"You're joking, right?" I said, letting out a nervous laugh.
"Nope," he shook his head.
"I'm not doing that," I said flatly.
"You wanna go kill some bastards with me, then you do it."
I furrow my eyebrows at him, giving him a look of disbelief. That sounded so wrong, it made me nauseous. What kind of life is it, the one we are living, in which someone says that like they say "pass the salt."
"If you don't realize how wrong and perverted that sounds, we need to get you to the ER for a brain surgery."
Nicolas let out a chuckle, making me smile and shake my head.
"You know what I mean, and don't change the subject! Get up there."
I looked at the long silk rope he wanted me to climb. Lorenzo wasn't kidding when he said intense training. Yesterday, Saturday, he woke us all up early and brought us to a gym he bought, yes bought. I'm convinced he doesn't know what to do with his money anymore. He said he wasn't going to let any of us lose our skills just because we were in America. Yesterday was calm, he put me to fight the boys and run a few miles on the treadmill. Then we lifted weights and at the end had an exhausting amount of target practice. I aced almost every shot, because I'm not perfect, but he said in this job I had to be. So I tried again and aced them all.
Now, he sent Nicolas and I early to start on a few gymnastics and acrobatics training. The others would join us later, but he wanted me to practice something he puts Nicolas to do all the time. He says that any skill, this one in particular, is useful for a job.
There was a long silk rope, tied to the ceiling somehow, that fell all the way to the floor. He wanted me to climb up, all the way to the end of the rope. Mind you, the ceiling is about fifty feet up in the air so I wasn't exactly ecstatic about this. It doesn't seem that bad since there is a huge soft and fluffy mattress below the rope, but that doesn't help my nerves either.
"Do I look like Harley Quinn to you? I'm not doing it."
He rolled his eyes, "I've done it a million times, its easy. Especially if you're already flexible and an unclassified acrobat, which you are."
My eyes trailed from the bottom of the rope all the way to the ceiling. I swallowed hard, feeling the sudden urge to teleport my ass to Ireland or something.
"I'd rather let the joker beat me senseless than—"
He sighs heavily through his mouth, "Enough with the DC references. Now get up there!"
I gave him a fake dirty look, "Marvel fan are we?" Desperately trying to change the subject, so I didn't have to pull this stunt, which would surely lead to my death.
He shrugged, "And?"
I stepped away and looked at him in disgust, "I'm appalled."
He took off his shoes, "maybe I'm just not a fan of shitty movies and bad comedy."
I scoffed, "oh please, you're just mad Marvel is...Marvel is...stupid."
I shut my eyes, that was pathetic. Stupid? The only stupid thing right now is me.
He smirked, "ahh, and ladies and gentlemen, she realized she has lost this battle."
I roll my eyes, "Did not!"
"Did too!"
"It's true! They are stupid!"
"Yeah, okay. Ms. DC princess of crime."
With what I'm training for, he isn't wrong.
"Pretty accurate, actually." I smiled.
He laughed as he shrugged his shirt off. I had been talking the whole time, and didn't realize what he was doing until it was off, revealing his beautiful body. My mouth gaped open as I gazed at him like a creep, any moment actual drool would probably fall from my face.
He smirked as he saw me trailing my eyes through every inch of his torso.
"Enjoying the view?"
I looked away quickly and ran my hand through the back of my neck, feeling unusually hot in my sports bra and shorts.
I masked my red hot cheeks with laughter, "If only!"
He walked toward the rope and started climbing it, making it look easy as hell.
"You see! As easy as it gets!" He shouts down.
"Yeah okay! I wanna see you get down."
Without a second thought, he unwrapped his legs from the fabric and threw his top half back, as if he were trying to hang from the monkey bars. He let go for a second, letting his body drop freely, making me scream thinking he was going to crash down. No more than a second later, he was right in front of me again laughing at how ridiculous I was being. It was more than obvious, that he has done this a gazillion times.
"Your turn." He said pushing softly towards the rope, his hands on my hips.
"Yeah, because what you did convinced me." I say sarcastically.
He grabbed my arms from behind me and placed my hands on the rope.
"Climb," he demanded.
I took a deep breath and began going up. It took a few minutes but I finally made it all the way. I smiled down at Nicolas, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"See! Not bad!" He yelled.
I nodded, "what now?"
"With your arms, swing yourself, carefully lift your legs and wrap your right leg on the fabric," I did as he said, "and make sure it's stable."
I pulled on the rope with my leg, it was pretty stable to me.
"Now, slowly drop your body back, and then wrap your right hand with the fabric, tight."
HA! He fucking thought.
"Hell no!"
"Come on! It'll be fine."
I threw my body back, and quickly wrapped my hand in the rope. My left leg moved freely in the air, as I held myself upside down.
"Okay now what?"
"Now, you're Harley Quinn for real!" He said, referencing the Harley rope scene on Suicide Squad.
He reached into his pockets and took out his phone.
"Nick!"
