Arianna
After I’ve showered, I come to the kitchen, where my mother is busy with dinner. I take over kneading the dough for the bread for her. I work steadily, and we don’t say much to each other. After a while, though, she stops and looks at me. “Are you okay, Cup Cake?”
I give her a warm smile. “I’m fine, Ma. How are you holding up?”
She smiles back. “I feel much better. Always worried about you kids, though.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to worry about me.
I’m the good one of the family.”
She kisses my head and pokes my nose with a floury finger. I rub my nose roughly on the back of my sleeve. “Ma!” I draw out the word in a whine, and she laughs. It’s a sweet sound that I love to hear.
Once the bread is in the oven and we’re preparing the lasagne, Katya comes in.
“Need help?” she offers, already reaching for plates.
“You can set the table,” Helena says gently. “Thank you, Kat.”
“Pleasure,” she says. She may be a mafia boss, but she still has a lot of respect for her elders. My father would say it’s the tell-tale sign of a well-raised woman. I layer pasta and ground beef, and cheese in a dish with a bechamel sauce on top and more cheese. I pop it into the second oven to cook and wash my hands.
Once we’re done cooking, we carry the dishes to the table Kat set earlier. Katya is just uncorking a bottle of red wine to serve for dinner.
Alessandro, Dominic, and Carmine walk in with my father, laughing and joking. Sometimes I think I’m envious that I’m not part of their world.
Sometimes, although rarely, Alessandro will let me help with the legit business side of the club, especially now while Frankie is away. However, he never gets me involved in anything serious.
We all sit down and take up hands. My father says grace, and after we all say amen, the men pass their plates down for the women to dish for them.
I look at Carmine, who is passing his plate to my mother. His eyes meet mine, and I’m drawn in by the fire I see burning in them. Such dark eyes, yet so bright, so alive.
Especially when we’re looking at me.
“Ma,” I say casually as I dish up for myself once the men are fed, “Can we go do our nails and hair tomorrow?”
Alessandro lets out a grunt as though his food went down the wrong pipe, then he points a piece of garlic bread at me. “You just can’t sit still and stay home, can you? Can’t you, I don’t know, watch horror movies or something for a day and just relax?”
“Alessandro,” our mother chides him, “Don’t speak with a mouthful of food.”
Alessandro swallows. “Sorry, Ma. Arianna, answer me.
Why do you have to get out?”
I shake my head, sipping my wine to wet my mouth. My brother is so intimidating sometimes. “Because it’s boring. Maybe if I had something to do, like maybe something to do with the family business, I wouldn’t be so restless.”
Everyone falls silent, and surprisingly, it’s my father who speaks. “Cup Cake, why do you need something to do?
You want for nothing.”
“Like I said, I’m bored,” I point out.
Alessandro shakes his head and hands his plate to our mother for more lasagne and salad. “You’re not getting involved in the family business. It’s no place for women.”
“Excuse me?” Katya says, raising an eyebrow, and I smirk. Katya would definitely defend me on this front.
My brother looks at his wife wearily. “You’re different. You run a family. I couldn’t stop you if I tried, but I’ll be damned if Arianna gets messed up with all this.”
Katya eyes him out. “Doesn’t mean she can’t. I respect your decision but let’s not act like women are useless.”
Alessandro wisely doesn’t answer that; we all resume eating in silence. When I look up, I see Carmine eying me curiously. I know he knows I’m not staying home and being a good girl.
I help clear the table, and Alessandro corners me. “I mean it, Arianna, no getting involved in the family business.”
“I understand, I don’t like it, but I understand,” I say, just wanting to keep the peace. He takes out a cigar and heads toward the garden area, followed by the rest of the menfolk while we good womenfolk know our place and wash the dishes and pack them away.
Katya stands near me as I’m washing dishes and says, “Don’t take it personally. He had no faith in me at first, either. He would cross me every chance he could get.”
I smile gratefully at her, but she just doesn’t understand. She was raised to lead a family, and I was raised to be a princess, not welcome in the light of the world but not a part of the dark. I’m in limbo, between spaces with nowhere to fit in.
I wait until everyone is tucked in bed before I quietly sneak downstairs. I go out the back door to the garden and around the estate slowly. I open the garage door and, standing, well, leaning with their backs against Tia, are my brother Dominic and Carmine. Their arms are crossed over their chests, and frustration rises within me. I can’t believe I’m being babysat like this.
