I’m shocked and confused by the emotions that run through my body in this moment. Because one part of me – a huge part – wants me to cry out, to beg him to stop – to tell him that I’m scared, and this is too new, and too fast – But the other part – maybe the larger part? God damn it, but it want
Kent wants to break her. He wants to tame her to his will like the wild filly she is. And to do that, he has to get her to beg him to stop. He has to push her to her limit and get her to admit that she had one. Because this girl? She had far too much power over him, and he needs to take it back.
I dash from the room, pounding down the stairs that lead to the second floor, my mind set on nothing but the safety of my room, my bed, my closed door – But as I turn onto the second-floor landing, I slams into someone coming up the steps from the house’s first level. “Whoa! –“ the person sa
And considering my two “dates” this evening, I definitely know which one I preferred. I climb groaning into bed, pulling my covers up over me, still shaken from my experiences but starting to feel better. Just before I drift off to sleep, I grab my phone – Not the Kent phone, the burner. The
In the early hours of the morning Kent comes through the door to the third floor dressed in his wrinkled clothes from the night before. He exhales a deep breath through his nose as he pulls the door shut behind him and starts downward, his eyes on his feet. “What were you doing with her in there
I see him put the pieces together as he clenches his jaw and moves his eyes back to mine. “Good morning, Fay,” he says, his calm belying the anger I can see roiling behind his eyes. “Good morning, Kent,” I whisper, leaning against the doorframe, wanting the support. Kent opens his mouth to s
“Oh my god, Daniel,” I spit, blushing beet red and leaning forward across the table. “Are you serious? Before coffee?” He leans back in his chair and glares at me. “What, do you think coffee is going to make this any better?” “Yah,” I say, snatching his own tiny espresso cup from its place in fr
I cock my head, curious about that. “Daniel,” Kent says, his voice even but unfriendly. “Don’t you have class to attend?” Daniel just crosses his arms, glaring at his dad and not responding. But Kent doesn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he turns to me. “Fay, I’d like you to go to lunch today at
My dad greets him with such genuine joy and excitement that it makes my heart swell with joy. They talk for a few minutes about Dominic’s day before dad gives him a little nudge back towards the gate where Kent and I are waiting. Dominic gives dad a kiss before running ahead again. My dad waves to
“Papa!” Dominic shouts, startling me out of my reverie as he drops my hand and darts down the road. I look up, a huge smile breaking out on my face again as I see Kent on the sidewalk just ahead. His back is to us as he speaks companionably with the butcher, a heavy bag of his purchases already hung
As I walk down the street towards the little Italian kindergarten, the whispers start around me, as they always do. I listen to all of them, a big German Shepherd padding quietly at my heels. “Is that her?” “Yes, that’s the one – I heard she was her husband’s mistress before he married her – tha
Both Kent and I laugh, but Don Bianci – across the baptismal font from us – snaps his eyes up, perhaps not liking the joke as much as we do. But I just ignore it, because dad’s right, frankly – and it’s too happy a day to care. After the final blessing everyone applauds Dominic – he likes that, bl
“Well, it didn’t seem to affect your first very badly,” Ivan says with a shrug, peering around Kent to where Daniel is laughing with an arm around Jerome’s shoulders. “So…maybe keep it up.” I smirk, squeezing Ivan’s hand once more before standing and moving to Kent’s side, tucking myself against h
“Hey, gorgeous,” Ivan says, his mouth turned up in a smirk as I cross the churchyard, beaming at him. “Look who’s talking,” I say, laughing and reaching for him when I come close enough. Ivan wraps me in a hug, dropping a kiss to my cheek as I hold Dominic a bit to the side so he doesn’t get squis
He laughs, smiling at me genuinely. “Do I make you nervous?” he asks, blunt. I laugh, unable to help it. “Has no one bothered to tell you, in all these years, that you’re a little terrifying, Don Bianci?” He grins and shakes his head at me. “Well, considering what you accomplished, young lady, I
Two months later, we’re all gathered together again. And it is only with frustration that I see Gio and Janeen standing so close together that their arms nearly brush, even though they’re still not together. I roll my eyes, dismissing the problem for a moment as I move my eyes down to Dominic and
It's an incredible night. Kent didn’t lie, not at all, about the food either. I’m shocked by the mountains of dishes that continue to follow each other, one after another, long into the night. After a few hours of it I just mournfully watch the waiters go by because I couldn’t eat another bite if I