Pain Lived, Love Found 2 (22 page)

“Look, man, just treat our sister right and we cool. Never mind Booker T over here. He’s always looking for a fight,” Junior said as he patted me on the shoulder and made his way to Sarah’s kitchen to get something to drink.

“Speaking of Carter, we came over here to see if you had heard that everybody in his camp was killed and Carter is nowhere to be found? Word on the street is it was a professional hit and Carter might be dead too.”

Not missing a beat Sarah replied, “No, I didn’t hear that. I’ve been busy with work and helping Sloane decorate her baby room. Carter had plenty of enemies so I can’t say I’m surprised by any of this.”

“Does he know about Carter?” Junior asked as he looked over at me.

“Yes, he knows all about Carter,” Sarah replied as she sat back down on her couch. I joined her and put my arm around her to Michael’s disgust. I couldn’t stop the chuckle that came out of me.

“I had the unfortunate displeasure of knowing Carter back in the day. I’m originally from New York, as is Carter. Before I changed my life around, I dabbled in some illegal things, drugs and the like and Carter was a small time dealer trying to come up. Let’s just say he messed with the wrong people.”

Junior and Michael looked at each other and then back at me.

“So I was right, you do have mob ties. I’ve heard the Mancini name before…” Michael paused for a moment as he squinted his eyes at me.

“Yes, my family has mob ties but I do not. I broke off ties with that life over twenty years ago.”

That’s the one thing I hated about my family name. You can try all you like to distance yourself, but people who know about your family ties will always associate you with that life no matter how far away you try to get from it.

Michael laughed. “Man, gone with that shit. Once in, always in. You can’t just walk away from the mob!”

My case in point. Unfortunately, to a degree, Michael was right.

“Well I’m telling you I did walk away, and whatever stuff you’ve heard past or present will never have my name attached to it.”

“The Mancini family is a powerful family. They carry a lot of clout here and in New York and Chicago too if I’m not mistaken,” Michael said as he nodded his head. Suddenly his look of distrust turned to respect. I wanted his respect, but not because of my families mob ties. That’s not something I’m proud of.

“Man, how do you know all of this stuff Mikey?” Junior asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“When I was in jail I was in with all kinds of people. Mafia dudes, their workers, people who knew people. They talked about the different families: who was strong, who was weak, who was beefin’ with who. I heard the Mancini name a few times. I heard they had these two cousins that wasn’t nothing to fuck with. One was a pro boxer and the other one was just a bruiser, the muscle for the family.”

I couldn’t help it, but I winked at Michael, in essence confirming what he heard. I’d rather them know the truth about me and my past now, than hear lies through the grapevine later and hate and distrust me more. Michael’s eyes got big as realization sat in with him.

Hitting his brother in the arm he said, “Shit! That’s him, bro!”

“Ouch man! That hurt!” Junior yelled.

“Junior, he’s the muscle everybody was scared of in jail. The boxer dude, your cousin, his name is Ace right?” Michael asked, the excitement showing all over his face.

With a small smile I said, “Yeah, that’s my cousin. He’s my business partner now. We both left that life behind.”

Sarah sat next to me not saying a word as she looked at me with surprise. I wasn’t sure why she was surprised because I had already told her about my past. Perhaps hearing it confirmed by her brother made everything real for her just now.

I gently rubbed her arm and met her gaze. I tried to reassure her with my eyes that everything would be ok, and finally she graced me with a beautiful smile.

***

Believe it or not, we spent the rest of the evening at Sarah’s apartment – me, her and her brothers. Michael and I realized that we have a lot in common, mainly our love of working out and mutual love of boxing. He owns two gyms and is looking to open a third. I already know the perfect place he can open his third gym: in my new business development. I didn’t bring it up yet, but I will soon. Junior is a whiz of an accountant and I was able to ask him a few questions. Later that evening Sloane and Luca came by and it became an even livelier impromptu get together. We ordered pizza and Chinese food and Luca and I volunteered to go get sparkling cider, bottled water, and more pop.

Luca drove his Porsche, and man was it nice. That was a beautiful piece of machinery that hugged the street perfectly and had magnificent power.

“So I heard Carter Williams and his camp was taken out.”

