25

Bugsy felt that his family was dysfunctional with a capital D. The drama was worse than a fuckin’ reality show on VH1. Word had gotten back to him about what’d happened at the funeral. The thought of his father beating Lucky and his mother was sickening. But why would those two show up, knowing what the outcome would be? If he were there, he would’ve stopped it.

Bugsy knew that his mother was pushing her luck. She was stubborn—a fuckin’ bitch mostly, and Lucky was following right in her footsteps. Layla sent him pictures with a text saying: He’s a dead man! They were disturbing. Lucky was black and blue, bruised and swollen everywhere, eye puffy with her hair ripped out. Layla was beaten too, but not as bad as Lucky. The pictures were hard to look at. It was his family. Had the transgression been carried out by anyone else, they would already be dead. But how could he go against his father? And Layla was the one steadily provoking him. It was civil war inside the family, and it needed to end.

The hit in Delaware succeeded, but it wasn’t a game changer. Deuce and Jimmy were still alive. The bloodshed they’d created, it was a bloody message—but Deuce would be too ignorant to get the hint. They’d killed over a dozen men at the warehouse, and Bugsy would lose no sleep over it. But he needed something comforting. He needed to be somewhere else at the moment, and that somewhere else was with Alicia.

His black Beamer traveled up her driveway and into the garage, and he climbed out of the car holding a bouquet of roses. The cold night made him look forward to a warm evening with his woman. It was a full moon and a quiet neighborhood. Westchester was a distant safe haven away from the madness in the city. Bugsy was the only one who knew about the house. After the last incident, where a sniper shot at him, he took extra precautions in securing the safety for his woman and her home. They had to move. There were security cameras and motion lights, and the house was purchased under an alias. Bugsy carried a 9mm for his protection.

The garage was well lit, and there were no blind spots for anyone to catch him off guard. The door closed, each step he took was a careful one. Being shot made him wary of everything. Seeing that everything was okay, he went into the home to greet Alicia.

Don’t bring it home with you; Alicia had told him. She didn’t want to hear about his lifestyle. She knew about it, but she didn’t want it brought into her new home. The attempt on his life at her old place had spooked her. She was a nurse, and she saw it all at the hospital where she worked.

She was lounging on the couch in a pair of blue camisole pajamas, watching one of her favorite shows on Showtime, Shameless. He presented the bouquet of roses to her, and she loved them. He joined her on the couch, pressing close to her and wrapping his arms around her. It felt so right. They hugged and kissed.

She didn’t ask him how his day was because it might have involved something disturbing. So, she asked him, “You okay?”

He answered the same as always. “I’m fine now that I’m home with you.”

Bugsy had fallen hard for her. The quiet evenings with Alicia were something he always looked forward to. They sat nestled on the couch, eating popcorn and watching TV. Bugsy laughed at Shameless, and said, “Damn, and I thought my family was dysfunctional and fucked up.”

“Oh, y’all up there,” Alicia joked.

He laughed. He couldn’t argue with her.

He held her snugly against him and gazed at her. She smiled at his tenderness. He caressed her cheek. She touched him invitingly. What he felt, it was real. He wanted to be with Alicia forever. With her, everything felt normal. After what happened at the warehouse in Delaware, her touch made him human again, and her smile quieted the monster he had to become out there. She stirred in his arms and felt protected by him. There was no way Bugsy would allow anything to happen to her.

“I love you so much,” he said, gazing into her eyes.

“I love you too.”

He saw a future with her. He saw her becoming his wife. He wanted no one but Alicia. She was everything he dreamed of. So he asked her, “Do you see yourself having a family with me . . . kids?”

She smiled. “Do you want a family with me?”

“I do.”

“I do too,” she replied.

It made him happy to hear that.

“I think you would make a great father,” she said.

“I would, right?” He laughed.

There was one dilemma with that dream, and that was Bugsy’s family. He wanted normalcy in his children’s lives. He would teach them better than his parents taught him. He wouldn’t bring his street life anywhere around his kids like Scott and Layla had.

Eventually, they stopped watching TV and focused on each other, kissing fervently and slowly undressing each other while sprawled on the couch. Alicia’s long legs were spread and straddled his lean frame. Her nakedness was beautiful, and she felt like paradise as he thrust his erection between her wet pink folds and groaned from the sudden jolt of pleasure. Their mouths hungrily devoured each other’s lips. She tightened both her legs together around his thighs, and Bugsy could feel the heat of her lust rising against him. Her eyes were bright with a lustful hunger for more; they glistened with a deeply devoted love for him.

“Ooooh, Bugsy . . . oh God,” she moaned.

With each deep penetration, he felt her convulse around his dick. He quickly pulled her up and made her ride him against the couch. Alicia bounced on his lap, crowding him with her passion while her tight walls compressed around his dick. The sensation was nearly mind blowing as her legs squeezed and she arched her back, feeling every bit of him inside of her.

“I’m gonna come, baby!” she announced.

His eyes closed and there was no place like home. Every bit of him invaded her. When she came, her body shuddered lightly against him. Their sex was the best, and when he finally came, it was like all the pieces to the puzzle were finally put into place.

They collapsed against each other; her face was on his chest, her body warmly held in his arms. They exhaled.

“I think we just got started on our family.”

She laughed. “You so silly.”

He looked at her intently. There was never any hesitation with it. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”