Enzo (Jinx Tattoos 1)

“Yours,” she wailed.

“Damn straight.” He drove home.

The world narrowed to the glide of their bodies together and his mouth. The slap of their skin was the sweetest symphony her ears had ever heard. His name became lyrics, and the love they shared was the inspiration behind the entire creation. Shaking, sobbing, and desperate for completion, her muscles contracted as she flew head first into ecstasy with his bellows trailing her and his warmth filling her.

Chapter Nine

Enzo

He glanced at the door for the millionth time, knowing he would lose his mind if he remained in the house with Aoife for much longer. Ave had been gone for three hours and time seemed to have slowed.

Aoife was content on the floor lying in a nest of pink blankets.

“Well, baby girl. Your old man is about to crack up, waiting on your mama to realize what I already know. Are you going to be stubborn like her?”

Aoife turned her head toward him and he smiled. People say children changed you. He’d never expected to experience that all-consuming love firsthand. There was a handful of people he counted on to set him straight when his mind was a tangled web. There was only one he trusted to keep this under wraps and hold back their judgment. Pulling out his phone, he called the man who had a knack for helping him get his head out of his ass.

“What’s up, brother?” Noah answered.

“You got some time for me today? I need an ear.”

“Might have. This sounds like serious shit.”

“It is,” Enzo said.

“You want me to come your way?” Noah asked.

“Yeah, that’d work best. I can’t really leave the house right now.”

“Fuck, brother. When you stray off the path, you don’t do it halfway, do you?”

“For once, I think I’m progressing,” he said.

“No shit?” Noah asked with a laugh.

“You can be the judge. See you here?”

“Yeah, brother, I’ll be that way in about thirty.” And with that Noah hung up.

“Well, the dice have been cast, I suppose,” Enzo muttered to himself. Doubts crept into his brain. Can I do this? I had nothing but a piss poor example of parenting growing up. The Jordans didn’t set me straight until I was damn near an adult. He had a handful of decent memories about his mother. Those moments were frozen in time, a shiny diamond buried deep in a pile of shit. He rarely let himself examine the jewel. It hurt more than all the wrong things she’d done, because it proved a human lived inside that vacant shell. Did she ever glance down on him with the love and affection he already felt for this little girl not of his flesh? He’d never known his father, and he had the sinking suspicion it was because she had no clue who he was. In her own convoluted way, she’d loved him. She had shown that on some level.

PAST

He lay on his belly beneath the little dining table, watching his mother. She wore her tiny black dress. It meant one of the men would be coming. He didn’t like them. They were loud and smelled funny. They laughed a lot and he never understood why. He didn’t like the way they touched Mommy, either. In their other home, he had a room to play in when they came, but this place only had one bedroom he had to share with Mommy. So, she told him to stay out of sight and hidden.

A knock came at the door and he held his breath.

His mother clacked across the floor on shiny tall shoes and opened the door. The man came in. Big and white haired he spoke softly. Maybe this one would be nice. His mother nodded her head, took his hand, and lead him back to her room.

Once the door shut, he slid from his space. His stomach was rumbly. He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was cheese on the very top shelf. He glanced toward the door. He wasn’t supposed to get things he couldn’t reach. He’d made a mess last time. His belly continued to talk. She won’t know. He climbed up and grabbed the chunk of cheese. He wobbled, his arms flailed. The cheese fell from his hands and he grabbed the bar. It gave and he fell to the ground, bringing other bottles with him. Dazed, he remained on his back breathing heavily.

“What the hell? You have a brat in here?”

He rolled onto all fours and stared up at the red-faced man.

“He’s okay. He was just trying to get something to eat.”

His mother sounded funny. His stomach rolled. He didn’t like it when Mama took her medicine. She acted weird.