“Didn’t Alessandro tell you to stay home?” Dominic asks.
I bat my eyelids at him. “Dom, come on. We all knew that wasn’t going to happen. Let’s not act like this is a surprise.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “Arianna, it’s not safe for you to be out and about in the city right now.”
I look at Carmine, and an idea strikes me. “What if I take Carmine to the races with me?” I ask. “He can protect me, and we both know I’ll outdrive anyone who tries to take me on behind the wheel.”
Dominic and Carmine look at each other. Carmine shrugs. “Alessandro suspected you’d say something like that. He said as long as I protect you, you can go out, but we’re to come home at the first sign of trouble.”
Dominic gets off my car and walks to me. “I promise I’ll find something for you to do that Alessandro will approve of. Just don’t get killed until then.” He kisses my head affectionately and turns to Carmine. “Look after her, or I’ll cut you.”
Carmine smirks. “You know I will.” Dominic walks back toward the house, and Carmine and I climb into my car. I pull out of the estate and start driving toward Long Beach.
“Do you want to stand on the sidelines while I race, or do you want to be in the car with me?” I ask.
“You know I need to be with you, just in case,” he says. “Besides, I’d love to be in the car while you’re doing your thing.”
We both laugh, and I relax for the first time since this morning’s car crash. I miss the gear stick, and my hand brushes against Carmine’s leg. We both fell silent for a moment before bursting out laughing again.
The awkwardness of the situation quickly dissipates, and we fall into a comfortable silence together as I hit the highway.
“Long beach, here we come,” I say.
Carmine
I wind the window down on the Impala and let the cool night air whip my face. It’s a wonderful feeling after the warm heat of the day. Arianna has the music on, playing some alternative rock. I think it’s ACDC. She’s so strange with her tastes. She goes from listening to rock and roll to jazz to alternative rock to house music. And she enjoys it all.
She’s very versatile, and now that I think that, I also wonder how flexible she is physically as well.
I put the thought out of my mind. When she brushed my leg earlier, it took me every ounce of self-control not to react physically to her touch so close to my crotch.
“How do you enter these races?” I ask.
“There’s a coded message sent out. People pay when they arrive, and you race and collect if you win. At the moment, we’re having a bit of a tournament,” she explains.
I grin. “You don’t need the money, you know. So why do you race?”
“Because I enjoy it.” She smiles. “It makes me feel alive and gives me purpose. I really will die from boredom if all I do is shop and have nail and hair appointments. I love mom, but there’s only so many lady errands I can take.”
“Lady errands,” I snort. “You are a lady.”
“Don’t remind me.” She giggles, and the sound is like sweet nectar to my ears.
We approach the outside of Long Beach, pulling into what looks like a car show. Several muscle cars are lined up on the sides, their headlights giving light to the track that lies before them. Arianna pulls up and parks. Leaving her lights on, she climbs out, and I follow her.
She walks up to where a group of men, and a few scantily dressed ladies, are huddled together.
“Arianna,” a beefy jock says, making space for her, “I didn’t think you’d come.”
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” she says. She waves at me. “This is Carmine. He’s my partner tonight.”
“Nice to meet you, Carmine.” He holds out his hand, and I can see he’s sizing me up. He’s clearly a steroid bunny. I’m just a weightlifter. I shake his hand, my grip overpowering his easily. “Nice to meet you….” I pause to let him finish.
“Justin,” he says, “But everyone calls me Daddy
Bones.”
“I won’t be calling you Daddy anything,” I say, deadpanning him.
There’s a moment of silence, and then everyone roars with laughter. Justin nods his head. “I like you. So, Arianna, we’re taking final bets. Are you in?”
“Three thousand?” she offers, taking a wad of cash out of a bag she has strapped to her side.
She hands it over to Justin, and he flips carelessly through it. “That’s it, prize money for tonight is a cool ten thousand.”
Arianna nods. “Who am I up against?”
“Megan and Rolls,” Justin says, indicating a woman dressed in a red jumpsuit with steampunk goggles on her head. I suppose it’s a statement or whatever. He also indicates a heavy-set Asian man who looks displeased to be mingling with lower-class people.
Arianna grins. “Okay, we’ll wait our turn.”
