Page 61 of The Tempted

Or seven. These broads were like Sophia Petrillo and Dorothy Zbornack meets Janice and Liv Soprano.

“Sons of bitches shoot up my son’s place of business and think they’re going to get away with it. Bring them over here I’ll shoot the bastards. I’m ninety-three if they throw me in the slammer it won’t be a big deal. I don’t have much longer anyway and it’ll be a fine way to go.” Nana said reaching for the gun again.

“No no no! Nana stop,” Nikki said, stepping out from behind me putting herself between her grandmother and the shotgun that rested against the wall. She looked towards me, for I don’t know what guidance maybe? I shrugged my shoulders, I was tapped out on dealing with crazy, and these two weren’t just crazy they were straight up loons. Nikki gave me a look kind of like the look a woman gave a man she was with signaling them to get their ass in line.

“Okay,” I said with a sigh. “Let’s just calm down here.” I smiled at Nana before looping my arm through hers. “You’re right Nana they’re sons of bitches. We should bring them down here for you to take them out because you’d probably do a better job than that schmuck Jimmy anyway,” I wasn’t even bullshitting her either the old lady definitely had the chops to get the job done. I led her over to the couch and sat down with her. “But your son is doing the best he can and we have to have faith that he’s going to get the job done.”

Nana turned her head to look at me making me feel like she was sizing me up. She was an intimidating little gnome. She poked my chest with her finger. “I remember you. You were the scrawny kid with all that gel in his hair,” she looked over her shoulder to where Aunt Gina and Nikki were before turning back to me and leaning closer. She summoned me with her finger to come closer so I leaned into her. “I’ll slip you a five if you get me a cigarette.”

And there it was.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I said as I slapped my palm to my knees and stood up. My head was suddenly pounding realizing that this was going to be a nightmare. I walked to where Nikki was chatting it up with her aunt and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Excuse us one second,” I said to Gina taking Nikki’s hand and pulling her towards the door with me. “Where are your cigarettes?”

“C’mon, Mikey they’re not that bad that you need to start smoking.”

“It’s not for me,” I said, nodding towards Granny sitting on the couch. “I don’t really want to piss her off so if you don’t mind sharing maybe we can make it through the night without her wielding her shotgun in our faces again, yeah?” I ran my fingers through my hair I was feeling on edge I needed a drink or maybe six.

Nikki glanced over at Gina, who was eyeing us curiously and smiled. “We’re just going to get our stuff out of the car,” she took my hand in hers and pulled me outside of the nuthouse.

I turned around to tell Nikki we needed to get the hell out of there. The ratty motel we stayed in the night before was looking like the fucking Ritz Carlton considering the alternative of staying here with her aunt and her batshit crazy grandmother. I understood why Victor shipped them off to live two thousand miles away from him the old lady was a liability.

Nikki pressed her hands to my chest, pushing me against the brick front of the house as her mouth crashed over mine. Her lips were soft as they worked mine, forcing me to open my mouth and invite her in for more. Her familiar taste clogged my senses reminding me it had been hours since I had touched her and reminding my body that I couldn’t go that long without her. I grabbed her face taking charge of what she had started and turned her around so that she was the one with her back against the house. I ravaged her mouth, taking everything I possibly could from her as my hands traveled down her sides my fingers gripping her hips as I pulled her against me.

Every thought I had completely slipped my mind as I tried to figure where I could take her to have my way with her. I forgot all about needing a drink or trying to escape crazy town the only person I needed was her she made everything better. How fucking crazy was that?

She pulled away slowly from me taking my face in her hands, her swollen lips curved into a smile.

“How do you do that?” I asked as I stared into her eyes, marveling at the control that she seemed to provide me. For a long time, I looked for something to take the edge off, sex, alcohol violence, whatever poison I felt suited me never thinking there was someone out there who could calm me with anything other than just her. It wasn’t even kissing her that seemed to calm me and bring me back down it was just her presence. It sounded bizarre even to my own ears, but having her in my corner had started to give me the balance I needed.

She raised an eyebrow and let out a laugh. “Oh, ye who is all about delivering a proper kiss is asking little ole’ me how I did that?”

“I didn’t mean the kiss,” I said, shaking my head dismissively. “How do you manage to give me exactly what I need even when I don’t know I need it?” her smile faltered as she studied me.

“It just seemed like you needed a breather,” she cleared her throat. “I know they’re a lot to handle and I also know you didn’t sign up for this mess to be my bodyguard or whatever it— “

“Stop,” I said, taking her hands in mine as I bent my knees slightly to be level with her eyes. “I may not have signed up to be anything other than Vic’s nightclub manager, but even if he had never asked me to bring you here if he had never involved me I would’ve come. I want to be the one to protect you from this shit Nikki. It scares the fuck out of me because a part of me knows that I’m not really your best option but the other part the bigger part is determined to do whatever the fuck it takes to keep you safe,” I nodded over my shoulder towards the threshold of hell. “Even if it means hiding out with Janice Soprano and Sophia Petrillo.”

She leaned her forehead against mine and sighed. “You should come with a warning label Mikey because I’m pretty sure you’re going to do all sorts of damage to my heart,” she whispered.

I didn’t know what to say to that because like everything else Nikki’s words split me in half. The logical half of me tells me that I should shut this shit down before I did hurt her. I wasn’t looking for a girlfriend and when her aunt introduced me to Nana as Nikki’s boyfriend, I nearly had a stroke but then the stupid as fuck part of me told me I liked the sound of it. I liked being the man in Nikki’s life despite knowing I wasn’t capable of giving her anything she deserved. I could love Nikki that wouldn’t be the problem because when I love I love big, but it seems like whoever is on the receiving end of my love is always destined to be torn away from me. I accepted my fate a long time ago knowing that I was meant to live this life by myself. It never bothered me before in fact, I was relieved by the solidarity, but that was before Nikki. She makes me think I can be good. She makes me think I could be the man that loves her like she is supposed to be loved. She makes me completely delusional. That’s when I realized that she too should’ve come with a warning label.

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