Page 7 of Spiteful Heart

Viper ran a hand down the side of his face as he set down his cup. “I don’t want to think about my brother’s dick—”

I was too busy still glaring at my girl, my teeth grinding, to pay attention to what Viper said after that. Lola didn’t seem to mind the glare. “You shouldn’t be thinking of his dick, either,” I pointed out. None of us should, really.

She puckered her lips at me. “Come on, Mads. Every girl who looks at that man wonders what he’s like in the sack. That’s just nature. He is a manly man—” The more she spoke, the more I was thankful the guy in question wasn’t here to hear all of this. He might start to get the wrong idea, like Lola had a crush on him or something.

She didn’t.

Did she?

I leaned toward her, my voice quiet as I whispered, “Don’t fucking tell me you want him, too.” I’d known Big Mike for years, ever since I was a kid. He and Viper were a few years older than me, but we’d pretty much grown up together. Got into shit together. The Milanos were a well-respected family in this city too, just like us.

Dying out too, just like us.

Viper had heard what I’d said, his hazel eyes on Lola, waiting to hear her respond. He’d frozen up, his fork hanging with a bite of sausage in midair. I was too focused on Lola to pay much attention to him, to see whether or not he’d be down for his brother to join us.

Fuck. It was already hard enough being with Lola while knowing two others were, too. It didn’t matter that Sylvester was my brother or that I trusted Viper. It wasn’t like sharing was something I was used to, long-term. Threesomes? Yeah. Foursomes? Fuck yeah—but never with my brother. Not until Lola.

“I’m not saying I’m in love with the guy,” Lola said. “Just that I’ve wondered.” She cut into her pancakes, stuffing a huge bite in her mouth. She didn’t even wait to swallow before saying what she said next: “I’d be down to give him some physical relief, remind him what being with a girl is like.” She giggled, swallowing her mouthful before glancing at both Viper and me. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t do it unless we talked about it, first.” She booped us both on the nose.

Yeah,booped. Like we were kids or something. Fuck that.

“Let’s pick a different conversation topic,” I muttered, grinding my teeth.

“Yes, please,” Viper agreed.

Lola dropped it, thank fucking God. She started talking about Harvey’s date last night—something else I didn’t give two shits about, but it was better than her suggesting she sleep with Mike just to give him some physical relief since he hadn’t been with a woman in fuck knew how long.

I was a jealous person, naturally. I think it was due to the fact that I’d never really let myself get tied down by a single girl, so I’d never had reason to be jealous. Figured, the girl that I loved would not only be my brother’s killer, but also my other brother’s chick, too. And Viper’s. I went from nothing to everything real fucking fast.

So, yeah, I was jealous. So what? Sue me.

Having her hook up with Big Mike would be better than some rando on the street, but still—ugh, fuck. Now she had me picturing the two of them together. I needed a shower. A brain shower to wash those thoughts out of my head.

“Do you know anyone named Giulia?” Lola asked. “Harvey met her in a bar the DeLucas liked going to. Newton owns it, now. I was too busy talking to him to see her, but I guess she came up to him and found his awkwardness endearing.” She tapped her fork on the edge of her plate, contemplating.

Finally, something that would get my mind off Mike sticking his dick in Lola. I shook my head and said, “I don’t know any Giulia.” And I knew a lot of girls from this city, from my partying days… which, admittedly, wasn’t that long ago, all things considered.

Viper spoke, “Me either. Do we have a last name? We could look her up that way, if you’re that curious.” He pulled out his phone, ready to do some internet snooping. AKA the easiest kind of stalking there was these days, since everybody loved putting each and every aspect of their lives online, as if the world cared.

Lola was quiet for a moment. “I know what her favorite color is and what food she likes to eat, but I don’t think he’s ever spoken her last name. I’ll have to ask him next time I see him—or I could text him and tell him to come back here so we can grill him some more—”

At that suggestion, both Viper and I were quick to say, “No.”

Her sapphire gaze flicked between us. “Sheesh. You two are no fun at all.”

I think we all knew by now Lola’s idea of fun was vastly different than most people’s, but neither Viper nor I argued with her there. Obviously, we didn’t want Harvey to come back. Unlike her, neither of us gave a shit about Harvey’s love life and who this Giulia chick was. I didn’t need to squint to imagine what kind of weird chick would fall for Harvey’s personality, assuming she was real. The dude was weird, but there were equally as weird ladies out there, too.

We finished breakfast, and I helped Viper clean the kitchen. Lola went to work out, turning on some Frank Sinatra music on her phone before trailing down the hall. That left Viper and me.

I watched Viper load the dishwasher and start her up. He went to a corner cabinet, pulled out some cleaning spray, and began wiping down the island countertop, where we ate. I didn’t know what possessed me to say what I said next: “I bet you’d be okay with Lola banging your brother.”

Viper’s wiping of the counter slowed to a halt. “We’re back on this?” He groaned, shaking his head at me. “I didn’t say that.”

“So, you wouldn’t be okay with it?”

“I… didn’t say that, either.”

I folded my arms over my chest, narrowing my stare. “It’s either one or the other, Viper. Either you’d be okay with it or you wouldn’t be, so which one is it?” I didn’t know why I was asking. I guess, now that I’d thought about it, he and Mike lived here with her now. She saw Mike a lot more than she used to. It wouldn’t be completely out of left field if she started to have feelings for him…

---