. She's smiling. I'm going to die. She's smiling. Her teeth are perfectly white and straight. She's smiling. At me. She's smiling because of me. I finally made her smile.
"Your smile makes me want to smile." I smile at her too and she does a breathy chuckle.
"Shut up." Her smiles drops slowly and I need to see it again. She averts her eyes somewhere else. I take her to the car and as I'm about to open the door for her, she slaps my hand away and opens it herself.
I will never get to be romantic with her.
I go around the car, open the door and get in. We drive down to the beach as the clouds roll back and the night sky is filled with tiny stars. I park right infront of the crew of people who were going to help me with the date. A waiter sitting by the table. The table had a candlelight in the center, two plates on either side, red table clothe and a rose on her plate. I parked the car infront of the wooden staircase that went down to the beach.
She looks at me and rolls her eyes. A tiny smile decorates her face and she gets out of the car. I get out too and walk to her side.
"Let's go." I nod my head down the stairs and she closes the door. We walk down the stairs and she stops. She takes her heels off and walks with me.
I pull her chair back for her to take a seat and she takes a seat while rolling her eyes. "I can take a seat by myself."
"I'm sure you can, you're a very capable lady." I take a seat of my own and wink at her. She picks the rose up and looks at it. She doesn't say anything, she just fiddles with it.
The waiter comes by with our plates and reveals; steak, green beans and baked potatoes. I thank her and she goes back to her car to fetch the dessert. She comes back with two glasses filled with different layers of sweetness. I thank her once more and she leaves in her car.
We dig into the food in silence. Forks clanking on plates and knifes cutting into stakes.
"Is the wound stitched?" She asked. I nod my head. "What happened?"
"A few boys tried to rob my apartment." I shrug. Her utensils drop on her plate and she picked up the napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth.
"You're acting like that shit is normal."
"It is, alot of people get robbed." I was confused on why it was such an issue.
"You are too nice." She mumbles and goes back to cutting her stake.
"Is that a problem? I couldn't see them because the lights were off."
She shakes her head slightly and mumbles "idiot."
"Security cameras?" She asks and grabs the wine bottle in the middle of the table. She opens it and pours her glass full.
"Lorelai, it's already done. That's just unnecessary-"
"Whose to say they won't do it again? You let them off the hook, so they'll see it as another opportunity." She takes a sip from her glass.
"I'll be prepared next time." I try to close the discussion to prevent an argument.
"There wouldn't be a next time if you just stop being a fucking fool." She angrily cut through her stake and took a bite. I carried on eating and poured myself a glass of the wine too.
"If you're worried about me-" I try to alleviate the discussion but she scoffs.
"You're grown. I don't need to worry myself about you." She drops her fork and knife on the plate. She picks her napkin up and wipes the corners of her mouth before throwing it on the plate as well. She picks her wine glass up and gulps down a few sips before putting it back down.
She takes her fitted blazer off and takes in a deep breath. She stands up with her wine glass and walks towards the sea. I stare at her tall figure and take a bite of steak. I place my utensils down and wipe my mouth as well. I stand up and walk to her. I wrap my arms around her from the back but she steps away. My hands cage her in.
"No." She protests but I hold onto her and bury my face in her neck. "You're being idiotic."
"Yes I am." I agree with her.
"You could get shot again and all you'll worry about is if the other person is okay."
I wouldn't voice it but she isn't wrong. They were teenage boys, they wouldn't do it again. I have no guarantee of that but they maybe have learned from that near death experience.
"You're not wrong." I mumble into her neck. "You're feisty when you're worried."
"I'm not worried, I'm helping you not be a pathetic excuse of a person." She turns around and I'm looking into her somber eyes. She's worried about me getting shot again. She won't admit it.
"Can I kiss you?" I look at her lips and lick my own.
"No." She rubs her thumb on my cheek. Her hand goes under my jaw and she's holding my face in her hand.
"I'm going to kiss you." I murmur. I drag my lip on hers.
"I don't want you to kiss me." She puts her nail on my lip and drags it down.
"You're going to want me to kiss you." I profess and she raises her eyebrows.
"Is that so?" She smirks and sinks her teeth into my bottom lip. She pulls down and let's go of it. Her eyes light up with amusement while mine darken with lust.
"It is so." I muse and bend down to her thighs. I lift her up and throw her over my shoulder. I smack her ass once and she does the same to me. I walk to the car with her over my shoulder and she was mumbling profanities at me.
"When I get down, I'm going to kill you." She threatened.
"I would love to die at your hands, tesoro." I sarcastically declare. I pick her heels up as we pass the table and walk to the car. When we get there, I sit her down on the engine compartment.
She leans back on her hands and glares at me. "Why shouldn't I kill you?"
I lean forward and place my hands next to hers. "Who will hug and kiss you?"
"Oh boy, I can get any man-"
"No doubt you can but let me rephrase. Who will hug and kiss you...like I do?"
She brings her legs up around me and and her arms around my neck.
"Thank you." I pick her up and place her gently on her feet. We both get into the car and I call the waiters number telling her that we're done and the food was great. Lorelai quickly gets out to grab her blazer and comes back in.
