Kristen Ashley - At Peace

And he was movie star gorgeous. Beautiful body as evidenced by his t-shirt and even the apron at his narrow hips; thick head of black, unruly hair; roguish, dark brown eyes rimmed with thick lashes; glamorous white smile, like his mother’s.

He was looking at Cal and, as Cal slid out of the booth, his hand came up and his smile got wider, brilliant, breathtaking.

“Cal, cugino,” he muttered as his hand took Cal’s in a fierce grip even I could see.

Cal’s hand gripped his fiercely too and muttered back, “Benny.”

They leaned into each other and each gave the other a powerful blow to their backs before pulling away but not dropping their grip of hands.

I tore my eyes away from the two of them, both amazingly attractive in a way you didn’t often see, or ever see. Maybe one, if you were lucky, but definitely not a double bill like these two. That was a miracle the like it proved there was a God.

Then I saw both Kate and Keira gazing up at them, Manny a memory, Benny, they’d never forget in their entire lives.

Then my eyes moved and I saw most of the women in the restaurant also looking, some openly, some glances, some even had mouths open, all of them in some way awed.

My eyes went back to the men as they detached, Cal came back to me, Benny, like Manny, scooted unceremoniously in beside Kate and Keira.

Kate emitted a sound that was half-strangled scream, half-moan. Keira just stared.

I looked back at the restaurant and saw that most of the women hadn’t quit looking and it was a wonder, with the raw, sexual magnetism being discharged at our table, how the lot of them didn’t fly straight at us, sticking to Benny and Cal like flecks of steel to a powerful magnet.

“Hear you’re Vi,” I heard Benny say and my eyes went to him.

“Yeah.” I reached my arm across the table when he stretched his to me.

“Benny,” he said after he took my hand in a warm grip, not too firm, it was friendly firm. Then he let my hand go and looked at Kate and Keira.

Kate visibly stilled. Keira swallowed.

“Vi’s girls, Ben, Kate and Keira,” Cal told him.

“Heard about them too,” Benny said, aiming his smile and hand at both in turn. Kate gulped as she took his hand. When Keira did, her eyes rolled back into her head.

I looked at Cal and he was grinning at them.

“Shoulda warned you, Benny’s a lady-killer,” Cal told the girls and both their eyes fluttered to him.

“I didn’t think anyone could be hotter than you, Joe,” Keira whispered, forgetting she hated Cal for a second, forgetting everything in the presence of Benny.

“Ben, you’re killin’ me,” Cal murmured but there was a timbre of suppressed laughter in his voice, “lost my position.”

“Sucks, but you’re used to it,” Benny returned on a grin.

Cal shook his head and Benny looked at me.

“Dad’s got your pie in the oven,” he informed me then his eyes went to Cal. “Freakin’ kitchen’s crazed. He’s got my kids in a tizzy. He’s been retired from the kitchen a year and I just got them settled, it took that long. Now he’s taken over, fifteen minutes back to drill sergeant and the place is pandemonium, boys are droppin’ shit, burnin’ shit, nuts.”

“Kick his ass out,” Cal advised.

“You try to kick Vinnie’s ass out when he’s got an apron around his waist,” Benny replied then looked at Keira and Kate and, for some reason, asked, “Your Mom do somethin’ good, somethin’ better than anyone else you know?”

“Her garden,” Keira chimed in instantly.

“Her seafood risotto,” Kate told him the second Keira’s last word was uttered.

“Her pork chops and spiced rice,” Keira put in.

“Her chocolate chunk cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting,” Kate added.

“When we were kids, she told the best bedtime stories,” Keira went on. “All my friends wanted to stay over at my house because of Mom’s bedtime stories. She was famous for them.”

Benny’s eyes slid to me and I felt Cal’s on me too. I also felt my face get hot.

There was silence then Benny murmured, “All that sounds good.”

“The best,” Keira agreed and I watched as Benny forced, with visible effort, his eyes back to the girls.

“Makes my point asinine. Was gonna tell you, she tries to teach you that stuff, you should run the other way.” He looked back to me. “But, thinkin’, that shit, you should let her,” Benny told them, his eyes still on me and I felt my face get hotter.

“I’m guessin’ Uncle Vinnie shared the secret of his pies,” Cal saved me by remarking and Benny’s dark brown eyes released me from their magnetic hold and he looked to his cousin.

“Yeah. He taught me, said he wanted to retire from the kitchen. Now he’s ordered a new sign, gets installed next week. Vinnie and Benny’s Pizzeria. Screwed now, cugino, my name’s gonna be on the building, I’m fuckin’ stuck.”

I couldn’t tell if this was a complaint or considered an honor and Benny didn’t let on which one it was.

“Mom doesn’t like it when we hear the f-word,” Keira butted in before I could figure it out or Cal could comment then I watched her face get pink and she looked at the table.

“Good Mom’s usually don’t,” Benny told her then leaned in and noted, “but bet you hear it all the time at school.”

Keira looked at him and nodded.

“Bet you say it too,” Benny teased, Keira bit her lip, avoided my eyes, in fact, she avoided everyone’s eyes and she looked so hilariously guilty, Benny burst out laughing.

So did Cal

And so did I.

On the day of my brother’s funeral.

Then again, if Sam got a look at Keira’s face, he would have laughed too.

“How’d you two meet?” Benny asked, sitting back, settling in, ready to stay awhile even though his kitchen was pandemonium. He stretched an arm along the back of the booth which stretched his tight tee across his chest and his ripped bicep, his arm spanning both girls and both girls’ eyes shot to me, their faces set to identical looks of joy.

“Violet’s my neighbor,” Cal answered and Benny threw his head back and burst out laughing again.

