Antonio
“She’s most probably sobbing into her pillow right now,” I said to Alessandro as we made our way to the coffee shop where Elisabetta was waiting.
“You think?” Alessandro said, checking his phone for what must have been the hundredth time.
“Dude, Gia’s obviously not texting you back.”
“I just think it’s hella rude that she’s not even going to respond,” he said, shaking his head.
“Why? When’s the last time you actually spoke to her?”
“Yeah. We haven’t spoken in a while, but we used to be friends, and she could at least respond now. What if it was important?”
“You used to be more than friends.”
“No, we didn’t,” he said. “We were only friends.”
“I don’t mean you were fucking lovers, Alessandro. I mean, you used to be best friends, right?”
“I don’t recall,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “Dude, you two were always together. It annoyed the shit out of me. It annoyed the shit out of Dad as well. He was like, are you a pussy? Remember?”
It was his turn to roll his eyes. “Yeah. I remember Dad asking if I was gay because my best friend was a girl. He’s such a fucking asshole.”
“That he is,” I said, nodding. “But you’re not best friends anymore. You’re not even friends anymore, so why would she message you back?”
“Common courtesy,” he said.
I sighed. “Anyway, I hope she’s not crying so hard that she wakes up with red, blotchy eyes tomorrow,” I said and smiled. “Well, maybe just a little blotchy.”
“Dude, really?” He stared at me.
“What? I mean, I did fuck her last night, and I was her first, and you know women. She most probably had us married in ten years with three kids honeymooning in Hawaii.”
He tilted his head to the side and shook his head. “Antonio, I love you. You’re my brother, but you’re full of shit.”
“What?” I shrugged. “Can I help it if I’m the best lover known to man?”
“You wish, big bro,” he said, laughing. “Anyway, you don’t feel even a little bit bad?”
“No. Why should I? I gave her the best night of her life.”
“Do you like her?” he said, his eyes surveying my face, and I frowned.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You’re talking about her an awful lot and wondering if she’s crying and if she’s going to eat and if you should send her an anonymous pizza. Like, dude, who gives a fuck?”
“I’m just saying that I’m wondering if—”
“Whatever.” He shook his head. “Don’t go falling for the bitch, okay? We haven’t accomplished what we need to accomplish.”
“I’m not going to be falling for her. You know that.”
“I know. You’re the wolf. You’re cold, you’re mean, and you’re vindictive,” he said as if he were repeating a commercial that was on TV.
“Are you trying to make fun of me, bro?”
“What are you going to do, shoot me?” he said, raising a single eyebrow. “I’d like to see the day.”
“You don’t think I could shoot you?”
He laughed. “Really? I’d have the gun out of your hand before you could even blink.”
I stared at him and shook my head. “Do you steal every line that I have?”
He smirked. “Maybe. So anyway, what are we going to do with Elisabetta when we go to Melba’s and Lupo’s?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping she’d go home.”
“You know her,” he said. “Plus, if Luisa asked us to look after her, she most probably doesn’t want us to leave her alone.”
“Dude, I don’t got time for this. How am I supposed to conduct business with a teenager hanging behind us?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
I stared at him. “Uh-huh. So, do you think I hurt her really badly?” I asked him, and he shook his head.
“Fucking A, dude.”
“What? I’m just wondering if I hurt her so bad that she’s not going to give me another chance and if I have to think of another way to get back with her or…”
“Let’s just wait and see what happens, okay?”
“Okay.”
We walked into the coffee shop, and my jaw dropped when I saw Elisabetta sitting there. She was wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans. Her hair, which had always been slightly curly, was hanging straight down her back, longer than I’d ever seen it before. Her eyes were blue and framed by long lashes. She had red lipstick on, and she looked anything other than the seventeen years of age I knew she was.
“What the fuck?” Alessandro said as he looked over at me.
“Oh shit, Luisa is going to kill her,” I said, shaking my head.
“If she doesn’t kill us first,” he said. “She better not blame us for this shit.”
“What is going on in that school of hers?” I said as we approached her.
She looked up at us and then looked at her watch. “It’s about time. You’re late.”
“Well, hello, Elisabetta. Nice to see you.”
“I’d say the same, but I don’t like lying,” she said, looking me up and down and looking at Alessandro. “I can’t believe Mama sent you two to pick me up.”
“Well, she did, and we’re going to get going now,” I said.
“What the hell are you wearing, Elisabetta?” Alessandro said what we were both thinking.
“Clothes. I know you’re not used to seeing women in clothes, but…”
I chuckled. “I guess she’s got you figured out, Alessandro.”
“Very funny,” he said, snorting.
“And I mean you, too.” She looked at me, her voice derogatory. “You’re both male whores, but then I suppose that’s because of who you are.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I said, starting to feel annoyed. I really didn’t want to have to put up with a brat for the next twenty-four hours.
“I mean, seeing as you’re both made men.”
“Okay, you do know that made men are paying for your schooling.”
“And it’s disgusting,” she said. “I don’t know why my mother works for your father. Ridiculous.”
“Okay, are you ready to go or are we going to continue to get a lecture in the middle of this random coffee shop?”
“I’m just saying,” she said. “I have principles, and I don’t want to be hanging around with common criminals.”
I nodded slightly. “And that’s me and my brother.”
“Well, aren’t you a common criminal, Antonio ‘the wolf’ Marchesi?” She looked over at Alessandro. “And what do they call you?”