“You heard right. I took care of Carter myself because the crazy son of a bitch followed me to my cousin’s apartment to kill me. I shot him in the head.”

Luca looked at me with a surprised yet satisfied look on his face. “Shit, he was crazy wasn’t he?” he said with a shake of his head.

“Crazy doesn’t even begin to describe him. In any case, he’s handled and everyone is safe.

“Massimo is one of the best.”

I looked at Luca and he looked at me with a knowing small smile. Nothing more needed to be said. We’re cut from the same cloth and know many of the same people because of that fact. As we picked up the things, our women asked us to get I informed Luca of how I took care of the two aldermen who were trying to shake me down. Luca couldn’t stop laughing.

“Now me, I would have been so pissed that I would have gone into their homes and cracked their skulls in front of their wives, but what you did - that was much better,” Luca laughed as he put the grocery bags into his small storage compartment that is supposed to be a trunk.

“Trust me, I wanted to crack some skulls, but I can’t go back to that.”

“I understand more than you know. Luca started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot heading back to Sarah’s apartment.

I got the chance to spend some time with Sloane getting to know her. She is a very sweet, kind woman who is also very protective of Sarah. At least she didn’t threaten me like her brother Michael did, but her choice of words left me no doubt that she would hunt me down and kill me herself if I hurt her sister. Luca loved Sloane and doted on her non-stop. He always had his hands on her or on her bulging pregnant stomach. He was already in love with their baby who was due to come in just two more months. I envied Luca and Sloane and wish that was me and Sarah ten years ago when we were both still relatively young.

It was almost midnight before everyone started to leave. There were no handshakes given out when everyone said their goodbyes. All the men gave hugs to one another and they included me in on the one shoulder man hugs as well. “Welcome to the family, brother-in-law,” Luca whispered into my ear. We both smiled at each other as he headed towards the door with Sloane.

“Come down to the gym sometime, we can work out together,” Michael said before he left.

“Absolutely,” I said in return. “I’ll make that happen soon.”

“Ok then.”

“All right man, we gotta hang out sometime too. We should play some basketball sometime,” Junior said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve played, but I can knock the rust off and show you what I got,” I smiled. That got a laugh from Junior and Michael.

“Being that tall I knew you had to have played at some point in your life,” Michael chimed in.

“High school, varsity team all four years.”

“All right, all right. Well let’s get together soon, bro,” Junior said before slapping my hand one more time.

When Sarah closed her door and locked it she turned to look at me.  “What just happened tonight?”

“I got to meet your family, and I’m glad I did. They are really nice, and I can’t wait for you to meet mine.”

“Nice? After the way Michael treated you?” Sarah scoffed.

“He’s your brother, he loves you and wants what’s best for you. If I had a sister, I’d be the same way towards her boyfriend.”

“Speaking of boyfriend, I like the way you just put that out there to my brothers that we’re a couple.” Sarah had her hand on her hip with an eyebrow raised.

I slowly approached her and my eyes locked with hers.

“Was I lying?”

When I got to her I took her into my arms and held her close.

“No.”

“And you told Michael that I was your man. Did you mean that?”

“Absolutely. You’re all mine, and I’m all yours Roman Mancini.”

She then pulled my face down to hers and kissed me soundly and sensually to seal the deal. 

“You keep talking like that and you’re gonna make me fall in love with you.”

“Well. I’ve already fallen in love with you. Hook, line and sinker.” Roman looked deeply into my eyes and caressed my cheek.

“Roman, you don’t have to say that. I wasn’t fishing…” I started to say, but Roman cut me off.

“I love you Sarah. More than anything in this world. I love you, and I don’t want anyone else but you. This isn’t a game to me, and I mean what I say.”

His eyes were full of emotion as they searched my own.

I began to blink rapidly as I tried to stop the floodgates of my tears, but it was to no avail. “I love you too,” was all I could choke out before I buried my face into his chest and hugged him tightly to me. I’ve never uttered those words to another man in my life other than my brothers, and it felt good to do so. It felt good to feel this way towards another human being who felt the same towards me in return.

I heard the rumble of Roman’s chuckle in his chest as he hugged me back. He began to massage my back slowly in a soothing pattern.

