In Love with Mr. Mafia

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.

I groaned as I walked out of the bathroom to go and turn off my alarm. I turned toward my bed with a smirk and started to slowly stalk toward it.

I could go back to sleep for about ten minutes and nobody would notice. I wasn’t even tired; it was just the thought of school. Shiver.

“Don’t you dare.”

I quickly turned my head toward the door, only to see Alessandro leaning against my doorway.

“Uh . . . how?” I asked, inching toward my bed.

“Your mom let me in. Her and your father were leaving when I came to ring the bell.

“They told me to tell you tonight is their last night in town, so they had to go deal with something,” Alessandro said nonchalantly.

“Oh,” I said with a slow nod. I continued to discreetly inch toward the bed, silently hoping that he wouldn’t notice.

“You couldn’t be a spy with how badly you are at sneaking toward a bed,” Alessandro said with a shake of his head.

“Whatever,” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

“We’re going to be late for school if you guys don’t hurry up!” I heard Dimitri yell from downstairs.

“Uh, who else is here?” I asked suspiciously.

“Giovanni and the rest of the boys,” he said, watching me closely for a reaction. I tensed when he said Giovanni but covered it up with an eye roll and walked into my closet.

When I finished dressing, I stepped out to see that I was alone in my room, but I could hear the boys downstairs yelling at each other. I rolled my eyes and quickly pulled my shoes on.

I looked in my room one last time to make sure I had everything. When I was sure I did, I turned around only to bump into a hard chest.

I felt myself falling until warm arms wrapped around my body and helped me to catch my balance. I opened my eyes that I’d closed on instinct to see Giovanni looking down at me.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

Ever since our encounter in the hallway, we hadn’t talked or even looked in each other’s direction, and yet here he was standing in front of me with his arms wrapped around my waist.

“I just came to see if you were done,” he said, clearing his throat.

“Yeah, I’m done,” I said, nodding my head.

He slowly nodded his head but didn’t move his arms from around my waist. I bit my lip nervously as we stared deeply into each other’s eyes.

“I-I’m sorry about yesterday,” he said softly. Yesterday, after the incident, we decided to go sit in the park, and I stayed with Alessandro.

I told him everything that happened after I ran with Giovanni chasing after me, and he told me that even if Giovanni wanted to, he couldn’t apologize; it just wasn’t him.

The boys had known Giovanni since they were in diapers, and he had never apologized in his life.

“It’s—it’s fine,” I said slowly.

He slowly nodded his head and unwrapped his arms from around me.

“We’re leaving now!” Alessandro yelled from downstairs.

I awkwardly cleared my throat as I looked into Giovanni’s eyes, wondering what was going to happen now.

“We should go,” he said, stepping out of the way.

I hid the disappointment in my eyes as best I could and nodded before walking around him and down the stairs to see the boys leaving the house.

I waved hello to the boys before getting in my car and waiting for everybody to tell me we could leave.

When the boys had finished getting on their bikes and Giovanni in his car, we drove off.

We stopped at a red light, and I made eye contact with Giovanni and knew we were about to race for “his” parking spot. As soon as the light turned green, I sped off laughing.

I could see him catching up in my rearview mirror and prayed I could get the parking spot.

“Come on, Lux,” I mumbled as Giovanni began to catch up and I could see the school parking lot coming into view. I started to ease my foot off the pedal.

I turned sharply into the parking lot, closely followed by Giovanni. With one swift spin of my steering wheel I parked beautifully in the parking spot.

I climbed out of the car with a triumphant smile on my face as Giovanni parked his car beside mine and the boys parked their motorcycles by his car.

Giovanni stood beside me and put his arm out for me to shake. I shook his hand triumphantly and smirked.

“Don’t get cocky,” he said with a wink.

“Where did you learn to drive like that?” Alessandro asked.

“I used to street race,” I said vaguely.

“You made me ask Daddy for a ride to school so you could race this—this newbie?” a voice spat from behind me.

I didn’t have to turn around to know it was Giovanni’s very own bootleg Malibu Barbie.