“The falcon,” he said, smirking. “And you don’t need to know why.”
“I don’t want to know why,” she said, pushing her chair back and dropping a couple of singles onto the table. “Where are we going? I’m hungry.”
“Why didn’t you get something to eat?” I asked her. “You’ve been waiting for us for a couple of hours.”
“Because I didn’t want to pay for my own food.”
“What? You wanted a common criminal to pay for it?” I said, smirking.
She just sighed.
“So, Elisabetta’s all grown up,” I said to Alessandro as if she wasn’t there.
“Yep. She’s a right prima donna at the ripe old age of seventeen,” he responded.
“I’m right here, you know?” she said in an annoyed tone. “And I’m going to be eighteen in two months, so…”
“Good for you,” I said.
“I’m hungry.”
“Yep. She definitely still sounds like an annoying brat,” I said to Alessandro.
“Why don’t we hit up Melba’s?” he said. “Kill two birds with one stone and she can get some pizza?”
“Okay.” I nodded and looked back over at her. “We’re going to hit up a pizza joint. You can get something to eat there.”
“Do I look like I eat pizza?” she said. “I am on a keto diet. I only…”
“You can get a salad or something,” I mumbled under my breath, and I could hear Antonio laughing.
“God’s work,” he said, smiling at me.
“Uh-huh.” I just shook my head.
We walked to the Range Rover, and I got into the driver’s seat. Elisabetta stood next to the back door, waiting for someone to open the car door for her. I looked over at Alessandro.
“That’s all you, lil bro.” He shrugged and opened it for her.
“In you go, madam.”
“Thank you,” she said. “At least one of you has manners.”
I rolled my eyes as I started the ignition. “We’re going to get pizza, and then I’m going to take you back to my apartment where you can watch TV or do homework or whatever. I’m sure you have something that you can occupy your time with.”
“Why am I even with you?” she said.
“I don’t know. Because your mom is working right now and you’re meant to be in school.” I looked over my shoulder and stared at her. “You are still in school, right? They didn’t kick you out for being an insolent little child?”
She just stared back at me and played with her fingernails. “I’m hungry.”
“You said that, and we’re going to get pizza.”
Alessandro opened the passenger door and slid into his seat. “Okay, let’s go.”
“We’re going.” I sighed and pressed the speakerphone dial on the front of the car. It rang two times.
“Hey, boss, what’s going on?” Jimmy answered.
“Jimmy, we’re heading over to Melba’s now.”
“Okay. I can do some pizza.”
“We got Elisabetta with us.”
“Who?”
“Luisa’s daughter.”
“Oh, I thought she was at that preppy boarding school,” he said.
“Well, she’s not there right now. I think she got kicked out.”
“I didn’t get kicked out,” she said from the back seat with an attitude.
“Oh shit, is that her?” he asked. I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Yeah, she’s a queen bitch right now.” I smirked, staring at Elisabetta’s reflection in the rearview mirror. I could tell she looked pissed. “We’ll see you there in thirty?”
“Okay, boss.”
We hung up. I looked over at Alessandro. “Want to let them know we’re coming?”
“I think we shouldn’t let them know we’re coming,” he said. “I think we should surprise them. Let’s see what the place runs like when they don’t know we’re on the way.”
“Good thinking,” I said, nodding. “I like the sound of that. You didn’t speak to Lucio yet, did you?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head.
“Why?”
“Because I think we should do a surprise visit to Lupo’s as well. Let’s see how that’s going.”
“Okay.”
He nodded. “Do you think Callie’s going to go back and work there again?”
I stared at him for a couple of seconds and shook my head. “I’d be surprised.”
“What about when you start dating her again?” He grinned.
“Yeah. When I make her mine once again, I’ll have her running the place for free.”
Alessandro shook his head.
“What? You don’t think she’s going to want to get paid?”
“Oh, all she needs is my good…” I paused and then looked back at Elisabetta. She was a bitch and annoying, but I wasn’t going to use foul language in front of her. She was still a teenager, and as much as she frustrated me with her rude attitude, I still respected the fact that she had pretty much grown up with us, and her mother had been like a de facto mother to Alessandro and me.
“I know what you were going to say,” she said with an attitude. “And you didn’t have to stop talking. I know what a cock is, or were you going to say dick? Penis? Or, I don’t know, little Antonio?”
“You’ve got a disgusting mouth, Elisabetta. I should wash it out with soap.”
“Okay, whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m—”
“I know,” I said, snapping. “You’re hungry.”
“Actually, I was going to say I’m thirsty. You got any beers in this car?”
“You’re fucking seventeen years old,” Alessandro said, turning to look at her. “You can’t drink beer.”
“Why not?” She laughed. “You’re telling me you waited until you were twenty-one to drink alcohol?”
Alessandro and I exchanged glances and smiled. Obviously, we hadn’t waited until we were twenty-one, but neither of us was going to tell Elisabetta the story about the first time we both had alcohol.
“Let’s head to Melba’s,” I said, changing the subject.
I turned on the radio and focused on the traffic in front of me. I wondered what Callie was doing, if she was crying. The thought upset me for all my bravado. She didn’t deserve to be treated the way I was treating her, but I had to stop thinking about her as a woman, as a human being, as someone I may have been able to like in a different life. This was the real world, and I was me. I was Antonio “the wolf” Marchesi.