He started laughing at my fear, I had no idea how to get down and I didn't want to break a bone or something.
"Admit it, it feels great!" He shouted at me.
He was right, yet again, I felt really cool up in the air. I had some training in gymnastics but nothing serious, mostly just cartwheels, back flips, and intense stretching, never anything like this. But here I was, trying to hide my smile as I felt like Gaby Douglas.
"Whatever," I started laughing uncontrollably. I felt my grip on the rope loosen slightly, but I couldn't stop laughing.
Nicolas ran to the rope looking worried, "Anastasia don't laugh! It'll make you let go!"
By the time he finished his sentence, I was already sliding down the rope unwillingly. I tried to hold on at times but was overcome by fear and eventually let go. Nicolas was under, waiting for me to fall. When I did, he caught me, preventing me from breaking my neck. He wrapped me in his arms and we fell back onto the mattress. My eyes were shut tight, fear still controlling me.
"You're okay." I felt his hand run across my messed up hair, trying to pull back the loose strands.
I nodded as I looked at his face, he was hiding a smirk, "I don't find this amusing, you know."
He chuckled, "sorry, you were just so scared. 'Nick! What do I do? Ahh!'" He said, the last part in a high pitched voice.
"Oh shut up." I said laughing and hitting his chest, his body was rigid under mine.
I couldn't help but love the feeling of his body on my hands. I bit my bottom lip, as I ran my hands across his chest feeling his gorgeous body on my finger tips. He let out a small gasp at my touch, making me inch closer if that was even possible. His hands were holding on to my hips, gripping them in a way that was beyond pleasurable. The lower my hands went, the tighter he gripped my sides.
I stared into his big brown eyes, taking in the way he looked me over. His intense stare was making me feel vulnerable, like he always does. Except this time, the feeling felt delicious, like I could never get enough. I felt his hands begin to go up, reaching my face, cupping it as well. I got closer, leaving our faces millimeters apart. He wrapped his arms around me and flipped us, so I was under him.
I let out a sound that was between a gasp and a groan. I stared at his biceps, as the were brushing my own, making me feel tingles all the way to my toes.
"Anastasia," he began.
He looked to the floor, taking in a deep breath.
"You sure you—" His voice was deep and husky, making me lick my lips.
How can one person be so perfect?
"Shh," I cut him off, pressing my index finger to his lips.
He started trailing kisses down my neck. I was so ready to have him right then and there, but of course, we heard the front door open.
I jumped off him in a split second, praying it wasn't Lorenzo walking through that door. Nicolas put his shirt back on and I tied my hair in a ponytail. In came the three stooges, Vee, Gabe and Mateo, also known as cock blockers.
They gave us a funny look, as we were standing there waiting for them to come in.
Gabriel held a white bag and grinned, "we got snacks!"
I looked at Veronica, and she flashed me her pearly whites.
How would she feel if she knew I just made out with her brother?
What if she hated me?
My mind came up with an answer that didn't satisfy me.
If she doesn't like it, too bad. I don't think I could stay away from this boy.
I don't mean it in a bad way. The girl is cool and all, but I know myself all to well. I'm an addict for boys like Nicolas and Ash, the ones who my head scream to stay away from. Except, after Ash, it's all just sex and good bye for me, I couldn't risk being heartbroken like that again, or putting myself in danger for some boy. But, knowing myself, I won't stop until I get a slice of the pie Nicolas Alfonsi was offering.
+++++
"You wanna play tick tack toe?"
I rolled my eyes, "Grow up J."
Jacob frowned, "I'm bored, pretty please?"
I sighed, drawing the lines for the game.
English was one of the few classes I had with Jacob. This week he had become part of our group. Turns out everyone really likes him. Even though Nicolas punched him on Monday for trying to get with Veronica. She wasn't interested and Jacob was just joking, but Nicolas got mad either way and made his lip bleed.
Since our little moment on Sunday, Nicolas has barely said a word. Not that I want him to, all we did was make out. I'm pretty sure that is as meaningless to him as it is to me. We've both done more than make out with other people, so that was like another Tuesday for us, well, Sunday.
Lana and the rest hadn't said a word to any of us since the Friday, which made me feel calm. Last thing I need is another blow out. Other than that, the school has accepted them pretty well. Since they hung out with Jacob and I, they were pretty known already. We spend most of the days fooling around and making the teachers lives hell.
The whole week went by uneventful, it was now Friday again. We were playing tick tack toe in the back of the class because Ms. Bitch was just rambling with no purpose.
The bell rung and we got up, packing our things. We were all sharing a locker because there were no more available lockers on the school. For people who don't carry books, they make a lot of mess. Gabriel always bought food and left the garbage in a bag in the locker. I was always disgusted whenever I tried to take out a textbook.
I started noticing more and more RS, but none wanted problems. They just passed by, like they didn't know their boss wanted me dead. Everyday we have to fill Lorenzo in on their activity, to see if they were getting suspicious, but so far nothing.