"Do you want to come see my apartment?" I place my phone in the holder and start the engine. She nods her head and we begin to drive away from the beach and to my apartment.
When we get there, I park right by the elevator and we both get out of the car. We ride the elevator in silence and distance. When we get to the door, I unlock it and open the door for her to walk through. I stay close behind her and close the door behind me. I lead her more into the living room and see Jessica, Giana, Stefano and Luigi sitting together playing a game. Luigi nudges Stefano and they both look back at us.
"Luigi, it's your turn to mo-" Jessica says but looks where they are looking. Giana is the only one who doesn't seem affected by my arrival.
"Ms Campbell." Luigi greets in a respectful manner.
"Asshole." Lorelai sneers.
"It was a mis-"
"I don't care."
"Hi, I'm Stefano." He waves with a smile and she nods. She looks at Jessica.
"I'm Jessica." She introduces and when Lorelai looks at Giana, Jessica is still looking at her.
"I'm Giana, what's your name?" Gia looks over her in a judgemental way. "Sugar? Candy? Rai-"
"Why would her name be Candy Campbell?" Luigi interrupts.
"Isn't she a stripper?"
"Do I look like a fucking stripper?" Lorelai asks.
"Ye-"
"Rethink your answer. Do I look like a stripper? In better words, do I look like you?" Lorelai retorts and Giana stands up. Jessica snickers with Luigi and Stefano is quick to hold Gia back.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me." She shrugged.
"Just wanted to see if you would repeat it." Giana was about to sit down but Lorelai spoke up again.
"I would repeat it but I don't want to lose more of my brain cells talking to you." Giana stands up shouting and I'm already infront of Giana stopping her from Lorelai.
"Gia, what the fuck?" I shout at her and push her back.
"Keep the stripper tied to her pole, I'm fucking leaving." Lorelai walks to the door.
"I'm going to fuck you up, bitch." Giana tries to jump to her but I hold her back and throw her on the couch.
"Stef, keep her still." I ask Stefano and walk after Lorelai. She's already in the elevator and it's closing. I try my best to run to it but by the time my hand touches it, it closed.
I quickly run down the flight of stairs. Cold air hitting against my face the faster I go. My hand burning on the cold rail because my hand is sliding on it. When I get to the bottom, I swing open the door and see Lorelai standing with her phone pressed against her ear. She turns around and rolls her eyes at me.
"Here he is...mhm...okay bye." She drops the call and I take a necessary breath before speaking.
"Why are you leaving?"
"I refuse to stay." She crosses her arms over her chest.
"Lorelai, she'll apologize. I just want to spend the night with you."
"Ares, I've been saying this shit since day one. Leave. Me. Alone. I don't want shit to do with you and your friends. Okay? Stop calling me and clearing my schedule, stop fucking telling me to eat and stop trying to be romantic. Just stop okay?" She waited me to respond but I couldn't.
The only sound I could hear was my heart shattering and dropping into my stomach. The bile clogged up at my throat and the words sitting at the tip of my tongue.
"Thank you." She exasperated and turned around. "You can burn my shit that's in your car, I don't fucking want them."
I couldn't move, my feet planted on the ground. We had a great time tonight. We had something going and I just had to invite her to my apartment. I couldn't tell whether my throat was burning with the desire to shoot her dead or kiss her like she was my oxygen. I couldn't tell her to wait or say anything. My mouth was clamped shut. I saw a sleek black car, same model as Lorelai's, pull up infront of her. The window rolled down and revealed a young woman with fair skin, almond eyes, round face and a bold red lip. She had a few whisps of hair to frame her face but I couldn't quite see if her hair was lose or tied up. Her hair was black, pitch black. So was the interior of the car.
"Hop in." She said just as Lorelai opened the door. She looked at me while I looked at Lorelai, who was looking ahead. "Jade", I'm guessing, pulls the gear into drive and drives off.
"Fuck!" I yell in the nearly empty garage. I found my voice, no more bile, no more clogged up words.
When I get up to the apartment, Gia is sitting by the door.
"Ares..." She whispered and stands up.
I go past her and open the door. Everyone including Dom is in the kitchen.
"I vote Gia out." Dom says and we all chuckle at him. I slide my hands down my face and sighed.
"I told you she was mean, had me almost pissing my pants." Luigi mutters to Stefano.
"She's really pretty, I couldn't even properly talk. Her eyes are the most beautiful color I've ever seen. Her skin, don't even get me started on that, pure fucking perfection. She's fucking tall, she's Ares' height and her body is slim with curves. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her. And she's funny, that just wraps up the package. Her voice was so warm and seductive in a way." Jessica narrows her eyes at the fridge. She sips on her cup of steaming something.
"Why couldn't I see her?" Dom whined. And they all chuckled at him and Stefano pat his back.
"If Ares plays this right then maybe you'll get to meet her." He says and looks at me expectantly.
"If." I repeat and drum my fingers on the counter.
《___________9/____________》
A U T H O R ' S N O T E
Also did you notice that I did longer chapters than ODL??? Lol, I just felt like writing more so all chapters are 3000+ words. Love me.
If you haven't read my first book, go read it now. It doesn't have correlation to this story whatsoever but I'm just promoting my book.
This chapter was 4000 words...yeah.