Twenty-Seven

 

 

Aria

After our brief detour from reality, we are back home and Gio is back to work. If you would have asked me a year ago if I could ever consider a mansion where women prostitute themselves to men to be my home, I would have laughed in your face, but now I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I have grown to love the women here. The problem is, while Cecilia is gone, Claudia is now here training Natalie to take over and she isn’t exactly fond of me.

The last few days I have been roaming the expansive property taking pictures. Then an idea struck me. I could take pictures to go in the women’s profiles. Gio could include a couple photos of the women, so the members could see a good image of who they are picking. Right now, there’s a simple head shot of each girl in their portfolio, which are not flattering at all. At first, Gio said no but when I started following him around, bored out of my mind, taking pictures of him, he said whatever I wanted to do is fine.

So, I had each girl let me know when they are dressed up and would like her picture taken. I did mini photo shoots for each of them and now that I’m in the darkroom developing their photos, I am in love! I have always been more of a landscape photographer but seeing how these photos turned out, I think I have found what I want to do as a photographer. I want to do professional shoots. From boudoir to family shoots, I want to capture the special moments people want to remember.

As I am hanging up the last of Giselle’s photos from her shoot to dry, there’s a knock at the door. Gio put a lock on the door so when I’m developing, people can’t just barge in and ruin the photos. I rinse and dry my hands and step outside to find Claudia standing up against the wall with her arms crossed. She is dressed similar to the way all the women dress around here, in an expensive formfitting dress and tall heels. Her makeup is done to perfection and if I didn’t know she has a thirty-two-year-old son, I would think she was no older than forty years old.

“Claudia,” I say, giving her my best smile. She’s made it a point to ignore me the last week so I can’t imagine why she wants to speak to me now but I know it’s probably best to be pleasant if she is ever going to give me a chance.

“Aria, I was hoping we could speak.” Claudia hits me with a smile just as big as the one I gave her and something tells me hers is fake as well.

“Absolutely.” I follow Claudia out to the back patio near the pool. She asks Darla, one of the servers, to bring us some sweet tea then gestures for me to have a seat.

“I thought since Giovanni is out on business for the day we could talk. He’s made it a point to keep me away from you all week but there are a few things I need to say.” I’m stunned to learn that Giovanni has kept her away from me. I thought this whole time she was simply avoiding me but to learn it was his doing has me extremely curious as to why. Without waiting for my response, Claudia continues. “I wanted to personally apologize for Cecilia’s part in what happened regarding Senator Weston Hightower.”

She’s apologizing for something Cecilia did? “No, please, I can’t let you take the blame or apologize for something you had no control over.”

“Please let me finish, dear.” Claudia places her hands into her lap and sits up straighter, her shoulders jutting back. “As I was saying, I am sorry for her part. She did what she felt was best for this family but she should have come to me first because I would have told her it was a waste of her time. You are twenty-one years old and while I’m sure your pussy is fresh and tight just how my son likes it—since he is his father’s son—you have no future with Giovanni.”

My drink splutters from my mouth as I take in her words. This woman has no intention of apologizing. Gio kept her from me because he knew how she felt. My only hope is to explain to her how I feel about Gio.

“Claudia, I know Cecilia is close to your family.”

“No, she is family.” Her left eyebrow goes up daring me to argue, and I take a sip of my tea to fill my mouth before I say something I can’t take back.

“Ok, she is family. But I love Gio and I didn’t force him to be with me. He chose to be with me and he loves me as well.”

Claudia scoffs. “Has he told you that?”

“Yes.”

Her eyebrows furrow in shock but she quickly recollects herself. “It doesn’t really matter. Cecilia and Giovanni were meant to be together. Stefan has been part of our family his entire life. Giovanni will one day take over for his father and he needs a strong woman on his arm. My dear, you just aren’t fit to be in this life.”

