Everything looked so delicious. There were cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries and the biggest pizza I have ever seen!
"Wow! Kellan, this is.... Wow!"
"Jane gave some tips on what food you like so..."
"Yeah... no... the pizza and cupcakes are... well, they've just scored you some major points!"
He smiled at me and I felt like melting. How did my life do a complete one eighty in only a week's time? I mean last week I was terrified of Jackie and Beth and I had this ridiculous ache in my chest because of how Tristan acted – not that anything involving Tristan changed if the dull ache still lingering in my chest was anything to go by. I was lucky to have someone like Kellan, who made me forget about everything and help me to be a better, stronger person. And this was all about taking things slow and getting to know him better. I should give him a fair chance to explain everything that I still didn't understand and then we can see where things go from there.
"Are you really a gang leader?"
He took a deep breath before handing me an open can of Coke.
"Yes."
Gulp.
"How did you..." My voice trailed off, not sure if I really wanted to know the answer to all of my questions.
"Get in the gang?" He finished my sentence for me.
"Yeah."
"Well, it was about three years ago, and my parents were getting a divorce and me and mom had to live in the seedier part of the city. I stayed out at nights, met some bad people and one thing led to another and before I knew it, I was part of this gang who were dealing drugs. After a few months, I saw what it did to people, to families and I didn't want to be a part of it anymore. Despite having the so-called "Protection" and getting good money, I didn't want to buy and sell stuff that could hurt people anymore. Problem is, once you are in the gang, you are in it for life. You can't just decide one day, 'okay this was fun, see you guys around.' They don't take kindly to back stabbers and quitters."
I was listening so intently to his story that the pizza was forgotten... shocking, I know.
"So, then what?"
He smiled before taking a sip of his cold drink.
"I heard about this guy in New York, Jared O' Pry. He was the real deal Gang Leader. A few generations Irish mob kind of gang leader, but he was different. He wasn't trading weapons and drugs or involved in human trafficking, he was designing computer programs, like hacking programs and he'd sell them to the highest bidders."
"Wow, that's actually brilliant since everything is computerized these days." He nodded at my comment, taking a strawberry and biting it in half, holding the other half for me to eat.
"Yes, it is and it's not really illegal since designing a program isn't and selling it isn't either. Using it may be illegal, depending on what the program is, but he can't be held responsible for what his customers use it for." I nodded as I enjoyed the sweetness of the fruit.
"And the best part is that a lot of gangs respects him because his programs could – if you played around with the codes a bit - change criminal records, hide bank accounts, change shipping dockets, everything that helps the gangs to run their business more efficiently without federal investigations. I called him up one day and offered my services in exchange for him getting me clear from the gang I was involved in. Without me losing any limbs or family members. He made one phone call to Tommy, my old leader, and I was out on the next flight. Worked for him for two years and then he gave me my own branch to run here. I'm kind of like a manager, making sure everyone in the area who works for Jared does what is needed and that other members don't try to take us out or steal our programs."
He looked at me expectantly.
"Wait, what services did you offer him?"
He gave me that knee melting smile. "Didn't you know babe? I'm actually a computer nerd with some wicked fighting skills."
I smiled at him, I seriously couldn't imagine his bulky from bend over a keyboard all day.
"And the girl you took to Vegas?" I just had to ask, you can't start something with questions lurking in the back ground. Clean slate. Complete honesty.
"That was Jared's little sister. She's fourteen and live a few towns over, he asked me to take her to Vegas - where he was - because she refuses to fly anywhere without him."
I let out a breath I never knew I was holding in. Thank goodness! He wasn't a murderous drug dealer, nor a cheating bastard. He was... worthy.
"So, what do you want to have first, Pizza or cupcakes?" He asked as he held out a plate for me.
"Pizza of course."
"Of course." He agreed as he handed me a slice from the box. Let me tell you all that melted cheesy goodness and the cream cheese on the second base and the feta cheese on top... I've never had sex, but this has got to be better than that.
"Babe, if you keep making those noses it's gonna be really hard for me to sit across from you for the rest of this lunch date." I blinked and swallowed the piece of pizza in my mouth. Is it possible to swallow down a blush as well?
"I was making those weird noises again?" He shifted uncomfortably.
"Not weird, well maybe because you were eating, but if you make them at another time, maybe while I'm..."
"Oh my Fairy godmother, please don't finish that sentence." If my hands weren't busy balancing my huge pizza slice, I would have slammed my hands over my ears, or my face to prevent my embarrassment from completely engulfing me.
Kellan threw back his head and laughed. "I love it when you blush."
I smiled at him as I put my pizza back and wiped my hands and mouth with my napkin. I quickly stood up and walked over to him and before my common sense could kick it, I leaned down and kissed him. He pulled me onto his lap and lifted me slightly so that I could swing my leg over his to straddle him. I didn't want to give too much thought to that at the moment because I might start freaking out. His hands were gently stroking up and down my back as he deepened the kiss. I was tingling all over and my heart was beating so fast that I was afraid it was going to leap up my throat. I shoved my hands into his thick hair and pulled him even closer. He groaned and that sound turned me on so much that I unknowingly shifted on his lap. His hands grabbed my ass firmly and pulled me even closer and I couldn't help but gasp at the feeling. His lips trailed down my neck, biting the tender flesh softly and it was my turn to moan.
"What the fuck is going on here?!"
I jumped at the sound of the voice and Kellan pulled my slightly closer. I turned my head and saw Mark standing there, along with the Hulk and two more guys who seemed vaguely familiar to me, but I'm positive I've never seen them at school before, they seemed too old to be in school.
Seriously? They just ruined the moment – like totally!