ASCENSION (24 page)

“
I’m
sticking with you.
The thing is you don’t have to struggle through
everything alone
anymore.
Okay, y
ou
’ve made
poor choices but you’ve also made really good ones. You graduated college, started a business and you care about people.
Alfonzo, w
e can start over, go
anywhere…live any place you want as long as
we’re
together.”

“Babe
…geez…if it were that
simple
I’d have done
it
already but it’s not
.”

“Why not
dammit, tell me
?”

The
n he told her.
He divulged it all.
His
father’s
cryptic
death-bed confession,
the ledger, Monticelli and the reason for his trips abroad.
The life-long favors from his father’s associates, cleaning their dirty money, funding campaigns for crooked politicians and more.
Yes, he told her almost everything except the meeting with the IBD.
S
he sat
quietly without interjection
. The shadow
y
places became lit. She saw through his eyes and understood the burdens cast upon him. Burdens he reluctantly carried
.
The purging cleansed his conscience and he waited for her to speak. M
usic from th
e satellite radio covered the uncomfortable pause as he
drove
wondering what
exactly
she was thinking, expecting a different reaction then the one
given.

“I guess we
’ll
have to write the chapters of our life
together
until the
last page.
I
can’t turn off my love for you. I’m too invested in us. Guess
,
you’ll have to get accustomed to me riding shotgun.
I
t’s
do
or die, right?”

Alfonzo
’s
lip curled into a half smile
and for the first time since this entire ordeal he did not feel alone. The weight of it lifted and he responded
with humor
, “Oh, I got
it;
y
ou’re my ride or
die chick. I keep
forgetting how tough
y
ou
are.
Selange from the
B
K
.
”

Selange crossed her arms, “Stop
joking around, I’m serious.
N
o more secrets.
You’re all the family I have
. D
on’t
try and
shield
me from
the truth
anymore, it’s too late. We have
a son
to protect
and
we
need to
do it
tog
ether
!”

“
Fine,
I
agree
n
o
more secrets
.
Now I need for you to stop
p
unishing me
;
I absolutely
cannot
survive
another
night in
Sal’s
bed
!”

Selange managed
a
smile, “
Okay,
the
punany
exile is officially rescinded
”

“Whew, thank goodness!”

Alfon
zo reached for her hand and held it
as he drove
. He
thought about what she said.
O
ne hand
controlled
the steering
w
heel
while
the other
cupped h
ers
in
a
symbiotic
display
of how much
he cherished their relationship and her sagacity.
Yeah, it was
do
or die with this woman. He couldn’t fathom life without her!

***

T
hey reached the city of Carolina
and
he drove
familiarly through narrow streets
until
they
merg
e
d
onto the Isle Verde
. They traveled a short distance before the car came to a halt
outside
the luxurious
Ritz-Carlton.

He exited the car and opened her door, “We’re here.”

The car
tailgat
ing sped
alongside
theirs
and Alfonzo e
x
cused himself
to
e
xchang
e
words
with
his cousin
before
hand
ing
over
his car key.
“
Don’t wreck my car or I’m coming after you
r Italian ass
!”

“
S
tay with your
machine
and
I go with
your wife!
” Giuseppe teased.

Alfonzo
flipped him the bird then
returned to collect his wife.
He took her hand and they entered the swank
hotel
lobby
. Th
ey were greeted by
a
clean
s
haven
manag
e
r who
had been expecting
their arrival.

“Your suite is
ready
,
”
He
said with a
practiced smile
for his rich guests
.
He h
oped the
beautiful woman
found
the arrangement of food and
selection
of clothing
to
her liking
.
Her husband
spent quite a
deal of
money
on
this
o
ccasion and
he
wanted
every
one to
be
satisfied
.

“Thank you,” Alfonzo said as
they were escorted up to the suite.

Alfonzo thanked the manager and
sent him
about his business smiling. The tip he received, five thousand dollars in cash enclose
d in an envelope.

Alfonzo wasted no time
locking the door and turning to
Selange
smil
ing
,
“Happy Anniversary!”

Selange gasped, “Oh my God!” She forgot. How could she not remember something as important as their anniversary? “I’m sorry…I’ve been so preoccupied…”

He interjected, “
It’s
okay. You had a lot on your mind but I remembered for the both of us.”

S
he realized the effort Alfonzo put into
this surprise and suspected it took careful planning to execute.
The suite was gorgeous.

His eyes
twinkled mischievously, “
I
f
y
ou feel
that
bad about it I
have a way y
ou can make it up to me.”

She heard the soundtrack in the background, smiling.
Pitbull
and Marc Anthony’s collaboration on the song Rain
Over
Me.
She smirked, they were both had a playlists with a mix of old school and new joints. Music, it was a shared culture. Poetry set to song. Yeah, she’d definitely make it rain.

Alfonzo
squeezed her around the waist and she leaned against him absorb
ing
th
e
wonderful
romantic
surprise
.
He was dancing to the music, moving her in, suave and sexy as hell.

She danced with him, drinking in the
tastefull
y decorated
suite
with large
bouquets of flowers
in every corner
.
The huge
vanilla
scented candle
atop an oval
table and
rose
pedals on the floor. In
front
of the tinted
glass window
sat a silver serving cart filled with fresh fruit, sweets and crêpes.
From their vantage point
she could see the
skyline
and
their
proximity to the
ocean
.
It was breathtaking.

He planned this
romantic get-away despite the
unbelievable pressures on
his shoulders.
She felt unworthy
.
She
put her arms around his neck when the dance
song stopped and a slower tune set a different mood. She
kissed him, “Thank you
..
.
it’s great.
”

He picked her
up and
carried her to the white sofa
and
placed her
g
ently
atop the soft cushions.
H
is eyes
searched hers pleadingly,
“
F
orgive me for being a jerk
.
Your girl Shanda called me a dumbass.” He smirked, “I am sometimes.
”

Selange
caress
ed
his cheek,
“
I
wish I
’d known you were carrying this much stress. H
oney…
I’m
so sorry.”

He
lowered his head
and
kiss
ed
h
er
open mouth. Her lips were very soft
,
inviting
and tasted of
peppermint
tea. His hands
pressed
against
the
backrest of the
sofa as
slender
fingers
deftly
unzipped his
trousers then
stripped him from the waist down. He kicked off
his Italian leather shoes
and nudged them to the pile,
keeping his gaze upon his wife’s beautiful face.

She smiled admiring his
muscular thighs
and
engorged penis
.
Despite the dark cloud looming
overhead she felt lucky to have such an attentive and loving man. And for this moment she put aside all cares and swore silently to love him until the fires of Hell incinerated them both.

He removed his shirt i
n one
fluid motion
to
display
a defined
torso
inked
with an exotic creature
bursting from flames
across
one side.
He tossed
the
shirt
to the floor
and her arm
s
extended toward him
, beckoning him and he
came
.
Slender
finger
s slowly
traced
the series of
indentation
s along
his abdominal
oblique
, stopping
t
o
caress an old scar
, then slid
below and c
up
ped
his unabashed
manhood.
He remained motionless, entranced by the
manipulation of his erotic zone.
He
did not move or want to
as her
head lowered
there and the
feel of s
oft l
ips
seared his flesh. H
is eyes squeezed tight
as
sparks of p
leasure
shot
through his body weakening him in the knees.