Page 36 of Prideful Union
“What are you guys saying?” Lucia asks in English.
The woman doesn’t respond, only motioning us inside after checking out tickets.
“Hey, look,” Lucia says. “A gladiator fight.” Off to the left is a large circular area where two men are facing off against each other with wooden swords.
“Pathetic,” I say. “Who fights with wooden swords?”
Lucia side-eyes me. “Uh, so they don’t get hurt, that’s why. This isn’t the real world, Santino.” She wanders over to a table with pieces of paper on it. “Can anyone sign up?”
“Yes,” the man behind the table tells her.
I sigh as she motions me over. “Santino, you can join a fight. Battle someone with a wooden sword.” She elbows me.
I only sigh again. “I’m not doing it.”
“Too late. I’m already signing you up.” She signs the paper with flourish. “There. Now, you have no choice.”
“I do have a choice. I could still leave.”
“But you won’t. Because I think deep down you want to make this marriage work.”
I can’t exactly argue with her about that.
We watch the current so-called gladiator fight, which consists of two men lamely hitting each other their pathetic excuses for swords. Whenever one of them gets a hit in, the crowd cheers, including Lucia. She’s smiling a lot brighter than I’ve ever seen.
It’s nice.
When it’s my turn to fight, I hand Lucia my jacket and walk out onto the center stage. My opponent is a fairly muscular man, all decked out in roman gladiator finery. Someone hands me a wooden sword, and we’re off.
“You got this, Santino!” Lucia shouts from the crowd.
I try to not get annoyed. If any of my men saw me like this, I’d be deposed just from the sheer stupidity of it.
The thing is, though—I love a good fight.
When my opponent comes at me, I easily block his attack and smack him in the side. The crowd cheers. Ok. I didn’t mind that. Maybe I can get used to this.
The other man looks annoyed that I got a hit in, and he comes back at me with a quick thrust of his sword. I block it once more and get another hit in. This time, on his back. The crowd goes wild.
I catch Lucia’s eye. She gives me a large thumbs-up. It’s like we’re children again.
Within minutes, I make quick work of my opponent. I leave him gasping and breathing hard by the end. I’m declared the winner.
When I leave the stage, Lucia runs over to me and … hugs me. It takes me so much by surprise I don’t even react. She pulls away.
“You did great,” she tells me.
Before I can stop myself, I cup her face and kiss her. Lucia tenses for a moment before melting into me. I don’t fucking care if we’re kissing in front of all these other people.
We pull apart after a moment. Lucia’s cheeks are flushed. “What was that for?”
“I admit I had fun.”
“I knew you would.” She links her fingers through mine. “Let’s go see what else this place has to offer.”
We have an actual fun time,eating food, watching more shows, and just … spending time together. I never thought I’d enjoy time with Lucia, but here we are.
I’ve been so distracted by her all day I completely forgot Antonio was sending me some of Franco’s hair. When we arrive home, the box is waiting for me.