“Oh my sweet Sarah. You’ve turned my world upside down from the first time I met you, and you’ve been under my skin ever since. I’m never letting you go, you hear me?”

I nodded my head in agreement as I sniffled. Roman pulled me back so he could see my face and he kissed away my tears before he claimed my lips in a soul-stirring kiss. I immediately felt his desire and I was equally turned on. Moments ticked by before Roman dragged his lips from mine and said, “I better go before I change my mind about waiting.”

I raised an eyebrow at him and smiled slyly, letting him know that he would get no argument from me.

He opened my door and turned around to me. “I’ll call you in the morning. I love you, Sarah.”

“I love you too, Roman.” We smiled at each other like two lovesick teenagers before he closed the door behind him and left. This is what happiness feels like, and I liked it. I still have to deal with feelings of guilt and unworthiness, but I know I can’t allow those feelings to keep me living in the past, nor can I allow them to prevent me from moving towards the future. I’m a work in progress, and I’ve been fortunate enough to cross paths with Roman, a man who knows my flaws and weaknesses and he still wants me; he still loves me. I found a man who is willing to take this journey towards love and happiness with me, and I couldn’t be more grateful. 

For almost a week, Lola refused to speak to me, let alone acknowledge my presence unless she absolutely had to, and even then she was cold as ice. Gone was the sweet, kind Lola that I could joke around with or talk about the latest movies with. Roman felt the tension between us and saw the icy way that Lola treated me. He didn’t like this side of Lola, nor did he like the tension it caused all of us. We were no longer the tight unit that worked well together. We always treated one another like family, and now it feels like mom and dad are getting a divorce.

“You’ve got to do something about this, Ace, and soon.” Roman was staring at me with a look of disapproval as he sat at his desk.

“Really? What happened to your speech about being patient and letting Lola come around on her own?” I spat back.

“Well, clearly I was wrong.”

“Well, what do you propose I do, oh wise and mighty one?” I couldn’t help the sarcasm. Sometimes Roman acted like he had all the answers, but when it comes to Lola and women, in general, I think we’re equally clueless.

Roman gave me a warning look that I didn’t care about. He should know by now that his death stares and mean mugs don’t work on me, and they never will. I know him too well and we’ve had our fair share of actual fights growing up for me to be scared. Besides, I’m the boxer in the family. He’s the brawler.

“You’ve already said that you would have done the exact same thing for her. I’m not about to apologize to her for protecting her. This is Lola we’re talking about,” I continued.

“I know it’s Lola we’re talking about. The same Lola you’ve been pining over since the day you laid eyes on her. You’re in love with her.” Roman looked at me squarely in the eyes, waiting for me to foolishly deny it.

“Maybe I am. I care about her a lot. Is that a crime?”

“Have you stopped to think about what you’ll do if she doesn’t feel the same? I don’t want you to get hurt, Ace.”

I knew my cousin cared about me, and I appreciated him for it. But Lola not loving me back just simply wasn’t an option. I knew she felt something towards me too, she was just hiding it because of that punk David. Now that he was out of the picture, there was nothing stopping us from exploring things. Roman was the voice of reason that I tried to ignore when it came to Lola. Deep down I knew what he said was a big possibility, but it was also something I simply wasn’t ready to face or acknowledge.

“If she doesn’t want me then I guess I’m just shit-out-of-luck. But I don’t regret what I did to David, not for a second.

“Well, you need to do something to make things right again between the two of you because I’m tired of being in the middle of the awkwardness.”

“She won’t talk to me, man, let alone look at me.

“Make her listen. Do what you have to do to make things right with Lola, Ace.”

“Yeah, that’s easy for you to say.” I got up to leave his office. I had enough of hearing what I should do and need to do as if it was so easy.

“If you love her and you want her in your life, then you have to fight for her. It’s the only way. If I didn’t fight for Sarah she wouldn’t be in my life now,” Roman said to me, which stopped me with my hand on the doorknob to his door. He told me about him and Sarah and how they were a couple now and that they love each other. No one was happier for my cousin than I was because I knew he had wanted this kind of happiness with the right woman for a long time, and he deserved it.

I had dinner with him and Sarah one night and seeing him with her let me know right away that they were perfect for one another. I’d never seen Roman so happy in my life.

