Micheal

“What’s your problem?” Theo asks. My irritation increases just by his question.

Dante laughs as I exhale the smoke from my cigar. “The man has blue balls, Theo. Leave him alone.’’

I pick up a lighter from the table in front of me and throw it at his head. “I don’t have fucking blue balls. Stop saying that.’’

Dante stands up and throws it back at me. “That fucking hurt!”

Seth stands up as he opens a white claw. “The correct word is hurted.” He says.

I pick up the lighter and throw it at the back of his head, just at his stupidity. Theo laughs, looking up from his desk. “Seth, you’re a jackass.”

Lily walks inside with a glass of water. ‘’Hi, Muffin! Hi, boys!’’

“Hey, sweetheart.” Theo says.

Seth points his finger at Lily and smiles. “L-dog!”

She smiles and waves at him. Dante nods to her. “How’s it going, short stuff?’’ he says, taking a seat back down.

Lily scoffs. ‘’I’ll have you know, I am five-foot-seven, thank you very much. It ain’t my fault y'all are practically giants, sugar.’’

I roll my eyes. “I don’t like you, Lily.”

She gasps as she sets the glass on Theo’s desk and walks behind his chair. “What did I do?’’ She asks, wrapping her arms around him.

I point to the smile that rests on his face. “This fucker is always smiling because of you. He’s supposed to be mad with me.’’ I glance back at the door where Carina, Valentina and Diana remain in the living room. “And I don’t like you either, Diana! Dante is fucking chump now!’’

‘’Fuck you, Micheal!’’ Diana shouts.

Lily frowns. “Well, Mike, I know you don’t mean that, so I’m not gonna let that get to me.” she kisses his cheek before walking towards me. “But it’s not right for you to go along and pitch a hissy fit because you’re not sexually active.’’ she responds and ruffles my hair. I swat her hand away and grumble in disapproval, causing her to giggle as she exits Theo’s home office.

Dante leans forward. "Who is this girl that has gotten you to stop being a man-whore for a week? Seriously, why make a bet that you know you can’t handle?’’

‘’My wife. And I didn’t actually think she’d agree to it. ‘’

They all bring their full attention to me. Pure shock was evident on their faces. "When the fuck did you get married?’’ Theo and Dante ask in sync.

I shrug. "That’s irrelevant. I’ll explain another time when the only thing I think about isn’t wanting to fuck the living-’’

"Extremely too much information, bro.” Seth says, cutting me off. “Who is she?’’

I glance back at the door and stand up with a sigh. Closing the door, I stand in front of it and fold my arms. “Audrey.’’ I mumble.

They lean closer. “What?’’

‘’Audrey.’’ I repeat. ‘

‘’Huh?’’

“I said it’s fucking Audrey!’’

Dante and Seth stand up abruptly. “Audrey? Like Audrey, Audrey?” says Dante.

My patience starts to decrease. “Yes.” I mutter.

Theo chuckles and shakes his head. He brings his attention back to the paperwork on his desk. “They’re going to fuck you up, man.’’

I push Seth out of the way and stand in front of his desk in confusion. “The fuck are you talking about? Who’s gonna fuck me up? No one is touching me.” I move closer. “But just out of curiosity, who are you talking about?’’

He laughs harder. “All of them. Diana, Valentina, Lily, her father. And I can’t wait to see it.”

Dante laughs as well. “Yeah man, her dad is gonna try to bring you down harder than he already is. I might as well bring some popcorn for all the drama you tell me when I see you, Mike.”

I roll my eyes and turn around. Snatching my jacket off of the chair, I walk back to the door. ‘’I’m not liking any of you right now." I mumble, slamming the door behind me after walking out.

Audrey

Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me.

Micheal glances at me as he stops his car, despite my internal plea. When his eyes linger on my lips, I instantly look away. I know if we held eye contact for any longer, I would say fuck the bet and let him have his way with me.

For the past week, I have been so sexually frustrated, it has caused me to be on edge every day. He’s practically a sex machine. Every part — from the silk-ness of his curly hair that fell from his head so elegantly without even trying — to the rock hard feeling of his chest, packed with abs that were always visible through the tank tops he wore — has made him irresistible.

“Ready?” He asks and I nearly give in just by the deepness of his voice.

I gulp and open the door. “Yes.” I reply, stepping out and shutting the door behind me.

I was thankful that we were going inside of a church tonight. This way, I wouldn't be so tempted. I place my purse over my shoulder and smooth out the dark green dress I wore. Micheal appears on the side of me. He takes my hand in his. I try to convince myself that he has to do this. That he’s only playing the part.

