The Reading

I sat at the table of so called dangerous men glaring at them. A man twice my age was screaming and yelling about how I was wrong to kill his youngest son, how I needed to be punished for my wrong doings of his baby boy. He acted as if anyone at this table would come up against me. My family was one of the oldest mafia families at this table, my great grandfather came from Sicily where his fathers father had been a head member of the mob. I’m only 26 years old but I have held my seat with iron force since I was 17. Both of my parents had been murdered by another family and I was left alone, I was an only child with two dead parents. I knew if I didn’t go big I would be forced out, this was the only life I knew. I personally made sure no one in the other family survived to tell stories of what I did, I told on myself. Now I run the biggest drug operation in America, I make millions of dollars for myself and the other men at this table. These men wanted me to marry their daughters, wanted me as their own family. It’s all to build ties and I know it but still, they wanted me, they needed me, I was worth to much to them for them to ever hurt me never mind kill me. So I sit here listening to him go on and on about his son and the loss of life, like I cared when I didn’t. When I got so sick of his crying that I couldn’t sit there any more, I stood up and walked out of the room. My best friend and the closest thing I had to a brother followed at my side, we walked out of the old warehouse and got into the back of a Bentley. The driver never asked where we wanted to go, he just drove away toward the skyscrapers of New York City, towards the building I owned, towards my apartment in the sky, the one place in this world where I could be alone. Andrew lived in the building a few floors below me, it was nice that he was always so close. His grandfather was your every day mobster, when his mother came home from California pregnant and unmarried in the 90’s no one asked questions. Andrew never had a father and my father had took a liking to the kid, we have been friends for forever and after my parents died, he became my family. I was enjoying the silence I love so much when Andrew broke it with his question “want to jump over the bridge and grab a steak” he loved this little whole in the wall bar called Steve’s in Jersey they made a good enough steak but it wasn’t anything to write home about, I gave a nod and Andrew told Toby my driver where to take us. As we drove away from the city the sun was starting to set and the sky line was starting to become a silhouette and like everything else about New York City it was magical. _________________________________ When we got to Steve’s it wasn’t overly full but there was a large group of people that took up three large tables. They was all together and seemed to be having a great time together. From the looks of it they was wealthy Jersey shore types but they spoke a different language one I had never heard before. We sat two tables over by the long L shaped bar to watch a college football game that was on. All the men in the group seem to be very interested in the game and not the half naked barley legal models they was with, Andrew commented on it before I did “what is the deal with these guys? If we had woman like that and as many as they do the last thing we would be focused on is a football game” I gave him a nod but kept listening to the language they kept speaking. I had never heard it before so I turned to Andrew “you know what language that is?” As he sucked back a beer he shook his head. About a half hour latter as we ate our meals one of the woman got up and walked up to the bar right in front of us, I couldn’t help but notice her ass in the jeans she had on was perfectly heart shaped, she had on red bottom heels and a red belly top, her dark brown hair was full and long enough to brush along her hips, her skin was sun kissed brown and she had curves. She kept trying to get the bar maids attention but was having no luck, I walked up next to her and gave her my best smile, she gave me a tight smile back and then acted as if I wasn’t even there. I had never been ignored like this before. When a waitress came up behind the bar to bat her eyes and help me get a drink I turned to the young woman next to me “what are you drink sweet heart?” She gave me a look like I had asked her to strip “I’m good thanks” I couldn’t help myself when I laughed “you have been standing here for ten minutes if not longer and no one will help you, so why don’t you just tell the lady what your poison is and I’ll buy you a drink” she gave me that look again and then told the waitress she just needed a refill on her coke. I order a scotch on the rocks, while the waitress was filling the drinks a man from the group came over and stood next to the young woman “Av’s ya good, this guy bothering you?” I looked around to see who he could be speaking of but I was the only person standing there, Andrew started choking on his food as he watched the interaction. The woman looked at me and then back to the man “I’m fine Henry, he was just getting a drink and while the waitress was here he asked her to refill my drink as well” the man nodded and seemed to take her answer well and went back to the table he came from. The waitress