"How did she die?"
"She was in a freak accident. Her car was paralleled parked on a busy road, and she was sideswiped by a tractor trailer when she was getting inside."
"I'm sorry, babe. That's terrible."
"I was young. There was a closed casket and then she was cremated. I didn't get to see her. It was just bad."
"Where was she from?"
"Around the Drexel University area before gentrification. Working class folks who did their best but couldn't afford to send her to college. As legend tells it she was a real beauty in her neighborhood. All the guys pursued her. In fact, I think my father stole her from her longtime boyfriend."
"Yeah? Like I stole you from Bill and Jake and–"
"Quiet." I roll my eyes. "You're so bad."
"I want to be even naughtier if you give me the thumbs-up. I'll slide all of this shit off the table and give it to you right and proper. I'll lean you over the table, while you hold onto the edge, and I'll fuck you from the back. You'll love that, baby."
That sounds sooo good, but I can't risk it. Not here. Maybe I'll remind him when we're home.
"Shhh." I laugh. "She's going to hear you."
"Fine, okay. So Nate stole your mama away from her poor old boyfriend, and then they lived happily ever after?"
"Pretty much except I think my mom always felt a little bad about it. The whole family thought she was going to marry Silas. They didn't really know my dad yet, so I think they gave him a hard way to go at first."
Stone's face drops.
"Did you say Silas?"
"Yeah."
"Same age as your dad?"
"I don't know, probably. They were in the army around the same time. It's possible your dad knew him too."
"Holy shit."
"What?!"
"This is a vendetta."
"What's a vendetta?"
"I need to tell you something, Ariana, and you're not going to like it."
"Then I don't want to hear it."
"Ariana."
I drop to my knees and start unbuckling Stone's jeans. Giving killer fellatio is one of the skills I've been perfecting over the last few weeks, and Stone has enjoyed every teaching moment.
"Ariana–" he offers a weak plea for me to stop when in actuality he really wants me to keep going. "Fuck."
His eyes roll back in his head.
I'm so happy right now. For once I don't feel smothered or suffocated. I feel like I can breathe. I'm not ready for the world to come crashing around me.
He grips my hair tightly right before he comes with a muffled roar. Doing his best to keep Savannah from figuring out what we're doing back here, although I'm pretty sure that the gig is up.
