“You’re different.” He blocked my kick. “Something’s different this time.”
“Nothing’s different.”
“Oh, fuck,” he chuckled, “it’s a girl, isn’t it?”
“Yup.” Vinni popped out of nowhere and sat down on the bench against the wall.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I brought Sienna something to eat.” He forked some pasta and jammed the entire thing into his mouth. “But I couldn’t find her, so now it’s mine.”
“Vinni, tell me about this woman.” Aldo laughed as I went in for a three-punch sequence.
“She’s,” he sucked back a long noodle, “great, gives him shit, and makes him work for the rest.”
“Are we fighting or having fucking girl time?” I grunted.
“Both.” Vinni slurped louder.
I shook my head, trying to clear it, and Aldo took the opportunity to plough one into my shoulder. The pain felt good, and I purposely missed blocking his second hit, feeling my bones vibrate from the impact. He glared at me, knowing what I was doing, so I got my head on straight and came at him, punch, punch, kick, punch, punch. I went in hard and used my speed and strength to work out my aggression, and all the while I heard my cousin slurp on his damn noodles.
“There,” Aldo coached me, “harder, yes, just like that. Twist your body and clench your stomach to add more power.” I knew most everything there was about fighting, but there was something about having someone yell in your face that helped block out the mental white noise that wanted to creep in and control me. “Good. Again.”
Slurp, slurp…
I dropped my hands and pivoted toward the ropes with clenched teeth. “So help me Vinni, you either eat your damn dinner somewhere else or I’m going to tape you slurping up those noodles and put you on every gay site in Italy.”
He slowly slurped the noodle hanging from his lips and swallowed. He leaned down and carefully placed the bowl next to him.
“See what she does to him!” He grinned then raced out the back door, laughing the entire way.
When I turned back to Aldo, I met his fist as it hit my chin. When my eyes could focus again, I saw he had a shit-eating smirk on his face. I guessed I had that one coming. I lifted my hands, and we started back up again.
I woke to sunshine. It warmed my entire body as it shone through the window. The sweet smell of coffee met my nose, and for a brief moment, I felt wonderful. I controlled my head from going to a dark place as I unwrapped the blanket and carefully sat up. The house was quiet and calm. Just what I needed, a moment for myself. I knew a ton of questions were waiting for me at the Hill House, and I would give them everything I could, but for now, I would just enjoy the morning.
The air unit above me kicked in, and a cool breeze brushed over my skin. My guess would be that the temperature outside was quickly heating up, and I wondered if I would be able to get into the pool with my aching ribs.
A piece of paper caught my attention, and as I reached for it, butterflies fluttered in my stomach just like they did when I was young and saw the sight of the familiar printing.
Imagine waking up to a dream only to discover it’s real life. I didn’t have the heart to wake you, but I have a meeting at the Hill House. Come and join us when you’re ready. I’ve instructed all to leave you be. Coffee is set to brew in an hour, and there are fresh towels inourbedroom. Takeyourkey from the bowl by the door. I want to wake up next to you every morning. – E
I loved that he underlined the wordsourandyour, the fact he had written a note and signed it just the way he used to.
I folded the blanket and fluffed up the pillows then decided I should get the lay of his house. It was strange to think that for as long as I had been staying here, I hadn’t really spent much time here. But first, I headed to the kitchen and poured myself a big fat mug of coffee and snagged a pastry from the plate he had left out.
My phone vibrated, and I saw it was a missed call from Wyatt. I tapped on his number, hoping to catch him.
“Hey, you!” He sounded out of breath. “I have like five minutes before I head into a meeting.”
“Where are you? What meeting?” I was dying to get back into the field.
“Washington. I went down a rabbit hole, which dragged me to the US, but, girl, I am not complaining because—”
“Well, fuck me sideways,” someone called out, and Wyatt laughed.
“Who was that?”
“That was an army man, dressed in camo, who I think was quite literally plucked from every fantasy I’ve ever had.”