set the fresh drinks on the bar and the young woman took hers with a whispered “thanks” and walked away from me. I returned to our table and sat down “wow James that must have hurt to be iced out like that, have you ever had a woman react to you like that?” I glared at my friend. He knew I had zero problem getting attention from woman. Andrew got up and went to the bathroom and when he came back the group of people was starting to leave, we sat there and watched some of the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life walk past us with some of the nerdiest looking men I had ever seen and they all seemed to be madly in love with them to, all but for one young woman was wrapped around a man. The young woman from the bar walked alone in the middle of the group, she didn’t have a man touching her and she wasn’t touching them. Andrew waved over the waitress and asked for our bill, he went to grab his wallet from his pocket and took panic “my wallets gone, what the f**k” I gave him a raised eye brow “did you drop it in the bathroom?” He got up and walked to the bathroom, shortly after he came back “not there, I think I have been robbed, I think some one pick pocketed me” I had to laugh because no one in their right mind would rob one of us. Everyone in and around New York City knew who we are, they knew what would happen if they crossed us. I paid the bill but ordered another drink. We sat there and tried to figure out where his wallet went. The front door swung open and the beautiful young woman walked back in, this time she was alone and didn’t seem to happy at all. She walked up to our table and handed Andrew his wallet “I’m sorry they act like they don’t know any better, I don’t know what they was thinking but here’s your wallet. They didn’t take anything out of it or so they said but I need you to check if they did, if they took any money I can replace it now in cash and if any of your I’d or credit cards are gone I will have it returned right away” Andrew grabbed his wallet and started going threw it, I stood and switched seats so I was closer to the wall and offered her the seat I was in. She took me chair as Andrew raided his own wallet “what was that language your group was speaking earlier?” She looked at me with her big brown eyes “Gaeilge” she didn’t give no more information about the language I had never heard before “where is it from?” She looked over to me again “Ireland, Scotland and England, why?” I took a drink of my scotch before I answered her “it was beautiful and I had never heard it before, you don’t sound like your from the U.K tho” she shook her head a little “I’m not, I’m American, it’s a second language to me.” Andrew finally confirmed everything was there and nothing was missing “we have to know how and why did they do this to Andrew, no one in their right mind would steal from us” she looked from me to Andrew and then back to me “it was a dumb bet, your friend here looked like an easy mark and the boys just was having some fun they was going to throw the wallet out in the way back” she sparked my interest now. Andrew looks at her “your friends just took my wallet for shits and giggles” she nodded her head “the minute I seen it and heard them joke it was yours I grabbed it and brought it back and they didn’t take anything out of it so no harm done, well it was lovely to have meet you but I gotta go now” she jumped to her feet but I wasn’t ready for her to leave just yet. I stood up and grabbed her wrist, her head spun around so fast that her long hair hit me in my face. As our eyes locked on each other I asked her to sit back down “I’d like your number so I could give you a call some time sweetheart” she looked at me and tilted her head like I had asked for something wild “I don’t give my number to strangers sorry” I nodded and then reached out my hand “I’m James Lombardo, and you are ?” She didn’t take my hand or say anything thing else she took back her wrist and walked away. I got up out of my chair and followed her “hey what’s the rush sweetheart” she turned on me in the parking lot and punched me in between my eyes, the girl knew how to throw a punch, I seen stars and heard Andrew say “s**t what the f**k was that for t**t” then I heard her heals click away but she didn’t make it far before I was back on my toes and hot kn her heels. I grabbed the car door before she closed it on my hand, “hey chill will ya, I’m not going to hurt you. I was just hoping to get to know you better. You know like friends” she gave me a look and tried to close the door on me again but I wasn’t giving up this girl had peeked my curiosity and it would be forever on my mind if I just let her walk away. Andrew finally makes his way out to the parking lot and over to us, he takes in the dramatics unfolding in the parking lot between us laughs, gets in my car and has my driver drive away, “that fucker just left me” her head swivels as she see my car drive away “the Bentley is your car?” I look back at her before I answer “yes it is, don’t you know who I am?” She shakes her head as she answers and the way her hair wraps around her shoulders is mesmerizing “not the first clue, I’m not from around here, why are you some one important?” She said the last part sarcastically and rolled her eyes, her actions make me smile “you could