Page 11 of A Treasure To Keep
Marco
After leaving Andrea’s apartment yesterday, I should have contacted El to talk about what is happening today. Instead, I went around her, finding her papa’s phone number. Less than an hour after finding it, I called him, asking for his blessing to take her out on a date. Mr. Gallo was thrilled that an Italian man wanted to take her out. Why Italian specifically? No clue. Regardless, this is going to piss her off to no end.
The second I’m about to knock on her door, I hear muffled yelling coming from inside and recognize the voices as El and another female voice. I take the opportunity to listen for a second, pressing my ear against the door. I’ve always been good at eavesdropping. Normally, these days, it’s done through cameras and microphones I set up throughout the house, bar, and gambling room. I haven’t done this since I was a teenager. It’s strangely nostalgic.
“No way in fucking hell I’m going out with that pig of a man! I know him better than you two. Yesterday was a dumb persona he used to try to charm you two.” Yup, that’s El.
“Eleanora Marie Gallo, you will go out with this man! It’s too late to cancel because he will be here any moment. If you would put your stubbornness away and forgive—”
“Don’t you fucking dare finish that last sentence. Besides, you totally waited until the last second, preventing me from saying no. You—” I decide it’s the right time to knock before things get more heated than they already are. Her papa answers the door, immediately welcoming me into his home with a handshake. El and her mamma are in the background, both turned toward me. Mrs. Gallo leaves El where she’s standing to welcome me at the door.
“Marco! It’s wonderful to see you again. Please come in. Eleanora is grabbing her handbag and jacket; then she will be ready.” I don’t miss how her eyes widen, mentally telling El to grab those items. El rolls her eyes, stomping off into the other room and reappearing with her jacket and purse, ready to leave the house.
“Okay, asshat let’s go.” El doesn’t give her parents or me any time to answer before she stomps out of the house to stand by the passenger door of my truck.
Her parent’s faces show how pissed and mortified they are by the way their daughter spoke to me. She’s never ashamed to be herself, regardless of who she’s talking to. Whenever she has an attitude with me, it amuses me and turns me on at the same time. Maybe that’s why I’m always hard around her. “I’ll have her back before sunset unless she murders me.” I’d bet she’d dump my body in the Delaware River. Fuck, that turns me on.
El’s arms are crossed as she taps one foot when I walk out of the door and up to the truck. I press the key fob twice, unlocking it as I walk to the driver’s side and get in. I realize that she’ll practically need to hike into my truck. That’s what makes this encounter fun.
She struggles with the height of my truck and her heels. She figures out that the only way of getting in is by letting her skirt ride up and placing her feet in alignment with the bars to stand up. She takes the opportunity to straighten her skirt before sitting down. It takes everything in me not to laugh at the adventure she takes to get in my truck. Once she’s comfortable, she crosses her arms, eyes focused on her parent’s house with a sour expression on her face. Eventually, she turns her head toward me.
“Are we leaving or can I go back in and tell my parents some bullshit lie that destroys their opinion of you?” She wishes.
“You need to buckle your seatbelt before we can leave. Safety first.”
She scoffs, buckling herself in as she mumbles to herself. “Like you’ve ever been worried about safety.”
Once I hear the click of the seatbelt, I place the truck in drive, heading onto the highway into the city. She breaks the silence about halfway through, obviously curious about where we’re going.
“Are you going to tell me where you’re taking me?”
“You don’t want it to be a surprise?” She shoots daggers at me through her eyes, giving me her answer. “Enough said. We’re going to Andrea’s place.”
El freezes, mouth open, and for once, speechless before she unbuckles herself, trying to force the door open while we’re speeding down I-95. Thank fuck for the child lock feature. “Let me the fuck out of the car, Marco!”
“You honestly think I’d let you out of the truck? Especially when we’re driving on a major highway. You should know me better than that.” She spends the rest of the drive threatening to break the window, grab my wheel, or scream ‘kidnap’ out the window. Of course, none of those happen. She knows better.
I park in front of Andrea’s apartment, getting out of the truck to let El down. The second I open the door, I’m met with the sight of a heel coming toward my face. After grabbing El’s ankle, I shift my weight to throw her over my shoulder.
“Let me the fuck go, Marco! I’ll scream!” She already is and continues to until I get to Andrea’s door. I pound my fist on the door, hurrying him to let us in before his neighbors call the cops.
His face is frozen with shock the moment he opens the door until I push my way in. “Que fais-tu? Put her down!”
“Happy to!” I toss El on the sofa with a bounce and let her readjust her skirt with anger in her eyes until Andrea walks back into the room. The anger in her eyes is immediately replaced with sadness when their eyes meet.
“Andrea, listen I—” El is on the verge of tears when Andrea cuts her off.
“No. Not yet. Marco has a dumb idea that I think may work. If this is going to work, we need to hear him out.” He sits down in a chair on the other side of the living room, leaving El on the sofa, and me standing until I see I have their attention. Andrea nods at me, signaling me to tell El about the dumbest idea I’ve had yet.
“Hear me out. I think we should do this again. The three of us, I mean. Get it out of our system. Forever. Then we can move on with our lives. You two can go on loving each other, and I’ll move on to whoever wants to ride this.” I point my hands at my crotch, obscenely making it obvious what I mean.
Andrea comes to stand next to me as he turns his attention to El. “For once, I agree with Marco. I think it may work.”
We both stare at her, waiting for a response to come. Instead, we are met with silence and a stunned expression on her face.
El doesn’t seem to have any intention of speaking, leaving me looking like Booboo the Fool. It was Andrea’s idea to bring her over here to clear the air, and my idea to have anotherthreesome. Now, no one has anything to say? I guess, yet again, I’m the one who needs to talk.
“Well?”