“You’ve missed most of the first races. You’re one of our last. Since you won last night, it’s between the three of you who gets the money.”
Arianna looks at me. “You sure you want to ride with me?”
“I wouldn’t change my mind for anything,” I say, grinning devilishly.
We get back to the guard, and Arianna makes the engine roar. We pull into a position. Megan pulls up next to us on the left in a Ford Torino Cobra, and Rolls pulls up in a Lexus. I glance at Arianna. “You sure you can win?”
“I’m sure,” she says, tightening her grip on the steering wheel as one of the scantily dressed women comes out to a safe spot between the cars where all three drivers can see them.
She holds a handkerchief up, and it’s almost like the calm before the storm. I see her hand fall, almost in slow motion, and then with an indescribable force, I’m thrown back in my seat as Arianna pulls forward and ahead of the other two racers.
The speed at which we’re driving makes my heart thunder in my chest and adrenaline pump through my veins. I’ve had excitement in life, but this is different. I see what Arianna means about feeling alive.
She comes first, and I’m proud to stand by her as she approaches Justin with a smirk. “Guess I take the money.”
“I don’t think you need it,” Justin says with a big smile.
“Besides, people say you took off before the chief dropped.”
Arianna’s smile fades, and she glares at Justin. “I won fair and square. Now hand over my winnings.”
Justin snorts. “Or what?”
Before Arianna can respond, I’ve grabbed a fistful of Justin’s shirt and have my gun under his chin. “I’m sorry, did she stutter?”
Justin’s eyes widen as I continue, “She won fair and square, and you’re trying to take advantage. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Whether I’m here or not, because I will find you.”
Justin splutters, and I let him go, holstering my gun. Everyone around is silent.
Justin takes out a bag of cash and throws it at me. “There.”
I throw it back at him, and he looks at me, puzzled.
Then I say, “Hand it to her politely, you asshole.”
Justin looks like he wants to say something, but then a few others start calling him out, saying he isn’t playing fair and they won’t race with him if this is how he treats racers. He begins to sweat and grimaces, looking around. “It was just a joke, guys. Just a joke. Here Arianna, congrats on winning this round. I hope you’ll race in the next one.”
Arianna takes the money, a small smile on her lips. “I’d love to, don’t forget to text me. Come on, Carmine, let’s go.”
Everyone starts to disperse, and we don’t look back at Justin as we get into the Impala and pull off. Ariana starts laughing her head off. “I thought you were going to shoot him.”
“I was going to shoot him,” I say, grinning.
“Jesus, I need to convince Alessandro to let me carry a piece for when I run into shit like this,” she says.
We take the long way back home, a peaceful silence between us as she puts some house music on.
I’m about to ask her where we’re going when she takes the wrong off-ramp, but I soon realize precisely where she’s going.
La Club-her favorite place to celebrate.
“We’re supposed to head home,” I say, not really meaning it.
“Just a drink and a dance, and we’ll go,” she promises, her eyes alight with excitement. “I owe you at least a drink.”
“You don’t owe me anything. I’m happy to help,” I say, but she pulls into the private parking area of La Club, and we get out and into the club in no time. She signals down the bartender and orders two whiskeys.
“I shouldn’t drink,” I protest, but she hands me the drink. “Okay, but don’t tell your brother.”
We both down our whiskeys then she takes me to the dance floor, where we start dancing together, a thin film of sweat forming on my body and hers. She turns her back to me and dances backward, seductively close to me. I can feel the heat rising up my neck as I grab her ass and grind into her. This is more than anything we’ve ever done before, further than we’ve ever gone, and we’re doing it in a place her brother has eyes on.
We have a few more drinks and dances, but we don’t go beyond that.
On the way home, she smiles at me. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”
“So did I,’ I say. “See, life isn’t that boring.”
“It is,” she sighs, almost hauntingly. “I just want more.”
She pulls into the garage, and I look at her as she stops the car. “Just find something you’ll enjoy that
Alessandro would approve of.”
She smiles and leans over, kissing my cheek. “I’ll give it some thought. Thanks for tonight.”
“Thank you,” I say quietly, keenly aware of how close we are.
I pull away first, getting out of the car. “I should get home, and you should get some sleep.”
She stands next to the car for a moment before she smiles and nods. “Goodnight, Carmine.”
“Night, Ari,” I say and watch her walk inside.