say I am” she just rolled her eyes at me enough to say whatever “so how about a ride back to the city, could you at least do that for me?” She looked at the seat next to her and back to me “I don’t give rides to strange old men I just meet sorry” she just called me old, a strange old man like I’m some perv coming on to a child or something “I’m only in my 20’s that’s not old your what 22, 23 your self” she looked at me as if she was insulted that I guessed she was in her 20’s I get that woman don’t like to tell their real age but early 20’s seems like a early start to lying about your age “I’m a teenager, I’m only 18” we’ll look at me being an old perv hitting on a child in a dark parking lot in Jersey, this was just great. I bent down so my d**k wasn’t eye level with her face anymore, trying to come off as less of a threat to her, “I’m not a stranger, I told you I’m James Lombardo and I’m not asking if you can give me a ride home cause my friend there took my car and left me in Jersey” she left out a breath she had been holding and gave me a up and down look taking in the expensive suit and shoes I had on, the Rolex on my arm. She took in all the things that screamed rich guy and not perv kidnapper, finally she reached over, grabbed her purse and threw it in the back seat “fine I’ll give you a ride, where am I going” I smiled at her and went to the passenger side of the car and got in “432 park ave New York New York” she looked at me with a raised eye brow “isn’t that the drake hotel” I smiled at her, no one had called it that in a long time “it hasn’t been the drake since they ripped it down and built my building” she gave me a nod and put her brand new Mercedes in gear and we was off “so since you know who I am, are you going to tell me who you are or is it just Av’s?” She never took her eyes off the road as she answered me “ my name is Avalon but everyone calls me Av’s or Ava. Only my elders call me by my real name” the way she spoke was different then most girls her age. I had never heard an 18 year old call old people their elders before “just out of curiosity where does an 18 year old girl get a fully loaded brand new Mercedes” she shrugged her shoulders but never gave me an answer, so she wants to play hard hall huh “sugar daddy get it for you” not only did I trigger a response but when she swiveled her head to glare at me, the whole car swiveled with her “what, do I look like some slut that would sleep with an old man like you for a car. That’s the sickest thing I have ever had some one say to me that I’m a slut that goes after ok’d men for cars” she was truly insulted by my comment but it was nice to see I could get her to talk. I let my smile fade even tho all I wanted to do was laugh “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have jumped to that conclusion” she slumped down in the driver seat, her already small frame becoming even smaller “I really am sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way” she just rolled her eyes and kept driving in silence till she pulled up in front of my building “you live here” she ask looking up the building “on the 96th floor, would you like to come up and see” she looked back at me like I just asked her to let me rape her “nothing fresh I swear, I’m not that type of guy. I promise im just offering to let you come up and take a look, maybe give you a can of Coke while your there” she looked back up at the building, then back at me “is there a garage around here where I can park” I smiled and pointed to the door man “he will take car of it, get your purse and come” she reached into the back seat and grabbed her purse. I was out of the car and at her door opening it before she even got her hand on the purse. As she exit the car she looked at me, then the building “I have pepper spray and a taser on me so don’t say I didn’t warn you” I gave the doormen instruction on parking the car and entered the building, I lead the way to the private elevator I always rod home in, pressed the button to the waiting space. The doors opened almost as quickly as I pressed the button, being the gentlemen I am I allowed the lady first and followed behind her and pressed the one button in the elevator “why is there only one button in here” I had made my self comfy leaning against the wall, I smiled at her as I answered thinking I was looking pretty slick by now “it’s a private elevator I’m the only person who uses it and it only going to my floor and the lobby” she nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. She has a small frame and is maybe a size zero even tho she is shaped like an hour glass and has a perky ass and the greatest looking t**s I have ever seen in my life, compared to my six foot two inch line backer frame she seemed to be a very tiny little thing. When the doors opened and we stepped into my great room she paused and looked around, I lead the way in but stopped when I noticed she wasn’t behind me. When I looked back she was still at the now closed door of the elevator “what’s wrong sweetheart” she looked at me with a deer in head light look “is it ok if I come in, I don’t want to intrude, I mean I came I seen it’s lovely I can go now” I took a few step back towards her, I didn’t want her to go yet now that she was here I kind of wanted her to stay, I wanted to try