I nod, wanting it, understanding – but also – suddenly – anxious again – I feel him reach down between us, his knuckles grazing the skin of my stomach as he reaches for himself, and then my eyes fly wide open as I feel him press himself against me. I look up into his face, suddenly scared at the f
“What are you thinking about,” I whisper a few minutes later, when our breathing and our heartrates have returned almost to normal. Kent has shifted himself to lay at my side, though I’m still on my back, one of his warm arms wrapped around me and pulling me close to his body. Kent doesn’t say any
“Go ahead, Fay,” Kent says, his eyes still closed, startling me a little. “Ask your question.” I stare at him, surprised. “How did you know I have another question?” I ask, suspicious. He peeks at me through one half-opened eye. “I can just feel it. Sixth sense. Fay sense.” I swat his arm, hat
A few hours later, I stand in the cool white space of my bathroom, staring at my freshly-showered reflection in the mirror. I’m wrapped in a towel, another one twisted around my hair, and I can’t stop…looking at myself. Wondering if I’m…different somehow. I drop my towel and pull the other from
“No way – you go –“ “No!” I interject, laughing. “You tell me, or I’ll make Kent fire you –“ “Unfair!” Jerome cries, jumping to his feet. “You can’t leverage your sugar daddy’s –“ “I can do as I please! I –“ We’re both silenced, suddenly, by a hard knock at the door, both of our heads spinni
“Ivan,” I say, my voice hardly more than a whisper as I stare at him from the top of the steps. Then, realizing that I’m standing here basically naked in my tiny robe, I clutch the fabric closed at my throat and take a deep breath, trying to figure out what the hell to do next. What is he doing here
“My last phone call with your father didn’t go well,” Kent says, looking away from me and clenching his jaw. I blink in surprise, thinking that the last phone call was when…well, when my father called to tell Kent that I’m a spoiled, ungrateful whore. But Kent was calm and collected when I saw him l
Twenty minutes later, Fay slips out of her room, dragging a little powder-blue wheeled suitcase behind her, dressed in a casual white tennis skirt and an oversized varsity sweater that Kent picked out for her before he left her room. At the bottom of the stairs, both Ivan and Kent watch her desc
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