Chapter Thirty Three
Carly
The plans I’d told Gio I had? Well, they weren’t plans so much as me needing time to process what had happened the night before. The best way for me to do that was to spend the day thoroughly cleaning my apartment from top to bottom. By the time the sun was setting, I was soaked in sweat, my hair hung in my face, and my muscles ached. Oh, yeah, and I was nowhere close to figuring out what I was going to do about Gio.
A knock at my door had me heading to it. “Hey, Risa. Oh, God, that smells divine. Come on in, girl. I just need to take a quick shower.”
“I had a feeling you might be in need of sustenance. I noticed you didn’t come home last night.”
“Yeah. Long story. I’ll fill you in after we eat.”
Fifteen minutes later, I was showered and Risa, Eli, and I sat at the table eating the pasta Risa had brought with her.
“Hey, kiddo. I’ve got something for you.”
I watched as Risa pulled a small package from her bag. “Risa. What did you do?”
“It’s an early birthday present. I might be out of the city next weekend, so I wanted to be sure Eli got to enjoy it while I was here.”
It was a new game for his PlayStation, another one he’d been wanting.
“Oh my gosh, Mama, look! Thank you, Risa!”
I watched as my son flung himself at Risa and hugged her tight.
“You’re welcome, Squirt.”
“You have to finish your dinner before you can go play,Vita Mia.”
“Yes, Mama.”
I couldn’t help but smile a bit at the pout on his face. He knew it wouldn’t do him any good but he had to try. As soon as he’d cleaned his plate, he set it in the sink and took off to his bedroom.
“Okay, girl. Dinner is done, Eli is occupied, now dish. What happened last night?”
I closed my eyes a minute. “Where do I start? I was so stressed when we left here yesterday, knowing that Eli is related to them, and I mean, it was Gio’s parents’ anniversary party. But they were really nice. His mother is a sweetheart. She made me feel so welcome. Eli asked to stay the night, all the kids were having a slumber party, and as hard as it was, I said yes.”
“I figured as much since you didn’t come home last night. Please tell me you took that Italian stallion for a ride.”
I threw my napkin at her before I laughed. “You can be so crass, Risa.” Then I grinned. “He was better than I’d imagined. Mio Dio. The man definitely knows what he’s doing.”
“Oo la la! My girl finally let go and got laid. About damn time. When are you seeing him again?”
“Other than at work? I don’t know. Risa. What if I’m getting in too far, too fast?”
“Carly, babe, stop freaking out. You two click. You’ve got a connection. And you deserve a chance at happiness.”
“It’s hard not to freak out. The last time I let someone get close to me, he died. I don’t think I could go through that again and come out sane.” It felt good to get that fear out in the open. That was my biggest fear about letting Gio in. Getting too close and having him violently taken away from me.
It's funny how quickly a person's life could change. Just a few weeks ago, I'd dreaded going to work. I hated taking my clothes off for a bunch of drunk perverts. The problem was, when the only other experience you had was as a waitress, there weren't a lot of options for change.
Now that I was manager at Dangerous Curves, my attitude had changed. I liked going to work, for the most part. If only Chablis wasn't such a pain in my ass, my nights at work would be smooth as a baby's bottom.
Tonight was one of my four late nights. Camille was leaving as I was arriving and we talked in the parking lot for several minutes before I headed inside.
"Carly, you have to do something about Chablis."
I couldn't even get in the fucking door before the shit started. "What did she do now?" I gave Midori, one of our newest dancers, my full attention.