and get to know her more, try to get a number for this girl I couldn’t look at enough, “you can go if you want but I wish you wouldn’t, I for one would like it if you stayed a while, maybe we could get to know each other better. Maybe we could become friends” she set down her purse on the floor next to the elevator and slide off her shoes. On her bare feet she was even smaller, no one had ever took their shoes off to come into my home, it was almost as if she was making herself at home in my space. I had never brought a woman I was interested in or having s*x with to my home. I have dated before but I never brought them home, come to think about it the only woman I ever brought here or ever came here feeling at home ass Andrews sister and his cousin they came and went as they pleased Sarah was like a sister to me, after all Andrew had basically made his mother adopt me when my parents died, his step father always stepping up to the plate to be a father figure to me, his mother always being a mom to me she never missed a birthday or holiday that she didn’t make sure I was surrounded by people who loved me just like she did for her own kids. The Greco’s had become my family when I lost mine but other then them no one had ever came into my home and made there selfs at home. She padded into my space ever so slowly taking everything in. She made her way to the large windows that looked out over the park and looked out at the lights of the city “the views are beautiful from up here, you and your girlfriend must love taking them in together” I smile as take off my jacket and empty my pockets as I always do when I come home at night “your funny, I don’t have a female companion. That jackass Andrew is my longest relationship” I meant the off handed comment to mean we had been friends for the longest time but that’s not what she took from it “oh Im sorry I shouldn’t have presumed your sexuality like that, well good for you two a long relationship is goal after all” I freeze at her statement and then give her a look that freezes her “ Im not gay, Im straight. I meant he is the longest friend ship I have ever had. His family kind of took me under their wing when my parented died. I was only 17 years old at the time and an only child but they have always been there for me no matter what and Andrew and his sister are the closest thing to siblings I’ll ever have” she nods at me and steps away from the window, as she comes towards me in the kitchen she takes a seat at the breakfast bar on the other side of the island from me. I want to know more about this woman so I ask the most loaded question I can think of “so what’s your story” she gives me a shy smile “me, there is no story just your not so normal person I guess, just basic” I can tell by looking at this woman she is anything but basic, and there is so a story behind her, I’m selling to her it’s a good one to. I open the small wine fridge under the bar and bring out a very good white wine, I know most people like red but I like the whites more. When I pull out two stemmed glasses she waved her hand “I don’t drink” that’s interesting “is it cause your under age cause I’m not going to card you over a glass of wine” she doesn’t seem to notice my flirting tone “no, I just don’t it goes against how I was raised our woman don’t drink just the men” well that seemed like some bull s**t “how was you raised are you a Mormon or something?” She shook her head and kept looking all around my home taking everything in “no I’m a christian, I just come from a family of very old school rules that’s all” I pour myself a drink and then round the island and take a seat right next to her, my knees swung wide open. I look down at my wide glass for a few moments trying to think up something to ask her, when I look back up she is giving me the strangest look I have ever got from a woman. She stretches out her hand palm up towards me “may I read your palm please” I give her a chuckle “ you want to do what to my palm “ she never looks away or even look faded by my question “it’s a gift that runs in my family, I can read palms but I’m better at futures seeing how they can go if you stay on a special path” Great a con artist. I set my glass down and extend my hand to hers for fun, when our skin touches I feel a spark of heat that runs up my arm and I have an overwhelming want to pull this woman into my arms and never left her go. She takes my hand and looks my palm over, never once running her fingers across it like you see in the movies. She looks up at me, tilts her head to the side for a moment and then looks back at my palm “your a very skilled man, you dwell in the darkness and very rarely let anyone in to dwell with you. Your smart, you see things that others miss and use it to your advantage in business. You profit off the weakness and pain of others and deep down you feel bad about it but a new path is going to show itself to you and-“ she goes silent and drops my hand “I gotta go” she stands and goes to the door, slips on her shoes, grabs her bag and presses the call button “what’s wrong, you don’t have to go” she shakes her head “yes I do, our paths will cross again but you won’t like it when they do” the elevator doors open and she jumps in and presses the button, as the doors close I see fear in her eyes and I panic.