Coming out of my thoughts, I turned around to face my cousin. “The difference between Sarah and Lola is at least Sarah fought with you. She let you know how she felt. I can’t keep fighting by myself.”

“Like I said, make her listen.

I nodded my head and left his office. I went home to my apartment and thought about what Roman and I discussed, and I thought about Lola and our fight for the one hundredth time. Later that night I tried to call her several times only to get her voicemail. I left her messages, and finally I sent her a text message. She didn’t respond to any of my attempts. Finally I had enough of being ignored and completely shut out, so I hopped in my car and drove to Lola’s apartment. Her car was parked out front, and the lights were still on in her apartment. I rang her doorbell like I was a madman.

“Who is it?” She was clearly irritated, as her voice came over the intercom.

“It’s me, Ace,” I barked in return.

“Go away, Ace!” Lola snapped.

“Not before we talk, Lola. I will stand out here all night if I have to, and I will wake up all of your neighbors until you come down here and talk to me.”

“You make me so SICK!” She was good and pissed, but she buzzed me inside.

I couldn’t help my triumphant smile as I walked inside and ran up the stairs to the second floor. Her apartment was the second to the right, and she left her door cracked for me to enter. When I walked inside of her cozy, colorful home, she was sitting on her couch in a Detroit Tigers T-shirt and some boy shorts showing her thick, beautiful thighs with her legs crossed Indian style. There was a beautiful Indian afghan laying across her brown leather couch, and lots of Indian, African, and Japanese art and statues throughout her apartment representing all of her heritages. There were black-and-white photos that lined a wall next to her windows of her father’s tribe, no doubt relatives of hers, along with other photos of her mother’s African-American family and Japanese family. I couldn’t help but think of how interesting her family had to be, so rich in heritage and history.

If I weren’t so pissed with her right now I’d ask her about her family photos, but that wasn’t what I was here for.

Her long hair was down and it took my breath away. She looked so beautiful and regal as she sat cross-legged in the middle of her couch with her back straight as an arrow. I itched to walk to her and run my fingers through her thick, curly locks. She was watching an old black-and-white movie with Clark Gable in it and eating a pint of butter pecan ice cream.

“You better make this quick, Ace. It’s late and I want to finish this movie before I go to bed,” Lola said dryly without sparing me a glance.

Just those few words and her lack of eye contact made me angrier. I’d endured her silent treatment long enough. She ignored my phone calls, voicemail messages, and text messages. Now I was standing in her apartment and she was still going to ignore me? Oh, hell no!

I walked over to her, snatched the remote from the couch, and turned off her television.

“Hey!” That finally made her look up at me.

“I’m tired of the bullshit, Lola. We will talk, you will look at me and acknowledge me, and act like an adult. I’m not leaving here until that happens.” My voice was firm, and my eyes were angry, as I spoke. I meant to be obeyed or else we were in for a long night, and I was prepared to go one hundred rounds with Lola if need be.

“Don’t talk to me that way, Ace, I’m not a child,” she snapped.

“Then stop acting like one!” I yelled in return.

“What do you want from me, Ace?” Lola yelled as she angrily brushed hair out of her face.

“I want you to stop treating me like I’m some monster, like I committed the ultimate sin by protecting you.”

“But I didn’t need your protection!” Lola sounded exasperated, as if we had argued about this one hundred times already. I wish we had, then maybe we wouldn’t be where we are now.

“How was I supposed to know that? How was I supposed to know that you know karate and taught self-defense classes when you never shared that with me or Roman? Stop punishing me for coming to your defense!”

“Stop treating me like I’m supposed to shower you with appreciation and thank-you’s because you did something I didn’t need you to do,” Lola countered.

I threw my head back and moaned loudly in sheer frustration.

Lola got up and put her ice cream back in the freezer and then went to her bathroom and came back out with her hair piled into a messy bun on top of her head. I couldn’t decide which way I liked her hair the best - up or down. Either way she was still sexy as hell. Her thighs were shining and they looked so good...Focus, Ace, focus!