When he finished, he shook his head, eyes on Cal. “Jesus. Only you could have the beautiful mother of two beautiful girls fuckin’ move right next door. Shit.” Benny looked to me again and said, “You got a sister, Vi, she’s lookin’ for a place, the one next door to me’s for sale.”

I smiled at him, feeling his compliment settle deep but informed him, “I don’t have a sister. Just a brother.”

The humor faded from his face as the smile faded from mine and, like his Dad, his eyes got soft, his expression turned gentle and he murmured, “Cara.”

I bit my lip. He’d heard about that too.

Then I watched in fascination as his head turned and he looked at my girls. Then his hand curled and he slid the backs of his fingers along the now-reminded-of-her-grief Keira’s jaw. Then his arm curled around Kate and he pulled her into his side for an affectionate squeeze before his arm went back to settle on the booth.

Yes, Cal’s family was cool.

In fact, they could be the coolest.

My mind was taken from this when I started to uncross my legs and, when I did, Cal’s hand came back. It curled around my inner thigh and pulled my leg up and over his, where he dropped it on his thigh.

Vulnerable, tired and one breadstick not cutting through my hunger, I forgot myself, my head turned to him and I snapped, “Why do you keep doin’ that?”

His head turned to me and his eyes leveled on mine. “You aren’t puttin’ your foot on the floor.”

“Why not?”

“Buddy, can’t believe I gotta remind you, but your foot is injured.”

“You don’t have to remind me.”

“Then you don’t need to ask why it shouldn’t be on the floor.”

“Yes, I do,” I was still snapping.

His head dipped so his face was close to mine. “Aunt Theresa keeps a clean place, still, not takin’ any chances and I don’t want your injured foot on what could be a dirty floor.”

This was thoughtful and nice which pissed me off, pissed me off enough to lose it and forget my vow to remember, forever and always, that Joe was gone. In fact, Joe never really existed, he was a figment of my imagination and it was Cal who remained.

I should have never forgotten.

But I did and therefore hissed, “It has a bandage on it, Joe.”

The minute I uttered his name, his face changed. I watched stunned, spellbound, as his eyes got soft and his face turned tender. He’d never looked at me like that, not ever, and my stomach got soft again, and warm, my heart started beating harder and I couldn’t help but lean closer, drawn by the power and beauty of that look aimed at me.

His hand came up, cupped my jaw and I was so thrown, I didn’t jerk my head away.

And I still didn’t when his mouth touched mine. He’d done that before, definitely, but never that way, never with that tenderness.

I felt my chest rising and falling because I found it difficult to breathe as his head bent, his mouth coming to my ear on the opposite side so Kate, Keira and Benny couldn’t see or hear him.

“Your foot stays off the floor until Manny comes back with your flip-flops. Yeah?” he whispered in my ear.

“Okay,” I replied instantly, whispering too.

His hand still at my jaw stayed at my jaw and he continued whispering. “Awhile ago, after I installed the system, when you were bein’ a bitch, we were in your livin’ room, you remember what I said?”

I remembered, I remembered like it happened yesterday. He’d said he was going to spank me and play with me until I begged and squirmed.

The memory made me squirm in the booth but I nodded.

His hand at my jaw tensed then he threatened, “You call me anything but Joe again, honey, that’s what you’ll get.”

I swallowed.

“Yeah?” he prompted.

“Okay,” I whispered.

“Good.”

He bent his head further, kissed my neck and then his hand dropped from my jaw and he sat back.

Benny, Kate and Keira were all staring at us. Benny was smiling, huge. Kate was too. Keira looked slightly angry but more confused and I didn’t blame her as I was feeling the exact same way.

“Well, Joe,” Benny started, still smiling. “See you got your hands full.”

“Yeah,” Joe replied, giving my thigh a squeeze and sounding like he didn’t mind at all. In fact, sounding like the idea of having his hands full was something he liked.

A lot.

“Glad to see it, cugino,” Benny said, his smile smaller but his eyes had gone intense and he repeated, his voice low, heavy, even gruff and just as intense as the look he was aiming at his cousin. “Glad to see it.”

I avoided his eyes, Kate’s, Keira’s, Joe’s and I decided to let my leg over Joe’s go, Manny would be back soon (I hoped).

Then I grabbed another breadstick.

I woke up, belly to the bed, one knee cocked but I kept my eyes closed, letting my senses test the bed, the room, listening for breathing, feeling for heat, hardness.

Nothing.

I opened my eyes and saw the bed beside me was empty.

Then I rolled to my back and saw the bed behind me was also empty (not Joe’s side so this wasn’t a surprise).

I stared at the ceiling and listened for noises in the bathroom.

Nothing.

Maybe I dreamed it.

I looked to the clock and it was after ten in the morning.

Late. Very late.

Then I sighed and looked at the ceiling again, all of it, the rest of last night and after we got home, tumbling into my head.

The breadsticks at Vinnie’s Pizzeria were good. The antipasto platter yummy. The pie was the best pizza I’d ever had and I’d done copious pizza tasting research so it might be the best pizza ever made. The mascarpone cheesecake was sublime (the girls had big bowls of spumoni ice cream, homemade, I’d tasted it and even with a gun to my head, I couldn’t have told you if the ice cream or cheesecake was better). And the Chianti couldn’t be beat. I’d never had better wine in my life.

This might have been why I drank the whole bottle.

Or, perhaps, it was because we were at the restaurant for hours.

The entire time we ate, and after, Vinnie, Theresa, Manny and Benny all came and went, sitting and chatting, standing and chatting. Between pizza and dessert, Vinnie came and got the girls in order to give them a tour of the kitchen while Theresa sat on their side and chatted to Joe and me. Then Vinnie came back with the girls and Theresa took them on a tour of the front of the house while Vinnie sat with us and chatted. Then we had dessert.