She took a few steps when Johnny's voice rang out again. "That also extends to Dante."
Her footsteps faltered, but she didn't turn back around, forcing her feet to continue on, not wanting to go down that road with yet another Amaro.
When she reached the apartment, she stuck her key in the lock, but before she could turn it, the door flung open. Gabriella gasped, surprised, when Dante appeared, his hair a mess from sleep, wearing only boxers and his white undershirt.
"You're awake," she said, smiling at the sight of him. He looked almost refreshed, like he'd been plugged into a socket and given a fresh charge. His eyes shone bright, the dark bags diminished.
"And you were gone," he said. "That's the second time I've woken up in your apartment alone."
"I grabbed some breakfast," she said, shaking the bag at him as she walked into the apartment and shut the door.
"Casato, huh?" He eyed the bag as he took it from her. "Nice."
"I didn't really know what you liked, so I just got sandwiches," she said. "Egg, ham, provolone, something. I don't know. I've never actually eaten anything there before."
"Me, either," he said, pulling out the sandwiches and handing one to her. "Used to go with Genna all the time, though. She liked the place."
Gabriella grabbed some drinks from the kitchen and sat down beside Dante, picking her sandwich apart while she watched him eat. She wasn't hungry, but she'd wanted an excuse to wander across the street.
"So, just out of curiosity, how do you feel about the Amaros?"
He cut his eyes at her. "The Amaros?"
"Yeah, like Gavin…"
"Did he ask you to ask me that? Because I swear to fuck, if he sent a 'Do you like me? Check yes or no' note with you, I'm gonna lose my shit."
She laughed. "What? No. I was just wondering."
"In that case, he's okay."
"Just okay?"
"I mean, I've always liked the guy. He never gave me reason not to like him. But if I ever got arrested, I'm not sure he'd be my one phone call."
"Who would be your call?"
"I don't know. Guess we'll find out when it happens."
"When it happens?"
"It's kind of inevitable, isn't it?" He shook his head. "My sister called me, you know. I was her one."
"Did you bail her out?"
"Never got the chance. My father intervened. And I guess, you know, he probably would've been mine. He used to clean up all my messes, but now, hell, I think I'd rather rot in jail."
"You could call me," she suggested.
"Impossible," he said. "The one time I asked for your number, you wouldn't give it to me."
She gazed at him, surprised. That hadn't even crossed her mind. Waltzing into the kitchen, she ripped a piece of scrap paper off of a notepad stuck to the refrigerator and scribbled her number down on it before walking back over to him. "Here, now you have it, so no excuses."
"Ah, I always have excuses," he said, taking it from her. "Like the fact that I don't even have a phone right now."
"What happened to your phone?"
"Same shit that always happens," he said. "Couldn't trust it."
"You couldn't trust your phone?"
"No, but I'll pick up a new one sometime this week… or next week… or whenever I feel like it."
"Excuses and complaints," Gabriella grumbled. "I think that might be all you're good for."
"Orgasms, remember? Christ, Gabriella. Are you already forgetting those benefits?"
"My bad, how could I forget that?"
"And anything else you need, all you've gotta do is ask," he said. "That was the deal we made, in case you forgot. I know we joke around about this shit, but I'm not kidding about that. There are perks to being with me, Gabriella. I'm at your disposal."
Chapter Fifteen
"Genna?"
Music rattled from the small radio beside the back door, plugged in with an orange extension cord that weaved into the house. Oldies. Fifties. Songs Matty heard at work from the ancient jukebox. It was strange, hearing Genna listening to it, jamming out to The Penguins and singing Earth Angel at the top of her lungs. A set of tanned legs jetted out from beneath the jacked-up broken-down car, filthy bare feet digging into the dry dirt.
"Genna!"
He yelled her name, louder, when the song changed. Genna stopped singing, shoving out from beneath the car.
For weeks, she'd been working on it, pouring herself into it every chance she got, buying extra parts and blowing money on better tools all in some quest to get the damn thing running. Matty didn't question it... much.