He adjusts his suit with his free hand and I avoid my eyes to prevent from doing something I am later going to regret. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a smile form on his face. “How long has it been since you went to church, Micheal?’’ I ask.

When we were younger, up until I left, Micheal and I would go to church together. Most of the time, our parents made us. In the beginning, we weren’t very happy about spending our Sunday at a church house. But after a while, we looked forward to it.

He shrugs as we begin walking to the door. “Since you left.’’

I frown. “Well, have you spoken to your mother? Brothers? Or any of your family members since then?’’

He shrugs once again. “Just Seth. Everyone else is too fucking nosy.’’

I gasp and hit his arm. “¡Miguel, qué diablos!” I shake my head in disappointment. “So all of this time, you haven’t even spoken to your mother?’’

‘’That’s why we’re here, baby. ‘’

I start to grow nervous as we step inside. As soon as my feet hit the sanctuary, my ears are filled with the sound of shouting, singing, clapping and numerous instruments in the background. There isn’t a person seated, and that oddly fills me with happiness. The joyfulness of the Church has filled me with peace and happiness since I was a little girl.

When the door closes behind us with a loud thud, everyone turns around. Micheal smiles and lifts his free arm, his attention only on someone behind the altar. “Miss me?’’

I hear someone scoff. “I thought the devil wasn’t allowed in the church.’’ A man mumbles.

Despite the man’s insult, the smile doesn’t drop from his face. “Kiss my-’’

A woman standing on the side of Micheal points her index finger at him. “Micheal Collins, don’t you dare curse in the lord’s house, boy.’’

He points his index finger at her as well. “I’m a man now, Ms. Dorothy. ‘’

She rolls her eyes, causing him to laugh and engulf her in a hug. The music grows louder again and people resume clapping as his family gathers around us. He hugs all of his male his cousins, uncles and nephews and presses a kiss to all of his female cousins and nieces, and aunts. It takes nearly thirty minutes to greet everyone. Micheal also introduces me to the ones I haven’t met yet—which aren’t very many. He informs them of our marriage, leaving out why he has to get married, the police that currently want him in prison and what I receive in return. Surprisingly, they are not shocked. Instead, they act as if they knew it was going to happen. We reunite with everyone except for the woman Micheal has avoided. His mother.

The music quiets as he walks to her and I stand next to one of his cousins, Everleigh. “¿Qué es lo que va a hacer? Dime que no va a hacer una estupidez, niña.” She whispers.

I bite my fingernails and shrug a shoulder. “No tengo absolutamente ninguna pista. Ya sabes lo impredecible que es ese hombre.”

Micheal reaches his mother and places his hands in his pockets. She stares at him with wide eyes.Tears fill her pretty brown eyes. A small smile remains on his face. “Hey, ma.” He says.

She doesn’t reply. Only opens her mouth to say something, but a tear falls down her cheek instead. She pulls him in for a hug. She wraps her arms around him as she begins to cry. Micheal returns the hug, his smile widening. “Micheal—I—why? How?... Why’d you come back?”

He rubs her back. “God loves sinners too, mama.” He whispers.

This makes her cry harder. She begins rocking side to side as the music returns to its level. The clapping grows louder. Everleigh and I turn to each other in shock. She taps my arm, her eyes wide. “¿Acabas de ver eso?”

I nod and clap my hands as a wide smile of proudness makes its way on my face. “Si. SÍ, lo hice.”

After a moment Micheal returns. His mother returns to the choir and directs them. “I want to sit next to my wife.’’ he mutters to Everleigh.

She rolls her eyes and shoves him as she moves to another seat. “Asshole.” she mumbles.

As he walks past me, I feel my breasts brush against his chest. It causes a spark that brings heat to my core just at the small touch. He turns around and faces me. The smile that was once on his face seconds ago is gone. An unreadable expression appears. His eyes darken. They trail down my body, causing a shiver to run through me. After a second, he licks his lips slowly before turning back around with a smirk.

I exhale a deep breath and take a seat at the same time he does. Micheal brings his hand to my thigh. I glance at his fingers and memorize every ring and vein before bringing my gaze to him as his mother prepares to sing. “You’re touching me, Micheal.”

He begins rubbing his thumb on the inside of my thigh. The fabric that covers it is not nearly enough to stop the heat that builds up inside of me. “I’m pretending. When we’re out, it means nothing. I touch you to play the role.”

My face falls. “Ouch.”

He cups my chin in his free hand. His lips come closer to mine. “But when we’re alone, it means everything. And when you lose this bet, I’m going to touch you as long as I want. I’m going to touch you with the intention of pleasuring you every time.”