“Don’t start anything you can’t finish,” Alessandro warned.

I watched as she ignored Alessandro and stood in front of me and Giovanni. Her eyes trailed down to our still connected hands, and I quickly took my hands from his.

Barbie opened her mouth to say something, but the bell cut her off before she could.

I quickly grabbed my bag from my car and locked it behind me before walking into the building, leaving the boys and Barbie behind me.

***

Lunch.

I was the first person in the cafeteria, so I decided to find a good table outside. I plugged my headphones in and put my head down on the table.

I slowly lifted my head up as I felt somebody continuously tap me, and my eyes locked on icy blue eyes. I could see his lips moving, but I couldn’t hear a word coming from his mouth.

He yanked the headphones from my ears, and I glared at him in response.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I just wanted to ask you something before the others come back.”

“What?” I asked suspiciously.

“Will you—will you go out with me—tonight?” he asked nervously.

“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” I asked slowly.

“No. I’m out here asking you on a date, not anybody else,” he said plainly.

I stared at him wide-eyed but despite the shock managed to nod my head in response. Giovanni smirked and slowly nodded his head.

I could hear Alessandro’s loud laugh and knew the boys were coming. Giovanni’s face turned blank by the time the boys came to sit at the table, and I bit my tongue from saying anything.

He scooted closer to me and rested his hand on my knee as if to let me know he was here.

I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling and listened and laughed as Alessandro told corny jokes for the rest of the lunch period.

***

After school.

“Are you ready yet, baby? He’s here,” my mother said softly.

“I’ll be down in a second,” I responded through the door.

“Okay,” my mother said before walking away. I put my earrings in and put on a touch of cherry-red lipstick before grabbing my purse and leaving my bedroom.

I took a deep breath as I started to slowly go down the stairs. All conversation stopped as my parents and Giovanni stared at me wide-eyed.

I blushed deeply as Giovanni continued to look me up and down as if he didn’t believe what he was seeing. I stopped at the bottom step and nervously bit my lip.

“I hope this isn’t too much. You wouldn’t tell me where we were going, so I just grabbed anything,” I ranted nervously.

“It’s—you—ahem, you look beautiful,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

“Thank you,” I said, blushing. He walked by my side and took my hand in his.

“You do look beautiful, princess,” my father said, clearing his throat.

“Thanks,” I said, giving him a hug. I softly kissed his cheek and waved goodbye to my mother before walking out of the house hand-in-hand with Giovanni.

“Wait—we won’t be here when you get home, Luna,” my mother called out after me.

I nodded in response as Giovanni opened the car door for me so I could climb in.

“Thank you,” I said softly when he had gotten in himself. He nodded his head and pulled off to wherever he was taking me.

He started to slow down as he pulled up to an old-fashioned diner. I couldn’t fight the smile that made its way onto my face at how cute it was.

As soon as we stepped inside, the busyness of the kitchen and smell of French fries hit me. He took my hand in his and led me to a booth in the back.

“It’s beautiful,” I said as I sat down while looking around. Giovanni smiled and sat down across from me.

“Thank you. It belongs to my family,” he said as he looked around the diner as if it were his first time here.

“Hello and welcome to Gio’s. Are you ready to order?” the waitress asked without looking up.

“What would you recommend, Bebe?” Giovanni asked with a smirk on his face.

The waitress looked up from her pad and smiled brightly at Giovanni. “Ciao figlio,” she said as she hugged Giovanni.

“Hi, Mom,” he said, smiling and hugging her back.

“Who’s this beautiful young lady?” his mother asked, smiling warmly at me. I bit my lip and looked down, suddenly nervous and afraid she wouldn’t like me.

“Thank you. I’m Luna,” I said nervously.

“I’m Bebe, and you have nothing to be nervous about,” Bebe said with a warm smile.

I bit my lip and smiled nervously.

“Are you allergic to anything?” Giovanni asked.

“No,” I said, shaking my head.

“I’ll bring the regular,” Bebe said with a wink before walking away.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, suddenly embarrassed.

