easily. His bodyguards made her feel like she was just a whore.
Kristen noticed that her friends were now standing in the lobby door. “Let’s get out of this place” they said nervously. One of her friends stared at her. “What happened to you?” She did not need to answer. It was obvious. She felt damaged and still weak.
She might be acting wild lately, but she felt she was still too classy to have a man treat her like he did. Back in her normal days, whenever they were, she was usually very conservative and did not sleep around. “Never again,” she said to herself. “What a jerk.” One of her girlfriends asked her “Do you want to go somewhere else?” Kristen replied “No, I just want to go home.” She drove off in her car and her friends took a cab to continue club hopping. Kristen drew a long warm bath and went to bed.
She had only been asleep for an hour when the phone rang. Reaching down she started pulling the cord out of the wall. She wondered, “Who the hell is it?” She held up the phone and heard “Hello darling, did you miss me?” It was him. Bewildered and reluctant to talk, she said “How did you get my number?” He replied “Your girlfriend gave it to my friend.” “Oh, great. I’m changing this number tomorrow.” She thought to herself. “Won’t those girls ever learn I like my privacy.”
Dino started angrily speaking Sicilian to someone in the background. She thought she heard a woman’s voice. Still groggy Kristen said “What do you want?” He said “I love you. I must see you again tonight!” She then heard the voice again. It definitely was a woman. “I’ve got to go” he said, and hung up.
Now Kristen was wide awake. Mad that she couldn’t fall back asleep, she went out to the living room and watched television. She was very confused. About forty-five minutes later, she heard a soft horn beeping outside. She ignored it at first, and then parted the curtains a few inches and looked out.
The two black cars were there under the streetlight. Then the phone rang. She was nervous and felt required to pick it up. She said nothing and heard “Darling, come down here. I need you.” She peeked out the window again. Dino was standing on the grass with one of his arms stretched in the air toward her. She said nothing and quietly hung up the receiver.
Two minutes later there was a strong knock at the door. It was his bodyguard. “He wants you outside.” He hesitated and then said “Now!” “I have to get dressed” she said very flustered. “I’ll wait” he stood in the doorway, his body filling the frame. The other bodyguard came up. The first “Neck” said “Tell him she’s coming.” She dashed to her bedroom and locked the door. She at first wondered if she should call the police. Then she threw on some tight jeans, kitten heels, and an even tighter silk shirt. With no time to add make-up, she slowly opened the door. Like a prisoner, the two hulks led her outside with her standing between them. This no longer seemed exciting for her. She was worried about what Mafia nightmare she had now gotten herself into.
Dino walked up to her and kissed her. She did not return any affection. “I’m very tired. What do you want?” “You’re coming with me now” he replied, mad at her reaction to him. Sullenly, she sat down in his car. Dino yelled “What’s the matter with you? What’s the matter?” His accent was thickening the madder he got. She felt daring. “Who was the woman?” His eyes widened and glaring “What woman?” He looked puzzled and then said “Oh, on the phone. That was my wife, forget about it.” He gave her a chilling look.
She instantly shut up and he put his hand on her knee and began gently cuddling her. “Come on baby, I’m crazy about you.” She looked out the window. It was that very silent part of the night when dawn was still far away. This was the time of night when bad things happened, when no one could hear you scream.
He buried his head into her chest like a baby. She felt distant for another minute and then he nosed in some more, looking up at her winking. She now felt more relaxed and started patting his head. He had a great head of hair that was stiff with gel and still perfectly styled. “Hey, hey, easy on the hair, I need to look beautiful” he said. She started liking him again and reached down kissing him behind his ear.
Kristen noticed they were driving in the direction of his nightclub. When they arrived, it was still lit up brightly and in full swing. They walked into the lobby and went up a side staircase with the bodyguards following behind. Dino led her through a wide door as the men took their places on each side and stood guard.
The upstairs area was circular and set up like a VIP room with a private bartender. There was a railing that you could lean over and see the dance floor below. Kristen figured that Dino kept a fishing rod handy to pluck his women from the floor whenever he desired.
