Aftermath (7 page)

Alfonzo
e
yeball
ed
Giuseppe
the entire time
during his reverie and
asked,
“What did you say to
Sal and what
’s that
about
Vinny?”

“None of your business.
Improve on your
Italian, your son
understands and speaks as if he were born knowing the language.
” He gripped Alfonzo’s
shoulder
in passing
, “
Do not be hard on
him.
He is not you, c
azzo!”

Alfonzo snarled at Giuseppe, “
I may not
be fluent in Italian but I do know
what
cazzo
mean
s
,
you
asshole
!”

                                                 
****

Soft music played in the background as
Selange worked the
lotion
between her fingers
. She
inhaled the
cinnamon aroma then
rubbed
the creamy substance over her legs and it absorbed in her skin making it supple to the touch. She reached for the cream and squeezed more into her hand, then worked it
in her
arms
. She
carefully avoid
ed
the
gauze
and
frown
ed
,
hop
ing
the wound didn’t
leave a huge scar because she liked wearing sleeveless dresses.
When she thought of
how things could have turned
out
,
she
sobered
and realized she was blessed
to have survived
. Her family was safe
, thanks in part to Ari for taking out that
gunman
and saving her life.
Selange
was grateful to the woman, who would’ve thought when it came down to
it;
they
’d stand side
by side
to
f
ight?

Wow, life’s something, isn’t it?

She had second and third chances.
Her parents must be in heaven pleading with
God
to spare her, why else was she given undeserved do-overs? She had to get it right, she had to
!

She
didn’t tell
Alfonzo
she’d
enrolled in grad school after passing the
MAT
when they were
apart.
It’s
something she always wanted to do
and now was a good time to start
.
There were changes coming. Big ones. Her
charity
was
neglected long enough and it’s time she made it a huge
success
and help more youngsters by
getting donations
from Alfonzo’s wealthy associates and do
ing
something
productive with it.
Hell, she could send
hundreds
of inner city kids to college
in a year
. Crime was going to pay in a good way for a change. Having a
happy
life
meant not
living in fear and waiting for the worse to come.
There weren’t any hidden cobwebs in the corner
of her brain
anymore
. The
tangled
threads of
indecision and doubt
were removed and in the tragedy she
’d
gained
another crack at life.
She
came
through hell and back
, too many times
.
D
eath
had taken
hold of
her but
something inside
fought it and unleashed an ass-beating
. It
reaffirmed her passion
s.
On
th
is go round
, life
was going to be
fun and exciting
.

Have
f
un
…yeah…enjoy life with Alfonzo and
your
children
.
Protect
them with your love and be there for
Alfonzo
, let him
know you’re always going to stand with him a
s his post.
But, live…live for yourself, too
!

Love’s a soulful
dance
,
and
stop
walk
ing
in doubt.
 

‘
Just live,
love hard and
do you girl
. Be
happy
so
when death comes,
you can shrug and say, so what,
come
bitch I
’ve
had my fun
!

She
inhaled and screwed the top on the tube of
cream then made herself comfortable
. She smoothed down the edge of
her satin
lingerie
and stretched her legs
, hoping to be irresistible when Alfonzo arrived
. She tried reading
as a
distraction
but h
er
body yearned for him and
a romance novel made it worse.

Unable to
concentrate
, the book
was
discarded
next to her iPod and cream which became its
nightstand
companions.

God, she wish he
’d
hurry
before sleep snatched her away. He could hang out to dawn with Domingo and the guys drinking and talking mess.
Then again,
he might be downstairs talking
business
.
Whatever, the reason for his nonappearance she only hoped he
brought
his
butt
to bed
.

The children were asleep. Maria, of course insist
ed on sleeping with the babies l
ik
e an overprotective
Nana
. Selange allowed the woman to have her way this once because she understood they were
still s
omewhat shaken-up over their harrowing ordeal
.
Heck, she
was!

She turned on her side
, reached over
and raised the volume on her
iPod
at the
instrumental
portion of a mood setting
song
. Her
playlist
tonight was filled with romantic
ballads
.
There were
classics and different
genres
that could fire the libido all night long.

Her body relaxed. The dim light, the soft music and the cozy bed were lulling her to sleep.

‘
These lips can’t wait to taste your skin,

Baby….no….

And these eyes can’
t
wait to see your grin…

The door opened
. When she heard it,
she
smiled
. The one
she craved entered th
e bedroom.
He was a vision of chic in the dark tailored suit, which served to highlight his bright eyes.

An
eyebrow
ascended when he saw her
in the sexy baby doll outfit
and
the
warm reception in the lusty curve of her lips
.
The music set the tone and he was ready for some chocolate dessert. “Waiting
long,
chica?”

“Um…you’re worth the wait, guapo.”

He locked the door
and quic
kly loosen
ed
his tie, “
Is the
sexy lady
complimenting me? There’s a time you weren’t as
generous with the flattery
.
” He
threw the
tie
on the
chair
beside the door
and his Armani jacket followed
.
The sea color of his irises were torrential pools of lust washing over her body.

She chuckled and he worked the diamond cuff-links loose without breaking eye contact, “What’s so funny?”

“Oh I
may not have verbalized to you how hot you were
,
but at night…
,” she answered then
licked
the heart-shaped
mouth
, “
…
Ooooh
amor…
when I imagined y
ou touching my body, it held you in
high esteem.”

Hot da
mn, she never told him
that. H
e was completely
turned-on!

Baby these fist, uh, will always protect ya... Lady
,

God, babe, it’s true, I’ll always protect you,
Alfonzo’s
mind screamed in chorus to the song.

A
nd th
is
mind will
never
neglect you…

I’ll never neglect
you
r
mind or body
again;
I swear the bass in his brain echoed.

And if they try to break us down
,

Don't let that affect us
…

That’s
right;
don’t let the outside
mess
affect us
. We’re from the rough parts of New York. It prepared us for anything, so just hold on to me and let’s ride this love whip until the goddamn wheels and doors fall off
, he thought
!

He was hyped
and his
hands moved faster
.
That music was speaking
his
sentiments
. He was going crazy
because h
e wanted to
make love to
her so
bad h
is
fingers
weren’t moving
fast enough.

Alfonzo
play
ed
it cool
,
but there were pinballs bouncing
around every corner of his chest.
“
Do I get a preview of
what I inspired
?”

Let my love adorn you, baby
,

Don't you ever
,

Don't you let no one tell you different, baby

Always adore you!

You gotta
’
know now

You gotta
’
know
….
yeah
…
Ohhhh
...
’

“As long as you join
in.
I prefer
you
r
participat
ion and not keep this a one
woman show. You have no idea how much I
want you right now
,
”
s
he
said in a husky tone
.

A
vein
under pressure
protrud
ed
from his forehead and
she
continued with the verbal foreplay. “The
weight of your body
on
mine
and
your
tongue
have
me excited
and I’m just
thinking about
it. T
he star of the show is your
long
…warm…thick…
dick
…um…inside me…makes my honey pour
right
over it
.
”

Dios, if she keeps talking
this way
I’m going to bust a load right here!