“Why are you sorry?” he asked curiously.

“I just embarrassed you in front of your mom,” I said, looking down at the table.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. My mom doesn’t let anybody call her Bebe, yet that’s how she introduced herself to you,” Giovanni said, smiling reassuringly.

“Okay,” I said softly.

“Here you go,” Bebe said as she placed our food in front of us.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling at her.

“You are so welcome,” she said with a smile. “She’s a keeper,” she whispered to Giovanni with a wink.

I looked down at my food and blushed deeply.

“So, French fries and a burger is the regular, huh?” I teased with a small giggle. Giovanni smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“Do you want something else?” Giovanni asked, getting ready to call a waitress. I quickly shook my head and popped a fry into my mouth.

“Mmm. This is the best French fry I’ve ever had,” I moaned as I ate some more. I opened my eyes to see him squirming uncomfortably in his seat.

“Excuse me,” he said as he quickly stood up and walked away. I shrugged my shoulders and continued to eat my fries until they were done.

I looked around for him, and when I was sure he wasn’t coming, I reached over for one of his fries.

“You owe me a fry,” Giovanni said from behind me.

I dropped his fry as I jumped from surprise.

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking down at my plate.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, sitting back in his seat across from me.

“Why’d you leave?” I asked, changing the subject.

“I just had to use the restroom,” he said without looking at me. I slowly nodded my head and picked up my burger before taking a bite.

“Is there something on my face?” I asked, realizing he was staring at me.

“No. It’s just most girls wouldn’t eat in front of me,” he said with a shrug.

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking down at my plate.

“Hey, you don’t have to keep apologizing,” Giovanni said, reaching for my hand. He rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb, and I couldn’t help but smile at this side of him—the sweet side.

I looked up and studied his face, only to notice ketchup on the corner of his lip. “You have ketchup right here,” I said, pointing to the side he had ketchup on.

“Did I get it?” he asked, wiping the wrong place. I shook my head and stood up and sat beside him.

I slowly wiped the ketchup off his cheek and halted when he rested his hand on the hand that was still on his cheek. I slowly looked up into his eyes, and he gave me a small smile.

His eyes flickered down to my lips, and he began to slowly lean in. I slowly closed my eyes and shivered as our lips met.

I couldn’t help the smile that made its way to my face as our lips moved perfectly in sync. We slowly pulled away from each other, and I bit my lip nervously.

“Damn,” Giovanni mumbled.

“I got the ketchup off,” I mumbled awkwardly.

Giovanni chuckled and nodded his head. “Thanks. We should go,” he said as he stood up and helped me out of the booth.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling brightly.

Giovanni nodded his head and started to walk out of the building. I quickly grabbed a fifty out of my purse and put it on the table and chased after Giovanni.

“What happened?” he asked as he opened the car door for me.

“I forgot something,” I half-lied as I sat down. Giovanni nodded in understanding and ran to the other side before sitting down.

“Let’s get you home,” he said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

We stayed in silence as I thought about everything that had happened. Especially the kiss—I couldn’t believe it, and yet I couldn’t get over it either.

“I’ll walk you to the door,” he said as he helped me out of the car. We stood awkwardly in front of each other.

“Thank you—for tonight,” I said softly, finally looking up at him.

“It was my pleasure,” he said, giving me a smile. I melted as it turned into a full smile and couldn’t fight the smile that made its way to my own face.

“Get home safe,” I said sweetly. He nodded and started to walk toward his car but stopped and turned around to face me.

He walked up to me, grabbed my face in his hands, and kissed me deeply. I wrapped my arms around his torso and kissed him back passionately.

“Good night, Luna,” Giovanni whispered after we pulled away. I smiled and waved to him as he pulled off and went home.

As I turned around to go inside, I could see Alessandro sitting on his porch staring at me with a large smile on his face.

“Tell me everything—tomorrow,” Alessandro said before running into his house.

I giggled under my breath and went into my house with a huge smile on my face.

“Tomorrow is going to be the best,” I whispered as I locked up behind me.