“Mother!” Gio’s voice booms from behind us and we both turn to look at him. He stalks over to the table and stands next to my chair. “I made it clear you are not to speak to Aria unless you are willing to give her a chance.” Then he turns to me. “Aria, please give my mother and me a few minutes. I came out here to tell you we are flying out this afternoon. Go on up and pack, and I will be up in a few minutes. Make sure you pack a nice dress and heels.” Gio places a small kiss on my forehead, silently dismissing me.

Before I walk inside, I turn to Claudia and say, “I’m sorry if you feel I’m coming between your family. I understand I am not who you want for your son—for your family—but I love him and until he sends me away, I’m not going anywhere.”

I walk inside, closing the doors behind me to give them their privacy and head upstairs to pack. I have no idea where Gio and I are going but maybe getting away is a good idea. I would never be disrespectful to Gio’s mom but it hurts to have your relationship belittled by someone who isn’t part of the equation. I understand she’s his mom and therefore family, but she doesn’t understand how deep my feelings run for her son. She doesn’t get how my heart feels complete when he touches me. How, when he smiles at me, my chest tightens and the butterflies my mom used to tell me about show up, fluttering all around my belly.

She isn’t there at night when we are sleeping and Gio unconsciously reaches for me, needing to hold me close to him, needing my body against his. She doesn’t hear the conviction in his words every time he tells me he loves me. I grab a suitcase and pack a couple outfits, a dress, and heels like Gio requested as well as some lingerie and my toiletries and my camera. By the time I am done packing, Gio is swinging open the door, his fingers running through his hair in frustration.

“You ready?” His voice is gruff and I stop what I’m doing.

“You want to try that again?”

Gio runs his hands over his face. “Fuck!” His fingers go to his hair, pulling on the ends. I bridge the gap between us and removing his fingers, bring them down, entwining our hands together.

“Hey, please calm down.” I stand on my tiptoes and give Gio a gentle kiss, my lips lingering on his but my tongue never seeking entrance. His body visibly relaxes. “Where are we going? Are we running away?” I give him a wink and he cracks a smile.

“It’s a surprise.”

Five hours later and we are walking out of the Miami International Airport to wait for the car service. Johnny is with us but keeps his distance. The air in Miami is a lot like the air in Vegas, hot and humid and sticky as hell. It’s almost ten o’clock at night in Miami but it still feels like it’s a hundred degrees outside. July in Florida is no joke. The sweat instantly beads above my brow and I wipe it away.

Thankfully, the car service pulls up only minutes after we step outside, and after taking our bags we take off to the hotel. Johnny sits in the front with the driver, Gio sitting in the back with me. He makes several phone calls and sends numerous messages on the way while I stare out at the view of the Miami bay. It’s pitch black but the twinkling lights of the city reflect off the water. I pull out my camera and hit the button to roll down my window and snap some pictures. If the hot air whipping through the car bothers Gio, he doesn’t say anything.

We pull up to a luxurious hotel and without grabbing our bags, Gio takes hold of my hand and walks inside to check-in. While he’s speaking to the woman at the desk, I spot a sign near the front door and damn near have a heart attack.

Miami Photography Art Exhibit

The date for the exhibit is this weekend and it’s featuring several artists I would die to meet. If this isn’t the reason we are here, I am going to have to convince Gio to go with me if we can still get tickets. He finishes checking in and I point to the sign. “Please tell me we are going.”

Gio follows my line of vision to the sign and tries hard to stifle his smile but I catch it before he can contain it. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” I jump up into his arms, his strong hands catching me, and bring my hands to either side of his face, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. “Thank you! I can’t believe this. Francis Ricci, Cheri Vitelli, and Valerie Malone are all here!”

“I’m assuming they are photographers?” I gasp at Gio’s ignorance.

“Not just photographers, Gio. The best photographers.” Gio chuckles and drops his hands from under my ass, my body dragging down the front of his as he slowly brings me to my feet.

“And what would you do for these tickets to see the best photographers, amore mio?” Gio waggles his eyebrows playfully. I press my body up against his, bringing my knee up slightly to rub against his crotch. I feel him growing harder as I rub.

“I think we should go up to our room and I’ll show you what I’m willing to do for the tickets.” I rub my knee one last time before backing away and walking toward the elevator.