Before she could sit back down I pulled Lola in front of me. “What do you want me to do, Lola? Do you want me to stop caring about you? Because that’s not going to happen. Do you want me to apologize for what I did? That’s not going to happen either. Maybe I shouldn’t have broken his nose and his jaw. I should have just broken one thing, instead of two. I apologize for that, a little,” I know I was being a smartass, but I didn’t care.

We stood in the middle of her living room staring at each other angrily. The tension between us was at an all-time high. Neither of us was willing to give an inch or concede in any way.

Then Lola tilted her head to the side and squinted her eyes. “Why do you care, Ace? I mean really, why do you care when you can be out with any woman you want right now? Women throw themselves at you all the time, and one would think that would have you good and occupied, but yet here you are irritating the hell out of me in my apartment. You know what, forget that I even asked.” Lola walked away, holding her forehead, heading towards her bathroom again.

This time I followed her. She was taking out a bottle of Ibuprofen from her medicine cabinet when I stood behind her and stared angrily at her through the mirror.

“What are you doing in here, I’m just getting something to take for my headache that you caused.”

“You asked me why I care...did you not hear anything I said to you that day at the lake?” I asked with a frown on my face.

I stepped closer to Lola and lightly caressed her arms up and down. She shivered and got goosebumps immediately.

“I need to take my medicine, Ace.” She tried to get away, but I held on to her and pulled the back of her softness against the front of my hardness. “Ace, please let me go, Lola weakly protested, but I wasn’t hearing any of it.

It was time we both faced what was really happening between us, what had been brewing between us for a long time now. I know I wasn’t alone in my feelings.  “No. It’s time we talked, and I mean really talk. That’s why I’m here Lola. Look at me, sweetheart,” my voice was soft as I spoke to her, imploring her.

Her eyes slowly met mine in the mirror and we stared at each other. My arms were securely and possessively wrapped around her waist as I held her in place against me.

“When I look at you I see the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I see a smart, funny, sweet woman that makes me smile every time I lay eyes on her. I see the woman who makes me look forward to going to work every morning. And I see the woman who should be with me, and only me.”

“Ace...” Lola started to say something, but I cut her off.

“What, Lola? Tell me I’m lying. Look me in my eyes and tell me you don’t feel the same way. You stayed with David to avoid me, didn’t you? The longer you were with David, the longer you could go without acknowledging your feelings for me. Tell me I’m wrong, Lola, and I’ll walk out of here and never come back.” I held my breath as I waited for her response.

Instead, Lola closed her eyes and covered her face. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she moaned.

“I’m waiting, Lola.” My patience was wearing thin. I needed to know now where I stood with her.

“What I feel or don’t feel for you doesn’t matter because I’m not even your type. I’ve seen the women you usually go out with and I don’t look like any of them. My hair isn’t straight and blonde, my boobs aren’t huge and spilling out of my shirt, I don’t have fair skin or a long pointy nose. I don’t wear designer clothes or carry designer bags that cost more than my car payment and rent put together. So why should I put myself through the humiliation of being turned down by you and still have to come into work and act like everything is okay? I refuse to put myself through that, Ace.”

Lola tore her eyes away from mine. She was trying not to cry and once again tried to get out of my embrace, but I wouldn’t let her.

“You think you know my type? Oh, sweetheart, you haven’t a clue. Look at your skin. It’s so beautiful and smooth and silky soft.” I let my fingertips glide up and down her arm and then up her delicate neck. I breathed in her scent and replaced my fingertips with my lips and nose as I nuzzled the softness of her neck and collarbone. “Every time I look at you I want to nibble and lick you from head to toe, Lola. I want to taste every inch of your beautiful body. At work I want to grab you and take your beautiful hair out of those buns you always have it in and grab handfuls of it while I kiss you dizzy.” I then met her hooded eyes again in the mirror and continued, “And your lips...all I’ve ever wanted to do since the first day we met was kiss you. I still need to taste those beautiful, plump lips of yours, Lola, and before I leave here tonight I will do just that.” My hands were now slowly sliding down the sides of her soft breasts, down to her small waist to rest on her thick, rounded thighs. “Look at your beautiful thighs, baby. They are perfectly rounded and soft, just perfect for me. I picture them wrapped around my waist while I make slow, passionate love to you, Lola.”

“Ace, stop teasing me. This is cruel,” Lola protested.