Six older men were seated at a card table. Dino walked his date over to a couch and gave her a kiss. “Here honey, you stay over here. I have to talk business with these guys. I just wanted to have you with me tonight and to keep you near me.”
Dino and the men were deep in conversation. They were speaking Sicilian and seemed serious. Kristen knew some Italian and could understand snippets of what they said. She preferred not to know what they were actually talking about since from what she could gather, it didn’t sound legal. His comrades seemed nervous about her presence and kept stopping to stare at her. She ignored them and slunk down in the couch cushions, easily dozing off.
When she woke up, Dino was sleeping on the other side of the couch. The room was very bright now. It must have been late morning. The door was open and no bodyguards were present. She tried tapping Dino on the shoulder, but he only turned over. She looked around the room and then out the window. His Lincoln was parked in front. “I’m going home” Kristen announced. She began rocking him “Can I get a ride?” Dino mumbled, “Sure, sure just tell the driver. I’ll call you later.” With his eyes still closed, he smacked his lips and blew her a kiss.
She made her way down the stairs and outside. She thought “Why did he even bother getting her? They didn’t even do anything.” She tapped on the driver’s window. He was busy talking on his cell phone and ignored her. She went to the back door, got in, and without instruction, was driven to her place.
As their relationship progressed, Kristen was never sure if she wanted to be a part of it. She could tell Dino was seeing more than a few other women, and it didn’t really bother her. She just wished he’d fall for one and leave her alone. The more he sensed her dissatisfaction with him, the more possessive he became whenever her feelings started wandering off.
When Dino brought her to the club with him he often would leave her sitting alone at a table. Plenty of his friends were ready to jump her, but, they never did. In addition to “Omerta”, the second rule was never mess with the “Goomah” of the boss.
This night, Dino was in his upstairs office. Angelo, one of her favorite admirers, was sitting near her. He was very handsome! Kristen noticed he was avidly watching her and she smiled at him.
Kristen stood up to go the restroom. As she walked down the hall she sensed someone was behind her. It was Angelo! He grabbed her shoulders, shoved her against the wall, and started sucking on her neck. He then swung her into the Ladies’ Room and locked the door. Kissing her savagely, he pulled his gun out of his waistband. He laid her out halfway on the sink counter and pushed her up against the mirror. “Oohlah” was all Kristen could muster in between heavy breaths. She then laughed “Angelo! Get off of me. What are you doing?”
Angelo rasped “You need Angelo, don’t you?” “You’ll want me forever now and I’m going to give it to you whenever I see you.” She was trying to push him off and said “You know I am dating Dino. I don’t want you. What are you? Crazy?”
Angelo yelled and pounded his fist on the wall. “Screw Dino, Screw Dino, I’m gonna kill that guy, I’m gonna whack him.” His phone started buzzing. The voice on the other end was speaking loudly “Get out of there Angelo! Dino is back downst
airs.” Angelo swiftly lifted Kristen off the sink. “I will see you later baby.” He then swaggered out the door.
Kristen straightened up, cautiously opened the door and looked both ways down the hall. She also glanced up at the ceiling to see if any cameras had caught the action. There was one mounted there but it was facing the other direction, so she scurried down the corridor.
Kristen returned to her table. Angelo was now gone from his. Her body temperature was off the charts and she tried to cool off by ordering a chilled glass of wine. She was too busy looking down and fumbling in her purse for a comb, so she didn’t pay any attention when the drink arrived.
A hand placed it on the table before her. She looked up. It was Dino! Kristen became very nervous and started fidgeting with her feet. He sat down next to her pulling in closer. “Oh God, he’s going to know,” she could feel her already red cheeks growing crimson and started to sweat.
“What’s the matter with you, you look so flushed?” He took her wine glass and rubbed it against her face. “You weren’t dancing without me, where you?” She then saw beyond his shoulder that Angelo had come back and was sitting at his table watching them.