apology buddy, but I have to go.” I had already given him a minute too much of my time.
“Wait!” He half yelled, and reached out to grab my arm as I tried to move past him. I looked at his grip, and he immediately withdrew his hand and stuffed it into his pocket. He swallowed and then returned to staring at me again. Whatever he was trying to do was clearly not going to plan. I was unsure he even had a plan anymore, given he had nothing to say. This was not the smartest approach at trying to get to Big Joe’s daughter. I began internally laughing at the guy who should have brought his ‘A Game’ today, especially considering what I knew about his reputation.
I was standing in front of Samuel Voltaggio, the only son of my Dad’s rival. I had seen pictures of him many times before. My father made me well aware of what he looked like, as well as his reputation. It almost seemed stupid that he would think I wouldn’t know who he was. Surely he must have had some idea that my Dad would have educated me about the face of our enemy. Thinking that I was clueless to his identity almost made me feel offended. Did I really appear that naive? Did he think my Dad would not give me that type of information? Granted it was traditional in our culture that women were separated from any and all manly matters, but my father bypassed those traditions when it came to my safety, giving me information on a need-to-know-basis. I guess I could understand why he would think I wouldn’t know, but the assumption still made me pissed.
“I’m waiting,” I said impatiently, as his dark brown eyes, which looked almost black, went from my eyes, to my lips, to my body, and then back to my eyes again. As I looked into his eyes, trying to see into the depths of that darkness, it hit me. It was subtle, but it hit me.
The rush of attraction.
A heat from inside me suddenly appeared from nowhere.
Damn. That’s not good.
There had been a hole in my heart that was left gaping open since my best friend Josh had moved to Morewell for college two years ago. Josh and I were not romantic, but our friendship filled a void in me that needed companionship, and with him gone, the sudden need for something more in my life sprung open inside, begging to be filled.
“I’m Samuel,” he spoke. His voice was deep, but also sexy and smooth. My knees trembled at the sound of his voice.
That’s new.
“I’m Lenorah,” I said. (But I was sure he knew that.)
He crossed his arms over his chest as he watched me, thinking. He looked around and then back to my lips again. He appeared like he was now making this up as he went along.
“Look, this is going to sound a little forward, and we are two complete strangers, but can I...buy you...a cannoli?”
What? I burst out laughing. Of all the things I expected to come out of this guy’s mouth, the last thing I expected him to say was ‘cannoli’. (Note: a cannoli is a sweet Italian dessert. It has a deep fried pastry dough casing, filled with a yummy custard-like filling.)
I was impressed with his creativity to say the least, and wondered what he was about to say next. “What?” I asked, still a little taken back in surprise about his weird approach. This was certainly a new one for me.
“Cannolis. Do you like them?” He sounded sincere in the way he asked.
Hmmm cannoli. Yes, they were one of my favorite desserts, but it had been a long time since I had one. The last time was on my seventeenth birthday with Josh on a rooftop. Josh had failed, quite typically, trying to put a birthday candle in one of those things, and the cannoli’s filling ended up everywhere on my hands as I blew out my candle. We lay on that rooftop staring at the stars that night while I licked parts of the cannoli from my fingers. The thought only reminded me of how much I missed Josh and the void in my heart.
“You are being serious aren’t you?” I was smiling at him, but still very confused. What kind of line was this? What kind of play?
“There is a little Italian cart I know of, right near Central Park which makes them. I swear, they are