I got into the car and Elijah drove us home.
In the blink of and eye, we were back to Monday, all the days are relatively similar. On weekdays, I go to school and come back to do homework and hang with everyone. On weekends, I train to gain Lorenzo's trust. He seems to be more comfortable with me now, and even started talking about my first job.
Veronica whined a lot about missing Club Wednesday, it was getting frustrating. I had to keep reminding her that this wasn't Sicily. The drinking age in America is twenty one, so we couldn't just waltz into a bar and order a margarita like we did back there. She suggested we had drinks at home, and I told her she started to sound like an alcoholic in withdrawals, so she shut up about it finally.
I was in lunch, talking with Mateo when Jacob slid into the seat and pushed me over.
"Hey!" I shrieked, punching him in the leg.
He laughed, "oops, sorry."
I rolled my eyes, "can I help you."
He nodded, "I'm having a party."
"And?" I said, bored.
He narrowed his eyes and flicked me in the forehead.
"Ow!"
Jacob loved throwing parties, and he loved talking about how great the are, which they really are. Now that Halloween was less than three weeks away, it was a matter of time before he informed me about the yearly costume party he always threw.
"Its a Halloween party of course. And you're invited."
I smiled, "who else is coming."
"Anyone who is anyone, of course." He said, in a duh tone.
I touched my chest and smiled dramatically, cleaning invisible tears, "I'm flattered."
He grinned, "so, you coming?"
"When have you known me to miss a Halloween traditional."
"You're the best," he grabbed my face and kissed my cheek, "costumes are a must."
He walked away, pushing a poor freshman in front of him.
I watched, amused as he left the cafeteria. When I went back to my food, everyone was looking at me.
"Lorenzo won't let you go." Gabriel said, laughing.
I narrowed my eyes at him, throwing a fry towards him.
"He will let us go. I'll convince him."
Mateo snorted and they all began laughing at me.
I'll convince him.
+++++
I'm surprised by how fast the days are going. Its been almost three weeks since I came back to school. The Halloween party is in two days and I haven't mentioned it to Lorenzo.
I was walking to his office right now to tell him. Ever since Jacob mentioned it to me,
I've been at my best behavior so he would let me go.
I knocked lightly on the door, crossing my fingers as I stepped inside.
"Hey," he gave me a warm smile and I returned the gesture.
"Hey Lorenzo, I wanted to ask something, if its alright?"
He closed his laptop slightly and faced me.
"Go on."
I cleared my throat, "So, there's a party on Sunday, that my best friend Jacob is hosting, and I wanted to ask if I could go?"
He didn't say a word for what felt like eons, before smiling.
"Sure, are the kids going with you?"
I stare at him, shocked. I expected him to say no because of protection or whatever.
I nodded, "yup." Making a mental note to tell them they had to come.
"Okay," he cleared his throat, as if nervous. "Who is this Jacob? Is he trustworthy?"
He had a hint of suspicion in his voice, I couldn't help but smile at how fatherly he was acting right now. It made me truly to happy, that him and I could reconnect after so long.
"Jacob has been my best friend since the third grade. And yeah, I'd seriously put my life in his hands. No need to worry about him."
"Does he live far?"
I shook my head, "not really. He lived about thirty minutes away from Michael's house on car, in a house not far from the Hollywood sign."
He nodded, "at what time?"
"Starts at seven, till around one or two."
"Very well, tell me when and I'll tell Elijah to drop you off."
"Thanks a lot." I turned on my heel to leave.
He smiled, "do you need money for a costume or something?"
I spun around, forgetting about the costumes. Jacob would freak if I went without one. Two years ago, he kicked a kid from the basketball team out because of it. He's very serious about his parties and the criteria. He'd never kick me out, but I'd rather not test him.
"If it's not too much to ask for." I say, not wanting to waste his money any more than I have.
"Not at all, I've been meaning to give you this actually," he took out a shiny card, and my eyes widened at the sight.
"I can't," I start. I want to take it so badly but its so wrong.
"Yeah you can, it's your money too remember. Its unlimited, but don't go buying yachts without telling me."
I laugh as I walk around the desk to take the precious object in my hand.
"I'm serious, we had that problem with Veronica once. She sure loves to spend." He said, shaking his head.
I'm overcome with joy, as I feel the card in my hands. Michael and Mariana always played into the lie that we were poor or whatever, so I never had any of this. Little did I know, they were crazy rich the whole time.
I smile as I stuff it in my pocket, Lorenzo is smiling at me, in a loving way. Like he was genuinely happy to see me happy.
I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. At first he didn't hug me back, I felt his body tense as soon as I caught him in my embrace. After a moment he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. When I pulled away he was smiling at me, making me smile in response.
That's when it dawned on me, it was probably his first hug from his daughter in a long time. That's why he was smiling. My smile only grew as I planted a small kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks," something in me told me to say dad, but I just couldn't. Some day, though, it will be all I call him.